@@MassiveSoundProductions I want that single cut FR edition that will be back in stock in October. But I want it in white!!!!!!! They don't do a white.
@@diegofiorillo6412 Fully understand your wish for a white one. Also a little fan of white guitars. Especially combined with an ebony fretboard...so tasty :P
I've ended up with 6 HBs in the last year or so🤪, they've all been great axes and very affordable for sure! My last one is this EX84 but loaded with the emgs. I got it as a B stock but just a couple of minor blemishes that can hardly be seen! 🤘😎
I feel with you Nick, had the same Harley Benton-GAS-virus last year and I have the feeling I`m still not resistant against this 😱😜... value for money is just outstanding! Enjoy your HB's!
Hi Jesse, thanks allot for your great feedback and many congrats to your soon incoming new axe :D. Pretty sure you wont regret, it's a great guitar for the money.
Thanks a lot for your review! Just ordered mine a couple of days ago, can't wait to play it! Probably will change pickups to EMG Het set and it will be the best explorer guitar for that price
Thanks a lot for your great feedback, happy you liked my little review here. Exchanged the stock pickups for the Het set as well, absolutely fantastic match which bringst the guitar close to a level of a 1k EUR guitar
Massive agreement on the headstock. It is not a well thought out or complementary shape. You can see that the string angle on the low E is rather more acute than it should be. The line of tuners should have been shifted toward the far end of the headstock to relieve this. Further, the radii applied to the headstock corners are overly large and make the headstock seem bulkier than it is. Therefore it fails to balance visually with the body.
It sounds really good! I have a question about your recording setup, can you use the helix as interface for the neural DSP plugins? Keep going with the HB videos, it’s really helpful and your review structure is really good to follow. Cheers
Thanks for your great feedback! I try to do my best and also give some honest opinion in my reviews. The Helix can be used as a full interface and you have also the option to record your unprocessed DI signal which you can then use e.g. for the Neural DSP plugins afterwards. Big fan of the Helix as it brings everything you need as a guitarist in an affordable package.
I'm still waiting for mine in the US ! 3 to 4 week delay at customs in Europe due to corona virus ! Ive got the black one coming, this video makes me want it even more !
I got a black one a couple of weeks ago . I’m delighted with it . It’s truly a lovely guitar and I’m completely chuffed with it . You got something really cool coming your way .
I am very interested in this guitar, it looks like James Hetfield's Snakebyte from Metallica, but I have a question and if you can answer me I will be grateful. How is the clean sound of these pickups? From what I could hear in this test the sound was not entirely clean, but I do not know if it is due to the configuration you used. Are these pickups capable of 100% clean sound? Thank you very much and good video.
Hi Enmanuel, thanks for your feedback. The pickups are definitely capable of being fully clean, I still wouldnt say this is their strength, personally they are a bit too dark sounding for my ears, but if you like a warm sound anyhow than no probs for you. My plan is to swap them with a EMG Het Set
Hi Symptoms of Decay, unfortunately yes, it's a little bit neck heavy. It might be because my Ex is very lightweight, but due to it's smaller body it might generally tend to be a bit more neck heavy. Problem only exist if you play it when staying.
@@MassiveSoundProductions Great. Thank you. Since I have not seen any reviewer standing while playing this model, I was curious. I can't or at least am not willing to play a neck heavy model anymore. Had an Epiphone Thunderbird bass many years ago with the upper strap knob in the same position as here on the EX84. This position is, imho, inacceptable for reversed bodies like the ones of an Explorer. When there is a glued in neck, why isn't it possible to install the strap knob right on the back of the body? I don't get it...
@@symptomsofdecay Fully agree to your comment. I wont use the explorer for anything else than studio work and playing while seated but if you are planning to use this for playing with your band and live this probably could be a dealbreaker (...for me it would as I'm similar to you and cant stand neck heavy guitars during a live performance). I will take this point into my future guitar reviews as it is an important one.
A great review and nice playing :) But, what would you choose btw an LTD Ex-401 vs HB EX-84 without taking money into consideration (still not going crazy up, let's say around 800 euro) but with swapping the pups with the het set. I guess the LTD has much better quality but I don't know if they come with stainless steel frets or if it hits that law of diminishing return area where you’re mostly paying for the name and if in the end, both have almost the same level of quality. Thanks
Hi Sebastian, thanks for your comment and question. Happy you like my video of the HB Ex :)! I unfortunately haven't tried the LTD EX but if I'm not wrong they come with nickel silver frets (no stainless steel) and are also made in Vietnam like the HB EX is. I believe that there shouldnt be too much of a difference on the quality. Where there is quite a significant jump in overall quality is with the LTD Deluxe 1000 series which is made in Korea (...they make very good instruments) and which also have stainless steel frets since last year.
