I got one of those a year or two back, I replaced the tuners with 21:1 ratio lockers and the pickups with wilkinson ceramic passive and re-leveled the fingerboard and refretted it with medium gold frets! Worth it! I paid $159 for mine $225 after shipping etc. I could not get a set of 7 locking had to settle for 6.
My new white R-457 with regular frets just came with 3-ply truss rod adjustment hole cover! And the nut feels like Graph Tech TUSQ. I love my new guitar! It is lightweight, beautiful and plays very well. Everything is pefrect except I had to cut in half the saddle spring of the 7th string to achieve the proper string length. I love the pickups because they can sing, not only chug.
I have the R-457 with regular frets. I agree that the tuners are bad - I had tuning stability problems, and thought it was because of the nut. Then I changed the tuners to these cheap locking HBs you mentioned in the video - and now the guitars stays in tune for days. One thing about the new tuners is important to mention - I swapped strings for 10-59, and the 59 just barely went through the tuner hole. Not sure a thicker string would. Also the stock pickups were noisy (and it was not a bad ground - just hissing pickups) - and very dark and muddy in the sound. Noticed that in your video the pickups were also hissing on the Tone King, so even though they are different - might have the same problem. I swapped the bridge pickup for an EMG 81-7 and left the neck pickup disconnected. I very much enjoy the guitar after the mods I did: it stays in tune, has a great tone courtesy of EMG, the neck is quite comfortable, the fret ends are well-made and the fretboard edges are rolled. My only concern is the durability of the frets - I've had the guitar for 3 months and play on average 5-6 hours a week, and I already see some wear. Also, the look is quite boring, and the 25.5 scale is not perfect for a 7-string, but what do you want for 159 EUR.
I got one a year ago and the strings weren't grounded at all, the paint they used for the bridge wasn't conductive lol. I negotiated a partial refund and loss of warranty and solved it myself by scratching the paint off. Hopefully they fixed that in the meantime.
It has pickups. 😂... Yes. This guitar has a very low price and of course it has not the high quality of a good 7 string guitar, but I think it's a good option to try out a 7 string guitar if you don't want to invest 500€ or Dollar more for a better one. To buy good guitars second hand is also an option... I think this Harley Benton 7 string is made for beginners to make the first steps into new musical options.
It doesn't sound right clean to me. Might be the tuners, but from experience I suspect the strings. I recently needed a 5 string bass for a project and got the Harley Benton PJ-5 HTR Deluxe. I needed it to tune down to G for the project and no kidding when I replaced the strings to do that (Newtone Strings UK) the output of bass almost TRIPLED in volume! Carsten was a lot of fun, how the heck did you land on doing a song from Disneys Hercules any way!?
I've had one for more than a year and it's fine, however the electronics aren't grounded and they buzz and hum. I got an EMG707 in a trade and I'm putting it on the bridge and going single pickup only. I hope it all goes well. :) It has some slight fret buzz too, but it's comfy to play and I like it for this very cheap price. :)
The most important thing for me is the neck feel, sound and fan fret scale lengh. If the neck is dry and unfinished im out. And i only play HB guitars. Owne around 7 of them. I had a 8 string and loved it for stoner metal stuff. Im not in the market right now, but if i were to give feedback to HB it would be that they should make things that we in europe don't have, experiment with scale lengs on a fan fret, and always do matching finishes and headstocks. I have so meny creative ideas for them, but im a lonely guy, and they think it would be unprofitable probably.
The regular fretted 8 string feels a lot better tuned on G#, I dont know why they try to take it that low, it is very hard not to get noises that way. Also the bridge is more robust than the twisted, they used smaller screws there.
Not to get confused with the price, you will still need a deep setup to make it stable. Pegbox works fine. Hopefully they will end up adding a single coil selector as they did on the 335 type
For some reason my guitar just like that one doesn’t play a c chord either 🤪🎸🤘no biggie HP IT CHUGZ! Just fine I’m super happy with my purchase from you brother thank you n Leslie again 🤘
Here is an honest review as an owner: Cons: Pickups sounds horrrrrible. Might be the worst ive ever heared. Tuners are not usable. to let it sound like this demo you need to be a master of mastering dont get fooled Pros: Its very comfy, neck feals super good and smooth frets are very well polished and no manufacture issues whatsoever on mine.
I have the 8 string version of this, good bang for the buck somewhat but the pickups are crap and the fretwork was extreme crap ,tuners are crap. Once I polished the frets and replaced the pickups with some fishman fluence moderns , the guitar plays and sounds great. But for the money and time I have into it , I believe someone would be better off spending some extra money and get a decently built guitar from the start
I owned the 8 string of this. And it honestly is the worst guitar i have ever owned, beaten by all other guitars, including the 2 BC Rich i Got for 50 euros each
I had the black 7 String Version…it was really, really bad…Not only the overall setup was shit (action, intonation). The frets were extremly scratchy, the pickups sounded muddy, fred ends were not rounded. Lord is right, one of the worst i ever had! And checked by thoman?! Are you kidding me thomann?!
