Yes it was nice to be making these again... the studio still has some issues re AVB networking (who would have guessed) but no doubt I'll get there... where's Johnny Doyle when you want him :) Thanks for watching.
I bought a squier bullet tele new for 130 quid. I put better grub screws in the saddles the ones that came with it were shit and chewed up on adjusment. The neck was slightly rough bare wood I sanded it all 600,800,1200,2500 grit and applied linseed oil to it all I need to tap the selecter switch to get the neck pickup to work.😅 Apart from that its a really great sounding guitar, no sharp fret ends,stays in tune, lightweight,no fret buzz, intonated, and played well straight of the box. Interesting to see what you thought of this glarry which is even cheaper than my squier. Liked the thin lizzy soloing at the end. All the best Tony well done with your review😊
The Glarry guitar is clearly a budget guitar. It's not perfect and I have yet to find any low end guitar that is. Having said that, It's great for the money... and you have it seems similar things with your guitar... they should never be just 'poo pooed' as rubbish because they are cheap (there are a few cases where I have seen low end guitars really bad) and you can arrive at a quite playable guitar, just as you say... Great points and thanks for the post and for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial Where I was born - the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - we have owls that sound truly frightening when you are in the woods at night. Yours looks more like a philosopher.
Looking very pro Tony! I'm also looking forward to seeing the new studio if you're planning on sharing it. I hope it's everything you wanted it to be 🤘
Yes I will be doing that from the many shots I have from the rebuild. There is a slight problem currently re AVB... but when I get that addressed I'll also make a video of that because I'm sure many others would find that useful. The studio itself is OK just silly things that can really take up time in resolving them... thanks...
I’ve just brought one of these for 30 quid and was going to put it straight on eBay because it felt light and cheap …tried it out before listing to make sure all was well and was blown away by the tones I could get out of it I’m keeping it now and going to spend some time setting it up
It's so easy to 'write it off' but the basic guitar was (as I showed) a reasonable basis that could easily be improved. Thanks for sharing your experience about that one...
Yes I'm here and hopefully will get some stuff going over the coming weeks to and over Christmas... I do have some gear but am waiting as always for more - and getting it right now is harder through the chip shortage thing. Thanks.
Exactly what I thought too. It was low enough cost and this one worked very well. I changed the strings and slight adjustment to the string height and it all just worked. And yes if you upgraded a few bits this guitar could be a good 'knock around' for in the studio or something like that. Best low cost guitar I have seen for that money.
tony, i just noticed something which is prob just an optical illusion but seems to my eyes that the distant between bridge and 12th fret is longer than 12th fret to the nut. check the scale length if you get a chance mate.. maybe thats why theres a huge gap between bridge plate and scratchplate aswell. edit: upon watching your demo at the end, im nnot so sure looks much more even!
Well it sounded OK when I played it. There IS a gap and I thought that the pick guard was probably used for a different model setup (I can't guarantee that is the reason for that gap but that's logical I guess) and you don't really notice it until you look closer :) I think if the bridge was incorrectly placed then the guitar would have sounded very different for fretted notes etc. Well spotted, you are the first to point out the pick guard, although I was aware of it... and thanks.
@terry banks. Sir, it may be that the gap between the pick guard and the bridge plate is deliberate. So it makes the Glarry T series guitars "different" enough to prevent Fender suing them for breach of design rights/patent/copyright etc. Stay safe and well.
I bought one of these after watching your review. It's not a bad guitar for the price, but the price is very low so I think you get just what you pay for. After a set up it became playable but quite honestly I can't say I was that impressed. Soon after I went for a Harley Benton Les Paul type with P90s which was a far superior instrument IMO.
Thanks for the info. Sadly I also bought a Harley Benton Les Paul that was a true monster - basically the worst guitar I ever owned. You can see just how bad in my review here: ruclips.net/video/2gDvEqH3VD8/видео.html it was horrendous and this Glarry was streets ahead in every respect at about 1/5 the price of the SC450 HB. In fact the HB cost me hundreds of pounds and in the end I decided it must go... so it did, and I filmed its demise here: ruclips.net/video/gAiQJxiWyZM/видео.html and it was not a pretty sight but I have to say I felt better afterwards! I was never ashamed to destroy the Harley Benton as it was a disgrace and should never have been sold in the first place. In fact even today, I have that 'half of a guitar' in the studio to remind me never to buy a HB guitar again. It's a different matter with the little amp they made which I reviewed and it was fine, but the guitar, once they supplied it like they did, supposedly checked for QC twice, once by the maker and second by Thomann, I will never go back to the HB brand. But if your HB is a good one and better than the Glarry guitar you received then that's also a good thing too. I hate to see money go to equipment that is not very good for the buyer whatever it might be. You did right to mention this because user experience frankly is king! Thanks for watching and have a great new year.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I have heard tales of folks who bought a Gibson and found things wrong when it arrived, it's all down to the individual companies quality control systems.
