CHEAP Guitar EXPENSIVE Upgrades | Harley Benton Project
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- It's DIY time! Let's improve Harley Benton Progressive Line guitar with some Gibson USA hardware and Fishman Fluence pickups.
Harley Benton Guitar - www.thomann.de...
Fishman Fluence Moderns - www.thomann.de...
Grover Tuners - www.thomann.de...
TOM Bridge - www.thomann.de...
Stopbar - www.thomann.de...
String Butler - www.thomann.de...
Equivalent Spec LTD Guitar - www.thomann.de...
#harleybenton #guitar #upgrade
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It's DIY time! Let's improve Harley Benton Progressive Line guitar with some Gibson USA hardware and Fishman Fluence pickups.
Harley Benton Guitar - www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_l1000_vb_progressive_line.htm?offid=1&affid=367
Fishman Fluence Moderns - www.thomann.de/gb/fishman_fluence_modern_aln_hb_set_bk_n.htm?offid=1&affid=367
Grover Tuners - www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_pmmh030.htm?offid=1&affid=367
TOM Bridge - www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_pbbr045_nashville_bridge.htm?offid=1&affid=367
Stopbar - www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_stop_bar_02.htm?offid=1&affid=367
String Butler - www.thomann.de/gb/dietrich_parts_string_butler_v3_full_black.htm?offid=1&affid=367
Equivalent Spec LTD Guitar - www.thomann.de/gb/esp_ltd_ec_1000s_fluence_blk.htm?offid=1&affid=367
#harleybenton #guitar #upgrade
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Website - www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk
I love chamber music!
Goddamn...this shows how frucking old I am."Dinosaur Death Metal"?(when you first said that I thought you were taking pot shots at late 80s early 90s death metal saying that we were old dinosaurs)....LMAO. After hearing it now I understand what you meant...🤣🤣(sometimes I'm a damn fool).
harley benton now makes headless guitars aswell
i did almost exactly the same. fishmans are killer, i put some planet waves locking tuners, and did the same with bridge and stop bar. couldn't be happier watching the video, no doubts if it worth it!!!! looking forward for an update with the wiring.
Sounds awesome!
Amazing band logo! I couldn't make any sense of it at all!
Highly intentional, I count that as a success.
@@ScienceofLoud Antorbital Fenestra
Looks like it was designed by my doctor, it's his handwriting alright 🙂
Is it real black metal or death metal, for that matter, if you can read the band name? Buncha’ casuals out here 🤣
(Granted, I read this original comment as a compliment).
That's the whole point with Death Metal bands' logos. One might as well grab a handful of cooked spaghetti, twist them for a couple of seconds and there you have it: a death metal band's logo!
Finally a Scottish guitarist that’s not kmac.
You’ve been missing out for yeeeeears brooo
@@elijahwhistler4795 yeah I have tbh
Secretly i thought about the same thing just now 🤔💭😂
@@lunytoonz3466 you too broooo. Catch up there’s years of good videos 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Is Kmac a guitarist?
Can't help but notice how much your playing improved, those leads are smooth asf and those riffs, yo, uff boiiii
When I heard “extreme dinosaur death metal” I lost focus on this video and started to ruminate on those possibilities.
Dinosaurs are metal as fuck.
9:20 - My curse - Killswitch Engage
10:15 - In dying days - As Blood Runs Black
ABRB! It's been too long, I couldn't figure out what that was!
Collin was once a core kid
Thankyou
@@BTCTim song always takes me back to freshman year
I am not familiar with the second riff but it reminded me of this kid: ua-cam.com/video/qPErD_Nq5TY/v-deo.html
Just a tip for any newbies out there, chances are, if you don’t enjoy playing the guitar before all of the upgrades, you won’t like it after them either. There can be some exceptions, but usually that’s the case.
In this case, instead of spending $500 on upgrades for a $200 guitar you’ve never played, just get a used ESP LTD EC-1000, or something along those lines. There will be an immense jump in quality.
Speaking from experience, btw.
Edit: if you already have the guitar and like it, spend as much on upgrades as you can! It will only improve it.
Just as well I really enjoyed this guitar before the upgrades then.
