UNBIASED GEAR REVIEW - Harley Benton Fanfret8 QEB 8-string Guitar

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DISCLAIMER - all views contained herein are mine and mine alone. My comments merely reflect my own, individual experience with this gear. They do not necessarily reflect what your personal experience may be as a potential customer of the brand I am reviewing.
Harley Benton Fanfret8 QEB 8-string Guitar
Basswood Body w/Quilted Maple veneer
Maple/Nato neck-through-body construction
Roseacre fretboard
25.5"-27" multiscalescale
Custom-Wound HBZ humbuckers
Monorail bridge
24 Frets
Please like and subscribe. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the instrument or the video, please leave a comment.

[@RudyAyoub]

Yea didn't expect much from these, great review m8

[@SpokenFlesh]

you typed this bro? awesome, type something else bro

[@TelestroArchive]

I've never played a fan fret, and I've never played an 8 string. I wanted a neck thru fan fret 8 with locking tuners, and this was the cheapest one available. The one thing I have to say is that mine doesnt go out of tune nearly as much as you say. Could be just yours is bad, or that I got lucky. I changed out the strings to a good quality set, and I've had no issues

[@TobyKBTY]

Just kinda funny how even some youtubers are like “oh man these are the best cheap guitars ever they’re awesome for the price” and then we have arnold absolutely ripping into one with cold, hard truth. Now i love some of these other KZbinrs, but continually telling me that these 150-300 dollar guitars are fantastic just feels like saying bullshit to my face. Thanks for the honesty again, Arnold.

[@freakgoingunder]

Toby K. I got myself a 7 String HB and can confirm everything Arnold said. Had one that was literally unplayable and sent it back, the replacement is better, but still has issues. I got all the tools here to fix it so it's no big deal. But Thomann literally sends out tons of lemons and everyone should be prepared for it if they order one.

[@allstopblue5717]

Seriously. You can find comments everyday on KZbin from stupid kids saying they compared their Harley Benton to a Fender custom shop or Ibanez prestige, whatever it may be. They swear the Harley Benton is every bit as good. No need to spend thousands when you can get HB for $200 and just change the pickups....yeah no. Or my personal favorite, “this is why Gibson is going bankrupt. HB is a superior instrument for a fraction of the price” lol

[@Slamthulhu]

Most KZbin reviews are just glorified ads for the company.

[@Slamthulhu]

And the kids who swear by it only do so because they have no idea what actually makes a good instrument, their argument is "I like it" which effectively means jack shit when they have little to no experience handling quality instruments

[@tylerbaars1173]

•allstopblue • to be fair Gibson is pretty shit...at least these days

[@okioki1131]

When other tubers are blowing smoke and getting my hopes up... I come here to get decimated by the truth

[@alpenjodel24]

Finally someone telling the truth about these and not telling everyone how "good" they are.

[@RP-dy5mu]

It fucks me off so much when they say "good for the price" Look I get it that's a good caveat to consider but it shouldn't be the baseline. It's either a good instrument or it isn't. Having an instrument that's playable but that cuts your hand isn't "good for the price" it's a piece of shit and that is unacceptable.

[@k-ondoomer]

I got a p90 and yeah it's meme quality. Sounds good and I can play it but it's just a prs body shaped p90 guitar back up or for friends. The stock p90s where fucking beyond garb and up close it's a funny looking instrument but with a little work its a vessel for my p90s. Will probably end up selling it cheap to a friend

[@artikos8750]

@@RP-dy5mu man, you taked words from my soul and put it in this comment. Fucking hate when reviewers say "good for the money" like wtf, im looking to buy a GOOD instrument but not willing to pay much, its going to be either bad or good, idc for price-quality.

[@MagisterTuomo]

I used to collect Harley Bentons while I was getting my teacher's degree. Some were pretty good, some needed modding and some were horrible. They have gotten better with their craft. I believe this is their first 8-string. That's where reviews come in handy. In time they're bound to catch up. I play both 8- and 9-string and there are plenty of bad instruments on the market. There is definitely room for more. My bet is these will be granted space in time. Great review. Cheers from Sweden.

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

It's their second (third) 8 string. First was R458, but it's pretty meh even if you get a good one, then there was a 2017 version of FanFret 8 and a refresh for 2018. Also, production moved from China (the one Arnold has is made in China) to Vietnam, if that says anything

[@MagisterTuomo]

Dainius Vyšniauskas Ah. I stand corrected. I was referring to their fan-fretted but I was obviously wrong in that aspect aswell 😊.

