Ouch! Why am I being THIS honest? | Harley Benton Guitar Collection Ranking | Best & Worst Explained

Hey everyone! In todays video I'm going to tell you about my best and worst Harley Benton guitars.
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[@douglaspate9314]

Thank you. I love my HB35. It was spot on when it arrived. No work required! And my favourite is exactly your favourite!! Same colour too. It weighs quite a bit though and I can't play it for too long as my thigh cramps up. My No2 Harley Benton is the BM-75 a tribute to the Red Special. My worst is the RX-10 BK

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

That's great! I still want to try out the HB BM, because of the sound of the pickups alone.

[@j.s.3297]

Thanks for sharing🎸...that SG replica looks awsome, might pick one up.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

You're welcome.

[@meanwhileinespoo1265]

Ive had the student sg in black for a couple weeks... its the same ..amazing quality, great neck, frets, no flaws at all and on 99 euros...

[@bmg696]

I want to thank you for giving an honest review. There are only a few people like you on KZbin that give honest reviews, bad and good.

[@davidltague6893]

I have three Telecaster style HB guitars and one Ovation style HB and I like all of them. All were quite playable out of the box. Of the three Tele styles I had one cracked pickup ring and one loose three way switch damaged from shipping and Thomann sent replacement parts. I had the repairs done myself. I have a Fender Strat and a Squier Tele Classic Vibe to compare HB to and the HB’s have more features, roasted maple necks, stainless steel frets and roasted maple neck on the Anniversary tele. The only drawback was two of the Tele style HB had mildly sharp fret ends which I smoothed with a fret file. My HB TE-40 had extremely well done frets. I rate my HB’s evenly with the Fender/Squier guitars. I will admit the Fender/Squier guitars have a resale edge over the HB.

[@wayneandrews1022]

Thanks for this, I was considering a used HB35 being sold cheap locally. Now I know why.

[@Lola_Santoro]

Thank you for this! I'm a huge Harley Benton fan and have modded most of the guitars I've gotten from them (I do that to other brands, anyway). I'm not in the market for a 12 string but when I was, I almost bought that one. Glad I didn't. I ended up getting a Breedlove 12 string that is great, but I don't play it, so I'm selling it. My favorite HB guitars are the Fusions and the SC Custom III and SC550 II (although, had to do a bit of work on this one). For the prices, needing to do some work on the lower priced models isn't a big deal. But, the 3 higher priced models I have didn't need any work at all - other than tweaking the intonation. But, that's kinda normal on most guitars you get from anywhere.

[@JamesPetroff]

I have the red HB35+ too. I put a Bigsby on it and Hipshot locking tuners. It is great. I have the CST 24t in green. I put in GF Mean 90 P90s, and it is really great sounding. No more coil tap, but worth it. I have a BStock SC Custom in Ocean flame. I changed nothing. It is fine sounding. These are all good looking, fun, cheap guitars. All sound different. All are well made. None are perfect like a $1000 or $2000 guitar. But what is not to love? I could easily buy that SG, LP Junior, vintage Explorer, Rick, Brian May Red Special. But no more room!!!

[@clintmckellar]

Thanks so much for this… I bought the HB double cut DLX with Gotoh tuners off the back of this video about 2 months ago and absolutely LOVE it. It was a risk but your video helped me make the right choice 👏🏼 Good to know about the HB35 Plus too, might look at the epiphone casino worn instead now! Thank you!

[@wildatlanticman128]

Thank you for this honest review 👌🏼😎

[@martinkguitarcover4933]

I have this SG guitar too. I love them!!!!

[@buffdaddy2032]

If your in the United states . Firefly guitars are the way to go

[@HappyHermitt]

Theyre discontinued

[@eljefeguapobarbon]

I own the TE90 FLT in Vintage White and it is beautiful but yes, I would change the pickups!