I got the 8 string too, only positive is it was cheap and an interesting addition to the collection! Cheap guitars allow you to try something new and see if it suites you or not
I have this same guitar and it’s incredibly muddy and low output, every time I pick it up I’m surprised the volume and tone knobs are already on 10, that could just be mine though
"Massive sound", sorry but no. OK it's very affordable which is always nice, but those pickups sound very muddy and unprecise. Not at all satisfying or flattering. Even if I was about to start playing on a seven strings, this sound would bother me. It looks like a cool base to upgrade with a good set of DiMarzio or Duncans, but one pickup is already near the price of the guitar itself ! :D Two pickups and a set of tuners + the price of the guitar brings the budget to 500 euros. For this you get an Ibanez, or a Harley Benton Amarok with EMGs, a Graph Tech nut, and locking tuners... Maybe it would be interesting to compare with in between instruments ? Like the 298€ Harley Benton MultiScale-7 TPB, or the 269€ ESP LTD MH-17KIT, to see and hear the differences. Sometimes raising the budget a little bit can maybe allow to play a more flattering instrument, especially for beginners, cause if they struggle to get a really good sound, they might get discouraged and quit... I have a few Harley Benton instruments which are fine, and I love your channel, but here allow me to be a little dubious... This Benton does not sound good, admit it...
I got one of those a year or two back, I replaced the tuners with 21:1 ratio lockers and the pickups with wilkinson ceramic passive and re-leveled the fingerboard and refretted it with medium gold frets! Worth it! I paid $159 for mine $225 after shipping etc. I could not get a set of 7 locking had to settle for 6.
My new white R-457 with regular frets just came with 3-ply truss rod adjustment hole cover! And the nut feels like Graph Tech TUSQ. I love my new guitar! It is lightweight, beautiful and plays very well. Everything is pefrect except I had to cut in half the saddle spring of the 7th string to achieve the proper string length. I love the pickups because they can sing, not only chug.
And I love the 16" radius. By the way, the black R-457 have 14" radius. I think, for a 7 string 16" is better.
10:46 Its the bottom E string space is cut incorrectly, checked on mine its ok
I have the R-457 with regular frets. I agree that the tuners are bad - I had tuning stability problems, and thought it was because of the nut. Then I changed the tuners to these cheap locking HBs you mentioned in the video - and now the guitars stays in tune for days. One thing about the new tuners is important to mention - I swapped strings for 10-59, and the 59 just barely went through the tuner hole. Not sure a thicker string would.
Also the stock pickups were noisy (and it was not a bad ground - just hissing pickups) - and very dark and muddy in the sound. Noticed that in your video the pickups were also hissing on the Tone King, so even though they are different - might have the same problem.
I swapped the bridge pickup for an EMG 81-7 and left the neck pickup disconnected.
I very much enjoy the guitar after the mods I did: it stays in tune, has a great tone courtesy of EMG, the neck is quite comfortable, the fret ends are well-made and the fretboard edges are rolled.
My only concern is the durability of the frets - I've had the guitar for 3 months and play on average 5-6 hours a week, and I already see some wear. Also, the look is quite boring, and the 25.5 scale is not perfect for a 7-string, but what do you want for 159 EUR.
I got one a year ago and the strings weren't grounded at all, the paint they used for the bridge wasn't conductive lol. I negotiated a partial refund and loss of warranty and solved it myself by scratching the paint off. Hopefully they fixed that in the meantime.
It has pickups. 😂... Yes.
This guitar has a very low price and of course it has not the high quality of a good 7 string guitar, but I think it's a good option to try out a 7 string guitar if you don't want to invest 500€ or Dollar more for a better one. To buy good guitars second hand is also an option...
I think this Harley Benton 7 string is made for beginners to make the first steps into new musical options.
It doesn't sound right clean to me. Might be the tuners, but from experience I suspect the strings.
I recently needed a 5 string bass for a project and got the Harley Benton PJ-5 HTR Deluxe. I needed it to tune down to G for the project and no kidding when I replaced the strings to do that (Newtone Strings UK) the output of bass almost TRIPLED in volume!
Carsten was a lot of fun, how the heck did you land on doing a song from Disneys Hercules any way!?
I've had one for more than a year and it's fine, however the electronics aren't grounded and they buzz and hum. I got an EMG707 in a trade and I'm putting it on the bridge and going single pickup only. I hope it all goes well. :) It has some slight fret buzz too, but it's comfy to play and I like it for this very cheap price. :)
The most important thing for me is the neck feel, sound and fan fret scale lengh. If the neck is dry and unfinished im out. And i only play HB guitars. Owne around 7 of them. I had a 8 string and loved it for stoner metal stuff. Im not in the market right now, but if i were to give feedback to HB it would be that they should make things that we in europe don't have, experiment with scale lengs on a fan fret, and always do matching finishes and headstocks. I have so meny creative ideas for them, but im a lonely guy, and they think it would be unprofitable probably.
