Harley Benton's 2024 prototype guitars and basses from Guitar Summit 2023! Specs, dates, prices...

At Guitar Summit 2023, Harley Benton showed up with more than 10 prototype guitars and basses none of us have never seen before! So, this is a quick rundown of the best of them before they’re released for real in 2024.
Check out the Harley Benton 25th anniversary sale here: www.thomann.de/intl/social_ha...
The most exciting for me - and I think for many - is the ST-182 Plus, which is quite clearly a take on the Fender Tom DeLonge signature Fender Stratocaster.
But, look past the obvious inspiration, and I think this guitar will be for more than just Blink-182 fans: the neck on these things is spectacular for starters. It’s flamed roasted maple with stainless steel frets (which are beautifully rounded at the edges) and a compound 12-16” fingerboard, and it feels supremely comfortable to play. Then you’ve got a Babicz hardtail bridge and a Tesla humbucker with a single volume knob. Perfect for punk rock, then, but also an awesome modding machine, and it comes in some stunning colors too.
Then there’s the ST-Modern Plus HSS Strat types. These have similar specs and necks to the ST-182, but they have an HSS set of Tesla pickups (with a coil split for the humbucker) and a Babicz vibrato bridge. There are loads of colors and also left-handed models on the way in 2024 and - like the ST-182 - these should come in at around €300/€400.
We also saw the Dullahan II, and although there wasn’t much info to be had about this one, the prototype on display looked and felt fantastic.
There were also some interesting looking new basses, and I was particularly taken with the HP-50 semi-hollow offerings. These 70s-inspirefd basses feature a single Stingray-esque humbucking pickup and look and feel the business!
Oh, and for the truly adventurous, there was a 7-string bass too - the BZ-7000. That one’s actually out as of now, if it floats your boat!
Harley Benton BZ-7000 II NT 7-string bass: thmn.to/thoprod/521731?offid=...
So, watch Bene from Harley Benton showing us around the booth, have a listen to the specs, and tell me which of these guitars you’re most looking forward to trying in 2024! For me, as a huge boyhood Blink-182 fan, there’s definitely an ST-182 in my future - probably in the Silver Sparkle finish - but the ST-Modern Plus guitars also looked fantastic, especially the Flame Blue Burst one!
Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits:
00:00 Introduction
01:22 Harley Benton 25th Anniversary guitars
01:45 ST-Modern Plus prototypes
02:08 ST-182 Plus prototypes
02:33 HB-50 bass prototypes
03:00 DC-7000 7-string bass
03:23 ST-182 Plus discussion
06:22 ST-Modern Plus discussion
08:07 Dullahan II prototype discussion
09:41 HB-50 bass prototypes
10:23 BZ-7000 discussion
11:27 Final thoughts and the Harley Benton 25th Anniversary sale
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Backing music from the KZbin Audio Library: Duck In The Alley - TrackTribe.
#HarleyBenton #GuitarSummit #HarleyBentonGuitar #TomDeLongeStrat #blink182 #stratocaster
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‪@HarleyBentonOfficial‬
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[@RichWordsMusic]

2024 Timestamps Team: 00:00 Introduction 01:22 Harley Benton 25th Anniversary guitars 01:45 ST-Modern Plus prototypes 02:08 ST-182 Plus prototypes 02:33 HB-50 bass prototypes 03:00 DC-7000 7-string bass 03:23 ST-182 Plus discussion 06:22 ST-Modern Plus discussion 08:07 Dullahan II prototype discussion 09:41 HB-50 bass prototypes 10:23 BZ-7000 discussion 11:27 Final thoughts and the Harley Benton 25th Anniversary sale

[@belbol1547]

Did they say anything about 7/8 string and/or multiscale Dullahans? Now that they are cloning Strandberg they might as well go for that :)

[@NatteBadMuts]

You are the only one who shows the new dullahan. Cannot find any more info on them, not even pictures..

[@RichWordsMusic]

It's weird, I think no one else noticed it. It was kind of just sat on the stand, and there was no more info on it anywhere. Not even Bene had any! I guess that one's still a way from being ready to launch.