[@worthmoremusic]

Last year I bought the Keith Richards Tribute Telecaster TE53-KR and while the finish is really nice and I love the caramelized maple neck and 12" radius but what I do not like and what keeps me from playing it very much is it is ridiculously heavy at 10lbs ! I had to have it completely set up and have the sharp frets polished. While the price was cheap enough the shipping to the US was $$$ ($80) that coupled with a full $120 set up, I could have purchased a much nicer Ibanez AZES, a Sire or Music Man Sterling right here at home. Anyway I decided to give HB and Thomann another chance and a few months ago bought a ST62-MN VW S type which came in at a much more doable 7lbs BUT this time via their US Reverb distributer in Connecticut so I could save on shipping but you will pay tax which is a lot cheaper than the $80 shipping I paid from Germany to the US on that ridiculously heavy Tele. The ST62 also had sharp frets but by now dealing with HB I now do my best to file the fret ends myself thanks to StewMac or Nomad tools. So it's been a love/hate experience with HB. I'm not interested in buying another HB brand guitar...or any guitar from Thomann. I've had much better luck via Sweetwater.

[@gluteusmaximus1657]

Tip for twelve-string guitars. Please tune down a whole note! I repaired and owned several to find out. After this change i never had a lose bridge and the guitar was way easier to play! My 2 cents.

[@csharp57]

Thanks for this. I’m currently after a 12 string

[@manofthewest67]

I have 3 HB Guitars. A custom sc active, sc classic and an sc vintage. The custom is 95% identical to the esp/ltd that costs around £1000, made in the same factory on the same cnc machines using the same template, the only difference is the headstock shape, fretboard inlays, machine heads/tuners, pickups and electronics. The HB has active pickups and Grover tuners and cost me £230 delivered, check them out together yourselves, look at the serial numbers, I used to look at the name and price of guitars and ignore the cheaper ones, not anymore.

[@johnrefe]

Budget friendly guitars always are hit or miss, they can be amazing and they can be full off crap. The best thing about them is to try different shapes and styles for low costs. My only HB experience is with their DIY kit, and the reason I bought it was to learn about guitar, experiment with things and just try to fix or damage it trying to fix something :D but I love it. I love my cheaper guitars, I use them, But when I got myself the '' real '' thing, I knew I ain't going back

[@ethanayers-io7gw]

Thank you for this video man. This helped out a lot. I appreciate it

[@grankvarsvik4153]

I got the TE90 Redblast, and mine actually was perfect. No noise or squealing, perfect neck, perfect frets. Craftsmanship was impeccable, could not fault it on anything. Perfect set up and intonated out of the box with pretty low action. Pickups were low output but sounded good and had a few surprises up its sleeve, tonewise. It may very well be the HB with the best quality I have ever seen. So I sold it. Why? Because I am an idiot.

[@manofthewest67]

I have 3 HB Guitars. A custom sc active, sc classic and an sc vintage. The custom is 95% identical to the esp/ltd that costs around £1000, made in the same factory on the same cnc machines using the same template, the only difference is the headstock shape, fretboard inlays, machine heads/tuners, pickups and electronics. The HB has active pickups and Grover tuners and cost me £230 delivered, check them out together yourselves, look at the serial numbers, HB are making some great guitars and equipment at very low prices.

[@meinhendl]

i own a HB35 plus and man other not HB guitars . I'll be honest, I gave it up on a cupboard. BUT : last year I decided to make another attempt with HB and bought the 25th Fusion III. there is nothing to complain. for MY point of satisfaction with a guitar it is the very best. so comfortable to play , actiom, soft thin neck, look, simply wonderful. besides : it is my cheapest guitar and i regret to have bouhght so many names. the SG looks really fantastic.....thanks vor your opinion and review.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

That's nice! The Fusion III is still on my list. Good to hear it's a great guitar!

[@csharp57]

I have yet to own a guitar and the fretboard was perfect brand new. Even my Gibson Les Paul felt like crap until a professional tech worked on it. I just purchased the Gibson/Epiphone inspired 355 and it’s at my tech as I’m typing this. I’m of the opinion that companies purposely let the guitars leave the factory that way so you can take it to a tech and they set it up to suit your playing style

[@nowherebrain]

Still waiting for the DC customs to be in stock again...a representative told me end of july or beginning of august.

[@richardk.6932]

Got a Fusion T in pink for some 200e as a b-stock. Perfectly rounded frets, stays in tune for days, pretty light... I just dont like the neck profile and the pickups arent perfect either. Nonetheless it is a great guitar and much more comfortable than any of the higher end Squiers and lower end Fenders Ive had in my hands.

