# exciting news about a new "pro" line for harley benton



## zarg (Mar 9, 2018)

a german youtuber thats closely associated with harley benton did an interview with one of the most important people at thomann behind their house brand harley benton and they will release a new pro series soon.

they look very nice, the specs are amazing for the price. I probably have to get one!

pro series:
- for now superstrats only (think RG -ish)
- ebony, maple and baked maple boards
- *stainless steel frets*! (medium jumbo)
- *floyd rose 1000* series or wilkinson tremolo
- locking tuners
- spokewheel trc adjustment at the base of the neck
- roswell pickups in HH or HSH configs
- actual maple tops with flamed/quilted veneers
- 5 way with seperate coilsplit switch
- new logo
- possibly flame maple necks (at upcharge)
- *priced at around 400€*

the actual talk about the new series starts about 10:30, but some good footage of the new guitars right at the beginning


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## Bastian93 (Mar 9, 2018)

Allmost sounds too good to be true, spec whise. I never touched a Harley Benton guitar so I cant say anything about the quality of their guitars, but all that I heared wasnt too good.

But those specs on at around 400 are a must try for me.


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## Stilicho (Mar 9, 2018)

Bastian93 said:


> Allmost sounds too good to be true, spec whise. I never touched a Harley Benton guitar so I cant say anything about the quality of their guitars, but all that I heared wasnt too good.
> 
> But those specs on at around 400 are a must try for me.


They are extremely bad guitars, got my brother one a few years ago when he wanted to try out guitar. However, I'll definitely pick up one of these pro models if they make a left-handed model.


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## Omzig (Mar 9, 2018)

I have a HB Paradise Flame prs'ish i picked up for £130 and with a good setup and fret level polish its as good as any guitar ive played upto £500,and as good as any PRS SE ive owned 

If they do these as HH with a HS layout (S sized rail H in the neck) i'll dropped for one of these for sure


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## lewis (Mar 9, 2018)

Stilicho said:


> *They are extremely bad guitars*, got my brother one a few years ago when he wanted to try out guitar. However, I'll definitely pick up one of these pro models if they make a left-handed model.


not anymore they are not. They are actually extremely well build guitars for the money.

I own 2 currently and both are my main axes for my band until I get my headless build sorted.


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## Stilicho (Mar 9, 2018)

lewis said:


> not anymore they are not. They are actually extremely well build guitars for the money.
> 
> I own 2 currently and both are my main axes for my band until I get my headless build sorted.


Really? Well I'm glad to hear it. I got the one for my brother a few years ago so they must have improved a lot. 

I'm very surprised that they are good enough for your main rig though. Might look into picking up a new model to give them a go.


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## lewis (Mar 9, 2018)

Stilicho said:


> Really? Well I'm glad to hear it. I got the one for my brother a few years ago so they must have improved a lot.
> 
> I'm very surprised that they are good enough for your main rig though. Might look into picking up a new model to give them a go.



defo 

for example, look how great these 2018 6 string fan frets look


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## Stilicho (Mar 9, 2018)

lewis said:


> defo
> 
> for example, look how great these 2018 6 string fan frets look



Nice. How are the electronics set up? Do you have any buzzing from the guitar when your hand is away from the strings for example?


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## lewis (Mar 9, 2018)

Stilicho said:


> Nice. How are the electronics set up? Do you have any buzzing from the guitar when your hand is away from the strings for example?


no i didnt have any issues like that. I just didnt dig the pickups tone.
But yeah they worked ok.


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## Stilicho (Mar 9, 2018)

lewis said:


> no i didnt have any issues like that. I just didnt dig the pickups tone.
> But yeah they worked ok.


