Best Sounding Modded Harley Benton? | Part 4 | Guitar Tweakz

[@fraenkiboii]

Wow the sound improvement is massive imho! Also, you deserve a price for the tightest electronics cavity having the highest density of components per volume ever observed by mankind 😂

[@Worlds_Worst_Guitarist]

Wait 'till you see my cavity of a JEM Jr. THAT is crowded (and even 1 Pickup more) :-P

[@Oilid]

"What a wonderful work"! I bet Agufish is watching! No offense to "Roswell" pickups but the guitar is ALIVE now! 😉

[@PooNinja]

We should really be carpooling to these videos to conserve fuel. ♻️

[@Oilid]

@@PooNinja 🤣🤣🤣👍

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! Yeah the guitar does feel more alive and energetic. So much fun playing it. Thanks for watching buddy!

[@kurtisr2339]

As an unabashed Tweak Geek, this is one of my favorite spectator sports. Awesome series, Kris. Turned out brilliantly. Can't wait to see what's next.

[@JosteinChrAndersen]

This is by far the best demo of the Classic HBs I have seen so far. You demoed all the important sounds. Excellent!

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks man! Yeah not a lot of people showing these Classics, most seem to be obsessed with the Moderns. I really dig these to be honest. 🔥

[@StephenGallacher]

I got one of the HSH fusions for my 40th a couple of years ago and replaced the humbuckers with DiMarzio Evolutions and it transformed the guitar. In the last year I swapped out the 5 way switch so I could wire it to coil split in positions 2 and 4, but the basic guitar is a great instrument - a few tweaks with the electronics and it's even better. Yours is sounding fantastic.

[@GabiOprea]

I couldn't wait any more for this :)

[@guitarsolos89]

The clarity, wow!!

[@jesselawson224]

There is so much more life with the new pickups, sounds fantastic and your playing is great!

[@KrisBarocsi]

Ahh man, thank you Jesse! 🙌

[@GraniteSoundtrack]

Huge difference! Great demo of the Fishman pups, best I have heard.

[@thamashu]

Wow, huge improvement of the sound! You sound great! (And you play cool riffs and licks and music! 😉) And do not forget the body finish! Much nicer and natural! Thanks for this series and greetings from Hungary! 👋

[@jor2416]

That final product sure was worth all the effort put in!

[@Steven_SK]

Sweet!!! So I am getting a plane ticket for me and my guitar so I can have you mod it!!!! Really sounds great Kris!

[@steveraja7810]

Your playing is superb the mods and tweaks, opinions are a bonus! Always enjoyed and appreciated! Thanks Kris!

[@PooNinja]

Fin fabulous She’s a beast of glitteriffic proportions . 🤘🏽

[@PooNinja]

I say She because of the beautiful neck, no dude gotta neck that pretty.

[@hearpalhere]

@@PooNinja Haha! You are right about that neck, the roasted maple looks so good - it's a perfect match for the back of the guitar.

You said it all, the difference in clarity is astonishing! Great work, my friend!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@bobafett4889]

Pup upgrades are always fun and so satisfying. It sounds a million times better now. Great video as always.

[@ToddTheJoker]

Sounds great Kris! but I have to mainly give you props for how easy you make soldering look! Insane!

[@EmirValladares]

The results are solid! I love it! Now I NEED to buy one Fusion II. Have you considering talk to Harley Benton to actually produce a guitar with this exact specs? I think it'll be a sold out piece

[@firstnamesurname6550]

How much? ... a HB at + 700?? ( but sounding as a relic from the future ) lol

[@martgryfny]

my face looks like a banana pure, yellow, heatlhy banana just when you started playing this fishman set IM GONNA HAVE IT

[@jingeetrayvilla49]

Hahaha so happy to see this kris. Good thing I am still awake. Was waiting for this for a while. Too excited i was jumping back and forth with the time stamps. Hahahha. This is too good.