[@imagnifiedband]

Got mine on Facebook marketplace but the guy who sold it to me did a lot of work and now it’s amazing. I wouldn’t purchase another one as I don’t want to do all that work lol. I upgraded to The Guitarmory Orion pickup set

[@drewskiiidabrewskiii]

This is literally the first negative video on anything by harley benton, and he's calling out some pretty serious issues. Thought about buying this exact guitar but now I'll probably take Arnold's advice and save up for an rg8 or another jackson

[@Mr.Goldbar]

Andrew Costanzo you can find a used RG8 for less of that HB

[@jrgenjahren7155]

Just because of what you said from 4:20 to 4:37 i'm leaving a like, always keeping it real with us. Thanks Arnold

[@megalomaniacnoodles]

@9:45 So true. I got mine in Jan as well, I played it probably twice, and it's sat in a gig bag in my closet since. So uninspiring I can't even get around to selling it off or anything.

[@steveblaine4691]

Thanks for the review Arnold, as usual, very thorough and honest. For $350 you expect to get a guitar that you can play for more than 5 minutes without having to tune it. There is nothing more frustrating than spending more time tuning than playing. Besides all the KZbinrs who are pushing these guitars because they are getting paid to do so (EytschPi42, The Tone King, Aquafish), I am surprised anyone would ever think of buying any Harley Benson guitar. Maybe you stopped someone from foolishly wasting their money. Keep up the good work and thanks.

[@PureAsGold]

You should of put your local waste management companies website instead of the guitar shops lmao

[@chrissxix]

Honestly I don’t mind the little body imperfections like on the wood or finish, etc. It just sort of adds distinctive characteristics to ur instrument. Obviously I wouldn’t want something like chips or scratches but looking at it positively, I like the little things that make it ur guitar.

[@agufish]

Wow that particular one you got sucks so bad. As I'm watching your review, I'm double checking the one I have point by point, and barring some rough cosmetic issues, it's almost nothing like the problems you're experiencing with yours. Wtf is that fingerboard. You got a lemon, man. Burn it 🍋🔥

[@naruto199797]

Agufish that's one of the biggest problems with Harley Benton they are very hit or miss you never know if you will get a good one or a shit one luckily thomann is really good with returns

[@giantxwarrior3902]

Ace Kiser unbiased isn’t paid for his reviews. Agufish.... if not, sure has a lot of free stuff for no reason. Dude has like an entire drawer of Fishman fluence pickups.

[@giantxwarrior3902]

Ace Kiser Yes I am agreeing with you. Agufish, gets paid by some of the brands he reviews so his reviews are always sketch. Not to mention I would never trust that kid. Arnold is legit.

[@agufish]

... By law you're required to say whether or not you're being paid to make a video or not, and I only get compensated for the time it takes to put a video together, not to change my opinions. Time to take your tin foil hats off. But it's OK, I don't trust you guys either :)

[@johnmoore9588]

Agufish I used to be a big fan of your channel before the HB reviews started. When you said Arnold, the only youtuber to not get paid a dime by these companies "happened to get a lemon", that was the last straw for me. I'm still subbed for announcements on new models, but I can't say I'll ever trust one of your reviews again.

[@4evercursed502]

Maybe the strings arent stretched. I've noticed mine goes out of tune if I don't take the proper time in stretching the strings. If I don't it take like a week of constant playing for it to settle. Now I have no problems. I own a Esp ltd m10 and it's a beginner level guitar but the way I got it sounding and feeling is more like a $600 guitar. My buddies who play are always in SHOCK as to how it sounds and feels. I love my Cheap guitar. It's my baby. Lol

[@brian1749]

Excellent review! Over the past few years, I've gotten into, and really enjoy, buying lower priced instruments, doing fret work, swapping out electronics and hardware, to make lower price point guitars play and sound like way more expensive guitars. As long as it's a decent neck and not a press-board body, I'm usually game for taking it on. But that sounds like a nightmare of a project! Thanks again for all the reviews!

[@PartyChicken407]

For all those saying 'He just got a lemon' - You're only partial correct. He got a lemon, with respect to the fretwork being extraordinarily awful. He did not 'get a lemon' with respect to the tuners having massive backlash and steps in the gearing, material the nut is made from (shit plastic), the pickups being disgusting mud-buckers, and the bridge being made of poor quality metals resulting in sometimes difficult adjustments. Is Harley Benton as a company across the board terrible, hell no. They make some great affordable products which serve sometimes as excellent modding platforms for people to enjoy. However, this particular product, is a miss. Too many things on it need to be upgraded / fixed right from the factory just to make it remotely studio worthy for anyone other than a novice. All the price of the upgrades really hurt the point of saving money in the first place on this budget instrument. I mean... if you happen to have a spare set of fanned pickups, a bridge, a nut, tuners, and a set of fret files... go ahead... maybe this guitar is for you... but if you have to buy all those things from a store just to put into this guitar, that's a fair bit of cash.

[@TheDynamiteRO]

To be honest,I have a HB PJ Bass,the deluxe line and for the money its a beast,in my opinion,its above any Squier bass.I payed less than 200 euros for it,plus 80 eur for the shielded cavity,nut replacement,fretwork and setup and to be honest,its a beast.I have tried a mexican PJ and to be honest,liked my HB more than the Mex Fender.Also works great with my Markbass 250 and stands preety nice in the mix.

