How on earth did I not know of your channel before? The Transparency, the video and audio quality, the fluidity in both speech and playing, everything is on point. Came looking for a video on the guitar, as I am looking into getting one myself, but will definitely stay for more of you! Thanks man, you really blew me away!
Hey man! Wow, thank you! That's so cool of you to say, I'm really glad you enjoyed and thanks for the kind words. It'll be great to see your name popping up around here on other videos! I'm fairly new around here... I'm just over a year into my own RUclips journey. I was doing freelance stuff for a few other channels for a while before starting my own. I aim to be as transparent as possible when I talk about a product because at the end of the day, I want to see the same thing when I watch a gear demo. I hate when someone says that a product is perfect because that's always totally subjective, but also, a product is never perfect. Even my favourite guitars have imperfections, that's what makes them what they are.
I didn't get paid, but I did receive the guitar. RUclips, and advertising law, means that we have to declare in every video if we get paid or not and if we receive any products in exchange for the video. You can get insane fines for not declaring. The guitar is fantastic though!
Thank you for this Leigh! I love your playing. I just happened to order an HB-35 Plus today in the Lemon Drop color. Your demo really helped me feel like I made the right decision.
Great demonstration. There's a lot of HB demos out there and it would be fantastic if the ones demonstrating would play through an HB amp. That would make the demo even better yet.
Thank you Malcom! I really appreciate that! Hopefully there are plenty of other videos both on the channel and coming soon that you also enjoy! Really appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Thank you so much man, really great to have you here and thanks for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate that. I love that you've time-stamped this! That's amazing haha. If I ever get to 50K we can look back at this comment and see exactly how long it took! If more people like you sub'd I'm sure we can see those numbers growing! Invite your guitar buddies along! haha But yeah, to answer your other point, it's one hell of a deal. I'd tried a few of their guitars before, but this was my first time sitting down with one properly. Sure, it's got a few rough patches on the finish... but playability and sound wise, for that kinda low price it's such a winner!
Proof that it's the player - not the price tag on the guitar. Sounds great in your hands. Got a Harley Benton TE90FLT (Tele with sort of Filtertrons) and it has become my main guitar for gigs together with the Vintage limited Strat you demoed a couple of weeks (months?) ago.
Thank you so much! Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the kind words too! Oh wow! I really like the look of the TE90FLT, I love that Tele/Gretsch hybrid with those pickups. I'd love to get my hands on one. How does it play? Oh you got one of the Strats? Those are great. I think I shot those about 5/6 months ago... time flies!
@@LeighFugeGuitar I'm incredibly happy with the TE90FLT. It plays great and has exactly the right sound for our music (Bluesrock). It has more bite than a humbucker guitar, does not get muddy that quickly, but sounds fatter than pure single coils. Don*'t expect a Tele-type twang, though.
I’ve been wanting this guitar in black ( gold trim ) for a couple of years now and I see it will be in stock in a while . I better order it now so I don’t miss out on it again ! Thanks for the video , quite a comprehensive play through with only an overdrive pedal , I have a tube screamer , so I’m set ! Take care all .
It really is a bargain! It looks fantastic and it plays and sounds great too. I am really impressed by this guitar. It comes in some other colours too, but blue is the best one I think! Thanks for checking the video out!
Great video! This was fun, and I really like your presentation, and your playing. Just subbed you. And I'll be looking for more of your content. I LOVE this guitar. Love Harley Benton, in general, and I love semi-hollow-bodies too. This one is very unique looking, with the metallic blue. I really dig it. Going to be checking this out pretty soon I think. Really cool guitar.
Hey Jimmy, Thank you so much for checking it out, I'm really glad you enjoyed it enough to sub to the channel, that's awesome to hear! HB are making some killer guitars. I really like what they're doing for very little money. It really proves that you don't have to spend 4 figures to get something that plays and sounds good! I love the metallic blue, this colour really caught my eye when I saw all the colours available.
Great review and I'm going to purchase one through your link. I own 5 HBs and they are all quality guitars for the money. Love my SC550, DC Custom, Paisley Tele, and my electric acoustic. The stratbis ok. Thanks again from the State's.
Hey Charles, Thanks for your comment and thanks for checking out the video, glad to hear you liked it. Also, thank you for using my link, that really helps me out! HB's are incredible quality for the money. It's hard to get better at this price I think. How they do it, I have no clue. Many other brands struggle in this price point but HB seem to put out great guitars.
Hey Dave, Thank you so much. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. The green one is cool, but the blue definitely won it for me haha. They play great! For the money, these guys are killing it!
Sounds fantastic, especially considering the price. Harley Benton really knock it out the park with affordable guitars. Little video recommendation, would you ever consider doing a rig rundown for Jamie Cook like you did for Alex Turner? That’d be great if so.
Hey! Thanks for checking it out. They really are making some great stuff. I've played a bunch of their guitars and always been impressed but this is the first time I'm really getting to sit down properly with one and I'm very impressed by it. The quality to price ratio doesn't make sense, it should cost way more than it does! I don't think an Arctic Monkeys rig video would sit too well on my channel 'cause it's very much not my usually style, but if I get asked to do any more rig videos for PMT I shall certainly put that forward man!
Hey man, thanks for checking out the video! Yeah they're killing it for the price! They're great guitars. The pickups are pretty good, but I'm toying with swapping them out in one of my other HB guitars to see how it sounds.