[@boomerbassmeme]

Dayumm Kris! That was like dropping an LS into a lil 4 banger coupe! Awesome! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@johnriley8314]

Sweet man!!!! I LOVE Modding guitars.......and then playing and enjoying the total hell out of em !!!!!

[@scatman1186]

Wow. Night and day looks and sound difference. Amazing work brother :)

[@vinicioserafini5929]

Sounds like a completely overhauled guitar. Great job, the look of the back is stunning and the Fishmans work really well in it!

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks a lot man! 🤘

[@boynamedlen]

Massive improvement across the board! Really impressive that you did it all yourself from the definish to the electronics. Makes me a it more confident that I could do it too, even though I'm nervous about changing one pot x)

[@nictucci973]

Kris, great job! All that hard work and planning paid off big time. Looks and sounds fantastic! Thank you for sharing your work.

[@KrisBarocsi]

Glad you liked it Nic! And thanks for the kind words. Cheers

[@LMGuitarCorner]

The guitar sounds and looks SO much better! I would buy it like this without hesitation. Great job, Kris! And I liked the video series as well! Cheers, Lukas

[@KrisBarocsi]

That’s awesome Lukas, thanks! 🥳

[@nicolamontoro]

Sounds incredible! Great job!

[@rkrock2514]

Great video series! I Will be buying a set of Fluence pickups, just haven’t decided which set. Your guitar is a new machine, kind of like a budget Charvel Pro-Mod! Subbed.

[@reneliebregt6319]

Definitely a big improvement of the sound , congrats Kris 👏👍😄

[@konradtomaszewski3077]

The previous pickups sounded pretty good, but compared to this Fishman, they sounded like you were playing in another room and now you are in the same room and there is any "wall" in the sound. Loved to watch this series :) Greetings! :D

[@restofthejunk01]

Massive improvement in every position...awesome.

[@30smsuperstrat]

Great job Kris! That guitar looks and sounds amazing!

[@leftyguitaristSE]

This has been fun videos to watch. Well done Kris!

[@patrolduty8715]

Congrat. Modded guitar sounds many times better. I cant really say I like this level of tonal option numbers in your guitar, but they sound all good.

[@pierresaucourt5894]

Really nice job Kris! Bravo

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks Pierre! 🙌

[@iannascoliolivier9962]

A very good job Kris !! 🙏🙏👍👍very nice

[@jollyca]

Oh, this has been quite a ride! The differences are shocking, it's like you lifted the blanket off the speaker. I have the non-sparkly non-roasted maple version of the Fusion II HH and I plan to switch to Seymour Duncans soon (I don't have the skills to carve out the body and install active pick-ups).

[@baorozzo]

It’s actually very sick! Awesome job!

[@hearpalhere]

The guitar looks and sounds great Kris! Obviously what matters most is that you're happy with the modifications but I will definitely agree that the change is pretty drastic. The new pickups sound great but I honestly though the old ones were great too. It's hard to describe what I'm hearing but I think the old ones had a much bigger bottom end and mid range than the new pickups. However, in comparison, the original pickups definitely seem a bit muddy/dark compared to the new ones... almost like you have the tone rolled down a good ways. I prefer my EQ pretty bright so I think I'd probably prefer the new setup too. Rock on and enjoy the axe!

[@alfonsopesqueiracamero875]

Awesome!! I was waiting for the video 🤟🏽

[@norespect885]

Nice and inspiring series, thank you. Between before and after is a huge difference. But the final sound is a result of number of changes. It would be interesting to separate benefit of each single change to the sound. For example how the sound was influenced when you stripped the lacquer. How the sound changed when you oiled body, ...

[@snowbloodx]

Awesome work, the headstock just needs the same treatment as the back but the logo would be gone after sanding.

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks Norman! Yeah I‘d prefer the headstock natural but I didn’t want the logo to disappear. 🤷‍♂️ Whatever, I still think it’s a really pretty little 80‘s vibe super strat.

