Harley Pimpton SC550 Super Mod - taking it from €249 to €1600
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 09. 2017
- This is a super silly project... doesn't mean it isn't worth doing!
We are doing everything to this SC550 Paradise Flame that can be done to make it a top of the line guitar... how good can an inexpensive Chinese guitar get???
Thanks to Rudi and the whole team !
Gear from this video at Sweetwater:
REVV - imp.i114863.net/0aL4M
Here is tons of stuff I use in my videos...
imp.i114863.net/gd0RA
Current LIMITED TIME deals:
imp.i114863.net/c/2225674/796...
Here are some links to Thomann...
Harley Benton SC550 Paradise Amber Flame
www.thomann.de/de/harley_bent...
Fishman Fluence Classic Set
www.thomann.de/de/fishman_flu...
Plek Job
www.thomann.de/de/thomann_ple...
ABM Bridge
www.thomann.de/de/abm_2504n_b...
ABM Stoptail
www.thomann.de/de/abm_3020ca_...
Revv Generator 7-40
www.thomann.de/de/revv_genera...
Torpedo Studio
www.thomann.de/de/two_notes_t...
here is a link to the AMPETE switcher:
www.musik-produktiv.de/ampete-...
Link to my Patreon account:
www.patreon.com/user?u=4423533
"Make sure to pick up a digital copy of my entire discography, both published and unpublished, at www.therecordlabel.net/progre..."
Gear from this video at Sweetwater:
REVV - imp.i114863.net/0aL4M
Here is tons of stuff I use in my videos...
imp.i114863.net/gd0RA
Current LIMITED TIME deals:
imp.i114863.net/c/2225674/796... - Hudba
Jeezus. Thomann's service department is more advanced that North Korea's Nuclear Program.
CentaurusRelax314 yeah,it is,but so is the line6 amp research
But all jokes aside,yes it is awesome
Nice place to work.
Does exactly tells me nothing, since Kim's Rocket Club is not doing that well
I dunno, I might be a bit of a brand snob. If I want a Strat or a Tele, I would get a Fender. If I wanted a V, I'd get a Jackson. If I wanted an Explorer, I'd get an ESP. If I wanted a Les Paul, I'd get a Harley Benton.
"If I wanted a Les Paul, I'd get a Harley Benton." SAVAGE.
Max Waters Lol cheeky, was waiting for you to say Gibson.
I first got suspicious at the V. Awesome takedown :)
Nah to be fair, Gibson Les Pauls aren't THAT bad. Just not as good as they used to be. Played my mate's 2008 Les Paul Studio and it was great but not worth the money.
Max Waters and if you want a D?
That's a totally worthwhile project, from what I've heard about Harley Benton you've probably got a better guitar than a $3000 Les Paul.
You just gained a subscriber...
"Does it make any sense?" "No"!
"Are we gonna do it"? "Yes"!!!
No other channel would do this, so Im not gonna miss out on the next silly shit you do. :>
Thanks
Yaaay
Loved this so much! My HB SC-550 II arrives on Monday! Can't wait to experiment with it!
Keep up the great work brother!
I watched your video from start to finish. Quality audio, quality videography and just very interesting all the way round. Good stuff!
**Hypnotizing beam** You want to send the Harley Pimpton to me!
No get a job..
@@rickeyryan303 You're not funny.
This is so interesting i'm using my cell data to watch
wow, always wanted a 2000$ harley benton)))
Maybe I'm the only one but I'm happy with the sc550 as is. All it needs is a $75 setup from a pro.
EpictheEpicest no.. me too. but i am talking the tobacco one which got different pickups. but i had the paradise sc550 and it was feel and soundwise also very good
75 ? Holy shit, does Merlin do the setup ?!
MrShadowofthewind cost of setup can vary by locale. Lower income areas will have techs and luthiers that charge less, barring their personal reputation and acclaim.
The guy I go to has a a very well-known reputation actually. Everyone goes to him, that's why he can charge a more reasonable price.
that's insane, i go to a guy who they call the Lord and he has been doing it for 47 years, he charges 25 bucks.. And he work is out of sight,it's insane what he can do..