>tfw no left-handed models on Thomann :'(


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## manu80 (Mar 9, 2018)

the fan fret should arrive home this week, from what i've seen on the review on yoube they seem very good for the money. I had a 8 string for them too, pretty good.
So they're going the trendy Suhr/Ibanez AZ way ? sigh....The first one with the last one's neck would be cool though.... So they're Indo, as the lower line is Viet Nam made (the fan fret comes from there, new factory apparently)


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## Andromalia (Mar 9, 2018)

I bought a HB semi hollow like 10 years ago, pickups sounded good and everything else was the worst I've ever played. The guitar had no truss rod, true story. It was a long time ago, and Thomann being Thomann I'd trust them to become better over time. At 400€ with these specs they can be a serious contender.


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 9, 2018)

The price point is very interesting. At the least, it provides a lot of competition for other builders to keep their own prices down. Frankly, selling Indonesian-made guitars for £1000 is still outrageous. Other manufacturers are adding huge markups for features which don't actually cost that much, such as stainless steel frets, locking tuners etc. Wood isn't expensive. Pickups aren't either - just magnets and wire. They're adding a lot of markup for the brand name. (And of course, as you pay more, you *should* be getting better QC, more time spent per guitar etc. Raw materials aren't everything).

So good on HB for shamelessly undercutting everybody, paying every single Youtuber to promote the hell out of these things. It must be scaring a lot of companies like Schecter who are operating mostly in that mid-range market. What HB is offering is basically a KM6 at less than half the price. Even LTD, PRS SE etc must be feeling the heat.

Personally, I could see myself getting an HB for some sort of "unusual" guitar that I wouldn't normally invest serious money in - such as an 8 string, or a multi-scale, or a headless.


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## diagrammatiks (Mar 9, 2018)

I mean they are basically agile and agile has had specs like these forever


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 10, 2018)

diagrammatiks said:


> I mean they are basically agile and agile has had specs like these forever



Difference is, Harley Benton has one of the largest retailers in the world (Thomann) backing them, as well as the most popular YouTubers on their payroll to put out constant ads on their behalf. That's why you are seeing them absolutely everywhere online, and almost never see Agile anywhere.


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## TheUnknownOne (Mar 10, 2018)

Flappydoodle said:


> Difference is, Harley Benton has one of the largest retailers in the world (Thomann) backing them, as well as the most popular YouTubers on their payroll to put out constant ads on their behalf. That's why you are seeing them absolutely everywhere online, and almost never see Agile anywhere.



Plus keep in mind that Agile are very hard to get in Europe, where Thomann gets the biggest part of the market


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## laxu (Mar 10, 2018)

For that cost I would imagine most of the money went to the top and bridge. In that price bracket I'd rather see guitars that have a nice color solid finish with most of the attention on a playable neck and half-decent pickups.


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## zarg (Mar 10, 2018)

laxu said:


> For that cost I would imagine most of the money went to the top and bridge. In that price bracket I'd rather see guitars that have a nice color solid finish with most of the attention on a playable neck and half-decent pickups.



It's just a veneer over real, plain, maple. I really want to give them a shot, I had a bunch of harley bentons to try out during the last year and they were really good guitars. I could swap pickups and they can compete with A brand guitars for almost twice as much money. He mentioned in the interview that thomann buys directly from the factory (sort of like chapman, with no middleman or distributor) and they work with very low margins on the guitars.


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## luislais (Mar 10, 2018)

The FanFret looks awesome! I think it's a good strategy by Thomann


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## Stilicho (Mar 10, 2018)

zarg said:


> It's just a veneer over real, plain, maple. I really want to give them a shot, I had a bunch of harley bentons to try out during the last year and they were really good guitars. I could swap pickups and they can compete with A brand guitars for almost twice as much money. He mentioned in the interview that thomann buys directly from the factory (sort of like chapman, with no middleman or distributor) and they work with very low margins on the guitars.


Goddamn, now I really hope they release a lefty model.