[@Superman-pn1rx]

Very informative video, thanks All the prototypes look fantastic

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks for watching! Yep, I'm very excited about a lot of these too... 2024 is going to be a new guitar year for me I think ;)

[@GraemeCampbellMusic]

Those semi-hollow basses look very tempting

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to these as well!

[@mr.noname9506]

The orange colour from the hb-50 bass is absolutely amazing! I hope that the st-style-guitar hss will be available in the same color!! ❤👍✌️😎

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, I love it too! Bene said the HSS guitars will be available in a bunch of colors, so you never know...

[@workerdrone4516]

great video!!

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks a lot!

[@djmojolosangeles8190]

That ST Modern Flame Maple Blue Burst has me interested definitely. Are these for sale? Thank you for this review Rich!

[@RichWordsMusic]

Me too! It's incredibly beautiful and felt fantastic in the hand too. They should be for sale in early 2024... my guess is they'll be released around the time of the NAMM Show!

[@mo-draws]

Played the Silver Sparkle ST 182 and it was fantastic

[@RichWordsMusic]

Me too, and yes! Guess we will maybe both end up with one of these 😉

[@mo-draws]

@@RichWordsMusic Oh you organized one for me? :D

[@RichWordsMusic]

@@mo-draws Ha ha, I didn't yet! ST-182s for all?!

[@larseikind666]

Compound neck radius and rounded fret ends? That sounds very decent. I'm not going to purchase the Delonge-type strat, since I already have a similar guitar that has been with me for close to 30 years now, but I'll definitely look into some of the other models.

[@rallefreifahrt6630]

Sold too me instantly. (ST 182+)

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, they're going to sell a ton of these! I'll be having at least one, I'm sure...

[@emanuilspasov3678]

All I wanted was more tele configurations and colors and some jazzmasters with a vibrato...

[@RichWordsMusic]

Also on my wishlist! I think there are other new HB models to come in 2024 too, so hopefully there'll be something more up your street as well...

[@jesusalmaraz341]

I'm definitely sold with the silver sparkle one. Cant wait for it to drop.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, that one is going to sell like hot cakes! I can't wait either...

[@kaganozmeric9822]

I hope Thomann brings in more headless guitar and bass choices to the market in the future. Headless instruments are not just a matter of aesthetic taste, also they should not be perceived as a marginal toy for progressive metal shredders. They are more compact and lighter instruments, have no neck dive, keep their tuning much better and can be set up to have a lesser string action than the traditional guitars. So I hope in near future we can see a couple of headless bass guitar models from HB with various price points.

[@NeungView]

Wrong concerning the string action.

[@namesurname5409]

i hope they actually release the new dullahan wanted to get the old one but they've suddenly disappeared the new one looks even better, with tesla pups, roasted neck and the new shape and finally some good colors! hope they'll be available too, instead of those weird baby-blue and baby-pink (yep, the old rant from Henning was spot on imo) i don't get wtf they make those two their staple colors, and some guitars are only available in those (DC-DLX for example) i wonder if that's only me ranting and if those colors are actually popular...

[@Icisex]

I hope for st modern + have nice colors like 182+

[@RichWordsMusic]

I hope so too, and I think they will! They had quite a few at Guitar Summit and Bene told me there would also be more :)

[@jeffs6114]

I always wanted to make my own single pickup strat, but I’ve found it hard to spend less than 4-500$ with buying all the parts you want. So I would wait and look for a guitar that came factory with almost everything you wanted and then change as few parts as possible. This certainly looks to fit the bill. Maybe it’s the channel but I’m liking the blue one 😊

[@RichWordsMusic]

Ha ha, yes, the blue ones usually get the nod of approval here, but I can't see past the Sparkle Silver one so far! And I totally agree... I don't think you could even get a decent neck and body for that price, let alone everything else. And this one has stainless steel frets, the Babicz bridge, and so on... maybe just swap the pickup out (or not!) and you're good! I'm very excited for these.

[@FalcHet]

I'm really excited to see what the Dullahan 2 looks like in stock condition. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long. Where can you get more information about the prototypes, release dates and prices? Thanks for your Video!