[@extendedrangetechmetal1489]

i have the first model of this guitar, and had no problems with tuning or any else for 8 years. great guitar actually :)

[@volltroll]

building an 8 string fanfret for 300 bucks is something that should simply not be done just like drinking a Pilsner out of the wrong glass :D

[@BengB]

I disagree. Why not strive to push the envelope in the guitar industry?

[@tylerbaars1173]

To be honest I think it can be done. Perhaps the brands are just overpricing I don't see why not

[@somerandomdragon558]

Just don't drink Pilsner at all!

[@reubennb2859]

Not everyone can afford expensive guitars

[@djentyboi6878]

I got one, I think it’s the 2019 version, and it’s honestly pretty good for the money. It’s the first guitar I ever bought with my own money. It kickstarted music for me, and now I have a chapman baritone on the way. But great review. Honest.

[@red240red2]

Unapologetic Reviews that most don't do these days! Refreshing even as a older video.

[@MissyMousey]

I almost got this guitar but instead I got the FanFret7 last week as well as a HB 4 string bass and I've had no issues with either instruments. The only thing I don't love about the FanFret7 is the pickups and the tuning stability is not great for locking tuners (but not as bad as this FanFret8!). I haven't tried adjusting the bridge yet but the fretwork and the overall setup when I received it was very good.

[@EdwardKayeplus]

Matchless is solid. I bought a bunch last time I was down in Seattle, before the 'rona. Pilsners aren't my go-to, but I can appreciate a good one! Good to see another guitar nut who appreciates craft beer.

[@MrYatesj1]

So nice to get an honest review. Seems most HB reviews are paid for by HB because you are in the camp of few and far between regarding negative feedback for the HB. Love the honestly and enlightenment. Looking forward to more honest reviews.

[@CoryMura]

yes, sad. Arnold got a lemon. one lemon can make the whole brand look bad. its honestly deserved this time. have to agree with arnold on the problems. didnt had these problems on mine.

[@BoneStack117]

Cory Mura I got one that was really bad, and Thomann agreed and sent me another... And it was really bad too. Even though it was "quality control" verified by a tech. Exact same issue on mine as Arnold has. I won't buy a HB again

[@CoryMura]

Kyler got it and i wouldn't buy another one too in your position. they really need to get the QC right. at least the new indonesian fusion pro line should be on another.. better standard.

[@srenkaas4654]

same

[@giantxwarrior3902]

Cory Mura But you’re paid by Harley Benton for your reviews of them. It’s never worth watching your reviews cause all you ever do is say how amazing everything is... “Oh this is a piece of wood I found in my backyard and put a pickup in it... Why buy a Gibson? This piece of wood has a pickup just like a Gibson....” lmfao.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

If you're looking for a really affordable 8 string I highly recommend you to check out the Schecter C8 Deluxe. I have the 7 string version and it's absolutely killer for the price! (About 300$ new, I bought mine for 230$ used)

[@Vexnatos]

That model has now been discontinued, however, they have a new fanfret 8 string model: www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_r_458bk_fanfret.htm UPDATE: It's back. Presumably, they've improved it since: m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_multiscale_8_nt_qeb_dlx.htm?glp=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwwYP2BRBGEiwAkoBpAugnoMYYezXnSwaKHUyARLdVwN1ECup2wNn6SgsjyExR8jJ65oOBeBoCR04QAvD_BwE

[@13johnpyeatt]

Always had a feeling these guitars were absolutely awful.

[@disres1337]

John Pyeatt some of them arent. At least the 6 strings for the low price.

[@alpenjodel24]

most of them are absolutely horrible that's true

[@leifhansen4510]

There is a black Harly Benton V-Style(Victory Plus BK) six string,that have a set-neck mahogany- body, What sounds really good!(high output AlNiCo Pickups) It's only 169euro! The only problem is the tuning stability.. Fretwork is very good,but some glue is on the end of the mahogany neck(top blackwood) Hope the problem with the tunig stability is to fix with new tuners!?

[@BloodpactORG]

HB use three different factories, the one that does all the edgy metal guitars suck and the two others are amazing. Though, since they started using Roswell pickups everything with a humbucker will need an upgrade unfortunately. I stay away from anything that doesn't have single coils now.

[@ZaktanVR]

John Pyeatt Only the 7 and 8 string models.

[@GimmeapillEko]

Thank you Arnold, enjoy your beer.

[@BoneStack117]

I bought a 7string a while ago, the white progressive series one. it had so many defects that Thomann sent me another one for free... And it had the same defects. Unacceptable quality control. After shipping and duties, it cost like $230. It's more worth like $100-$150 max. You could mod it to make it better and the neck profile is nice, but mine had finish flaws, tooling marks on the neck, chipped headstock, and of course mine also was really hard to intonate. They are just uninspiring guitars especially when you're used to quality instruments. it's for modders, or if someone really wants a 7 string (or 8 in your case) but can't/won't spend more.

