Check out more guitar reviews: ruclips.net/p/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES Check out some of my music: ruclips.net/p/PLNaLwTdlpQNHKlg8ALZfM3AINC20WMp8s
@@anchor9861 you missed my point. My point is people piss and whine on minor imperfections fora $200 guitar but pay $3000 for a relic which is essentially something that looks old and beat to Hades.
There aren't many guitar review sites where I come for the guitar review and stay for the music :-). You're a phenomenal guitarist. Genuine virtuosity. Thank you for uploading :-).
Literally just ordered one of these, in this colour. Fingers crossed it's as good as this one. Thanks for the honest reviews, nice to know you can trust somebody on RUclips
@@ianclose123 Whilst this one had a high fret, I also have a Harley Benton Fusion ii which is perfect no high frets or anything so just luck of the draw. Kept that one as it's more my thing and just unbelievable for the money. At least with Thomann you can send it back and get a refund if the worst happens.
Well done, Elmo! My brother got one of these HB SC-550, and all I can say is...it looks good, it sounds good and it plays good!!! And so affordable...Thanks THOMANN, thanks Harley Benton. Cheers & Thanks for the video.
So nice to hear Danny Gatton's name mentioned. I grew up in Southern Maryland, about 30 miles from where he lived. I wasn't really into the rockabilly thing back then but he was a legend among guitarists in my area.
Danny Gatton would have to be the most underrated guitarists of all time. He in my opinion was impossible to copy because his technique was impossible to copy. He's the greatest guitarist along with Alan Holdsworth ive ever heard, his technique was that good . I can't emphasise how good he was, Im sure you know living so close to him, that must of been amazing Im truly jealous.
@@glennhughes2664 I lived about a quarter mile from The Crossroads in Bladensburg, Md. Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan and Roy Clark are a few of the "regulars" that played there. Unfortunately, being a nightclub, I was too young to get in back then. We used to sit on the train tracks by Safford Marina across from the club and get high and listen to the music on Friday and Saturday night.
@@joehahn8817 The first time I heard Danny Gatton was when he was one of those cheap floppy Ep's you'd get with Guitar player magazine ( Blue powder by Vai wasn't recorded for Passion & Warfare it was A Demo of Carvin amps on a floppy ep ) man I had dozens of those things all exclusive to guitar Player Mr Big was another great one they where all good it was guitar player . The Evil Ex thought it would be a good idea to throw them away....still angry with her . I digress, when I heard Saint Danny it was so clean sounding not just his ridiculous technique but his guitar sound sort of shimmered to me, I had no Idea what he was doing, I still get completely humbled when I listen to him, he said he had a pretty heated rivalry with Roy Buchanan, Roy Was Fantastic but he wasn't Danny Gatton was that true Joe ? he's a great example to humble a guitarist who thinks or may be quite good.
for me as a bedroom hobby guitar player ... HB guitars r just what i need ... and i dont have to rob a bank everytime i buy one ... so i have plenty of them ;-) ... i used to have much more expensive guitars ... but i cant justify to myself to have so much money hanging on my wall ... so now i have HB and SX guitars and i love to play them ... btw great demo ;-)
But at the same time you have to look at the big picture, Thoman are a corporate machine , They don't just make guitars they make everything, you'll be part of the problem when small Incredible companies will be gone., Gibsons been suing Dean for the Explorer body shape, c'mon & now they have to deal with Thomans near Monopoly. How sad would it be if Dean went out of business ? Thats what you've got to look at but I can totally see your point, but if your a working musician & not only small business but Guitars in general are at risk due to Chinese sweat shop guitars like Harly F'n Benton
I just found one of theese for like 80 bucks, including a small 20W HB amp, strap, stand and jack-cable.. the guitar needed a small adjustment, a new set of strings and a wipe over with a rag.. an absolute steal! I love Harley Bentons, i currently own 3.. never dissapointed! They all feel much more expensive than they really are. BTW this video is a top example of a great player making a cheap guitar sound beautiful.. thanks Elmo :)
Just ordered this very guitar and it will be arriving in a few days. All but good news for this guitar so my hopes are high and looking forward for my new purchase!
I just got one of these, arrived yesterday, so I've had a day with it. Mine is the faded tobacco burst... looks fantastic... not as good as the one in this video, but still pretty good. Plays great. Mine's a "B-stock" as it was apparently returned by another customer before I bought it, but I don't see any defect in it warranting returning. There was a little fret buzz on the first fret out of the box, but on tuning it up to standard tuning, that went away. I am overall, super impressed with this guitar. My $206 B-stock Harley Benton beats my Gibson Les Paul Studio I paid $900 for 25 years ago.
Looks great! I’m of the philosophy that I would rather have one or two really great guitars than 10 cheap guitars but I can see the appeal of fixing up cheap guitars. This one looks nice quality.
Thats the point these are really great guitars. I own a Fender American standard strat a Ernie Ball music Man Majesty a carvin DC 400 a Gibson Les Paul standard among others and I still find myself grabbing my Harley Benton Max fusion signature off my wall more often than any of my other guitars. No it's not perfect but I love the neck.
I just received this beauty. So nice to play. I haven’t found a flaw on it yet. Action is a little high from what I am used to but no big deal. Harley Benton you have out did yourself again. Amazing value
Nice demonstration. I’m hoping to get an instrument capable of sustaining a note, and you sir, showed a great indication that these guitars can sustain a note if played properly. I already have a set of Gotoh vintage style locking tuners ready, as well as a new graph-tech nut, and $150. set of Seymour Duncan pickups. I’ve been getting those things ready for awhile, now I just need the right guitar for them, and you have helped me decide to try one of these SC550’s, thanks!
