Your review is head and shoulders above any other review of any item on youtube period. In-depth, informed, useful and the points system is a wonderful idea. Subscribed! Thank you
To replace coil split just take the two wires going to the dpdt part of the pot and solder them together off of pot. Use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to cover the ends. No more coil split. To add a 3 way switch run a wire from left lug of switch to center lug of corresponding vol pot, wire from right lug to corresponding vol pot and wire from center lug to hot jack lug. Ground, which is back of switch lug to back of volume pot. Ground from jack should already be grounded to back of tone pot.
Absolutely terrific video, thank you for the effort. It is apparent that the analysis and work that went in t this is well beyond the standard. Well done.
I have the HH with the Floyd and I have to say that the split coil tones are pretty good. There's a lot of difference between a single coil and half of a humbucker, but these work pretty well.
Thanks Max, for another great review of the HB Fusion II Pro HSH ! I really do appreciate the time and effort you put into your perspective. It definitely helps me make a more informed decision regarding the purchase of this instrument. I've been on the fence about this model, and now feel confident that my decision can be based more so on versatility rather than aesthetics. Thanks again for the video and keep them coming!!
There are multiple ways to do that. I use the following two. Velcro tape on cavity walls in case with 2 springs. Or a piece of foam or something similar inside each spring
Really appreciate your review. I recently saw an ad for this guitar in my local trade website for $700 Australia dollars new, as I was looking to upgrade from my fender squier. Wasn't sure how good a deal it was. Feel confident about my decision to buy it. Thanks Max.
Truly great review. I like that you SHOW how you measured things. Awesome. Me? I use a HSS set up so..I prefer that..I could never get what I like out of the HSH arrangement. Maybe its me. But I strongly agree on the treble bleed..so NEEDED!! Also, the feel of the pots is an important thing and i am glad you covered that.Also, the wang bar wether it swings or stays put) sooo important ,imho. Great Review. Thank You,Max.
I have the same guitar and was wondering does yours suffer from spaghetti neck like mine does? If I just lightly touch a tuner it changes the pitch. Also mine does not stay in tune very well (floating trem) even though I use nut lube, stretch the strings, etc. FWIW - You might want to add a couple things to your checklist, like checking for a warped or twisted neck and any high frets using a fret rocker. Also, the string spacing on mine was off and I had to knock the nut loose and shift it towards the bass side quite a bit to keep the high E string from falling off the fretboard.
Very interesting and exhaustive review 👌!! How do you raise the bridge? Do you need some extra piece to place below it or can you do it by simply adjusting some screws?
What makes these guitars so attractive,is that they´re perfect modding platforms.Neck and fretwork are great,but hardware and pickups are pretty cheap. I would get rid of the cheapo Wilkinson V50 tremolo and the pickups and upgrade it with a Wilkinson GOTOH bridge (a GOTOH 510 would be a perfect choice) and slap some DiMarzios (Tone Zone/True Velvet/Air Norton or maybe Steve´s Special/True Velvet/PAF) or S.Duncans (JB/Classic Stack/Jazz or maybe Full Shred/Flat Strat singlecoil/Alnico Pro II) on it.
Yep, that’s a good plan! Although I’d avoid Tone Zone and Air Norton since those are not proper humbuckers and produce tons of hum. More on that in my video on Ibanez RG1070
I wrote it on your Ibanez review and say it again: I dunno what is wrong with these Premium RG's but I have played Prestige RG's with the Tone Zone & Air Norton combo and never experienced any hum or other noise with them. Maybe the Indonesian factory fucked up the shielding or soldering or something. I actually showed that video to my tech friend,who was also pretty surprised why the pickups where so noisy.He actually has installed them in many guitars over the years and never had any issues. He even has an 90's MIJ Jackson Dinky with this combo and they're dead silent. The Indonesian Ibby Premiums are known for having many quality control issues,specially in the fretwork and finish department. That noise is definetely NOT normal for these pickups.
Hmm, interesting! I’ll definitely run some tests when I get some more pickups and a guitar for experiments. So far I’ve noticed they may be really silent in some conditions but as soon as there’s a source of an electromagnetic field nearby they pick it up like crazy. I know they have assimetrical coils, so even in theory they must be noisier than proper humbuckers
My tech buddy told me that about the asymetrical coils also and that DiMarzios can be noisey around TV sets or a smartphone,but not like on your video. He was really surprised how loud they were. Maybe a bad batch from the DiMarzio factory? I´m a S.Duncan guy,so I don´t really have the expertise,but I used to own a second hand Ibby RG Prestige with the Tone Zone/True Velvet/Air Norton for couple of years and never had noise like these.Super versatile pickups. I just could never get used to the Wizard neck,too thin and too flat of a fretboard.
@@greekfreak1980 The thing is, when noticed that I've ordered another RG1070 and it had exactly the same problem. Oh, that's actually the one that ended up in the video. Those were 2 years apart in production, so definitely not the same batch
Detailed review! Ide like a roasted neck and locking nut in this colour or a trans black, unfortunately thomann doesn't offer this colour with those options. Thanks for sharing!
@@MaxSoloMusic I agree, I like the colour also, and I hope Thomann does add some new colours. I'm interested in one like that with roasted maple. Thanks again. Cheers!
Good review. Interesting: the pickups in my Fusion II sounded so dull and lacked any treble so that I replaced them. The same with my HB Dynamic. The pickups were bass-heavy and sounded like someone had put a blanket over my speaker box. Having said that, the LP and SG style guitars from Harley Benton, that have the same Roswell pickups in them (but with metal pickup covers), sounded very nice and punchy. No complaints there whatsoever. This leads me to believe that there are huge variations in tone between the same pickups. This is a serious quality issue. Regarding the Wilkinson tremolo, I don't trust Floyd Rose. I hate the whole locking nut and cutting off ball-ends thing. I used to use FR tremolos and often the high E-string string would slip out of the locking bridge and the D-string would often break where it was locked in. I have Wilkinson tremolos on most of my guitars now and they work really well. Of course, if you want to do dive-bomb effects all night long, go for a FR. The locking tuners on the Fusion II work really well. I've had no issues regarding tuning stability. However, you have to tune a guitar anyway throughout a gig so that in many cases, having to unlock the locking nut to re-calibrate the fine tuners etc is a pain. While not an issue with the Fusion II, the first fret on my Dynamic has 'popped out' making the guitar unplayable. Both the Fusion II and Dynamic are manufactured in the Cort factory in Indonesia. This probably won't happen with a maple fret board. So, if you get a Fusion II, I'd suggest one with a maple neck.