@@MassiveSoundProductions Thank you for your answer. There was a review of 401 where somebody said what kind of frets are, it was a comment and I just can't find that review anymore, but on every music shop where they have this guitar is not saying what kind of frets is having :) But anyway, I was leaning towards LTD because I thought the quality might be better, because it's LTD and they have nice quality on some quitars I've seen in the ex 401 money range and the only HB I've put my hands on was a SC-1000 and the frets and pots were really bad but I guess for the ex-84 is maybe different. Too bad that the only one in white available now will be available in months, is the one with modern EMG's which isn't bad at all :P
@@SebastianZub If you life in the EU and you can return the HB relatively easily I would still try this one. The extremely fair price tag comes with a bit of a fluctuating build quality but if you have a bit of luck you can get a super nice guitar for low money. The LTD Deluxe line and generally the LTDs which are build in Korea are fantastic guitars which I can highly recommend, for the 400 line I believe they are made in Vietnamese with a similar build quality (maybe slightly better) than the HB Deluxe line. Keep me updated on you decision and how you like your new guitar :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions EX-401 I think it's made in Korea, at least that is saying decoding the serial that is on the picture of the back of the headstock from Thomann website :) Even so, the HB white one will be in stock in some months and I have to wait a bit for it and for the 401 I still need a bit more money so I have to wait for any of those. But yes, the ex-84 is really atractive and if it would be on stock I couldn't resist and buy it, especially when I have an EMG HET set coming my way and it would be nice to get them on it, but, until a EX will be in my possesion, I will put them in my Jackson Warrior.
@@SebastianZub I tried to google where the EX 401 is made of and from what I found it seems to be from Indonesia like the HB. From what I remember some of the LTD 400 line guitars where made in Korea in the past but I believe the whole 400-line has been moved to Indonesia. If this is really the case I would most likely go for the HB which is a great guitar for its money. I put a HET set into mine as well btw ;)
Thanks Nikitas for your comment! It is definitely a bit thicker than the neck on the Amarok or the Agufish and the glossy finish also feels different to the wooden one of the previously mentioned guitars. If you like very slim necks I would probably look into a different guitar but if you like some wood in your hands it's a good option.
im a little bit confused? and i hope u can help me out here. I bought this guitar bcuz i saw the little quick unboxing on Agufish's channel, the nice yellow aged white look was the biggest reason why i wanted that guitar, but mine is exactly like yours almost normal white with just a tiny little hint of yellow when it hits the right lightning and definitely not that heavy aged white look like in Agufish's video or even their pictures on their website.. why? is she gettin more yellow over time? i wanted it to be aged white from the start and not in a couple of years, lol.
I think thats something to do with the paint they use.... I remember hearing about a paint company in the UK getting sued because their white paint or primer kept turning yellow after a few months for no reason. I cant explain it in detail because i dont know why but its something to do with the additives or other chemicals they mix with the paint that makes it change colour when it comes into contact with the air. if youre concerned then i suggest you contact Thomann and have them look into it.
Agree with you, I also preferred the original advertised aged look but the white one they have now is also nice. It seems they changed two, three things (e.g. the label on the headstock) from preproduction to the final model.
@@MassiveSoundProductions love this guitar, it plays and sounds beautiful, but now im even more upset that its not the actual advertised color scheme that i expected... i contacted thomann, they not answered me yet, im curious how they gonna explain this.
@@MassiveSoundProductions they answered me and said that Agufish's guitar is a prototype and they changed the color.. for reasons i cannot understand bcuz the color was literally perfect..
Hi David, unfortunately yes. It might be because my Ex is very lightweight, but due to it's smaller body it might generally tend to be a bit more neck heavy
Hi Odin, they are both great guitars for money. A beginner I would probably advise a bit more into the single cut (Les Paul) or Strat direction as these guitars are in my view a bit more comfortable to play. If I were you i would get as my first guitar the SC-1000 or an Fusion pro :)
Massive Sound Productions Thanks for the answer ! I didnt knew the Explorer cut was less confortable to play thank you :) I heard the HBZ pups had a loud hum is that true ? And I have a last question, is the Boss katana mini a nice amp ? Id like to play different genre (especially metal) :)
@@odindouteaux2283 The HB Pickups are good enough to start with. Personally I'm more of a fan of passive pickups like installed in the Fusion Pro models but both will be fine for a start. Unfortunately I dont know the Boss Katana mini but I heard great things from the bigger brother, the standard Boss Katana combos.