What Harley Benton do for the price is more exciting to me than what fender or Gibson do for there prices. Am a fender fan boy but 5 month ago i bought a Harley B strat in natural swamp ash off of ebay for £80 out of curiosity and i was blown away. It feels as comfy as my Fender mexican Roadhouse deluxe and my American Performer. It holds tune really well and i get awesome tones out of it, the frets are perfect, no high frets or sharp frets, i dont know if was previously set up before me or had any work on it, if it didnt then OMG! The Roswell pickups are very good and very responsive to your touch. I dont even look at it as a £80 guitar (retail £120) i just see it as one of my many strats. Would defo recommend this brand to anyone. Contemplating another one for a mod, wont be modifying the one ive got as she's my first Harley and holds a wee special place in my strat family!
I got one in chery red. Lovely guitar. I learnt on ibanez guitars so the neck is fine. Love stainless steel frets, no need to do anything with them. I bought mine from 1 previous owner who replaced bridge pickup and tuners .
I checked out one of these. Really not bad at its price point. Overall good workmanship, the one I checked out yesterday has stainless fretwork and it's nicely done. Well finished fret ends, smooth, no burrs, nicely polished. Action was good, not great. It would have required additional work to lower the action further, but for its target audience it'd be fine. It would have required my setup skills including some fretwork adjustments in order to get a really optimal action setup but it's totally playable right out of the box.
A pretty good bargain for someone starting off. Back when I first started learning to play in the 1970s we had a very limited selection of guitars. Basically everything was junk until you hit about $150 (and back then that was a lot of money). It sure is a great looking guitar I'll say that. Great review, thank you
Yep with inflation accounted that meant $700+ today. Honestly I find it difficult to tell the difference between a top model from a budget brand vs a standard from famous brands like Fender anymore. Unless it's truly more valuable instrument, better to get a HB!
@@AxemanMessiah I very much agree with you. Still though, the really cheap-o $100 guitars they sell these days are still much better than the $60 guitars department stores used to sell back in the '70s. Due to advances in manufacturing today's $100 guitars come with a real/adjustable bridge assembly. Back in the day all you'd get for a bridge was a sharpened/bent metal spoon handle!
I got mine a week after they were released ..awesome guitar ..mine is flawless.. great fretboard .. the emg pickups are excellent..tight.. Bad news 😢they sold out!!! so great were the early reviews .. my first HB & not my last .. I've got a bullet strat from 70s.. bought brand new & Gibson from the 60s bought new.. I've ordered 4 more HBs.. unbelievable value for money..
Harley Benton has been absolutely killing it lately. I also have been gravitating towards Strat style guitars I already have enough Les Paul style guitars I don't need another but if I did I would probably buy a Harley Benton over Epiphone. I always change the pickups anyway. Great video Elmo keep up the good work.
I have to start by saying I am a fan of Harley Benton guitars and currently own 3. I’ve always found them to be well made for the price, offering exceptional value for money and are a great upgrade platform for anyone planning on going down that route. The problem for me is with all their current “Gibson” copies. Their earlier models were pretty faithful reproduction’s but in reacent years they have clearly caved to pressure from Gibson to make them “Less like” their Gibson counterparts, something they have successfully achieved! If I want a Les Paul style guitar or a 335 style one, that’s what I want and thats no longer the case with Harley Benton for me, unless I can find an earlier model on eBay! My recent purchases have been from Burny and Artist Guitars, both of whom still make faithful reproduction’s, with some of the Artist models being cheaper but just as good or better in the case of the “59” models! We each pay our money and make our choice but for me, Harley Benton DOESN’T make Gibson style guitars that are of interest!
I LOVE my HB guitar and bass. However, I must be in the minority when it comes to flame tops. I much prefer the look of a plain top. Great vid, cheers!
I just bought one in tobacco sunburst, with the EMGs, I haven't received it yet but I can't wait. I've always wanted a Les Paul but I would never pay $2,600 for one, and with all the amazing reviews I figured if it plays good I don't care what's name is on the headstock.
Yep that guitar is way better than anything I could lay my hands on when starting out (ball park LP & SG copies by the likes of Columbus, Avon, Eros, etc) but man the star is that OD pedal ... was it the Strymon Riverside again ? The effect it had even on those budget humbuckers was amazing.
Good video sir. I thought it sounded a little dark at times compared to your excellent strat. I've been a single cut guy for a long time, but I also dig my Charvel and Ibanez double cuts. As long as they have humbuckers in the bridge. What a great price too. It is a great looking guitar. I've never heard anything bad about them in any reviews to be honest. They have cool guitars. Hope all is well sir
You are the best guitarist I have ever seen,holy crap that was amazing to watch thank you so very much for that u are the best brother man I'm impressed,jim from maine
Killer top on the Harley Benton. Glad you are keeping it. You should do a comparison after you put new pickups and nut on the guitar. Easy content. I would be interested to see what you put in there.
@@MrPolevaulter You should think about the “Di Marzio PAF 59’s”! Apparently they have been based on Larry Di Marzio’s own 59 PAF’s! Some of the sound clips on RUclips sound amazing! Can be a bit tricky to get hold of but are definitely going to be my next pickup upgrade! Check them out!
i bought the 550 black cherry and fell in love with it.but couldnt get the action low enough.its been to 3 luthers but the bridge has bottomed out and wont go any.lower..this must be a common fault cos my friend has same problem and ive seen a couple of comments on other channels saying the same.i bought a pair of burstbuckers.new pots.tuners etc to install into it.so now ive just paid over £600 for a wolf from aio in the states.these are 100 times better.aio asked me how id like it to be set up...they didnt disappoint
Got the fusion Tele last week. Amazing guitar for 300 euros. But the first thing I did was change out the bridge pickup to SD. I mean, I'm a metal kinda guy, so Roswells won't cut it. But by all means, these are good pickups. Cover a wide range of genres. Split coil is very nice.