[@MauricioGarcia-mk5bz]

Brother you took so long that I ended up chatting with Derek from fishman. I already swapped to fishman on 4 of my guitars. Well done tho. Keep coming these kind of videos. Cheers.

[@brianmatthews232]

It's Alive :-D

[@BA99253]

I think it’s safe to say this is THE nicest HB out there👍.

[@jellyfishinterrupted8085]

A lot more treble, love the hot bridge PAF sound and the airy chime, I would roll off some of the highs through

[@GunnarLoeb]

The original neck pickup sounds quite good but not the bridge. A big improvement. Great video!

[@DrejcD]

Awesome AF. It's F***ING ALIVE! 🔥

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! It’s ALIVE!!! 🤣 Thanks buddy!

[@subin7777]

I really liked original PU sound but new PU sound is so nice ,it's so bright

[@PhilLament]

Good sounds and it looks like you had fun with the project.

[@DANWRIGHTITIS]

Great Vid as always - I was all set to buy a HB tele & then do some upgrades but I ended up buying a EVH Wolfgang Standard Gold Top for 450 euro I added a Fat Brass FR trem block / a new arm. Total was was about the same price as the Modded HB. ... Plus the resale value is better . NOT that its every leaving me!

[@gregb6387]

Great sounding and looking guitar. amazing job Kris.

[@karlotolentino0723]

definitely worth the wait 😍 sounds amazing 🤤

[@garytones434]

Sold on those Fishmans. Damn they sound incredible.

[@ViktorStockmann]

The guitar turned out great! I I think it deserves a barocsi logo on the headstock now 😉

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! Well it’s still a Harley, just a modded one. I wouldn’t “fake” an other logo on the headstock. Only if I swapped the neck or something like that. And I’m not planning on doing that. 😅

[@djolemadzarevic]

The difference is really huge. But, please don't kill me, I like Roswells better. They sound more "human" to me, in single-coil especially :)

[@joesatchton212]

Quite amazing what a little money and a lot of know how can accomplish in guitars. AWESOME KRIS...

[@ostrmic]

Dat sound!!! Roswells sounded nice back then but compared to these Fishmans now they were damn muddy and muffled.

[@KrisBarocsi]

Yeah that’s super interesting. I really liked the split sounds earlier. But when you A/B those pickups with the new ones... oh gosh 😅

[@fedest]

Awesome video, once again!! The only thing I don't fully like about your pickups choice is that now my own Silver Sparkle looks like I copied that from you! But I swear I didn't!! 😂😂 I ordered the Fishmans last year actually, I finally got them delivered a few days before your first video of the series, and then was waiting for your series to conclude, to collect some tips about wiring and installation... But I couldn't wait any longer and made the install couple of weeks ago! 🥳 I would have certainly made a few wiser and tidier choices when soldering stuff if I had watched this episode first, though 🤓

[@KrisBarocsi]

No worries, I’m the copycat here. Haha! It’s a pretty cool combo though, isn’t it? Those Fishmans sing in this guitar. 🤘

[@fedest]

@@KrisBarocsi Ohh yes! 🤩🤩 I haven't had much time to explore them yet, but spent some time with a clean/crunch profile I had setup before (without even readjusting it), and already was enough to fall in love with them!! So much clarity, dynamics, responsiveness... I found myself playing leads without even missing more distorsion, and feeling more expressive than ever 😀😀

[@briane.paulson]

I respect the change in pickups . The new ones sound like an Ibanez Quest Qx54. Crisp and hot. I feel the original had more meat to the tone and wasn’t as strident. The new pickups wear out my ears faster. Tone chasing is an art and this is a good lesson.

[@briane.paulson]

I just got a Fusion 2. Plays and sounds amazing.