I've experienced the same thing with FR bridge units, never got along with them, had the very same problems you had actually... The Wilkinson bridge and the staggered locking keys work perfectly together! I am amazed on the sound of the pickups, my friend has THE same guitar and his pickups don't sound off like mine do!!! Which you would think that being the same guitar, it would be impossible right? But we were both surprised, my thoughts were to change out the pickups, because his guitar came first and we got to hear it. That's when I figured that would be the change I would personally make... But then mine arrived and my pickups sound totally different!!!! Maybe because mine is a lefthander, or the wiring? I don't know... So he ended up changing his out... Overall, this guitar is a keeper, plus I got lucky I guess with the pickups!! :-) :-)
I have a fusion 2 with the roasted maple neck. How would I switch out the humbuckers since they have the coil split ? I’ve ever had to deal with coil splits in my fenders. Is it a simple swap or do I have to do something else ?
@@Nightshade1881 Gee, Emilio... nice question...it's actually not that hard. But if you've never done it before, you either have to learn quickly or let someone do it for you. Generally, it is straight forward because nearly all humbucker pickups have the split-coil feature (i.e. four conductor cables: black, white, red, green and earth). The problem is that DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan and Asian brands have different colour codes for their wires so that mixing brands is a bit tricky. If you get the phase wrong, it might sound weird. All I did on my guitar was solder the hot, earth and redundant wires the same as the original pickups. Because I have fat fingers, I had to take out the switch for access of the soldering iron. There are plenty of online resources. If you google for "humbucker pickup wiring", you'll get images of different pickup combinations. I'd start there. Once you know what brand pickups you want, you can zero on the the correct wiring diagram. Good luck!
Excellent review Max, thanks. One very common complaint about H-B guitars is the fret finishing-or lack of it. Of course I understand that on a cheap instrument some corners need to be cut, but when one factors in the cost of a necessary fret dress, crown and polish the price doesn't appear quite so attractive. It's good to see that this second generation Fusion appears to have partially addressed the issue with the stainless frets. Made in Indonesia. Cort factory?
I feel like I can't come up with a question about this guitar that wasn't answered in these two videos love the details dude, might end up picking up this guitar because of that
What about this - www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_iii_hh_fr_eb_fcb.htm or this www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_iii_hh_fr_eb_fch.htm I can still see some Fusion-II HH FR in stock as well www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_ii_hh_fr_roasted_fbb.htm
8.5 is near PAF usually (which I prefer), but for a fusion you might expect a higher resistance value, but it does depend on the how strong themagnet is, I suppose. Have you thought about getting one of those apps that measure magnetic strength?
Roswell's website says the LAF was designed with PAF in mind. But I don't have a real one and can't compare. Nah, I have a tool I can measure an inductivity of a coil with. I guess :)
How was he trem? I know it's not a locking trem (don't want the hassle anyway), but can it handle a little abuse, the odd bomb and still stay reasonably in tune?
After Christmas I'll get a B-stock one...the only mod I'd like to do is change pickups and wiring. I prefer classic '50 with tone paper-in-oil cap (.047 or .033) connected to center vol lug (I guess is named #2), no coil split just 2 ols school gibson chrome burstbucker. Mid ok as it is.
I’d change pickups to Seymour Duncan’s..a 59 in the neck, a stacked in the center and a Pearly Gate in the bridge….. I like your ideas of the 3 way toggle mod to increase coil splitting capabilities as well as the treble bleed… I’m a fan of hard tail bridges.. I’d likely block the term after lowering it to rest flat on the body for sustain… and go with some lighter strings. (I’m an old fart with arthritis)
You say that those mods are simple, but I haven't found any tutorials on doing those last more you mentioned. Can you put anyone here point me to any resources?
I'm curious. What guitar would you buy that has all of those things you mentioned that you might want to change regarding the pickups and controls. What would you recommend that already comes with it all? :)
I'm not sure something like that exists unless it's a custom order. Many people prefer it as simple as possible - 1 vol, 1 tone, 5-way switch and that's it :)
Sure, it can be wired that way too. Probably even using the original 5-way switch. There has to be plenty of wiring diagrams online. Google something like Strat Bridge & Neck mod
Fionn McCarthy, mate it’s got genuine Floyd rose 1000 I.e. made of steel, not a licensed version. it’s also got stainless steel frets which sound really chimey and high end-expensive, hard to get that under a thousand £ usually
I purchased one of these recently, and I'm pretty disappointed in the pickups. Are they supposed to be fairly low output? They're low enough that my noise gate is interfering with my playing on my Spark.
Yes, they are medium output. The reason why your noise gate is doing that might be because Roswell HAFs have a slightly higher hum level than many other humbuckers. And a combination of playing techniques with too much gain on the amp
You do a great job on your demos. Very helpful. I stumbled in to your RUclips channel because I can’t decide between the Fusion ll Roasted FNT and the EB FCB that you play. Putting the difference in price do you have any opinion that might help me make my decision?
From the sound perspective there's no difference or it's indistinguishable. It all comes down to the look and feel. Roasted maple feels slightly smoother. I may want to check my other video on Fusion II HSH vs HH
really nice review, thank you. I have a random question, do you think is possible to get both humbuckers to sound on the middle position when it's on the humbucker mode, and just the middle pickup when it's on the single mode? i reallly like how combined humbuckers sound hehe
Great reviews man, thank you! I want this guitar, but I plan on eventually giving it to my son who plays metal, and I play blues. I take it this would be a good compromise right?