Sounds good for the money its pretty unbeatable ( Thoman are taking over man ) Its truly is the golden age of guitars, Gibsons are totally crap though all of them since 2014-2015 --2020, Ive been playing Strats or Strat like guitars for so long, compared to my main Strat & the abuse ive put it through at times and never really ever went out of tune, I agree with yngwie les Pauls are nice pieces of furniture, Id definitely break a les Paul or a copy. I'm glad your keeping it & totally deck it out, It sounded descent but with some work it could be good I like the way you put in Gary Moore in a bit lately, don't forget he played a standard Strat & he got such a great hard rock sound out of it as well . Take care mate .
@@MrPolevaulter Yeah the stock pick ups did not sound good. The other problem you'll come across in the future is the " Pot Metal" they use, they throw whatever low grade piece of metal & melt it all down to black substance then they spray it with chrome to make it look pretty but it supposedly tarnishes real quick. I have a Les Paul standard id been wanting for a long time, but its not a Strat les pauls are far too easily broken . I can't see you playing that live even with all the needed upgrades, you'll need a real ez tune bridge as well thats if your going to use it live. Its all the lil things like the wiring having to be redone , It will end up being a very expensive guitar . I don't know if you new about pot metal, the veneer makes it pretty but they're not using even slightly good quality metal Bro.
This has to be a Cort build. It's almost exactly the same as the Cort branded model, right down to the headstock inlay. More evidence that Cort is THE builder most preferred by brands contracting international manufacturing. Excellent review dude ✌️🎶🎶
These are made in Indonesia. Made in Vietnam are only a very few HB "higher end" models. There are like 3 different Companies that build in Indonesia but Cort is the most probable builder yes.
I own over 15 Harley bentons they are all brilliantly amazing for the price feel like much more expensive guitars everyone of them's been good I played over 40 of them unbeatable for the price they're amazing guitars
Once again - Mr Rutabaga is right. With the change of hardware, the cost will still be less than a Gibson Les Paul. Sweetwater shows about $2,000 for a similar Les Paul with their name on it. Either old Saab or Lamborghini will get you where you need to go.
Looks and sounds like an absolute ripper !! I wonder if they deliver to Australia? Have to check this out. Thanks for another top review, Elmo. Great stuff.
Awesome colour Elmo! Desert flame! I plan to get a Hb 550 or sc custom +, but it will have to wait until after the Yamaha Revstar 502. Thanks for sharing!
I have this one. It's my first electric guitar. I think it looks great and feels good playing on. But where you plug in the guitar, that one was lose and fell into the guitar when after like 3 days. So I had to get it to the muusicshop to fix it. Also my first fret first two strings are out of tune for some reason. I don't know why. Otherwise I really like it! For the price, it does seem like quuality and it has great pickups Tesla.
And HB made new version of this guitar which is supposed to be even better :) it cost more also. But if I would be happy with this one I would stick to it and replace nut and pickups (which didnt sound bad, it seems they sound decent) later. Great review!
You are having too much fun this episode. The Guitar is very good looking, ..much better than it sounds. Your playing is what will help sell this " Secret Weapon". :-) Thanks for the very humorous and relaxing video.
I love my SC 550, but i may hope a real les paul is at least slightly better. The SC 550 plus is maybe even nicer, better stuff and EMG retroactives. And better buildquality i heared.
I would agree with you about those pickups also and the nut... Since I'm a long time LP-player, i would also change the tuning gear and the metallic parts to some better quality metal alloy. If it's otherwise good to play and no flaws in the frets, it is a bargain. I'm quite sure that it'd sound much better with let's say, DiMarzio P.A.F's 36th edition. That is a great pickup for a Les Paul. Btw; you forgot to mention, what kind of neck profile it has... Is it more of a slim taper or a more 50's style chunky one..? Thanks again for a great review; always funny and in a good mood. Take care, bro!🤩👍💥🎸🎶
I live in the state so These are not easy to get with out ordering from over seas. The one Harley benton I have played was a older Les Paul model before they offered coil split and what not. I wasn't not impressed the Epiphone studio priced the same sounded way better. But the Harley benton looked better. I'm sure their newer models sound better. As this one was really old. Probably one of their first models. I would love to try a newer one. If they ever send me one I would review it in a hot minute. This one your reviewing sounds way better. It also could have been because it was a used model. Had lots of dings, dents and what not.
So as someone who played classical guitar and acoustic i'm now looking to get into electric. A few questions! 1.Does it really matter what kind of guitar you pick, price-wise do the more expensive ones sound that much better? 2.Doesn't the sound you get rely much more on the quality of your amp? 3.How much should I spend for an AMP?
I would spend less on the amp, because there are really good affordable options out there. Guitars vary. They're all individuals, so try before you buy. Price does definitely come into it, not only in terms of sound, but (more importantly) feel. Here's a video I did on amps: ruclips.net/video/m1OnHcSaAEE/видео.html
I like your vid. The guitar sounds great. I like all you said. You did give me a vibe that you are a strat player and preffer strats. Thats fine and i have a strat its great but strats suck on metal.. The les paul wins on metal. Anyway i wish you would of said how much that benton cost and where to go to get one.
Oof! thats a stunning guitar. I hav the SC-550 faded tabacco and i love it. Although my fingers dont do that thingie you do. I also have the SC 500, and that one is nice too, but not as good. I'm kinda thinking about an SC 550 plus now since it comes with better stuff, better build quality (indonesia) and EMG retro actives. But maybe i need a few more lessons first... NO I NEED MORE GUITARS.
Good that you mentioned that you have got a great one. I was not so lucky with my SC custom II, the guitar had terrible fret work, plenty of blemishes and overall it made me play bass instead. Sold it for pennys and that was the last time I got a harley benton. I would reccomend begginers to save up those extra 100 euros and get an esp ec 256.....just saying.