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, I'm interested to see more too! I think the Dullahan II is a little behind the others in terms of release schedule, because there was nothing about it at all on the booth, and Bene wasn't giving out any specs or anything. Somit could be that this model is scheduled for later next year, although I hope not! At this stage I think we'll just have to wait for HB to release more info, although of course the more people ask them directly about it, the more likely they'll be to tease something 😉

[@davidvest7170]

I believe the yellow finish you mentioned is known as "Graffiti Yellow" in Fender circles, from a Jeff Beck collaboration and inspired by the movie "American Graffiti."

[@RichWordsMusic]

Aha, great knowledge, thanks! I wonder if HB will dare to use that exact term...

[@SisterRose]

God that turquoise strat looks great. Any chance they'd be swimming pool routed? I'd much prefer to put a P90 or Jazzmaster pickup in there than yet another Strat sound

[@martyjaay]

Not enough people are taking this new dullahan haha your the only channel that I can see who has talked about the new proto at guitar summit. I’ve owned three of these dullahans, interesting to see they are changing up the design and ironing out some issues

[@menahemd]

I wonder where is the output jack on the Dullahan II is located....

[@RichWordsMusic]

It's on the underside!

[@Mr_Ashley]

I’m another vote for the silver sparkle, I actually remember wanting one in that colour back in 2002/3 when looking to buy a TD strat and there was always a few custom ones from America in that colour as it wasn’t a factory option 🤘🤘

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yes, it's such a great color and I've often wanted one over the years too... the closest I ever got on my kind of budget was those Vintage Zip guitars, remember them?! Come 2024 I think HB are going to sell loads of these...

[@Mr_Ashley]

@@RichWordsMusic oh yes I do! Massively, fenders loss for not running a squire version along side it like they did back in the 2000s. Better specs too (minus the invader perhaps, but will have to hear it first! 🤘

[@RichWordsMusic]

@@Mr_Ashley Totally! Let's see if Squier bring some sparkle in 2024 too... looking at the Sonic Series I do think they're taking notice of what HB and other newer, affordable brands are up to.

[@andiebetjemann7920]

Harley Benton can actually provide a nice sparkle finish, not only in the prototypes, but also on the regular line of guitars. The 158plus has very interesting features, but that pickup is not for me.

[@stevehusten7940]

Wow. ST Modern. I definitely will be getting one of those! I wonder what the price will be.

[@repoman5581]

Benedictine.. is a cool dude.. and a great player

[@RichWordsMusic]

I couldn't agree more on both fronts - top guy, and he shreds!

[@thegaindane]

Looking forward to those new Harley Benton’s Should be close to release now 😬

[@milankotevski1663]

Not even close.

[@RichWordsMusic]

The first ones from this video are coming in May, I have been told! I'm pretty excited for at least three of these :)

[@Stoffendous]

The flamed blue burst model would look so much better with a black (ebony) board

[@RichWordsMusic]

I agree, even darker would be even classier... and I do love an ebony board as well!

[@jamesonpace726]

Do like those basses....

[@RichWordsMusic]

They have a really cool vibe to them, I agree. They weren't particularity heavy weight-wise either... well, the 7-string was ;)

[@neepheid]

What does the three way switch do on the HB-50? Hope it's series/single/parallel, and not north coil/both/south coil...

[@RichWordsMusic]

I'm not sure - I forgot to ask and we didn't plug it in so I don't know... will drop Bene a message and ask him! I also notice he didn't mention it on any of the other videos either, so maybe he also needs to find out 😅

[@gregorwalton]

As a modder, I'm just wondering how the ST182 is routed. And then I'm wondering if they haven't all been canceled

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, it's been a long time now, although the ST-Modern just got launched today! So maybe the ST-182 is getting closer...

[@zezuntxiduntxi]

ST182+ LEFT HAND!

[@RichWordsMusic]

Hopefully they'll give us that option... HB are generally OK for lefties! Fingers crossed!

[@Sankara561]

Rounded steel frets and compound radius on the Pro Strats are like Eart guitars. Same factory maybe? Be good to have better HB distribution and warranty on them.