Sad but true. I also like the pure white one but I would have preferred the aged white look. I asked Thomann about this and they replied that they changed it for their final production run.
Of course the neck of the Harley Benton EX-84 is "set-in" instead of "bolt-on". Sorry for my mistake!
@JT B only white and black, exept the vintage model
HB is really pissing alot of big names off. I like that.
Me too, they surely released some incredible guitars during the last 12 month which are a steal for their money :D
@@MassiveSoundProductions I want that single cut FR edition that will be back in stock in October. But I want it in white!!!!!!! They don't do a white.
@@diegofiorillo6412 Fully understand your wish for a white one. Also a little fan of white guitars. Especially combined with an ebony fretboard...so tasty :P
Massive Sound Productions white satin finish body, Ebony fretboard and gold hardware...dream guitar
@@diegofiorillo6412 I definitely need to find such a holy "guitar" grail somewhere 😍
I've ended up with 6 HBs in the last year or so🤪, they've all been great axes and very affordable for sure! My last one is this EX84 but loaded with the emgs. I got it as a B stock but just a couple of minor blemishes that can hardly be seen! 🤘😎
I feel with you Nick, had the same Harley Benton-GAS-virus last year and I have the feeling I`m still not resistant against this 😱😜... value for money is just outstanding! Enjoy your HB's!
I only wish I had enough money (and space) to buy all these cool Harley Bentons they’re releasing!
didnt know messi plays guitar
My h.b. white modern is on the way sorta... Waiting list. Im very excited. Good demo man thx
Hi Jesse, thanks allot for your great feedback and many congrats to your soon incoming new axe :D. Pretty sure you wont regret, it's a great guitar for the money.
That`s my first Harley Benton Guitar and i am surprised. Such a nice Guitar for that price. Also it`s my first Guitar with aktiv pickups.
@Patrick: I made the same mistake a couple of weeks ago with buying my wirst HB guitar and now I'm addicted ;). Great value for money!
Didn't know Messi plays guitar, great review
Thanks a lot for your review! Just ordered mine a couple of days ago, can't wait to play it! Probably will change pickups to EMG Het set and it will be the best explorer guitar for that price
Thanks a lot for your great feedback, happy you liked my little review here. Exchanged the stock pickups for the Het set as well, absolutely fantastic match which bringst the guitar close to a level of a 1k EUR guitar
Oh hell yes! The idea of a pro version with that red amarok top and a nicer neck. Fuckkkkkkk i want that.
Awesome riff's and killer sound :)
Thanks allot Ray for your great feedback, happy you like it :)!
I like the shirt
Massive agreement on the headstock. It is not a well thought out or complementary shape. You can see that the string angle on the low E is rather more acute than it should be. The line of tuners should have been shifted toward the far end of the headstock to relieve this. Further, the radii applied to the headstock corners are overly large and make the headstock seem bulkier than it is. Therefore it fails to balance visually with the body.
You made me buy this guitar.
I'm still surprised how well mine is made for the money I have paid. Hope you will like it as much as I do :)!
It sounds really good!
I have a question about your recording setup, can you use the helix as interface for the neural DSP plugins?
Keep going with the HB videos, it’s really helpful and your review structure is really good to follow. Cheers
Thanks for your great feedback! I try to do my best and also give some honest opinion in my reviews. The Helix can be used as a full interface and you have also the option to record your unprocessed DI signal which you can then use e.g. for the Neural DSP plugins afterwards. Big fan of the Helix as it brings everything you need as a guitarist in an affordable package.
I'm still waiting for mine in the US ! 3 to 4 week delay at customs in Europe due to corona virus ! Ive got the black one coming, this video makes me want it even more !
Hi George, thanks for your comment. It's definitely worth the wait and you wont regret it. It's a great guitar for the money :D
I got a black one a couple of weeks ago . I’m delighted with it . It’s truly a lovely guitar and I’m completely chuffed with it . You got something really cool coming your way .
I am very interested in this guitar, it looks like James Hetfield's Snakebyte from Metallica, but I have a question and if you can answer me I will be grateful. How is the clean sound of these pickups? From what I could hear in this test the sound was not entirely clean, but I do not know if it is due to the configuration you used. Are these pickups capable of 100% clean sound? Thank you very much and good video.
Hi Enmanuel, thanks for your feedback. The pickups are definitely capable of being fully clean, I still wouldnt say this is their strength, personally they are a bit too dark sounding for my ears, but if you like a warm sound anyhow than no probs for you. My plan is to swap them with a EMG Het Set
S620 owner. great guitar for the price. planning on getting more
You cant get wrong with another HB, great value for money :D
Great video, subscribed! Will have to check these out. How are the tuners?