What I think is going on here is that Thomann, the retailer that owns this brand is selling these guitars at a price that covers only costs and expenses, since their main business which is online retail sales of musical instruments is where they make their profit. The one problem here is that if they are selling a guitar that's as good or nearly as good as a higher end Squier, Epiphone, PRS SE but at a cheaper price point, then the other companies will lower their price point to compete, but will also have to lower their quality because they can't sell a guitar at cost. Thus, while these Harley Benton guitars may be a benefit to the consumer in the short term, it may hurt the quality of the entire lower end guitar market in the long term.
I would say the opposite is true! For every Gibson or Fender type guitar they sell, they probably sell 100 of these! With no “middle man” involved I imagine a big chunk of their profits come from HB sales! I think we could all benefit as we’ve been getting ripped off for years and now other manufacturers realise they have to stop if they want to compete!
@@ces69 I hope you're right. My fear is that this brand will inspire cost cutting by competitors as a way to compete based on price therefore the result will be inferior quality by most manufacturers across the board in the long run .
@@bozeeke I recently bought an Artist Guitars LP59 Les Paul for £200, similar price to a Harley Benton with Similar specs but much better pickups (based on Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB set) and much more “authentic” body and headstock shape! Killer guitar, probably only at that price because of HB pricing!
Check out more guitar reviews: ruclips.net/p/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES
Check out some of my music: ruclips.net/p/PLNaLwTdlpQNHKlg8ALZfM3AINC20WMp8s
Guitarist are weird, they micro analyze the finish on a cheap guitar but pay thousands for one that looks like sht
Happily gibson has good finishes for the money😂
I don’t pay the money for looks. I pay the money for feel and tone. Its about quality.
Ligit the ammount of ahity gibson finishes is crazy for the price youd expect dam near perfection
@@anchor9861 you missed my point. My point is people piss and whine on minor imperfections fora $200 guitar but pay $3000 for a relic which is essentially something that looks old and beat to Hades.
@@Ottophilsnob
From the start I asked myself, “When will I hear some Gary Moore?” Once again you did not disappoint.
Thanks :)
What's your opinion after 4 months?
Dude the smartest thing I could have ever done was hit subscribe. You crack me the hell up. Awesome inspirational playing too..
Thank you very much :)
Harley Benton makes the best budget guitars on the market, no questions asked.
I own 3 but have you actually seen or played an Artist LP59?
If you had, you wouldn’t say that!
you should have a look at wolf or aio.theyre a bit more expensive but aio will set it up the way you like it and the pups are way better
@@ces69 Yeah seemed to have overtaken JHS “Vintage” range
@@ces69 but those are more expensive. 40% more expensive
@@paulscushschofield1288 you're right those are super nice. If I was going for $500 range I'd pick one of those for sure
There aren't many guitar review sites where I come for the guitar review and stay for the music :-). You're a phenomenal guitarist. Genuine virtuosity. Thank you for uploading :-).
And thank you for the kind words :)
Literally just ordered one of these, in this colour. Fingers crossed it's as good as this one. Thanks for the honest reviews, nice to know you can trust somebody on RUclips
Glad I could help!
@@ianclose123 Yes. It did have one high fret that needed sorting but otherwise great.
@@ianclose123 Whilst this one had a high fret, I also have a Harley Benton Fusion ii which is perfect no high frets or anything so just luck of the draw. Kept that one as it's more my thing and just unbelievable for the money. At least with Thomann you can send it back and get a refund if the worst happens.
Well done, Elmo!
My brother got one of these HB SC-550, and all I can say is...it looks good, it sounds good and it plays good!!! And so affordable...Thanks THOMANN, thanks Harley Benton.
Cheers & Thanks for the video.
Cheers!
So nice to hear Danny Gatton's name mentioned.
I grew up in Southern Maryland, about 30 miles from where he lived.
I wasn't really into the rockabilly thing back then but he was a legend among guitarists in my area.
He was great, and is sorely missed.
Danny Gatton would have to be the most underrated guitarists of all time. He in my opinion was impossible to copy because his technique was impossible to copy. He's the greatest guitarist along with Alan Holdsworth ive ever heard, his technique was that good . I can't emphasise how good he was, Im sure you know living so close to him, that must of been amazing Im truly jealous.
@@glennhughes2664 I lived about a quarter mile from The Crossroads in Bladensburg, Md.
Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan and Roy Clark are a few of the "regulars" that played there. Unfortunately, being a nightclub, I was too young to get in back then.
We used to sit on the train tracks by Safford Marina across from the club and get high and listen to the music on Friday and Saturday night.
@@joehahn8817 The first time I heard Danny Gatton was when he was one of those cheap floppy Ep's you'd get with Guitar player magazine ( Blue powder by Vai wasn't recorded for Passion & Warfare it was A Demo of Carvin amps on a floppy ep ) man I had dozens of those things all exclusive to guitar Player Mr Big was another great one they where all good it was guitar player . The Evil Ex thought it would be a good idea to throw them away....still angry with her . I digress, when I heard Saint Danny it was so clean sounding not just his ridiculous technique but his guitar sound sort of shimmered to me, I had no Idea what he was doing, I still get completely humbled when I listen to him, he said he had a pretty heated rivalry with Roy Buchanan, Roy Was Fantastic but he wasn't Danny Gatton was that true Joe ? he's a great example to humble a guitarist who thinks or may be quite good.
for me as a bedroom hobby guitar player ... HB guitars r just what i need ... and i dont have to rob a bank everytime i buy one ... so i have plenty of them ;-) ... i used to have much more expensive guitars ... but i cant justify to myself to have so much money hanging on my wall ... so now i have HB and SX guitars and i love to play them ... btw great demo ;-)
"buy one" ow sweet summer child.....
I bought a Harley Benton Classic in Ocean Blue flame and l love it...my next one will be this LP version...
Cheers :)
@@terryduncan5718 Not the SC 550 plus?
