What’s better (disregarding taste) Harley B TE53KR or Vintage V59 icon (disregarding the relic)

hollywoodrox · April 23

Dave_Mc said:

TheMarlin said:

The vintage will at least have decent Wilkinson pickups and hardware.
The HB may need upgrades to get in par with the Vintage.

I would strongly suspect the Tesla pickups would be better than Wilkinson pickups- even the Roswells I've tried have been IMO better than the Wilkinsons I've tried, and I think the Teslas are a step-up from them (I haven't tried the Teslas, to be clear).

I suspect you're right about the hardware, but some HBs (perhaps not this one) have some Wilkinson hardware too.

I'm pretty much with @OilCityPickups and @BillDL regarding their assessment- I haven't tried that many of either, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the Harley Bentons I have tried (a lot of that is dependent on the model) and I thought the Vintage Jazz Bass I got felt a bit dear (not to mention heavy!) compared to my Harley Bentons. There are some deals on Outlet Vintages on Ivor Mairants (that's where I got my Jazz bass), but even at the outlet price, the Harley Bentons can be a fair bit cheaper.

Thank you , leaves me a lot to think on

hollywoodrox · April 23

Thanks , wow It really is going to be a hard choice

OilCityPickups said:

With Oil City we've (and me personally) bought several cheaper Harley Bentons and several 'Vintage' instruments. All have had either some minor faults/flaws or have needed upgrades to be 100%. The worst fault was on one Vintage V100 Les Paul type: where I swear there was a fault in the CNC program as the neck was both cut at a ridiculous shallow C that was thinner and more flexible than any SG I've ever played! I got rid of it VERY quickly. In general I'd stick my neck out and say the wood and finish is better on the Harley Bentons I've tried/owned and the hardware is streets ahead on the Vintage brand guitars.

My Harley Benton Jazz Bass is great including a nice alder body and a super comfortable neck ... but needed pretty much everything hardware wise replaced to be giggable (except funnily enough the pots and cap ... nice feel and high quality).

hollywoodrox · April 23

Dave_Mc said:

TheMarlin said:

The vintage will at least have decent Wilkinson pickups and hardware.
The HB may need upgrades to get in par with the Vintage.

I would strongly suspect the Tesla pickups would be better than Wilkinson pickups- even the Roswells I've tried have been IMO better than the Wilkinsons I've tried, and I think the Teslas are a step-up from them (I haven't tried the Teslas, to be clear).

I suspect you're right about the hardware, but some HBs (perhaps not this one) have some Wilkinson hardware too.

I'm pretty much with @OilCityPickups and @BillDL regarding their assessment- I haven't tried that many of either, but I've been pleasantly surprised with the Harley Bentons I have tried (a lot of that is dependent on the model) and I thought the Vintage Jazz Bass I got felt a bit dear (not to mention heavy!) compared to my Harley Bentons. There are some deals on Outlet Vintages on Ivor Mairants (that's where I got my Jazz bass), but even at the outlet price, the Harley Bentons can be a fair bit cheaper.

It really is a close run race on both when you compare the specs this way, thanks for your advice

hollywoodrox · April 23

jonnyburgo said:

Cant comment on the V59 but I have the V52 "relic" blackguard Tele, the relic job isnt great and has a clear overspray over the relic job, why I don't know. But it is a great sounding and playing Tele. Neck pickup can be a touch muddy but the bridge pickup is great.

Thanks Johnny the v52 is a nice guitar

Dave_Mc · April 23

hollywoodrox said:

Thanks , wow It really is going to be a hard choice

It sure is! I've been thinking about this a lot recently regarding Vintage versus Harley Benton too- not with the specific models you're looking at, but just in general. Just in case it looks like I'm totally coming down on the side of the Harley Benton in my post, to clarify I agree with @BillDL that the Vintage Fender-style models have a more appropriate fretboard radius, and that does affect (at least for my fingers!) how they feel to play. The Harley Bentons (in general) do seem to be slightly more modern in their feel and specs across quite a lot of models.