I've just got back from work and had a look at your HB review. I can see that the one you got was pretty shoddy, but it did sound wonderful after you had worked your magic on it. I'm on a real budget when it comes to guitars. I used to play for a living but these days I can't justify the price of a high end instrument just to have a play at my dining room table and record the odd thing for youtube, so the Fender guitars I had are long gone. After the Glarry guitar I decided to go for the HB because in all the years I've been playing I'd never owned a Gibson so the comparison with what I used to have was not such a big deal. I'd always wanted a Gold Top with P90s so I took the chance and ordered a "B" grade from Thomann. Now that you've recovered from that statement. I have to say it wasn't half bad right out of the box. I lowered the action just a little and it suits me just fine. You'll have to take my word that it plays well but here's a link to one of my posts so you can hear what it sounds like. ruclips.net/video/rN_zb0vo6ig/видео.html The guitar still has all the hardware it came with and it's certainly not plugged into anything fancy. Just a cheap Chinese "PockRock" gizmo that I picked up for twenty quid then straight into my laptop. I think it sounds great and I'm well pleased with it. PS be careful with that saw!!!!! Happy New Year
@@Reeldin58 Tell me about the ridiculous prices these days... I agree with that for sure. Ha hey no problem on 'B' grade gear and I have done that on occasion from different suppliers. Well all HB's are not 'bad', to say that would be silly on my part, I just was so frustrated at the time with the one I received I could have wanted to fit it where they don't fit :). I have always disliked either myself or other guys getting ripped off for what ever reason. I have a friend that 'bought on eBay' :( what he was sold a Gibson Les Paul by a priest! (of all people), and when it arrived it was clearly a Chinese knock off. He did not play, but was getting on a little and loved to collect the guitars. Sadly the 'priest' did not want to know and he was left with an expensive rip off. I did review that guitar and attached the sad story about it at the time, he is a great guy and never deserved that. Your track seems fine and the guitar for you played OK from what I hear on the track. In any case thanks for the info about your guitar. BTW the HB even after the work was far from OK and ultimately that's why it met with a bad ending. Thanks.
That's some great playing on that Telly there tony. Absolutely love it. I'm a big fan of glary guitars anyway I've owned a couple in the past. I had one of their thin line semi Hollow telly's. Love your studio man definitely looks beautiful. That had to be a lot of hard work getting that together. Absolutely love your reviews of these less expensive or startup guitars there are some of us out there that can't afford to pay $2,000 for a guitar but still want to try to get the best we can for our money. Thank you my friend be safe take care and Rock on. That song you were playing kind of reminded me of Rory gallagher.
I found this guitar to be actually quite good compared to some I have seen from other companies. I was pleasantly surprised. Studio was a nightmare to get completed, with many problems and the costs kept on coming! Glarry has asked me to review another one but I'll re-look at it when I move around to guitar builds again I think. The song is a 'slow' version written by Gary Moore (RIP Gary) and maybe Rory might have had some influence as they used to hang around together early on. Album 'Back on the streets' and track was 'Don't believe a word'... ha I pale in comparison to the original... Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I don't think you pale in comparison Tony I think you're an awesome guitar player. Glad to hear your studio finally came together for you after all the troubles and expenses I can definitely relate to all that. Money is always tight. I definitely miss Gary Moore also I thought he was brilliant. Thank you for the name of that song and the artist that sang it I appreciate that very much. Enjoy that studio Tony and cut a couple of albums while you're there.
Thanks for the kind words. I have made a number of albums etc. with Alan Bruce but to be honest, by the time you have done it all and spent a long time getting it as good as possible, making even ANY return when a play is typically 0.00015 of a cent is pitiful while the scheming gits that operate those streaming services make many millions. We did sell albums but of more recent times the CD stuff has dried up and now its more about streaming. Thank god I don't have to try and make a living at it... but it seems to me these days that if you don't gig then the income is likely to be pretty poor in general no matter what some might say. I do think its very sad how the music has been totally decimated by those sort of companies and the artist really don't in general get paid enough for a burger every few months. Ha rant over :) But of course we have a number of uses for the studio and it remains still worth the effort. I did spend a long time 'in the house' years ago and that was 'fun' to say the least, my wife did not think so :) Thanks...
@@tonymckenzieofficial I guess you're absolutely right tony. It seems the ones with the talent always suffer. While the corporations just keep getting richer and richer. What a Sad world we live in. Keep On Rocking tony. I guess it's all that's really worth living for anymore. That and family. Without family we truly have nothing. I lost my wife unexpectedly about 5 months ago. I live here in Arkansas with my youngest stepson at least I'm not completely alone. But what family I have left lives in Northern California where I'm from originally. Was forced to come here about 15 years ago because of some bad choices I made with my life that cost me everything. So I had to rebuild my life in a new place. I never have really liked it here but I can't afford to go back home. So here I am. I did get to fly out last summer and spend some time with my younger brother and his wife and my best friend. Anyway that's enough of my ranting. Lol. Be looking forward to your next video sir.
I think I remember seeing your friend Alan Bruce on one of your videos from a couple of years back or maybe it was just a year back the yellow glary Stratocaster that you did a review of I believe you introduced the man's name a s Alan he seems like a really nice guy. You're lucky to have a friend like that. Especially being able to make music together like that that forms a pretty tight bond. That's awesome. Take care tony.
Hey thanks for the info - I had not checked any of that out. I have visited Warmoth a few times since start of the pandemic and it seemed at one stage there was little on there but I notice now it's improved a little... those are a great company and deserve to stay there. And a great point.... thanks.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I fretted Warmoth necks for 5 years, and is how I found your channel. I bought a Glarry strat just to test if a Warmoth would fit. A nice roasted flamed maple did just that.
