Thomann really should offer this JA baritone with some more modern features like they do with the other models. Locking tuners, emg’s p81/p60, roasted neck, ebony board, ss frets. Would go a long way! But for $250 shipped these JA baritones are a modern baritone dream. Thanks for the video.
I got a Harley Benton JA60 and it’s been amazing. Pick ups are reasonably quiet, fret ends are well dressed and smooth, tuners are tight and finish is amazing. Plays great right out of the box. I watched a lot of review videos and the JA60 was consistently reviewed positively while a couple other HB models not so much.
So far out of the 4 Harley Benton’s that have come across my bench only one was flawless. The other three (including this one) had issues that needed to be dealt with. What the ones that had problems had in common was they were all under $200. The “good one” went for about $250 at the time, roughly 5 years ago. Based on that limited amount of exposure alone it is my guess that they put a little more care in the stuff that costs a little bit more. But it could be I just got three bad examples from an otherwise good manufacturer. 4 is hardly enough for a fair assessment. My biggest complaint about this guitar isn’t the trash left inside the cavity, the weird clipped wire they left soldered on, or even the fret sprout (sadly fret sprout is rampant these days). It’s the unfinished condition of the fretboard. You really can’t see it in the video but it’s bad. Like, your fourth grader cut her little sisters hair when nobody was looking bad. But for under $200 it’s a good value compared to what else is available. I haven’t been able to get my hands on a Brian May version but I would welcome the opportunity. It might seem like I’m anti Harley Benton but I’m really not. They are pretty decent for the price. I really hope in the future everyone focuses more on solving this fret sprout issue that seems so common these days.
@@REXYLAB HB may gone to work on QC in the 5 years that you made your observations. Five years ago ... I would not have bought a Harley Benton . I sincerely thought they were "made up", a fiction or a joke. But I saw a few YT videos on the TE 52 (their vintage Tele clone) For $150 US ... (last year) Durn thing was so cool, I bought another (to make it "different" as a G&L MFD platform) Now I recently went "High End HB "... I copped a Fusion T (a 2 HB Tele clone) for less than $400 US . Wow. If you are a guitarguy , You should have one. If you do not, you really shouldn't be shading them, based on 5 year old observations...and stuff that has passed your repair desk. I mean really you cannot buy a set of crazypriced PRS pickups (around $500 US) for the cost of this beast. Or Heck, even Lambertone "Creamas" (to make your $2K PRS S2 Mc Carty sound "right"). Now I gather that we share the same contempt for insanely priced guitar gear (PRS & Gibson ) seem to be the biggest offenders) And Fender MIM stuff is priced as high as the US stuff of 2 years ago ... I am a bit afraid to go on Amazon to buy a guitar (hence no EART or Aria yet) ... But this HB Fusion stuff is worth a look at. And if ya don't ... its your loss (and more for me) 😇
The problem, as pointed out near the beginning, is the lose jack, the cheap switches, and those will create problems within a few months of ownership. Most of my guitars that I own that cost less then 1000 dollars had jacks with loosening nuts. I had to take each in to a shop to fix that issue. And loosening jacks and switch means that the attached wires will move too much. As mentioned above, it's usually the electronics that show the cheapness.
Correct! It is positively criminal that the most skimped on component is the most used. I recommend switchcraft jacks at least but prefer pure tone jacks. Not for tone but rather for durability.
Yes! If you want that deep, dense tone, this guitar can do it, and in the mix, it won't step on the bass or other guitars or the kick drum. You can dial it in so that it occupies its own sound space (Geez, I wish I was better at actually doing that, not just talking about it 🤣🤣) @@nvjohansson9741
Common problem on them black painted parts is the grounding issues it can create. Most likely the ground wire wasn't making a good contact with the bridge.
That wouldn’t keep it from making sound, it just would have been extra noisy. I suspect it was the crappy switch. No matter what it doesn’t matter as it works now, and that brings up a good thing to consider with Harley Benton guitars. I have dealt with four, two should have been destroyed at the factory as they were junk from lack of QC. The other two (this one included) were good… after I put a bunch of work into them. I did them both for free for different reasons but if I would have charged for either one it would have been about the price of the guitar, possibly more. Therefore, I don’t think these things are worth the risk. They are cool after all the work goes in them but I don’t want to buy a guitar to have to work on it. If you don’t do your own work the cost of labor and possibly new parts makes it (in my opinion) not worth getting one. But four guitars isn’t enough to have a solid feel for a company. It is enough for me personally to not trust them enough to where I won’t buy one unless I have a really good reason.
I bought an 8 string fanned fret HB a year ago. Put Tone Ninja locking tuners on, very good. Needed lots of hard playing, broke in nicely now. Pickups... eh, not great. Switch - Jacks - Wiring, absolute crap. For $240 shipped. No complaints. Nice, Cheap, taught me a lot of new techniques and a very fun axe.
Good question. P90s and humbuckers are different dimensions so you would need a humbucker specific pick guard to cover the voids. Then you would also need to route for width but it could be done. I wouldn’t put a EMG in this though, it’s not worth the upgrade in my opinion.
I usually get all wires, pots, switches/knobs and jack swapped out on the HB's, that's cheaped out even on expensive models. You should also avoid any black finish, as it can chip off. However, the guitars with EMG pickups, roasted neck, stainless steel frets etc. are much better than any Ibanez guitar in same price range ($550 ish). Never had any issues with the nut, locking tuners or bridge either.