It certainly is a pretty difficult choice if the Vintage model you're after is available at those Outlet prices... there's not much in it pricewise if they are.

hollywoodrox · April 23

Dave_Mc said:

hollywoodrox said:

Thanks , wow It really is going to be a hard choice

It sure is! I've been thinking about this a lot recently regarding Vintage versus Harley Benton too- not with the specific models you're looking at, but just in general. Just in case it looks like I'm totally coming down on the side of the Harley Benton in my post, to clarify I agree with @BillDL that the Vintage Fender-style models have a more appropriate fretboard radius, and that does affect (at least for my fingers!) how they feel to play. The Harley Bentons (in general) do seem to be slightly more modern in their feel and specs across quite a lot of models.

It certainly is a pretty difficult choice if the Vintage model you're after is available at those Outlet prices... there's not much in it pricewise if they are.

I know Harley Benton do make some good guitars , the two 335’s I had were very good I just didn’t bond with them ,I’ve also got a D120 acoustic which was super cheap but functional .

They do some great Les Paul types with floyd rose 1000s & the fusion ones are great .

I do like Squier too I’ve had a couple of affinity’s in the past

soma1975 · April 23

Can honestly say in a room full of fancypants guitars @TheMarlin 's Pelham blue Vintage SG was one of the most fun, great sounding and playable guitars I have had a go on in ages.

It wasn't the entry level model but it played and sounded beautiful.

BillDL · April 23

I have great examples of both Harley Benton and Vintage guitars, although I do have twice as many HB ones. On average I have probably had to do a bit more fret-end tidying on the Harley Bentons than on the Vintage guitars, but I am very finicky with that aspect and in all probability most or all of the guitars from both the brands would have been quite acceptable to lots of other people that are far less finicky with fret ends. I wouldn't say I've had any more actual QC issues on one or other of the brands, and any issues have been quite insignificant given the pricing of the guitars. On the whole I think the Vintage guitars I own and have had through my hands to set up have had a bit more of a quality feel about them than most of the HB ones, but it's really hard to quantify why. Maybe just a feel of being a "less new" or slightly "played in" guitar? I don't know, and I would have to buy another guitar from each brand to assess my feelings about them over again

As mentioned earlier it is a very close run race over which brand I generally prefer based on the examples I've had, and I believe that I prefer Vintage.

hollywoodrox · April 23

BillDL said:

I have great examples of both Harley Benton and Vintage guitars, although I do have twice as many HB ones. On average I have probably had to do a bit more fret-end tidying on the Harley Bentons than on the Vintage guitars, but I am very finicky with that aspect and in all probability most or all of the guitars from both the brands would have been quite acceptable to lots of other people that are far less finicky with fret ends. I wouldn't say I've had any more actual QC issues on one or other of the brands, and any issues have been quite insignificant given the pricing of the guitars. On the whole I think the Vintage guitars I own and have had through my hands to set up have had a bit more of a quality feel about them than most of the HB ones, but it's really hard to quantify why. Maybe just a feel of being a "less new" or slightly "played in" guitar? I don't know, and I would have to buy another guitar from each brand to assess my feelings about them over again As mentioned earlier it is a very close run race over which brand I generally prefer based on the examples I've had, and I believe that I prefer Vintage.

That’s an excellent summation Bill Thanks to you & all the others who have took the time to comment with your advice and opinions it’s been a fantastic help . You’re all Diamonds

skullfunkerry · April 24

I know you said you're wary of b-stock Paul, but my HB Fusion was b-stock (it was all they had at the time) and apart from a slightly wobbly tone pot (which I never use anyway), the guitar is mint.
I have heard some horror stories about b-stock stuff, but you can always return it, or if you don't need to return it you've got nearly £100 to spend on strings/straps/slides/etc.

dazzajl · April 24

I can add that my experiences echo all those here already. HB guitars are properly playable instruments and I’ve liked the few I’ve had/played. Vintage are a little better though for the most part and that’s what I’d chose.

