As an absolute Telecaster fan, I also bought this guitar and am absolutely thrilled! I only had to adjust the fret cleanliness a bit and put on my .009 SuperSlinky. After replacing the pickups with DiMarzio DP102 X2N humbuckers, I now play the Harley Benton as my main guitar, and my Epiphone Explorer Gothic (with the same pickup setup) is now my second guitar. Incidentally, Harley Benton is one of Thomann's "own brands", there are also some very good guitar effects, guitar amps, etc. under this name. Small tip: "Thomann" is a normal German family name, which is why this word is not pronounced using the english "th", but simply with "T", like "To-mann"... ;-)
It’s funny, when I bought that guitar, I didn’t know much about Harley Benton’s and just found that for under $100, I’d give it a shot then do a vid on the experience… Fast forward almost a year later, it’s one of my favorite guitars. I too did a pickup swap, and a follow up vid on how much I love the guitar (vids are in channel if you’re interested) but I’m super impressed by the Value for $$$… and yes, I’ve since learned the proper way to pronounce Thomann… 😂 🤦♂️… I’m planning on getting a second HB soon, I’m kinda craving a Les Paul shape so we’ll see… Thanks for watching! 🤘🎸
Indeed, you are spot on , sir. They are the biggest in Europe and for good reasons. I have made business with them since 2010. Always top notch! I am glad so many on the other side of the water has discovered them. Suberb customer service as well. Edit: dangit never bought their housebrand as a guitar but i think this one will be my first :) I already have a lot of better pups that will fit.
Honestly I was quite surprised at how well that guitar was setup… No need to fret level or crown, and action was spot on…For that price point I don’t think you can find anything better. Definitely plan to order another HB, maybe the Explorer. 😈
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah, I’m definitely going to get a few more from them. I’m just super impressed with the amount of love they put into those things.
I don't know if things have changed, but Thomman used to ship up to 3 guitars to the US for that charge. People used to find a few friends and all order together. Worth checking anyway.
It would have been $5 more to add a second guitar and thank you for pointing that out. I meant to mention it in the video and forgot. Ordering a few with friends is a FANTASTIC idea I hadn’t thought of… Might just do that next time, thanks for the tip… 👍
Mine had fret sprout up and down both sides of the neck. Almost every fret was affected. The neck was bowed quite a bit, too. After an hour's work that included a lot of emery block use on those frets and a full turn of the truss rod, this guitar is a fun play.
Was yours one of the early runs of this guitar? I’m curious because it seems a lot of those type of issues were on the early runs… Either way, I’ve heard some horror stories through the Facebook groups, and then I’ve heard others like me, whose fret work was fantastic and the setup was great as well… Kinda seems like that may be HB in general, but I’ve heard that Thomann has a good return policy… Glad to hear you were able to fix it 👍
Received mine just before Christmas 2021. The HB35 plus that came with it was playable out of the box excepting some factory grit issues. With HB, the more you spend, the better the guitar.
@@calbrockocat8728 I got a b-stock around a year earlier with the same fret issues. I only paid like $90 for it though so I didn't really care. got a b-stock ex-76 at the same for about $130 and that thing was pretty much perfect out of the box.
Awesome man, I’m really glad this video helped you out. This was my first Harley too… As you can see from my background, I have a lot of guitars and I’m incredibly impressed by what you get for the money… I totally plan on buying another Harley soon. Thanks for the feedback and good luck 👍
I wanna get one and have ghosted paint of jaguar spots on it. I'd get a replacement pickgaurd to look like a jaguar but slightly darker. The paint is based off of panther/jaguar hybrids. I'd get a killswitch and bigsby system put on.
