Hey guys, just thought I could share alittle on my personal experience with HBs perhaps it will help some of you good people over here. Afterall, I have been receiving lots of good advice from yall. Time to give back lol.
I personally own 3 harley bentons:
Harley Benton Fusion-II HSH Roasted FBB
Harley Benton CST-24 BK
Harley Benton TE-70 Black Paisley
To be honest with you. I was very skeptical buying my first guitar of the brand. This is coming from someone who has just purchase a pricey Strandberg Prog (SB lol) only a year ago. I gave a buddy's cheapass harley benton which was barely US$100 bucks a try, and thought "shit... the neck and feel seems pretty legit". Of course, discount the pickups and tuners.....we all know what to expect from such a deal.
I decided to give it a shot with my first Fusion-II which is apparently the top of the line in their offering. It turns out very very nice..... awesome look...great neck. Even the stock Roswell pickups are seriously playable.....but of course knowing us, guitarists., they will have to be changed in time to come haha. For this guitar, there is seriously nothing to complain about.
I went on to the next CST-24 BK which is pretty much a PRS replica. It was way cheaper than the first... cost abt US$185. Damn the neck was so playable to me. It ended up been my main guitar these days. Only thing I could complain is that the tuners arent so precise. I actually did some DIY work to the guitar...cosmetic wise. If anyone of you in interested, I could see if I can post a pic or two.
The last was the Black Paisley Telecaster which was an impulse purchase I have to confess. I have never tried a tele before and it was so cheap like a $100 bucks.. I thought what the hell. I have never played a pricey tele before... so I can't comment much abt this one. But it does look really nice...and have a good twang to the tone. In terms of build, I dont think its as good as the other 2 but still, it is pretty decent.
It was through these purchases that I questioned myself if my $2.5k Strandberg was 10 times better than the harley benton CST24. I tested all of them together. The answer to me was clearly a no. And so, I sold the strandberg.......and guess what guys, with the funds... i went for an Axe Fx III to join you here
Hope this helps some of you guys.
Btw, Im throwing in some new pickups into the harley bentons this weekend. Lets see how they sound through Axe III.