Harley Benton ST-Modern | The best budget HSS Strat you can buy in 2024?! In-depth Review & Demo

[@RichWordsMusic]

Timestamps team: 00:00 Hello! 00:21 Introduction to the ST-Modern 01:37 Specs and info 04:55 Today’s rig and plan Clean Sounds 05:35 Clean tone reference chords on all pickup settings 06:06 Grungey droning chords 06:25 Funk rhythms 06:38 Country tones 06:58 Ascending droning indie chords 07:11 Blues progression 07:22 Jangly chords 07:43 Ringing open indie pop chords 07:57 Art pop chords 08:15 Tone control test 09:17 Strummed folk pop chords Light and Medium Overdrive Sounds 09:34 Kings Of Leon inspired riff 09:40 Fat indie rock rhythm chords 10:13 Southern rock arpeggios 10:32 Garage rock riff 10:49 Choppy barre chords 11:07 Upbeat indie barre chords 11:30 Volume control roll off test 11:52 Indie octave chords 12:18 Airbourne inspired rock riff 12:29 AC/DC inspired riff 12:47 Quacky rock riff 12:56 Classic rock riffs 13:36 Hendrix inspired riff Fuzz Sounds (JHS Bender) 13:55 Black Keys inspired riff 14:10 Alt rock riff 14:43 Classic fuzz rock 15:11 Indie rock melodic riff Heavy Overdrive Sounds 15:31 Van Halen inspired riff 15:52 Glam rock riff 16:12 Single note melodic rock riff 16:33 80s rock riff 16:55 Foo Fighters inspired modern rock riff 17:13 Punk rock sounds 18:21 Progressive rock riff 18:36 Modern rock palm-muted chords 19:01 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff 19:17 Thrash riff Heavy Distortion Sounds (all in Drop D) 19:26 Metal chugging riff 19:43 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang 19:55 Heavy metal lead sound 20:10 Hardcore punk riffs 20:58 Rammstein inspired industrial metal riff 21:11 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff 21:56 My thoughts 22:41 First impressions and looks 23:08 Weight 23:39 Build quality and hardware 25:11 Playability and neck 26:06 Volume knob position 26:49 Sounds and pickups 29:51 What other similar HSS guitars are out there? 30:29 Is the ST-Modern Plus worth the extra money? 32:29 Other competitors 34:19 My conclusions on the ST-Modern and why you should buy it

[@bruiserbrawler8054]

I'll be getting one. At the moment I have a DC Deluxe, HB35 Plus and an ST Active in satin black. I love them all. I've been playing since 1984 and a Strat has always been my guitar.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Nice HB collection! The ST-Modern is really going to fit in nicely there I think. I've not tried the ST Active but I love the other two you've got! If you remember, drop us another line here when you get this one and tell us how the ST-Modern measures up! Cheers to 40 years of music making and keep on rocking 😊

[@marketingbureau]

nr 1 indie guitar tester guy in YT. Thanks for that. For me this is better than the Modern Plus, which I returned. Mainly because of the PU's, I like these betters. I have had 8 Harley Bentons. Now I have 4 that I keep. This is the best one of them. When I played it, and heard it, I thought: "Is this is a joke?". In a good way.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks so much! There are not many of us about doing indie guitar demos/reviews/tests on KZbin... I wish there were more. Interesting you should say that about the Modern Plus... but I totally know what you're saying re: the pickups. I've tried a bunch of HBs with a variety of pickups over the years, and basically always find myself preferring the Roswells/other options over the Tesla version, if there is one. I've got numerous HB comparison vids on my channel where that exact thing happens. And yes, hard to beat this one for the sheer value for money and the playability. I just don't know how they do it for this price! Enjoy yours, and thanks again for the support! P.S. If you read this let me know which 4 HBs you kept! Would interest me.

[@marketingbureau]

@@RichWordsMusic Thanks. And yes I have been thinking many times that they must be using slave labour, and if they did I wouldn't buy. I have searched online and couldn't find anything suggesting that. I even saw a video once from one of their factories, and it looked like a normal workplace. I have a Koa acoustic, dreadnought. Amazing. I just bought the Ja 60, it's coming in a few days. I have the Custom black satin one with EMG pu's. I don't play heavy, but the cleans are amazing. I also have the SC 550 II. The playability on the SC500 is not the best (not bad though) but the pickup sound reminds of the 90' ties american collegerock. I have not been able to find pickups with that sound elsewhere, so I got that too. I am really looking forward to the "Jazzmaster" since I am an indie-head, and that tone expresses everything my songs are about. I am not a "guitarist" more a songwriter.