I just bought one of these with the same finish (ebony neck) and appreciate you scoring system and thoughts on setup. Sub'd and liked and followed the links. Thanks.
Thank you for a very nice and informative review! I have ordered a HSH Roasted FBB, delivery mid May. It looks pretty much like my Sadowsky S-style and I am so excited to see if it will work as a backup! To much to wish for? We'll see ... :D
Received it now and I’m really impressed. It will definitely work as a backup. All I can say is if you have $5600 buy the Sadowsky. It’s worth it. If you don’t wanna spend that much, buy the HB and be assured you got an almost as good guitar for the fraction of the price.
Great video, thanx for that! If you don´t need a brand-name on the headstock Harley Benton really nailed it with their fusion line. You won´t get a better superstrat at this pricepoint from anybody else I think. Pickup discussion? It is magnets and wires, often taken from simple physics to "holy grail" madness. The amp, the cab, and the way somebody plays make more of a difference than the pickups. Just my opinion.
Макс, не подскажешь размеры колков на втором фьюжине или какой-нибудь колок, который бы встал в голову? Навернулся один локовый колок, замену найти не получается.
Excellent as always... yes, I have the HSH Fusion with the flame Canadian toasted neck in a left-hand model which costs just a tad more. I am really liking the idea of only using two springs in the tremolo. Question, can I just take one spring off, adjust the tension screwing in the two screws more to level off the tremolo base using (09-42) Di addario strings?! Or am I missing a step or two on "the how to get on two springs"? Be great to know how to correctly do it, before I start going crazy on it, and wreck something lol. If there's something I HAVE learnt in doing anything to a guitar is ASK 1st!!!!! And ALWAYS find out the correct way of working on a guitar, as there are many terrible nasty surprises that one can encounter when one has absolutely no clue. Always, better safe than sorry is the saying, right?! I look forward to hearing from you on this:-) :-) Thanks a bunch!!!
Excellent video. Too bad they are not sold in stores here in the USA. I hesitate to buy an instrument that I have not physically touched. Guitars are all about the "Feel" IMHO. I have gone to the shop certain that I want X guitar and found it lacking the correct feel. Of course, I look around and find one that is the right fit for me. That fusion pro 2 HH looks mighty tempting though.
Hello Max, between your 2 fusions (plain maple vs roasted maple neck) which do you prefer? How do they compare in terms of feel (sticky/drag)? Notice any additional stability with the roasted? Thanks :)
Hey Greg. I haven't spent enough time with the FR version that has a roasted maple neck yet but I found myself playing Fusion-T the last few days. The roasted neck feels smoother and nicer in a way. And it definitely makes the guitar feel more expensive than it actually is. Other than that I've discovered no other differences so far.
Hey! I really like the review on this guitar since I‘m considering to buy it, only difference being that I‘ll probably get the purple finish. I have a question about the fretsize (since you said in part one that they are pretty big). I‘m a beginner guitarist and thus I‘m wonderinh whether or not bigger frets make it (a lot) harder to do slides or similar things while playing? Would be really nice if you or anyone could answer this, since that‘d maybe be a dealbreaker :/
This is a great review thanks. I have been looking for a cheap 2nd guitar, with a coil split option. The guitar itself reminds me of a charvel pro mod.
Made it to the end!! Lol hey man how do you feel about the weight of this guitar?? Im waiting on the HH version to arrive to my door soon and I’m worried about it being too light of a guitar. As far as changes I’m planning on only changing the bridge pickup and maybe the trem if I need to but I’m hoping the trem is very stable!!
I have 3 guitars with this kind of tremolo for about a year now and so far I’m satisfied with its performance. As for the weight, it’s pretty average for a superstrat. I appreciate that it’s lighter than my explorer:)
dettagliatissimo! you're great. the best "review" of fusion II. Keep us up to date with an upgrade. I the Duncun jb and 59 there I already have, them ready but I have not yet put them because these HAFs, although they are not exactly what I like, deserve to be better known before replacing them. They remain, however, the only weak point of the instrument, not because they are the worst but only because they are a little too anonymous or impersonal.
Glad I found you, I have the HB Fusion II roasted neck, stainless frets, poor mans Suhr. I came to same conclusion, change pickups, add strap locks that all, and a very good guitar, putting in a set of Dragonfire PUs, hope they are not too hot, but Roswells were weak, can't understand why crappy PU's in such a nice guitar?. Fla. USA. Thanks!
Hey. Thanks! Well, Roswells are not all that bad. I personally like the HAF pickups. The reason why they're installed - they're cheap. And many people buy HB guitars as mod platform, they'll change pickups anyway. So I guess it was a compromise between the price and the sound
Thanks for the detailed review. Can the tremolo be set to float to do pull ups (Satriani type dive bombs!😉)? I am aware there is an FR version, but just in case I want to avoid that!
Yes, it does that. Although I have to say it has narrower range because there’s no locking nut. With a FR when you press the arm all the way strings get completely loose. It doesn’t happen with Wilkinson trem
@@MaxSoloMusic Thanks. I understand what you mean. I have an Ibanez GRG170DX in which I gave set the tremolo to float. But as you said without the locking nut it's not that good. I want that functionality of being able to pull up (essentially flutter) occassionally for which I don't really require FR type tremolo. My other Ibanez S520 has Edge Zero-II. Love the guitar but hate the trem. I have now decided if I'll have a guitar with a floating trem then it will be the original Edge/Lo Pro or original FR. Have you tried the Fusion-2 with FR, if so is the trem stability? Also, if you've played Ibanezes, then how does the neck on Fusion-2 compare with the super slim Ibanez necks? You are one of the few who does proper technical reviews, really appreciate your efforts. I think you are doing a great service to the guitarists' community.
