I'm Sending The Harley Benton Back
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- čas přidán 21. 12. 2022
- In a previous video I bought a Harley Benton TE90FLT. I'm having some problems. It doesn't seem to be a bad guitar, but it has a problem that renders it almost useless :(
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Harley Benton is about to send their entire catalog of guitars to KDH out of pure fear of an Audio Audit
RESULT!
lol they are now all sweating in fear
@Der_Mantie yes they are
Tbh, the type of people who buy these guitars probably don't even watch CZcamsrs like KDH. They are targeted to kids, new players or people who just want a guitar to learn a couple songs
No they won't
We all know they are crap!
Just don't buy them.
I bought a similar T style Harley Benton from Thomann earlier this year. There was a large hole in the box before I even opened it, which translated to a very large indentation in the back of the body. It's about the size of a thumbprint. I did not return it, simply because I'm partially lazy, and I also live in America so it would take another couple weeks at least for a new one. That guitar now has new pickups and has been named Holey Shit.
To be fair, that could be the fault of the shipping company and could happen to any brand.
@@j_c_93 absolutely. It probably was the courier. I didn't really have a point to make I guess. *Shrugs*
@@sixsix8six No problem man. I gotcha
I tried to return one that was awful, and they just let me keep it since shipping it back would have been too expensive. So I got a free shitty Harley Benton
@@sixsix8six > I didn't really have a point to make I guess.
But I guess the courier *did* have a point, and drove that point directly into the box. :)
It’s crazy how different the sponsored reviews are from the unsponsored ones.
Bingo 🛎🛎🛎🛎
Imagine that
Duds happen, just because he happened to get one doesn't mean all of them are. Also as KDH states : it is 180€, you kinda get what you pay for. The lower the price, the worse QC gets and chance of duds go up as a result.
Hell nah, i think generally HB guitars are 50/50 you can get a decent one with small issues or some shitty wooden stick. Happens to us all the time in our guitar shop in Czech Republic.
Tbf, its the luck of the draw when buying instruments (especially really cheap ones) online without being able to play and inspect them firsthand.
I'm not paid by Harley Benton and I got a JB-75 from them in october and I love it l. Shit luck and that model might just suck arse 🤷♂️
This guitar was built to capture the very sensual experience of guitar rubbing. ASMR Edition Harley Benton
😓
Don't give them ideas.
That's a pretty cool guitar. Glenn Fricke from Spectre MusicGroup has done some videos with Harley Benton. He did sort of an anonymous buy so that he would get the same experience as a non youtuber. The guitar had issues. He also had that sound problem with another that had a painted bridge that wasn't allowing the ground wire to transmit across it.
Glenn was a little bit harsher with his vocabulary than KDH haha
Must be a newer video...because back when I watched Dude, he was non stop "Harley Benton is the best thing ever!". Guess they stopped paying him or lowered the rates.
I appreciate the lengths to which you go to be transparent and keep everyone updated. Your honesty and integrity don’t go unnoticed. Thanks for voicing your opinions and concerns, not just with this video but in all of them, and keep up the good work. Because of you I’ve been able to make more informed decisions about where my next piece of gear comes from and for that I am very grateful.
My first guitar was a Harley Benton Les Paul copy, it was great and I had no issues. But a few years later, I bought a Rickenbacker bass copy which I had to get a replacement for because of the pickups not working correctly. It’s unfortunate that the QC can be like that sometimes, but hopefully the replacement will be all okay
To be fair, real Ricks are just as spotty lol
Ha, I had pretty much the same experience; bought a Les Paul Jr. clone which was fine (had a grounding issue but I was planning on replacing the electronics anyway) and later bought the Rick Bass clone which was unplayable. I got it working but it wasn't easy, had to go medieval on it with the drill just to get new strings on. Thing is, these problems are easily fixeable; if they can do a good job with the fretwork and such it should be no problem to do the easy stuff like check to see if the electronics even work.
Harley Bentons are hit or miss. I got lucky with mine, it's great. I play it more than all my more expensive guitars.