Thanks for your great feedback! They have Grover locking tuners installed, insane for such a low priced guitar :D
Cool guitar , Rock on!
Thanks Srdjan!
Does it have neck dive?
Unfortunately yes, a little bit. But this might be different with models which are not as lightweight as mine
Nice review! Thx
Thank you for doing your review in english!
have you opened the cavity? if so, is there a ground wire to the bridge installed?? thank you
Hi Timothy, thanks for your comment! Yes, I had it open to change pickups to EMGs. It has a ground wire to the bridge installed.
those metallica puns...
What about the neck and headstock? Will it dive to the floor when hanging on a strap? Or is the guitar perfectly balanced?
Hi Symptoms of Decay, unfortunately yes, it's a little bit neck heavy. It might be because my Ex is very lightweight, but due to it's smaller body it might generally tend to be a bit more neck heavy. Problem only exist if you play it when staying.
@@MassiveSoundProductions Great. Thank you. Since I have not seen any reviewer standing while playing this model, I was curious.
I can't or at least am not willing to play a neck heavy model anymore. Had an Epiphone Thunderbird bass many years ago with the upper strap knob in the same position as here on the EX84.
This position is, imho, inacceptable for reversed bodies like the ones of an Explorer. When there is a glued in neck, why isn't it possible to install the strap knob right on the back of the body? I don't get it...
@@symptomsofdecay Fully agree to your comment. I wont use the explorer for anything else than studio work and playing while seated but if you are planning to use this for playing with your band and live this probably could be a dealbreaker (...for me it would as I'm similar to you and cant stand neck heavy guitars during a live performance). I will take this point into my future guitar reviews as it is an important one.
I’ve got one and it hangs nicely , definitely not diving .
A great review and nice playing :) But, what would you choose btw an LTD Ex-401 vs HB EX-84 without taking money into consideration (still not going crazy up, let's say around 800 euro) but with swapping the pups with the het set. I guess the LTD has much better quality but I don't know if they come with stainless steel frets or if it hits that law of diminishing return area where you’re mostly paying for the name and if in the end, both have almost the same level of quality. Thanks
Hi Sebastian, thanks for your comment and question. Happy you like my video of the HB Ex :)! I unfortunately haven't tried the LTD EX but if I'm not wrong they come with nickel silver frets (no stainless steel) and are also made in Vietnam like the HB EX is. I believe that there shouldnt be too much of a difference on the quality. Where there is quite a significant jump in overall quality is with the LTD Deluxe 1000 series which is made in Korea (...they make very good instruments) and which also have stainless steel frets since last year.
@@MassiveSoundProductions Thank you for your answer. There was a review of 401 where somebody said what kind of frets are, it was a comment and I just can't find that review anymore, but on every music shop where they have this guitar is not saying what kind of frets is having :) But anyway, I was leaning towards LTD because I thought the quality might be better, because it's LTD and they have nice quality on some quitars I've seen in the ex 401 money range and the only HB I've put my hands on was a SC-1000 and the frets and pots were really bad but I guess for the ex-84 is maybe different. Too bad that the only one in white available now will be available in months, is the one with modern EMG's which isn't bad at all :P
@@SebastianZub If you life in the EU and you can return the HB relatively easily I would still try this one. The extremely fair price tag comes with a bit of a fluctuating build quality but if you have a bit of luck you can get a super nice guitar for low money. The LTD Deluxe line and generally the LTDs which are build in Korea are fantastic guitars which I can highly recommend, for the 400 line I believe they are made in Vietnamese with a similar build quality (maybe slightly better) than the HB Deluxe line. Keep me updated on you decision and how you like your new guitar :)
@@MassiveSoundProductions EX-401 I think it's made in Korea, at least that is saying decoding the serial that is on the picture of the back of the headstock from Thomann website :) Even so, the HB white one will be in stock in some months and I have to wait a bit for it and for the 401 I still need a bit more money so I have to wait for any of those. But yes, the ex-84 is really atractive and if it would be on stock I couldn't resist and buy it, especially when I have an EMG HET set coming my way and it would be nice to get them on it, but, until a EX will be in my possesion, I will put them in my Jackson Warrior.
@@SebastianZub I tried to google where the EX 401 is made of and from what I found it seems to be from Indonesia like the HB. From what I remember some of the LTD 400 line guitars where made in Korea in the past but I believe the whole 400-line has been moved to Indonesia. If this is really the case I would most likely go for the HB which is a great guitar for its money. I put a HET set into mine as well btw ;)
sounds good, nice review! guitars don't have input jacks btw, they're output jacks, just an fyi
Thanks for your feedback Rick!
