Can This Harley Benton HB-35 Hang With The Big Boys?
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2021
- #addictedtogear #harleybenton
This Harley Benton semi-hollow packs quite a punch. It really offers way more thank its low price point would suggest. Can it hang with the big boys? Lets find out!
Hear sound samples at: 17:15
Was it perfect? No, Could it use some tweaking? Yes. Do I think its a great deal? Absolutely!
To find out more: harleybenton.com/product/hb-3...
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it's a real misconception that HB ate merely modding platforms. they are very good guitars in their own right. Roswell pickups are absolutely excellent and if we put snobbery aside stand up to big brands. I can say firmly my te52 is miles better than my Mexican fender in almost every way. and at literally a quarter of the price. if you're still sceptical about Chinese guitars you're about 10 years behind the times. HB aren't good budget guitars, they're good guitars. period. unless you're paying 8 times the price, they'll compete.
I have an artist 335 chinese guitar and it easily competes with my Gretsch or my Fender. I can't stop playing it.
I have the DC custom, and I adore it. Coil split is a nice feature too. Price is super easy to live with, as are it's looks, comfort to play, and its sound. Nothing negative at all to say about it.
@@jimmywrangles Agree totally, although I do prefer my Gretsch for Malcolm young stuff, Though the Harley B is more than capable!
I hate red guitars. And as a left hander, I have limited color choices. I was left with only the basic model HB-35, which comes in black only. It has dot inlays instead, which I prefer. It also doesn't come with coil splitting, which is fine, because I'll almost certainly replace the pickups/electronics anyway.
I thought at first that it was a pretty exact copy of a 335, but when I looked at a picture of both, the HB actually has a more attractive shape. Dang! And less cramped upper fretboard access, too.
I ordered one yesterday. It was $185. But for some reason shipping didn't get added on at checkout. I contacted HB to find out how to pay them for shipping. They replied and told me that because it was a screwup on their part there would be no charge for shipping (!!!).
I'm excited about this guitar. I've played guitar for literally a half-century, and yet, because of my left-handedness, I've never even had the opportunity to try out an ES type guitar. I can hardly wait!
This'll be my second HB. Their basic $80 Tele is my favorite guitar (after my mods).
Amazing! They’ve known for their great customer service
I have bought a guitar and a mandolin from Harley Benton and I am truly amazed by the playability and the beautiful work. Thank you for the detailed review. Stay safe and happy.
AT LAST !
Someone who appreciates the convenience of the input jack located on the SIDE of the guitar and not on the damn top.
I was wondering if this would be mentioned, and it was.
Great review. And the word you were looking for is ornamentation.
Just got one in and I must admit I am shocked by how solid this guitar is.
Bought a used one exactly the same as the video for £90, it already had upgraded Guyker locking tuners and strap locks instslled. Unbelievable guitars even at the new price. Might upgrade the pick ups at some point in the future. See how they go but sounds really good with the stock pick ups. Solid guitar. Really impressed.
I really like the fact the inlays start at the first fret. Small thing, but I think it's great.
Excellent review. Thank you for NOT using distortion effects !!!!!!
Glad you liked it!
I have the same HB-35 + in vintage burst, the shape come's from the old SA2200 yamaha, including the cutaways, the headstock, the fretboard radius of 350mm or 13.75" on the first runs and now they have a 305mm or 12" fretboard radius like the Gib's I believe since sometime in late 2020 or so and the Yamaha Studio Lord SL400S and others, date around 1979-1980 have an identical headstock as HB-35, even the truss rod cover is the same shape. I played one of those SA2200 Yami's a while ago and I find the HB-35 more comfy on the fretboard and the pickups are nicer than the Yami also, the sound of the Roswell LAF's pickups is just great, they're alnico 5 based on PAF's with a little more output than the old 59 PAF's and they are wax potted so what more can you ask for really? You can swap everyday all year long but it's just swapping, it's not upgrading cause you can't really improve on those Roswell, I don't care what anybody says I am not touching those pickups, they're staying right where they are cause they sound great! Maybe I got lucky. The only thing I did was sone fret leveling cause I like my fret a specific way and I have my tools and do my own frets.The old Yamaha's SA2200 are selling for about 2000.00$ used, the HB-35 today as I write this are selling for 169.00$ U.S. plus shipping brand new. I hope this helps a few people, It took me a long time to stop looking at what name was on the headstock.
