Harley Benton Guitar MAX Signature Review: THE BEST VALUE GUITAR YOU CAN'T BUY
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- Harley Benton makes guitars that have been getting rave reviews over the past few years, in no small part due to CZcamsrs singing the brand's praises. The variety of models and options they offer at working-class prices makes them hard to ignore.
After being leaked a couple of months ago, the @GuitarMAXMusic Signature Fusion is finally here - and it's already gone! Selling out the same day it was listed, it's easy to see why. It's a gorgeous package, with an exceptional finish and pro-level appointments. There's enough here for players of all ages and styles to like, at an insane price of just $444.
I lucked into getting my hands on one to review here, and I've been putting it through its paces to answer the all-important question: is the incredible hype warranted? Is it a guitar worth waiting for Thomann to restock? Do the Tesla pickups deliver? And what does this guitar represent for Harley Benton's future? Watch on to find out!
My full cover of Unexpectancy from Pizza Tower (the demo track): • Pizza Tower - Unexpect...
Timestamps:
00:00 - Opening Roll
00:21 - Demo Song
02:34 - The Backstory
05:12 - Specs and Sound Clips
21:57 - Overall Impressions
25:45 - The BIG Problem
28:23 - Ending Comments
#HarleyBenton #GuitarMAX #BudgetGuitar
Thanks for the great review :)
Thank you for producing such killer guitars! I genuinely enjoy reviewing them - they changed my entire perspective on affordable instruments.
If you ever have anything spicy in the timeline you'd like reviewed - idk, maybe a slick new CST-24 refresh or something - hit me up. Let's have a chat 😉
I know is probably just a dream but will Harley Benton make a left handed version sometime in the future? I would kill to put my hands on one❤️❤️❤️. Thank you!
@HarleyBentonOfficial I am begging you, PLEASE make another Victory guitar. Preferably with a tune-o-matic, 24 frets, 81/60 emgs and either Grover/Gotoh tuners or your own brand locking ones. I would have bought the Active SBK if it wasn’t for the terrible grounding issue and low end nut and tuners. I am sure that I am not the only one who would buy it
Man, your reviews are great! You provide product info, great sounds, and enough history to keep these reviews really interesting. Thanks for taking the time, and for posting these on YT.
I received mine recently, all the way from Germany. Mine also was in MINT condition. I used to work for Fed Ex Freight and was impressed with the packaging as well. One of the best looking guitars ive ever seen. If your in the market just buy one you wont be disappointed.
Well done video! Cool guitar and great playing!
Why do reviewers still talk about this nonsense that wood has impact on the tone in an electric guitar?? This has been debunked a while ago.
Very detailed, excellent review. I wonder how Max walks around his apartment with so many guitars. I live in a 2 bedroom home and my closets are all full with the 41 guitars I have, along with an assortment of amplifiers.
It looks awesome I just wish it had some type of fretboard markers
Excellent review thanks. It's a lot of guitar for the money, and aesthetically beautiful.
I Think that the pickups give the guitar a lot of versatility.
It's definitely on my shortlist for my next purchase.
Awesome review!
Awesome review. Have it since some weeks and have been waiting for several month. I absolutely love this guitar. If it wouldn't be so beautiful I'lld call it a monster
I can’t wait till they reissue this guitar!! Been saving up for it. 😅
I got in on this right away! My first impressions? As per most SS frets models from harley benton, I needed to finish and polish the frets! They were scratchy but not bad! The fretwork was pretty dang good for the price point! The neck is beautiful! I had to put some work in setting it up, which included a neck shim! The action and playability just weren't happening no matter how I adjusted the bridge or the neck. The shim worked and it is super playable now. Excellent for the price!
The SS fret models are definitely due for polishing most times - I lucked out that these were pretty good! Glad it just took a shim for things to get playable for you, not always ideal but it could be much worse. I’m really tempted to get another roasted Fusion and A/B the overall quality to this one, since I suspect they’re quite similar. Availability aside, this guitar rips. Can’t put it down!
@The Bensonator I, unfortunately, haven't been able to plug it in yet as my equipment is at the venue. I can't wait to sus out the tones, though!
@The Bensonator excellent review, btw! These specs are comparable to a guitar 3 to 4K more! Think Suhr! I might actually take it to gig tomorrow cold and see how it does! Also! I had to take off the neck several times to fit the neck shim and it handled it very well! The neck pocket was a fairly tight fit! Very good tell of build quality!