You're one of those channel I'm following and subconoscisously think you're in the 100k's. Production quality and content quality are absolutely great! How's the neck thickess on this puppy? I wanna buy a second guitar and I'd like a chunkier neck than a Charvel
Oh wow! Thank you so much man! I wish I was in the 100K's but I'm quite a way off at this stage! That it awesome to hear though, thank you so much!! The neck thickness, I'd say is certainly edging on the chunkier side. It's not the fattest neck I've ever played, but it's certainly not a Charvel style speedy neck. It's probably in the same thickness ballpark as some of the modern Epiphones. It's not a 50s style baseball back neck, but there's a bit of substance there.
Hey Stefan, Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video! That's awesome, I hope you like the guitar when it arrives, it's a great guitar for the money! The colour looks even better in person than it does in photos too!
They must've changed it. I shot this video when this guitar first came out nearly a year ago, they probably swapped it to Laurel somewhere along the way.
There isn't really a big difference. It's mostly cosmetic I think... the Vintage series is more traditional colours and the Plus is more unusual colours. The Vintage also has a more transparent finish with a flamed maple top according to their website and a lot of the plus range are the glitter finishes. Most of the other specs look pretty much the same
At that kind of money there's really no issue at all. I'd quite happily gig that too. That said, the sounds aren't really the whole deal - sounds a little short on sustain and lacking that sort of vocal ("bark" or "sweet and smoky") clarity thing a touch but....maybe the amp really? But at that price and straight out of the box....it's fully handsome, usable, enjoyable and impressive. Absolutely decent! Nice review. Nice guitar. You could take it anywhere but it doesn't quite strike me as a semi-hollow "tone" machine. Maybe the strings......maybe the amp.......maybe just isn't played in.....................at that money, no complaints except I already have my es335 and I won't trade it. Great video, nice playing, nice tour of the guitar, all we need to know. Thanks especially for not bunging it through a whole load of processing to noodle out elevator compositions and for keeping it bedroom-rock real. Terrific. A really good guitar for not-too-much money. Probably even better with a set up, your favourite strings and played in a bit.
Thanks for watching the video! I haven't personally gigged this guitar, but it's a great feeling guitar. It was massively improved with a new set of strings, the factory strings were a little dead feeling but that's pretty standard when buying a guitar in this price range. A quick once over and new strings brought it to life.
Hey Allen, Awesome, I think you'll enjoy it. It's a great guitar. The metallic blue won it for me too. Out of all the colours that one was the one I gravitated towards. Thanks for checking out the video!
Thank you Andy, glad to hear you enjoyed the video. You can't go wrong with the classic colours. I wanted something a little more out there because I already own a red 335, but the Cherry Red HB35 is also stunning. They make great guitars for the money and it seems that each year I try a new model and they get better and better.
@@flashmarket4456 Stable as you like, It doesn't get played as much as it should, as I'm a Bassist, but at least a few days a week, and always almost spot on. Thanks for asking. 👍
I personally have not played at Aeolus but everyone I know that has, absolutely loves them. Apparently they’re great guitars. I prefer the way the HB35 looks
I've been tempted to get one of these and putting lipstick humbuckers in it to get some of that danelectro vibe with the coil splits. Great video and excellent playing. I may just pull the trigger after watching this.
That would be a really fun mod! This has coil splits too so I wonder if you could get splittable lipstick humbuckers so you could go between those and single coil style lipstick pickups... that would be so cool!! Thanks for checking the video out, glad you enjoyed!
@@LeighFugeGuitar yeah that's the idea, there's some lipstick humbuckers on eBay with 4 wires for coil splits, it'll perfect for this model with inbuilt coil splitting capabilities. Danelectro already has model with a coil splittable lipstick humbucker and it's awesome. I just want to do a budget version of it, lol.
Great playing along a well structure and produced review of the guitar. Have a like! Just ordered mine and can't wait to play around with it for myself. If you are ever in the mood I'd be super curious to hear a direct comparison to the Epiphone 335 I see back there. ;)
Hey! Thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time to comment. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. Which colour did you order? Ahh, that guitar you see isn't an Epi 335, it's a Lucille which is a bit of a different beast altogether haha. I don't own an Epi 335 unfortunately.
@@LeighFugeGuitar Oh, I see! And what a pretty girl she is. :) I fell in love with the blue one straight away when I saw it in the store. So of course it had to be that one.
Hey, thanks for checking out the video. You can easily see when its in the neck pickup position because the pickup switch is on the upper horn of the guitar.
Awesome guitar, the HB35 PLUS METALLIC BLUE needs to be offered in left hand version, left handers would love the additional color options for purchase.
Hey Brian, Thanks for checking the video out and commenting. The metallic blue is cool, I was initially drawn to the pink but the blue won for me. They play great too, if you do decide to get one I think you'll dig it!
Good question, but hard to answer because Epiphone change their neck profiles regularly. The current Epi's seem to be leaning more into the chunky 50s neck vibe. I'd say this HB35 has a fat neck, but it's not a HUGE neck. It's probably somewhere in the middle.
Great question Steve! I haven't played any of the newer Epi 335 or 339 models but I have played one of the 2020 Epi LPs (Which I bought last year because I loved the colour) and that actually turned out to be a very disappointing guitar. Which for me was a shame because I own a bunch of late 90s and early 2000s Epiphones which I've always loved. My experience with the newer models was a bad one... but I know other people who bought newer Epis and loved them. The HB is great, and it certainly ticks a lot of boxes considering how low its priced. I'd say it would easily gig the Epi a run for its money. This one I have came set up well, I know others have complained about HB's not being great players out of the box, but I think for any guitar in this price range, a set up does wonders!
