New Harley Benton ST Modern guitars

ToneControl

Bats_ said:

thumpingrug said:

The Canadian flamed maple is gorgeous.  Not sure I like the headstock but I could probably live with it.

I quite like the HB headstocks and the chances of getting such a figured flame is pretty low in my experience. 

I do like these new models though.. HB are really upping the game.. Eart too. 

it's only a veneer, so surely more possible than with a solid cap?
"Flamed Maple veneer"

carlos

CavemanGrogg said:

I'm curios about the SS frets, all the reviews I've read about their models that come with SS frets, all complain about the SS frets being too soft, I've even read a number of reviews, not for the models linked to in this thread I haven't been able to find any reviews on them, that complain that the SS frets are even softer than the standard nickel ones.  So it'll be interesting to hear what the SS frets are like on these.

 I've had two Fusions with SS frets from them and I didn't find the frets to be soft at all. 
What I didn't like was their weight and the Wilkinson bridge. 

Bats_

ToneControl said:

Bats_ said:

thumpingrug said:

The Canadian flamed maple is gorgeous.  Not sure I like the headstock but I could probably live with it.

I quite like the HB headstocks and the chances of getting such a figured flame is pretty low in my experience. 

I do like these new models though.. HB are really upping the game.. Eart too. 

it's only a veneer, so surely more possible than with a solid cap?
"Flamed Maple veneer"

I’m talking about the necks, no veneer on those… the bodies will be, without question. 

OilCityPickups

That's a lot of guitar for the money ... I'm not a huge fan of the letterbox at the end of the fingerboard that you adjust the truss rod through mind... 

Offset

OilCityPickups said:

That's a lot of guitar for the money ... I'm not a huge fan of the letterbox at the end of the fingerboard that you adjust the truss rod through mind... 

Funny innit... that really seems to divide opinion.  I'm a huge fan

euan

On a Fender it would be a no no. On something with a compound radius I feel like it should be there 

CavemanGrogg

carlos said:

CavemanGrogg said:

I'm curios about the SS frets, all the reviews I've read about their models that come with SS frets, all complain about the SS frets being too soft, I've even read a number of reviews, not for the models linked to in this thread I haven't been able to find any reviews on them, that complain that the SS frets are even softer than the standard nickel ones.  So it'll be interesting to hear what the SS frets are like on these.

 I've had two Fusions with SS frets from them and I didn't find the frets to be soft at all. 
What I didn't like was their weight and the Wilkinson bridge. 

Are those pre ''Blacksmith stainless steel frets'' guitars?  The description or specs have changed for the guitars that have stainless steel frets, before they used to describe the stainless steel frets as ''stainless steel frets'', now they're ''Blacksmith stainless steel frets'', and if you go back through the reviews, to when the frets where described as ''stainless steel'' you'll read a lot of reviews that praise the over all quality of the guitar though note that the stainless steel frets are soft, and a number of them even say that they are softer than the standard nickel frets.

Voxman

No question that HB offer excellent bang for buck, build, quality control, returns policy and warranty are all very good.

The big problem is weight and weight consistency. HB need to evolve here to get this under control and publish weight ranges. Although I love my TE52NA 'Tele' it's a heavy beast and the only reason I'm put off buying another HB is their weight. 

rossi

i was told by a German  manufacturing rival that light wood is pricey hence most cheaper guitars are  weighty .If i want a lightweight solid I go paulwonia which i prefer any way

markslade07

I don’t like Strats…I’ve had a few and I can never get them to sound any good when I’m playing them, though I quite often like the sound of others playing them. So why do I really want the pink one?! 

carlos

markslade07 said:

I don’t like Strats…I’ve had a few and I can never get them to sound any good when I’m playing them, though I quite often like the sound of others playing them. So why do I really want the pink one?! 

It's not a strat... it's a Harley Benton!

markslade07

carlos said:

markslade07 said:

I don’t like Strats…I’ve had a few and I can never get them to sound any good when I’m playing them, though I quite often like the sound of others playing them. So why do I really want the pink one?! 

It's not a strat... it's a Harley Benton!