I'm excited to see what you do with the new one in a video! I've had these on my radar for a while
I bought a Harley Benton bass three years ago, the music man copy with the two big active pickups. Played well for a bit then just kept cutting out until it just wouldn't produce sound anymore. Opened it up and one of the cables were badly soldered and was just holding together by a slight strand. Resoldered it myself and it slaps, actually such a lovely sounding and feeling machine but heard a few similar stories about electronics with them!
I've had one Harley Benton guitar which I've made several videos about. It was marketed as a "lightning fast shred guitar" even though it has a really fat chunky neck profile and super tiny frets. Basically the opposite of what it should be. All I got from the company was an email saying "sorry." I'll never waste my money on that brand again.
Just bought a fusion III t-style and I am really in love with the guitar, it came with zero flaws, only the frets could be a bit more polished
It seems like a lot of these types of brands in this price point are more "luck of the draw" these days... I've worked on a few HBs over the last few years and most of them were pretty decent given the price. They are good guitars to upgrade if you're to get into repair/mod work. That being said, you're totally right to send this one back. Even that side dot would make me send it back.... I get being a bit off when drilling, or maybe even slight tear our but that should have been sold as a blemish/b-stock lol. Anyways, looking forward to seeing more videos once you get a good one. Cheers!
That's the problem with these types of Brand in General. They are Billed as "Quality Guitars Cheaper than the Other Guy"...but the "other guy" sells the Guitar Harley Benton Copied for a similar Price Point. You can get pretty slick Schecters for the same price point (bought my friend a Brand New C6 for only $175, and that's American so less than the Harley Benton in this video that was 170 Euros).
There is just no reason to buy the Knock Off when The Real Thing is the same price. It's like buying Store Brand Mac and Cheese, the Kraft Box is the same price
@@justinlast2lastharder749 totally agree! Over the last few years the big names have stayed pretty competitive. I'd take the Schecter over the HB any day lol.
It seems like standards have started to slip, I was looking at a bit of an off-the-wall Harley Benton last week, but was put off by recent reviews being beset with issues. They do need to get it under control really because their stock in trade is mythical bang for buck, if the bang isn’t there it doesn’t matter how little the buck is
Don't wish to be a grumpy owd sod,but? Y'know!
Harley bentons stock in trade, is looky likey for beginners
The "bang for your buck " ethos i'm afraid, is purely marketing
If you like 'em? Enjoy!
Would you buy "affordable " condoms?
@@glennlilley8608 if it is marketing alone Glenn, then they’ve done a very good job of it because most people seem to be willing to participate and to promulgate that myth.
I’ve never owned one so certainly can’t speak from experience, but CZcamsrs I trust as inherently unbiased, such as John Robson Guitar for example, have had no complaints.
I’m not sure the condom analogy really applies - no I wouldn’t but it’s a question of what’s at stake isn’t it, would I buy cheap bread if I’m just making toast? Certainly - but I still wouldn’t expect raw dough in the pack!
I have their '52 tele and the finish and parts for the price, are amazing. The pickups aren't great but they aren't microphonic. The pickups arent why I bought it. I knew I was already swapping them out. I bouoght it to mod. I swapped the bridge for a brass saddles ash tray, fender pickups, bone nut and locking tuners. It's like the old saying, 'if you replace the handle of a broom, then the head, is it stil the same broom?' I knew what I was getting into. So I am super happy.
I paid $149 for my Monoprice Tele and it beats that by miles. It was perfect out of the box. Not even finish flaws. No setup needed. I tuned up and have been playing it the last 4 months.
And the funny part is those are made by the same company that made mine. Mine came with Wilkinson pickups and bridge, as well. Solid ash body. They're awesome guitars.
They can QC that guitar at $179. The one I bought gets a complete set up by a professional luthier before it's shipped to the customer. AT $149 USD. Don't make excuses for companies that put out crappy guitars. If Monoprice can do it, so can everyone else.