Harley Benton Guitars are worth exactly what you pay for them, no more, no less. I speak from experience, I owned a dozen H. Bentons at one point and the HB-35 Plus is worth 240 euros, it's not worth more. The problem was that Epiphone and Squier for the same 240 euros were making guitars that were NOT worth the money you paid hence the shock. But Squier has now caught up with Harley Benton, go check out their new range, it is phenomenal! Sadly, Epiphone, as usual, being a sister brand of Gibson, has not taken that step forward. I sold every H. Benton guitar I had but it's fun to buy one once in a while. Cheerio. Mike.
The newer HB stuff is a noticeable step up from the last year of stuff too. I recently got the new Fusion III and I’ve been gigging it alongside other guitars that are way above it in terms of price, but it holds up so well. The standard of affordable guitars is crazy right now! Epiphone I used to love. Some of my favourite guitars and most sentimental guitars are Epiphones, but they’re all 20 year old ones. The newer ones I’ve tried just haven’t been as good.
Hello, between this and the HB Aeolus, which one do you recommend or which one do you think is better? From the Harley Benton brand, which would be the best Hollow semi for you? Thanks for review!
Hey, I haven't played the Aeolus myself, but I know a lot of people who have and everyone seems to love it. It's meant to be one of the best HB guitars around. The HB35 is pretty good bang for the buck too!
Very good review. To your hesitation for "professional use": I think still the name on the headstock keeps a lot of pros away from Harley Benton. I remember Michael Rutherford playing the Genesis world tour with a Squier Bullet Strat = a very cheap guitar! I like that independence from all the beliefs and myths around brand names. I think it rather makes companies lazy (like Gibson) when people believe in the brand. There are blind tests between a Harley Benton HB 35 and a Gibson 335, guess which one was prefered by most of the listeners. One thing I would like to see is a HB fusion 3 with a thin and flat neck.
Thanks for the comment. I’ve actually got a bit of an update on that statement… so that was inclusive to this guitar. Since this video came out I did many more HB videos, one of which was for the Fusion III which I have used for gigs, and I also have a Harley Benton 5 string professional bass out on tour with me that i use for a small bass segment of a show I tour with. HB make some great stuff and they get better each year!
Because as I mentioned, it was very, very slight. So much so, that it wasn't causing any issues. The truss rod was just slightly over tightened but not to the point where it caused any issues with the playability. For me, I like a little neck relief, but there are probably plenty of other players who'd dig the setup out the box.
Interesting. I have a couple of HB guitars and agree they're great. I wish they would sell them at say £50 cheaper though without tuners and electrics so we could load them with what we wanted. I do find they are limiting factor.
The "back bow" and bridge height caught my eye too. If you adjust the relief (truss rod, easy, first thing to do), you'll get the story on the nut - it's going to be a touch high. Looks like the factory is winding the neck back a touch after stringing up to deliver instant playability. A full set up will be between £60.00 - £70.00 and will deliver a much better playing experience. You can do all of it yourself - except the nut and attention to the frets need care. Experience tells. If you're happy with tools in your hands..... do it. First, check the relief. Then the frets, finally the nut, last is the bridge and p/ups. Loads of videos on "how to", no need for fortunes on tools - just care. It seems the neck is typically "set" a little steep on these guitars so the bridge is high. Does it matter? Not at all. A set-up will bring it down a touch but the important thing is it won't ever have to be raised further and it's actually fine where it is. No problem, that'll set-up and play just "dandy" for years.
Hey! Thanks for checking out the video! The frets are pretty good on this, on one or two of the higher frets there was a little residue, which isn't uncommon on a guitar in this price range but once you play it for an hour they clean themselves up. It could be that you hear, I didn't notice it in the video, was there a particular point you heard it? I'd like to check that out!
@@LeighFugeGuitar .right in the beginning I noticed it the most.you were bending and it was a bit creaky. I have headphones on . So.Ok buddy cheers .love the channel.
Most 335 style guitars will suffer from a little neck dive, it's a common problem because of where the strap button is placed, but if you use a thick strap it usually stops it happening. As long as your strap isn't super slippery, it wont go anywhere.
I have bought a HB35 plus. Beautiful guitar but needs a lot of work to make it playable. Monstreous high frets and a action which can't be turned down due to a high nut. This cannot be solved by a simple truss rod adjustment. To make it playable you must spent €250,= for a luthier.
Oh no really? That sucks to hear. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it. Did you contact Thomann about it? Surely if it's a bad playing guitar they'd be able to help out.
These guitars are good if you learn to service them yourself but chanhing the nut and fret levelling is quite easy. Anyway, you play a prs neck afterwards and the difference is abysmal.
Hey Damon, Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for taking the time to comment too! I really appreciate that! Hope you enjoy the channel!
Got mine a year ago no complaint here but I did polished the frets, cosmetic imperfections I didn't see any and if there are some only gay men can find them.
Hey Edi, Yeah the frets seemed ok on this, they could definitely do with a little polish, but they're not too bad out of the box. When I restring it I'll definitely give them a quick clean up.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m going through a Blackstar Studio 10 which is by no means a bad amp, I use it in 80% of my videos. I personally hear nothing wrong with the tone in this video. What is it about the tone you don’t like? Tone of course is a subjective matter for everyone.