@@kilhattrick Well that is extremely helpful. That makes this guitar a really good and risk-free deal. It would almost be worth it without a neck at all!
Odd to see you away from the dining table but the presentation looks very pro. Looks like you spent some money on lighting too as the colour looks great 👍🏻
Ha you are right... it is a bit weird. I did try and make a backdrop style of thing for the videos which seemed to work. Tell me (if you would check) where the backdrop is at the early part of the video before the guitar closeups, do you see any pixilation around thew owl on the wall? I watched that on a TV and saw some, but that might have been the TV or internet service at that time... if you get chance (or anyone else) do let me know I certainly would appreciate it... thanks.
Good review. I put together a Harley Benton 55 quid Jazzmaster kit together. I smoothed the fret ends down and changed the nut and the pickups. It intonates very well and sounds excellent with the new pickups. Hardware feels a bit cheapish but it stays in tune. Guess it's pot luck though because my brother tried their SG kit and said it was rubbish. Holes in the wrong place :-)
I think you're right Robin... this one was very good, but I have had guitars from the low end (and not so low end) that were literally much worse. On this one the pick guard (or the bridge) appeared that the guard was cut for a different bridge. Aesthetics of course and it did not affect any thing else, but it was a little strange to see. Pickups do make a massive difference and even a reasonable upgrade on this guitar could improve it further - but for a beginner this was just fine. Thanks for watching... and I hope you liked the owl :)...
Great Video T. Great guitars for beginners (tech wise too). Very easily upgradable axes. Like the earl slick guitars (them guitars don’t need much of any upgrades).
Hi Tommy... taken me a while to get back here... and still messing around with AVB on the recording side of things. Yes this Glarry was not bad at all and I found nothing that was really bad - it played well enough, but of course the tele style has plenty of top end as seen when Levi played it clean. Hope you are doing OK there too...
@@tonymckenzieofficial Thanks T. Levi sounds terrific. Compared to the garbage I played (Sears Acoustic), the stuff out for beginners is out there. Alas, I always say, “take the new guitar for a setup.” Fret ends and shitty setups are blocks in the road for new hands. Gotta make em easier to play.
Great guitar for a beginner, plus if the kid decides it's not their thing, the parents are only out $110 USD. Not bad. When I started playing, the beginners electric guitars were absolute junk, IMO. (Of course I wish I had that old Danelectro/Silvertone now, alas Mom threw it out when I joined the Navy) Fender actually had some decent student guitars back then, but they were still too expensive for me or my parents. Anyway great review. Again one can't go wrong at such a low price point. Good to see you back Tony.
Yes I was the same really. Mine was a 'Top Twenty' (ever heard of them!) from 'Woolworths' a store that failed some years ago and cost me in 1968 about £30.00. Well it did work... but always sounded bad. This one at least played well enough and I thought very good value particularly for beginners... and they NEED a guitar that 'feels' right or often they blame themselves and give up from what I see. Sharp frets etc. are all trouble when you start but this guitar was good in that respect. I think you still have to be careful on low cost guitars though - I have had some costing over three times the cost of this one which were far worse than this one... and one HB that I ended up sawing though with a saw! Yes good to get back to the first video and I have some more stuff to get made from a few pedals to a guitar kit that 'everyone' hates! For that one, I'm going to try and actually make a good one from it... ha if I fail I'll start with a file... :) Thanks for watching.
Personally it is best if YOU can try them out - always recommended - AND always check the guitar you receive - there are some not so good ones. Ensure you're happy and choose the best one that suits your playing as they all are different. Then return the ones you decide against. This is really the ONLY way you will end up with a guitar that suits you and you will be happy with. There are some 'bargains' but always try it first... and thanks for watching.
I bought one of these in the same colour. I noticed that the tone control made no difference until the last quarter of movement. I changed the pot to log and it spread the adjustment over a larger range. Then I noticed that the control plate was not parallel to the bridge plate, yours looks similar but not as bad. I repositioned mine after having to carve away a bit of the cavity. It was quite a bit of adjustment as the new screw hole didn't impinge on the old one. I also had to level a couple of frets, (15 and 16), but that was all. I was then able to lower the strings a bit which made it better to play, but, the chunky neck is not really to my liking. Right now - 8 Aug 22, Glarry are offering the guitar only for £66 inc postage, that's cheaper than ebay!
Well bearing in mind the price of that guitar, for that price, and the few bits you had to do it remains good value no doubt. On most of the low end guitars I have seen this particular one was pretty good really. Some others (costing far more like £400+) were honestly not playable from other companies so this one under review was a star :) The neck is thicker as you say and in reality was not for me either but I guess its all about if it works for someone they would get on with it. Thanks for the update on this guitar - appreciated and thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial The saddle screws are much longer than a Fenders screws, that means you could move the bridge plate further in to take up the space in the scratch plate. You would probably have to carve out a bit of the pickup cavity and for looks alone, use shorter screws in the saddles, The missing gap between the neck and pickup is because of the extra fret but that can be removed as it is an over hanging fretboard. As someone pointed out, a Warmoth neck fits so I would expect a Squier neck would too. It all adds to the price though, is it worth it just to achieve Fender realism? Well, yes if you consider you get the added bonus of having fun doing the mods.