Same here Polished the frets and I also had to shim the neck . I just couldn't get a good low action any other way. Love this guitar but the neck angle is definitely off .
@@stringsattached67 glad it wasn't just me! Lol!
Really nice guitar...and nice playing too...how is the bridge stability? Does it keeps turning good?
Great review 🤘🔥🤘 got this one on order 👍 I was gonna order a Floyd Rose original and pickups for another guitar of mine but opted to buy this guitar instead …. Couldn’t pass this one up !
I recently got myself a Fusion III during their Anniversary sale sporting a Floyd Rose 1000 aswell. It cost me 200€. The entire guitar that is. Now I finally have access to those frills and wigglys :D
Nice video! Would you take and test Fusion?)
I bought this as soon as I saw it. Great guitar, plays flawlessly!
I have it and it's incredible guitar, string action is 1/16 inch after setup which is quite high for me but this guitar is still very comfortable to play, and this Sound is amazing
hi, great playing. what is that white guitar,????looks really nice!
Very nice review. Subscribed... The only things I'd like better is different color (transparent white and a transparent black and more than anything, a 43mm or 44mm nut. Awesome guitar for the money. I wish American Musical offered this guitar with their easy monthly payments. I'd buy one right now.
If the guitar offers everything someone needs besides the sound of a pickup, why would they need to look at another guitar that has that particular pickup and probably costs 2-3x more? If the wood is ok, the trem works ok ,why not just do the pickup swap? Personally, I would never go for a FR equipped guitar... or a green one... or the one sporting gold hardware... but someone else would :)
That’s the beauty of guitar - there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Some go for just the tone; others, everything but. This is a killer guitar, but it’s not for everyone, and that’s cool!
We all have what we enjoy - whether it’s green with gold and a FR or a blacked out string-thru with a set of EMTY actives 😃
@@thebensonator I don't think I own a single guitar that's in its factory setting - could be a fool's errand to change stuff constantly, but I do like tinkering and trying out stuff.
Wouldn't you know, I happen to own a string-through matte black with a set of EMTY pickups... either you glanced at my channel or I'm a very, VERY predictible guitar owner
May or may not have taken a look at the ol’ CZcams channel you’ve got there.😉Nice playing!
Messing around with hardware swaps and changes are always fun. While I do feel there’s a point financially where it’s just smarter to invest in a higher quality guitar, there’s nothing wrong with switching out parts and seeing what works. Drives the wife nuts seeing so many guitar parts come in though😅
the sound is amazing. I will get 1 when it is available.
Were the new tuner holes in the same place as the old ones in the upgraded Harley Benton r 446?
The only thing it misses if anything is a "neck through body" for me. But that is just personal preference. But the closest guitar in price that has everything this guitar has and with a neck through body is some of the Kramer guitars and they are like 300 dollars more expensive.
After that Solar guitars, with Floyd 1000 they start at 1100$ which is double the price of this Harley Benton
I have never heard of that Tesla pickup brand before, but the "single" coil neck pickup sounds great.
What pickups did the players allready decide to switch them out with? Of all the videos ive seen i find the sound a little meeh, but all the specs of the rest of the guitar makes it amazing. its not so many choices you could have because of the single coil hot rod.. any suggestions? I know satriani have that kinda pick up set
Haven’t seen many pickup swaps on it so far - the one I can recall was for a SD Hot Rails in the neck and a JB in the bridge. Strong combination, but IMO too similar to how it already sounds.
It’s more or less dependent on what you don’t like about the existing tone. The bridge pickup is an easy swap to taste. The neck is tougher - for something brighter and more single-coil, I’d check out the DiMarzio Cruiser and Injector. For something big and fat like a full humbucker try DiMarzio’s Fast Track 2 or a Bare Knuckle Cobra. For a more traditional humbucker feel there’s the Little ‘59 that Seymour Duncan makes, or the DiMarzio Pro Track. There’s a lot of options with great bridge pickup pairings - give them a listen and consider the unconventional! You might be surprised.