[@leftymadrid]

Heck, if only I could do the same to my lefthanded Fusion!!!! I would be kore than a happy camper!!!! Chris, turned out awesome, fantabulous actually!!! :-) :-)

[@milankotevski1663]

If there is one thing this video has helped me realize, it's the fact that I will never dare change pickups on a guitar on my own, like ever.

[@jameswilson3554]

Excellent it was definitely worth the makeover..delicious. 2thumbs up...

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks a lot James!

[@ajstudiobgd]

Great upgrade 👌😎

[@andreasbravos7943]

No comments, you are a professor!

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! Really not! 😅 But thanks a lot Antreas (edit: sorry for the Andreas earlier)! I’m just a nerd with some experience and a picky ear. :)

[@andreasbravos7943]

@@KrisBarocsi My friend with hand on heart I really learn a lot from your videos, not only for the guitar as an instrument but to respect every piece on it, the wood etc. I bet that there are hundreds or thousands here that they would share the same thoughts as mine. Keep rocking!!

[@KrisBarocsi]

@@andreasbravos7943 luv ya bro, thank you! 💛

[@manuelmesamusic]

Uhhh I started watching the video just now and I can’t wait to see how it turned out!

[@T.m.K]

At first point - your riffs are tasty, I very like what you created ! Second - probably you surprise yourself. You knew that would be good, but after a change, now sound awesome. Have you thought that you could make a market competition for Suhr guitars? You know which wood, why this and not that pickups... You know everything to make a guitar with soul... Then find a player, who will able to show this potential... Long story Very detailed info in this video on how and what to do 👏

[@dougtraub2951]

If you think the single coil option of the Classics, Voice 3, sounds too bright, that can be fixed with the tone knob. I have the same Fishman Classic pups in my Schecter SLS Elite and I love the Classics for their clarity. (It came with Fishman Moderns which have much higher gain but I installed the Classics.) The Classics sound great but in Voice 3 single coil mode I like to turn down the treble a bit. I think Kris has the tone set to 11 for this demo.

[@mickgts]

Great job, and it sounds great. I’m sure you’re busy, but when can we start ordering these custom mod guitars from you…lol

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

"Ha ha I can actually close this" Things you propably won't say the first two times you're trying to put back together a Strat

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! True that!

[@therangersinger]

Kris I like you and have been enjoying your channel since you started. Hope to see you and your channel continue to grow. Always relevant and interesting content👍👍👍

[@KrisBarocsi]

You rock! Thanks a bunch!

[@michaljandera3930]

Nice work Kris! These mod series are awesome content. A question (maybe for comment time): Do active pickups have any benefit or difference to classic passive ones? I would say personally that it is one more thing to worry about, because if the battery dies, you're out.

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks a lot Michal! Love your question, let’s talk about that in a next Comment Time video. Cheers!

[@jhford]

I really like the video series, but you're wiring one push pull to control voice 1 vs voice 2 for both pickups and the other pot for HF Tilt for both pickups. This means that you're defaulting to Voice 2 for both pickups with the pot is pushed. This is for sure how the fluence moderns work, but the classic humbucker guide also suggests this. If for the scheme you're looking for, I think the wire on the orange/green pot should have the orange wire mounted to the other contact on that switch. The other pot is going to be HF Tilt for both pots which is emulating a long patch cord. At least according to www.fishman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fluence_classic_humbucker_install_guide.pdf

[@KrisBarocsi]

Hey, I wanted everything the way it turned out. So voice 2 for both PUs when pushed in. Everything went fine luckily. Cheers and thanks for the comment!

[@fedest]

The diagrams on the webpage correspond to earlier revision of the Fluence Classics, that had 2 voices and Freq. Tilt. The ones that Kris is installing are the newer revision that works like the Open Core ones (that have the correct diagrams on the webpage): they have a Single Coil Voice 3 option instead of the Freq. Tilt on cable connectors, and when enabled, it overrides voices 1 and 2, so it works just as Kris intended. The freq tilt is still available, but requires soldering cables or a solder bridge on solder pads the pickup, insted of using cable connectors.