I have been planning on a kill switch in this guitar for what seems like forever and I just haven’t had a moment to do it… I already have the switch too 😂… but yeah, that’s the next mod for sure
That’s a negative… The bridge cutout is misaligned (only by a tiny bit, guys usually open it up just a bit with a dremel and it will work) and a few of the holes for the screws need to be re-drilled. If you want to attempt it without breaking the bank, grab a few cheap pickguards from AliExpress… If you’re looking for a custom one to fit perfectly, check my channel, I have a video where I installed a custom one from eBay…
I'm in the UK and shipping from the USA to here is normaly the same price as the item your buying .Where as shipping from austraila is a lot less and thats about as far away from the UK as it's possable to get .thomann charge £8 (approx $10 US at a guess )as a standard rate to the UK . So I guess its the American shipping rates at Your end that are pushing the prices up .which seems a little strange as you pay about 1/6 the price for gass(petrol as we call it over here ). crazy world we are living in right now .on a slightley lighter note .I have just ordered a Harley Benton TE-20HH Sbk Standard after watching your review ,I am quite looking forward to it arriveing . thanks for giving up your time to make this vid .;-)
Awesome man! You won’t be disappointed… The shipping has actually gone up since then and it’s now $75. 🤦♂️ Which is probably just as well, or I’d have a room full of them… 😂 I’m actually doing a follow up that should be done within the next couple of days so check back if you’re curious. I’ve since swapped out the pickups but to be perfectly honest, it’s become one of my favorite go to guitars… I’m sure you’ll enjoy yours too, best of luck 👍
How does the neck feel? Can you compare it to something? Like an ordinary tele or thin or chunky etc? thanks :) edit: modern c it says. I bought a lot of HB pedals and such but never one of their housebrands guitars.
You were lucky being able to play it straight out of the box, mine was shocking, action way too high and string heights didn't follow the fretboard curvature, intonation out on 3 strings, pickups were both misaligned tilting downward from bridge to neck, only way to get them parallel to the strings was to sink them right down into the body, not ideal, will have to strip them out to see what's wrong with them, was also disappointed that mine doesn't have through body stringing, why ?? Quality control appears non existent, have emailed Thomann to complain, as yet no reply. I'm in the UK so at least the shipping was only £10 so only cost me £95, but still disappointed.
I’m curious, how long ago did you buy it??? I’ve heard of guys recently getting guitars that weren’t string through and the quality appears to be poor on these. It’s kinda weird and I wonder if those are coming out of a different plant. Something changed for sure, because mine was setup surprisingly nice. Fretwork was really good and was an incredible value for the money. I’ve since modded it out with new pickups and locking tuners, but this guitar has been great for me… Definitely sucks yours didn’t work out and hopefully you can get it worked out with Thomann
@@FretboardDiaries The guitar arrived just this afternoon, actually managed to play it after a couple of hours work, quite surprised with the pickups so far from the strings that I still got decent output.
Just as an update, got a reply from Thomann, they apologised for the problems with my guitar but didn't give any explanation why the quality control had been so bad. They offered to refund or replace but I would have to pay for return shipping, with all the problems I would have expected them to pay to have it shipped back. As I've spent so much time and effort to get it set up and playable I'm not sending it back. I intend to strip it down and rebuild it and get the pickup issues sorted out and do a string change to 9-42 Ernie Ball super slinky's and swap out the tuners for Musiclilly locking tuners, hopefully then it will be the guitar I really wanted.
Ha! Good to know, I never would have guessed it was pronounced that way… Shipping prices are only going to get worse but my concern is Black Friday pricing may lure me into another purchase… 😂
I was gonna place another order with Thomann's as of 9/10/21 and the shipping is now up to $81 for a $188 guitar. lol, um, nah, I'll wait til shipping drops.
Someone else mentioned in the comments the buddy system for buying because they only charge like $5.00 more to ship a second guitar. So if you can find someone to buy a second guitar, the shipping cost would split. I’m absolutely gonna do that with the next one I order 👍
@@FretboardDiaries yes, I just place an order for at least 2 guitars and shipping goes from $81 to $91. If you order 3 it goes way up. so, 2 is max at one time for me. so, when I find 2 guitars I want I then place my orders with Thomanns.