The equivalent spec LTD listed in the links is still an Indonesian made instrument. There's very little wrong with the eastern manufactured instruments these days.
CSGuitars Awesome! I love doing that too. I’ve swapped out every part but the body on my trusty squier (now nicknamed Squender) p bass and love it just as much as the day i got it.
Sorry if my comment came across as rude, I’m nearly asleep and it’s harder for me to get my point across when I’m drooling onto my pillow with one eye closed lol. I’ve edited my comment to sound less hostile.
CSGuitars this is the kind of guitar i was referring to btw reverb.com/item/35768012-esp-ltd-ec-1000
CSGuitars one more thing, just wanted to say that you’ve taught me so many things about guitar, and its related gear, and i feel like i owe you thanks.
....never thought I'd see the day you'd install active pickups
I can't decide whether I hate Fishman Fluence unless I've tried them.
Also having one guitar with actives is useful for demo purposes. Even if I don't like them, other people do so it's only fair they get representation.
@@ScienceofLoud very good point. Just find it funny how it was one of your videos that swayed me off them. Unless they are on bass obv :D.
*peckups
@@ScienceofLoud I hated active pickups because all I had tried were the solid plastic cap EMGs (that just don't sound natural). I love the Fishman Fluence Classics I put in my PRS SE Custom 24.
Peckups*
You and Agufish should collaborate on a HB high intergrity project
I'll have a word with my boi, see what he thinks about that.
@@ScienceofLoud A CSGuitars HB signature guitar is a wild dream, but damn, that's a gooood idea
OOOOOH DID I START A CROSSOVER OF MY 2 FAVOURITE MUSICAL TUBERS
HIGH INTERGRITYYY
IT'S HIGH INTERGRITY TIME BOIS
Anyone else think that Harley Benton should create a Colin signature series Singlecut model in this exact configuration? Using the economy of scale, HB should be able to get this exact configuration in at under 450 GBP
Agreed - so long as Colin gets paid a royalty
That would be a good idea.
It could be in the vein of Agufish's signature model :)
@@Kylora2112 I was thinking more along the lines of Colin's Gothic V with the brass hardware.
Or, a full blackout model, including black binding.
It’s not that easy that should sign contracts with fishman and others and it’s gonna cost a fortune.
You are a legend. You did a better job of explaining how to wire Fluence Moderns in 3 mins than Fishman has done in years.
HB make some great bang for the buck guitars, I laugh every time I think about how the single Seymour Duncan in my HB strat cost more than the guitar itself.... lol.
You're dino death metal project better include a Jurassic Park sample and/or cover of the theme.
That's a terrible idea and I love it. It's going on the list.
@@ScienceofLoud if Oxygen Destroyer and Mortician can sample Toho and horror movies, then you can sample Jurassic Park.
Look up the band Graf orlock, they turned Jp into a break down of sorts. The band weekend nachos did a great thing with the theme from lavender town
Really, you are turning this INTO an Eclipse.
That's precisely the idea. I think I got pretty close.
It was basically an Eclipse out of the box
@@ScienceofLoud I play the real thing, and LOVE what you did. I mean, ffs, I most often change bits here and there even at the higher end... It takes a shrewd outlook to spot the good playing guitars and tweak them to your spec. Buying the Harley Benton has the great benefit of being playable straight away, throughout the upgrade process. Plus you start to understand what upgrades make what difference etc so I can only praise what you've done here as eminently sensible. Great playing at the end, by the way. Love peace regards and good health from the New Forest UK
Maybe better
Dude, I remember you saying you are bad at playing.. should I give it up then!? :P Great Jurassic music, let the Dyno be with you.
I'm just good at only showing the stuff I can do. Extreme editing.
@@ScienceofLoud I guess is a skill too :)
Toy dinosaurs sitting on your gear? I see you, also, are a man of culture...
As my title card reads, I'd rather be a paleontologist.