Harley Benton is really hit and miss in my experience. However, I could really see them doing the same thing Taco Bell did way back in the early 90s. Get you hooked with stuff that is super cheap, release a few things that are more expensive, raise prices across the board, eliminate the super cheap things. They are half way there now. Good Harley Bentons are an incredible value, bad ones are horrific! The only problem I have with them is you do t know if it’s good or bad until it gets to you.
@@REXYLAB I fear the peak for Harley Benton was around 2021. I've seen several videos and read about many buying good guitars with very few problems then, and cheaper than what they sell for now. I guess that's inflation for you, but still... They keep changing factories too. So in theory if you and a friend orders let's say the highest end HB guitar, one of you get a bad one. The workers could also have a bad day. Return policy is great, but expensive shipping for the customers in the US.
@@olebrumme6356 I had a client that tried to return a broken HB bass. It showed up broken and they made it next to impossible for them to return it. I had to quote them more than the value of the bass so they could have a new instrument like they paid for and not a repaired bass. I’m t was a bit of a nightmare for them.
Thanks for the full review. I just bought one and got it delivered in a week. 197.00 plus 85.00 for 2day ups shipping. I thought it was a great deal for my first electric baritone. I bought an acoustic HB Baritone a couple of years ago and loved it, so I wasn't nervous about the HB electric. I really appreciate your very solid look at for me! Bast Regards.....
Great eye! When I saw that poster over 20 years ago at a guitar repair shop (that absolutely hosed me and is a huge reason I learned to repair guitars) I asked if I could buy it. The owner said he didn’t want to bother taking it down but if I’d give him $20 I could have it. I couldn’t get that $20 out fast enough! I absolutely love Mike Keneally! I met him twice and he is an amazingly nice person. Not only that but I used to really dislike the Fender Strat until I played the one I wound up buying because it sounded like Mike Keneally. I named it “Strat… Thank You For Buying Strat”. He signed it and everything. I’ll make a little short of it just for you.
@@REXYLAB It's true, Mike is the nicest guy in show biz. Along with being a huge force of musical nature. Were I able to post a photo, I'd post one of your show with the poster on my TV, with my copy of the poster right behind it. Double the MK!
I have never seen a gio that needed as much work as this guitar did. Personally I would hand pick a gio from a guitar store rather then take my chances with what Harley Benton sent me. I have all the tools to make just about anything right and it was a good thing. In reality though the frets on this guitar need to be pulled and the fretboard needs to be finished. And not just cleaned up but hit with a radius block. It is a cool guitar though but a gio is a way better value.
@@REXYLAB There are no baritone GIO models from Ibanez, this Harley Benton model is the only choice in this range, this or the SubZero Rogue VI. I think you've been simply unlucky with this particular model, many people aren't complaining (and many are) so this is all a matter of luck unfortunately.
@@voidwalker985 yep! It is all luck. And I have dealt with 4 and two were horrible so that’s 50/50. If you or anyone else wants this one it’s still for sale at C&M Music the phone number is in the description. I did take care of lots of its issues so it’s good to go now.
I was looking at old aria ts400 and aria knight warriors which im noticing look alot like Gibson victorys which i think are beautiful...but anyway,i notice even aria is getting into the 30 inch baritone game...I Love metal.Even new metal like bands like spiritbox and bmth.but no i dont wanna play that way.
@@REXYLAB How do you buy Aria ? I looked at their web site ... No dealers listed . Only a distributor in Madison Heights, MI (my old backyard) ... but no dealers. PS I would not buy a used JA Baritone from "James" as I bought a new one from Thomann, for about $250 shipped to my door. I'm sure James would want more ... for a used POS ?) instrument... PS the fretboard on my JA was dry ... but after treating it with F One Oil ... it looks (and plays) like a million bucks (Fender would want $300 + for it by itself)
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR it seems all you want to do is argue. I have answered you honestly and fairly and you won’t have it. My channel is a place for people to come and not worry about unnecessary conflict. I don’t allow trolling, knock it off or you will be blocked.
@@REXYLAB You don't have to block me, as I will not be back . Troll ? Buying "used " Harley Benton makes absolutely no sense, as they are so cheap to begin with. I have a JA Baritone, and my experience (like I'm sure of many others is nothing like the missive you report here ... Troll, ? No not me You , FRAUD is more like it. "OEM" ??? , well there you gave up your motive to slime Harley Benton . You fancy yourself a "manufacturer ? Good Luck with that ! You have to wonder how HB can produce, market and sell fine instruments ... At prices you could not even begin to approach ! Folks will see through you , and abandon your "channel". There are too many legit guys to interact with. Obviously, You are not one of them Now show everybody what a true Troll you are , and slime me while I'm gone ...
It might have been more helpful, if you had photographed this "fret sprout for days" and other maladies... See, after transitioning from buying only American made Fender & Gibson... To my first Asian guitars in PRS SE (now not so cheap any more) ... To owning 6 Harley Bentons ... I have never even remotely got a guitar that was a "piece of junk". Or even had shipment issues (But Look Out ... UPS is about to go on Strike) Sometimes I think dealers who cannot sell these instruments, But see them routinely undercut many brands ... Cast Shade (without bothering to document anything) Just to slow the Harley Benton momentum. My recently acquired Harley Benton Fusion T ... Is as serious threat to the newer PRS SE at $900 US (I bought them before PRS went price crazy) and would give serious doubts to paying the $1,900 asked for a PRS S2 Mc Carty (I fondled a used one in pristine condition at a local shop the other day.) I own a similarly priced S2 Thinline ... so I have a direct reference ...