@@23skidoo46 I’ll have to check it out for sure… I’ve actually kinda been eyeing their new explorer body with the EMG’s… That may be my next one… I’ll check out the 335 too, I’ve also wanted a Hallow Body
trust me man, that fall your box took on your porch ain't nothing compared to what it gets in the hubs while being processed. lol. I used to work at UPS in the hub and as a driver and if I had my druthers. I wouldn't ship it through UPS if I didn't have to. haha.
Ha No doubt! I’m sure they get tossed around quite good. I just thought it was funny to include, and further illustrates why good shipping containers are important… I’ve heard horror stories about UPS…
Shipping has indeed gone up since the time of this video… I ordered guitars last month and it was $78, as others have mentioned, the trick is to order two guitars… It’s the same price shipping if you do, so perhaps find a friend to order with or find another model you like, and order two…
@@FretboardDiaries Even at $160 for a guitar it's a great price. That's the same price as a low level Squier...and I really can't stand those. The reviews on this one seem to be that it's a very good guitar. HB has been consistently reviewed as punching above its weight class and competitive with $600 guitars. I look forward to buying one of these.
It looks cool for such a low price. But it's built like a toy, especially the fretboard. I don't mean the frets, i mean the board itself. Same thing with all these matte black ultra cheap ones (i had a strat and a bass). Tuned it to C and played some zz top with death metal settings for the luls. ua-cam.com/video/8h2HV1l4s1c/v-deo.html Cleans or slight overdrive didnt really work that well. For metal chugs my HB sc-1000 works better and it's around 200eur, frequently available as b-stock for 160. Don't own the guitar anymore, there's a massive increase in quality when you jump up to the slightly pricier HB:s.
While I definitely think the tuners and bridge are on the cheaper side, this guitar feels nothing like a toy… I suppose maybe it depends on the quality of the individual guitar, as that can vary widely with HB, but mine has a pretty solid feel to it and the neck is quite smooth. My only issue with the board is that it’s a bit dry, but that’s nothing some oil can’t fix. Pick up an Esteban, First Act, Urban, ect…. Those definitely have that toy feel, and are barely playable… I found this guitar to be quite an upgrade over anything like that, and even better than the Squier series. Definitely worth it for the price IMO… The bridge pickup was on the weak side too… So I dropped some Power Rails into it and bam! Instant Sustain… haha… Check it out GFS Power Rail Quick Demo/Review in a Harley Benton TE-20HH ua-cam.com/video/dbk7_vbXLxM/v-deo.html
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah maybe im too harsh on a 100eur instrument. I'd rather have this than a squier bullet, but i'd much rather have a classic vibe (3-4x rhe price ofc). The 200-400 bentons just feel much more complete to me. Maybe i just want an actual rosewood or maple fretboard, idk.
You’re spot on about the fretboard…The Roseacer fretboard has a bit of a different feel and I much rather have a Rosewood or Maple board. I’m gonna try to Oil it and see if that helps bit. I’m probably gonna grab an Amarok soon, I’ve heard good things about those but multiple people have said the same thing you did. That there is a huge jump in quality moving up above the $200 price point.
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah.. even when you go up the range there seems to be lively and dead models, or individual guitars. But that goes for every brand regardless of price really. It seems they sorted out the downright bad stuff, if a 200 eur les paul model doesn't have the mojo of a gibson custom that's totally fine. Even the 100eur models are great compared to budget guitars from 20 years ago. Fusion 3 and the lp models with upgraded hardware are probably good. Some of the acoustics are probably huge bargains too, taylor/martin designs around 200-300eur. Amarok - haven't tried em. I did try one of the really cheap 7 strings, and that thing just wouldnt stay in tune or intonate (used it for my attempted fallujah cover, it was impossible). Also fret buzz. Amarok is probably much better. Tried the fusion tele as an upgrade to the 20HH, not bad but rather characterless. Love my SC1000, idk if its the model or my specific guitar but it's great. Maybe a bit muffled if im picky but the feel is just great and with new tuners i can go through a recording without too much tuning problems. I remember Jamieslays praised it too. For 160eur it's ridiculous, I've had single pickups that cost more.