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## Zhysick (Mar 10, 2018)

I'm very very happy with my HB FanFret 7... really hoping to buy more HBs in the future... a strat, a LP and yesssss now a "Suhr" also LOL


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## Andromalia (Mar 13, 2018)

It helps that Thomann still has a stellar reputation after growing BIG. I don't remember having anything bad to say about them, and I spent a bit of money there. So it helps in avoiding a "those youtuber are trying to fool me" feeling.
The brand from the other big german shop, Fame, is also pretty good evn if they are blatant PRS ripoffs.


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## lewis (Mar 13, 2018)

im yet to have anything bad from the Harley Benton range, post 2010.

Even the "Bstock" fan fret 6 thats in my profile pic Im currently modifying, had less blemishes when it arrived than it does now thanks to me learning how to do certain mods on it, and just wear and tear etc.


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## Omzig (Mar 13, 2018)

Humm seems these's are made by another company called Swing Guitars from Korea....
















http://swingguitars.com/xe/index.php?mid=electric_guitars_e&category=60480&document_srl=104481

http://swingguitars.com/xe/index.php?mid=electric_guitars_e&category=60480&document_srl=104481


Spec's have been upgraded a little with SS fret Ebony boards/rosted necks but body shape/headstock/colors are pretty much all the same (even the font looks the same)....Hummm


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## manu80 (Mar 13, 2018)

I received my fan fret tonight. Viet nam made , 250 euros. Just crazy for the money, really. I'm really stoked they can do this at this price. Clean build, fretjob is very good, finish is perfect, like the edge of the pickups is really smooth, same as the knob cavity. So those one at 400 from Korea ? that's gonna be huge...


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## Exit Existence (Mar 14, 2018)

One thing I found that was very interesting in the video was when the guy from Harley Benton mentioned that they had issues with the factories supplying them with fake/counterfeit Wilkinson pickups hahahahahaah .... Gotta love the Chinesee guitar market shenanigans


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## zarg (Mar 18, 2018)

theres just been a new video! looks like they will arrive this summer, june or july


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## InCasinoOut (Mar 18, 2018)

Dang, that looks quite nice. I thought Harley Benton guitars looked like "an Agile copy of an Agile", as someone here said before, but this looks damn good.


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## Masoo2 (Mar 18, 2018)

manu80 said:


> So they're going the trendy Suhr/Ibanez AZ way ? sigh....



Considering the Premium AZs have literally been the first sub-$2000 guitar that I can find in that style that's readily available in most markets (so not including the Schecter Japan offerings or used Rasmus), it's really not a bad thing that Harley Benton is hopping on this wave. What I just don't understand is why it's taken this long for a Suhr/Tom Anderson/fusion style production guitar to come out after the first failed Rasmus wave. It's such an in-demand and trendy style yet the market is completely void of mid-tier and low-tier offerings.


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## zarg (Mar 20, 2018)

Another video showing prototypes.... if those make it to the store, damn. I see a singlecut 7 string with fanned frets and a 7 string tele style with fanned frets!!



Time:* 3m 50s*


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## Leuka (Mar 20, 2018)

the fan fret prototypes look cool and all, but what's that headless travel-size looking bass in the background at 3:50


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## Omzig (Mar 20, 2018)

Leuka said:


> the fan fret prototypes look cool and all, but what's that headless travel-size looking bass in the background at 3:50



That looks like a copy of a Wing Bass https://www.wingbass.com/ 

Very cool if there going to start knocking them out cheap,though i hope they are paying subs to use the design.


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## zarg (Apr 6, 2018)

New video on the fanfret 7 singlecut proto:


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## diagrammatiks (Apr 6, 2018)

I can feel my eyes bleeding looking at that fan.


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## Zhysick (Apr 6, 2018)

I have to admit that I really want to try a fan like that. Lately I am not feeling very happy with the 7th fret being the parallel fret as it makes the fan very dramatic for the lead work on the upper register and I don't have any problems with big stretches in the first frets for rhythm work so a parallel fret on the 12th fret or more could be good for me... ergonomics can depend on each one, no? Colour me interested in this particular model.