@@gorimus Fusion II FR comes stock with 3 springs and 10-46 which I believe is not good for Floyd Rose and makes it too stiff for flutter and stuff. I didn't spend enough time with it yet but I believe as any other decent FR system this one may be set properly. I'll get to that in a couple of weeks. The neck on Fusion-II is so much different to Ibanez's Wizard. It's very round. If you try Player Stratocaster you'll get the idea
@@MaxSoloMusic Thanks for your comments. Have been playing Ibanez necks for a very long but only a year back I got a cheap strat clone. I am now used to the slightly rounder neck. It take about 5 min to adjust from one to the other. It would be nice to have a detail review of Fusion-2 with FR, especially its tuning stabiliy. By the way, I saw your video on Ibanez RG1070 in which you show RG550 - which trem does the latter have and how is its tuning stability? I am eying the RG550 Genesis as it has the orignal Edge trem (apparently the same trem used by Satrani), but it is currenlty beyound my budget. I was hoping that Fusion-2 FR migh be a best of both worlds, ie strat's cleans and Ibanez necks, and much cheaper than RG550 Genesis. Wish there was an off-the-shelf strat (type) with Ibanez (type) slim neck as these days I am mainly into blues with occasional shredding. RG550 Genesis review from you would be very valuable.
I think he shows that around 10:22. I am surprised though that you can still maintain low action over the neck without having to shim the neck pocket, in order to compensate for that raised action. Apparently, the Wilkinson saddles do allow for more downwards movement than I thought. Initially I wanted to swap the Wilkinson for a Schaller Vintage trem with roller saddles to increase tuning stability even more, but then I would perhaps encouter intonation issues. I want it to get as close to a locking trem as possible without having to use one ;)
I have been playing my FUSION 2 HSH but the model I got was more expensive as it has the toasted flame maple neck (to die for!) and staggered tuning locking keys... I really like pretty much everything about it, and using 10-46 gauge strings REALLY makes a difference. I tried 9-42's but it doesn't do the guitar justice. The only thing I personally would like to see is, the same guitar, but only have 22frets instead of those 24fret boards... Other than that, this thing is a keeper! Been using it with a BLACKSTAR tube amp and sounds like heaven!! :-)
I would change tuners first. Because it's not Floyd rose system, it's good to have locking tuners. Then maybe nut - rolling or graphite or brass. After this mod the guitar will play better. And only then I would think about the sound
@@MaxSoloMusic sorry, my bad. Then it is a perfect guitar I guess :) I like the way it sounds, so I would not change anything until something was broken
Great review, absolut far better than the average videos on RUclips- thank you! Talking about mods on this instrument: I think the PUs are the weakest point on one hand, but exchanging them for significantly better ones sets this guitar to a total different price. Question is, if ist is more than average in the range of 599.- instruments or is it maybe the better choice to buy a complete guitar without tinkering around to get a satisfying result. Thanks again, well done! 👍🏻🤘🏻
Tnx so much Max, i love your Videos and i like the Sound of the Scoringpoints (lol) . Please make a Video of the further pimping the Elektronics. We would loe to see and to lears about Mods. May this Chanel grow big.
Your review is head and shoulders above any other review of any item on youtube period. In-depth, informed, useful and the points system is a wonderful idea. Subscribed! Thank you
The only thing I'd change about that guitar is that I'd own it.
Hahaha, RIGHT!!??
Just when I thought it couldn't get more detailed...
...it got more detailed
Yep. And there's part 3, which is about mods for this specific guitar!
Jonathan Koh's video turned me on to this guitar but your reviews cemented it for me, I just have to get one of these
Hey, tell us about your first impression when you get the guitar :)
Nice vid....maybe you can show how you can replace the coil split and install a three way split...would like to do it to my guitar...thanks
To replace coil split just take the two wires going to the dpdt part of the pot and solder them together off of pot. Use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to cover the ends. No more coil split. To add a 3 way switch run a wire from left lug of switch to center lug of corresponding vol pot, wire from right lug to corresponding vol pot and wire from center lug to hot jack lug. Ground, which is back of switch lug to back of volume pot. Ground from jack should already be grounded to back of tone pot.
Absolutely terrific video, thank you for the effort. It is apparent that the analysis and work that went in t this is well beyond the standard. Well done.
You have the most detailed guitar review on youtube by far.And I am learning things about guitar specs.
I have the HH with the Floyd and I have to say that the split coil tones are pretty good. There's a lot of difference between a single coil and half of a humbucker, but these work pretty well.
Thanks Max, for another great review of the HB Fusion II Pro HSH !
I really do appreciate the time and effort you put into your perspective. It definitely helps me make a more informed decision regarding the purchase of this instrument. I've been on the fence about this model, and now feel confident that my decision can be based more so on versatility rather than aesthetics. Thanks again for the video and keep them coming!!
Fascinating Max, even more information. Please let us know if you make your preferred alterations and film it!
I've never seen a more detailed review before (including the 1st one on this guitar). Very impressive!
Thanks!
This channel deserves more subscribers 😊
the smile on your face whenever you play it says it all! love your channel bro
Thanks so much!
Would love a 3rd part video showing the mods you mention :D
Haha, I didn’t see that coming:) Now that there are multiple comments about that I’m seriously considering doing that
@@MaxSoloMusic that would be great, please do it :)
@@MaxSoloMusic is there a video on that already?
Great review!
12:20 How did you mute the springs on the back?
There are multiple ways to do that. I use the following two. Velcro tape on cavity walls in case with 2 springs. Or a piece of foam or something similar inside each spring
I am impressed that you wanted to make two movies about this guitar. Thumb up!!!
Really appreciate your review. I recently saw an ad for this guitar in my local trade website for $700 Australia dollars new, as I was looking to upgrade from my fender squier. Wasn't sure how good a deal it was. Feel confident about my decision to buy it. Thanks Max.
I have to be honest, I bought this guitar after watching your videos. Thank you.
Good choice!
I've just ordered one of these and to deaden the strings beyond the nut I got some rubber draught exclusion strip.