@@FretboardDiaries Ps the feel of the fretboard is subjective, ive had expensive glossy ones that i couldnt bond with, felt too "cold". As a second, third guitar, knockaround guitar or as a beginner guitar its good.
To fair it wasn’t loose… It just wasn’t screwed in all the way. Also, it didn’t bother me a bit, but I mention it because there are indeed some picky people out there… haha…
For those interested, I’ve since dropped some Power Rails in this guitar, you can check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/dbk7_vbXLxM/v-deo.html
Planning on buying this for my first guitar (ever). So glad to see reviews on it even if they are 2 years old 😂
As an absolute Telecaster fan, I also bought this guitar and am absolutely thrilled! I only had to adjust the fret cleanliness a bit and put on my .009 SuperSlinky. After replacing the pickups with DiMarzio DP102 X2N humbuckers, I now play the Harley Benton as my main guitar, and my Epiphone Explorer Gothic (with the same pickup setup) is now my second guitar. Incidentally, Harley Benton is one of Thomann's "own brands", there are also some very good guitar effects, guitar amps, etc. under this name. Small tip: "Thomann" is a normal German family name, which is why this word is not pronounced using the english "th", but simply with "T", like "To-mann"... ;-)
It’s funny, when I bought that guitar, I didn’t know much about Harley Benton’s and just found that for under $100, I’d give it a shot then do a vid on the experience… Fast forward almost a year later, it’s one of my favorite guitars. I too did a pickup swap, and a follow up vid on how much I love the guitar (vids are in channel if you’re interested) but I’m super impressed by the Value for $$$… and yes, I’ve since learned the proper way to pronounce Thomann… 😂 🤦♂️… I’m planning on getting a second HB soon, I’m kinda craving a Les Paul shape so we’ll see… Thanks for watching! 🤘🎸
Indeed, you are spot on , sir. They are the biggest in Europe and for good reasons. I have made business with them since 2010. Always top notch! I am glad so many on the other side of the water has discovered them. Suberb customer service as well. Edit: dangit never bought their housebrand as a guitar but i think this one will be my first :) I already have a lot of better pups that will fit.
I've had my HB SC-550 II for about a month and it is amazing. Perfectly set up and it's still in perfect playing condition. I barely have to tune it.
Honestly I was quite surprised at how well that guitar was setup… No need to fret level or crown, and action was spot on…For that price point I don’t think you can find anything better. Definitely plan to order another HB, maybe the Explorer. 😈
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah, I’m definitely going to get a few more from them. I’m just super impressed with the amount of love they put into those things.
Great review, man. Thanks.
I don't know if things have changed, but Thomman used to ship up to 3 guitars to the US for that charge. People used to find a few friends and all order together. Worth checking anyway.
It would have been $5 more to add a second guitar and thank you for pointing that out. I meant to mention it in the video and forgot.
Ordering a few with friends is a FANTASTIC idea I hadn’t thought of… Might just do that next time, thanks for the tip… 👍
I didn't think people had friends anymore.
Haha I don’t have many, but the ones I do have are pretty freakin awesome! A few of them are damn good guitar players too…
Mine had fret sprout up and down both sides of the neck. Almost every fret was affected. The neck was bowed quite a bit, too. After an hour's work that included a lot of emery block use on those frets and a full turn of the truss rod, this guitar is a fun play.