I believe this is the HB35 plus.
The double split pots are great, and of course the price point speaks for itself. I have a cherry flame top HB35Plus, and my only regret is that I didn't choose the Lemon Drop finish which is gorgeous. There was a waiting list for them, and the cherry finish was same day (I am impetuous), but otherwise the guitars are identical build-wise.
I got the Lemon Drop. It's gorgeous.
I don't play out anymore, though if I did I would have no issue with playing mine on stage. The coil split was impressive for what it is.
I have been recommending HB guitars since my purchase and am looking forward to my next HB.
Thank you for such an indepth survey. This will be my next guitar.
Thanks Tony for a detailed review! I recently got a lefty version and I love everything about it.
Excellent review and perspective narration.
Ordered the HB 35 Plus today based on the numerous positive reviews on RUclips including your articulate comments and fine demonstration playing.
Pity we didn't have any Harley Bentons back in the 1980s. HBs are lightyears away from the crap guitars I managed to own back then. Thanks for that! I have not bought my last HB yet 😊
Bought a black one about a year ago. Liked it. My friend - who is a luthier - set it up and I love it!
Excellent review, full of small details, brilliant, cheers.
I love my Harley Benton guitars, good value great build quality,no wonder big companies don't like them,it's a fact you really do pay for the name, fender and Gibson really haven't done anything different for years, just colour or pickup combination, and still ask stupid money
I've got a couple of HB guitars at home (among them this model too) and I think they are all excellent guitars for their price, even compared to other ones in a much higher class. Thank you very much, "Addicted to Gear"! It is a really fair and helpfull video indeed. 👍
Great review. I ordered a HB 35 plus Lemon LD that will arrive next month
Totally agree with the toggle switch move. I gave up 335 guitars for gigs, due to the fumbling around, made worse by my short arms. This alone will send me on a quest to buy one.
I own one for about half a year now and I just love this beautiful guitar! Great review Tony.
Cool, thanks!
Thank you, the best review of this guitar I have read so far.
Thx Tony good video. I have the Firefly 338 in black, which is a comparable guitar. They took the care to secure the wires so they are not visible to through the F holes. The Firefly keeps the Output Jack ant toggle switch in the traditional locations (Not as practice but keeps the traditional look).
Great review . It really open your eyes and ears to reconsider inexpensive guitars as a real option. I personally believe there’s a lot of “the emperor wears no clothes” on many expensive well known brand guitars
I think you got a point here 😊
Awesome Review!!!! I’ve set up a bunch of the HB stuff and I’m usually impressed 🤘🎸👍
Been wanting to buy one of these for a long time now. Its a guitar every player wants to have in their collection. I own 3 HBs and happy with all three !" You cant beat them,,,I am so gratefull that they offer these great guitars at a very affordable prices,,, its just unbelievable !!!
TY young man for the great review ! 😀✌🏻🎸💕💕💕
I've owned only one 335 Model Guitar, it was a d'angelico. It was truly beautiful, it played great and sounded great. As semi Hollows go it was a little on the heavy side that didn't bother me much but it was quite neck heavy. I'm primarily a Stratocaster person so I guess I've kind of been spoiled by their perfect balance sitting or standing.
Recently I purchased a Harley Benton Fusion 3 silver Sparkle. It has a Stratocaster like body but it is definitely lighter than my 2004 USA Strat Deluxe. But just like my Strat, it's perfectly balanced sitting or standing.
Thomann shipped it to my home in Virginia in 5 days completely free of any damage or flaws.
While I've gotten some good deals via eBay auctions on higher-end guitars but the Harley Benton Fusion 3 is by far the best value ($450 Inc shipping but no tax) I've ever gotten purchasing a new guitar.
So my only real concern not mentioned in an otherwise very thorough review is about balance. Does the neck dive?
Thanks for your video, veri insiteful!!
Tony, very thorough (as always) review-great job.
Glad you enjoyed it
Good review.I’m expecting a HB35 plus cherry LH any day now…can’t wait to get it.
Great Demo and Description! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great review. Where did you get the picture set behind you, I love it!