[@timchavepeyer4029]

I'm writing here to reassure a bit people who ( like me ) were interrested to buy this guitar. I think he was just the unluckiest man of that day, cause i received mine yesterday and it's an amazing instrument. I bought it B-Stock for 220€ and it's like it's a brand new one. It plays great and it holds tune really well. The only cons for me is that there are some dead spots on the 2nd fret of the 2nd string. Other than that it is perferct. It looks great and feels good. For 220€ it's unbelievable to have such a piece. I still don't understand how that's possible. I were so scary to receive mine after seeing this video but there's none of his problems on mine. I've already ordered 3 HB guitars and they are both 3 amazing. Don't be scared, Go for it.

[@Sicktor-w2q]

I actually had ordered the last one on thomann yesterday but cancelled the order after this review. Only ever played 6 strings and wanted to get something with more... Think I'll save up and go for a shecter omen extreme instead

[@GillyRibeiro]

I feel likewise. I grabbed mine for €213, B-stock. It wasn't immaculate, but it was saved. Fretwork was really a mess, with frets unglued and badly cut. I had it do a über-professional fretjob and it came to life! It holds tuning, it plays like butter, I can set it up extra low action without any kind of issue. As with the pickups... not much to write home about: a bit on the muddy side. But it got way better with a 1Meg volume pickup. Hence... I say... it's one of my favourite guitars to play, and I have more than a few high-end custom guitars!

[@Postflight_Icarus]

Huh, I have this one also. Mine was made in Vietnam and has the new HB logo unlike this one. Either QC improved when they shifted to the Vietnam factory or I just lucked out. Other than a bone-dry fret board mine had zero issues out of the box. Intonation is spot on, fret ends are butter, I lowered the action a bit and have no buzz, stays perfectly in tune for days. I'll deal with better pups some day. No complaints.

[@Alecoes1]

Some of the muddiest pickups I've ever heard

[@TaarLps]

Opinions from people WITH capslock ARE USUALLY stupid.

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

I like the clean tone he got from Strandberg boden 8

[@RudyAyoub]

Lol at that capslock comment

[@Danny_Aniss]

It's actually his fault they sound like that. I knew from the intro that I wasn't gonna hear a great tone.

[@PartyChicken407]

I'd love to see some of Adam's videos with his KILLER TOAN AND MAXIMUM CAPS LOCK FOR MAXIMUM METAL SKILLZ!!!

[@alpenjodel24]

As a German that lives near Thomann let me tell you: DO NOT buy these guitars. I'm at Thomann (which produce and distribute these guitars) once every 2 weeks and I tried A LOT of Harley Bentons to get some kind of "personal statistics" about them (Tried one every time I go there) and most of them are trash. Like 2 out of 8 are actually decent instruments but even those just feel like toys, you just feel it's mass produced junk wood. Even if some reviewer says he got a nice one, chances are that your Harley Benton won't be good. In Europe you are 100% better off with an RG8 or one of he cheaper Ibanez fanned fret guitars (which get a lot of hate because it's Ibanez but the quality is better on these than on Harley Bentons). If you live in the USA/America you are 100% better off buying an Agile or also an RG8 or the cheap Ibby fanfret models.

[@alpenjodel24]

I mean Arnold gave you enough reasons not to buy one but there are so many reviews out there telling you that these are actually good (which is just not true).

[@Clairvoyant81]

I know, it's a bad argument, but: The cheapest Ibanez 8-string fanned fret is 588€, compared to 399€... that's a 50% price difference, basically another league. You should absolutely expect a pretty big difference in quality there. Let's be honest: IMO, you should not be getting a "specialty guitar" (8 strings, multi-scale) for what is basically a bargain bin price... and if you absolutely have to get a guitar of this kind this cheap, go to the store and try the exact one you're going to take home with you before you purchase. Quality control in that price range pretty much has to be nonexistent for those prices to work. Guitars in that price range, IMO, are good starting points for modding, if you make sure you get one that got the basics right (straight neck, fret work you can still salvage etc), but other than that, you're probably better off spending a few bucks more or buying used.

[@ArnoldPlaysGuitar]

Clairvoyant81 exactly. I agree with the vast majority that you stated. I only offered the comparison because a lot of people interested in specialty instruments such as these will still consider the Ibanez fan fret stuff to be in the lower end of the spectrum. With that said, I would say that the price difference you stated is totally worth the difference in QC. It’s still not going to kick incredible amounts of ass, but imo the value is considerably better.

[@mykindom666]

Question: do you know if benton's 2x12 cabs are worth the cash?

[@MrMockigton]

not speaking for this one, i own 3 harley bentons - ofc they are not perfect craftsmenship. but they do the job, i like to play them, they are fun and not terrible at all. their cabinets for example are spot on.

[@cursedbyzen9510]

How about review of new Harley Benton Fusion series?