Was yours one of the early runs of this guitar? I’m curious because it seems a lot of those type of issues were on the early runs…
Either way, I’ve heard some horror stories through the Facebook groups, and then I’ve heard others like me, whose fret work was fantastic and the setup was great as well… Kinda seems like that may be HB in general, but I’ve heard that Thomann has a good return policy… Glad to hear you were able to fix it 👍
Received mine just before Christmas 2021. The HB35 plus that came with it was playable out of the box excepting some factory grit issues. With HB, the more you spend, the better the guitar.
@@calbrockocat8728 I got a b-stock around a year earlier with the same fret issues. I only paid like $90 for it though so I didn't really care. got a b-stock ex-76 at the same for about $130 and that thing was pretty much perfect out of the box.
I think this video has made me set on getting a Harley for myself, its not the same one but I can see that they make them very very thank you.
Awesome man, I’m really glad this video helped you out. This was my first Harley too… As you can see from my background, I have a lot of guitars and I’m incredibly impressed by what you get for the money… I totally plan on buying another Harley soon. Thanks for the feedback and good luck 👍
I wanna get one and have ghosted paint of jaguar spots on it. I'd get a replacement pickgaurd to look like a jaguar but slightly darker. The paint is based off of panther/jaguar hybrids. I'd get a killswitch and bigsby system put on.
I have been planning on a kill switch in this guitar for what seems like forever and I just haven’t had a moment to do it… I already have the switch too 😂… but yeah, that’s the next mod for sure
Does anybody know if a fender telecaster scratch plate will fit this guitar?
That’s a negative… The bridge cutout is misaligned (only by a tiny bit, guys usually open it up just a bit with a dremel and it will work) and a few of the holes for the screws need to be re-drilled.
If you want to attempt it without breaking the bank, grab a few cheap pickguards from AliExpress… If you’re looking for a custom one to fit perfectly, check my channel, I have a video where I installed a custom one from eBay…
I'm in the UK and shipping from the USA to here is normaly the same price as the item your buying .Where as shipping from austraila is a lot less and thats about as far away from the UK as it's possable to get .thomann charge £8 (approx $10 US at a guess )as a standard rate to the UK . So I guess its the American shipping rates at Your end that are pushing the prices up .which seems a little strange as you pay about 1/6 the price for gass(petrol as we call it over here ). crazy world we are living in right now .on a slightley lighter note .I have just ordered a Harley Benton TE-20HH Sbk Standard after watching your review ,I am quite looking forward to it arriveing . thanks for giving up your time to make this vid .;-)
Awesome man! You won’t be disappointed… The shipping has actually gone up since then and it’s now $75. 🤦♂️ Which is probably just as well, or I’d have a room full of them… 😂
I’m actually doing a follow up that should be done within the next couple of days so check back if you’re curious. I’ve since swapped out the pickups but to be perfectly honest, it’s become one of my favorite go to guitars… I’m sure you’ll enjoy yours too, best of luck 👍
can you tell me fret measurement? please, thanks
The scale is 648mm or 25.5 inches… Hope that helps
How does the neck feel? Can you compare it to something? Like an ordinary tele or thin or chunky etc? thanks :) edit: modern c it says. I bought a lot of HB pedals and such but never one of their housebrands guitars.
Modern C is correct… I’d call it a tad thicker than a Squier, but as thick as an LP classic… I like it and feel it’s very comfortable
@@FretboardDiaries Many thank bro, ill order one and do some small mods like you. Sweet. Big up!
You were lucky being able to play it straight out of the box, mine was shocking, action way too high and string heights didn't follow the fretboard curvature, intonation out on 3 strings, pickups were both misaligned tilting downward from bridge to neck, only way to get them parallel to the strings was to sink them right down into the body, not ideal, will have to strip them out to see what's wrong with them, was also disappointed that mine doesn't have through body stringing, why ??
Quality control appears non existent, have emailed Thomann to complain, as yet no reply. I'm in the UK so at least the shipping was only £10 so only cost me £95, but still disappointed.