Outstanding review, I just subscribed to your channel. I have a HB-35 Plus VB and I really like mine also. The coil splitting is a nice feature, I like single coil on bridge and humbucker on neck for a unique tone for many songs. Nice playing on your review to show different sounds. Keep Jamming, take care.
Thanks for the sub!
I own one in black, but mine is not the “plus model” I think this one is. I changed tuners nut and strings, and made a world of difference. It is a very nice guitar for the price. And I love to tinker and modify them so I think its a great platform to work on. My frets do need a polish.
thx. this video was very informative
I’m waiting to receive my HB-35Plus. Your excellent video comforts me of having made a good decision to buy it. Thanks.
Glad I could help!
I own a black one no coil split and gig with it , I chose it out of all 9 of my electric guitars for the last gig , it sounded great I love the alnico 5 pups.
Thank you for your Honest reports on this lovely 335 style Guitar
I am Absolutely amazed And well, chuffed to see that they do a left-hand 335 in Black as I have been looking for a Black 335 left-hand guitar so happy days and big thanks to Harley Benton
It great to see and her the good things about this classic 335 style
Guitar 🎸 from this interview i also like how you played with the Cords to her the different Tons on all the different settings
Your rif you played was simple and you can hear clearly all the different Tons comeing through the Guitar brilliant Work God bless you and God bless Harley Benton They make excellent quality Guitars at A budget price.
best review on the net, bro.
Sounds pretty damn good to me....I may need to jump on one since I do not have a semi sold my ephiphone years ago always loved semi..
If nothing else, great modding platform. I’ve never played a Harley Benton but that seems to be what I’d get one for. Good enough quality but something to build on and make your own. Cheers Tony!
I agree, if you upgrade the parts that have suffered from cost cutting,
they make excellent guitars, but only if you can do the work yourself.
The higher spec fusion models are far better than the entry level ones
and only require a set-up and possibly new pickups.
If you haven't got a HB yet, expect to polish the frets. A small price to pay for a fifth the price of a Gibson or Heritage.
Great video, man. Many thanks. I'll be getting a cherry HB! What would be an easy and not too expensive set of alternative pickups?
Great video! This is actually the HB-35 PLUS (due to the coil split)
Thanks Tony, good stuff ta know
Damn awesome guitar picked up lately its a damn good guitar hold tune ..feels good looks good!! 2 for 2 on my harley benton experience ..love it
Great guitar brought one dry...didn't watch any reviews ect. Had no trouble with it played big right out of the box. Done a few gigs and recordings with it also no problems
Thank you for this great review. I really consider to buy one of these. Regards from Sweden.
Glad it was helpful!
Wow you have perfect picking technique. Impressive
Thanks for the very interesting review 👏👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Good job you made me think.
Nice review
A guitar has an OUTPUT jack, the INPUT jack is on the amp.
Got one - they are good...
My HB 35 needed attention but that done, it is great...
One thing they should do to ALL 335 type guitars is the back electronic cavity hole so player can reach electronics easily. I have Benton vintage series HB35 and i made a hole to it's back so i can reach to electronics more easily, like if i change pickup.
Good job Tony, great review!! I play professionally, I have all the "big names" but... I'm tired to overpay because of marketing. I'm gonna get one of these and "If and when I have to" I'll do the upgrades!
One question: Can you tell us the weight?
Thank you
Nice vid, as usual very demostrative, but wait: Thomann announced & show a picture of an AAAA flamed maple archtop
Great Review. I plan on purchasing one of these guitars in a few days. I already own 3 Harley Benton bass guitars. I want to add a Harley Benton electric guitar to my collection. I am very impressed with Harley Benton guitars.
Go for it!
I bought one of these last year, its a heavy brute, but its a great guitar for the money, i need to change the strings, i like my ernie Ball 10's, decent pickups , and it was set up really nice.
Rock on!
Great review. Should be made clear that this is an HB-35plus
Nice, how is the mellow yone, How much is it going for in summer 2023?
I guess this was done with amp sims. Would have loved to see how the tone changes when the Volume Poti is rolled back. especially when clearing up overdrive.
HB guitars range from unplayable to unexpectedly nice. The one quality that seems to be consistent is the neck/body construction; those are pretty solid. The wiring, pots, switches, saddles, nut, and tuners are kind of a gamble. However, all those things are much easier to replace/fix than a bad neck/body unit. CAN you get a playable HB right out of the box? Yes. Will YOURS arrive that way? .......?