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## Carl Kolchak (Apr 6, 2018)

@21:18

Seems like this guy had a horrible experience w/ his HB and Thomann, although he doesn't elaborate.


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## Fathand (Apr 8, 2018)

I have a hunch that Fusion Pro will sell like hot cakes, if it really is priced around 400€. I know I'll get one for sure.


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## Allealex (Jun 1, 2018)

Is there any news on these ones?


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## Triple-J (Jun 5, 2018)

Just checked Thomann and both the fanned fret Tele & Singlecut 7 string are on the website priced at around £260 I'm hoping for better pictures but they look good so far.


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## Spicypickles (Jun 8, 2018)

The bottom Tele looks ok with the FF. I feel like most Tele shapes do, but that top one looks like it has downs.


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## zarg (Jun 9, 2018)

The new guitars are available!!! I can't read anything about the SS frets in the specs though - but Cory Mura said they are (he's pretty close with thomann and HB). There's also a cheaper "Dynamic" line, those are said to have SS frets too! holy! They will be delivered mid July.

Cool color choices, nice maple boards...

https://www.thomann.de/gb/st_models.html?filter=true&manufacturer[0]=Harley Benton&oa=prd&price-first=0


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## Zhysick (Jun 9, 2018)

Those prices... the Aqua, Charcoal and Emerald finishes look really really good. Actually thinking if I can justify buying another guitar... wilkinson aqua maple maybe...


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## Andromalia (Jun 10, 2018)

Prices are nuts. That said, the tech data doesn't explicitly say SS frets.
Tempted by one of the Wilkinson models tbh. That amber one looks pretty good


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## jarnozz (Jun 11, 2018)

Those are really good looking instruments! The aqua blue with a wilkinson and maple board is very tempting


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 11, 2018)

hmm_emoji.jpg


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## Dame Ningen (Jun 12, 2018)

I'm thinking of picking one of those up as my first "not garbage" guitar. I wonder tho if they're gonna hold the tuning decently, a friend of mine had an Ibanez with a floyd-type tremolo and it wasn't very playable, it would lose tuning very fast. Kinda scared me off from that type of bridge especially on cheaper guitars.


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## I play music (Jun 12, 2018)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> hmm_emoji.jpg


Almost like a Charvel Guthrie Govan for 1/10 of the price 
Hope it's true that they have stainless steel frets


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## Andromalia (Jun 15, 2018)

Best way to know: I shot them an email. We'll see what answer I get (If I get one)


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## Andromalia (Jun 15, 2018)

dat double post T_T


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## possumkiller (Jun 15, 2018)

ToM on a multiscale 7 is pretty cool.


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## Andromalia (Jun 17, 2018)

Didn't get an email answer, but Thomann pages in German show stainless steel frets, so Im going to order this one:
https://www.thomann.de/fr/harley_benton_dynamic_hsh_fmt_amber.htm

Pickguard will make for easier mods down the line, that will be my poor man's Tom Anderson lookalike. If these make great mod platforms they'll make a killing, I mean, 250€.

Edit: they translated the EN pages, "24 medium jumbo Stainless Steel frets" we're good.


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## Nlelith (Jun 17, 2018)

I'm kind of interested in FR model. Main differences to Swing Modern these are based on are:

mahogany body instead of alder;
ebony instead of rosewood fretboards on some models (CITES, duh);
SS frets;
12" FB radius instead of 16";
different pickups (maybe just renamed);
FR 1000 series instead of Original;
5-way selector instead of 3-way (not sure if it makes sense with separate humb/single coil switch);
WSC locking tuners instead of Grover

Some of these changes are downgrades, some are upgrades & others are preference thing... still, looks quite interesting. I fancy this model.


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## I play music (Jun 17, 2018)

Nlelith said:


> I'm kind of interested in FR model. Main differences to Swing Modern these are based on are:
> 
> mahogany body instead of alder;
> ebony instead of rosewood fretboards on some models (CITES, duh);
> ...