@@ScienceofLoud I did notice that 😉. That was my childhood dream as well. Turns out, though, I'm not so great a student. Who knew? 😁
That moment when you can understand growling more then his Scottish accent lol
just kidding man, grate job, keep on creating good content! 🤟
Dude . I'm an electronics student right now. I've been playing for years and you're the only dude I've seen to go through these videos and explain things accurately and in the depth they really should be addressed. My hats off to you. Fuck yeah
Holy shit that mix sounded incredible, perfect for the style. I personally prefer a more prominent bass but still god damn that sounded good
I upgraded my 70€ EC-50 with 80€ Grover locking tuners, 20€ schaller strap locks and 150€ zack wylde emg active pickups. Now I will never sell it and it stays in tune practicly for ever👍🏻
And meanwhile gibson won't stay in tune for 8 times the price.
@@CS_Mango gibson is only for old grandpas that sees everything through the nostalgia glasses, gibson put that price because they knew someone's stupid enough to buy it lol
I just heard a song about the Pachycephalosaurus and I'm hype about it. 🔥
Now do a song about the Eustreptospondylus.
You should try some of the harley benton kits, that might make a cool series
If I can think of a fun, silly project to do with one then it would be an excellent idea. I'd have to get weird though.
@@ScienceofLoud I'm sure you can think of some utterly freaky thing to do with it!
Have mercy for Colin's elbows and his sandpaper...
Colin: "let me take an all black guitar and make the accenting parts gold!"
Also Colin: "let me take a guitar with gold accents and make them black!"
Just playing around. Love your videos
At a younger age I bought a Godin guitar. It was a joy to play with, the sound was amazing, the pickups sounded like Iron Maideon tone on Seventh Son (yeah the Gallienkrueger era and I like it), there was no noise with the pickups even thought they where hot for my taste. So I decided to upgrade everything, I changed the pickups for Seymour Duncan. And I still regret the move to this day. Even if they are worth 400$ more they are noisier and I am not sure they sound better, they obviously do not sound like the tone I was happy with. Think carefully before you change the hardware of what you think is cheaper than the big names. And think just a second that in 2020 with the technology almost everything sound better and have less noise than the old band we are listening from the 70-80 for a lot less money. And crap from China/Korea these days are a lot better than some of the best stuff we where buying in the 90s. I spent 150k$ on gear in the 90s, and if I would spend the same amount of money today I would have better gear and be able to fill 3 houses like mine instead of a room.
80% Amp, 10% Pickups, 2% guitar, 8% Homie with the midas touch.
BOB THE BUILDER
Can he fix it?
No it's fucked.
@@ScienceofLoud hit it with the big fuck off hammer until it makes the noises you want
Well I went the cheapo way: Used SC-1000 for $150, Direct swap from HBZ's to used EMG 81-85 for $110, no rewiring needed. A gruvgear, a set of straplocks, and be happy with it. In my humble opinion this guitar does not worth a twice the price upgrade. Maybe, maybe a set of locking tuners but that's all. If you want something better for studio and stuff, later you will go over $1k and buy an EC-1000 anyways.
Fun fact, I hold the world record on RockSmith PS4 for My Curse by Killswitch. I think, I haven't checked back in a while. And now everyone here is going to go beat my high score.... Good Luck!
As a long time fan of your channel, I can honestly say it’s inspiring how far your guitar chops have come!
Before watching: cool topic! Here's what I treated my Harley Bentons to: Schaller locking tuners, a Stetsbar trem, a Duesenberg Les Trem with roller bridge, String Butlers and, of course, Schaller strap locks.
And I don't regret a single Euro I sunk into them. Solid bodies, straight necks, beautiful finishes - these things basically _beg_ for upgrades. And some HBs are considered on par with expensive names by some, if not slightly better. I do not disagree.
I did the same with the SC Custom but chose P94, 50s Wiring and Tone Pros Hardware. Works great, the most Harley Bentons are great platforms!
Sounds great. Have you thought about staining the fretboard so it looks a bit more like ebony? Would suit the aesthetic more than rosewood imo.
Please do a tutorial video on how you changed the bridge. I’m going to build a custom LP using their guitar kit and cant find any help anywhere
Dude, you need to do some covers of Frank Zappa's novelty songs in your dinosaur death metal mode. I can't wait to hear what you do with "Camarillo Brillo," "Valley Girl," and especially, "The Muffin Man." 🤘😝😈🍔
Awesome. Video. Though I wish you had a “before clean” and an “after clean” video so we could hear what the actual difference was before all the pedaling and amping for death metal.