[@Alecoes1]

5:25 those frets 😂😂😂

[@JamieChorley]

Exactly how it looked when I received my first guitar from them!

[@autobotsNdecepticons]

I really wish all guitar reviewers would be as critical as Arnold. Too many just say, "Yeah, it's great, buy it!" without going into any detail about definite or possible issues.

[@Whitefox-pc7lp]

Can you please do an unbiased review of the Esp LTD JR-608? Thanks man

[@togil1151]

Great review. In general, I`m also sceptical of the harley bentons but I have to mention that i bought harley benton locking tuners, in gold, to modify my LTD Telecaster and those are rock solid. Both in build quality and when it comes to tuning stability so I`m kinda surprised these locking tuners were such a letdown with this instrument. Anyway, cheers.

[@theobserver8881]

I have the exact same guitar, it worths the money. A few imperfections on the finish and I really dont like the pickups.

[@ShreddedShredder0]

The fret end problem is called "fret sprouting." The reason it happens is due to climate changes after manufacturing. The wood looks like it's being pushed out by the frets because the part of the fret that inserts into the fretboard (the fret tangs) has not been cut in an angle with enough clearance from the edge of the fretboard. This happens on inexpensive guitars on which they cut corners to keep the cost of the final product low. In the factory it was probably fine but as the wood dried out during storage and logistics, it shrank and now have the end of the fret tangs pushing against the edge of the fretboard. Not only is this an indicator of cheap manufacturing, but is also indicative of the quality of the wood and its preparation. The wood they use have probably had minimal drying time before manufacturing, hence extreme shrinkage afterwards. An experienced luthier or guitar technician can fix it up. My Harley Benton 8-string has the same finish and nut issues seen in the video and it's unfortunate that these are just some of the issues due to corners cut during manufacturing. If they're not willing to give a good fit and finish, they should at least work on improving playability of the instruments.

[@DaleLyons31]

Reviews like this one give me hope for the future of KZbin musical gear reviews. These days, "reviews" are not reviews, they are promotional videos. Kind of like the videos prospective Olympics-hosting cities show the I.O.C. - they show only the good, and NEVER the bad. "Brazil is a beautiful country! We have a huge Jesus statue and awesome, sandy beaches! (But we're going to ignore the millions of homeless people and the thousands getting murdered by police every year). Viva Brazil!" :-) The world needs more guys like Arnold. An average player, who loves playing the guitar and loves to write music. He's not a corporate sell out or brand pusher, he's just like 98% of the people watching KZbin. Good on ya, man. Keep up the great work.

[@yaboirico5221]

hey, so I know the bad rep Arnold gives Legator, but I have two Legator guitars I got on clearance and they were pretty decent for what I got them for, if anyone wants to buy Legator, just wait for it to be in clearance, since their guitars aren't actually worth regular price, maybe they put up the MSRP because you would literally never get them anywhere else unless you live within an hour of a Legator dealer, which is very rare. Maybe I could find a way to send Arnold one of mines for a review, which I'm sure won't be a "wow this is the best thing I've ever touched for the money" but it would be an update on the view he has on the company. The biggest gripe on my Fan Fret 8 string is that the nut really bothers when i'm messing with the first fret low E and B strings, since the nut is pretty sharp in the high E area.

[@alyusdickey9561]

You should totally checkout the new Mick Thomson Jackson, if you have the chance

[@chilimacaroni4211]

I’ve always wanted one of those but can’t afford it, I would like to see his take on it though.

[@alyusdickey9561]

【Nexu】 me either. Yeah, i think he would be surprised with the pickups

[@chilimacaroni4211]

Alyus Dickey they are quite nice

[@Whiskeylovur]

THIS

[@ricksmith7370]

I love your reviews dude. Don’t get discouraged dude.

[@manny75586]

This thing is $180 including shipping. I'm not super shocked how rough it is. I have luthier tools though so as long as the wood isn't rotted out you can usually upgrade guitars like this to feel like a $900 instrument.

[@artimusgray9576]

HBZ is Harley Benton's own humbuckers. They are ass. Additionally, the fretboard is roseacer, aka roasted maple. I have this guitar. I can agree that the fretwork is a little bizzare, but personally I've not had tuning problems. For finish issues, I think there might be a small abrasion on the back of the headstock, but apart from that it's natural wear and tear.

[@BengB]

Ibanez FTM33 would be awesome to see considering the lack of videos reviewing it

[@littlewoodenboy1971]

I don’t drink but I LOVE the beer reviews!