I ordered the guitar now. i changed my mind on changing the pickups, they sound great, spessially the neck @@thebensonator
Good review! However, I don't think Harley Benton is creating an unreasonable standard: what they're doing is illustrating that companies _can_ make affordable guitars that are great, but most companies simply _don't do it._ IMHO there's no reason on Earth to pay over $1000 for a guitar (even though I did, once upon a time when I was younger and stupider) when Harley Benton and a few other companies are putting out professional-grade instruments for under $500. And if the Guitar Max signature model was produced by, say, Fender or Ibanez? It would cost $1200 minimum. So kudos to Harley Benton for putting the screws to the big companies. If so many folks weren't so brand-conscious, I suspect that Fender and Gibson in particular would be out of business already.
It's true - the companies are super capable of it, but unfortunately for us consumers profit margins end up winning out in the end. Remember 15 or so years ago when Fender's MIM Standard line started at $399? Those were fantastic guitars for the money - now the same line is double the price (and IMO inferior, though still pretty good).
It lends a level of appreciation to the companies that put in the effort to offer bang-for-the-buck like Harley Benton. While they aren't even exempt from the curses of making an instrument *too* affordable, they really are proof that the affordable quality guitar still exists out there. They've done a great job building up their reputation, as well, so hopefully the traction continues and they're able to add some much-needed life to the section of the market they cater to.
Very well put! @@thebensonator
Here's the thing, i remember when Hiro Yammoto, a friend I made in Seattle of Soundgarden before Soundarden was, used to complain. His complaint was that they were being forced to repeat "the formula." Nowadays a fellow/fella can't hope for a descent check for survival starting out nevermind artistic freedom. Who needs a guitar is all I'm saying at any price. Although it's mighty enjoyable to collect all of this Henly Benton eye candy. It's like those wet dreams of times gone by. Hahaha.🤔🤔😪🤤😒😝
Please tell me how do I get my Harley Benton guitar sound this good? I have a line 6 practice amp 15 watt and dosent sound that good. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thank you
It's a bit of an unfair comparison, because of the way amp sims and impulse responses react compared to a physical speaker, but it's definitely doable even with a small practice amp. (Maybe I'll do a video on making cheap amps sound good sometime... 🤔)
Anyway, there's a few pretty easy ways to dial in good tones on inexpensive modeling amplifiers. I'm going to assume we're referring to metal tones, though it applies for pretty much anything:
- First off, NO PRESETS. The presets tend to be overexaggerated, and while some of them really aren't bad, you'll get more of what you're looking for starting from scratch.
- Odds are you're using way more gain than you actually need. Diming out the gain knob on the Spiders has always tended to produce an overly fizzy tone. Bring the gain back a bit; if you're not using a boost pedal, 1 o'clock on the gain knob max should get you all the saturation you need.
- A side note to the above: if you *do* have an overdrive pedal, or there's a switchable one built into your practice amp, reduce the gain even more (maybe 9:00? you really don't need much with a boost) and add the pedal in front. Pedal should optimally have little to no gain, maxed volume, and tone to taste. Adds more punch and really tightens up the bottom end.
- Experiment with balancing the Volume and Master knobs. A higher Master and lower Volume will have a different quality than vice versa, so try dialing them in differently to see how they react to your playing.
- As much as there's an instinct to dime the EQ on cheap amps, it's overkill. Start at noon on each and dial in a general sound of what you're looking for, then adjust as you notice characteristics you don't like. A personal preference: midrange is good for meaty rhythm tones!
- If you're not using reverb, add it ASAP. It doesn't need to be a lot, but just enough to add some texture to the tone. It's an underappreciated tone thickener, and an must-have for every sound I dial in.
- Lastly, don't neglect the other elements of your chain. Try adjusting the height of your guitar's pickups. Try out thicker strings if you're tuning down. Switch to different picks if you have them available. Even something like adjusting your picking technique can have an effect on your sound.
Hope some of this helps!
Looks killer I just do not like the reverse headstock
We need a Harley benton custom shop
Seems like a great guitar for the price !
Just wondering that roasted Harley Benton 8 string has that worsened over the course of you owning it I heard a few reviews that says the toggle switch bugs up after a few months just curious
Nothing so far - thought I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve had issues with HB switches in the past, mainly the LP-style toggle switches. Wiring is something I don’t mention in these videos, but maybe I should start looking into the quality of those more…
@@thebensonator I have bought a dc custom white a few months ago and the toggle switch just randomly stops working I don’t know what’s up with it, also thanks for responding!!
website says that are jumbo stainless not medium jumbo
Finally got mine last week. Love everything on it except the c shape neck feels way thicker than it should be, feels more like D shape, wish it was like my PRS thin. Other than that everything feels premium. No way to get this spec from another company at the price.