Truly great review. I like that you SHOW how you measured things. Awesome. Me? I use a HSS set up so..I prefer that..I could never get what I like out of the HSH arrangement. Maybe its me. But I strongly agree on the treble bleed..so NEEDED!! Also, the feel of the pots is an important thing and i am glad you covered that.Also, the wang bar wether it swings or stays put) sooo important ,imho. Great Review. Thank You,Max.
Love your videos! How to install a treble bleed circuit ?
The only parts I have changed on my guitar so far are the knobs for black Gibson style speed knobs, a tactile thing and slightly heavier strings.
I have the same guitar and was wondering does yours suffer from spaghetti neck like mine does? If I just lightly touch a tuner it changes the pitch. Also mine does not stay in tune very well (floating trem) even though I use nut lube, stretch the strings, etc.
FWIW - You might want to add a couple things to your checklist, like checking for a warped or twisted neck and any high frets using a fret rocker. Also, the string spacing on mine was off and I had to knock the nut loose and shift it towards the bass side quite a bit to keep the high E string from falling off the fretboard.
Good video, Max. Thorough review
Hello, thanks for the review. Is this the best guitar for blues at this price range?
Very interesting and exhaustive review 👌!! How do you raise the bridge? Do you need some extra piece to place below it or can you do it by simply adjusting some screws?
Another amazing video bro!!!... I'm learning so much!!!...
Hey Max, great vid! ¿can you flutter with the bar?
So if I was to swap the pickups, it seems I should aim for regular spaced instead of f-spaced?
What makes these guitars so attractive,is that they´re perfect modding platforms.Neck and fretwork are great,but hardware and pickups are pretty cheap.
I would get rid of the cheapo Wilkinson V50 tremolo and the pickups and upgrade it with a Wilkinson GOTOH bridge (a GOTOH 510 would be a perfect choice) and slap some DiMarzios (Tone Zone/True Velvet/Air Norton or maybe Steve´s Special/True Velvet/PAF) or S.Duncans (JB/Classic Stack/Jazz or maybe Full Shred/Flat Strat singlecoil/Alnico Pro II) on it.
Yep, that’s a good plan! Although I’d avoid Tone Zone and Air Norton since those are not proper humbuckers and produce tons of hum. More on that in my video on Ibanez RG1070
I wrote it on your Ibanez review and say it again: I dunno what is wrong with these Premium RG's but I have played Prestige RG's with the Tone Zone & Air Norton combo and never experienced any hum or other noise with them.
Maybe the Indonesian factory fucked up the shielding or soldering or something.
I actually showed that video to my tech friend,who was also pretty surprised why the pickups where so noisy.He actually has installed them in many guitars over the years and never had any issues.
He even has an 90's MIJ Jackson Dinky with this combo and they're dead silent.
The Indonesian Ibby Premiums are known for having many quality control issues,specially in the fretwork and finish department.
That noise is definetely NOT normal for these pickups.
Hmm, interesting! I’ll definitely run some tests when I get some more pickups and a guitar for experiments. So far I’ve noticed they may be really silent in some conditions but as soon as there’s a source of an electromagnetic field nearby they pick it up like crazy. I know they have assimetrical coils, so even in theory they must be noisier than proper humbuckers
My tech buddy told me that about the asymetrical coils also and that DiMarzios can be noisey around TV sets or a smartphone,but not like on your video.
He was really surprised how loud they were.
Maybe a bad batch from the DiMarzio factory?
I´m a S.Duncan guy,so I don´t really have the expertise,but I used to own a second hand Ibby RG Prestige with the Tone Zone/True Velvet/Air Norton for couple of years and never had noise like these.Super versatile pickups. I just could never get used to the Wizard neck,too thin and too flat of a fretboard.
@@greekfreak1980 The thing is, when noticed that I've ordered another RG1070 and it had exactly the same problem. Oh, that's actually the one that ended up in the video. Those were 2 years apart in production, so definitely not the same batch
a pleasure to see your videos. Great explaining and very original.Keep on Rocking
Detailed review! Ide like a roasted neck and locking nut in this colour or a trans black, unfortunately thomann doesn't offer this colour with those options. Thanks for sharing!
I heard this one is not a popular color. I like it though. There’s a good chance we’ll see some new colors for Fusions at some point
@@MaxSoloMusic I agree, I like the colour also, and I hope Thomann does add some new colours. I'm interested in one like that with roasted maple. Thanks again. Cheers!
Wow, the most detailed review now in more detailed
I hope oneday you will make tutorial about how to instal ghost system
Oh yeah! That will be a part of my Tele on Steroids series!
@@MaxSoloMusic sweet. I have all the parts. I think I’ll wait for your video.
Thanks
Good review. Interesting: the pickups in my Fusion II sounded so dull and lacked any treble so that I replaced them. The same with my HB Dynamic. The pickups were bass-heavy and sounded like someone had put a blanket over my speaker box. Having said that, the LP and SG style guitars from Harley Benton, that have the same Roswell pickups in them (but with metal pickup covers), sounded very nice and punchy. No complaints there whatsoever. This leads me to believe that there are huge variations in tone between the same pickups. This is a serious quality issue. Regarding the Wilkinson tremolo, I don't trust Floyd Rose. I hate the whole locking nut and cutting off ball-ends thing. I used to use FR tremolos and often the high E-string string would slip out of the locking bridge and the D-string would often break where it was locked in. I have Wilkinson tremolos on most of my guitars now and they work really well. Of course, if you want to do dive-bomb effects all night long, go for a FR. The locking tuners on the Fusion II work really well. I've had no issues regarding tuning stability. However, you have to tune a guitar anyway throughout a gig so that in many cases, having to unlock the locking nut to re-calibrate the fine tuners etc is a pain. While not an issue with the Fusion II, the first fret on my Dynamic has 'popped out' making the guitar unplayable. Both the Fusion II and Dynamic are manufactured in the Cort factory in Indonesia. This probably won't happen with a maple fret board. So, if you get a Fusion II, I'd suggest one with a maple neck.
I've experienced the same thing with FR bridge units, never got along with them, had the very same problems you had actually...