I had a similar finish on my first guitar. A crappy ebay "Benson" strat copy, with tiny amp with no gain but distortion switch, learning dvd, pitch pipes, and the thinnest cable for about the same price. Bet this is a fair bit nicer to play. I really like basswood guitars too.
Well, many budget guitars are often a bit disappointing in my own experience. The thing is, for many brands there is a variance and really I do think that while most guitars will 'work' ok (the Harley Benton I bought was terrible) some are great and some are not. This one I have to say was pretty much spot on... but ultimately the one that counts is the one someone buys. I changed the strings and slightly lowered the action and did nothing else. For a beginner or knock around in the studio I thought it was honestly exceptional. I can only vouch for the one I have here of course, but it did work well - I was surprised.
I’m not sure what you’re seeing, you said the frets were smooth, I could see the grit and rough texture on the television screen. And no blemish, there’s one right above the bridge. Otherwise it looks pretty good. Not for me but you’re getting paid to please Glarry.
You have to be realistic for the cost of the unit. The guitar is NOT a Fender Telecaster costing $1500 is it? and anyone expecting that would be disappointed. But for the price I think the guitar was quite acceptable. Obviously if we went up in price somewhat then there are better guitars, but they cost more, and I always try and consider some young guy trying to get a guitar with little money. When I was 16 I bought a guitar from the now UK defunct Woolworths... for £29.95 (about $40.00) equivalent at that time. I could not afford better so it was that or nothing. It was far from 'perfect' and to be honest I did not expect a Fender or Gibson for that money. But to me that was a small fortune. I was paid approx. £2. 7 'shillings' and pence. per week as an apprentice. That guitar was about 15 weeks of work to me. That's why I relate to this reviewed guitar in the way I did and sincerely I trust you understand the motives involved and getting younger guys playing... thanks for watching BTW!
They knew it was going to be a review so they sent out an good one. You should review eart guitar, very nice low cost guitars, they do some of the best fret work at even 5x the price
I've been looking at a purple burl headless. I don't know why I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. If it goes south, it's Amazon Prime. It goes back. I don't forsee that being the issue. I've heard 98% good things about all of those models.
Ha that could of course be possible... but it did not look that way to me but it is a valid point for people to consider. Personally I think it was just a regular guitar they sell (the box had not been opened and resealed). I know of EART guitars and they will be on my list to look at in the coming months. Also maybe the Ibanez headless too. Thanks.
Indeed it is... however the bit that usually gets guys is the petrol (or gas) price at currently (for 1 gallon) at £6.60 and still rising. You can get it for an enlightening £8.00 per gallon in some places!
I’ve seen around ten videos on these guitars, none were saying the guitars were that good. Tony, the company could of sent you a very fixed up sample. Get someone that isn’t known to buy one then do another video on that one..
They could have sent a 'fixed up' sample of course. But I did review another one some months back and that was not as good as this one was. For me to date one was nigh on perfect (for the costs!) and the other was less so, but still quite usable. I honestly think for the UK price of less than £80.00 (as cheap as anything I have ever used) that it was good value. But of course if someone buys one that is not like this one my advice would be to get it changed for a good one. As a 'beginners' guitar that £80 (or $119.99) is a lot of money and I do think it's pretty essential that whatever guitar they have first needs to be sound. My very first guitar was £30 from 'Woolworths' in the UK and that was 'OK' but lacking in a few areas. Thanks Mark for pointing out the issues of buying low cost guitars - I know that IS real generally at the price range as the Harley Benton I bought was so good I actually cut that up with a circular saw! (don't laugh.. oh go on then :) Thanks....
They want to badminton all cheap guitars because it takes money away from Fender The fender company wants you to buy there 1500.00 guitar with a little setup changing Pickups and maybe even a new neck would still be cheaper than one of fenders outrageous priced Telecasters
Careful those evil owls (I think) eat canaries for breakfast, dinner and lunch :) :) :) he he. Anyway that owl took some finding just trust me on that. Anyway great to hear you and thanks for watching...
Great to have you back Tony! New studio looks great, very pro!
Yes it was nice to be making these again... the studio still has some issues re AVB networking (who would have guessed) but no doubt I'll get there... where's Johnny Doyle when you want him :) Thanks for watching.
I trust anything this man says, endorsed or not.
Cheers Tony, glad to see you banging out vids mate!
Much appreciated
Really good to see you back Tony.
Well thanks... and good to see everyone... I'm working on a new video currently... long... very long!
tonymckenziecom That's fine....😂
I bought a squier bullet tele new for 130 quid.
I put better grub screws in the saddles the ones that came with it were shit and chewed up on adjusment.
The neck was slightly rough bare wood
I sanded it all 600,800,1200,2500 grit and applied linseed oil to it all
I need to tap the selecter switch to get the neck pickup to work.😅
Apart from that its a really great sounding guitar, no sharp fret ends,stays in tune, lightweight,no fret buzz, intonated, and played well straight of the box.
Interesting to see what you thought of this glarry which is even cheaper than my squier.
Liked the thin lizzy soloing at the end.
All the best Tony well done with your review😊
The Glarry guitar is clearly a budget guitar. It's not perfect and I have yet to find any low end guitar that is. Having said that, It's great for the money... and you have it seems similar things with your guitar... they should never be just 'poo pooed' as rubbish because they are cheap (there are a few cases where I have seen low end guitars really bad) and you can arrive at a quite playable guitar, just as you say... Great points and thanks for the post and for watching.
