Show me your Harley Bentons - I'm thinking of investing....

Wolfetone

I here plenty of great things about them but also here the odd one or two disaster stories regarding pickups and electrics etc.

Have you got one (or two or three) and how do you find them?

Post pics if you can.

JAYJO

OOH Great been thinking about these also. Some lefty B stock bargains at the mo...

Wolfetone

So, I guess nobody admits to having a Harley Benton eh?

Come out of the closet you boys and girls (The Clash)! 

mark123

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/177708/holy-shit-cheap-guitars-are-good-harley-benton-content

YellowLedBetterMan

I don't currently own one (well kinda) but have owned 3. The TE52 Tele was the best of the electrics, I'd say easily as good as any Squier Classic Vibe in terms of playability, but was really let down by the pickups which were great solo but didn't sound right as a pair and as a result I didn't like the middle position. Would be easy enough to throw in some used fender pickups or something like that though.

 The Les Paul style was just a bit meh. No real character to it (although I am yet to find a Les Paul I have liked)

Then the Jazz Bass. Was good enough straight out of the box, but ultimately the wonderful workings of @Andyjr1515 transformed it into a much crazier beast - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/298152-finished-pics-lighter-and-with-pizzazz-pumping-up-a-harley/?tab=comments#comment-3210266

Do note that I feel lucky to have had all three of mine to be structurally without fault and also not have whacky frets, as I know can happen on these guitars.

DrCornelius

I’ll let you know on Tuesday as I’ve ordered number 1 son a 6 string HB bass this week.

Wolfetone

YellowLedBetterMan said:

 https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/298152-finished-pics-lighter-and-with-pizzazz-pumping-up-a-harley/?tab=comments#comment-3210266

Followed that link and now I want a bass like the HB in the article.

Cookiemonster

I have a 12 string Ricky. It's very good, I like it a lot more than a Danelectro 12 string I had

I also have a Les Paul copy, pickups were not amazing, but I can replace those. Otherwise it really is a great build and being honest as good as older Epiphones, (I say this as the new ones look really good)

I would happily recommend them

Exorcist

Bought my wife a HB Jazz Bass for Christmas, I was actually blown away by how good it was for such little money.

prowla

Wolfetone said:

So, I guess nobody admits to having a Harley Benton eh?

Come out of the closet you boys and girls (The Clash)! 

I played one once, but I didn't inhale.

munckee

As mentioned on the previous thread I have a HB 335 which is tremendous.  I spent more than its original price making it tremendous but I seriously doubt you could buy a used guitar as good for the money.

I'm debating getting a squier jazzmaster or ordering the harley benton one and putting a les trem on it.

YellowLedBetterMan

I think my next project might involve the Harley Benton swamp ash strat.

axisus

I have a 5 string fretless bass. Neck dive, unspectacular pickups. However, it's fine for what I wanted which was basically to try fretless. I marked in fret lines with wooden inlays.

RonnieHotdogs

if this goes on much longer I might get one of their kits to keep me occupied 

hollywoodrox

I’m gassing for a SC custom FR in vintage Matt black but out of stock

Teyeplayer

I’ve one of their 70s jazz basses, weighs an absolute ton but looks the part. Sounds fairly good and plays well. I’ve a mate who has one of their 51precision style basses, think it was only about £85 and it’s awesome, a lovely sounding and playing bass.

Henrytwang

I’ve not been too impressed with most of the Harley Benton’s I’ve bought in the past but perhaps they’ve improved since I gave up on them a couple of years ago. The first one I bought was a Flying V copy which had terrible pickups and neck, followed by an Explorer copy which had a horrible looking fingerboard, controls with long shafts which made the knobs sit too high above the body and indifferent pickups . I think that both of these guitars will end up down the charity shop as I’d be embarrassed to sell them to anybody. Not one to give up easily I then acquired their version of the Hofner violin bass, I actually liked this guitar and think that it was a bargain. Next up was a Dobro style guitar complete with cutaway and magnetic pickup which is okay but the electronics are very noisy. As far as I can remember the last Harley I bought was an HB35 Semi acoustic, this guitar was great for the money but not as good as an old Korean Epiphone Dot which I paid just a few more quid for second hand. 

monquixote

The spec on the higher end ones is nuts for the money.

Stainless steel frets, graphtec nut, Grover and Wilkinson hardware.

I've always quite fancied the 52 Tele but I suspect I wouldn't play it.

drofluf

I used to own this:

Had to shim the neck to get the action low enough to make it playable. When I removed the neck the factory had put in a load of washers and wood scraps to raise it. Pickups were ver6 weak and feeble. 
 

minefields

Mine, I know it looks like another more expensive brand but I didn't want to spend £3k plus on that.



Stainless Steel frets, Ebony fretboard, Wilkinson 50iik trem, locking tuners, Nu-Bone nut, and a really nice satin finish on the neck. I replaced the pickups with Iron Gears and it sounds great.

The setup on the guitar was as good as I have seen on a new guitar, no sharp frets, 1.5mm action on low E at 12th fret and no fret buzz at all, relief was dead on and trem was floating a perfect too. Pickups were fine, nothing special but everything else was excellent.

Really happy for £250.

Balrog68

My TB70 bass. Looks great, sounds great.... Can't fault it for about £148.
https://i.imgur.com/4It1ZOr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5N9SB33.jpg

Apologies for not knowing how to embed the pics.