The Wilkinson bridge and the staggered locking keys work perfectly together! I am amazed on the sound of the pickups, my friend has THE same guitar and his pickups don't sound off like mine do!!! Which you would think that being the same guitar, it would be impossible right? But we were both surprised, my thoughts were to change out the pickups, because his guitar came first and we got to hear it. That's when I figured that would be the change I would personally make...
But then mine arrived and my pickups sound totally different!!!! Maybe because mine is a lefthander, or the wiring? I don't know...
So he ended up changing his out...
Overall, this guitar is a keeper, plus I got lucky I guess with the pickups!! :-) :-)
I have a fusion 2 with the roasted maple neck. How would I switch out the humbuckers since they have the coil split ? I’ve ever had to deal with coil splits in my fenders. Is it a simple swap or do I have to do something else ?
@@Nightshade1881 Gee, Emilio... nice question...it's actually not that hard. But if you've never done it before, you either have to learn quickly or let someone do it for you. Generally, it is straight forward because nearly all humbucker pickups have the split-coil feature (i.e. four conductor cables: black, white, red, green and earth). The problem is that DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan and Asian brands have different colour codes for their wires so that mixing brands is a bit tricky. If you get the phase wrong, it might sound weird. All I did on my guitar was solder the hot, earth and redundant wires the same as the original pickups. Because I have fat fingers, I had to take out the switch for access of the soldering iron. There are plenty of online resources. If you google for "humbucker pickup wiring", you'll get images of different pickup combinations. I'd start there. Once you know what brand pickups you want, you can zero on the the correct wiring diagram. Good luck!
Excellent review Max, thanks. One very common complaint about H-B guitars is the fret finishing-or lack of it. Of course I understand that on a cheap instrument some corners need to be cut, but when one factors in the cost of a necessary fret dress, crown and polish the price doesn't appear quite so attractive. It's good to see that this second generation Fusion appears to have partially addressed the issue with the stainless frets. Made in Indonesia. Cort factory?
I feel like I can't come up with a question about this guitar that wasn't answered in these two videos
love the details dude, might end up picking up this guitar because of that
Hi what did you put on the head stick to mute the strings in two places?
I just ordered the exact same blue HH version, with a Floyd. I’m looking forward to a review on that one.
Does it stay in tune?
I bought this guitar.. its awesome.. recomendet If ur trying to find ur first el. Guitar
Good choice!
Please do more Harley Benton perhaps teles
In fusion-III series there is no HH FR version. Shait - i looked on in for half a year now and it's gone
What about this - www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_iii_hh_fr_eb_fcb.htm
or this www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_iii_hh_fr_eb_fch.htm
I can still see some Fusion-II HH FR in stock as well www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_fusion_ii_hh_fr_roasted_fbb.htm
Thak you very much for the detailed review!
Do you have any recommendations for a pickup-switch in this guitar? Which ones would you chose?
If I want to lower the tuning on the guitar, will the tremolo interfere with this? will I need to tune the tremolo every time?
Really enjoyed your style of review. Very informative and enjoyable. Thanks for the help!
8.5 is near PAF usually (which I prefer), but for a fusion you might expect a higher resistance value, but it does depend on the how strong themagnet is, I suppose. Have you thought about getting one of those apps that measure magnetic strength?
Roswell's website says the LAF was designed with PAF in mind. But I don't have a real one and can't compare. Nah, I have a tool I can measure an inductivity of a coil with. I guess :)
How was he trem? I know it's not a locking trem (don't want the hassle anyway), but can it handle a little abuse, the odd bomb and still stay reasonably in tune?
I'd love to know as well
Yes! If everything is properly lubed it can handle that!
How is the neck of fusion III HSH ? is thinner than Fusion II ?
After Christmas I'll get a B-stock one...the only mod I'd like to do is change pickups and wiring. I prefer classic '50 with tone paper-in-oil cap (.047 or .033) connected to center vol lug (I guess is named #2), no coil split just 2 ols school gibson chrome burstbucker. Mid ok as it is.
And treeble bleed tha Ibanez way, no resistance.
I’d change pickups to Seymour Duncan’s..a 59 in the neck, a stacked in the center and a Pearly Gate in the bridge….. I like your ideas of the 3 way toggle mod to increase coil splitting capabilities as well as the treble bleed… I’m a fan of hard tail bridges.. I’d likely block the term after lowering it to rest flat on the body for sustain… and go with some lighter strings. (I’m an old fart with arthritis)
Thanks Max! Great and nice job and great suggestions. Thanks a lot.
You say that those mods are simple, but I haven't found any tutorials on doing those last more you mentioned. Can you put anyone here point me to any resources?
I'm curious. What guitar would you buy that has all of those things you mentioned that you might want to change regarding the pickups and controls. What would you recommend that already comes with it all? :)
I'm not sure something like that exists unless it's a custom order. Many people prefer it as simple as possible - 1 vol, 1 tone, 5-way switch and that's it :)
Just discovered your channel. Nice reviews !
Can you modify this guitar so you can also play with the bridge and the neck pickups? If so, how?
Sure, it can be wired that way too. Probably even using the original 5-way switch. There has to be plenty of wiring diagrams online. Google something like Strat Bridge & Neck mod
Do you know when you’d get around to reviewing the HH?
I'll have a HSH vs HH FR video at some point
Looking forward to it
I would watch that shoutout in a flash
Super interested in seeing a review of the blue HH... Looks incredible, hopefully it's not just a pretty guitar!
Fionn McCarthy, mate it’s got genuine Floyd rose 1000 I.e. made of steel, not a licensed version. it’s also got stainless steel frets which sound really chimey and high end-expensive, hard to get that under a thousand £ usually
Amazing work. I hope to see more videos from you.
More to come!
A killswitch may fit this guitar well and move it one step beyond. And also more straty color options...
I purchased one of these recently, and I'm pretty disappointed in the pickups. Are they supposed to be fairly low output? They're low enough that my noise gate is interfering with my playing on my Spark.