But at the same time you have to look at the big picture, Thoman are a corporate machine , They don't just make guitars they make everything, you'll be part of the problem when small Incredible companies will be gone., Gibsons been suing Dean for the Explorer body shape, c'mon & now they have to deal with Thomans near Monopoly. How sad would it be if Dean went out of business ? Thats what you've got to look at but I can totally see your point, but if your a working musician & not only small business but Guitars in general are at risk due to Chinese sweat shop guitars like Harly F'n Benton
I just found one of theese for like 80 bucks, including a small 20W HB amp, strap, stand and jack-cable.. the guitar needed a small adjustment, a new set of strings and a wipe over with a rag.. an absolute steal! I love Harley Bentons, i currently own 3.. never dissapointed! They all feel much more expensive than they really are. BTW this video is a top example of a great player making a cheap guitar sound beautiful.. thanks Elmo :)
This guitar costs next to nothing!
Me: mowing yards like crazy so i can get enough to buy it
You'd have to mow a few more lawns to get a Gibson :D
indeed, indeed
Are you Mexican?
Just ordered this very guitar and it will be arriving in a few days. All but good news for this guitar so my hopes are high and looking forward for my new purchase!
Hope you enjoy it :)
Thank you Harley Benton for helping me find a awesome channel!! Man you shred! Badass 😀
Thanks!
I just got one of these, arrived yesterday, so I've had a day with it. Mine is the faded tobacco burst... looks fantastic... not as good as the one in this video, but still pretty good. Plays great. Mine's a "B-stock" as it was apparently returned by another customer before I bought it, but I don't see any defect in it warranting returning. There was a little fret buzz on the first fret out of the box, but on tuning it up to standard tuning, that went away. I am overall, super impressed with this guitar. My $206 B-stock Harley Benton beats my Gibson Les Paul Studio I paid $900 for 25 years ago.
That's some price gap too :D
Looks great! I’m of the philosophy that I would rather have one or two really great guitars than 10 cheap guitars but I can see the appeal of fixing up cheap guitars. This one looks nice quality.
Thats the point these are really great guitars. I own a Fender American standard strat a Ernie Ball music Man Majesty a carvin DC 400 a Gibson Les Paul standard among others and I still find myself grabbing my Harley Benton Max fusion signature off my wall more often than any of my other guitars. No it's not perfect but I love the neck.
I just received this beauty. So nice to play. I haven’t found a flaw on it yet. Action is a little high from what I am used to but no big deal. Harley Benton you have out did yourself again. Amazing value
Nice demonstration. I’m hoping to get an instrument capable of sustaining a note, and you sir, showed a great indication that these guitars can sustain a note if played properly.
I already have a set of Gotoh vintage style locking tuners ready, as well as a new graph-tech nut, and $150. set of Seymour Duncan pickups. I’ve been getting those things ready for awhile, now I just need the right guitar for them, and you have helped me decide to try one of these SC550’s, thanks!
Cheers!
What Harley Benton do for the price is more exciting to me than what fender or Gibson do for there prices. Am a fender fan boy but 5 month ago i bought a Harley B strat in natural swamp ash off of ebay for £80 out of curiosity and i was blown away. It feels as comfy as my Fender mexican Roadhouse deluxe and my American Performer. It holds tune really well and i get awesome tones out of it, the frets are perfect, no high frets or sharp frets, i dont know if was previously set up before me or had any work on it, if it didnt then OMG! The Roswell pickups are very good and very responsive to your touch. I dont even look at it as a £80 guitar (retail £120) i just see it as one of my many strats. Would defo recommend this brand to anyone. Contemplating another one for a mod, wont be modifying the one ive got as she's my first Harley and holds a wee special place in my strat family!
I’ve got this model in Paradise City Flame. Gorgeous guitar and plays and sounds fantastic.
Very nice!
paradise "city"???
Paradise Amber, lol, though paradise city sounds better 😂
I absolutely love LPS...my favorite style of guitar. Now if only I could play like EJK.....
Or have his ponytail...
Yeah, my ponytail :D
I got one in chery red. Lovely guitar. I learnt on ibanez guitars so the neck is fine. Love stainless steel frets, no need to do anything with them. I bought mine from 1 previous owner who replaced bridge pickup and tuners .
Nice demo , Elmo. I might have to get one of these. I too am particular to my strats.
Cheers!
I have to come back to this on a regular basis....that color!
Beautiful looking guitar sounds great for cheap guitar nice playing better than years ago when cheap guitars was cheap
I checked out one of these. Really not bad at its price point. Overall good workmanship, the one I checked out yesterday has stainless fretwork and it's nicely done. Well finished fret ends, smooth, no burrs, nicely polished. Action was good, not great. It would have required additional work to lower the action further, but for its target audience it'd be fine. It would have required my setup skills including some fretwork adjustments in order to get a really optimal action setup but it's totally playable right out of the box.
A pretty good bargain for someone starting off.
Back when I first started learning to play in the 1970s we had a very limited selection of guitars. Basically everything was junk until you hit about $150 (and back then that was a lot of money).
It sure is a great looking guitar I'll say that.
Great review, thank you
Yep with inflation accounted that meant $700+ today. Honestly I find it difficult to tell the difference between a top model from a budget brand vs a standard from famous brands like Fender anymore. Unless it's truly more valuable instrument, better to get a HB!
@@AxemanMessiah I very much agree with you.
Still though, the really cheap-o $100 guitars they sell these days are still much better than the $60 guitars department stores used to sell back in the '70s. Due to advances in manufacturing today's $100 guitars come with a real/adjustable bridge assembly.
Back in the day all you'd get for a bridge was a sharpened/bent metal spoon handle!
Cheers! Yeah, budget guitars used to be really bad. We're spoiled these days.
@@MrPolevaulter We are indeed, same could be said for amplifiers too.