@@LeighFugeGuitar it just sounds thin to me and a tad harsh.. I listen to a lot of these reviews and demos and i play professionally myself.. Just didnt like the sound felt so mew at small.. I guyess theres a process of recording it.. Is it a computer di or a mic etc.. Nicely played though.. Ive had some of there guitars theyre great.. Regardless of cost they sound and play well..
It's mic'd with a Lewitt Audio LCT440 condenser mic. Same signal chain I use in all my videos. There's a few pedals for drive later on in the video too. I do think these Roswell pickups are pretty bright, they're a lot more forward sounding than other humbuckers I have. They still sound good though. They're great guitars for the money, it's surprising how much they can do for such a small cost.
Absolutely disappointed...... In the middle setting only the bridge pick up works..... Its too expensive to ship back. I wrote to them multiple times to please check it carefully as they are shipping it to canada......The QC...sticker means nothing. The nut is not cut properly as i keep hearing pings and it does not keep tune. Tuners are horrible. Im gonna see my luthier to change the useless nut and pick ups
Oh no really? Man, that sucks to hear. Do they not offer some kind of warranty on that? Surely there should be some form of buyer protection available for you as it's a new guitar. Most brands will offer some form of warranty.
I got mine about a week ago and I thought the same initially. However I noticed that in the middle position, if either of the pickup volumes is set to zero than neither pickup works. They both need at least some input before it works and this can appear as if only one pickup is working in the middle position. Let me know if that works for you too.
Too much guitars ! I sold mines because the Covid and the bad government ! I have no job ,and I am not a bad musician ! That's life . It's my fault !!!!!
Sorry to hear you're going through a bad time at the moment! I hope things start to get better for you soon. I think we're all getting near the end of Covid now, so I hope things improve for you and you can be reunited with your guitars!
Sorry to hear that upset you. Price point is a universally accepted term. I didn’t realise words needed to be nationalised that much. I will take better care in future to only use pre-approved Welsh terminology
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
How on earth did I not know of your channel before? The Transparency, the video and audio quality, the fluidity in both speech and playing, everything is on point. Came looking for a video on the guitar, as I am looking into getting one myself, but will definitely stay for more of you! Thanks man, you really blew me away!
Hey man!
Wow, thank you! That's so cool of you to say, I'm really glad you enjoyed and thanks for the kind words. It'll be great to see your name popping up around here on other videos! I'm fairly new around here... I'm just over a year into my own RUclips journey. I was doing freelance stuff for a few other channels for a while before starting my own.
I aim to be as transparent as possible when I talk about a product because at the end of the day, I want to see the same thing when I watch a gear demo. I hate when someone says that a product is perfect because that's always totally subjective, but also, a product is never perfect. Even my favourite guitars have imperfections, that's what makes them what they are.
I was waiting for somebody to demo the new lineup...and here it is
Thanks for checking it out! Hope you enjoy it man!
Same here
Awesome Look ,i ordered it a few minutes ago
You said you didn't get paid for this video but the beautiful guitar on your hands says otherwise
I didn't get paid, but I did receive the guitar. RUclips, and advertising law, means that we have to declare in every video if we get paid or not and if we receive any products in exchange for the video. You can get insane fines for not declaring. The guitar is fantastic though!
Thank you for this Leigh! I love your playing. I just happened to order an HB-35 Plus today in the Lemon Drop color. Your demo really helped me feel like I made the right decision.
Hey, thanks for checking it out! I hope you dig the guitar when it arrives! Let me know how you get on with it!
THANK YOU for not playing a load of Larry Carlton stuff. If I hear Room 335 one more time on a semi review I'm going to scream.
Nice review.
Great demonstration. There's a lot of HB demos out there and it would be fantastic if the ones demonstrating would play through an HB amp. That would make the demo even better yet.
I bought this guitar, it's on its way, can't wait to lay my hands on it!
That's awesome man! Hope you like it when it arrives! It's a really fun guitar!
Congrats!
@@from_spb I got it 😎. So nice and pretty
And how it's going?? Have u had problems with the tuning or something else??
Thanks
@@flashmarket4456 pretty good, stays on tune, warm sounds, and if is well calibrated will go smoothly, I like it
The Hair cut is great!
I got my HB 35 Plus Green metallic 2 weeks ago and I love it. Sound really good for the bucks.
Hey Douglas,
That's awesome, the green looks great. I think this line of guitars will sell very well. They are fantastic for the money!
And have u had any problems with the tuning?
I'm thinking on getting one too...the cherry one
Its not often I subscribe after just one video but here goes !
Thank you Malcom! I really appreciate that! Hopefully there are plenty of other videos both on the channel and coming soon that you also enjoy!
Really appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Outstanding video, and really tempting deal! For future reference, I just sub'd this channel at 1.9K. I'm sure you'll be at 50k in no time. 🤘
Thank you so much man, really great to have you here and thanks for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate that.
I love that you've time-stamped this! That's amazing haha. If I ever get to 50K we can look back at this comment and see exactly how long it took! If more people like you sub'd I'm sure we can see those numbers growing! Invite your guitar buddies along! haha
But yeah, to answer your other point, it's one hell of a deal. I'd tried a few of their guitars before, but this was my first time sitting down with one properly. Sure, it's got a few rough patches on the finish... but playability and sound wise, for that kinda low price it's such a winner!
I have an older one in Lemon. Fun guitar to play...
Oh nice! I bet it looks awesome in Lemon. They're such great guitars.
Hi Steve can you tell me the weight of the guitar? Thank you 🙂
Proof that it's the player - not the price tag on the guitar. Sounds great in your hands. Got a Harley Benton TE90FLT (Tele with sort of Filtertrons) and it has become my main guitar for gigs together with the Vintage limited Strat you demoed a couple of weeks (months?) ago.