Great to see thing's coming along Tony!
God bless
At last I made a video in there... hard work and still teething issues on many different things... but hopefully it will get ironed out. Thanks.
Welcome back tony.nice to see you out of the lounge lol😂
Some more presently :) thanks...
Great to see you back, and 'owling at the moon with your playing. Remember, evil is live in a mirror.
Ha great comments :) and I hope you liked my 'owl' it took ages to find... thanks for watching too.
@@tonymckenzieofficial Where I was born - the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - we have owls that sound truly frightening when you are in the woods at night. Yours looks more like a philosopher.
Looking very pro Tony! I'm also looking forward to seeing the new studio if you're planning on sharing it. I hope it's everything you wanted it to be 🤘
Yes I will be doing that from the many shots I have from the rebuild. There is a slight problem currently re AVB... but when I get that addressed I'll also make a video of that because I'm sure many others would find that useful. The studio itself is OK just silly things that can really take up time in resolving them... thanks...
I’ve just brought one of these for 30 quid and was going to put it straight on eBay because it felt light and cheap …tried it out before listing to make sure all was well and was blown away by the tones I could get out of it I’m keeping it now and going to spend some time setting it up
It's so easy to 'write it off' but the basic guitar was (as I showed) a reasonable basis that could easily be improved. Thanks for sharing your experience about that one...
Thanks Tony! Great to see you!
Yes I'm here and hopefully will get some stuff going over the coming weeks to and over Christmas... I do have some gear but am waiting as always for more - and getting it right now is harder through the chip shortage thing. Thanks.
Congrats on the new setup. It looks great. Looking forward to more videos and reviews.
I'm working on it and do have some more stuff to review... coming presently and thanks for watching.
Great video Tony glad to see you back nice guitar for a youngster starting out or a great mod platform
Exactly what I thought too. It was low enough cost and this one worked very well. I changed the strings and slight adjustment to the string height and it all just worked. And yes if you upgraded a few bits this guitar could be a good 'knock around' for in the studio or something like that. Best low cost guitar I have seen for that money.
Cheers Tony great vid. 😎
Thanks... for watching etc. and hope you liked the owl :)
Just bought the same one brand new for 45 quid with free postage. A steal.
Wow that IS a great price. Thanks for watching...
Cheers to the first video from the new studio!!
Watch for the owl... :) Thanks
tony, i just noticed something which is prob just an optical illusion but seems to my eyes that the distant between bridge and 12th fret is longer than 12th fret to the nut. check the scale length if you get a chance mate.. maybe thats why theres a huge gap between bridge plate and scratchplate aswell. edit: upon watching your demo at the end, im nnot so sure looks much more even!
Well it sounded OK when I played it. There IS a gap and I thought that the pick guard was probably used for a different model setup (I can't guarantee that is the reason for that gap but that's logical I guess) and you don't really notice it until you look closer :) I think if the bridge was incorrectly placed then the guitar would have sounded very different for fretted notes etc. Well spotted, you are the first to point out the pick guard, although I was aware of it... and thanks.
@terry banks. Sir, it may be that the gap between the pick guard and the bridge plate is deliberate. So it makes the Glarry T series guitars "different" enough to prevent Fender suing them for breach of design rights/patent/copyright etc. Stay safe and well.
I bought one of these after watching your review. It's not a bad guitar for the price, but the price is very low so I think you get just what you pay for. After a set up it became playable but quite honestly I can't say I was that impressed. Soon after I went for a Harley Benton Les Paul type with P90s which was a far superior instrument IMO.
Thanks for the info. Sadly I also bought a Harley Benton Les Paul that was a true monster - basically the worst guitar I ever owned. You can see just how bad in my review here: ruclips.net/video/2gDvEqH3VD8/видео.html it was horrendous and this Glarry was streets ahead in every respect at about 1/5 the price of the SC450 HB. In fact the HB cost me hundreds of pounds and in the end I decided it must go... so it did, and I filmed its demise here: ruclips.net/video/gAiQJxiWyZM/видео.html and it was not a pretty sight but I have to say I felt better afterwards! I was never ashamed to destroy the Harley Benton as it was a disgrace and should never have been sold in the first place. In fact even today, I have that 'half of a guitar' in the studio to remind me never to buy a HB guitar again. It's a different matter with the little amp they made which I reviewed and it was fine, but the guitar, once they supplied it like they did, supposedly checked for QC twice, once by the maker and second by Thomann, I will never go back to the HB brand. But if your HB is a good one and better than the Glarry guitar you received then that's also a good thing too. I hate to see money go to equipment that is not very good for the buyer whatever it might be. You did right to mention this because user experience frankly is king! Thanks for watching and have a great new year.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I have heard tales of folks who bought a Gibson and found things wrong when it arrived, it's all down to the individual companies quality control systems.
I've just got back from work and had a look at your HB review. I can see that the one you got was pretty shoddy, but it did sound wonderful after you had worked your magic on it.