It's nice to know that the finish is high quality. Fingers crossed that you get a hassle-free replacement and it doesn't suffer from any issues.
From what I've seen and experienced with thomann they're amazing and they take returns back hassle free
@@thepatterpatrol26 Awesome
I bought this same model in the blonde finish...I had no problems of any kind...I adored the pickups, they sounded very much like my Gretsch rockabilly guitar. I had an extra tele neck and I replaced it with no problem (I just couldn't stand that reverse headstock) After that, my brother bought a Prince tele and a red strat with gold hardware from them and they were both great deals.
My mind boggles imagining what Tom Morello could do with that guitar
He just makes all his usual crazy noises but with his mouth 🤣
It's the pickups. I bought a second hand of the same version. There was very little I has to do to set it up. The Roswell were pretty good sounding. It was probably a one-off.
i had bought the 8 string fanfret just to have something to mess around with as my first 8 string. it actually arrived just fine to the us, no damage to the body. just needed the slightest setup. the pickups are less than ideal for my playing but it's a great budget extended range guitar.
I have a Harley Benton Explorer and I have to say for the money it's great. I may upgrade the pickups at some point but it came with Grover locking tuners which was impressive. A friend of mine has a Harley Benton DC Junior that he bought 2nd hand for 99 quid and a few of us fought over who wanted it. it was really that good! When the price is that low on a new guitar you have to expect that some of what comes out of the factory will be duds but overall I think they are pretty good.
I’d seen some of Jamie Slays video with the HB Explorer and it looked and sounded exceptional for the price point. I almost considered one for myself. It does seem to get general praise!
I recently saw a Luthier setting up a 'Fusion 111' ( not their cheapest model) and with a little TLC it was bloody impressive. Still reluctant to buy any guitar without playing it first though, for reasons you've stated.
I have two electric harley benton one is a cheap 7 string and the other one is a ''discontinued'' pro fusion guitar (they like do pro fusion 3 now) and both of them play amazingly, both of them have very unnoticable finishing flaws on them, but they both still play fine and I still use them til' this day. Also the fusion came with a floyd 1000 and for the price it was a steal. I can dive bomb all day and do Dimebag stuff and it keep its tuning.
The Fusion line seems to have more issues than other lines by HB… I’ve heard a lot of folks complain about various issues with this model. Obviously being Microphonic is something you can’t overlook…
That said, I’ve got a TE-20HH that I absolutely love… The guitar had great bones to be modded, and for the price it’s hard to beat… Pickups were a tad weak but I was planning on replacing those anyway. Definitely sucks that you got a dud man, hopefully the next one is on point
My fusion iii emg rocks. Love the thing.
Had something somewhat similar, I ordered a Harley Benton active cab and it arrived unusable as it kept blowing fuses as soon as it was switched on so had to send back, thankfully 2nd one worked fine but an absolute pain.
I've been looking on and off at the cream SG with triple humbuckers. It's around this price. Still hasn't put me off.. and maybe this video will improve their QC. Cheers KDH
That side dot would annoy the absolute fuck out of me
Love the hoodie!
If I never saw a Harley Benton video again, it wouldn't hurt my feelings.
I wish Thomann would do a QC in house on every guitar. But they don't. I talked to them about that and they told me, if i'm not satisfied with the guitar i could send it back and get another one. But i wanted an inspected guitar and not sending back guitar after guitar till i get a good one.
I bet you'll get a new one, Thomann has a very good return/money back policy. There has to be a real circuit flaw in your guitar.
I own an early prototype of the first run of this guitar and i had no pickup problems at all. I put some Gretsch Filtertrons in first and now have the Roswell's back in, because there is almost no difference in tone.
I'm very happy with the guitar, it was sold as a "decoration" object for 50€. I worked a bit on the neck pocket and the pickup routes.
I did lot's of modifications over the years, Bigsby, tuners, electronics, Variotone rotary switch.
Now it's an excellent playing guitar wich a one piece body for very little money.