I don’t know why but the amount the frets stuck out made me want to run a potato up and down the sides of the guitar. Weird because it was more like a bread knife. Either way, I am not a guitar store so I’m not trying to make these things look bad at all. I’m simply reporting on what the thing I have in front of me is like. Harley Benton is weird for a few reasons. The first is that they are hit and miss. I have worked on 4 and 2 were good , the other 2 were garbage. This one I would put in the good category but only after doing some serious work to it. The fretboard on this guitar in all honesty is not done. The frets need to be pulled and it needs to be finished with a radius block (but I’m not going to do that for a borrowed guitar I am reviewing the construction quality of. This and the fret sprout are both things I tried to show on camera but they just didn’t show up the way I wish they would have. The next reason is Harley Bentons have fanboys that rival Gibson fanboys. The general attitude tends to be, “how dare you say anything negative (even if truthful) about Harley Benton”! Now, buying made in America only is silly at best and racist at worst. There are plenty of amazing guitars made all over the place, yes… even China. Harley Benton has potential to become consistently a great value for the money just like Ibanez was in the 70s and 80s. However the QC of Ibanez was very consistent whereas HB is not. In general my attitude about these guitars is they are great for the price if you know have to do your own work, get a good one, or can’t tell. Personally I haven’t seen anything from them that inspires me to get one but I do have “cheap” guitars that I love more than my expensive ones.
@@REXYLAB Well You should check out their Fusion line ... I just copped one (great fret work, Stainless steel no less) And even if you don't like the pickups (they are not bright & chimey like PRS SE 85/15S ... but more midrangey like PRS SE 58/15 ... ) The pickups are easily swapped out ... for say $700 US (maybe a bridge upgrade too. I did John Mann's PRS bridge in a CU 24 ,and it is awesome) ... For this $700. you would have a guitar worth of any comparison to $2K - $4K guitars ... You are kinda messin up if you don't have one. Great and Inexpensive. I'm up to 6 HB's now. I'm sure IYV and EART and others are cool, its just that I have had good luck with the HB line so far, so I'll continue going that way
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR I’m happy for you and it’s great that you have had good luck with HB. If I get the opportunity to do another one I certainly will but I won’t be buying one. My situation is a little different. I have over 125 guitars and at this point I’m more interested in doing custom things in my shop. I have OEM status because of my business license with just about every manufacturer of parts so I can quite literally build whatever I can dream up for at a pretty decent price. Plus every guitar I own is a tax write off. It’s awesome that I can do that. Another thing I do is grab things I wanted but couldn’t afford when I was much younger. In that situation nothing but an original that is stock will do. Lastly I do pieces on guitar history so I’ll grab up a rare piece when I come across such a thing. In august I’m flying out to the Kahler factory to do some work with them because of my focus on the more historical side of guitar. That’s just guitars and basses, it doesn’t include recording studio or drums and cymbals. So personally I really am not looking for any more guitars. In reality I should probably sell a few but I’m not going to do that. This particular HB was used in my favorite local shop so we made a deal where I could do a video about its construction and I’d give it a setup as a thank you. So I had no motivation one way or the other to say it was good or bad. Currently it is still there for sale and even with the fret sprout fixed and fully intonated it’s just kind of meh and not impressing anyone. If you want it the number is in the description to the store. Ask for James and tell him you saw the video. He’s a great guy and I’m sure he will give you a fantastic deal. Be warned though, the fretboard looks terrible because they did a bad job of it at the factory, but the fret sprout is fixed. My newest guitar will be here on Monday. It’s the Badlands GX1. Far from cheap but it is #50 of 50 so it has already increased in value. That is what I told my insurance company anyway, and my guitar business makes me legit enough to where I can do my own appraisals with no conflict of interest. My over all experience with HB is 50/50. There were two that came across my bench that were so bad I felt bad for the client because there was nothing that would have made them a guitar worth owning. The other 2 (this one included) were ok. Four guitars total is not enough to praise or condemn a company but it is enough to where I am not willing to risk my money to buy something before I can put my hands on it. I think HB has a lot of potential but the thing that would make me trust them is being able to go somewhere and check them out. That would eliminate their ability to sell them so cheap and the thing that makes them so appealing would disappear, so I doubt they will do that any time soon. But in reality who knows?
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR I’m happy for you and it’s great that you have had good luck with HB. If I get the opportunity to do another one I certainly will but I won’t be buying one. My situation is a little different. I have over 125 guitars and at this point I’m more interested in doing custom things in my shop. I have OEM status because of my business license with just about every manufacturer of parts so I can quite literally build whatever I can dream up for at a pretty decent price. Plus every guitar I own is a tax write off. It’s awesome that I can do that. Another thing I do is grab things I wanted but couldn’t afford when I was much younger. In that situation nothing but an original that is stock will do. Lastly I do pieces on guitar history so I’ll grab up a rare piece when I come across such a thing. In august I’m flying out to the Kahler factory to do some work with them because of my focus on the more historical side of guitar. That’s just guitars and basses, it doesn’t include recording studio or drums and cymbals. So personally I really am not looking for any more guitars. In reality I should probably sell a few but I’m not going to do that. This particular HB was used in my favorite local shop so we made a deal where I could do a video about its construction and I’d give it a setup as a thank you. So I had no motivation one way or the other to say it was good or bad. Currently it is still there for sale and even with the fret sprout fixed and fully intonated it’s just kind of meh and not impressing anyone. If you want it the number is in the description to the store. Ask for James and tell him you saw the video. He’s a great guy and I’m sure he will give you a fantastic deal. Be warned though, the fretboard looks terrible because they did a bad job of it at the factory, but the fret sprout is fixed. My newest guitar will be here on Monday. It’s the Badlands GX1. Far from cheap but it is #50 of 50 so it has already increased in value. That is what I told my insurance company anyway, and my guitar business makes me legit enough to where I can do my own appraisals with no conflict of interest. My over all experience with HB is 50/50. There were two that came across my bench that were so bad I felt bad for the client because there was nothing that would have made them a guitar worth owning. The other 2 (this one included) were ok. Four guitars total is not enough to praise or condemn a company but it is enough to where I am not willing to risk my money to buy something before I can put my hands on it. I think HB has a lot of potential but the thing that would make me trust them is being able to go somewhere and check them out. That would eliminate their ability to sell them so cheap and the thing that makes them so appealing would disappear, so I doubt they will do that any time soon. But in reality who knows?