Thank you so much! Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the kind words too!
Oh wow! I really like the look of the TE90FLT, I love that Tele/Gretsch hybrid with those pickups. I'd love to get my hands on one. How does it play?
Oh you got one of the Strats? Those are great. I think I shot those about 5/6 months ago... time flies!
@@LeighFugeGuitar I'm incredibly happy with the TE90FLT. It plays great and has exactly the right sound for our music (Bluesrock). It has more bite than a humbucker guitar, does not get muddy that quickly, but sounds fatter than pure single coils. Don*'t expect a Tele-type twang, though.
what I also like about it ... I don't have to worry about it getting stolen or damaged at a gig. ;)
Your phrasing is mesmerizing! 😊
Thank you so much!
I’ve been wanting this guitar in black ( gold trim ) for a couple of years now and I see it will be in stock in a while . I better order it now so I don’t miss out on it again ! Thanks for the video , quite a comprehensive play through with only an overdrive pedal , I have a tube screamer , so I’m set ! Take care all .
I've got the Cherry with a bit of flame.
I've had it over a year.
It got better.
I really enjoy it.
The cherry one looks great! The flame is really nice! They make some really great guitars.
Just ordered one. Thanks for the review. Really knocked the colour out of the park on this one
Awesome, hope you like it! Thanks for checking out the video!
@@LeighFugeGuitar thanks. Great playing btw.
And how it's going with It? Have u had problems with the tuning boe something else??
Im thinking on getting one too
Thanks
This guitar is absolutely glorious the color is amazing and it sounds great on this end so a bargain is what I would think 🤷🏻♀️
It really is a bargain! It looks fantastic and it plays and sounds great too. I am really impressed by this guitar. It comes in some other colours too, but blue is the best one I think! Thanks for checking the video out!
Great video! This was fun, and I really like your presentation, and your playing. Just subbed you. And I'll be looking for more of your content. I LOVE this guitar. Love Harley Benton, in general, and I love semi-hollow-bodies too. This one is very unique looking, with the metallic blue. I really dig it. Going to be checking this out pretty soon I think. Really cool guitar.
Hey Jimmy,
Thank you so much for checking it out, I'm really glad you enjoyed it enough to sub to the channel, that's awesome to hear!
HB are making some killer guitars. I really like what they're doing for very little money. It really proves that you don't have to spend 4 figures to get something that plays and sounds good! I love the metallic blue, this colour really caught my eye when I saw all the colours available.
Love the color and the natural back!
I wasn't sold on the back at first... it's more of an amber/orange stain, but in person it looks much nicer!
I bought it today in cherry color! Can't wait to receive it
Awesome! Thats cool man, I hope you really dig it! It's a great guitar.
Great review and I'm going to purchase one through your link. I own 5 HBs and they are all quality guitars for the money. Love my SC550, DC Custom, Paisley Tele, and my electric acoustic. The stratbis ok. Thanks again from the State's.
Hey Charles,
Thanks for your comment and thanks for checking out the video, glad to hear you liked it. Also, thank you for using my link, that really helps me out!
HB's are incredible quality for the money. It's hard to get better at this price I think. How they do it, I have no clue. Many other brands struggle in this price point but HB seem to put out great guitars.
Another great video Leigh
Thanks as always! Thanks for checking it out 😁🔥
Great review. Subscribed. I've been looking at the green ones, so this helped me decide to go for it. Thanks much!
Hey Dave,
Thank you so much. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. The green one is cool, but the blue definitely won it for me haha. They play great! For the money, these guys are killing it!
I love your intro playing WOW ❤️ your face expression said everything
Thank you for checking out the video, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the kind words!
Sounds fantastic, especially considering the price. Harley Benton really knock it out the park with affordable guitars. Little video recommendation, would you ever consider doing a rig rundown for Jamie Cook like you did for Alex Turner? That’d be great if so.
Hey! Thanks for checking it out. They really are making some great stuff. I've played a bunch of their guitars and always been impressed but this is the first time I'm really getting to sit down properly with one and I'm very impressed by it. The quality to price ratio doesn't make sense, it should cost way more than it does!
I don't think an Arctic Monkeys rig video would sit too well on my channel 'cause it's very much not my usually style, but if I get asked to do any more rig videos for PMT I shall certainly put that forward man!
The New Abnormal 🖤
My dream guitar, that's the reason why I am taking Mac shifts soon
I hope you manage to get your hands on it soon man! It's a great guitar. Plays and sounds wonderful. I think you'll love it!
Thanks, man. Great video. Unbeatable at that price, I'll be getting one. First thing, take that pick guard off, next maybe upgrade the pickups.
Hey man, thanks for checking out the video! Yeah they're killing it for the price! They're great guitars. The pickups are pretty good, but I'm toying with swapping them out in one of my other HB guitars to see how it sounds.
That's a beautiful and great sounding guitar for the price range!
Yeah absolutely! It's such a bargain. It's amazing what these guys are doing for such low cost!
It's great to see bam margera finally back in shape and practising hard with his instrument! God bless you!
Thanks. I'll pass this onto my marketing team.
Bam loves you!
Great review! I've got my eyes on the pink version of this one. Looks great and based on this review glad to know it sounds great too
I was torn between the pink and this one but blue just beat it for me. It plays great!
You're one of those channel I'm following and subconoscisously think you're in the 100k's. Production quality and content quality are absolutely great!