@@AxemanMessiah I've been playing for 44 years and I agree
Great job sounding great.keep on picking
I got mine a week after they were released ..awesome guitar ..mine is flawless.. great fretboard .. the emg pickups are excellent..tight.. Bad news 😢they sold out!!! so great were the early reviews .. my first HB & not my last .. I've got a bullet strat from 70s.. bought brand new & Gibson from the 60s bought new.. I've ordered 4 more HBs.. unbelievable value for money..
I have to admit the flame top on that guitar is gorgeous & you rock the crap out of that guitar Elmo..🤟🏻😎👍🏻👍🏻🎸🎶☮️❤️
Cheers man :)
Harley Benton has been absolutely killing it lately. I also have been gravitating towards Strat style guitars I already have enough Les Paul style guitars I don't need another but if I did I would probably buy a Harley Benton over Epiphone. I always change the pickups anyway. Great video Elmo keep up the good work.
I have to start by saying I am a fan of Harley Benton guitars and currently own 3. I’ve always found them to be well made for the price, offering exceptional value for money and are a great upgrade platform for anyone planning on going down that route.
The problem for me is with all their current “Gibson” copies.
Their earlier models were pretty faithful reproduction’s but in reacent years they have clearly caved to pressure from Gibson to make them “Less like” their Gibson counterparts, something they have successfully achieved!
If I want a Les Paul style guitar or a 335 style one, that’s what I want and thats no longer the case with Harley Benton for me, unless I can find an earlier model on eBay!
My recent purchases have been from Burny and Artist Guitars, both of whom still make faithful reproduction’s, with some of the Artist models being cheaper but just as good or better in the case of the “59” models!
We each pay our money and make our choice but for me, Harley Benton DOESN’T make Gibson style guitars that are of interest!
Fair enough.
HB does it again!
:)
I LOVE my HB guitar and bass. However, I must be in the minority when it comes to flame tops. I much prefer the look of a plain top. Great vid, cheers!
Fair enough!
Thanks for doing this one, Elmo, I was looking at one of those.
Good choice. I concur. You needed a Les Paul.
No problem 👍
I should mention that I did change the Tuning pegs from that mint color to aged and put in some EMG'S
Cool!
This baby sounds better than my Epiphone with 650R and 700R humbuckers by far!!!!! Gotta get me one man!!! Thanks!!!
I just bought one in tobacco sunburst, with the EMGs, I haven't received it yet but I can't wait. I've always wanted a Les Paul but I would never pay $2,600 for one, and with all the amazing reviews I figured if it plays good I don't care what's name is on the headstock.
Great Playing! I love the sound of the TESLA pickups!
Came to look at the guitar and was treated to your playing. Thanks! 👏🏽
Thank you too!
Great demo!
Yep that guitar is way better than anything I could lay my hands on when starting out (ball park LP & SG copies by the likes of Columbus, Avon, Eros, etc) but man the star is that OD pedal ... was it the Strymon Riverside again ? The effect it had even on those budget humbuckers was amazing.
Yep, it's the Riverside.
Columbus Les Pauls are quite expensive these days, part of the “Law suit” era!
Check our eBay! Lol
Beautiful flame top! Good review, as always. I loved that sustain tone in P. Walkways, but I bet it was mostly the amp. 🙃
Pretty much yeah.
Goofiness @ 6:42 🤣🤣🤣😂
By the way, as always, awesome playing man!
Cheers!
I own the SC-550 Silverburst. Fantastic guitar.
Cool!
Looks nice, Elmo.
Love my SC-550. I never played a guitar as much as this one!
Good video sir. I thought it sounded a little dark at times compared to your excellent strat. I've been a single cut guy for a long time, but I also dig my Charvel and Ibanez double cuts. As long as they have humbuckers in the bridge. What a great price too. It is a great looking guitar. I've never heard anything bad about them in any reviews to be honest. They have cool guitars.
Hope all is well sir
All is well, thanks for asking. Hope you are too :)
I kind of want one so I could try to scallop the fretboard myself. Wouldn't dream about trying that on a Gibson LP.
Yeah, those are a bit expensive to experiment on :D
You are the best guitarist I have ever seen,holy crap that was amazing to watch thank you so very much for that u are the best brother man I'm impressed,jim from maine
I think those are actually great pickups! I have a 335 model and the pickups are better than Duncan Design PAF pickups in my D'Angelico 335.
Cort also makes great budget friendly LP models.
For the next video maybe another lesson on classical shredding ? 😋
Cheers from France 🇫🇷
I have some lesson ideas planned, but doing some gear stuff at the moment, since I have that already done. Don't have much time to film new stuff now.
Killer top on the Harley Benton. Glad you are keeping it. You should do a comparison after you put new pickups and nut on the guitar. Easy content. I would be interested to see what you put in there.
Thinking of doing something like that.
@@MrPolevaulter cool.
I’ve got Seymour Duncan’s in 2 of mine and upgraded the pots too!
Big improvement!
@@MrPolevaulter You should think about the “Di Marzio PAF 59’s”! Apparently they have been based on Larry Di Marzio’s own 59 PAF’s!
Some of the sound clips on RUclips sound amazing!
Can be a bit tricky to get hold of but are definitely going to be my next pickup upgrade!
Check them out!
@@ces69 My luthier actually built a couple of pickups. We'll see what they sound like.
i bought the 550 black cherry
and fell in love with it.but couldnt get the action low enough.its been to 3 luthers but the bridge has bottomed out and wont go any.lower..this must be a common fault cos my friend has same problem and ive seen a couple of comments on other channels saying the same.i bought a pair of burstbuckers.new pots.tuners etc to install into it.so now ive just paid over £600 for a wolf from aio in the states.these are 100 times better.aio asked me how id like it to be set up...they didnt disappoint
Got the fusion Tele last week.