[@gusdogbrownlab435]

I think it's a bit of a lottery with Harley Benton. My HB 35 plus in cherry is excellent. All I did was change the strings. I also have the DC Custom and again almost perfect out of the box. I had a TE 52 which played and sounded great, but I sold it to a friend with a dinghy as he needed a new boat anchor. It was ridiculously heavy. I had a fusion which was also fine

[@rubenrispens3634]

Here the same. I own a HB35 cherry (not the plus version) and it is just great. I love it great clean sound an no issues at all. Guess i am lucky.

[@markappleton5496]

The custom dc is a great guitar and with the coil tap/split(?) what more could you want? I owned and gigged one but unfortunately I found it way too heavy.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Sadly most SG style guitars are neck heavy, that's why I moved the strap button from the back to the side of the upper horn, just like Tony Iommi did. Solved the neck dive issue for me, but it's definitely an irreversible mod that may devalue the instrument.

[@stefanhennig]

Funny, we 100% agree about the best. The DC Custom is the reason why I don't own a Gibson. But for me the EX-84 is bad, really bad. Mine had the neck set askew and I could not for the life of me get it adjusted correctly.

[@maciejm8490]

I was wondering about this d200ce-12, but I've heard many opinions that the bridge can get loose after some time. Did you contacted Thomann with this?

[@dadjordache5632]

hello from France. What are the pick up of the DC custom guitar wilkinson, roswell or tesla? Thanks fou your work. Dad

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Mine came with Roswell's. The new DC Custom II comes with Tesla's.

[@barrylengbl]

Keep the original..it was made with Mahogany the new one is entirely Marantz.. not nearly as good a tonewood ..the new one may have ss frets but im loving my dc custom in white

[@11000038]

Thanks for the honest opinions. I only have 1 HB. A TE-62 LPB. It is pretty appalling. Looks nice, ok neck and nut. The bridge saddles very poor and installed by a 4 year old. The tuners are utter garbage. The electronics kill the sound. The controls plate was falling off because the cavity is routed in the wrong place and the screw missed the wood completely! It now got new pickups, the controls have been bypassed, the screw sorted. Awaiting new tuners. I'm still not convinced as despite a setup and quite high action it buzzes all over over the place. I really wish I hadn't bought it.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Sad to hear your first HB was a lemon. I have a TE-52 and mine was spotless. I wonder how yours got through QC.

[@SpadgerMcTeagle1]

I had a Red Special. It was chronic. It came with an inspection label which I can only assume was completed by Stevie Wonder gone deaf. That 'guitar' went straight back

[@hadeseye2297]

First time seing you and after 5 seconds a knew. I had to check it netherless just to be sure, but I was correct. You are German. There's no way in the world, to mistake that specific German accent for something else. Hahaha. Pity you didn't played that reddy. Would make a nice ending. Cheers from Poland. (Yeah. We also have an accent no one can imitate. xD "Hello I'm Roman. Have you ate pierogi yet?") PS. That cross added on tele is dope for Ghost or Type O Negative vibes.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Oh yeah, Pierogi is so delicious! Schöne Grüße nach Polen.

[@svenwalther135]

Habe die DC Custom in weiß.... Geile Gitarre... 🎉 Sieht gut aus und klingt super

[@padawan9127]

Jet guitars are amazing

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Interesting. Never heard of them before. I will look into them. Thanks.

[@yagmuer4965]

Hi! I want to buy this (cst-24T)guitar or a Chapman Guitars ML1 Modern, which one should I buy? I'm using an sss fender and I want a stronger sound, my infrastructure is ready for use with pedals. Which should I get?

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Hi, I have never tried the ML1. Still on my list to try out. The CST is a great guitar however. Mine was spotless and is so much fun to play. I can't put it down once I start playing it.

[@hwnfrd]

I am not going to post my complete HB experience as I already have on other KZbin channels that review and discuss their HB guitar/s. My worst piece of garbage expensive firewood guitar of all guitars is my left handed HB Strat-like object, I believe it is the model called "ST20" in Red metallic and cost $89 back in 2021. My inexpensive guitars from Amazon, the Lyxpro Tele and Donner Tele cost the same but are way,way better built and sounding.