Ha ha…yes, of course! 

SpiritOfTheAge

It's due for delivery tomorrow

Offset

SpiritOfTheAge said:

It's due for delivery tomorrow

Yay!!!

BobHillman

SpiritOfTheAge said:

It's due for delivery tomorrow

I look forward to reading your comments.

CavemanGrogg

I'm extremely interested in hearing about how the stainless steal frets are, though that will take a decent amount of time before you're going to get a proper review.  If you look at the specs for the Harley Benton ST - Modern Plus MN HSS SP the frets are described as ''22 Medium Jumbo stainless steel frets with rounded ends'', where as if you look at the specs for any of the other older models that have stainless steel frets, like the Max Fusion, Fusion III, SC-550, Amarok, and all the other older models with stainless steel frets, the description for them states ''Blacksmith stainless steel frets'' - either 22 or 24 depending on the model.  And if you look back at the specs of the older models, their specs for the stainless steel frets used to state the same as the new model, namely ''stainless steel frets'', and if you read the reviews from when these older models had ''stainless steel frets'', there where a lot of complaints about them being soft, some even said that they where softer than nickel, now that these models have '''Blacksmith stainless steel frets'' rather than ''stainless steel frets'' the complaints about soft frets seem to have stopped.  This is why I'm so interested in the frets on them.

rossi said:

i was told by a German  manufacturing rival that light wood is pricey hence most cheaper guitars are  weighty .If i want a lightweight solid I go paulwonia which i prefer any way

He's not joking, a raw 20ft length of good quality wood - hasn't been cut to a board it's literally a slice from the center of the tree that still has bark on it and is not of even thickness, is around £20k nowadays - depending on species some can easily cost close to £100k.  Wood long enough to make a 12ft long dining room table is around £13k per length of the unfinished, uneven thickness, still with the bark on wood, and for a 12ft dining room table, that can be 3 to 6 of them.  And this is wood that is at most 4 inches thick, at most 48 inches wide and that's at the widest point this is not of uniform width it still has the bark on it.

Nerine

I get a bit wary when people say x is equally as good as y. 

I can usually very easily tell whether I’m playing a USA Les Paul or a Gibson Custom Les Paul, for example. Same with American Strats and CS Strats. 

I’ve never played or owned a non CS Gibson or Fender that’s been as good as a CS Gibson or Fender, sadly. 

I think Harley Bentons are likely very good for the money. But I do also think it’s a bit disingenuous to say they’re equally as good as guitar/brand x. Some players would definitely tell the difference even if it’s quite nuanced and slight or unnoticeable to some people. 

scrumhalf

Aah, but being different doesn't necessarily mean better or worse, it just means different 

Nerine

scrumhalf said:

Aah, but being different doesn't necessarily mean better or worse, it just means different 

That wasn’t really what I said. 

SpiritOfTheAge

Well it's been delivered here to my place of work. After a VERY quick look over and a strum I can say it's light, a lot lighter than my USA Stratocaster.  The fit and finish is spot on. The flamed neck is flamed, dark and sexy. It has a mint pickguard which I hadn't really noticed when I bought it lol and the pink finish looks excellent, subdued I'd call it. 

The frets are smooth to bend on and the ends are very rounded, to the point that only the very tips touch the edge of the fretboard, no snagging or sharpness about them.

 I can't get any pictures until this evening, I'll do that as well as get the thing plugged in and set up how I like it, the action is a little high but the 10's may also be contributing to the feel of that as I play 9's usually.

One thing is the knobs look and feel very cheap, I'll swap them out for some more decent ones. 

Overall looks like a decent guitar, comes with two bridge arms, one without a plastic tip, I've not used them yet. It comes with a little tool for turning the truss rod adjuster, as well as a very basic instrument lead.

OK I'm home now, got a few quick snaps. It needs a set up, it's action is too high for me and I like a it on the higher side. The neck relief seems fine though. Got to gget on with some holusehold chores then I'll get it plugged in to hear what it sounds like, then I'll get it set up to my preference. First impressions are good though, it's definitly lighter than my startocaster.