Yeah, back in the day HB-s were good for one reason and one reason only: they were cheap AF so you could use them as weapons or destroy them for dramatic appearances. Nowadays they are not bad at all, had many HBs honestyl. The quality checks though? Yeah... nonexistent almost. I have had a Dullahan, an R457 and an R458, both multiscale. The R457 was a dream to play on, the R458 not so. The Dullahan was probably the best HB that I owned.
Fret Sprout For Days ??? I have one of these guitars, with what is described as a" Purpleheart" fret board. I believe (from Googling "Purpleheart") ... this is Amaranth ... the same fretboard as on the HB TE 90QM's . I was concerned about it at first, but after watching 2 of these TE90's go through a severe (but usual) Midwestern winter ... They are of the few fret boards ... that were completely stable through the nasty, cold & dry winter ! NO Fret Sprout ! And well finished fret ends (on a $230 guitar) Now the JA I just received these summer , but the fret work on this guitar, puts my $1,500 Fender American Pro Jag to shame... in that the JA boards is so smooth, and the fret ends very well finished . If I had Phil McKnights' sock ... easily a 4.5 outta 5 (and maybe a full 5) as to be so friggin long (30" scale) it is so well finished top to bottom. So maybe your "observation" got some attention at the factory. I'll have to report back in Feb 2024 to see if she is as stable as I thinking she will be ... But sprout for days ? No Way !
Someone that gets upset when they hear something they don’t like about something they do like is a fanboy. This was not an attack on Harley Benton, it was a honest assessment. This guitar having issues doesn’t make your guitars bad. It also wasn’t a personal attack on you. Being a fanboy is not a good thing. It makes you blindly accept things that are not good or argue for things that are just incorrect.
I bought the Harley Benton Bass 6. Huge piece of garbage. I mostly play bass in a band setting and mostly guitar at home so I thought it would be Perfect. Boy was I wrong. I even put Alnico single coil sized humbuckers in it to try to help it. Still Garbage. Not sure What I will do with it. Probably trade it in at a music store towards something useful. I am completely disappointed in it.
Sadly Harley Benton is hit or miss. I think that could change if they were carried in stores. Of corse then the price would go way up. The Harley Benton fan boys give Gibson fan boys a run for their money. It’s really crazy the level of brand loyalty these things get for no reason other than they are very cheap.
@@REXYLAB Yeah, I'm not a Name Brand Fan. I just like something that plays and works great for me. My Les Paul is an Epiphone. My Stagemaster is a Squire. I do have an Ibanez RG but it's not the High end one. and Finally, my Charvel bass but I got a steal of a deal on it.
@@mooreoutdoor9841 Some of my favorites were considered inferior at the time. I have some nice guitars that are very expensive and some are actually worth it, but most are not. I will say this, if you are going to spend a bunch of money on something make it your set up. I have a video on the Plek coming out saturday, if you are even a little curious about what that thing does I highly encourage you to check it out.
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR it’s pretty obvious from your 3 comments in defense of this guitar by Harley Benton you are now a Harley Benton fan boy. They can have things slip past QC and in the grand scheme of things it’s ok. The world won’t stop turning. Your going to be ok, enjoy your guitars.
Thomann really should offer this JA baritone with some more modern features like they do with the other models. Locking tuners, emg’s p81/p60, roasted neck, ebony board, ss frets. Would go a long way!
But for $250 shipped these JA baritones are a modern baritone dream. Thanks for the video.
This guitar turned out pretty nice after I did a bunch of the finish work for them. If you know how to do your own work these are a great deal.
I got a Harley Benton JA60 and it’s been amazing. Pick ups are reasonably quiet, fret ends are well dressed and smooth, tuners are tight and finish is amazing. Plays great right out of the box. I watched a lot of review videos and the JA60 was consistently reviewed positively while a couple other HB models not so much.
I’ve really found they’re about 50/50, but that’s just my experience.
The only important thing is if it brings you happiness.
I tried one of those Brian May Harley Bentons. For the price it was an amazing guitar! It sounded very good !
So far out of the 4 Harley Benton’s that have come across my bench only one was flawless. The other three (including this one) had issues that needed to be dealt with.
What the ones that had problems had in common was they were all under $200. The “good one” went for about $250 at the time, roughly 5 years ago.
Based on that limited amount of exposure alone it is my guess that they put a little more care in the stuff that costs a little bit more.
But it could be I just got three bad examples from an otherwise good manufacturer. 4 is hardly enough for a fair assessment.