I agree, I got a jem jr, it’s only good up to the twelfth fret, had it intonated 3 times, d and g strings kept losing tuning. The pickups are slanted for no reason, when I took it apart the springs weren’t even on the pickups, just holding on by the magnet. There’s more issues but I had gotten the guitar almost a year ago when I first started playing. Now I use it to have fun with, but it won’t be used in recordings or anything like that. I got 2 schecters, one c-1 platinum fr/s and a c-1 hellraiser fr. Both guitars are perfect, I truly can’t get over how good emg pickups are. No fret issues, no intonation issues.
Glenn Frikker and a few others have been having similar issues with Harley Benton's recently. It's sad i love both of my HB"s they have been perfect
Check the ground wire on the output jack. Them the ground wires to your pots and if that fails check to make sure
the bridge is properly grounded. It might just be a ground wire and easily fixable.
Yeah, sure. Shouting through pick-up comes through the amp and it's "a grounding issue". Idiot.
Yeah, it might not be a QC issue, the groundwire might have been knocked loose in shipping
RIGHT.
I have been on at Thomann for MONTHS about a Fusion III and a Cort that do exactly the same thing. They don't believe me. I sent them both back for repair, claimed they couldn't find anything wrong and sent them back. It's not resolved yet but the story gets worse.
I am glad to see someone else is having this happen as well because it's not me being stupid.
Bummer man. I got a few harleys without any issues with them. In fact for the price point very nice. My Cst-24t is really nice playing, sounding and well finished
NOOOOOOO I was waiting for this video!
Interesting. It seems like the Achilles' heels of HB guitars seem to be the pickups. Glenn Fricker from SMG had 2 different guitars with pickup issues, one with the pickups mixed, and one with grounding errors. Hope your next one ends up better
I think that's pretty accurate actually.
I have three HB's, because I do really like a lot of what they do, and the specs for the money are kinda ridiculous. One is their cheap 7 string, that has pretty muddy pickups, they're not bad but it being a 7 string really exposes that issue more.
Another I got recently is a Fusion III (with the Roswell's), the humbucker in the bridge position has completely stopped working, it sends a signal but barely. And that signal now has a loud hiss just after you hit the strings like someones playing maracas with you.
The third is an older model from when they used Wilkinson pickups, and what do you know it sounds great and has no issues...
Thanks for this "Mystery Customer" video! I was just wondering what "Little Johnny" might do if he got a guitar with the same problem! The Fusion caught my eye but I think I'm giving it a miss, at least for now!
Love your hoodie.
I personally have a Les Paul copy from Harley Benton and it's a good guitar. The guitar has a few minor cosmetic issues from factory, which doesn't matter now it's two years old, but it seems that it's the luck of the draw as to what you get.
I love that you are wearing a cobra Kai hoodie it’s funny because I’m currently watching it lol
And this is why I got a squier affinity
I've got 3 HB's and they are all really good.
I would record all vocals on my black metal project through that pickup!
I had one of those a while ago, and it was perfectly fine. That doesn't mean there aren't duds though. I've had two other Harley Bentons that I've had to send back and get a new one because of some issue. Fortunately, they seem to make sure (to a somewhat high degree) that the replacement is okay. Sending it back to get a new one doesn't cost anything either (at least if you live in Europe) so it's more of an annoyance.
I recently bought an LTD EC256 that had the same exact issue
I've owned probably 30+ guitars, and this was the first time I've ever had any guitar, let alone a new one straight up require a pickup swap out of the box. Tone knob also surprisingly had a lot of play in it too
That was going to be My next buy Thank You! What color and any other issues?
Those were the only issues, and I got it in purple. After a pickup swap and fret level it is an amazing guitar. But for the price you're probably better off looking for a used EC 401 or EC 1000@@adamstein9333
Probably gonna want to replace those pickups anyways but definitely understand why you wanna send it back.
I’ve had 4 (still own 3 of those) Harley Benton’s and they’re all great. Even the super cheap bass (of course, it’s great relative to the price, I hear that paying the extra 40 bucks for the next tier makes a huge difference). The action of that bass is a bit rough though.