[@RichWordsMusic]

That's an interesting thought. I don't know where either are made, and while I'm pretty sure HB have their own facilities it wouldn't surprise me if other guitars are also built there... which could be one explanation. (This is total guesswork on my part, by the way!) I'm yet to try an Eart, but would really like to, and yes, better distribution and warranty can only be a good thing!

[@D14V0R05]

WTF!? Babicz bridges on Harley Bentons? Damn, I am wondering how much those models will cost, that ST-182 in metallic silver looks gorgeous.

[@RichWordsMusic]

I know, it's crazy! Bene said between €300 and €400, but I reckon it'll be the higher side of that. That Silver Sparkle one is going to be everywhere I think!

[@jefvancalster5162]

What does the pickup selector does on the 1 pickup bass?

[@RichWordsMusic]

I don't know, and Bene didn't say! First guess is that it splits the pickup down to a single coil sound...

[@kolibrick4830]

cant belive HB just made their own Tom Delonge signature. also 7 string bass

[@RichWordsMusic]

I know, and the timing's spot on as well! I'm really looking forward to these actually coming out. The 7-string bass is just mad...

[@Broccoli_Highkicks]

It's not for me, but obviously they have their finger on the pulse. If they're selling them for roughly 1,000 bucks less than the Fenders, they're going to fly off the shelves. They're lucky Fender's not as notoriously litigious as Gibson, because they would definitely have a case here...

[@NeungView]

They had by mistake put a B-stock ST-182 in blue on their website for 290 € earlier today.

[@RichWordsMusic]

I saw that! I wonder if someone was quick enough to grab it...

[@PooNinja]

So many blue guitars but no mention of the prismatic finish they have on …. Something I can’t remember the model but very cool

[@RichWordsMusic]

The prismatic one is the STS guitar, no? Or have HB done their take on that too?! But yeah, this time I'm changing it up - I wants the silver one 😉

[@PooNinja]

@@RichWordsMusic glitter is only safe when its in the paint.

[@RichWordsMusic]

@@PooNinja True dat!

[@StudioChimiel]

Interstate '82

[@RichWordsMusic]

Too subtle for them 😉

[@jackbootshamangaming4541]

I have a MIM Fender Strat I got from someone, I've only played it for a few hours, less than 10 honestly, maybe 15 at max, and it wasn't a floor model, he had them go into the back and get it, he only played like 2-5 hours on it before giving it to me. I'm thinking of getting an ST Modern Plus as they got the two point trem just like the newer strats like the one I got, yea the pickups might not be as good(but the fender ones dont blow me away, especially as a metal guy), but I can always swap pickups and most likely will anyways. I will play it a ton more than the real Fender Strat too, the compound radius makes me much more likely to play, one big reason I don't play Fenders generally is their small radius, I like a wider radius

[@Broccoli_Highkicks]

That new Dullahan is an improvement - I really hated the look of the old one. Should be available as a (multiscale) 7-string, though. I don't quite see the point in a modern headless that's just a standard scale 6-string, really.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, I think it looks much better as an overall package too. I also think (well, hope!) there'll be options like 7-strings and fan frets... like you say, a model like this is almost being underused if you don't offer that!

[@cyberi4n]

Release dates for the ST182us?

[@RichWordsMusic]

Bene said Q1 2024, which I think means official announcement at NAMM in January is looking likely and they'll be buyable around then too.

[@olafrichter1919]

When will the HB ST-182 Plus go on sale in Germany?

[@RichWordsMusic]

From the noises I hear, late May/early June... still TBC though. I wish they'd just release it already!

[@gokhanayvazoglu6295]

Still we don’t know ;(

[@ysteinliavag5830]

Compound radius from 9,5 to 14 o5 16, please !!!

[@RichWordsMusic]

Would be super cool if they add stuff like this, I agree!