[@rahzark]

Wow, sounds way better! I am generally afraid of changing stuff on the guitar, and I usually go for pedals or amps to sculpt the sound. I always feel like I'm missing out a bit, but I'm afraid of falling in a rabbit hole of constant pickup changes D:

[@benjaminfowler4513]

You're doing yourself a favor trust me. I've swapped tons of pickups and there's usually barely any difference. I'm focusing on getting a nice high end amp in the future for a real change

[@BlueSoundDesign]

Hi,Kris !! Finally ,the brilliant work is done !! Great sound ! One question: is your bridge pickup F-spaced? Because I didn't find that option in Thomann. Thank you.

[@EmmanuelVassilian]

Hi Kris Grüß dich, geile Arbeit da, alles super und sauber! mir ist aufgefallen dass das E-Fach bzw. der Hohlraum mit Kupferband nicht mal abgeschirmt wurde, und ich erinnere mich daran als ich die Fishman Fluence Modern Set in die Gitarre von meinem Bruder eingebaut hab, da steht in der Einbauanleitung dass man den Hohlraum mit Kupferband noch nachschirmen musste. also die Frage ist, sind da irgendwelche Nebengeräusche entstanden oder gilt das nur für einige bestimmte Fishmans?

[@lewisbeeman]

Absolutely killer

[@TheAxe4Ever]

Okay Kris. Let’s cut to the chase shall we? How much do you want for it? It was a nice guitar before. Now with the Barocsi touch, it’s absolutely KILLER! Enjoy it brother!

[@KrisBarocsi]

It really is an insane guitar and now I’m in love with its amplified sound too. Thanks for watching!

[@Bato1109]

Paint it gold!

[@KrisBarocsi]

Haha! I prefer silver 😜

[@MultiGuitarDave]

Thomann is going to send me a new one. Fishman is great but I have the fishman fluence tosin abasi set in my 7 string. Awesome pickup's. The annoying thing about my Fishman pu's is that the 5 way switch makes a pretty loud click through your amplifier when switching. I think I'm going to put Lambertone Grinders in my HB Fusion.

[@LucasMastropasqua]

I just rewatched all four parts of this and I gotta say I enjoyed the entire process! I’m about to order a Fusion T model with the intention of modifying it and it was inspiring to see what you did on yours. Just out of curiosity did you do any fret work on yours or was it good as is? Anyway thanks for all the great videos and great playing! 🤘

[@KrisBarocsi]

Thanks a lot Lucas, I really appreciate it! Yeah it was a lot of work but I loved doing it. I haven’t touched the frets, those were perfect to begin with. 👍 Cheers!

[@Worlds_Worst_Guitarist]

I can honestly say i love the warm and full sound of the Roswells (have them in 2 of my LP-Style Guitars). On the other hand i have 3 Fishman Fluence Classic (& Open Coil) in different guitars, they can sound a lot warmer too by using the HF-Tilt option, or varying the Pickup height (especially the "Treble"-side). May i ask what height are your Pickups set?

[@ScottDreyfus]

What a drastic change! You really brought that guitar to life. The stock bridge pu wasn’t terrible but that neck was muddy as hell. The stock pu actually sounded better split than in full buck mode. Is this the Fishman modern?

[@Katira-KR7]

Huge difference, now it would be interesting to compare this modded guitar with same electronics in an e.g. charvel pro mod dk24.

[@famtoonen18]

Greetings from Amsterdam. Many thx for these videos. I recently bought the same guitar from Ebay, for a DIY project. I've ordered Seymour Duncan P-rails. Yesterday I've picked it up at my luthier. It is just awesome. I also want to strip the silver sparkle, and the glossy finish, however, my wife and 2 daughters want to keep the silver sparkle finish. 🙄 So for now till my next gig, it will stay silver sparkle. 🤣😂🤣

[@KrisBarocsi]

Hey, thanks for watching! The P-rails are awesome, I had them in two of my guitars. And about the silver sparkle finish: it’s just cool! It looks killer on stage with the lights, so your family is right! Haha! Glam rock vibes! 🤩

[@famtoonen18]

@@KrisBarocsi Yeah mate, I put on my lycra pants and do some 70s glamrock. 🤣😂🤣 🙈 I still consider to make the body natural, without the high gloss finish, like you did.