How's the neck thickess on this puppy? I wanna buy a second guitar and I'd like a chunkier neck than a Charvel
Oh wow! Thank you so much man! I wish I was in the 100K's but I'm quite a way off at this stage! That it awesome to hear though, thank you so much!!
The neck thickness, I'd say is certainly edging on the chunkier side. It's not the fattest neck I've ever played, but it's certainly not a Charvel style speedy neck. It's probably in the same thickness ballpark as some of the modern Epiphones. It's not a 50s style baseball back neck, but there's a bit of substance there.
Thanx for a very nice review ! That guitarr looks & sounds beautiful :) ! Going to order one with that colour right away ;) !
Hey Stefan,
Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video! That's awesome, I hope you like the guitar when it arrives, it's a great guitar for the money! The colour looks even better in person than it does in photos too!
Pao Ferro fingerboard? Thomann's website says it's Laurel.
They must've changed it. I shot this video when this guitar first came out nearly a year ago, they probably swapped it to Laurel somewhere along the way.
Great video! What’s the difference between Plus and the cheaper Vintage series?
There isn't really a big difference. It's mostly cosmetic I think... the Vintage series is more traditional colours and the Plus is more unusual colours. The Vintage also has a more transparent finish with a flamed maple top according to their website and a lot of the plus range are the glitter finishes. Most of the other specs look pretty much the same
@@LeighFugeGuitar thank you, I think the pick ups are same too. Not too bothered about the coil splitting which Plus has.
At that kind of money there's really no issue at all. I'd quite happily gig that too. That said, the sounds aren't really the whole deal - sounds a little short on sustain and lacking that sort of vocal ("bark" or "sweet and smoky") clarity thing a touch but....maybe the amp really? But at that price and straight out of the box....it's fully handsome, usable, enjoyable and impressive. Absolutely decent!
Nice review. Nice guitar. You could take it anywhere but it doesn't quite strike me as a semi-hollow "tone" machine. Maybe the strings......maybe the amp.......maybe just isn't played in.....................at that money, no complaints except I already have my es335 and I won't trade it.
Great video, nice playing, nice tour of the guitar, all we need to know. Thanks especially for not bunging it through a whole load of processing to noodle out elevator compositions and for keeping it bedroom-rock real. Terrific. A really good guitar for not-too-much money. Probably even better with a set up, your favourite strings and played in a bit.
Thanks for watching the video! I haven't personally gigged this guitar, but it's a great feeling guitar. It was massively improved with a new set of strings, the factory strings were a little dead feeling but that's pretty standard when buying a guitar in this price range. A quick once over and new strings brought it to life.
Beautiful guitar, getting ready to pull the trigger and order one. Love the metallic blue & sounds great, thanks for your review ! 👍
Hey Allen,
Awesome, I think you'll enjoy it. It's a great guitar. The metallic blue won it for me too. Out of all the colours that one was the one I gravitated towards. Thanks for checking out the video!
Спасибо огромное, звучит просто потрясающее и это самый отличный обзор!!!🎶
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
Best review I heard and seen on the HB35, clear and precise details and playing, Cheers, although I think mine will be classic Cherry Red. 👍
Thank you Andy, glad to hear you enjoyed the video. You can't go wrong with the classic colours. I wanted something a little more out there because I already own a red 335, but the Cherry Red HB35 is also stunning. They make great guitars for the money and it seems that each year I try a new model and they get better and better.
@@LeighFugeGuitar Ordered mine last night after watching your review, Cheers.👍😁😊👍
@@andypeters6336 and how it's going?
Any problems with It?? What about the tuning?
Thanks
@@flashmarket4456 Stable as you like, It doesn't get played as much as it should, as I'm a Bassist, but at least a few days a week, and always almost spot on. Thanks for asking. 👍
@@andypeters6336 thanks so much for answering
Great review. Between the Hb 35 plus and the Harley Benton Aeolus, which would you choose? and the reason?
I personally have not played at Aeolus but everyone I know that has, absolutely loves them. Apparently they’re great guitars. I prefer the way the HB35 looks
I've been tempted to get one of these and putting lipstick humbuckers in it to get some of that danelectro vibe with the coil splits. Great video and excellent playing. I may just pull the trigger after watching this.
That would be a really fun mod! This has coil splits too so I wonder if you could get splittable lipstick humbuckers so you could go between those and single coil style lipstick pickups... that would be so cool!!
Thanks for checking the video out, glad you enjoyed!
@@LeighFugeGuitar yeah that's the idea, there's some lipstick humbuckers on eBay with 4 wires for coil splits, it'll perfect for this model with inbuilt coil splitting capabilities. Danelectro already has model with a coil splittable lipstick humbucker and it's awesome. I just want to do a budget version of it, lol.
Great playing along a well structure and produced review of the guitar. Have a like!
Just ordered mine and can't wait to play around with it for myself.
If you are ever in the mood I'd be super curious to hear a direct comparison to the Epiphone 335 I see back there. ;)
Hey!
Thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time to comment. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. Which colour did you order?
Ahh, that guitar you see isn't an Epi 335, it's a Lucille which is a bit of a different beast altogether haha. I don't own an Epi 335 unfortunately.
@@LeighFugeGuitar Oh, I see! And what a pretty girl she is. :)
I fell in love with the blue one straight away when I saw it in the store.
So of course it had to be that one.
Very good review, just bought one
Thanks for checking the video out! Hope you like the guitar when it arrives! Which colour did you get?
Bought the met blue, great job on reviewing it.