My biggest complaint about this guitar isn’t the trash left inside the cavity, the weird clipped wire they left soldered on, or even the fret sprout (sadly fret sprout is rampant these days).
It’s the unfinished condition of the fretboard. You really can’t see it in the video but it’s bad. Like, your fourth grader cut her little sisters hair when nobody was looking bad.
But for under $200 it’s a good value compared to what else is available.
I haven’t been able to get my hands on a Brian May version but I would welcome the opportunity.
It might seem like I’m anti Harley Benton but I’m really not. They are pretty decent for the price.
I really hope in the future everyone focuses more on solving this fret sprout issue that seems so common these days.
@@REXYLAB yes i know what you mean...the spread is very high.You can have luck and get a good one.
@@MrStarlight1980 very true indeed.
@@REXYLAB HB may gone to work on QC in the 5 years that you made your observations. Five years ago ... I would not have bought a Harley Benton . I sincerely thought they were "made up", a fiction or a joke. But I saw a few YT videos on the TE 52 (their vintage Tele clone)
For $150 US ... (last year) Durn thing was so cool, I bought another (to make it "different" as a G&L MFD platform)
Now I recently went "High End HB "... I copped a Fusion T (a 2 HB Tele clone) for less than $400 US . Wow. If you are a guitarguy , You should have one. If you do not, you really shouldn't be shading them, based on 5 year old observations...and stuff that has passed your repair desk.
I mean really you cannot buy a set of crazypriced PRS pickups (around $500 US) for the cost of this beast. Or Heck, even Lambertone "Creamas" (to make your $2K PRS S2 Mc Carty sound "right").
Now I gather that we share the same contempt for insanely priced guitar gear (PRS & Gibson ) seem to be the biggest offenders)
And Fender MIM stuff is priced as high as the US stuff of 2 years ago ...
I am a bit afraid to go on Amazon to buy a guitar (hence no EART or Aria yet) ... But this HB Fusion stuff is worth a look at. And if ya don't ... its your loss (and more for me) 😇
The problem, as pointed out near the beginning, is the lose jack, the cheap switches, and those will create problems within a few months of ownership. Most of my guitars that I own that cost less then 1000 dollars had jacks with loosening nuts. I had to take each in to a shop to fix that issue. And loosening jacks and switch means that the attached wires will move too much. As mentioned above, it's usually the electronics that show the cheapness.
Correct!
It is positively criminal that the most skimped on component is the most used. I recommend switchcraft jacks at least but prefer pure tone jacks. Not for tone but rather for durability.
The tuners being plastic is a hard no for me
@@thisguy2973 they are metal. Poorly made with lots of slop, but metal nonetheless.
11:30 sounds kind of like Kyuss Homme, thick AF.
Yes! If you want that deep, dense tone, this guitar can do it, and in the mix, it won't step on the bass or other guitars or the kick drum. You can dial it in so that it occupies its own sound space (Geez, I wish I was better at actually doing that, not just talking about it 🤣🤣) @@nvjohansson9741
You had me at "the second coming or piece of shit."
Sometimes I get lucky and exactly what to say just falls out of my face hole.
Common problem on them black painted parts is the grounding issues it can create. Most likely the ground wire wasn't making a good contact with the bridge.
That wouldn’t keep it from making sound, it just would have been extra noisy. I suspect it was the crappy switch.
No matter what it doesn’t matter as it works now, and that brings up a good thing to consider with Harley Benton guitars. I have dealt with four, two should have been destroyed at the factory as they were junk from lack of QC. The other two (this one included) were good… after I put a bunch of work into them.
I did them both for free for different reasons but if I would have charged for either one it would have been about the price of the guitar, possibly more.
Therefore, I don’t think these things are worth the risk. They are cool after all the work goes in them but I don’t want to buy a guitar to have to work on it. If you don’t do your own work the cost of labor and possibly new parts makes it (in my opinion) not worth getting one.
But four guitars isn’t enough to have a solid feel for a company. It is enough for me personally to not trust them enough to where I won’t buy one unless I have a really good reason.
Are the cavities routed to also fit humbuckers? Thanks for the video!
@@ScootsMaGoots1717 P90 routes will not fit humbuckers.
I bought an 8 string fanned fret HB a year ago. Put Tone Ninja locking tuners on, very good. Needed lots of hard playing, broke in nicely now.
Pickups... eh, not great.
Switch - Jacks - Wiring, absolute crap. For $240 shipped. No complaints. Nice, Cheap, taught me a lot of new techniques and a very fun axe.
They are good to learn repair and maintenance on. And once you get them right they are just fine.
Do you think underneath the guard, would an emg 81 fit in there without routing? Thanks
Good question. P90s and humbuckers are different dimensions so you would need a humbucker specific pick guard to cover the voids. Then you would also need to route for width but it could be done.
I wouldn’t put a EMG in this though, it’s not worth the upgrade in my opinion.
HB is a real good brand. Made good guitars and we can play with a low budget.
Thank you Harley Benton!!!
There is nothing wrong with inexpensive guitars.
I usually get all wires, pots, switches/knobs and jack swapped out on the HB's, that's cheaped out even on expensive models. You should also avoid any black finish, as it can chip off. However, the guitars with EMG pickups, roasted neck, stainless steel frets etc. are much better than any Ibanez guitar in same price range ($550 ish). Never had any issues with the nut, locking tuners or bridge either.
Harley Benton is really hit and miss in my experience.
However, I could really see them doing the same thing Taco Bell did way back in the early 90s.
Get you hooked with stuff that is super cheap, release a few things that are more expensive, raise prices across the board, eliminate the super cheap things.