Yes, they are medium output. The reason why your noise gate is doing that might be because Roswell HAFs have a slightly higher hum level than many other humbuckers. And a combination of playing techniques with too much gain on the amp
You do a great job on your demos. Very helpful. I stumbled in to your RUclips channel because I can’t decide between the Fusion ll Roasted FNT and the EB FCB that you play. Putting the difference in price do you have any opinion that might help me make my decision?
From the sound perspective there's no difference or it's indistinguishable. It all comes down to the look and feel. Roasted maple feels slightly smoother. I may want to check my other video on Fusion II HSH vs HH
really nice review, thank you.
I have a random question, do you think is possible to get both humbuckers to sound on the middle position when it's on the humbucker mode, and just the middle pickup when it's on the single mode? i reallly like how combined humbuckers sound hehe
Great reviews man, thank you! I want this guitar, but I plan on eventually giving it to my son who plays metal, and I play blues. I take it this would be a good compromise right?
It will do the job. However, you may want to change the bridge pickup to make it more metal compatible :)
The single most glaring omission on these HB's is the lack of a tilt back headstock...and the headstock shape if I was splitting hairs.
how this guitar compares to a DK24?? it is worth it the extra money?
I just bought one of these with the same finish (ebony neck) and appreciate you scoring system and thoughts on setup. Sub'd and liked and followed the links. Thanks.
Thank you for a very nice and informative review!
I have ordered a HSH Roasted FBB, delivery mid May. It looks pretty much like my Sadowsky S-style and I am so excited to see if it will work as a backup! To much to wish for? We'll see ... :D
Received it now and I’m really impressed. It will definitely work as a backup. All I can say is if you have $5600 buy the Sadowsky. It’s worth it. If you don’t wanna spend that much, buy the HB and be assured you got an almost as good guitar for the fraction of the price.
Great video, thanx for that! If you don´t need a brand-name on the headstock Harley Benton really nailed it with their fusion line. You won´t get a better superstrat at this pricepoint from anybody else I think. Pickup discussion? It is magnets and wires, often taken from simple physics to "holy grail" madness. The amp, the cab, and the way somebody plays make more of a difference than the pickups. Just my opinion.
Макс, не подскажешь размеры колков на втором фьюжине или какой-нибудь колок, который бы встал в голову? Навернулся один локовый колок, замену найти не получается.
Они по идее стандартного размера. На этой гитаре стоят колки Hanchang Locking. Легко гуглятся www.hctuner.com/product_02_03
Excellent as always... yes, I have the HSH Fusion with the flame Canadian toasted neck in a left-hand model which costs just a tad more. I am really liking the idea of only using two springs in the tremolo.
Question, can I just take one spring off, adjust the tension screwing in the two screws more to level off the tremolo base using (09-42) Di addario strings?!
Or am I missing a step or two on "the how to get on two springs"?
Be great to know how to correctly do it, before I start going crazy on it, and wreck something lol. If there's something I HAVE learnt in doing anything to a guitar is ASK 1st!!!!! And ALWAYS find out the correct way of working on a guitar, as there are many terrible nasty surprises that one can encounter when one has absolutely no clue. Always, better safe than sorry is the saying, right?!
I look forward to hearing from you on this:-) :-)
Thanks a bunch!!!
How far is the range of the tremolo both up and down now the third spring is removed and the bridge is raised? I'm too scared to dive bomb on mine!!!
I've subscribed as well! This channel is pretty freaking great!
Excellent video. Too bad they are not sold in stores here in the USA. I hesitate to buy an instrument that I have not physically touched. Guitars are all about the "Feel" IMHO. I have gone to the shop certain that I want X guitar and found it lacking the correct feel. Of course, I look around and find one that is the right fit for me. That fusion pro 2 HH looks mighty tempting though.
Super nice Max! Thanks!
I would add low-friction pots for volume and tone
Hey Max, do you actually have a list of instruments you reviewed with their score somewhere?
It's in the most recent guitar review. Check Fusion-T part 2 video. And there's a playlist with all guitar reviews on my channel's homepage
amazing review I want one
Hello Max, between your 2 fusions (plain maple vs roasted maple neck) which do you prefer? How do they compare in terms of feel (sticky/drag)? Notice any additional stability with the roasted? Thanks :)
Hey Greg. I haven't spent enough time with the FR version that has a roasted maple neck yet but I found myself playing Fusion-T the last few days. The roasted neck feels smoother and nicer in a way. And it definitely makes the guitar feel more expensive than it actually is. Other than that I've discovered no other differences so far.
Hey! I really like the review on this guitar since I‘m considering to buy it, only difference being that I‘ll probably get the purple finish. I have a question about the fretsize (since you said in part one that they are pretty big). I‘m a beginner guitarist and thus I‘m wonderinh whether or not bigger frets make it (a lot) harder to do slides or similar things while playing? Would be really nice if you or anyone could answer this, since that‘d maybe be a dealbreaker :/
Thx my Man, great Demo !!!!!
This is a great review thanks. I have been looking for a cheap 2nd guitar, with a coil split option.
The guitar itself reminds me of a charvel pro mod.
maple fingerboard or mahogany fingerboard?
Made it to the end!! Lol hey man how do you feel about the weight of this guitar?? Im waiting on the HH version to arrive to my door soon and I’m worried about it being too light of a guitar. As far as changes I’m planning on only changing the bridge pickup and maybe the trem if I need to but I’m hoping the trem is very stable!!
I have 3 guitars with this kind of tremolo for about a year now and so far I’m satisfied with its performance. As for the weight, it’s pretty average for a superstrat. I appreciate that it’s lighter than my explorer:)
is it floating bridge
Do they have a Fusion 2 hard tail?
Just ordered the Floyd rose version!!
dettagliatissimo! you're great.
the best "review" of fusion II. Keep us up to date with an upgrade.
