Reviewed by:
andrewpledger, on january 16, 2008
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 193.98
Purchased from: Thomann.de
Features: This guitar is made by a company called Harley Benton Who are the "own brand" for the guitars made by the German music shop Thomann. I am not when or where this guitar was made but it seems like it was made around 2004. It has jumbo frets, maple neck with a rosewood fret board and 24 frets. The neck scale is 65cm with a 44mm saddle width. It has a basswood body with a transparent red quilted maple top. The body shape is a double cutaway with an arched top and slightly arched back, the cutaways are also slightly bevelled on the top. It has a Floyd Rose licensed tremolo with a locking nut on the neck. It has 2 humbuckers with a 3-way selector plus 1 volume and 1 tone knobs. It also came with a guitar lead but I would prefer to use the one I already have (one with the springs on the cable near the jack). // 9
Sound: I mostly play metal and classic rock and this guitar seems able to produce any sounds I require (although this can take some time). I am playing it with the Harley Benton amp that came with the set (HB20G) and no effects in between. The guitar can be quite noisy if the gain is too high but that can be fixed is you turn OD off and use the tone knob. It has quite a bright sound but it lacks depth but I am sure it’s the amp. The Floyd Rose is very versatile and can create a variety of sounds although the strings that come with it won't stand up to aggressive use. By combining the 3-way selector and tone you can create lots of different sounds without any effects. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: Straight out of the box the action was a little high but that’s more my personal preference. Other then that I didn't have to make any adjustments to the pickups or the bridge. The seems to be a few minor flaws in the finish of the wood but nothing to lose sleep over as I only saw them after close inspection. The only other flaw was that I had to give the base screw for the whammy bar because it kept coming loose but that was due to frequent use of the whammy bar( about every 5 seconds). // 7
Reliability & Durability: I haven’t had this guitar long but I think it will last for quite a long time and even if it doesn’t Thomann provided an excellent 3 year no questions asked warranty! I don't really play gigs but I am in a Rush/Maiden/Floyd jam band. If I was to play a gig I would probably take a backup just in case but I think it would manage fine on its own. Please note my rating is taking the warranty into account. // 9
Impression: I think this guitar is the perfect match for me as well as the styles of music that play. I have been playing for 1 year now but this is my first guitar. I have had this guitar for a few weeks now and if it was lost or stolen I would definitely buy the same one again. I like pretty much everything about this guitar including the colour, although more colour options would be better. This guitar would perfectly suit a beginner Who is into aggressive whammy use and fast guitar shredding but if their price range is much higher then buy an Ibanez S series. // 8
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