I'm on a real budget when it comes to guitars. I used to play for a living but these days I can't justify the price of a high end instrument just to have a play at my dining room table and record the odd thing for youtube, so the Fender guitars I had are long gone. After the Glarry guitar I decided to go for the HB because in all the years I've been playing I'd never owned a Gibson so the comparison with what I used to have was not such a big deal. I'd always wanted a Gold Top with P90s so I took the chance and ordered a "B" grade from Thomann. Now that you've recovered from that statement. I have to say it wasn't half bad right out of the box. I lowered the action just a little and it suits me just fine. You'll have to take my word that it plays well but here's a link to one of my posts so you can hear what it sounds like.
ruclips.net/video/rN_zb0vo6ig/видео.html
The guitar still has all the hardware it came with and it's certainly not plugged into anything fancy. Just a cheap Chinese "PockRock" gizmo that I picked up for twenty quid then straight into my laptop. I think it sounds great and I'm well pleased with it.
PS be careful with that saw!!!!! Happy New Year
@@Reeldin58 Tell me about the ridiculous prices these days... I agree with that for sure. Ha hey no problem on 'B' grade gear and I have done that on occasion from different suppliers. Well all HB's are not 'bad', to say that would be silly on my part, I just was so frustrated at the time with the one I received I could have wanted to fit it where they don't fit :). I have always disliked either myself or other guys getting ripped off for what ever reason. I have a friend that 'bought on eBay' :( what he was sold a Gibson Les Paul by a priest! (of all people), and when it arrived it was clearly a Chinese knock off. He did not play, but was getting on a little and loved to collect the guitars. Sadly the 'priest' did not want to know and he was left with an expensive rip off. I did review that guitar and attached the sad story about it at the time, he is a great guy and never deserved that. Your track seems fine and the guitar for you played OK from what I hear on the track. In any case thanks for the info about your guitar. BTW the HB even after the work was far from OK and ultimately that's why it met with a bad ending. Thanks.
A nice baptism of the Evil Owl's Studios. Take care.
:) Glad you liked it. I tried hard to make it 'respectable' :) Thanks...
That's some great playing on that Telly there tony. Absolutely love it. I'm a big fan of glary guitars anyway I've owned a couple in the past. I had one of their thin line semi Hollow telly's. Love your studio man definitely looks beautiful. That had to be a lot of hard work getting that together. Absolutely love your reviews of these less expensive or startup guitars there are some of us out there that can't afford to pay $2,000 for a guitar but still want to try to get the best we can for our money. Thank you my friend be safe take care and Rock on. That song you were playing kind of reminded me of Rory gallagher.
I found this guitar to be actually quite good compared to some I have seen from other companies. I was pleasantly surprised. Studio was a nightmare to get completed, with many problems and the costs kept on coming! Glarry has asked me to review another one but I'll re-look at it when I move around to guitar builds again I think. The song is a 'slow' version written by Gary Moore (RIP Gary) and maybe Rory might have had some influence as they used to hang around together early on. Album 'Back on the streets' and track was 'Don't believe a word'... ha I pale in comparison to the original... Thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I don't think you pale in comparison Tony I think you're an awesome guitar player. Glad to hear your studio finally came together for you after all the troubles and expenses I can definitely relate to all that. Money is always tight. I definitely miss Gary Moore also I thought he was brilliant. Thank you for the name of that song and the artist that sang it I appreciate that very much. Enjoy that studio Tony and cut a couple of albums while you're there.
Thanks for the kind words. I have made a number of albums etc. with Alan Bruce but to be honest, by the time you have done it all and spent a long time getting it as good as possible, making even ANY return when a play is typically 0.00015 of a cent is pitiful while the scheming gits that operate those streaming services make many millions. We did sell albums but of more recent times the CD stuff has dried up and now its more about streaming. Thank god I don't have to try and make a living at it... but it seems to me these days that if you don't gig then the income is likely to be pretty poor in general no matter what some might say. I do think its very sad how the music has been totally decimated by those sort of companies and the artist really don't in general get paid enough for a burger every few months. Ha rant over :) But of course we have a number of uses for the studio and it remains still worth the effort. I did spend a long time 'in the house' years ago and that was 'fun' to say the least, my wife did not think so :) Thanks...
@@tonymckenzieofficial I guess you're absolutely right tony. It seems the ones with the talent always suffer. While the corporations just keep getting richer and richer. What a Sad world we live in. Keep On Rocking tony. I guess it's all that's really worth living for anymore. That and family. Without family we truly have nothing. I lost my wife unexpectedly about 5 months ago. I live here in Arkansas with my youngest stepson at least I'm not completely alone. But what family I have left lives in Northern California where I'm from originally. Was forced to come here about 15 years ago because of some bad choices I made with my life that cost me everything. So I had to rebuild my life in a new place. I never have really liked it here but I can't afford to go back home. So here I am. I did get to fly out last summer and spend some time with my younger brother and his wife and my best friend. Anyway that's enough of my ranting. Lol. Be looking forward to your next video sir.
I think I remember seeing your friend Alan Bruce on one of your videos from a couple of years back or maybe it was just a year back the yellow glary Stratocaster that you did a review of I believe you introduced the man's name a s Alan he seems like a really nice guy. You're lucky to have a friend like that. Especially being able to make music together like that that forms a pretty tight bond. That's awesome. Take care tony.
A Warmoth neck fits great and makes it worth playing.
Hey thanks for the info - I had not checked any of that out. I have visited Warmoth a few times since start of the pandemic and it seemed at one stage there was little on there but I notice now it's improved a little... those are a great company and deserve to stay there. And a great point.... thanks.