I’m curious, how long ago did you buy it??? I’ve heard of guys recently getting guitars that weren’t string through and the quality appears to be poor on these. It’s kinda weird and I wonder if those are coming out of a different plant. Something changed for sure, because mine was setup surprisingly nice. Fretwork was really good and was an incredible value for the money.
I’ve since modded it out with new pickups and locking tuners, but this guitar has been great for me… Definitely sucks yours didn’t work out and hopefully you can get it worked out with Thomann
@@FretboardDiaries The guitar arrived just this afternoon, actually managed to play it after a couple of hours work, quite surprised with the pickups so far from the strings that I still got decent output.
Just as an update, got a reply from Thomann, they apologised for the problems with my guitar but didn't give any explanation why the quality control had been so bad.
They offered to refund or replace but I would have to pay for return shipping, with all the problems I would have expected them to pay to have it shipped back. As I've spent so much time and effort to get it set up and playable I'm not sending it back.
I intend to strip it down and rebuild it and get the pickup issues sorted out and do a string change to 9-42 Ernie Ball super slinky's and swap out the tuners for Musiclilly locking tuners, hopefully then it will be the guitar I really wanted.
My shipping was $80 to Los Angeles. Ordered one yesterday. Oh, BTW, it's "Tow-Mann"...
Ha! Good to know, I never would have guessed it was pronounced that way…
Shipping prices are only going to get worse but my concern is Black Friday pricing may lure me into another purchase… 😂
@@FretboardDiaries Absolutely! I got the email for 60% off for Black Friday. My credit card is heating up! Cool videos, man. Keep it going!
Hahaha Yeah my credit card will meet the same fate…
Thank you btw, just started UA-cam back in July and still learning the process of making videos
I was gonna place another order with Thomann's as of 9/10/21 and the shipping is now up to $81 for a $188 guitar. lol, um, nah, I'll wait til shipping drops.
Someone else mentioned in the comments the buddy system for buying because they only charge like $5.00 more to ship a second guitar. So if you can find someone to buy a second guitar, the shipping cost would split. I’m absolutely gonna do that with the next one I order 👍
@@FretboardDiaries yes, I just place an order for at least 2 guitars and shipping goes from $81 to $91. If you order 3 it goes way up. so, 2 is max at one time for me. so, when I find 2 guitars I want I then place my orders with Thomanns.
@@FretboardDiaries the HB 335 version is a really nice guitar as are the Fusion II/III's . check them out.
@@23skidoo46 I’ll have to check it out for sure… I’ve actually kinda been eyeing their new explorer body with the EMG’s… That may be my next one… I’ll check out the 335 too, I’ve also wanted a Hallow Body
It was only 65 for mine to Montana
I have a few HB's they are best bang for buck axes out there
Hard to beat the value for sure… I’m thinking of grabbing an Amarok next, we’ll see… I’ve heard a lot of great things about the sc1000 as well…
trust me man, that fall your box took on your porch ain't nothing compared to what it gets in the hubs while being processed. lol. I used to work at UPS in the hub and as a driver and if I had my druthers. I wouldn't ship it through UPS if I didn't have to. haha.
Ha No doubt! I’m sure they get tossed around quite good. I just thought it was funny to include, and further illustrates why good shipping containers are important… I’ve heard horror stories about UPS…
Thank you from Criamea
Hey anytime! Thanks for watching!
That's a sexy guitar
$80 shipping
Shipping has indeed gone up since the time of this video… I ordered guitars last month and it was $78, as others have mentioned, the trick is to order two guitars… It’s the same price shipping if you do, so perhaps find a friend to order with or find another model you like, and order two…
@@FretboardDiaries Even at $160 for a guitar it's a great price. That's the same price as a low level Squier...and I really can't stand those. The reviews on this one seem to be that it's a very good guitar. HB has been consistently reviewed as punching above its weight class and competitive with $600 guitars. I look forward to buying one of these.