[@plamenpenkov2865]

I got one of the last ones before they were out of stock. In this color, would have preferred the white one but they were out. It's actually a great color, it's growing on me. Ridiculous for the price and great regardless of price. Pickups are fine, neck is amazing, tremolo works as intended. Only thing I will change is the string trees, I prefer rollers.

[@lollofunky]

well well you made a very lovely review of this great guitar on the 14 Nov 2024 ...and on the Thomann website they say all these guitars are not available ...waiting time Seven - Nine Weeks!! as much as I would love to get this guitar I find kinda counter-productive to promote a product we cannot buy !

[@CZPavel-c1p]

Good evening dear friend, a great guitar from the Thomann company under their HB brand. The price is more than acceptable, the appearance, color and workmanship are very good. I have 7 guitars from them and I am very satisfied. Nice video. Greetings Pavel CZ.👍👍👍

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks Pavel! Yep, I'm also at around 7/8 Harley Bentons now ;) They really do make some excellent value for money guitars. Hope you get to try one of these soon too :)

[@paulallen9375]

Can't understand why with 2000 reviews you've only got 88 likes!!! Brilliant review there's some miserable people out there

[@RichWordsMusic]

Ha ha, yeah... not even the Christmas spirit can help me here, it seems ;) Ah well. Glad YOU enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words!

[@LookieChannel]

Wow again, the best tone and product demo on YT. Excellent job as always. Thank you Rich. Very tempting guitar indeed, good job at HB too :)

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks so much! Really glad you're still enjoying the vids :) Yes, HB made it easy with this one... it's a fantastic guitar!

[@chosenideahandle]

It's always so fun watching your videos. I dig that sea foam (I refinished my MS-60 in sea foam before I even played it lol).

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks so much! Really glad you enjoy them :) I'd love an MS-60 in Seafoam Green! Any pics of that anywhere? It's about time HB revamped that model with more colors/different specs too, I think...

[@petergedd9330]

I used to think that a Gibson was it!! Until I got a new LP that came with 'Schoolbus' frets ie 'Not Crowned' I couldn't believe it £2200 and not properly crowned. I own a Harley copy but the sustain isn't so great, though it feels better than the LP to play. I'll be looking to buy this Strat it looks and sounds lovely, won't ever be paying silly money again for guitars. Thank you so much Rich, just watching you play and listening to you has cheered me up no end.

[@goakaonline]

Very good and informative video, well played sound comparisons and objective assessment.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks a lot, really glad you enjoyed it!

[@Furtheronmusic]

HSS are definitely very versatile. I made my first around 1978 😂. I have two currently. I can't do a gig only on sss. I need humbucker. Conversely I can do a gig on humbuckers if coil split / tap avaliable. First the money this looks phenomenal value frankly.

[@Stoobers]

HB are really pushing the budget envelope. And best of luck to them. If they can make great quality instruments at a fraction of the cost of the "brands" then I hope they win the fight.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, and what I love is the fact that HB (and other brands) upping the quality levels at the affordable end of the spectrum means the traditional and more expensive brands can't afford to rest on their laurels! The likes of Fender/Squier really need to make sure their new stuff still competes... they can't rely on brand name alone forever. You can already see brands like Ibanez starting to up their game with their more budget guitars - it's a great time to be a guitar player/buyer, that's for sure!

[@deanmichaels4262]

Very good review Rich in depth and informative. What's your opinion Harley Benton ST modern or the Jet JS-400.

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks a lot, and good question! I just had a small play of a JS-400 the other week. They're quite similar guitars overall - and both are excellent options. One thing I personally love is the fact you get a rosewood board on the Jet (if you get that option and not the roasted maple!). Call me petty, but I find that quite important! The Jet also comes with a bone nut, which is a definite upgrade. That said, the HB has a coil split on the bridge humbucker... so it's a little more versatile in that regard! Quality-wise I find the two guitars very similar. Hope this helps :)

[@deanmichaels4262]

Thanks for your reply. I ended up getting the Jet JS-400 in surf green lovely colour as the Harley Benton ST modern is on back order for about 3 months. I still might acquire the ST modern when it next comes in stock. The neck on the Jet is lovely and the neck heel joint is fabulous. Really pleased with this guitar.