He really did it. He said something good about active pickups
Great upgrade vid, Colin and entertaining as always. But it would be nice to hear the guitar back to back before and after to hear if it's worth the money...
The way you explain things is brilliant and educational. Saying "those extra pins need to go to a ground by way of grounding or a switch" just really helps explain electronics to those who need it, like me!
those two copper coils are more expensive than my entire guitar, musicians really throw money at everything
did you custom the battery compartment? i hate 9v connector as it is easily break apart.
I have never heard a hatley Benton sound so damn sick I thought it was an esp ltd at first a very good job well done
Finally, there is it! Great done. Now I know what to upgrade on my HB first ;)
Btw: Can anybody explain HOW the new bridge and stopbar can improve the sound (or what do they improve at all)?
As far as I know it is sustain that gets longer. It has something to do with the bridge flexing less. But that's all I know.
Your next upgrade should be Ernie Ball strings
Looks like I'm modding a Harley Benton.
Your riffs are absolutely brutal.
I need more of this Dinosaur Deathmetal project 🦖 🤘🏽💀🤘🏽
ONE OF THE BEST COMPARISONS I HAVE SEEN.
THAT THE GUITAR WORKS IN "TOCK BAND", AND THAT IT SOUNDS ALONE, EXCELLENT GOOD MAN.
what about the clean sound ?? the upgrade is not worth it when you are using just a distorted/metal sound it's just giving more gain that the cheap stock pickup but you can add more gain to the pedal itself with cheap pickups
Congratulations, you missed the point. Please watch the video again and try to understand what was plainly expressed.
I can relate to this, my personal guitar is the body of an english squire with the pickups of a japanese strat and a custom neck, pick guard and headstock, the body isn’t as polished as a regular strat but it’s a lot lighter.
Is there a difference between active pickups and having a preamp on the guitar? Or does it mean the same?
Do you play any other strings on your guitar besides the top two?
Thought about getting this for my buddy in Christmas and upgrade the picks up for fishman moderns he will definitely love it and passing down my line 6 pod go to him
You are going to throw away a whole lot of money then! The pickups alone cost more than this POS! I had this exact same guitar and it feels like plastic! Every single part is cheap and it will not stay in tune! Your friend is just going to be disappointed, even if he doesn’t say it.
Your videos made me want to get my black Epi LP Delux again which has been neglected for far, far too long.
The only upgrades I made to mine is a set of new tuners - Gotoh self-lock, in black of course - I hated those vomit-green plastic thingies and when one of them broke off I was only too eager to get the lot replaced. And I put on black volume/tone knobs. I had thought about getting some new pickups for it, but given mine has those mini humbuckers this limited choices for my always-broke butt back then.
But no matter, I shall first off get familiar again with the old girl.
BTW, it was only after I purchased the guitar in the very late 90s that I realized that her serial no. ended in "666". If this is not a sign...
The mix sounded awesome, looking forward to try the fluence modern set myself. The riff at 10:15 is killer! Can’t get enough of that
If I'm not mistaken, that's an old As I Lay Dying riff.
@@hedbngr18 thnx
@@hedbngr18as blood runs black, in dying days
How can you move your fingers so fast?
I tried a lot but I couldn't!
I am learning guitar for almost a month now.
I've been playing guitar for about 15 years. Give it time.
A dinosaur death metal project!?! With intelligent lyrics!?! I am down with that!!! As long as blast beats are involved some way you are golden my dude.
One trick pony, but it's a hell of a trick. That's some sweet ass sound there!
You should try do this the harley benton flying V guitar, Since they don't yet have a pro version of their flying v guitars.
And you should try upgrading the bass too.
Where did you learn these vocals man? Great work \m/
I make noises into a microphone until they sound right. I haven't learned anything.
Anyone else cringe thinking about that studded armband tearing up the finish on the guitar?
I'm upgrading an Epiphone Les Paul, so this was really helpful. I get the point of shelling out on fancy tuners, electrics and pickups, but is it worth bothering with the tuneomatic bridge and the tailpiece?
Almost certainly. You'll break less strings, and perhaps more importantly, the bridge will serve as a better interface between the guitar body and the strings, giving you a lot more resonance.