It would be good to know when you are playing neck pick up etc on the screen.
Hey, thanks for checking out the video. You can easily see when its in the neck pickup position because the pickup switch is on the upper horn of the guitar.
@@LeighFugeGuitar but you can't easily see, that's the problem.
Awesome guitar, the HB35 PLUS METALLIC BLUE needs to be offered in left hand version, left handers would love the additional color options for purchase.
I can't believe they haven't made one in left handed yet because it's been a very, very popular model!!
I like the Met Blue, but i'd still buy the Black one. I'm not that big a Fan of the Met Pink or Green ones. but fantastic sound and look too.
Hey Brian,
Thanks for checking the video out and commenting. The metallic blue is cool, I was initially drawn to the pink but the blue won for me. They play great too, if you do decide to get one I think you'll dig it!
I just got that one as my first electric guitar!
Awesome choice, hope you love it!
Just a question. How about the neck. Is it thicker compares to an epiphone?
Good question, but hard to answer because Epiphone change their neck profiles regularly. The current Epi's seem to be leaning more into the chunky 50s neck vibe. I'd say this HB35 has a fat neck, but it's not a HUGE neck. It's probably somewhere in the middle.
Leigh & others who have bought one - think this is "better" than the Epiphone 335 or 339? I'm so tempted...
Great question Steve!
I haven't played any of the newer Epi 335 or 339 models but I have played one of the 2020 Epi LPs (Which I bought last year because I loved the colour) and that actually turned out to be a very disappointing guitar. Which for me was a shame because I own a bunch of late 90s and early 2000s Epiphones which I've always loved. My experience with the newer models was a bad one... but I know other people who bought newer Epis and loved them.
The HB is great, and it certainly ticks a lot of boxes considering how low its priced. I'd say it would easily gig the Epi a run for its money. This one I have came set up well, I know others have complained about HB's not being great players out of the box, but I think for any guitar in this price range, a set up does wonders!
@@LeighFugeGuitar cool - thnx Leigh!
Harley Benton Guitars are worth exactly what you pay for them, no more, no less. I speak from experience, I owned a dozen H. Bentons at one point and the HB-35 Plus is worth 240 euros, it's not worth more. The problem was that Epiphone and Squier for the same 240 euros were making guitars that were NOT worth the money you paid hence the shock. But Squier has now caught up with Harley Benton, go check out their new range, it is phenomenal! Sadly, Epiphone, as usual, being a sister brand of Gibson, has not taken that step forward. I sold every H. Benton guitar I had but it's fun to buy one once in a while. Cheerio. Mike.
The newer HB stuff is a noticeable step up from the last year of stuff too. I recently got the new Fusion III and I’ve been gigging it alongside other guitars that are way above it in terms of price, but it holds up so well. The standard of affordable guitars is crazy right now!
Epiphone I used to love. Some of my favourite guitars and most sentimental guitars are Epiphones, but they’re all 20 year old ones. The newer ones I’ve tried just haven’t been as good.
Im a beginner I just ordered the Lemon Drop one
Awesome! They’re great guitars. I think you’ll enjoy it!
@@LeighFugeGuitar hope so I’m excited and terrified at same time lol
@@deniseshaw3871 which part are you terrified about?
@@LeighFugeGuitar ermmm maybe the size I’m only little lol
@@LeighFugeGuitar I love it !!!!!
Hello, between this and the HB Aeolus, which one do you recommend or which one do you think is better? From the Harley Benton brand, which would be the best Hollow semi for you? Thanks for review!
Hey, I haven't played the Aeolus myself, but I know a lot of people who have and everyone seems to love it. It's meant to be one of the best HB guitars around. The HB35 is pretty good bang for the buck too!
@@LeighFugeGuitar Thanks bro! 😘
Great demo
Tell me pickups height on this guitar please!!!!????)
I don't know what they come as out of the box, but you can adjust the pickup height to suit whatever you need.
I would have preferred a closer to PAF 57 tone. AlNiCo 'll. These AlNiCo V do sound modern to me.
Very good review.
To your hesitation for "professional use": I think still the name on the headstock keeps a lot of pros away from Harley Benton. I remember Michael Rutherford playing the Genesis world tour with a Squier Bullet Strat = a very cheap guitar!
I like that independence from all the beliefs and myths around brand names. I think it rather makes companies lazy (like Gibson) when people believe in the brand.
There are blind tests between a Harley Benton HB 35 and a Gibson 335, guess which one was prefered by most of the listeners.
One thing I would like to see is a HB fusion 3 with a thin and flat neck.
Thanks for the comment. I’ve actually got a bit of an update on that statement… so that was inclusive to this guitar. Since this video came out I did many more HB videos, one of which was for the Fusion III which I have used for gigs, and I also have a Harley Benton 5 string professional bass out on tour with me that i use for a small bass segment of a show I tour with. HB make some great stuff and they get better each year!
I'm curious how a guitar with a back bow plays well 🤔
Because as I mentioned, it was very, very slight. So much so, that it wasn't causing any issues. The truss rod was just slightly over tightened but not to the point where it caused any issues with the playability. For me, I like a little neck relief, but there are probably plenty of other players who'd dig the setup out the box.
Interesting. I have a couple of HB guitars and agree they're great. I wish they would sell them at say £50 cheaper though without tuners and electrics so we could load them with what we wanted. I do find they are limiting factor.