Amazing guitar for 300 euros. But the first thing I did was change out the bridge pickup to SD. I mean, I'm a metal kinda guy, so Roswells won't cut it. But by all means, these are good pickups. Cover a wide range of genres. Split coil is very nice.
I recognized the long note from the best version of Parisienne Walkways ;-)
Sounds good for the money its pretty unbeatable ( Thoman are taking over man ) Its truly is the golden age of guitars, Gibsons are totally crap though all of them since 2014-2015 --2020, Ive been playing Strats or Strat like guitars for so long, compared to my main Strat & the abuse ive put it through at times and never really ever went out of tune, I agree with yngwie les Pauls are nice pieces of furniture, Id definitely break a les Paul or a copy. I'm glad your keeping it & totally deck it out, It sounded descent but with some work it could be good I like the way you put in Gary Moore in a bit lately, don't forget he played a standard Strat & he got such a great hard rock sound out of it as well . Take care mate .
Yeah, good guitar. The pickups have been changed now, but haven't had time to try it.
@@MrPolevaulter Yeah the stock pick ups did not sound good. The other problem you'll come across in the future is the " Pot Metal" they use, they throw whatever low grade piece of metal & melt it all down to black substance then they spray it with chrome to make it look pretty but it supposedly tarnishes real quick. I have a Les Paul standard id been wanting for a long time, but its not a Strat les pauls are far too easily broken . I can't see you playing that live even with all the needed upgrades, you'll need a real ez tune bridge as well thats if your going to use it live. Its all the lil things like the wiring having to be redone , It will end up being a very expensive guitar . I don't know if you new about pot metal, the veneer makes it pretty but they're not using even slightly good quality metal Bro.
i came for the guitar and fell in love with the accent
:)
Got one,reset the neck and intonation, sounds brill, versatile and when cranked up kicks ass.
Cool!
@@MrPolevaulter These are really premium instruments at second-hand prices!
This has to be a Cort build. It's almost exactly the same as the Cort branded model, right down to the headstock inlay. More evidence that Cort is THE builder most preferred by brands contracting international manufacturing. Excellent review dude ✌️🎶🎶
Cheers!
theyre made in veitnam
These are made in Indonesia. Made in Vietnam are only a very few HB "higher end" models. There are like 3 different Companies that build in Indonesia but Cort is the most probable builder yes.
I own over 15 Harley bentons they are all brilliantly amazing for the price feel like much more expensive guitars everyone of them's been good I played over 40 of them unbeatable for the price they're amazing guitars
Cool bananas :)
You have an addiction! I'm on my way too!
Some reviewers are saying the frets are not polished . Delivery to Canada is difficult .
Yeah, but that's a given with guitars of this price range.
Change of pickups, electronics, nut and you got a solid guitar.
Once again - Mr Rutabaga is right. With the change of hardware, the cost will still be less than a Gibson Les Paul. Sweetwater shows about $2,000 for a similar Les Paul with their name on it. Either old Saab or Lamborghini will get you where you need to go.
@@daniellarson3068 More higher end Epiphone than Gibson in reality!
Yep.
I feel like there's nothing to replace on my Epiphone Les Paul Standard. It wasn't mega expensive. And for sure nut doesn't looks that... Funny. :)
beautiful guitar, and sounds great. But I'm looking at that headstock, and, is that a Cort logo?
Nope.
@@MrPolevaulter Cort acoustic guitars has the same logo , maybe they make guitars for each other or something
Beautiful guitar! I love IT! And tehát fresh Sound!
Looks and sounds like an absolute ripper !! I wonder if they deliver to Australia? Have to check this out. Thanks for another top review, Elmo. Great stuff.
Im pretty sure they do, there made buy Thoman I think.
@@glennhughes2664 Thanks, Glenn.
The shipping though....
@@friedrudibega6384 Yeah it'll be half the price of the guitar. It'd be great if someone could shoot out the Artist Guitars LP against this.
@@friedrudibega6384 It might be an issue, they aren't as " cheap " in Australia as they are in the U.S. & they're especially cheap" in Europe .
It looks better then a gibson custom shop😀
:D
Does it? 🤨
Out of stock right now, with no plans to put more for sale on the store, they just told me
Well that sucks.
Awesome colour Elmo! Desert flame! I plan to get a Hb 550 or sc custom +, but it will have to wait until after the Yamaha Revstar 502.
Thanks for sharing!
Cool bananas :)
I have this one. It's my first electric guitar. I think it looks great and feels good playing on. But where you plug in the guitar, that one was lose and fell into the guitar when after like 3 days. So I had to get it to the muusicshop to fix it. Also my first fret first two strings are out of tune for some reason. I don't know why. Otherwise I really like it! For the price, it does seem like quuality and it has great pickups Tesla.
Mine is absolutely fantastic. I was going to change out the pickups and realized I didn't even need to. The build quality is unbelievable.
same here! the pups sound really vintage, gotta love 'em.
Love your Vids Elmo... could you suggest what pickups to swap/replace in this guitar please?
And HB made new version of this guitar which is supposed to be even better :) it cost more also. But if I would be happy with this one I would stick to it and replace nut and pickups (which didnt sound bad, it seems they sound decent) later. Great review!
Thanks!
Sounds cool! Maybe upgrade the tuners
Cheers!
You are having too much fun this episode. The Guitar is very good looking, ..much better than it sounds. Your playing is what will help sell this " Secret Weapon". :-) Thanks for the very humorous and relaxing video.
And thank you :)
Great guitar, excellent mod platform, be aware mine weighs a ton, if you play it standing you won’t for long.
Well it’s got some nice sustain!
?What songs is at 9:00 and 9:40?
I'll See the Light Tonight, and Miracle Man.
That costs less than my Les Paul's maintance, maybe i should put that on the wall and buy this instead 🤔
Yeah, they're really affordable.