[@MikeSmith-ow4kz]

S’interesting. My wife leads me to understand I have too many guitars (obviously she’s wrong) and one of my favourites is the HB35plus.. feels right, plays right, looks great (lemon drop). My absolute least favourite is the HB DC DLX Gotoh… we just don’t get on and I had to send it back for an electrics failure. Sadly they were able to fix it and it’s here again. There’s obviously a matter of individual taste involved and seemingly a good slab of luck. Get a good one and it’s a bargain, if not just send it back for a replacement or an alternative. Thomann don’t quibble and provide a free return label.

[@ThunderingCreation]

I had the same problems with my HB35plus too. I had to spend over £150 extra to get it playable to a half decent state with LOTS of fret leveling/crowning, setup work & replacement hardware. Now im just not motivated to play it, its stuck on my wall :( My favorite guitar is now a Jet JT350 which (out of the box) had to do nothing to it, Different guitar style but Its far superior to the HB35+ in every way and cost about the same.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Interesting. Definitely something I want to look into. Thanks 🙌

[@christiancris8252]

Hello, would it be possible to know the weight of the guitars? In kilos if possible. Thank you.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

This sounds like a very good idea, but the problem is that the guitar weights within a series are all over the place, for example my EX84. While the pink one in my collection is super light, the black one is extremely heavy. Same series, but weight is different. Same with the HB35. I think measuring the weight won't help much, sadly.

[@2hardbackrub743]

nice nice that sg looks solid!

[@michaelbeeministries2020]

Hi, where did you get that little cross light?

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

I built the lamp myself. I cut a cross into the pickguard, glued an acrylic plate on the bottom and attached 2 LEDs to the side for lighting.

[@michaelbeeministries2020]

@@Teutonic_Shredder thank you! That is so cool!

[@Wejohnsn]

my best playing guitar is a HB DC 580 with grovers 24 frets 24.75 scale

[@pete614]

amazingly good review

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Thank you!

[@frettingitforward]

Cool HB’s 😮

[@marcraygun6290]

I was told with acoustic 12s you need to tune them to d and capo them, i have seen se eral acoustic 12s with bridge breaking away

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

The luthier told me there were only a few drops of glue underneath the bridge and it was attached to the paint, no raw wood contact. That was definitely a QC problem. He also recommended me to use 9 gauge strings on a 12. Works like a charm.

[@marcraygun6290]

@@Teutonic_Shredder good idea

[@damianp3305]

How is Your action on EX-84? I had one but unluckily there were geometrical issue and once I completely lowered down bridge I still had action of 2mm at 12th fret. I adjusted truss rod but it did not help. Did You experience the same?

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

No, I didn't experience that. The setup on mine are 1.3mm at the high E and 1.8mm at the low E and I still have space to lower the bridge.

[@damianp3305]

@@Teutonic_Shredder Thanks! It seems that I had faulty one. I will give it a chance again. I like look and spec of that guitar.

[@ND._o]

From my personal experience, around 200 euros is that "sweet spot" price as far as Harley Benton goes. Most HB guitars under 200 euros were really bad (stay away from those Active series guitars - every single one I've tried was absolutely awful). Meanwhile, most Harley Bentons above 200 euros that I've tried were absolutely amazing and could easily compete with guitars that cost 2 or even 3 times more. Nothing is 100% certain of course, it all boils down to luck. You might get a good guitar out of a pretty bad series, or get unlucky and receive a bad piece from an otherwise amazing series.

[@andremessias2974]

Sorry Buddy... if you think that your SG is has a flamed body.... you don't know what flamed body is. Also... Don't expect a 12 string guitar to have a nice neck as a 6 string guitar.

[@gpunkvideo]

The looks are 93 % the most important thing to be a guitarist! the rest 7% about playing your butt off daily for the rest of your life! No rush about that! take it seriously as many hours as possible a day! And voila! you call yourself a Guitar Player Rocker/ Punk Rocker, yada yada... I agree DC580 is a beast

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

The looks of a guitar are definitely underrated imho. If you like the looks, you will play the instrument more often 🎸🙌

[@huli8557]

I sold my HB-35+, not for me...

[@cancelbubble6535]

The problem with Harley Benton is it's pretty much all mail order, right? So for 99.9% of customers who aren't local, you never know what you're going to get until you get it.

[@rallefreifahrt]

If you do not like it, send it back and get a replacement.

[@unknownname6519]

​@@rallefreifahrtdepends on where you life....