You're a funny dude! Also this is so awesome, I love the idea of taking an inexpensive guitar and putting crazy work into it.
I do love this Video! Amazing work!
Watching that fret job was one of the most beautiful things I've watched in a long time.
The video was under 3 minutes and was like, "this is one of the BEST videos you've done!"
Great, would love to see more like it
Killer camera action man very professional give up the good work bro
Its nice to see you guys in Germany have the same problem as we do here in Canada putting the little thing in the big hole and getting the right sound out of it !!!!!!!!!!!
Once you were done with the mods I was super impressed!!
Jesus I watched 40 minutes it felt like 5 keep up with the good content man!!
I thought germans had no sense of humour.
You have blown that mistaken idea completely out of the water!
The project was very interesting and enlightening, the finished guitar was very beautiful.
Thanks for posting.
Great video.. Lots of work but fascinating to watch
Great stuff Henning! Ridiculous, but great! Could we expect some kind of a series on this topic? I think it would be great to see different videos with different type of HB models and possible, reasonable (or not, who likes reasonable anyways) mods/upgrades. Something like a guide to cheapos like me who want to make a TE-70 deluxe awesomeererer than a baja!
Anyways long comment is getting too long, cheers for the video!
Great video! The ultimate mod-job It looks like a Les Paul, smells like a Les Paul but definitely sounds like something else.
Upgraded mine after I fixed my Gibsons tuning stability and had to put another nut on it for thicker strings (upon Gibson recomentation when I asked them about the nut issue).
On my SC550 I went with the titanuim bridge from the Gibson LP Studio 2016, Gibson 498T/490R, Gibson pots and knobs, matching TAD orange caps, Switchcraft toggle switch and jack socket, Schaller strap locks and Grover tuners.
Original frets are good on my model and the orignal nut is good too, stays in tune and has no fretbuz anywhere at low string hight.
Compares well to the 2016 Gibson Studio that got an ABM roller bridge, TUSQ XL nut and Grover tuners, only difference between them is the neck feel, neck feels better on the Gibson, tuning stability is the same on both and tone... no one would be able to hear which is which in a blindtest, actually the HB sounded better than the Gibson until I made sure that the pole pieces where adjusted the same and removed the chrome covers on the Gibson.
Just got my new 4k OLED TV today and finally I understand what efforts you invest in the Quality of your Videos. It's just WOW!
Only sad thing is that I can no longer watch your channel at the toilet anymore, because it's just too small for the new TV :)
+SuperSyracus drag it in there... you can do it! Thanks for letting me know that it looks awesome! I spend a lot of effort on it!
Meh, easy fix. Just drag the toilet to the room where your TV is.
I would love to hear this up against a prs of similar value (including the cost of your upgrades)
Very nice to see. I am a beginner and did buy a Harley Benton guitar. Its nice to see I can make it better if I want.
Also its nice to se how good Thomann people are.
Also I enjoy you doing this.
Maybe a review on very low cost stuff for beginners. Even those multi effect pedals like Zoom G1on.
Thanks for a good work and funny videos.
I love your attitude Man ! I have pimped many a guitar over the years LOL
Very interesting video! Thank you
Count me in: GraphTech Ratio tuners should be on Thomann's menu.
Agreed; these are Boss!
www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ratio/locking-machine-heads/electric/3-3
This was highly enjoyable. Thanks for this. And am I thinking of getting a SC550 and loading it up with Fishmans? Yes. Yes I am.
Quality as always ....Superb !!!!!!!!!!!
Whoever is doing this soundtrack cool stuff.
Looks really cool. Love the silver.
BTW, except for the switches, I ordered everything from Thomann when upgrading my EpiLP.
I really love their everything.
I've also been considering getting a Freeway 6 way toggle switch and throwing in a piezo bridge just to confuse myself even further.
On the topic of Schaller, I can't say too much about the tuners but I use the Schaller strap locks on my guitars (much better IMO than Dunlop). The Schaller will hold even if the locking mechanism fails.