I love my SC 550, but i may hope a real les paul is at least slightly better.
The SC 550 plus is maybe even nicer, better stuff and EMG retroactives. And better buildquality i heared.
I would agree with you about those pickups also and the nut... Since I'm a long time LP-player, i would also change the tuning gear and the metallic parts to some better quality metal alloy. If it's otherwise good to play and no flaws in the frets, it is a bargain. I'm quite sure that it'd sound much better with let's say, DiMarzio P.A.F's 36th edition. That is a great pickup for a Les Paul. Btw; you forgot to mention, what kind of neck profile it has... Is it more of a slim taper or a more 50's style chunky one..? Thanks again for a great review; always funny and in a good mood. Take care, bro!🤩👍💥🎸🎶
Cheers :)
6:29 - 6:46 Whole me. I love to experiment. xD
I live in the state so These are not easy to get with out ordering from over seas. The one Harley benton I have played was a older Les Paul model before they offered coil split and what not. I wasn't not impressed the Epiphone studio priced the same sounded way better. But the Harley benton looked better. I'm sure their newer models sound better. As this one was really old. Probably one of their first models. I would love to try a newer one. If they ever send me one I would review it in a hot minute. This one your reviewing sounds way better. It also could have been because it was a used model. Had lots of dings, dents and what not.
Which new pickups will you choose for this guitar...???
My luthier friend actually made some kind of fairly basic humbuckers for it. Haven't tried them yet.
@@MrPolevaulter what style if it's not unpolite to ask? "Vintage low output" to keep the LesP vibe or will you lean towards something else?
@@pablo963 Vintage.
@@MrPolevaulter perhaps an after/before video when you change the pickups?
Take care!
Hey, what pedals do you use to get so good sound while playing solo? 12:25
Strymon Riverside.
@@MrPolevaulter it's so expensive wow
So as someone who played classical guitar and acoustic i'm now looking to get into electric. A few questions!
1.Does it really matter what kind of guitar you pick, price-wise do the more expensive ones sound that much better?
2.Doesn't the sound you get rely much more on the quality of your amp?
3.How much should I spend for an AMP?
I would spend less on the amp, because there are really good affordable options out there. Guitars vary. They're all individuals, so try before you buy. Price does definitely come into it, not only in terms of sound, but (more importantly) feel. Here's a video I did on amps: ruclips.net/video/m1OnHcSaAEE/видео.html
Elmo 🤘 what pickups would you choose to swap into this guitar? Thanks
Vintage style low output ones.
Lower the pickup height until you get decent tones. It's a common thing with Hb lps
Is Esp Ltd EC 256 better than this one?
Don't know. Haven't tried it.
Yes, but twice the price!
Sorry if you've already answered a question about this, but how is the balance of the guitar when standing? Neck dive?
Didn't actually try it with a strap. Sorry.
I like your vid. The guitar sounds great. I like all you said. You did give me a vibe that you are a strat player and preffer strats. Thats fine and i have a strat its great but strats suck on metal.. The les paul wins on metal. Anyway i wish you would of said how much that benton cost and where to go to get one.
Oof! thats a stunning guitar. I hav the SC-550 faded tabacco and i love it. Although my fingers dont do that thingie you do.
I also have the SC 500, and that one is nice too, but not as good. I'm kinda thinking about an SC 550 plus now since it comes with better stuff, better build quality (indonesia) and EMG retro actives.
But maybe i need a few more lessons first... NO I NEED MORE GUITARS.
More guitars is the solution :D
Good that you mentioned that you have got a great one. I was not so lucky with my SC custom II, the guitar had terrible fret work, plenty of blemishes and overall it made me play bass instead. Sold it for pennys and that was the last time I got a harley benton. I would reccomend begginers to save up those extra 100 euros and get an esp ec 256.....just saying.
Sorry to hear.
when did you get it?
A touch of Gary Moore with the Les Paul lol nice
Cheers :)
I wish they would do this left handed version
It looks like there is one, but you get one choice of finish. harleybenton.com/product/sc-550lh-paradise-flame/
Those roswell or wilkinson pickups, the one I have seen for sale locally has zebra wilkinson pickups?
This one had Roswells.
What I think is going on here is that Thomann, the retailer that owns this brand is selling these guitars at a price that covers only costs and expenses, since their main business which is online retail sales of musical instruments is where they make their profit. The one problem here is that if they are selling a guitar that's as good or nearly as good as a higher end Squier, Epiphone, PRS SE but at a cheaper price point, then the other companies will lower their price point to compete, but will also have to lower their quality because they can't sell a guitar at cost. Thus, while these Harley Benton guitars may be a benefit to the consumer in the short term, it may hurt the quality of the entire lower end guitar market in the long term.
You might have a point, but only time will tell.
I would say the opposite is true!
For every Gibson or Fender type guitar they sell, they probably sell 100 of these!
With no “middle man” involved I imagine a big chunk of their profits come from HB sales!
I think we could all benefit as we’ve been getting ripped off for years and now other manufacturers realise they have to stop if they want to compete!
@@ces69 I hope you're right. My fear is that this brand will inspire cost cutting by competitors as a way to compete based on price therefore the result will be inferior quality by most manufacturers across the board in the long run .
@@bozeeke I recently bought an Artist Guitars LP59 Les Paul for £200, similar price to a Harley Benton with Similar specs but much better pickups (based on Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB set) and much more “authentic” body and headstock shape!
Killer guitar, probably only at that price because of HB pricing!
Oot loistava soittaa kitaraa! Ite just tilasin ton saman silver burst värinä. En malta odottaa. 😁
Kiitos :)
I have a HB and a few gibsons lp’s, I’m not the biggest gear head but I hear people not liking the HB humbuckers but I do
How would I go about ordering one of these in the US?
Thomann ships worldwide.