The "back bow" and bridge height caught my eye too. If you adjust the relief (truss rod, easy, first thing to do), you'll get the story on the nut - it's going to be a touch high. Looks like the factory is winding the neck back a touch after stringing up to deliver instant playability. A full set up will be between £60.00 - £70.00 and will deliver a much better playing experience.
You can do all of it yourself - except the nut and attention to the frets need care. Experience tells. If you're happy with tools in your hands..... do it. First, check the relief. Then the frets, finally the nut, last is the bridge and p/ups. Loads of videos on "how to", no need for fortunes on tools - just care.
It seems the neck is typically "set" a little steep on these guitars so the bridge is high. Does it matter? Not at all. A set-up will bring it down a touch but the important thing is it won't ever have to be raised further and it's actually fine where it is. No problem, that'll set-up and play just "dandy" for years.
Great demo.cheers from chicago
The frets sound dirty when you bend is it just me .?
Hey! Thanks for checking out the video!
The frets are pretty good on this, on one or two of the higher frets there was a little residue, which isn't uncommon on a guitar in this price range but once you play it for an hour they clean themselves up. It could be that you hear, I didn't notice it in the video, was there a particular point you heard it? I'd like to check that out!
@@LeighFugeGuitar .right in the beginning I noticed it the most.you were bending and it was a bit creaky.
I have headphones on . So.Ok buddy cheers .love the channel.
Looks great. Guitar is nice too.
Thanks! It looks awesome doesn’t it! It’s a great colour!
For all you pinkos, it is Metallic Plum, not rose, not pink.
I wouldn't worry too much. Try not to let it ruin your day. It's just a colour. Pink, Rose, Plum.. they're pretty close.
@@LeighFugeGuitar I ordered the Plum, have to defend my honour!
That guitar is absolutely beautiful but it looks like it neck dives
Most 335 style guitars will suffer from a little neck dive, it's a common problem because of where the strap button is placed, but if you use a thick strap it usually stops it happening. As long as your strap isn't super slippery, it wont go anywhere.
10:05 almost a strat)
Absolutely! If you were playing it on stage you'd probably never tell the difference.
I have bought a HB35 plus. Beautiful guitar but needs a lot of work to make it playable. Monstreous high frets and a action which can't be turned down due to a high nut. This cannot be solved by a simple truss rod adjustment. To make it playable you must spent €250,= for a luthier.
Oh no really? That sucks to hear. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it. Did you contact Thomann about it? Surely if it's a bad playing guitar they'd be able to help out.
These guitars are good if you learn to service them yourself but chanhing the nut and fret levelling is quite easy. Anyway, you play a prs neck afterwards and the difference is abysmal.
awesome subbed
Hey Damon,
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for taking the time to comment too! I really appreciate that! Hope you enjoy the channel!
Me too...
Got mine a year ago no complaint here but I did polished the frets, cosmetic imperfections I didn't see any and if there are some only gay men can find them.
Hey Edi,
Yeah the frets seemed ok on this, they could definitely do with a little polish, but they're not too bad out of the box. When I restring it I'll definitely give them a quick clean up.
Nice
Looks nice but sounds terrible here.. They normally sound great.. Poor amp?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m going through a Blackstar Studio 10 which is by no means a bad amp, I use it in 80% of my videos.
I personally hear nothing wrong with the tone in this video. What is it about the tone you don’t like? Tone of course is a subjective matter for everyone.
@@LeighFugeGuitar it just sounds thin to me and a tad harsh.. I listen to a lot of these reviews and demos and i play professionally myself.. Just didnt like the sound felt so mew at small.. I guyess theres a process of recording it.. Is it a computer di or a mic etc.. Nicely played though.. Ive had some of there guitars theyre great.. Regardless of cost they sound and play well..
It's mic'd with a Lewitt Audio LCT440 condenser mic. Same signal chain I use in all my videos. There's a few pedals for drive later on in the video too.
I do think these Roswell pickups are pretty bright, they're a lot more forward sounding than other humbuckers I have. They still sound good though.
They're great guitars for the money, it's surprising how much they can do for such a small cost.
Absolutely disappointed...... In the middle setting only the bridge pick up works..... Its too expensive to ship back. I wrote to them multiple times to please check it carefully as they are shipping it to canada......The QC...sticker means nothing. The nut is not cut properly as i keep hearing pings and it does not keep tune. Tuners are horrible. Im gonna see my luthier to change the useless nut and pick ups
Oh no really? Man, that sucks to hear. Do they not offer some kind of warranty on that? Surely there should be some form of buyer protection available for you as it's a new guitar. Most brands will offer some form of warranty.
I got mine about a week ago and I thought the same initially. However I noticed that in the middle position, if either of the pickup volumes is set to zero than neither pickup works. They both need at least some input before it works and this can appear as if only one pickup is working in the middle position.
Let me know if that works for you too.
Giuro, è più intonata di una Gibson Les Paul studio. Costa meno della metà.
It also stays in tune well!
Too much guitars ! I sold mines because the Covid and the bad government ! I have no job ,and I am not a bad musician ! That's life . It's my fault !!!!!
Sorry to hear you're going through a bad time at the moment! I hope things start to get better for you soon. I think we're all getting near the end of Covid now, so I hope things improve for you and you can be reunited with your guitars!
@@LeighFugeGuitar Thank you Leigh !
Good review. One criticism. You’re,Welsh not American, stop with the PRICE POINT it’s PRICE RANGE AARRGGHH
Sorry to hear that upset you. Price point is a universally accepted term. I didn’t realise words needed to be nationalised that much. I will take better care in future to only use pre-approved Welsh terminology