@@tonymckenzieofficial I fretted Warmoth necks for 5 years, and is how I found your channel. I bought a Glarry strat just to test if a Warmoth would fit. A nice roasted flamed maple did just that.
@@kilhattrick
Well that is extremely helpful.
That makes this guitar a really good and risk-free deal. It would almost be worth it without a neck at all!
Odd to see you away from the dining table but the presentation looks very pro. Looks like you spent some money on lighting too as the colour looks great 👍🏻
Ha you are right... it is a bit weird. I did try and make a backdrop style of thing for the videos which seemed to work. Tell me (if you would check) where the backdrop is at the early part of the video before the guitar closeups, do you see any pixilation around thew owl on the wall? I watched that on a TV and saw some, but that might have been the TV or internet service at that time... if you get chance (or anyone else) do let me know I certainly would appreciate it... thanks.
Good review. I put together a Harley Benton 55 quid Jazzmaster kit together. I smoothed the fret ends down and changed the nut and the pickups. It intonates very well and sounds excellent with the new pickups. Hardware feels a bit cheapish but it stays in tune. Guess it's pot luck though because my brother tried their SG kit and said it was rubbish. Holes in the wrong place :-)
I think you're right Robin... this one was very good, but I have had guitars from the low end (and not so low end) that were literally much worse. On this one the pick guard (or the bridge) appeared that the guard was cut for a different bridge. Aesthetics of course and it did not affect any thing else, but it was a little strange to see. Pickups do make a massive difference and even a reasonable upgrade on this guitar could improve it further - but for a beginner this was just fine. Thanks for watching... and I hope you liked the owl :)...
Great Video T. Great guitars for beginners (tech wise too).
Very easily upgradable axes.
Like the earl slick guitars (them guitars don’t need much of any upgrades).
Hi Tommy... taken me a while to get back here... and still messing around with AVB on the recording side of things. Yes this Glarry was not bad at all and I found nothing that was really bad - it played well enough, but of course the tele style has plenty of top end as seen when Levi played it clean. Hope you are doing OK there too...
@@tonymckenzieofficial Thanks T. Levi sounds terrific. Compared to the garbage I played (Sears Acoustic), the stuff out for beginners is out there.
Alas, I always say, “take the new guitar for a setup.”
Fret ends and shitty setups are blocks in the road for new hands.
Gotta make em easier to play.
Great guitar for a beginner, plus if the kid decides it's not their thing, the parents are only out $110 USD. Not bad. When I started playing, the beginners electric guitars were absolute junk, IMO. (Of course I wish I had that old Danelectro/Silvertone now, alas Mom threw it out when I joined the Navy) Fender actually had some decent student guitars back then, but they were still too expensive for me or my parents. Anyway great review. Again one can't go wrong at such a low price point. Good to see you back Tony.
Yes I was the same really. Mine was a 'Top Twenty' (ever heard of them!) from 'Woolworths' a store that failed some years ago and cost me in 1968 about £30.00. Well it did work... but always sounded bad. This one at least played well enough and I thought very good value particularly for beginners... and they NEED a guitar that 'feels' right or often they blame themselves and give up from what I see. Sharp frets etc. are all trouble when you start but this guitar was good in that respect. I think you still have to be careful on low cost guitars though - I have had some costing over three times the cost of this one which were far worse than this one... and one HB that I ended up sawing though with a saw! Yes good to get back to the first video and I have some more stuff to get made from a few pedals to a guitar kit that 'everyone' hates! For that one, I'm going to try and actually make a good one from it... ha if I fail I'll start with a file... :) Thanks for watching.
Hi Mr Tony is this a great first guitar for a beginner I love Teles and thinking maybe getting this one or maybe Donner or Harley Benton?
Personally it is best if YOU can try them out - always recommended - AND always check the guitar you receive - there are some not so good ones. Ensure you're happy and choose the best one that suits your playing as they all are different. Then return the ones you decide against. This is really the ONLY way you will end up with a guitar that suits you and you will be happy with. There are some 'bargains' but always try it first... and thanks for watching.
I bought one of these in the same colour. I noticed that the tone control made no difference until the last quarter of movement. I changed the pot to log and it spread the adjustment over a larger range. Then I noticed that the control plate was not parallel to the bridge plate, yours looks similar but not as bad. I repositioned mine after having to carve away a bit of the cavity. It was quite a bit of adjustment as the new screw hole didn't impinge on the old one. I also had to level a couple of frets, (15 and 16), but that was all. I was then able to lower the strings a bit which made it better to play, but, the chunky neck is not really to my liking. Right now - 8 Aug 22, Glarry are offering the guitar only for £66 inc postage, that's cheaper than ebay!
Well bearing in mind the price of that guitar, for that price, and the few bits you had to do it remains good value no doubt. On most of the low end guitars I have seen this particular one was pretty good really. Some others (costing far more like £400+) were honestly not playable from other companies so this one under review was a star :) The neck is thicker as you say and in reality was not for me either but I guess its all about if it works for someone they would get on with it. Thanks for the update on this guitar - appreciated and thanks for watching.
@@tonymckenzieofficial The saddle screws are much longer than a Fenders screws, that means you could move the bridge plate further in to take up the space in the scratch plate. You would probably have to carve out a bit of the pickup cavity and for looks alone, use shorter screws in the saddles, The missing gap between the neck and pickup is because of the extra fret but that can be removed as it is an over hanging fretboard. As someone pointed out, a Warmoth neck fits so I would expect a Squier neck would too. It all adds to the price though, is it worth it just to achieve Fender realism? Well, yes if you consider you get the added bonus of having fun doing the mods.