[@LJ-qh5ni]

I admit I was tempted to go for one of these, but in the greyish colour scheme. Fan fret, extended range AND neck through for such a small cost? It just seemed too good to be true. But then I thought: if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. It's funny how I followed exactly the pattern you described even before seeing this video: well, with 200 bucks more, I could get an Ibanez. It might not have features like fanned frets and neck through, but it IS a known brand with decent quality standards. But if I put down another 100, I could get this gorgeous looking 8-string, fanfret Jackson. I ended up going for the Jackson, the 8DKAF dinky in beautiful stained wood. It's more than double the budget I initially set out, but I will be getting a quality instrument. The cost is higher, but I'm fairly certain I'll be happy with it. So I figured: better to put down some extra cash for near guaranteed satisfaction than to pay less for near guaranteed disappointment. It'll be my first relatively expensive guitar and my first extended range, new from the shop, in the 10+ years I've been playing the guitar and I'm really fucking excited. Thanks for the review Arnold.

[@jaime_abad]

That is a pity. I got a 5 string HB to record at home and it works perfectly fine - I’m not a bass player. The guys at Thomann should improve the next 8 string guitar models.

[@privettk]

Arnold have you ever played a Schecter KM-7? Curious what you think. I just purchased mine (the black mk2) and am thinking I might still like my ESP MH-417 better. Both are beautiful and sound great, they just have different perks and quirks.

[@gdflavio1]

you should review the new multiscale Cort 7 strings, they look awesome, im curious about the quality and your opinion! cheers

[@rjjem8095]

I got one last week. The work I had to do to it to make it playable was shocking. Looks good but that's where it stops

[@bwgti]

I thought it sounded okay. Hard to tell with microphones, a Kemper, KZbin audio compression, 8 strings... But I too own this. And it is not worth the trouble. I thought I would mod it or something. But by the time I level the fret board, install new pickups. Deal with the awful bridge screws, file out the nut properly. What will I have? I would still have to learn to play something useful with such a low tuned guitar. If I was really into 8 strings I should spend more money. It sits on the wall in my basement. Arnold can be overly picky sometimes. It is a cheap ass guitar. But everything he says about this guitar is true. All the things that are not great about this thing add up to an instrument that is not enjoyable to play. Thank you for the video Arnold! Enjoyable and to the point as always!

[@raymondmagdallon9033]

Wow this is a nightmare. I've seen a couple other people on KZbin saying these were good instruments. Thx for the heads up. I was pretty close to picking one up just to mess around with an 8 string, but fuck that.

[@BrolyKenseigoku]

I have this guitar.. sucks that you got it in such a condition as mine didn't have these issues, but tuners will be changed as they work the way you said it and I have already changed to a bone nut

[@k-ondoomer]

Love this channel. I bought the hype and bought one for 200 took 60$ shipping 30$ pick ups and a setup brining it to 350$. Should of just dropped 50 more for the flagship ibanez 399$ guitar. The binding is so amateur the finish isn't the best but it's a spare for when my main back up fails.

[@monorady]

TL;DR just buy an Agile

[@ANTHONYFERNANDO]

Agreed. The South Korean factories are just too solid to pass up.

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

isn`t Agile made in Vietnam?

[@ANTHONYFERNANDO]

No they're made in South Korea. Were made for a while by WMI, same people as Schecter, PRS SE and LTD

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

Good luck getting one in Europe

[@stenmartens7179]

fun story, these harley bentons are made in Korea as well. however, the sad part is that Agile isn't a good option in Europe... a 600 usd Agile will set you back roughly 800-900 Euro's including shipping and import fees. not including the fact that Rondo does not extend warranty outside of the USA. so if you get a turd, you now own a turd and you're out of options

[@errolcason9339]

Is that a Solar E2.6 hanging on the wall? Just ordered that same guitar after watching your A2.6 review. I'm hoping its just as nice as the A2.6 that you reviewed.

[@MrDreamsAlot]

It's funny because the only frets people r gonna b playing on that guitar are the 1st 2nd and 3rd 🤣 so I guess that's why they said screw the frets lol

[@XzessTool]

I have the early model. Only problem are the pickups that yes, they are not good, but I spected this, because a pair of good pickups cost at least half the price of the whole guitar. Mine has Grover tunners which are really good, no tunning problems, and no bridge problems, fretwork and finish it's not the best but in mine it's just aestetics problem. Overall, the guitar it's not that bad for the price, neckthrough, fanfret 8 string for 400€.

[@RLDWEBER]

Arnold, do you still have this guitar? I'm looking for something multiscale to throw parts at and add ss frets

[@terran236]

my fav production 8 string is still the LTD JR-608.

[@ibanezleftyclub]

Not surprised after seeing issue after issue in the HB groups on FB.

[@tetskysenpai8538]

Finally someone willing to slate a Harley Benton product , Always thought half the channels seemed way too positive about them , Every HB thread out there is filled with horror finish and fret even neck and truss rod stories and yet we get told these are great

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

Every? Really?

[@tetskysenpai8538]

Dainius Vyšniauskas recognise you from Cory Mura's group , Dude you've seen the threads too lol , some people love them sure but there's too many "lemons" in certain lines and it's just really bad QC , They can do better even for 3-350$

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

Yes, I have seen those threads and I remember them well. FanFrets were pretty bad in general when they launched (although it seems that TE-7 launched pretty well), there were a few of horrible Ocean Flame CSTs, the fanfret singlecut bass was pretty bad too. But general consensus on established models is mostly positive, with lemons here and there (I do agree that there are too many lemons and way too many good quality instruments sold off as dekos).