[@harry9392]

A Dollaghan is a large trout about the size of a salmon native to Lough Neagh Northern Ireland. Now I can han a Dollaghan guitar

[@RichWordsMusic]

It's the perfect guitar to take fishing as it's so small too... will fit in many large tackle boxes 😉

[@thelolguy007]

And only 2 knobs on the Pro Modern 🙌

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yes, that's the way I like my Strats too! I never need the third knob, plus it's the huge advantage of having the volume a little bit further away from the bridge pickup 😎

[@thelolguy007]

@@RichWordsMusic big time mate. I feel they really listened to their customers on this on. Nothing worse than turning your volume down mid solo by mistake 🤣🤦‍♂️

[@gokhanayvazoglu6295]

Do you know st modern guitars body wood material? 7:24

[@RichWordsMusic]

No, sorry, there was no info on this at the show. HB are using lots of nyatoh in their bodies at the moment though, so this might be it... but we have to wait til these guitars are officially launched to be 100% sure! Hopefully they are coming soon :)

[@gokhanayvazoglu6295]

@@RichWordsMusic I hope will be alder wood.

[@dianat.6426]

I am so happy to not like he baby colours of the new strats. HB has a way to make you buy one guitar after another after another and only those odd finishing designs help me not needing a bigger apartment soon

[@lucaszembrzuski]

well.. it's 2024 and still no word about Dullahans... I hope they will at least hint them soon, and there will be some tremolo models, my wallet is ready ;)

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, they haven't announced any of the 2024 ones officially yet... with the NAMM Show in a couple of weeks I think they might do the first batch then. My wallet is also ready - I hope we get to empty them soon ;)

[@godsinbox]

HB needs to up their distribution, costs way too much to import each item to an end user. even behringer werent dorks about the cost of distribution.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, while their guitars are super cheap here in Europe mostly because they don't have the extra distribution partners (i.e. you buy direct from Thomann), it's a different story in the rest of the world. I know they're looking to change this - they recently bought a warehouse in the USA for example - but I think it'll be a while before they're ready to really offer guitars in places like North America for the same prices as in Europe. I believe they will want to do the whole thing themselves directly, as opposed to working with distributors, but that's just my guess.

[@paylnyles]

Like to see what a good Bass Player can do with 7 strings?

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep!

[@gavrilopricip11]

Seriously a blink 182 guitar?...... Are they putting out modèle for the Jonas Brothers and Hanson too?

[@RichWordsMusic]

I think with Harley Benton if the demand is there they'll do it! Which probably means a Machine Gun Kelly model is more likely at the moment 😉

[@OliverAmberg]

Hommage is the new word for forgery? 😉

[@RichWordsMusic]

Ha ha, maybe 😉 These are certainly very close indeed - the headstocks are the real giveaways visually.

[@dragoniod13]

After purchasing their Rickenbacker homage for 200USD, I hope they can keep doing "Hommages" for years to come haha😂

[@das.ruderboot]

@OliverAmberg Not Harley Benton's fault that Fender's prices are ridiculous

[@leeclarke3443]

Wow how have they got away with that blatant rip off of the Tom Delonge sig? One volume, Invader copy pick up...lawsuit incoming lol

[@RichWordsMusic]

It is amazingly close, isn't it... and calling it the ST-182 as well! You've got to admire HB's chutzpah for doing that, I guess... will be interesting to see if any legal stuff happens! All I know is I need one as soon as they come out ;)

[@leeclarke3443]

Indeed and same here I am very tempted by either the yellow or the silver sparkle and at HBs price point I'll be all over it

[@ianjamieson3985]

Yet another strat copy? Plain machined strat body blanks must be impossibly cheap in China and even more so when bought by the thousand.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yeah, they will be, and especially at the numbers HB will be buying them (from their own factories, too). Still though, you're hard pushed to find other brands speccing out guitars so well for these prices...

[@Robert_Fordin]

I'm not surprised that you don't show us the headstock, because it's awful.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Ha ha, over the years I've kind of become used to it!

[@moussi22]

Wow this has to be one of the weakest lineups I have seen from them.

[@RichWordsMusic]

You reckon? I feel like they're covering so many bases with these... I think it should go down as a really decent year! Apparently there's more to come that they didn't show at Guitar Summit as well. Let's see over the next few months...