I think they should be put the selector switch on the bottom horn
Cool guitar. great price point!
Besides it´s beautiful sound - Roswell makes very good PUs - it´s a pity (only imho, because me, myself and I simply don´t like double cut guitars) that there is no single cut guitar with this elctrical configuration in their offer´s range. The Big Tone is too different and I would love to get a single cut style guitar from the THs HB brand.
Thanks for your video, I have one too🤩
You’re welcome 😊
Owner of an HB Les Paul style with the same pickups, nice and well made guitar. Worth any penny. Sold my epi Lucille a year ago and now I miss a semi hollow body guitar, and now I am tempted to buy one of these HB
They are nice, and take a look at their lemon drop flame finish, which look absolutely gorgeous.
@@brusselssprouts560 indeed my HB Les Paul is lemon drop color
@@IgnazioPillitteri a wise choice, so maybe a different colour for the HB35. I wish they did a black version like BB King's Lucille. With the split pots it would really get there.
@@brusselssprouts560 I have a Black HB 35 Plus. I bought it just for that reason, I wanted a “Lucille” looking guitar.
Tony, Great review. I like where the pickup selector switch is, but how do you access it if it needs to be replaced ? When you showed the back I didn’t see an access plate. I thought maybe you can access it by removing the neck pickup, but I’m guessing the center block would be in the way .
Thats a great point Ed. I will have to investigate this further and let you know.
If you have a front mounted jack just get a cable with a 90 degree plug on it. Then the cable will hang straight down and there'll be no issues.
$222 before shipping and VAT to USA. It's 82 to ship to me. Evidently, nobody will tell me how much VAT and customs would be, even an estimate.
What is the fretboard wood?
I have an HB35, My so but good butn has the HB+. Not just good for the price.
Ty for a superb review, love your channel thank you , I've always wanted to play neo soul , smooth jazz , would you say this guitar would do the job , I love harley benton , or would you recommend another guitar , I have a yamaha pacifica 112v which I bought for my first guitar , but would love a semi hollow, or the sc 550 ii harley , any help would be so much appreciated, thank you jules Ipswich uk
Yes, definitely
I've never tried a semi hollow guitar before, but it sounds like an LP to me..
Harley Benton CST-24HB has a headstock in which the strings are in almost a straight line. But it seems to have a worse bridge than this one.
Looks like the HB-35 Plus, not the Standard.
I see who you work for
That's a nice tone, what's it going through?
I think it was my Marshall Studio Plexi. Thanks for watching.
👍
Ya know...if those idiot furniture makers would stop hogging up all the rosewood, it wouldn’t be an issue for guitar makers...but maybe I’m a little biased!!!....great stuff as always Tony!!
those cables...
What's with basically every review saying "compared to the brand we will not name"
If you were to upgrade the pickups what would you go for
NOwaxx makes great pickups but they cost more than the guitar... :(
You have been lucky to get a defect free sample Tony.
The frets need a polish, and i bet that you will upgrade the pickups.
The tuners will also benefit from an upgrade.
Great to hear that you are happy with the guitar, but i agree with the
Fat Philosopher, an Ibenez Artcore would be my choice.
But that is his point. Upgrade when you can, if you want to. Fender made their name with same philosophy, and now you can buy T and S style guitars that can be brought up to Fender quality for a fraction of the money.
No. Not unless you mod it like crazy. Its the same Chinese running gear as on my Epiphone Casino. It's just make it run, but Zero performance. A new engine later, my Casino's run fantastic!
tempted to wait for the aeolus frost flame, but still thinking about this in lemon drop....and now even this one.
other good ones they have worth reviewing...cst24 and the sc550 plus emg (would like a review between sc550 plus emg for both options actually!! im pretty certain the sound willllll be different )
The build quality on these is insane! Rivals Epiphone models at 4x the price!
Those split coil option would be useless!
What I wish is, they had nitro finish. I love the Nitro finish. I wish there was a way to apply it in short time, and cheaper.
What is the general price?