[@tetskysenpai8538]

Dainius Vyšniauskas I want to get one of those new Single cut 7 strings or a TE-7 but it feels like all the negative reviews are in groups and pictures on boards but all the KZbin videos I've seen have been positive , It's just good to see a negative one and have more to go on than the wall of texts and bad quality photos ... Fusion line looks promising but some lines deffinately had a lot of bad batches coming through

[@BloodpactORG]

Dekos are probably just guitars that have come back a second time after being sold as B-stock. Two strikes and you're out kind of thing. Generally from their three factories the one that does all the fanfrets and edgy guitars is really just trash and will probably never put out a decent instrument. If the TE-7 is good then that'll be the first. But it has the same scrapmetal pickups magnetized on Jupiter.

[@gowaitinthetruck7614]

I wanted to try out an 8-string multi scale and was able to pick up one of these in a deko model for $108 usd... the tuners, nut, and pickups are garbage - but everything else was ok. Good and honest review, though.

[@BasBach]

Hey dude there is a Puerto Rican beer made by Old Harbor brewery if you get a chance someday try them out.

[@hedrokka5727]

I ordered one of Thomann's under 200USD 8 strings back in the end of may, they refuse to ship it in a case. It showed up cracked in the headstock and their box hardly had any foam in it. I just received my 3rd guitar/ 2nd replacement from them, and now I have yet another one with a damaged headstock... They have put less around the guitar for protection in every replacements packaging..... frustrating as fuck.

[@Jimbo1268]

Love the candid comments since I'm tired of people gushing over HB. You get what you pay for. As for locking tuners, really has nothing to do with tuning stability, it's all about ease of changing strings. That's a big misconception regarding locking tuners.

[@JamieChorley]

I''ve actually owned two of these and the first was a genuine mess. The nut hovered above what can only be described as a chasm between the fretboard and the headstock. The fretwork was genuinely abysmal. it was literally unplayable. Thomann were incredibly unhelpful and for two days, refused to exchange for a replacement, saying that I should simply order a new one and send the original back for a refund. After, two days and at least 5 phone calls later, they eventually agreed to just exchange it. The replacement was substantially better, but still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the fretwork. I also own the equivalent 7 string model, and it's a similar story. Thomann claim to check over and set up every instrument they sell, and mine even came with inspection tags, but there is absolutely no way it was inspected. Avoid like the plague. If you're weighing one of these up against something like an Ibanez RG8 or a Jackson JS328Q, get anything but the Harley Benton.

[@JohannesRaggam]

Tnx. Helped me deciding against trying this instrument used for 250€.

[@towelcupphone]

Please, do a review of the Blackhart BTK_888. Its a $500 (on sale) made in the U.S. guitar.

[@johnnypedraza9807]

Hey Arnold, question from someone who just got into the 8 string game recently. Will there always be SOME buzz on the 8th string even with a proper set up?

[@TheBonsaiRonin]

Hey man these reviews are awsome! Can you include Amp, fx, daw, tuning of each song in the comments? The more detail the better. Thank you for being so decerning and doing Proper reviews

[@brianburke808]

Just in case no one's mentioned it, a rose acer fretboard. I swapped the pickups & tuners (both were....dogshit) out on a 2017 fanned fret 7 (tosin fluence - [the 2-17 had soapbar routes] & hipshot locking) and am happy with it (after doing some fretwork myself to smooth the edges), but at that point, I'd spent $350 in parts on a $350 guitar. If I were buying a budget fanned 7 today, I would look at the Cort. Thanks for the review Arnold! please keep it up!

[@chrissladdin4187]

Shocking how a fretjob like that was sold as a functional instrument. I bought one of these super cheap off Thomann, listed as a non functional guitar. Yep the frets were the worst I've ever seen. Currently having it refretted stainless by a friend who works at Waghorn, which is worth it in my opinion as I will be paying less overall than a brand new one. Other than that I find this instrument to be pretty neat, I like the neck profile, finish turned out to be flawless, and I can get it to sound good, just with a bit of amp settings tweaking.

[@HavokStrifeX]

This is why you have the best reviews. I don't have any interest in this, or an 8 string in general, but originally I was surprised, because a lot of youtubers were kinda throwing out this idea that this would be comparable to 1,000 dollar-level guitars with a pickup swap. You called out everything wrong with that pile of junk. You keep it real, man. And you drink good beer. What else is there to say?

[@thewest6128]

Hey Arnold, check out this HB (Harley Benton Baritone-7SB DLX Series), it got by far thw better pickups and also my model had not such flows like this 8 string (i also had the 8 string with few flaws).