Logo of your new death metal project is unreadable. APPROVED 🤟😁
If I want to change the pickups, do I really just have to take the existing ones out, and plug in new ones, let's say if I want go for emg active or duncan active?
Some guitars will have plugin/plugout configurations like that. However, in my experience, most pickup swapping includes some soldering. It should be easy to do yourself if you use the right solder (just google electronics solder, you can grab it at Walmart), or you can take it to a tech.
@@zachary963 Do you know if the Harley in the video require soldering?
Recently bought a HB SC Custom Line, the one with gold roswell pu’s and straplocks for a £100 with a gigbag and I’m satisfied for the price 🤘
Barely used too!
I intend to do a couple of upgrades to my Jackson JS22-7, including stripping away the paint and giving it a nice new coat of paint (something flashy, bright blue or lambo orange) and replacing the pickups and changing the bridge and tuners. I bought myself a brand new Sterling JP60, so now I can give my Jackson JS22-7 some down time from use and do these mods on it. This 7 string used to be my main guitar for the last three years for recording and practice until I got my Sterling.
I think a lot of people don't realize that you can simply make a cheap guitar sound like a million dollars just by intonating it properly and giving it some good pickups and some other mods if it needs it.
I have a Jackson RR JS32, put some Seymour Duncan on it and guitar is fiiire, now I have a cheap Ibanez that I want to customize (is a guitar that doesn’t matter to customize for the price, but it has a big personal value for me, so…).
This video game me the knowledge and confidence to get an inexpensive, used Epi SG and turn it in to a black and gold beauty. Great content
I came here directly from the Pickup video, owning a Custom II with passive Roswell pickups. So I found it fascinating that even with quite different pickups there is still a part of the sound that seems to stem from the rest of the "rest!" of the guitar - a part I quite like.
It's all good! These upgrades to a cheap guitar, reminds me of the old farm pickup truck with a kickass engine on the show Street Outlaws. It'd be funny watching people who didn't see you mod this and say, "You're playing a crappy Harley Benton?", and then you proceed to melt their face off with this metal beast!
It's not really the mass and density of the hardware that's critical, it's how hard and inelastic it is. Lead would really suck here. Cast zinc isn't great. Brass, steel and titanium work really well, as does bone for saddles which isn't that dense at all.
The real enemy is soft cheap cast zinc with lots of voids, Gotoh are really good at high end zinc castings but moving towards other materials in thier high end products.
But it's really misleading to go on about density being the key property.
Ok pedantry corner, but what I was getting at was the difference in density between what came off and what went on. The new parts were more massive for the same volume, hence more dense than the old parts. THAT is what changed hence THAT is what made the difference.
No one was arguing for guitar hardware made out of soft but dense material.
@@ScienceofLoud It's not really about the mass or density though, it *usually* serves as in indicator of material stiffness it's usually the latter that's the desired property. You're dining out on informing your audience. And you're a smart guy with IIRC a physics degree? Yes, your content needs to be accessible and you're doing really well with it.
I'm not arguing that mass doesn't have an effect, it does, but the material and geometric properties are more significant.
And there's massive psychological factors here as well. www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-07-23-heavy-cutlery-enhances-enjoyment-food
But please don't fuel the heavy guitars and heavy componets sound better bandwagon. It's a marketing crime against the playability of guitars that has gone on too long.
It's an awful situation to be in when a client is asking for the biggest, heaviest plank of wood or biggest heaviest bridge becasue they've convinced it will sound "better" but that isn't really going to lead them to the sound they're after, or play in the way that's required. Or worse, someone wants a huge guitar with no weight relief and all the dense woods and chunky components "because they sound best" but wants the completed guitar to weigh under 2kg. But it's a lot more engineering effort to make something that sounds good and and doesn't have excess weight.
$600 will net you a used LTD ec1000, so kids....... don't try this at home.
And where's the fun in that?
CSGuitars if your fun is modding, or to learn about soldering, swapping parts, and this case, minor wood working.... go for it!
Just know, if you do everything right, you’re left with a guitar worth $200 after investing $600 and it doesn’t play as nice as an Ltd ec1000 no matter what anyone says.