Edit: I should add that none of my instruments have these pickups. I had a tele copy with the classic tele config. Now I have an electro acoustic, can’t remember the name, the CST24HB and the bass is their cheapest jazz bass copy and I have none of these issues but I did forget a detail about the bass before the bass. The ground isn’t great, sometimes it can get loud if you’re not touching the strings or bridge, other times it’s fine haha, super unreliable in that sense buuuuut it is a super cheap bass and it’s an easy fix but I rarely play the bass so I’ve been to lazy to fix it
Wow! The new Harley Benton guitar shaped microphone. 😆
Ahhh! The Harley Benton curse. With any HB guitar you get shipped to you, you will find at least one thing wrong. Usually cosmetic. I got one with a huge chunk taken out of the box. The actual guitar had a blemish in it from what ever hit it took, but sending it back just wasnt worth my time for a $200 guitar. I do love HB guitars though. My Les Paul Jr special knock off HB guitar really didnt have anything wrong with it when I got it. I was very surprised
Hi kdh, new subscriber but I've seen enough of your content to know you're a decent guy so I'm now subscribed. Its the Chapman content that hooked me, you showed a high level of integrity and the journalism was accurate, so kudos to you, I like any fan of chappers at that point was surprised at these accusations but even more surprised to find out there real, the truth is all that matters, so thank you. BTW, 2 more things, No1. Love the content, love the channel. No2. I've just bought a harley benton fusion 2, so hope it arrives with a better experience than yours. Thanks again.
I've bought a guitar and an amp from Harley Benton and haven't had one bit of bother yet they get the job done for me and I'm happy with them
I have a Harley Benton fretless bass. It sounds great. Feels a little cheap, but the tone is good on it. For the price you're paying, it's way better than you'd think it would be. I'm not a religious Harley Benton convert like some people, but for the price, they're not terrible and great guitars for a beginner or someone looking to save a little cash on their next guitar purchase. That being said, I've heard mixed things recently about quality, so I wouldn't say they're amazing across the board. I just know what I know from my own purchase.
Love the sweater
Reminds a bit of a MIK Ibanez RG320 I had many years ago. The pickups had bad 60-cycle hum and sounded twangy, and it was a HH configuration. I thought it was a grounding initially, but the solder was stable from what I could see.
Took it to a repair joint, apparently the pickups had been soldered incorrectly so they were stuck in coil-tap mode.. and that was a $400 axe. 😂
It’s all purely a gamble nowadays. I ordered one of the new Shoreline Gold Contemporary Squier Telecasters where the bridge was installed wrong, and I bought one of those Donner DMT-100 that came pretty much flawless.
I have an HB35 plus, a dreadnaught acoustic and a jazz bass from Harley Benton - all good really. Bass needed fretwork as did the acoustic but for 79 euros it's a steal. HB35 is genuinely nice, I bought pickups for it but not sure whether I really to need to change out the originals or not.
Loved the sound check, check, check…
I never had a Harley Benton. I did buy a JS32 Randy Rhoads with a Floyd Rose from Thomann earlier this year and it's fine. Quite good for the 360 ish €uro I paid. Recently though, I bought a cheap classical guitar from Thomann. It arrived with the bridge broken and the nut not attached to the guitar. I sent it back and got a replacement. There was rust on the wound strings of the replacement and the nut was a bit dodgy. There was also a minor chip knocked off the headstock but I didn't mind that because that doesn't affect the playability. I replaced the strings and it tuned up fine so I didn't send it back. While Thomann can send out some dodgy equipment to their customers, I find their customer service to be pretty good. Edit: they sent the original broken guitar by standard post but the replacement was sent by ups.
The update!
I have that exact model in the yellow/red finish. About 12 months old. It doesn't exhibit this problem at all. The pickups are fantastic! Pretty much what I bought it for.
Mine is flawless to.have a white one
I'll stick with my IYV's for budget guitars, haven't been let down once yet.