I the Duncun jb and 59 there I already have, them ready but I have not yet put them because these HAFs, although they are not exactly what I like, deserve to be better known before replacing them. They remain, however, the only weak point of the instrument, not because they are the worst but only because they are a little too anonymous or impersonal.
Glad I found you, I have the HB Fusion II roasted neck, stainless frets, poor mans Suhr. I came to same conclusion, change pickups, add strap locks that all, and a very good guitar, putting in a set of Dragonfire PUs, hope they are not too hot, but Roswells were weak, can't understand why crappy PU's in such a nice guitar?. Fla. USA. Thanks!
Hey. Thanks! Well, Roswells are not all that bad. I personally like the HAF pickups. The reason why they're installed - they're cheap. And many people buy HB guitars as mod platform, they'll change pickups anyway. So I guess it was a compromise between the price and the sound
The real guitar hero we need
Ну так будет ли ПОЛНЫЙ обзор версии HH FR?
Нет, есть более чем детальное сравнение с этой моделью где показаны все отличия. В остальном все идентично
Thank you for these two videos Max, they are great. I would not change the micros for me.
My pleasure!
The Berlin Dudes have a girl singer! What's that device on the back of your headstock in the live clip?
Haha, yep :) That's a slide
Good knowledge mate liked it very much thank you👍
Glad it helped
Thanks for the detailed review. Can the tremolo be set to float to do pull ups (Satriani type dive bombs!😉)? I am aware there is an FR version, but just in case I want to avoid that!
Yes, it does that. Although I have to say it has narrower range because there’s no locking nut. With a FR when you press the arm all the way strings get completely loose. It doesn’t happen with Wilkinson trem
@@MaxSoloMusic Thanks. I understand what you mean. I have an Ibanez GRG170DX in which I gave set the tremolo to float. But as you said without the locking nut it's not that good. I want that functionality of being able to pull up (essentially flutter) occassionally for which I don't really require FR type tremolo. My other Ibanez S520 has Edge Zero-II. Love the guitar but hate the trem. I have now decided if I'll have a guitar with a floating trem then it will be the original Edge/Lo Pro or original FR. Have you tried the Fusion-2 with FR, if so is the trem stability? Also, if you've played Ibanezes, then how does the neck on Fusion-2 compare with the super slim Ibanez necks? You are one of the few who does proper technical reviews, really appreciate your efforts. I think you are doing a great service to the guitarists' community.
@@gorimus Fusion II FR comes stock with 3 springs and 10-46 which I believe is not good for Floyd Rose and makes it too stiff for flutter and stuff. I didn't spend enough time with it yet but I believe as any other decent FR system this one may be set properly. I'll get to that in a couple of weeks. The neck on Fusion-II is so much different to Ibanez's Wizard. It's very round. If you try Player Stratocaster you'll get the idea
@@MaxSoloMusic Thanks for your comments. Have been playing Ibanez necks for a very long but only a year back I got a cheap strat clone. I am now used to the slightly rounder neck. It take about 5 min to adjust from one to the other. It would be nice to have a detail review of Fusion-2 with FR, especially its tuning stabiliy. By the way, I saw your video on Ibanez RG1070 in which you show RG550 - which trem does the latter have and how is its tuning stability? I am eying the RG550 Genesis as it has the orignal Edge trem (apparently the same trem used by Satrani), but it is currenlty beyound my budget. I was hoping that Fusion-2 FR migh be a best of both worlds, ie strat's cleans and Ibanez necks, and much cheaper than RG550 Genesis. Wish there was an off-the-shelf strat (type) with Ibanez (type) slim neck as these days I am mainly into blues with occasional shredding. RG550 Genesis review from you would be very valuable.
I think he shows that around 10:22. I am surprised though that you can still maintain low action over the neck without having to shim the neck pocket, in order to compensate for that raised action. Apparently, the Wilkinson saddles do allow for more downwards movement than I thought. Initially I wanted to swap the Wilkinson for a Schaller Vintage trem with roller saddles to increase tuning stability even more, but then I would perhaps encouter intonation issues. I want it to get as close to a locking trem as possible without having to use one ;)
I have been playing my FUSION 2 HSH but the model I got was more expensive as it has the toasted flame maple neck (to die for!) and staggered tuning locking keys... I really like pretty much everything about it, and using 10-46 gauge strings REALLY makes a difference. I tried 9-42's but it doesn't do the guitar justice. The only thing I personally would like to see is, the same guitar, but only have 22frets instead of those 24fret boards...
Other than that, this thing is a keeper!
Been using it with a BLACKSTAR tube amp and sounds like heaven!! :-)
I would change tuners first. Because it's not Floyd rose system, it's good to have locking tuners. Then maybe nut - rolling or graphite or brass. After this mod the guitar will play better. And only then I would think about the sound
Well, those are locking tuners and it already has Graph Tech nut. More on that in the first part of the review
@@MaxSoloMusic sorry, my bad. Then it is a perfect guitar I guess :) I like the way it sounds, so I would not change anything until something was broken
I think there 8 variations of sound. Because middle pickup is not affected by coil split.
There would be 10 if it was affected, right? I counted it like 5 times:)
@@MaxSoloMusic oh... I'm stupid :( somehow I counted 3 by 3 switch...
Great review, absolut far better than the average videos on RUclips- thank you! Talking about mods on this instrument: I think the PUs are the weakest point on one hand, but exchanging them for significantly better ones sets this guitar to a total different price. Question is, if ist is more than average in the range of 599.- instruments or is it maybe the better choice to buy a complete guitar without tinkering around to get a satisfying result. Thanks again, well done! 👍🏻🤘🏻
Please do a video on your mods you mentioned on this guitar...I am very happy with mine as is but enjoy tech stuff ...thanks amigo 👍
Thank you for the review
Nice video. Hi from Scotland!
Hey, Scotland rocks!
Tnx so much Max, i love your Videos and i like the Sound of the Scoringpoints (lol) . Please make a Video of the further pimping the Elektronics. We would loe to see and to lears about Mods. May this Chanel grow big.
Gracias por todos esos detalles...!!!