Don’t mean to come off negative, I really enjoyed the video.
All that matters for a project is the quality of the "bones" and the skill of the person doing the upgrades. There is no reason a mid range or better Harley Benton (SC450 and up) can't sound better than a big G LP or ESP. Colin has gone for some expensive parts here but there are cheaper parts that are just as good, if not better (depending on use case). Gotoh makes quality hardware for a lot less than big G parts and there are a huge number of boutique pickup makers out there these days that make custom pickups for not a lot of money. Colin has used what he had laying about from other upgrades and provided a cost on those parts, a good set of Gotoh hardware (bridge, tuners and tail piece) will run you a fair bit less and as an added bonus, you can get models that will fit right into the original mounting holes on the HB SC1000. I picked up a set of Alnico II humbuckers "inspired by" the classic 57 PAFs for about 50 pounds, they sound dead nuts like what I wanted, better than what I have in my '98 LP Studio that cost my at least 3 times more than my little project guitar, including all it's upgrades. Bonus is, I don't feel bad at all thrashing it and it plays and sounds just like I wanted it to.
The TLDR is that I feel the best way to achieve a particular sound and feel today is with a project axe. We no longer need to look for good bones on ebay or in second hand stores, we can pick up cheap, new, decently made guitars built with decent woods for under 200 euro/pounds/dollars, not to mention the very affordable kits that will allow you to apply the finish of your choice as well as hardware/electronics.
The string butler will only fix a problem that a luthier should be fixing on the nut. Total overkill using that. You spent £36 on something you could have educated people on for free. FIX THE NUT, don't add this crap on. If you know what to do when stretching strings and make sure you get a proper tech to file the nut to compensate you won't have that issue. Lazy people, jeez...
Wrong, but you do you.
@@ScienceofLoud I have three Les Pauls and an Explorer that would tell you otherwise. That "inherent problem" in a 3+3 just boils down to not doing enough about it. This is just snake oil. Weird how hundreds of thousands work their 3+3 just fine but you don't... if you lived in bum mountain alaska I would have understood but everyone who has access to a guitar tech should fix it instead of purchasing unnecessary products like this. Everything else you did with the guitar is super, but that string butler needs to go.
But let's be honest, if your viewer base is more beginner/intermediate then I understand why there's rampant user error causing this to happen. It's just a shame that you won't just buy nut sauce and suggest people get the nut cut properly than to push this stuff on them when they don't know better. I'd like to visit your channel a few years from now on and see if you use these yourself.
That riff starting at 10:15 is killer! What's it from?!
Oh, someone else commented it's from In As Blood Runs Black - Dying Days
Did not know that the string butler thing exist. Already ordered one. Thanks for this informative video
Damn!! That's a gorgeous guitar!! Really love the black chrome pickups and bridge with the matte black body..
sounds great ! I wish you had compared those fishman with the HBZ active, using the same signal chain, just to hear the difference, but the final result is very convincing.
This was a really interesting video, I'm considering getting some new pickups for my budget Chinese Strandberg clone now. On that topic, are there any recommended upgrades aside from electronics that would be good for a Chinese headless? It's a 7 string Krait with the individual tuning machines (like Strandberg), if that helps.
I had this exact same guitar and it was TERRIBLE! Sharp frets and scratchy frets, would never stay I tune, bridge fell out when I removed strings,and those god awful pickups!
I went as far as everything and tried to sand it down and repaint it because it feels like plastic and that’s where the problems started. The cap on this thing was impossible to get smooth and my paint job turned into a complete mess! Then I started looking at parts to get it up to a decent level and quickly realized that a set of decent pickups were going to cost more than the guitar cost to begin with, not even counting all of the rest of the parts! Needless to say I trashed this thing and I’ve not made the mistake of listening to others claiming that “Harley Benton is amazing” again!
DAMN!!!!! What an improvement! Nice upgrades. Really nice. What would be the estimated cost of new parts and labor????
Dude, you're amazing! I've been a guitarist for almost 8 years now and last year, around March, I decided to buy a bass. Since I never played BASS I went with something really cheap and got me a Harley Benton. Gotta say, they kick ass and they're cheap af!