[@ryan.martin191]

I just rewatched your Schecter Damien Platinum 9 review, could you please do a Schecter Hellraiser C-9 review? Just to see some of the key differences between the two of them. Just an idea

[@Balkoth1337]

Matchless?! Are you in Washington my dude? 🎉

[@bryandowen]

I bought one of these about a year ago (nearly identical, same finish, but all 8 tuners on the bottom side of the head rather than 4 up 4 down, and the pickups are covered). Right off the bat I noticed poor finish (it's rough to the touch), poor fret finish (scratchy, sharp), and oh my god the tuners are horrendous. Two of them were binding so bad I thought they were going to break. (In fairness, Harley Benton sent me replacements quickly, no questions asked.) The last issue I'm narrowing in on is that the pickups ... sound like hot garbage. They're just muddy. Do I spring the money to replace them or just find someone who'll buy the guitar from me? :-\ I thought I'd found a jackpot with cheap Harley Benton guitars. Yeah ... not so much.

[@PONCHEEZED]

Someone called HB a Chapman killer the other day and I laughed, saw this video and laughed harder

[@Mr.Goldbar]

Strandberg is the only Chapman killer in my opinion

[@PONCHEEZED]

Bar Goldstein even then strandbergs can be super pricey and hard to find, I’ve been looking for a Boden 7 Classic for a while

[@bergz77]

love the review nice riff man please keep us up in time to the tuning you are using. and $$ and places to score these guitars,, thanks alot Keep it goin love the vids.

[@lauscho]

Glad you did this, had been thinking of checking these out, but they're not what I'm looking for in a budget ERG.

[@MaelstromTheDemon]

Arnold would you review any of Jackson's JS series 8 strings?

[@zedkent4287]

i ed love to see u try out one of the sub zero 7 string fannedfret, thanks for the review

[@johnmierau5510]

Thanks for the review. All the other Harley Benton reviews are just "it's good for the money", and make it sound like the guitars are a better instrument.

[@Smunch30]

You should do a review of the headless Harley Benton models when they are available 😄

[@matsunaga3]

Talk about disappearing in the mix.. Do you have a mids knob?

[@benambrose8895]

I look at these types of guitars as a great modding platform

[@bwgti]

This one is not...

[@goredrinker2740]

Hey Arnold, would you please do a review on the Jackson Dave Davidson WR7? That looks amazing and i'm planning on getting one in august

[@Dad.................]

About those frets almost bursting through the wood at the sides - it gets worse over time. I've had the 2017 version of this guitar for a bit over a year and by this point, pretty much half of the frets stick out considerably, bulging or even rupturing the wood. I've never seen something like it. Don't know if it's the weird fretboard material or the frets themselves but this is the first time I had an okay-ish guitar become virtually unplayable over time. Very sad as it could have been a nice instrument.

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

Did you oild the fretboard? Roseacer tends to shrink over time.

[@Dad.................]

I think I oiled it a little bit with lemon oil back when I got this guitar, as the fretboard seemed very dry. Didn't help much and it shouldn't be needed anyway. I never oil any of my other guitars and they are doing just fine, vintage or not. But maybe this shrinking roseacer is something we need to get used to, unfortunately, now that rosewood and ebony are becoming rare.

[@daw162]

It's funny how the ground level reviews of these guitars are different than a lot of the other glowing feedback in various videos. If you don't watch a lot of videos, you never know who is involved in selling them (of course their opinion is going to be biased). If you read about the les paul style guitars, you'd get the ideas from some that they're neck and neck with LP standards, and as much as people like to dog on gibson, most LP standards are pretty well finished. Enough aren't to get them a reputation (and that shouldn't be the case), but they are not remotely similar to the $250 chinese guitars as far as problems go.

[@Neroese1]

Unfortunately - chances of receiving bad one are bigger than receiving good one. Basses are kinda fine, but the guitars are roulette. Mine 8 string was fine at first sight, but then I discovered a lot of imperfections, even for that price - saddle was poorly made, with a sign of wrong piling. Also - edges of it cut my hand lol. Some of the frets were damaged, their edges were sharp too. The distances between rows for strings in saddle were to big, so the thickest string was going out of the fretboard. If you have time and money - you can push your cash into, making it decent guitar. But for this price you can get used RG8 or even cheapest 8 string Schecter.

[@Dad.................]

True. I own several Harley Bentons and while the guitars range from awful to mediocre, the one bass I have (a 5 string neck-through with beautiful wood) is absolutely stellar. Guitars not so much though, especially this one. Got the 2017 model and the frets actually got much worse over time. Freaky.

[@kenny.m.olsen95]

So, two years later. Have they been improved upon?

[@shredfreak83]

would you say it's a decent modders guitar? i'm kinda interested if this is on par with a cort instrument. So far cort has been amazing to me in terms of instruments.

[@dallassevison3542]

Hell ya! keep telling like it is! Your opinions matter to us!!

[@mrdrew9577]

Man, thanks for the honest review, I was about to pull the trigger one one of these... PHEW!!!