[@NelsonMontana1234]

Even the good ones are junk. Go with Squire or Epiphone or the Musicman stuff made in Indonesia.

[@FrankyTempels]

Better ,one good brand guitar,epiphone , ibanez,yamaha ,150 a 250 eu ,than 4 cheapo guitars,

[@johncarlo7395]

You could have saved yourself a lot of money by buying a better quality Guitar that you wouldn't have had to upgrade almost everything, for example, Squier Clasic Vibe, and Vintage Modified series, maybe not the best in the world, but very playable without modifying.

[@Ottophil]

I love SG’s, but i do not like harley benton at all. And the viper was the worst guitar i ever owned, ill stick with my gibsons

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Can't go wrong with the original. Just happy to see Gibson doing better and better these days.

[@boboutelama5748]

Buying a 62$ for 6x the price and wondering why the saddle come loose, the frets are badly integrated, the woods and PU's are bottom of the barrel. There is no surprise to have. When buying HarleyBenton, you do a coin toss. Maybe the guitar you will receive will not be horrible, but maybe she will. Buy good instruments coming from country not having concentration camps and girl-napping.

[@deeman1]

Das man den deutschen Akzent immer so raushört...

[@Neil-Aspinall]

Mmm if you want toy guitars buy any Squire under 250 Euros. The QC is 0%.

[@Teutonic_Shredder]

Haven't tried any Squiers in years. I wanna try out their new Sonic single hum strat at one point. Would be interesting to see what the QC is like.

[@bombercountyblues]

Really?. I Couldn't possibly be any happier with my 22 affinity series tele at £230

[@pmcommando]

HB is absolutely awful QC

[@HappyHermitt]

Not true

[@strawsparky33]

people shit on Gibson for pretty much all aspects of their brand, and then they go buy a chinese copy of a Gibson. lol.

[@StevesSlideandJazz]

Gibson shits on their own guitars.

[@strawsparky33]

@StevesSlideandJazz every single guitar company has duds come out of the factory. I've seen and played Gibson priced Fenders and PRS's that had cosmetic flaws or setup issues right out of the box. Most major guitar companies have automated alot of their factory procceses and mistakes can fall through the cracks. People just seem to love to choose Gibson to pick on. And then they'd rather make life harder on themselves by buying a cheap knock off version of a Gibson only to replace all of the electronics and hardware with you guessed it, Gibson electronics and hardware. Lol. "GIBSON IS A BAD COMPANY SO IM GONNA BUY A CHINESE GUITAR THAT REMINDS ME OF A GIBSON"

[@X-boomer]

Gibson's are way overpriced. Far better to get a good copy and upgrade the hardware.

[@strawsparky33]

@ralphclark and your copy will never appreciate or be worth more than what you bought it for because it's a knockoff, and you're replacing original hardware And will still break it's headstock the first time you drop it like a Gibson. I'd rather save up and have the real thing. Go enjoy your Chinese bullshit.

[@X-boomer]

@@strawsparky33 most people aren't buying guitars as an investment. They're buying them to enjoy them.

[@hw4202]

the logical fallacy that leads people like this man to waste hundreds of dollars on 6+ terrible guitars rather than buying one nice guitar that will hold its value

[@johncarlo7395]

Totally agree, why?

[@PHILIPJONES-rx8hs]

I have 4 guitars at the moment, a mime strat, it's OK but not great. As Gibson les Paul, it won't stay in tune, despite raising the action and adjusting the truss rod and lowering the neck pick up as low as it goes, the strings still hit it, its shite. I also have a flying V, it's got fret sprout, also won't stay in tune, 2 scratchy cts pots, its shite. My HB tea 70 deluxe is awesome, love it, might upgrade the pick ups 1 day, but the current 1s are OK, the Wilkinson bridge is great, best £149 ever spent.

[@PHILIPJONES-rx8hs]

Hey the most I'm going to lose on my HB is £149, my Gibsons however, I'm guessing £500 each!

[@bmxriderforlife1234]

Most gibson and fender guitars lose more money then cheaper guitars. The electrics also all started as cheap instruments

[@hw4202]

@@bmxriderforlife1234 all of my gibsons and fenders are worth significantly more than than when i paid for them youre talking out ur stinker rn

[@dago00]

Should be named Richard Benson guitars