Just not sure if I can go without in lays. Is the fusion 3 worthy? I have now a ibanez RG 565 I got back in 92 and want something similar but don’t want to spend $2000.
The Fusion-III is a really solid "catch-all" guitar, and there's enough varieties of it that you can pretty much find a configuration that'll fit your needs. Very much a Charvel feel.
The Roswell pickups are very respectable for the price, and while they're a little bland on the top end, they're hairy enough to do what you'd expect from a guitar like that. (If you can deal with the hardtail bridge, the EMG-equipped version alleviates this issue - same set as the Amaroks, and vastly under-appreciated as far as EMGs go.)
I prefer the Floyd-equipped version more - there's not quite enough routing with the Wilkinson 2-point term to to do much more than add some wobble to chords and the like - but they all feel solid and capable. At the price, there's a lot to like!
@@thebensonator thanks so much. Honestly for these prices I wouldn’t mind trying the Les Paul Harley Benton as well. Looks beautiful
how do you know what fret you are playing without the dots?
Practice
@@maximiliangfrorer1039 I gotta practice even more, dad? Didn't you save enough for retirement? You're saving money on this guitar already. What do you want from me?
Cool guitar, where’s the Zelda sticker
Wonder what it would sound like through a real amp and speakers ?
Itll sound the same, just with a tiiiiny bit more saturation
A trip to the local guitar retailer might be in order… I hear my local GC has a lovely Revv Generator 120 in stock that might be just the ticket!
2 for 444$ yea
"sound profile" ???
A word of advice. When you're playing around the 13:46 mark you have your thumb unnecessarily wrapped around the fretboard and you're creating some annoying wound-string swiping noise when you slide up that just doesn't need to be there at all given the fact that you're not even playing on the low E string. It's habit with a lot of players and it doesn't make a difference for most people, but it's interfering with your playing. You could really clean up by dropping that thumb behind the fretboard unless you absolutely need to fret the low E string with it.
Don't take my word for it, watch the video.
Carl Carlton guitars can 👍
Sorry, great review.
3/8ths of neck relief at the 12th fret? That is NOT GOOD!
Wait, did I say 3/8?! Yikes - I meant to say 3/16! (HUGE difference!) It’s still not ideal for some, but still one of the most playable Benton’s I’ve received direct from the factory.
Well, you still can buy a lot of the other Fusions, and that's all this guitar essentially is.
This is the only one with the Floyd Rose locking tremolo tho.
@@kuttyrocks2422 There's multiple colours on the Harley Benton site with a FR trem, and I own one of them. The only difference on this guitar is the Tesla pickups, because the EMG fusion also has a reverse headstock.
Looks and sounds like a six hundred dollar guitar good deal for that price
Beginners are so spoilt for choice now ... a guitar like that could last years !
if only it wasn't green 😪😪😪
NO FRET MARKERS 4LYFE
subscribed 😊
Justin from the Philippines
It’s a problem that a guitar made in 2023 would disrupt the guitar market 20 year prior in 2004? lol what
Maybe you missed the part when he said if this guitar with these features at this price point had been released in 2004?
How can you hear what you're doing? Everything's awash in delay and reverb..
So Sweetwater and every other retailer are taking advantage of stupid guitar players with their Floyd Rose pricing (and that of every other aftermarket part, obviously). How is that incredible?
It’s incredible that a part which costs that much (even from FR themselves, who charge over $200 for a burnt chrome 1000) is in this guitar at all. HB could have just as easily put a ~$90 Special in here and no one would have thought any differently - hell, Schecter still puts them in guitars over the $1K mark.
HB guitars are so popular in big part due to their value for the money, and it’s good to acknowledge a little quality detail in a market where everyone gets screwed by ever-increasing prices (or ludicrous hype - see the current Bad Monkey trend).
@@thebensonator Yeah, morons can't believe that they don't "get what they pay for" when they buy overpriced parts. That's all.
If I wanted a guitar like this I would buy the other models that they offer that aren’t sold out. It’s green, big whoop. Idk why this is 30 minutes long either, I stopped watching at 2
whine whine
Does being a douche bag online, make you feel good about yourself?
Yep !!!!! This one is brilliant