You don't pronounce the 'th' it's German, so 't' as in Thomas.
Ha! Yeah someone else mentioned that in the comments… 😂… Thanks for the heads up 👍
@@FretboardDiaries You're welcome. Just don't mention the war! ua-cam.com/video/RyPj21jBl_0/v-deo.html
Germany lost the war therefore we can pronounce it wrong without persecution
It looks cool for such a low price. But it's built like a toy, especially the fretboard. I don't mean the frets, i mean the board itself. Same thing with all these matte black ultra cheap ones (i had a strat and a bass). Tuned it to C and played some zz top with death metal settings for the luls.
ua-cam.com/video/8h2HV1l4s1c/v-deo.html
Cleans or slight overdrive didnt really work that well. For metal chugs my HB sc-1000 works better and it's around 200eur, frequently available as b-stock for 160. Don't own the guitar anymore, there's a massive increase in quality when you jump up to the slightly pricier HB:s.
While I definitely think the tuners and bridge are on the cheaper side, this guitar feels nothing like a toy… I suppose maybe it depends on the quality of the individual guitar, as that can vary widely with HB, but mine has a pretty solid feel to it and the neck is quite smooth. My only issue with the board is that it’s a bit dry, but that’s nothing some oil can’t fix. Pick up an Esteban, First Act, Urban, ect…. Those definitely have that toy feel, and are barely playable… I found this guitar to be quite an upgrade over anything like that, and even better than the Squier series. Definitely worth it for the price IMO…
The bridge pickup was on the weak side too… So I dropped some Power Rails into it and bam! Instant Sustain… haha… Check it out
GFS Power Rail Quick Demo/Review in a Harley Benton TE-20HH
ua-cam.com/video/dbk7_vbXLxM/v-deo.html
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah maybe im too harsh on a 100eur instrument. I'd rather have this than a squier bullet, but i'd much rather have a classic vibe (3-4x rhe price ofc). The 200-400 bentons just feel much more complete to me. Maybe i just want an actual rosewood or maple fretboard, idk.
You’re spot on about the fretboard…The Roseacer fretboard has a bit of a different feel and I much rather have a Rosewood or Maple board. I’m gonna try to Oil it and see if that helps bit.
I’m probably gonna grab an Amarok soon, I’ve heard good things about those but multiple people have said the same thing you did. That there is a huge jump in quality moving up above the $200 price point.
@@FretboardDiaries Yeah.. even when you go up the range there seems to be lively and dead models, or individual guitars. But that goes for every brand regardless of price really. It seems they sorted out the downright bad stuff, if a 200 eur les paul model doesn't have the mojo of a gibson custom that's totally fine. Even the 100eur models are great compared to budget guitars from 20 years ago. Fusion 3 and the lp models with upgraded hardware are probably good. Some of the acoustics are probably huge bargains too, taylor/martin designs around 200-300eur.
Amarok - haven't tried em. I did try one of the really cheap 7 strings, and that thing just wouldnt stay in tune or intonate (used it for my attempted fallujah cover, it was impossible). Also fret buzz. Amarok is probably much better.
Tried the fusion tele as an upgrade to the 20HH, not bad but rather characterless. Love my SC1000, idk if its the model or my specific guitar but it's great. Maybe a bit muffled if im picky but the feel is just great and with new tuners i can go through a recording without too much tuning problems. I remember Jamieslays praised it too. For 160eur it's ridiculous, I've had single pickups that cost more.
@@FretboardDiaries Ps the feel of the fretboard is subjective, ive had expensive glossy ones that i couldnt bond with, felt too "cold". As a second, third guitar, knockaround guitar or as a beginner guitar its good.
1 screw on 1 tuner is loose on a cheap Tele ? That is too damm picky.
To fair it wasn’t loose… It just wasn’t screwed in all the way. Also, it didn’t bother me a bit, but I mention it because there are indeed some picky people out there… haha…