I’ve had three of those blasts. One for me and two for friends. Haven’t had that issue at all!
I have an earlier one in white. No problems either. It's a bad batch of pick-ups and the replacement could be the same.
That’s a bummer, I’ve got a few of these Harley Benton guitars and had them shipped to Ireland & haven’t had any issues to date. Just luck of the draw I guess. looking forward to the update 👍🏼
I guess they should put it in the percussion section after this.
Those pickups are hilarious!
A friend bought a Harley Benton Les Paul 3 weeks ago.
The neck got the Gibson Symptom.
A big crack around the headstock WITHOUT BEING DROPPED!
The strings arrived snapped too. Great deal.
I'm glad that I somewhat recommend him to get a fresh pack on the side but that wasn't knowing what was to happen to this guitar's neck.
But I gotta say, I feel awful recommending him this guitar cause I thought they were good.
Now he has to send it back for replacement after a week of discussing with the customer service. I can tell you we were both disappointed, especially after personally buying 3 different Harley Benton guitars that were really good.
I've had Chinese knockoffs that were far better.
50/50 is about right. I've purchased 2, returned 1. Luckily the return process is so simple (at least here in the EU/UK) it's worth taking a punt as - if you get a good one - they're great guitars for the price.
If like me, you're intending on altering the guitar once you get it delivered, noisy pickups are a non-issue. I got a $160 guitar expecting a piece of firewood with pickups and tuning machines, I am still surprised at what $160 got me. I got $50 worth of low price Amazon parts to replace the stock stuff and it's well worth the still around $200 I got into it.
I was actually delaying my order on Thomann to see your review because I wanted a tele-style HB. Now I know my order won't have one.
Harley Benton are not the only ones to make guitars with microphonic pickups.
I tried to buy a Cort G290 FAT a few years ago, i was shocked when even at lower volumes
strange ringing sounds were affecting every string i played.
The dealer only had two samples to choose from, and both had the same issue.
Several months later, this issue was highlighted in CZcams reviews and comments.
If Thomann send a replacement, my fear is that it will have the same issue.
Back to the drawing board for this guitar.
Evil KDH be liek: *I’m having a wonderful day with all of you*
This has also been my experience with Harley Benton guitars as well. The hype in the other reviews is maybe a little BS. This is not a one off , some quality mini humbuckers is what this guitar needs . Best of luck , I like your attitude on this issue.
Especially the more special looking ones are mostly perfect mod platforms.
But at the end of the day thomann staff is lovely, give them a notice and they will fix the problem.
I had one problem with one of the five hb‘s I had and they send me a new one that was even perfectly set up (idk if that was a special treat) and had no problems.
In short:
Tell them when there is a problem and they will fix it for free, even if it is only a 120€ guitar
Be nice to them and they will be nice to you
Ah bad luck there. Let's hope the inconvenience is sending out back well be worth it.
I had some QC issues with my HB guitar. Luckily, mine were all very small, I had a loose truss rod, loose pots/knobs and a loose pickup selector. It was a terrible unboxing experience, as I had to go through and fix these problems immediately, but everything else about the guitar was good and functioning normally. I wrote to Thomann about the experience and they were quick to reply with an apology. I got a 'high-end' HB the SC Custom Plus (LP style with EMG pickups), so for 570 Euro, it was a real disappointment as far as unboxing goes, but I have heard a lot of stories like this. The specs that they offer players are fantastic, but they really need to dial in their QC if they want to thrive and grow.
The pickups and bridge/strings aren't grounded. Cheapest and quickest fix is to just open the cavity and fix the grounding. 10 minute job if it's just a solder joint thats come loose, or maybe 30 min if you need to make a grounding connection to the bridge as well.
