Gibson R8 or Harley Benton with Pickup Upgrades?

OilCityPickups

rossi said:

I would have killed for a Squier Strat or any Harley Benton in the late 50's when I started trying to play .They are head and shoulders above the crap some people rate so highly now on forums.most guitars at that time were only fit for a bonfire or cutting cheese. 

I second that ... my first Electric guitar was a Maya ... kinda like a really crap Woolworths Electric. Utter Junk ... then my first gigging guitar was an Antoria LP ... better, but still not up to even the lower range Epiphones. I get somewhat cheesed off by the 'it's lawsuit innit' adverts ... most of the Japanese guitars of the early to mid seventies were truly awful. 

johnl

Were the 70s just a dark time for guitars in general? Seems that a lot of companies weren't exactly doing their best work for that decade....

OilCityPickups

johnl said:

Were the 70s just a dark time for guitars in general? Seems that a lot of companies weren't exactly doing their best work for that decade....

I'd pretty much go along with that ... the biggest music shop local to me when I got the guitar bug was 'Teagues Music' and their only affordable guitar was one of these ... A Jedson Tele 'copy' ... next to it in the window was their only Gibson ... a pancake LP Deluxe with mini humbuckers ... both fairly horrible examples of guitar making 

DeeTee

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

OilCityPickups

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

Kittyfrisk

OilCityPickups said:

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

   But that Jedson looks so cool 

OilCityPickups

Kittyfrisk said:

OilCityPickups said:

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

   But that Jedson looks so cool 

Er ... perhaps nowadays they look cool ... but they played like crap. Saw one on Flea Bay for £250 ... nearly wet myself laughing.

guitars4you

OilCityPickups said:

Kittyfrisk said:

OilCityPickups said:

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

   But that Jedson looks so cool 

Er ... perhaps nowadays they look cool ... but they played like crap. Saw one on Flea Bay for £250 ... nearly wet myself laughing.

They had a good action up to about the 1st fret, then became impossible to play

Like you said @OilCityPickups , beginner/budget based guitars are so superior now to what was offered to customers 30-50 years ago

NelsonP

My Marlin Sidewinder would have probably been better than the contemporary strat. If I'd put a floyd and some active EMGs on it.....

OilCityPickups

guitars4you said:

OilCityPickups said:

Kittyfrisk said:

OilCityPickups said:

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

   But that Jedson looks so cool 

Er ... perhaps nowadays they look cool ... but they played like crap. Saw one on Flea Bay for £250 ... nearly wet myself laughing.

They had a good action up to about the 1st fret, then became impossible to play

Like you said @OilCityPickups , beginner/budget based guitars are so superior now to what was offered to customers 30-50 years ago

guitars4you said:

OilCityPickups said:

Kittyfrisk said:

OilCityPickups said:

DeeTee said:

I had an Encore Strat copy made of MDF. I was trying to play Metallica on it. I would have killed (or at least wounded) for something like a Harley Benton LP.

I taught guitar and remember those Encores from students bringing them in ... truly awful. It's actually never been a better time to be a beginner ... there is so much choice

   But that Jedson looks so cool 

Er ... perhaps nowadays they look cool ... but they played like crap. Saw one on Flea Bay for £250 ... nearly wet myself laughing.

They had a good action up to about the 1st fret, then became impossible to play

Like you said @OilCityPickups , beginner/budget based guitars are so superior now to what was offered to customers 30-50 years ago

I have a supposed 'law suit' LP copy hanging about in the workshop. It's largely blockboard with a moulded ply 'top' and tons of fresh air under the contours. Everything about it totally missed the point ... it sounds nothing like either a Les Paul or a 'good guitar' A Harley Benton is like a custom shop Gibson by comparison. 

terada

Mine was an Argos acoustic. Was utter shite. But that’s all I had  

Imagine playing free and lynyrd skynyrd covers on that. 

I didnt get an electric for another 6 years. An Ibanez RG model. It was sensational. 

Grumpyrocker

My first was an Epiphone 435i superstrat. Total luck, as it was actually a pretty nice guitar. 

I'd ordered a guitar from a neighbours catalogue. Typical shit Stratocaster clone. But they sent a bass by mistake. My neighbour said "do you want it?" I said no and it was sent back. And then they sent the Epiphone 435i.

I think it was likely a mistake. It certainly wasn't in the catalogue and I was only charged the price of the terrible catalogue Strat.

crunchman

My first electric was a Kay (around 1984).  The neck warped on it within months.

The new stuff now is so much better.

It makes me laugh when I see what those old Kays go for now.

OilCityPickups

An average Harley Benton entry level Strat will wipe the floor with most entry level guitars from the 70s or early eighties. It's not too surprising then that their more expensive models like their LPs are very serious contenders. Personally I prefer their contemporary LP types ... that are not pretending to be vintage spec. 

rossi

I had Hofners ( Club 60 ,V3 ) in teh 60's .Not too bad but the lack of a truss rod meant thick  weird necks which greatly hampered my playing .They were OK compared to the Teisco Top Twenty and such which were often unplayable .I found even Burns crap but thats  a sacred  icon now .

I fancy that hard tail Squier Strat .

LastMantra

My mate had a sidewinder. Decent guitar. I had a westone (spectrum?). It was pretty good too. 

ICBM

LastMantra said:

My mate had a sidewinder. Decent guitar. 

Sidewinders can be perfectly good, despite their reputation. The biggest problem is collapsing bridge blocks, which are difficult to replace because they're an odd size. The rest of them is basically as good as a Korean Squier, and people are starting to pay good money for those now.

rossi

guitars4you said:

I have a supposed 'law suit' LP copy hanging about in the workshop. It's largely blockboard with a moulded ply 'top' and tons of fresh air under the contours. Everything about it totally missed the point ... it sounds nothing like either a Les Paul or a 'good guitar' A Harley Benton is like a custom shop Gibson by comparison. 

  I have one rescued from a tip .Its fairly playable up the twelfth fret and its single coil faux buckers  pickups are OK for jazzy blues.Mine has an odd dent in the bass side  fret board edge at the 13 th fret .As long as you dont spend much and expect a real Les Paul there is some redemption and of course you could stick in some buckers ..maybe cheap Donliss to "improve" it .A Harley will be 100 times better as a Les Paul  but just doesnt have the magic "pre law suit " tag that so attracts people .People seem to dwell in an era that produced rubbish .

TTBZ

Interestingly I was doing a bit of recording with a few different guitars today. The Gibson LP traditional we had was absolutely awful. Dead, heavy, sounded dull, couldn't put it back on the rack quick enough. We all agreed the Epiphone LP Custom also there was by far the better guitar - not too heavy, sounded bright and resonant, nice and easy to play. That one got used for the LP tracks. Not a Harley Benton I know but still a cheapo Vs £1000+ guitar.

The real winner was the tele though which as a lifelong Gibson-style player surprised me the most. Loved it and made the LPs feel/sound really lacklustre - perhaps I'm finally over my LP phase!

hollywoodrox

The latest epiphone Les Paul’s are really nice also the Ltd EC series