[@KrisBarocsi]

@@famtoonen18 🤣🤣 Glamrock it is then! 🤩

[@famtoonen18]

@@KrisBarocsi Bennie made the glitter guitar famous. Take your jigsaw and turn your guitar into the famous Bennie guitar. You go first, I may follow. 🤣😂🤣 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZvCanafg9CepJY

[@hadleymanmusic]

Thus about to become s modern " standard" to own. Like the IYV the Grote the firefly and the bcp and wish guitars.

[@dougtraub2951]

I use the Voice 3 single coil 98% of the time in my guitar with Fishman Classics. That makes me wonder if I would be better off with medium output single coil pickups. Fishmans are noiseless but I have a noise gate in my Helix so I don't need noiseless pickups. Also, the push pull knobs are much less ergonomic that simple switches. Managing the battery in Fishmans is much easier than I thought it would be.

[@ZacPettyMusic]

Hey Kris, what’re you doing with the old pickups? I’d purchase them from you if you’re not using them! 🙌🏻 love your playing. I bought one of these because of you.

[@myhapylife]

I kinda like stock better, in comparison fishman sounds more bright. But split single coil sound on fishman in that neck is awesome.

[@davideoverman]

That’s awesome!!

[@bluematrix5001]

Great work, I would do exactly the same with a Fusion, just the Headstock is too shinny I at least would remove some gloss...and with the exception of this Silver Guitar that is pretty cool, I would put all the Guitar Natural wood...

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

After watching this video I'm so thankful that I'm friends with a pickup maker. God knows I'll spend some real money at his shop 🤣

[@MrSongwriter2]

Hardly any QC pickups are always the weakest point after the appalling QC issues. My Fusion 2 the floyd posts just lifted out over the space of a few months. Had to strip the trem and titebond the posts in. There was other qc issues but that was the worst as it wasn't immediately apparent. Id happily sell mine in a heartbeat but they just loose their value something chronic used

[@PatTheDude999]

Nice Work, but there is one question left to answer : DOES IT DJENT?

[@guterwilli5399]

Very good job dude... 👏👏👏👌 (a lot of work 😜) Very versatile now and the new pickups deliver more aliveness and range etc., etc... (What about the dynamics and the feel while you're playing?) In my opinion it is a wake up to this guitar... I got the same guitar and I want to change the pu's too... I am a big fan of p90 ies and I want to bring out more clarity etc.... What do u you think about that? Special greets and Thanx for your videos...

[@KrisBarocsi]

The dynamics are fantastic with the Fishmans. I’m impressed. P90 pickups are magical, I love them! Unfortunately they don’t fit in humbucker routings unless you go for a hb sized version. Cheers

[@hadleymanmusic]

Im diggin it it looks sounds good

[@fredmarquis1105]

Nice Wiring job hehe not a easy one :D

[@marcod24]

Dear Kris, Since I've watched your videos I've filled my shopping cart on thomann with this fusion hh ssp along with some other heartwarming equipment (small tube amp stack, fishman fluid classic pickups etc.), I'm wondering do you still recomend putting fishmans in this fusion or should I consider putting Duncan's sh4 jb and sh2-n? Fluence sound great, I love them but than again I'm interested in hearing your opinion on the Duncans on this guitar. Thank you!

[@hellsing1983]

Impressive!! I really like these Harley’s. Especially the finish but unfortunately they don’t have 24 frets (yes I do get that high up). And is it possible the swap the three way for a five way?