I had a ‘reliced’ Strat from Vintage and the finish was laughably ridiculous looking up close. A couple of hours spent loosening the fittings and sanding back the gloss they put over the chipped paint made it look great.

Greatape · April 24

If you get a chance, try a Jet. I was impressed. Much better guitar than any Vintage I've played

hollywoodrox · April 24

skullfunkerry said:

I know you said you're wary of b-stock Paul, but my HB Fusion was b-stock (it was all they had at the time) and apart from a slightly wobbly tone pot (which I never use anyway), the guitar is mint.
I have heard some horror stories about b-stock stuff, but you can always return it, or if you don't need to return it you've got nearly £100 to spend on strings/straps/slides/etc.

That’s an excellent point man, I like to budget for a setup usually it makes so much difference

hollywoodrox · April 24

I was going to mention jet but there’s nothing I’ve noticed that floats my boat but I will have a look at what’s available as I’ve heard so much good about them . Looked at sire Larry Carlton but more than I wanted to pay for an open G only guitar . Thanks for your input ,gratefully received

Greatape said:

If you get a chance, try a Jet. I was impressed. Much better guitar than any Vintage I've played

hollywoodrox · April 24

dazzajl said:

I can add that my experiences echo all those here already. HB guitars are properly playable instruments and I’ve liked the few I’ve had/played. Vintage are a little better though for the most part and that’s what I’d chose.

I had a ‘reliced’ Strat from Vintage and the finish was laughably ridiculous looking up close. A couple of hours spent loosening the fittings and sanding back the gloss they put over the chipped paint made it look great.

I had a white V6 icon quite a few years ago but it got sold to raise money for my Epi Les Paul custom

Dave_Mc · April 24

hollywoodrox said:

I do like Squier too I’ve had a couple of affinity’s in the past

I haven't tried very many Squiers at all, I probably should! Ditto Epiphone..

BillDL said:

I have great examples of both Harley Benton and Vintage guitars, although I do have twice as many HB ones. On average I have probably had to do a bit more fret-end tidying on the Harley Bentons than on the Vintage guitars, but I am very finicky with that aspect and in all probability most or all of the guitars from both the brands would have been quite acceptable to lots of other people that are far less finicky with fret ends. I wouldn't say I've had any more actual QC issues on one or other of the brands, and any issues have been quite insignificant given the pricing of the guitars. On the whole I think the Vintage guitars I own and have had through my hands to set up have had a bit more of a quality feel about them than most of the HB ones, but it's really hard to quantify why. Maybe just a feel of being a "less new" or slightly "played in" guitar? I don't know, and I would have to buy another guitar from each brand to assess my feelings about them over again As mentioned earlier it is a very close run race over which brand I generally prefer based on the examples I've had, and I believe that I prefer Vintage.

Yeah I think the fret-ends were more rounded on my Vintage bass than my HBs.

I think the HBs- at least the ones I have- have better electronics.

You pays your money...

hollywoodrox · April 24

Just ordered the Vintage JHS must be running that Ivor Mairants store as it sells all their stuff
& it said you have just made a payment to John Hornby Skewes

TheMarlin · April 24

hollywoodrox said:

Just ordered the Vintage JHS must be running that Ivor Mairants store as it sells all their stuff
& it said you have just made a payment to John Hornby Skewes

Thanks for the tip.

I had a look at the outlet section of the site, sone great deals on Vintage brand guitars here
https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/outlet-guitars

hollywoodrox · April 24

TheMarlin said:

hollywoodrox said:

Just ordered the Vintage JHS must be running that Ivor Mairants store as it sells all their stuff
& it said you have just made a payment to John Hornby Skewes

Thanks for the tip.
I had a look at the outlet section of the site, sone great deals on Vintage brand guitars here
https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/outlet-guitars

Yes mine was £249 as it may have small cosmetic flaws,which considering the relicing is quite funny

TheMarlin · April 24

Which one did you get? The V59?

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

What’s better (disregarding taste) Harley B TE53KR or Vintage V59 icon (disregarding the relic)

Comments