I had a similar finish on my first guitar. A crappy ebay "Benson" strat copy, with tiny amp with no gain but distortion switch, learning dvd, pitch pipes, and the thinnest cable for about the same price. Bet this is a fair bit nicer to play. I really like basswood guitars too.
Well, many budget guitars are often a bit disappointing in my own experience. The thing is, for many brands there is a variance and really I do think that while most guitars will 'work' ok (the Harley Benton I bought was terrible) some are great and some are not. This one I have to say was pretty much spot on... but ultimately the one that counts is the one someone buys. I changed the strings and slightly lowered the action and did nothing else. For a beginner or knock around in the studio I thought it was honestly exceptional. I can only vouch for the one I have here of course, but it did work well - I was surprised.
I’m not sure what you’re seeing, you said the frets were smooth, I could see the grit and rough texture on the television screen. And no blemish, there’s one right above the bridge. Otherwise it looks pretty good. Not for me but you’re getting paid to please Glarry.
You have to be realistic for the cost of the unit. The guitar is NOT a Fender Telecaster costing $1500 is it? and anyone expecting that would be disappointed. But for the price I think the guitar was quite acceptable. Obviously if we went up in price somewhat then there are better guitars, but they cost more, and I always try and consider some young guy trying to get a guitar with little money. When I was 16 I bought a guitar from the now UK defunct Woolworths... for £29.95 (about $40.00) equivalent at that time. I could not afford better so it was that or nothing. It was far from 'perfect' and to be honest I did not expect a Fender or Gibson for that money. But to me that was a small fortune. I was paid approx. £2. 7 'shillings' and pence. per week as an apprentice. That guitar was about 15 weeks of work to me. That's why I relate to this reviewed guitar in the way I did and sincerely I trust you understand the motives involved and getting younger guys playing... thanks for watching BTW!
What’s up with the gap between the bridge and the bridge pickups
Well understand that at the price they ask for these... and that's no 'excuse' but man you ought to have seen my Harley Benton...
They knew it was going to be a review so they sent out an good one. You should review eart guitar, very nice low cost guitars, they do some of the best fret work at even 5x the price
I've been looking at a purple burl headless. I don't know why I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. If it goes south, it's Amazon Prime. It goes back. I don't forsee that being the issue. I've heard 98% good things about all of those models.
Ha that could of course be possible... but it did not look that way to me but it is a valid point for people to consider. Personally I think it was just a regular guitar they sell (the box had not been opened and resealed). I know of EART guitars and they will be on my list to look at in the coming months. Also maybe the Ibanez headless too. Thanks.
Good point... and I too will remember that :).
Hello from California, Tony. Where's Grommet? :)
ho ho ho.
Darn, Tony, did you say 20% tax? is that the ordinary sales tax in the UK?
Indeed it is... however the bit that usually gets guys is the petrol (or gas) price at currently (for 1 gallon) at £6.60 and still rising. You can get it for an enlightening £8.00 per gallon in some places!
hello Tony. hope you're doing okay.
All good and starting to get some more reviews made :)
like the owl!
:) my other channel Evil Owl Studios - go and sub it! It needs the subscribers... thanks.
I’ve seen around ten videos on these guitars, none were saying the guitars were that good. Tony, the company could of sent you a very fixed up sample. Get someone that isn’t known to buy one then do another video on that one..
They could have sent a 'fixed up' sample of course. But I did review another one some months back and that was not as good as this one was. For me to date one was nigh on perfect (for the costs!) and the other was less so, but still quite usable. I honestly think for the UK price of less than £80.00 (as cheap as anything I have ever used) that it was good value. But of course if someone buys one that is not like this one my advice would be to get it changed for a good one. As a 'beginners' guitar that £80 (or $119.99) is a lot of money and I do think it's pretty essential that whatever guitar they have first needs to be sound. My very first guitar was £30 from 'Woolworths' in the UK and that was 'OK' but lacking in a few areas. Thanks Mark for pointing out the issues of buying low cost guitars - I know that IS real generally at the price range as the Harley Benton I bought was so good I actually cut that up with a circular saw! (don't laugh.. oh go on then :) Thanks....
@@tonymckenzieofficial I agree. I remember you cutting that HB. Lol. I bought my grandson a Seagull, $499. Very nice acoustic for the price
They want to badminton all cheap guitars because it takes money away from Fender The fender company wants you to buy there 1500.00 guitar with a little setup changing Pickups and maybe even a new neck would still be cheaper than one of fenders outrageous priced Telecasters
Why to the British tolerate such insane taxation??
We're nuts! :)
🐥I’m not an evil owl, I’m Chirpy the Canary. Ok!! The guitars not a bad deal either. Buy one🐥Chirpy says so. Ok!!! Now get out of here!!!
Careful those evil owls (I think) eat canaries for breakfast, dinner and lunch :) :) :) he he. Anyway that owl took some finding just trust me on that. Anyway great to hear you and thanks for watching...
Sounded pretty awful to be honest. The player seemed to be straining to reach the bends.
Then it must be so...
It's actually a cool sound.I can tell these things.The kid was in the right tonal ballpark.Well done.