I ordered the same guitar but in green for my trip to Germany just for something to play while I’m here, and my frets weren’t dressed, I had the pickup issues and ALSO if you take of the pickguard you will actually find that the chambered body is actually just a hole under the pickguard lol. Your guitar is not a one-off
There are so many nuances to pickup microphonics! In some cases its desirable but these ones clearly have a major issue, I assume they skipped the wax potting stage when they are obviously designed to be wax potted. If you want to get into detail you don't have to wax pot as long as all the parts are mounted solidly so that there's no major internal vibrations. A small amount of microphonics can be desirable if the effect is EQ'd correctly, yes you can EQ the microphonic frequencies by using different materials. This is why a set of PAF replicas can cost a lot more than modern humbuckers, a lot of trial and error, research and expensive obsolete materials goes into getting the microphonic effect just right.
Yeah, I've had Amber - Spirit of 59 pickups in a Maybach guitar once. Those aren't wax potted and are like $450 a set.
Best PAF style pickups I've ever had. It's like you said, that small amount of microphonics made them have that little extra.
@@raytorvalds3699 Wow, funny you should mention Amber. Do you know know the Doug and Pat show? They do a lot of PAF shoot-outs against they're 58 gold top and '60 burst Les Pauls. They demo'd the Amber spirit of 59 a while back and I have just sent them a set of my version of the 57 PAF to go up against the 58 gold top (early 58,but a 57 model called Oscar) I have done a lot of research on Amber pickups, I thought they were amazing and so did Doug and Pat so I've actually incorporated some of their methods. I think they're amazing pickups and soon we can compare them directly to my PAF replicas.
@@murrayguitarpickups9545 Yeah, I do know Doug and Pat. Love those guys. I do know Oscar, the gold top too. But for sure, Amber are amazing pickups.
Looking forward to seeing them demoing your pickups!
Also, Merry Christmas.
The bridge pickup looks unintentionally wonky too 😅
Funny how you called the look of the side dot marker "a smudge"... I'm actually wondering if when they were buffing it, that inlay was a little proud of the wood of the neck, and it began to melt, and smudged into the clear coat? Hmmm. Bummer about the microphonic pickups. Looking forward to seeing it be sorted out. Best of luck and happy holidays!
Glad I picked up the Amarok with EMGs, that's equal parts hilarious and irritating.
Fair play for being rational about the low cost QC process though, it's a balancing act for sure.
I bought the EX84 with EMG's and it's honestly/luckily a great guitar.. but I would hope so considering it's one of thomann's higher end model guitars.
That entire finish looks like a finish flaw my bro 😂
So glad I steered away from harley when I was buying my last guitar. I was going to buy one of their high end models when I got spooked off by some videos similar to this one here. And I ended up going w a classic vibe squier and just did pickup and tuner upgrades and it's turned out to be a killer players guitar. I don't care what anyone says when you get the to the classic vibe series of squiers their necks play and feel just as well as American fender. They just need a few hardware and electronics upgrades and they can be amazing!
Returns are free for HB in Europe. American consumer laws aren't that good so any problems they'd probably just refund some money.
Classic vibes are well known bang for buck. Harley bentons are usually bought cause people want certain high end features or replicas, if you want a strat, get a strat. I got old of looking at strats.
This reminds me of that one you tube that always does the harley benton reviews in a studio.
You can just call Andrew out directly it's okay
Glenn Fricker Smg Studios
@@darksu6947 oh
I plan on replacing the pickups and pots anyway on my Harley BS-20BK most likely with Fishmans Fluence pickups and a possible Sustainiac in the future
Hey! I usually think you make really good content, and are a good opposite pole to a lot of other CZcamsrs! But I don't think your point here is valid or makes sense. I understand that a lot of guitarists, especially modern metal players might not want microphonic pickups. But a lot of people actually like it, a lot. I am one of those. My best sounding guitar is a 1972 Hagström Viking and the pickups in that guitar has almost no magnetism left. It is sensitive to feedback, yes. But you can work around it. I play a Sunn Model T (Reissue) amp with fuzz and distortion, pretty loud. It took me weeks to get it to work the way I wanted it. I have to be careful where I put my amp in the rehearsal room, and when we play live, and at some venues it doesn't work, but in most cases it does. I think this is one of the reasons why vintage guitars are so hyped in some circles. The pickups has "aged" and are more microphonic than most modern ones, to me it sounds more natural, dynamic, and the guitar actually matters (tonewood etc.)