They are half way there now.
Good Harley Bentons are an incredible value, bad ones are horrific! The only problem I have with them is you do t know if it’s good or bad until it gets to you.
@@REXYLAB I fear the peak for Harley Benton was around 2021. I've seen several videos and read about many buying good guitars with very few problems then, and cheaper than what they sell for now. I guess that's inflation for you, but still...
They keep changing factories too. So in theory if you and a friend orders let's say the highest end HB guitar, one of you get a bad one. The workers could also have a bad day. Return policy is great, but expensive shipping for the customers in the US.
@@olebrumme6356 I had a client that tried to return a broken HB bass.
It showed up broken and they made it next to impossible for them to return it. I had to quote them more than the value of the bass so they could have a new instrument like they paid for and not a repaired bass.
I’m t was a bit of a nightmare for them.
@@REXYLAB Damn, that sucks! Wish I could easily travel to Germany and test the guitars in person.
@@olebrumme6356 if they don’t just drop ship them from China.
Thanks for the full review. I just bought one and got it delivered in a week. 197.00 plus 85.00 for 2day ups shipping. I thought it was a great deal for my first electric baritone. I bought an acoustic HB Baritone a couple of years ago and loved it, so I wasn't nervous about the HB electric. I really appreciate your very solid look at for me! Bast Regards.....
I’m glad I could help and I hope you enjoy your new guitar.
I was going to subscribe because I like your opinions and jokes, and then I saw the Keneally EMG pickups poster.
Mr. Insta-fan, at your service!
Great eye!
When I saw that poster over 20 years ago at a guitar repair shop (that absolutely hosed me and is a huge reason I learned to repair guitars) I asked if I could buy it. The owner said he didn’t want to bother taking it down but if I’d give him $20 I could have it.
I couldn’t get that $20 out fast enough!
I absolutely love Mike Keneally! I met him twice and he is an amazingly nice person. Not only that but I used to really dislike the Fender Strat until I played the one I wound up buying because it sounded like Mike Keneally.
I named it “Strat… Thank You For Buying Strat”. He signed it and everything.
I’ll make a little short of it just for you.
@@REXYLAB It's true, Mike is the nicest guy in show biz. Along with being a huge force of musical nature.
Were I able to post a photo, I'd post one of your show with the poster on my TV, with my copy of the poster right behind it. Double the MK!
@@Arfshesaid457 you have the same poster!?!? We’re twisies?
The hard part is shipping that costs 50% of the price of the guitar! 🤣
And if it shows up broken it’s A Nightmare!
I'll take that over a squier bullet or a Ibanez gio
I have never seen a gio that needed as much work as this guitar did.
Personally I would hand pick a gio from a guitar store rather then take my chances with what Harley Benton sent me.
I have all the tools to make just about anything right and it was a good thing. In reality though the frets on this guitar need to be pulled and the fretboard needs to be finished. And not just cleaned up but hit with a radius block.
It is a cool guitar though but a gio is a way better value.
@@REXYLAB There are no baritone GIO models from Ibanez, this Harley Benton model is the only choice in this range, this or the SubZero Rogue VI. I think you've been simply unlucky with this particular model, many people aren't complaining (and many are) so this is all a matter of luck unfortunately.
@@voidwalker985 yep! It is all luck. And I have dealt with 4 and two were horrible so that’s 50/50.
If you or anyone else wants this one it’s still for sale at C&M Music the phone number is in the description. I did take care of lots of its issues so it’s good to go now.
Nice playing at the end.
Thanks! I started running the audio interface into the video switcher and it really helped the sound quality.
If I buy a new TV, Vacuum Cleaner or a Car I don't open it up to see what's in it. Why would I do that with a guitar.
I don’t think you would do that. You would need to want to and have the skill set to do it.
I was looking at old aria ts400 and aria knight warriors which im noticing look alot like Gibson victorys which i think are beautiful...but anyway,i notice even aria is getting into the 30 inch baritone game...I Love metal.Even new metal like bands like spiritbox and bmth.but no i dont wanna play that way.
I have a knight warrior that I absolutely love. I would definitely get a aria pro before a Harley Benton.
@@REXYLAB How do you buy Aria ? I looked at their web site ... No dealers listed . Only a distributor in Madison Heights, MI (my old backyard) ... but no dealers.
PS I would not buy a used JA Baritone from "James" as I bought a new one from Thomann, for about $250 shipped to my door. I'm sure James would want more ... for a used POS ?) instrument... PS the fretboard on my JA was dry ... but after treating it with F One Oil ... it looks (and plays) like a million bucks (Fender would want $300 + for it by itself)
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR it seems all you want to do is argue. I have answered you honestly and fairly and you won’t have it. My channel is a place for people to come and not worry about unnecessary conflict.
I don’t allow trolling, knock it off or you will be blocked.
@@REXYLAB You don't have to block me, as I will not be back . Troll ?
Buying "used " Harley Benton makes absolutely no sense, as they are so cheap to begin with. I have a JA Baritone, and my experience (like I'm sure of many others is nothing like the missive you report here ...
Troll, ? No not me You , FRAUD is more like it.
"OEM" ??? , well there you gave up your motive to slime Harley Benton . You fancy yourself a "manufacturer ? Good Luck with that ! You have to wonder how HB can produce, market and sell fine instruments ... At prices you could not even begin to approach !
Folks will see through you , and abandon your "channel". There are too many legit guys to interact with. Obviously, You are not one of them
Now show everybody what a true Troll you are , and slime me while I'm gone ...