The Harley Benton copy of those locks is as good, only difference I found is that your getting 2 set of screws with Schaller beside supporting the inventor of that design.
Tried Dunlop and others alike, horrible design.
Thanks for the vid, pretty cool Man :)
Diggin that new camera, or filter, or whatever is going on at 34:02 and a little earlier too. Looks awesome.
I got this SC-550 HB guitar, too. the version with Roswell pickups and now I was able to get hold of some Gibson 2014 pickups. I was wondering if these Gibson pickups would be a nice upgrade for the HB SC-550. What do You think?
Great as always.
Of course,you could do all this.Hell,I have a PRS SE Tremonti Custom and an old,late 90's Yamaha Pacifica,which are both modded, beyond human regognition.The Yamaha has been turned into an Andy Timmons inspired Frankenstrat,basically only the body is original.
Or you could just just buy an Edwards L/P replica,new from Japan, for under 1000 Euro.A friend has the white Edwards L/P Custom and this guitar puts the ''real thing'' to shame,in every aspect.(S.Duncans,full thickness honduran mahagony,proper maple top,ebony fretboard,GOTOH hardware/tuners.)
I would rather like to see a blindfold test between a stock Harley Benton SC550 and a Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop and see how far would you be able to go in fooling people's misconceptions and hearing. How about that, for change?
YES! - it hasn't been done yet? for SHAME. Unabletons maybe ...but I dont play with clowns well. At least, a certain one. Bummage.
I have this exact model and finish Harley Benton and Gibson LP Standard and sorry but you can immediately hear a difference. I love the HB too but there is no comparison stock for stock.
@@michaelcosta7235 Ok.
Hey Henning. So what bone nut did you end up using with the ABM bridge. I dont see the link above.
Interesting you went for active pickups. That is probably why they do not sound like classic humbuckers. It could take out the variables like the volume and tone controls and the cable capacitance. Does the tone change when you reduce volume? Can you mix the pickups in the middle position or does turning 1 pu down kill the other?
Great conversion Henning but not sure about the pickups at all. Lot of hate for Gibson on here. My US LP 2013 Signature T is fantastic and you can get them used for £900 ish. Split colis, classic 57 pickups, what's not to like?
Amazing efforts there！
I agree. After the mod it's become 'modern' ...probably too modern for me. Anyway it depends on your preference.
I'm aware this video is a few years old, but I have a question. I had a correspondence with Fishman referencing this video and they told me there is no "voice 1 and 2" for single coil mode. Essentially single coil mode is voice 3. I know there have been revisions of these pickups but are you sure there actually is a difference when you pull the voice 1-2 toggle while on single coil mode? Or perhaps we hear a difference because we expect one... I'd much appreciate if you could do a quick test with the pimpton.
To be honest, I don't see that much of an improvement for the amount paid.
I mean sure, it sounds a tad better, but imagine that a DiMarzio/Seymour set would set you back 200 Eur, a pair of locking tuners would set you back 100-150 Eur, a bone/graphite nut would cost 50ish and a bridge 100. Spending 500 and you have a bad ass guitar, I don't see where the rest of the money went.
That pleck job (including refretting guitar with stainless steel frets) costs around 400 euro if I remember right.
I guess the extra money went in to the working hours. Because yeah the plek new frets, nut, tuners and bridge doesn't add up to 1300 €. And keep in mind that you could get a stainless steel refret and leveling for less than 400€, plek is expensive, and eh people were quite fine before the plek machine existed, a good luthier can do a very good leveling job the extra cost of pleking isn't necessarily justified.
What you can't hear is how the guitar now feels and plays and that Plek job is responsible for that. You also have to consider the work that went into it and that has to be paid for.
400 euros for stainless steel frets ? I expected way more, that's alot of work !
Luthier would refret the guitar with stainless frets for less, but plecking is a premium service if you want to call it, so it bumps up the price
Been watching your videos for at least 3 hours now... definitely want a Harley Benton. Torn between sc550 and L450 Plus. Currently playing in a punk rock band. What would you recommend?