Where are those Swing guitars sold? I've never seen them before. 
The model you fancy is also my favourite I think, or maybe the Wilkinson version, don't know since I have never tried that Whammy ;-)


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## Nlelith (Jun 17, 2018)

I play music said:


> Where are those Swing guitars sold?


This particular model? No idea. I saw one or two other models on ebay, though. But that's what Thomann seems to do with Harley Benton brand: they find manufacturers almost nobody knows about, but who can provide pretty decent bang-for-the-buck gear, and then sell it under their own brand.


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## I play music (Jun 17, 2018)

Nlelith said:


> This particular model? No idea. I saw one or two other models on ebay, though. But that's what Thomann seems to do with Harley Benton brand: they find manufacturers almost nobody knows about, but who can provide pretty decent bang-for-the-buck gear, and then sell it under their own brand.


https://www.ebay.de/itm/Swing-Moder...Top-HSH-Electric-Guitar-Charcoal/272686016487 
Ok, so apparently they cost way more with the Swing name with in my opinion worse spec. Like the Swing with the features and price is not very interesting for me, whereas the Thomann one is.


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## Andromalia (Jun 17, 2018)

Thomann likely has the financial backbone to order huger numbers that very few brands can afford save the Squiers and Ibanez. They can also likely afford to make less money per guitar as a consequence. Wouldn't be surprised if the run numbered in the thousands.


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## I play music (Jun 17, 2018)

Andromalia said:


> Thomann likely has the financial backbone to order huger numbers that very few brands can afford save the Squiers and Ibanez. They can also likely afford to make less money per guitar as a consequence. Wouldn't be surprised if the run numbered in the thousands.


Yeah and with Harley Benton only Thomann and the producing factory have to earn money. With Ibanez it's the factory, Ibanez, Ibanez distributor and store so double the amount of parties wanting to earn something. Probably similar with Squier.


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## sylcfh (Jun 18, 2018)

Please make a tele with that headstock and specs...


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## Zhysick (Jun 18, 2018)

sylcfh said:


> Please make a tele with that headstock and specs...



Including the Wilkinson trem and 24 frets...


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## Lukhas (Jul 15, 2018)

They're available as of now on Thomann's website. Who wants to be an early adopter?


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## Richter (Jul 15, 2018)

I might pull the trigger, don't have any room left for a sixth guitar on my stand though. Is there an interest in waiting for the first batch to end before buying an Harley Benton?


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## manu80 (Jul 15, 2018)

Always afraid they change te specs on later batch... ( chapman did that with pickups iirc )


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## Omzig (Jul 19, 2018)

If anyone's looking for some hands on feedback on these there's a NGD posted over at the fretboard for the HB GG type baked maple fusion pro

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/135928/almost-ngd-harley-benton-fusion-pro-series-hsh


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## Nlelith (Jul 20, 2018)

Huh, so these are actually made in Indonesia, not Korea. Still, judging from those photos & feedback, there seems to be no glaring issues. Glad to hear the frets are done properly. One more thing about these guitars I didn't initially catch: the backside is red-ish natural mahogany, so those light colored+maple fretboard models might have rather clashing look from the side. Bengal & Charcoal would look great from either side, though.


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## Richter (Jul 20, 2018)

I think just the GG style with the baked maple neck is redish, other models have black backs.


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## Lukhas (Jul 20, 2018)

Omzig said:


> If anyone's looking for some hands on feedback on these there's a NGD posted over at the fretboard for the HB GG type baked maple fusion pro
> 
> http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/135928/almost-ngd-harley-benton-fusion-pro-series-hsh


Hello SSO.







In the end I couldn't help myself.  I'll tell you how much of a stinker it is when I start playing it.


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## Lukhas (Jul 20, 2018)

Too late to edit, so jump aboard!
https://sevenstring.org/threads/ngd-harley-benton-fusion-hh-fr-mn-aqua-pro-series.330934/


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## Boojakki (Jul 26, 2018)

First look from HP42


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