It might have been more helpful, if you had photographed this "fret sprout for days" and other maladies... See, after transitioning from buying only American made Fender & Gibson... To my first Asian guitars in PRS SE (now not so cheap any more) ... To owning 6 Harley Bentons ... I have never even remotely got a guitar that was a "piece of junk". Or even had shipment issues (But Look Out ... UPS is about to go on Strike)
Sometimes I think dealers who cannot sell these instruments, But see them routinely undercut many brands ... Cast Shade (without bothering to document anything) Just to slow the Harley Benton momentum.
My recently acquired Harley Benton Fusion T ... Is as serious threat to the newer PRS SE at $900 US (I bought them before PRS went price crazy) and would give serious doubts to paying the $1,900 asked for a PRS S2 Mc Carty (I fondled a used one in pristine condition at a local shop the other day.)
I own a similarly priced S2 Thinline ... so I have a direct reference ...
I don’t know why but the amount the frets stuck out made me want to run a potato up and down the sides of the guitar. Weird because it was more like a bread knife.
Either way, I am not a guitar store so I’m not trying to make these things look bad at all. I’m simply reporting on what the thing I have in front of me is like.
Harley Benton is weird for a few reasons.
The first is that they are hit and miss. I have worked on 4 and 2 were good , the other 2 were garbage. This one I would put in the good category but only after doing some serious work to it. The fretboard on this guitar in all honesty is not done. The frets need to be pulled and it needs to be finished with a radius block (but I’m not going to do that for a borrowed guitar I am reviewing the construction quality of. This and the fret sprout are both things I tried to show on camera but they just didn’t show up the way I wish they would have.
The next reason is Harley Bentons have fanboys that rival Gibson fanboys. The general attitude tends to be, “how dare you say anything negative (even if truthful) about Harley Benton”!
Now, buying made in America only is silly at best and racist at worst. There are plenty of amazing guitars made all over the place, yes… even China. Harley Benton has potential to become consistently a great value for the money just like Ibanez was in the 70s and 80s. However the QC of Ibanez was very consistent whereas HB is not.
In general my attitude about these guitars is they are great for the price if you know have to do your own work, get a good one, or can’t tell.
Personally I haven’t seen anything from them that inspires me to get one but I do have “cheap” guitars that I love more than my expensive ones.
@@REXYLAB Well You should check out their Fusion line ... I just copped one (great fret work, Stainless steel no less) And even if you don't like the pickups (they are not bright & chimey like PRS SE 85/15S ... but more midrangey like PRS SE 58/15 ... ) The pickups are easily swapped out ... for say $700 US (maybe a bridge upgrade too. I did John Mann's PRS bridge in a CU 24 ,and it is awesome) ... For this $700. you would have a guitar worth of any comparison to $2K - $4K guitars ...
You are kinda messin up if you don't have one. Great and Inexpensive. I'm up to 6 HB's now. I'm sure IYV and EART and others are cool, its just that I have had good luck with the HB line so far, so I'll continue going that way
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR I’m happy for you and it’s great that you have had good luck with HB. If I get the opportunity to do another one I certainly will but I won’t be buying one.
My situation is a little different. I have over 125 guitars and at this point I’m more interested in doing custom things in
my shop. I have OEM status because of my business license with just about every manufacturer of parts so I can quite literally build whatever I can dream up for at a pretty decent price. Plus every guitar I own is a tax write off. It’s awesome that I can do that.
Another thing I do is grab things I wanted but couldn’t afford when I was much younger. In that situation nothing but an original that is stock will do.
Lastly I do pieces on guitar history so I’ll grab up a rare piece when I come across such a thing. In august I’m flying out
to the Kahler factory to do some work with them because of my focus on the more historical side of guitar.
That’s just guitars and basses, it doesn’t include recording studio or drums and cymbals.
So personally I really am not looking for any more guitars. In reality I should probably sell a few but I’m not going to do that.
This particular HB was used in my favorite local shop so we made a deal where I could do a video about its construction and I’d give it a setup as a thank you. So I had no motivation one way or the other to say it was good or bad. Currently it is still there for sale and even with the fret sprout fixed and fully intonated it’s just kind of meh and not impressing anyone. If you want it the number is in the description to the store. Ask for James and tell him you saw the video. He’s a great guy and I’m sure he will give you a fantastic deal. Be warned though, the fretboard looks terrible because they did a bad job of it at the factory, but the fret sprout is fixed.
My newest guitar will be here on Monday. It’s the Badlands GX1. Far from cheap but it is #50 of 50 so it has already increased in value. That is what I told my insurance company anyway, and my guitar business makes me legit enough to where I can do my own appraisals with no conflict of interest.
My over all experience with HB is 50/50. There were two that came across my bench that were so bad I felt bad for the client because there was nothing that would have made them a guitar worth owning. The other 2 (this one included) were ok. Four guitars total is not enough to praise or condemn a company but it is enough to where I am not willing to risk my money to buy something before I can put my hands on it.
I think HB has a lot of potential but the thing that would make me trust them is being able to go somewhere and check them out. That would eliminate their ability to sell them so cheap and the thing that makes them so appealing would disappear, so I doubt they will do that any time soon. But in reality who knows?
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR I’m happy for you and it’s great that you have had good luck with HB. If I get the opportunity to do another one I certainly will but I won’t be buying one.