So you turned your LP into a tele. Nice job. Seriously, those Fishmans are pretty unique sounding.
If you switch out all the hardware for high end stuff, refret with higher quality frets and all of that, what else is there to do to make it an actual high-end instrument? Magic pixie dust?
Love it well done
Definetely better than before, it also looks more expensive than a cheap benton now and the coil split opens lots of doors, but maybe too much money for a guitar which is already nice, I don't know, I would like to hear a comparison between this and a stock sc550. Anyway, thanks for all your videos and reviews, I ended up buying a benton cst24 hb because of you and Cory mura, nicest guys on youtube.
Really love that u do this , this shows tonewoods topic is just a farce its all in the components.
I am of opinion that only that bridge,frets and tuners would have made a major difference .
Fishman is just the nut ( get it ! )on the cake.
what a transformation - lovely guitar now
it would be great if thomann could offer an affordable version of this mod
stick an earvana nut on it and it would be complete
I'm I wrong or does this plek service include glueing of the frets (little white bottle with blue cap is glue, right...)? And can You tell me to what degree do they polish the frets (comparison, let's say, to a Musicman Cutlass that You reviewed) ? I'm asking because I've had bad experience with stainless steel frets that were not polished enough and were the cause of frequent string breakages... Thank You very much for Your answers!
no, a plek service only levels the frets you have, it doesn’t include a refret, which we did here as well.
Out of all the reviews I have seen for the fluence pickups, I was looking forward for Henning's review. I do like his attention to detail and brutal honesty if something is crap. I honestly thought with the complex chords he plays, that he would really enjoy these pickups.
Although I did notice something, and I watched it numerous times. I think the neck pickup voicings were wired backwards. Voice 1 should be classic PAF and warm. Voice 2 is supposed to be clear, airy and chimey with more top end. Hennings is reversed...but if it works dont mess with right?!
The bridge pickup does sound correct voice 1 is vintage PAF and voice 2 being hot rodded 70's bridge pickup.
I don't think the Fluence are like other brand pickups in the sense that you cant drop a set in a cheap guitar to make it better. I feel these are better suited to make a great guitar even better.
Like them or not this was another great video and review. Cheers Hennning!
Did you ever put it back to the suggested tilt wiring for the warmer sound to demo the sound???
My God, your content is epic.
And to clarify he didn’t say “This guitar NEEDS this.” I feel like it’s more of a “I’m gonna do this because I can and you will watch it”
Did you mention what wood the dowels were made from? Would that have an effect?
Wow I can even through my shitty headphones hear how clear the sound now is
What string brand/gauge are you using on the pimpton? :)
Hey dude,
Can you tell me what's the blue firebird-style guitar behind you? i always wanted to own one.
Thanks.
Keep going man
woaw ! impressive job from Thomann staff
thanx for the vid
any vid with the firebird seen on the back ?
I have a schaller m6 2000 locking tuners and a lockmeister bridge. They work perfectly. Maybe I'm lucky I don't know but, I've had these strings on for months and they are always perfectly in tune, just saying.
If your going to order a guitar through them. Can you ask for upgrades before it gets sent out? such as tuners, bone nut or a particular set of pickups?
not sure
Sounds decent stock through a good amp. I'm already impressed 5 minutes in...
i love that there is a schaller box in the back when henning is saying he doesn't like them
Thanks for the video. I still prefer the old sound prior mod, May be the fishman fluence sound better in a mix for modern metal tone
Are you going to have it rewired again to have the HF Tilt installed?
I'm not really a fan of blues/rock, but I really liked the track on the background of the fret removal.
What's the song that's playing around the 14:50 mark? Sounds really nice!
Now I am very curious how these pickups will perform next to a bunch of Warman Pickups.
As in double blind.
Sorry i didn't catch this video when you released it
I really liked it
My buddy and I sorta been doing the same thing, what out budget allows
We installed Seymour Duncan's blackouts in his Dean Vendetta.
Then I found a cheap flying v last year
I'm not sure what brand, there's no name or model number, made in China.
But I found a Kahler for sale and installed that on it.