[@paulallen9375]

I think I'll get the modern and save some money to get the double bound telecaster harley benton do. Also rich i have a sire t7 fm that's great and the bridge on that looks pretty much like the one on the modern and it's solid I've had no issues at all with it.i was going to go for the sire s7 hss but i do like the 12 inch radius finger board I've a g and L s500 sss with 12 radius neck it's the dogs potato's. Anyway thanks for the review it's been most helpful 😊

[@johnsmith-nd9yo]

Harley Benton are awesome.

[@RichWordsMusic]

The more HB guitars I buy and play, the more I find myself agreeing with that statement! What a time it is to be a guitar player too... so many great affordable choices!

[@PooNinja]

Very cool run, im hoping they reissue the DC custom in that blue like Mr. Frickker has 😮

[@RichWordsMusic]

Oh yes, that's lovely! They will do, I'm sure. What a time to be alive 😉

[@Shan-n1c]

Thanks for the review. I can’t wait to get access to this guitar here aux Etats Unis. I didn’t hear any jazz tones in your review. Any way you can manage to some classic jazz tones along with the blues tones ?

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks a lot! Yep, it's about time HB got more easily available in the USA. I'm sure they're working on that. On that note I would need to work on my jazz, too, as that's really a weakness of mine! That said, I am sure this guitar would be more than capable in the right hands :)

[@tkabiranik]

This seafoam green should have come with the roasted maple fretboard. I just don't understand why Thomann have to manufacture few colours with laurel and others with roasted maple fretboard. All colours should have their laurel and roasted maple variants. This move by Thomann is really dumb and does not cater to individual preference. Please pass this criticism to Thomann and Harley Benton. They should have also used the same string trees as the Fusions. One thing I love about this colour is that it resembles the Nick Johnston Schecter strat.

[@paulallen9375]

Is it worth the difference to pay the extra for the modern plus ?

[@plamenpenkov2865]

@@paulallen9375 In my opinion No, but your mileage my vary. With the plus you get: 1. Allegedly an alder body, which is nice, but the body on mine non plus seems plenty resonant. 2. Allegedly flame on the neck, which is nice, but the non flame neck is also gorgeous and worth the 179 euros on it's own. 3. Babicz bridge which I don't care for, as it reportedly makes palm muting weird 4. SS frets which I don't need but some people prefer. 5. Tesla pickups insted of the HBZ branded ones. This is subjective but even if you don't like the HBZs, which I do, you can buy a whole lotta EMGs for 180 additional euros. In short the Plus is worth it's price, yes. But this here is the deal of the year.

[@RichWordsMusic]

I talk about this at 30:29 and funnily enough I reach pretty much the same conclusion as what @plamen has said below in their excellent comment... All those extra bits are nice to have, and if you think HB is charging an extra €180 for them, then sure, they're great value for money. But a lot of it is stuff I consider nice to have, but not necessary to me personally. And so in that sense I'd say the Plus is worth the extra if you MUST have stainless steel frets, or the Babicz bridge, or the Tesla pickups. If not, the ST-Modern is the one! Also, I can't really think of a better guitar you can get for €189 than the ST-Modern. But at €399 there is certainly a little completion for the Plus. (It probably beats the competition, mind you!)

[@RichWordsMusic]

Great comment, couldn't have put it better myself! The Plus is great, but the ST-Modern is THE bargain.

[@snacklofter]

👍👍

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks for watching!

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@RichWordsMusic]

Thanks, my friend!

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

Poplar sounds so close to alder that it is according to Gibson when they tested thoroughly in the 50's that they put it on their short list of acceptable woods Gibson designers could spec. Every Gibson ES 335 has a plied top with every second layer is poplar since the first one ever made). You can get a bad piece of alder but poplar is scarily consistent one piece is usually the same as last. Buy this guitar with the maple fingerboard and it will not have any credibility issues. You can spend thousands on guitars it is offered on. The same goes for nickel frets. You won't find them on a Martin. To me I love cheaper PU's because if I pay more for so-called better ones on a guitar I buy sooner or later I will be tearing them out for Duncan's or the equivalent. In short there is in my book zero downside buying this. The money saved can go towards better PU's if I feel need them.

[@Dad-Gad]

Lol @ tonewood nonsense .

[@gregorkacin]

Out of stock

[@RichWordsMusic]

Yep, back in in a few weeks! I've noticed HB sell out of most new models really quick at the moment... they need to start ordering more in! The demand is clearly there. These are worth the wait!