I am using 7-strings to close the gap in the mix
Massive tone!
thanks dear Henning =) Love cheers
detailed demo, thanks
The regular fretted 8 string feels a lot better tuned on G#, I dont know why they try to take it that low, it is very hard not to get noises that way. Also the bridge is more robust than the twisted, they used smaller screws there.
Not to get confused with the price, you will still need a deep setup to make it stable. Pegbox works fine. Hopefully they will end up adding a single coil selector as they did on the 335 type
The little cat is so cute!
Did he leave the fuzz pedal on the whole demo?
AAAAAAA!!! Review of a guitar that I bought !!!
At 16:00 your expression was priceless !!
I so do NOT need more strings with wobbly fretty things, fascinating video though! Hey, does it King? 🙂
For some reason my guitar just like that one doesn’t play a c chord either 🤪🎸🤘no biggie HP IT CHUGZ! Just fine I’m super happy with my purchase from you brother thank you n Leslie again 🤘
Have to go up to the 3rd fret to get the regular string distance but it doesn't take long to get used to
Not to confuse with "Get Distance!" back in the days. ^^
OMG ! The frets are a little twisted . Is that a factory mistake? LOL
Here is an honest review as an owner:
Cons:
Pickups sounds horrrrrible. Might be the worst ive ever heared.
Tuners are not usable.
to let it sound like this demo you need to be a master of mastering dont get fooled
Pros:
Its very comfy, neck feals super good and smooth
frets are very well polished and no manufacture issues whatsoever on mine.
Man, when are they going to release the St-182 😑
what a great show
I have the 8 string version of this, good bang for the buck somewhat but the pickups are crap and the fretwork was extreme crap ,tuners are crap. Once I polished the frets and replaced the pickups with some fishman fluence moderns , the guitar plays and sounds great. But for the money and time I have into it , I believe someone would be better off spending some extra money and get a decently built guitar from the start
7:06 he fixes! People need fixers.
13:35 that’s what that guitar wants REVV Rules!
Thanks for putting that image of a dude with taped off nipples in my head, man ;)
Seriously awesome vocals. Holy smokes. Good song. I liked that.
I owned the 8 string of this. And it honestly is the worst guitar i have ever owned, beaten by all other guitars, including the 2 BC Rich i Got for 50 euros each
I have the 7 string, it’s not great.
I had the black 7 String Version…it was really, really bad…Not only the overall setup was shit (action, intonation). The frets were extremly scratchy, the pickups sounded muddy, fred ends were not rounded.
Lord is right, one of the worst i ever had!
And checked by thoman?! Are you kidding me thomann?!
I got the 8 string too, only positive is it was cheap and an interesting addition to the collection! Cheap guitars allow you to try something new and see if it suites you or not
Bien sûr que c’est de la merde, à ce prix là faut pas s’étonner. Déjà rien que le design est horrible.
What makes it so bad if you don’t mind me asking?
That's RAD, man! Not only multiscale in the orizontal way, but also in the vertical way!
Not even good for basic chords... awesome!
Pretty decent chugga chugga low low for the price
I have this same guitar and it’s incredibly muddy and low output, every time I pick it up I’m surprised the volume and tone knobs are already on 10, that could just be mine though
how much is it? 🤣great vid
Incredible guitar for such a low price.
Carsten ist so ein geiler Sänger mittlerweile….Nippelalarm
Apex Predators refer to dollars as "Smackaroonis"
"Massive sound", sorry but no. OK it's very affordable which is always nice, but those pickups sound very muddy and unprecise. Not at all satisfying or flattering. Even if I was about to start playing on a seven strings, this sound would bother me.
It looks like a cool base to upgrade with a good set of DiMarzio or Duncans, but one pickup is already near the price of the guitar itself ! :D Two pickups and a set of tuners + the price of the guitar brings the budget to 500 euros. For this you get an Ibanez, or a Harley Benton Amarok with EMGs, a Graph Tech nut, and locking tuners...
Maybe it would be interesting to compare with in between instruments ? Like the 298€ Harley Benton MultiScale-7 TPB, or the 269€ ESP LTD MH-17KIT, to see and hear the differences. Sometimes raising the budget a little bit can maybe allow to play a more flattering instrument, especially for beginners, cause if they struggle to get a really good sound, they might get discouraged and quit...
I have a few Harley Benton instruments which are fine, and I love your channel, but here allow me to be a little dubious... This Benton does not sound good, admit it...
Semi-moist
I fix shit.🤣🤣🤣
You make me laugh.
Smackistan? I dunno. 😆
Stewie Pauly
only me hear that horrible sound ?
Can we stop schilling for Harley Benton trash already?
He's not schilling he's shilling 🤣