Sounds gorgeous on this side
Amusing video!
As a Trombone player, I am very offended right now.
You're a Tromboner! :)
You’ve got tromboned my friend!
all lives matter ...
What a pleasure to watch! The Thoman-Luthier is a crazy wizzard! But hey, Harley Benton guitars are really great value for the money out of the box. At less than 500 bucks I´d always try a Harley first, as every hobby-musician should to save housekeeping-money! By the way I´d like to see a new HB all tube combo or head with auto-bias. Possibe?
This just shows how amazing the Harley Benton is for costing only 250Euros.
Guitar nowadays are amazing even when cheap. Maybe this wasnt the case years and years ago, but today is a reality.
20:37 - not something you can do easily at home - just did this with a charvette 270 body. the jackston JT trem pole peices are massive compared to the schaller ones!
u can spot a lovely german accent miles away! god your accent is the best!!!! subscribed! YES WE ARE
25:50 Screwing into old holes..... Haha Dafuq, man?!
i for sure would neve do it the way this was being done in the shop and it does not shed a good light at the craftmansship executed there.
this job should have been done either using a countersink with the EXACT DIAMETER needed or by (my prefered method) reaming those holes up in diameter using a reamer. most of my luthier collegues will agree with me here i believe.
kind regards
stef
@@bahusofriends5467 Exactly. But then you can't put it back to OEM, if that's ever an issue. Depends on how much you like holes I guess...
@@hawkinthewind you are absolutely right there!
the question ist if you are a guitarist, depending on perfect and proper function or you are a collector. in case you collect guitars, then originality is definetely an issue to take care of.
still i guess nobody ever will collect a harley benton.
if you really want to turn a harley benton into a players guitar.....there s just no reason to ever turn it back into oem.....
that was my sole point in argueing.
Henning, once again, we sit at the feet of Thomann and ask how do they do it? How? And we ask ourselves will we look cheap if we buy a Harley Benton? Does my head stock have to say Gibson or Fender? Do we expect an inexpensive guitar to sound like a Gibson Les Paul when it has differently voiced electronics? Of course not. The only way to have a realistic shoot out is to swap out the exact same parts. In a totally blind shootout, with the same parts in both guitars, I'd be willing to bet my lunch money you could not tell the difference.The parts you put in the SC 550 are really sweet and I think the best part was the stop tail. It really seems to have added sustain. I bought five Harley Benton's and the workmanship for the money is astounding! If you want to pay $2500.00 for a Gibson Les Paul go right ahead. I'll buy a lot of gear from Thomann and have a lot of fun for a lot less money. Henning, this was a great experiment, and you have a real treasure now with your SC 550, Paradise Amber Flame! Enjoy!
Your a freakin' riot! We salute you.
I don't mean to troll you Henning, but might you just have disproven tonewood to yourself? You changed everything besides the wood, and make mention that there's no longer "a mahogany plop." Maybe that plop had nothing to do with the woods after all, but the general tendencies of the pickups people like to put in such guitars...
Dowels.
I hear the mahogany aspect on the bridge pickup with the high gain and the delay - it's a very distinctive resonant sound you can't escape - some of the "change" comes from the type of pickups used.
aliensporebomb Yer the wood type is picked up by the magnetic pickups. As long as the thing is stable and strong it will sound the same, you could make it outof concrete and it would sound the same as mahogany
@DirtyBluesStank
Wrong, it would sound but it would not sound the same. Someone might do their homework and not buying in incomplete pseudo science from WillsEasyGuitar and other flat earth believer. Every material has its own properties (body & neck woods; frets, bridge and saddle materials etc) and all these materials combined in a guitar built will interact with each other. Different materials/properties = different interaction. That results in resonant peaks, cancellations etc which gives different builds a different timbre/tone along with other properties like attack & sustain . . picked up with all the varieties by magnetic pickups. That provides one part of the 'tone' the other part of it gets provided by the individual pickup(s) which can sound vastly different as well, depending on type or model.. . and that's the beauty of it. Guitars can and will sound different for reasons stated above.