It is listed on the Harley Benton website
Hope you have now taken the plastic film off the truss rod cover
Any day now... LOL
I don't know why you are saying alternate rather than alternative Maybe it's an American thing As an Englishman they are not the same thing at all
Nope they have horrible fret buzz...
I've had this guitar in my Thomann shopping cart, but didn't pull the trigger for the following reasons.
1) HB often come off as heavy to their counterparts, probably because they don't dry the wood enough. This is not good for my back nor for the durability of this guitar 5 years down the road.
2) Including shipping, this guitar comes to about $300 USD. For an extra 50 bucks I could buy an Ibanez Artcore, which I could get a much better resale price when I flip it. Used HB are worth nothing here.
3) HB have just too much history with bad shipping and bad set ups. If I got to pay another 100 bucks just to get it to play decently, might as well get an Ibanez.
4) Finally, I am just not a Hollow body type of guy. They are bulky and limited, and the aesthetic doesn't really turn my crank. Too many other good guitars out there.
I agree, my experience with HB is not great, it took 3 samples of a CST24
to get an acceptable sample, and even that one needed a lot of work to
set it up to a playable standard, then i had to upgrade the tuners and bridge
to keep it in tune.
I would also go for the Ibanez just for peace of mind and resale value.
If that guitar costs about 300$ after shipping, I would also get an Ibanez, purely based on resell value (Used HB's are probably worth nothing anywhere :-) ). It just makes sense.
I do have an HB35 as well and very happy with it, but it costed me only about 180€ with free shipping.
Whether the wood has been dried enough , I would not know. Mine has been pretty stable since I got it almost 3 years ago. If it would not have been dried enough I think I should have noticed (maybe, perhaps). But overall, yeah I agree with your reasoning. I think, if you are in Europe, HB makes sense if you are interested in low budget guitars, but since shipping costs went up ( it used to be a very reasonable flat fee iirc ) this is not the case for other parts of the world anymore
@Fatt Philosopher I agree with you, esp #2-4. I’ve had two HBs but they’re long gone. Had Shipping issues on both. Figured I gave them a fair chance.
If you're in the US it probably makes more sense to get something that doesn't attract high shipping charges. You can't really blame harley benton for that. In Europe we've had high charges for U.S.gear for decades,so the situation is reversed in your case. BTW It was the high import charges of American amps that lead to the birth of Marshall. In Europe though HB guitars are a good deal (no brand name Mark up) but those Ibanez guitars also look seriously good value.
Harley bentons are ok. Thing is you will need to polish the frets, set it up and put in a set of pickups if you don’t like the Roswell ones. Roswell pickups are reasonable but in no way are a substitute for a real set of quality pickups, also the tuners may need replacing.Beware also of HB boat anchors!!!! Now I’ve owned a few HB guitars and I’m not going to knock them, However, a Hb decent model will cost you around 200.00. After considering build quality I have decided to move away from Harley Benton, and heres the reason why.
I purchased a Prs Mira se for 545.00 British pounds. Well I’ve found this prs to be a totally different animal, polished frets, very, very good pickups indeed which I wouldn’t replace as they are top notch. Build is much better, has a real rosewood fretboard and is as light as a feather at 6lbs dead, tuners top notch.Sound wise through my ampero processor I’m there straight away for tones from AC/DC to single coil glassy tones, and it comes with a nice gigbag. For me spending another 245.00 pounds it is a no brainer. However, I think the Mira is a prs bargain and other models are far more expensive at almost nine hundred pounds, and in that case I’d rather spend a bit more on a Gibson sg standard. So Harley Bentons I agree are a good start on to the ladder and are excellent beginner instrument and Thomann are an excellent company for customer service.
You have to think, about upgrades and 200.00 pounds, plus 35.00 for tuners, 150.00 for pickups, a gigbag 25,00 that’s 410.00 pounds and you have got an upgraded Harley Benton worth 200.00? Is it worth it? That’s up to you.
I must admit,the only thing I don't like about my HB Les Paul copy is the weight (not sure it's any more than the real thing though). Every thing else seems fine though (is you ignore the green tuner heads).
Mine is a POS! The Roswell pickups, the pots and wiring are terrible. Unusable. This needs pickups, wiring, pots/caps and a full fret level and dress to get it to a mediocre level. An awful, awful guitar.
Wow surprised to hear that.