I want this shit😍🔥
Thank you for the video, i have a question: how is the neck? How does it feel?
Thanks Nikitas for your comment! It is definitely a bit thicker than the neck on the Amarok or the Agufish and the glossy finish also feels different to the wooden one of the previously mentioned guitars. If you like very slim necks I would probably look into a different guitar but if you like some wood in your hands it's a good option.
im a little bit confused? and i hope u can help me out here.
I bought this guitar bcuz i saw the little quick unboxing on Agufish's channel, the nice yellow aged white look was the biggest reason why i wanted that guitar, but mine is exactly like yours almost normal white with just a tiny little hint of yellow when it hits the right lightning and definitely not that heavy aged white look like in Agufish's video or even their pictures on their website.. why? is she gettin more yellow over time? i wanted it to be aged white from the start and not in a couple of years, lol.
I think thats something to do with the paint they use.... I remember hearing about a paint company in the UK getting sued because their white paint or primer kept turning yellow after a few months for no reason.
I cant explain it in detail because i dont know why but its something to do with the additives or other chemicals they mix with the paint that makes it change colour when it comes into contact with the air.
if youre concerned then i suggest you contact Thomann and have them look into it.
Agree with you, I also preferred the original advertised aged look but the white one they have now is also nice. It seems they changed two, three things (e.g. the label on the headstock) from preproduction to the final model.
@@MassiveSoundProductions love this guitar, it plays and sounds beautiful, but now im even more upset that its not the actual advertised color scheme that i expected... i contacted thomann, they not answered me yet, im curious how they gonna explain this.
@@YureK___ Did the same and no reply yet. Will keep you updated when I hear back from them.
@@MassiveSoundProductions they answered me and said that Agufish's guitar is a prototype and they changed the color..
for reasons i cannot understand bcuz the color was literally perfect..
You should have bought the ex76, it has a beautiful wood finish with 3 control knobs instead of two, and gold hardware and only about 50 euro more.
Dragan, it was a tough decision between these two, but in the end I wanted the modern look with no pickguard over the traditional one
Did you make a mistake at 3:37 by saying the neck is bolt-on?
@Massive Sound Productions nice "bolt-on neck", man XDDD
Its NOT a bolt on neck on this guitar. Look at 4:10 in the video. What is he talking about?
thanks Semyon for correcting it. I mixed it up (English obviously isn’t my first language). It of course is a set in neck!! Thanks again!
@@MassiveSoundProductions ja man hört es😂
@@kingstring853 It's a feature, not a bug 😜
I’ll be back!
How is the balance with a strap? Does it want to neck-dive?
Hi David, unfortunately yes. It might be because my Ex is very lightweight, but due to it's smaller body it might generally tend to be a bit more neck heavy
We're do you get all your money can I have one of those kick ass amplifiers
A lot of hard work and I still drive my old car ;)
Should I get this one or the SC-1000 (im a beginner)
Hi Odin, they are both great guitars for money. A beginner I would probably advise a bit more into the single cut (Les Paul) or Strat direction as these guitars are in my view a bit more comfortable to play. If I were you i would get as my first guitar the SC-1000 or an Fusion pro :)
Massive Sound Productions Thanks for the answer !
I didnt knew the Explorer cut was less confortable to play thank you :)
I heard the HBZ pups had a loud hum is that true ?
And I have a last question, is the Boss katana mini a nice amp ? Id like to play different genre (especially metal) :)
@@odindouteaux2283 The HB Pickups are good enough to start with. Personally I'm more of a fan of passive pickups like installed in the Fusion Pro models but both will be fine for a start.
Unfortunately I dont know the Boss Katana mini but I heard great things from the bigger brother, the standard Boss Katana combos.
Is this guitar smaller than the usual explorer ?
yes
how tall are you? the guitar seems abit small on you for an explorer
6.3 feet, so not a short guy ;). Size-wise I would compare it to a Jackson Kelly
I think Agufish in his review mentioned that the body is smaller than the classic explorer shape
@@Vitols666 That's true. It has a similar size to the Chapmans, Solars and Jacksons
Does it play good?
Playability is fine. I will always prefer a strat or les paul type of guitar but it's still good. Only con is, mine is a bit neck heavy.
Guitar looks too small?
Similar to allot of other companies (e.g. Chapman) they reduced the overall size of the Explorer to save money and to improve the handling.
Its whiter than the prototype :/
Sad but true. I also like the pure white one but I would have preferred the aged white look. I asked Thomann about this and they replied that they changed it for their final production run.
Lionel Messi plays guitar ?
Well he has to some way to deal with the frustration he has to about whatever the hell is going on at Barca right now