RockmannMusic aa
Interesting video - my thinking is you could do this to any guitar that you consider your number one and make it the best possible version of itself. This was fun to watch an inexpensive guitar get turned into something that it normally wouldn't be. If you think about it, if Harley Benton had done all of those mods to this before it ever got to the consumer it would be a lot more expensive and they would get rated a lot higher. "Guitar as modding platform" perhaps? It's obvious HB's business plan never thought of doing this but they could have.
Definately sounded better but I am still not sold on the Fluence pickup, seem to add a sterile cleaness to the signal but that could be the amp setting but you pointed it out as well, for modern metal maybe but for classic Les Paul fat punch maybe something on the opposite end for the price like custom wound PAF style pups would work awesome.
I would get the steel frets and bone nut, can't see the bridge making any difference unless the original one had some sort of issues. As for pickups they probably cost like 10 bucks to make
Hi, thanks 4 the video, could you tell me the model of the tuners??
First time I've seen you on yt. Thanks for all the video and effort, I just subscribed.
I don't think the fishman upgrade was worth it to my ears. Stock pups sounded fine to me. idk about the bridge replacement, I'd have to a/b it before my ears would be trained enough to hear a difference. I have a couple HQ guitars and a few low-to-mid priced guitars. The HQs sound better, but there's so many things different about them that I couldn't begin to tell you which aspects affect what part of the tone, and I've been playing for over 2 decades now. Still have a fuckton to learn.
Greaaatt one . İ missed it before
Please, Id like you to do an comparison video about thoman cheap strings vs. brand names. Im burning to order shit load of thoman cheaps, but im afraid to do so , if they are useless.
Thats weird. I liked the old pickups sound. Is it only me?
I agree.
And for all that extra time and money...
Me too, man.
If something is learned it's not a waste. Besides it's their money too. :)
The light OD tone at around 4:22 sounds pretty damn amazing.
I did the same thing to my epi slash snake pit les paul except for frets still stock which I am now thinking of changing
What a great tech!
Well, liking the humor in this vid, I think pimping the sc550 makes sense, but you should choose better matching parts and do by yourself:
- If you can do it fretjob is a good idea on any cheap guitar!
- The nut on the SC550 is already a hard self lubricating bone, no need to get nuts and replace. ;-)
- The Gotoh GE103B-T bridge and ge101z-t or ge101a-t (aluminium for brighter sound) stop tail should work out of the box.
- The Gotoh SD90SL MG or MG-T (easier usage, worse looking) locking tuners (vintage style) should also fit.
- A String butler could fix last intonation issues.
PUs and electronics are more up to individual needs, so general possibilities won't help.
- Looking more for a classic approach, 50s wiring with Allparts ot Göldo potis makes sense. If you want flexibility, Jimmy page could help with his 4x push/pull or push/push setup. Modern will get harder without a proper place to store the battery.
- Some people like the flexible SH-JB set in this guitar. For a classic approach, Burstbucker Pro PUs could be worth a try. Because you need to open the electronics each time battery is dead, I fear the fishman fluence are one of the worst choices for this guitar.
I would replace some of the plastic parts on every HB because it looks and feels cheap, but this is personal preference.
Given that I'm listening to YT audio, I don't hear a huge overall tonal difference with the Fishmans. I do hear some increase in clarity, which unlike with the Tele set in the previous comparison video I think is an improvement. The HF Tilt would be a cool option in addition to the voicing and splitting options you've already got, but it would be a shame to give up the existing options on such a pimped-out guitar.
I enjoyed seeing & hearing what would happen if you threw a big wad of € at an inexpensive instrument!
Going to sell the old pickups on Reverb with your other stuff? (Or did I miss the sale you promised...?)
I need time to set up the reverb thing.... and time is just not there right now
Would love to see you install a string butler on this beast to truly finish the Mega Mod, It fixes the traditional Les Paul Style Headstock problem that causes Tuning instability.
37:10 is that a Csus4/9?
ABSOLUTELY.... well spotted!
Well you def saved me from buying a set of schaller lockings for my revstar