But, yes, I also understand that in this case it's cheap pickups, and they might not have been constructed to be microphonic, but still, it doesn't necessarily mean the pickups are broken, or bad. It's just a different kind of flavour, and either you like it or not.. Unless it's specified that they are wax potted and shouldn't be microphonic. Then it's a different story.
And it's not something that is commonly mentioned or talked about, neither in product specs or reviews. Which is weird, and could for sure be discussed, because it might be a problem since you may expect something else (like in this case) So it's cool that you're bringing it up, but calling it broken and useless is not fair or right IMO.
Cheers!
Finally the guitar for a singer!
Love the shirt, dude! I've heard great things about HB, but then I heard that it can be hit and miss. As a Tele...phile ( I hate to use that suffix for obvious reasons) I would think I's love that guitar. The finish is awesome, but the second you plugged int in... 😬...and it just got worse. If I ordered one, being in the U.S., sure I would would probably just swap the pickups, but nah, you definitely need to send that thing back. That's beyond unacceptable. And the grounding sounds jacked up. Friggin Rosswell, too? inexcusable. 😔
I do wonder if the QC has been getting a little patchier lately. I got my first HB a week ago, the ST-20 active strat, and it was riddled with issues. Neck break angle was so high it was impossible to get the action to a nice level, adjustment screws were stripped on the saddle, nut was way too high and ofc the infamous grounding issue hum was present and correct. After shimming the neck and replacing a few parts it's a fantastic guitar and I didn't really mind as it was always planned to be a mod project, but if I was some kid getting it for their first guitar I would've been devastated, out of the box it was borderline unplayable.
I'd replace the pickups anyway. I'm not a fan of microphonic pickups. But the guitar is lovely. Glenn made a great choice!
Lol I'd consider buying them
I have 7 HBs. All a bit higher price range than this Tele. All are good. Two were B stock and had zero flaws. I think some people order a few and send back the ones they don't particularly like as it's very easy to do returns with them. Looking at reviews, it is entirely possible I've just been lucky. I'm currently waiting for a Gator case from Thomman, ordered three weeks ago and apparently still with the courier. Christmas rush I 'spose.
Ta.
I’ve come to learn that cheap brands normally have super crazy variables in QC.
Bought a Harley Benton SC Custom Les Paul modern 4½ years ago. On a par with Epiphone, but was far better priced, shipping was reasonable and all in all, it was very decent for the $. I didn't like the Roseacer fretboard much, but it was the height of anti-Rosewood CITES enforcement before alternatives like Pau Ferro, Laurel and Jatoba had become de rigueur. Fretboard is fine to play, but the stain wears off easily. With the increase in prices and a whopping increase in International shipping & potential issues with returns from so far away, Harley Benton has lost its lustre as a viable brand for me.
I got a Harley Benton st style guitar, but I bought it knowing I would be replacing all the electronics anyways. Not because I assumed they would be bad but because I had a plan for the guitar.
I bought HB TE-90 FLT SB B- stock few years ago. When it arrived all seems good, string attack, intonation, everything until I plug it in amp. It was totally silent. Probably check it acoustically, but never plug it in. Reason was one "cold" soldering that I fixed. After that it was great for couple years, but noe it's sileny again. About year ago I bought HB TE- 90 Orange Blast and it was great, now it is silent too. Maybe someday I try to fix them. I own many Harley Benton guitars and basses and they are good, but these two are not.
I could fix it but if its brand new I just shouldn't have to ! I would do the same send it back for a replacement if I got another that was the same way , give me my money back .. That Model is kinda cool looking and the neck looked fast .
I once pick up the football games coming out my amp. I lol real hard for I was not expecting that.
The kicker is that you could say “well, I’ll just throw in some decent pickups” but that’s almost impossible to do with a guitar like this that had “non standard pickups”