My situation is a little different. I have over 125 guitars and at this point I’m more interested in doing custom things in
my shop. I have OEM status because of my business license with just about every manufacturer of parts so I can quite literally build whatever I can dream up for at a pretty decent price. Plus every guitar I own is a tax write off. It’s awesome that I can do that.
Another thing I do is grab things I wanted but couldn’t afford when I was much younger. In that situation nothing but an original that is stock will do.
Lastly I do pieces on guitar history so I’ll grab up a rare piece when I come across such a thing. In august I’m flying out
to the Kahler factory to do some work with them because of my focus on the more historical side of guitar.
That’s just guitars and basses, it doesn’t include recording studio or drums and cymbals.
So personally I really am not looking for any more guitars. In reality I should probably sell a few but I’m not going to do that.
This particular HB was used in my favorite local shop so we made a deal where I could do a video about its construction and I’d give it a setup as a thank you. So I had no motivation one way or the other to say it was good or bad. Currently it is still there for sale and even with the fret sprout fixed and fully intonated it’s just kind of meh and not impressing anyone. If you want it the number is in the description to the store. Ask for James and tell him you saw the video. He’s a great guy and I’m sure he will give you a fantastic deal. Be warned though, the fretboard looks terrible because they did a bad job of it at the factory, but the fret sprout is fixed.
My newest guitar will be here on Monday. It’s the Badlands GX1. Far from cheap but it is #50 of 50 so it has already increased in value. That is what I told my insurance company anyway, and my guitar business makes me legit enough to where I can do my own appraisals with no conflict of interest.
My over all experience with HB is 50/50. There were two that came across my bench that were so bad I felt bad for the client because there was nothing that would have made them a guitar worth owning. The other 2 (this one included) were ok. Four guitars total is not enough to praise or condemn a company but it is enough to where I am not willing to risk my money to buy something before I can put my hands on it.
I think HB has a lot of potential but the thing that would make me trust them is being able to go somewhere and check them out. That would eliminate their ability to sell them so cheap and the thing that makes them so appealing would disappear, so I doubt they will do that any time soon. But in reality who knows?
I have the same guitar and can confirm - fret sprout is terrible
Yeah, back in the day HB-s were good for one reason and one reason only: they were cheap AF so you could use them as weapons or destroy them for dramatic appearances.
Nowadays they are not bad at all, had many HBs honestyl. The quality checks though? Yeah... nonexistent almost. I have had a Dullahan, an R457 and an R458, both multiscale. The R457 was a dream to play on, the R458 not so. The Dullahan was probably the best HB that I owned.
They really do tend to be a good value but when you get a bad one it isn’t just bad, it’s fucking horrific.
Fret Sprout For Days ??? I have one of these guitars, with what is described as a" Purpleheart" fret board. I believe (from Googling "Purpleheart") ... this is Amaranth ... the same fretboard as on the HB TE 90QM's . I was concerned about it at first, but after watching 2 of these TE90's go through a severe (but usual) Midwestern winter ... They are of the few fret boards ... that were completely stable through the nasty, cold & dry winter ! NO Fret Sprout ! And well finished fret ends (on a $230 guitar)
Now the JA I just received these summer , but the fret work on this guitar, puts my $1,500 Fender American Pro Jag to shame... in that the JA boards is so smooth, and the fret ends very well finished . If I had Phil McKnights' sock ... easily a 4.5 outta 5 (and maybe a full 5) as to be so friggin long (30" scale) it is so well finished top to bottom.
So maybe your "observation" got some attention at the factory. I'll have to report back in Feb 2024 to see if she is as stable as I thinking she will be ... But sprout for days ? No Way !
Someone that gets upset when they hear something they don’t like about something they do like is a fanboy.
This was not an attack on Harley Benton, it was a honest assessment. This guitar having issues doesn’t make your guitars bad. It also wasn’t a personal attack on you.
Being a fanboy is not a good thing. It makes you blindly accept things that are not good or argue for things that are just incorrect.
I bought the Harley Benton Bass 6.
Huge piece of garbage. I mostly play bass in a band setting and mostly guitar at home so I thought it would be Perfect. Boy was I wrong. I even put Alnico single coil sized humbuckers in it to try to help it. Still Garbage. Not sure What I will do with it. Probably trade it in at a music store towards something useful. I am completely disappointed in it.
Sadly Harley Benton is hit or miss. I think that could change if they were carried in stores. Of corse then the price would go way up.
The Harley Benton fan boys give Gibson fan boys a run for their money. It’s really crazy the level of brand loyalty these things get for no reason other than they are very cheap.
@@REXYLAB Yeah, I'm not a Name Brand Fan. I just like something that plays and works great for me.
My Les Paul is an Epiphone. My Stagemaster is a Squire. I do have an Ibanez RG but it's not the High end one. and Finally, my Charvel bass but I got a steal of a deal on it.
@@mooreoutdoor9841 Some of my favorites were considered inferior at the time. I have some nice guitars that are very expensive and some are actually worth it, but most are not.
I will say this, if you are going to spend a bunch of money on something make it your set up. I have a video on the Plek coming out saturday, if you are even a little curious about what that thing does I highly encourage you to check it out.
@@REXYLAB Nope...They are actually good guitars ... GREAT for the $$$ (From a former PRS Fan Boy)
@@WilliamJOHNSONJR it’s pretty obvious from your 3 comments in defense of this guitar by Harley Benton you are now a Harley Benton fan boy.
They can have things slip past QC and in the grand scheme of things it’s ok. The world won’t stop turning.
Your going to be ok, enjoy your guitars.
Ex. Andrew Baena
I hope this helped.