Why would you bother with "upgrades?" I have one of these Harley Benton Les Paul-style guitars. I have many other guitars, including an Epiphone Les Paul and a Gibson Les Paul. The Harley Benton is simply awesome. Unbelievably awesome. It plays super well. The pickups sound better than both the Epiphone's & the Gibson's. This guitar needs NO UPGRADES! Upgrading this is a waste of money. It rocks stock.
since the upgraded HB costs half of what you'd pay for the LTD without string butler, is it worth it to pay more? is the build quality of the HB comparable to a high end guitar? if not, is it something you can "fix" (like a rough fret job) ?
The HB SC Custom I have is basically this one, but with passives, and cost me £150ish. It only needed a fret polish and minor setup, otherwise it's a very good guitar that came with genuine grover tuners, upgraded tail and bridge, no sharp frets, all levelled too and only needed a polish up, I would say the quality is on par with a guitar double or even triple the price I paid.
I would’ve stuck with the gold hardware and gotten pups with gold covers . All black is kinda generic and common for a metal head xD but thats just me no shame meant
I have two ESP Horizons and for some reason I'm watching this video, but I just love shit like this.
I've got a Squier Bullet made in China Strat I bought on facebook marketplace for $50. It was okay but obviously had been played a lot as the pickup magnets were pretty flogged and the pickguard and knobs were beaten up. I put in a genuine Fender loaded pickguard from USA. Had to wood putty some old holes and drill some new ones. The hardware on old vs new was trash vs treasure. Ernie Ball slinkys and lemon oil on the fingerboard. Like a new guitar. Now it's a $140 dollar guitar but sounds and plays friggin awesome! Locking tuners are next. My mate is a real muso and reckons it's pretty good!
Fuck I'm hooked. Just listening him talking take me back to the Viking era. Ayyayyyyy!!! SUBBED!
Call yourself a Scotsman? The cheap guitar I get...but those replacement prices made me ayes watter, an me wallet burnned its own hole in me sporran and took flight! But! GOOD LORD!!! That's some awesome sounds to rock your Nessie.
HOLY FUCKIN PIGEON !! the sounds is freakin brutal
That isn't distortion..............
Throw a P-90 humbucker in the top, and a firebird mini in the bridge pickup and have a switch to bypass to feed directly into the amp :-) now that is a distortion machine.
a cool upgrade will be also a piezo bridge , thos lespaul style bridge with piezo are quite affordable , thinking of installing one on my lespaul style guitar ,
I actually have a Harley Benton SC-1000 lol. The guitar is actually great. If you're going to buy one, the guitar really doesn't need any upgrades. Well worth the price. Also, they look dope. (No I do not work for Harley Benton or Thomann)
Picked up the same guitar for €40 with dead pickups. Put in a used EMG 60/81 pickup set for €80.
It's a *beast*, and it was only €120.
Nice upgrades and that lovely uplifting song was just the thing to start my day!🤘😎🤘
Nothing but FILTHY NASTY DEATH METAL. *plays my curse*
I think Harley Benton are killing Gibson, Fender and PRS. 👏👏👏👏👏
Damn! That guitar sound is incredible. It’s nasty and disgusting in all the best ways. You need to run this through a HM-2 at some point
It will happen and it will be glorious
So Mick Tohmpson Sig £750 or Modded Shafforable guitar also roughly £750.
I’m loving those proper metal riffs but then you throw in some of the blues shred to remind us all how shit guitarist sound. It’s good perspective. Thank you.
im just a MetalFan, I only Play Acoustic Guitar, Why im even here?...
Edit: That some Tasty Sounding Guitar tho ngl
I did this with a Yamaha pacifica 112. I replaced the tuners with hipshot locking, bridge with PRS Mannmade 6 screw, pups were Suhr Thornbucker in the bridge, Fender Texas Special in the middle, and a Seymour Duncan lil '59 in the neck. Got it all painted up for an EVH tribute and after I put it together and setup I find out that the frets are in the wrong place and half of the note are flat... Lol I should've tested it beforehand, oh well, live and learn.
I've got plans for buying the white version, changing the hardware to gold, upgrading the tuners, gutting the electronics and refitting with an Entwisle HDN pickup set. Guitar and all the parts together (including shipping) : under €450.