"Really"?

[Mutha]

Month or so ago I bought a Harley Benton TE-70  Black Paisley tele for €169/$183 because I`ve never played one.

Unboxed, quick look, stuck it in a corner. 

Last week gave it a setup and brought it to the jam. I rotate my guitars twice a week every week, no one passes comment, they`re used to it.

Not only was I told how great the guitar looked but that I`d played great.

Eh? 

[Rabs]

Well its what we always say.. Every guitar is unique in its own way..  Price has nothing to do with playability..

I once bought a Squire Strat for £30 from a car boot sale.. Was one of the only Fender shaped things I ever really got on with.. I gave it to my nephew as a birthday gift so dont have it any more but it does go to show..

The Harley Bentons do indeed look the part but from what I hear to really get the best out of them you gotta change the pickups and electronics which are cheap.

And its a good thing for the player.. More choice on the market than ever before.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Rabs

[jaxson50]

Ya's buy's  ya's ticket 

Ya take a ride. 

[merciful-evans]

I may have to get one if they make you play better too.

[jdgm]

I had a quick go on someone's new Harley Benton 35 today.  It's a 335 style guitar and it was absolutely amazing, at least as good as an Ibanez (which it strongly reminded me of).

Set neck, 2 push-pulls......and they're £205 from Thomann!!  Unbelievable.

https://harleybenton.com/product/hb-35plus-ld/

Edited April 11, 2022 by jdgm

[kidblast]

I know Right!!!!!!!

My best friend and forever band mate has been a player of low budget guitars for just about all the time I've  known him.  (we first met in a band in 1979)

In these years, he's put more than a few amazing guitars of his in my hands to play.

 

He's got a HB thin line semi hollow right now that is definitely punching way above the sub $200 be bought it for

sometimes,, -- go figure...

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by kidblast

[jaxson50]

To many it's hard to get past the stigma of playing a cheap guitar.  I have a problem with anything coming out of China,  that being said I  know there are some good guitars made in China,  Malaysia and other places. I own Korean and Mexican made guitars, and one Canadian built guitar so it's not a xenophobia thing. 

[kidblast]

1 minute ago, jaxson50 said:

To many it's hard to get past the stigma of playing a cheap guitar.  I have a problem with anything coming out of China,  that being said I  know there are some good guitars made in China,  Malaysia and other places. I own Korean and Mexican made guitars, and one Canadian built guitar so it's not a xenophobia thing. 

There are  differences, some not so subtle.  hard ware and pickups are usually the weak links.  the imports are upping the game but they still don't measure up really.  The build quality is usually surprising, considering some of the horror shows we see from some USA products. 

But it's also a fact that the chrome/gold patting will start to patina out much sooner than a USA build will but that's a cosmetic. 

 

When you think about a 15 year old kid, looking for something to play..,,  We  never had anything like that stuff.   In the late 60s/early 70s, you were learning on an actual piece of crap with strings on it.

 

 

 

[jdgm]

3 hours ago, kidblast said:

.......We  never had anything like that stuff.   In the late 60s/early 70s, you were learning on an actual piece of crap with strings on it.

This is it.   So true.

It would have been totally mindblowing to have a guitar near as good (and as cheap) as the H-B 35 I played today, back in my youth...what would today's £205 have been 40 years ago?  I think about £30, which is what I paid for my 1st decent guitar, a Yamaha FG-180 acoustic in.....'75?  

That was a good week's wages for me in the '70s!

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jdgm

[jaxson50]

I would agree, we are truly in a great era for inexpensive guitars,  the Mexican made Fenders and Martin's are as good as some players will ever need, and Japan is building some of the best on the market.

 

[merciful-evans]

12 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

To many it's hard to get past the stigma of playing a cheap guitar.  I have a problem with anything coming out of China,  that being said I  know there are some good guitars made in China,  Malaysia and other places. I own Korean and Mexican made guitars, and one Canadian built guitar so it's not a xenophobia thing. 

I have a couple of Korean guitars that came fine 'as is'. The two Chinese ones needed replacement electrics parts and wiring (not including pickups). The cheapness of switches, output jacks etc. let down what would otherwise be excellent instruments.

[kidblast]

2 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

I have a couple of Korean guitars that came fine 'as is'. The two Chinese ones needed replacement electrics parts and wiring (not including pickups). The cheapness of switches, output jacks etc. let down what would otherwise be excellent instruments.

yep.. truth

I have a MIK Gretsch that'd go up against anything on the market in 2x the price range. ($1k)

Also an MIC Sehraton PRO II that needed nothing other than a few frets leveled when I first got it  and some deoxit on the toggle switch about a year or so back when it got a little wonky

Pro Bucker pickups are not bad at all.  My First sheraton was a late 90s build,,the hardware and pickups were no match for what is being put on them today.

 

[Murph]

I don't know.

When I was young, I always looked forward to getting a quality guitar that played better.

Maybe these new kids don't get that.

Does it ruin something?

[NighthawkChris]

No one should spend Gibson money to get a great playing guitar. Good pickups can rescue any functional guitar. All a guitar is really is wires and wood with various pieces of hardware. It’s like a Ford escort vs a Cadillac. Both drive 70 on the highway, but there’s a luxury in the Cadillac. Applies to Gibson vs other guitar maker. 

[kidblast]

1 hour ago, Murph said:

I don't know.

When I was young, I always looked forward to getting a quality guitar that played better.

Maybe these new kids don't get that.

Does it ruin something?

good point,  may just be something to that.  B/c I remember the first time I played my Tele instead of the Sears Roebuck thing I was trying to play.  It was "WOW!" and I played three times more than I had ever played before,.

and just my 2cents Murph..

The commit to time required / attention span with kids is slim these days.  Video games, social media apps,  anything that keeps their noses buried in their smart phone or stuck behind a key board are the biggest challenges to kids committing the time to practice and playing.   

How would that all work if they were playing trainwrecks like we had to learn on?  I think it wouldn't. 

We may have had crappy guitars, but we had great music we were learning to play, so one washed the other.  That's how it worked  for me.

That doesn't exist these days either,  the music most of the kids listen to is one or two blinks away from total sh!t unless they know what they are looking for  and thankfully, some do..

Edited April 12, 2022 by kidblast

[jaxson50]

4 hours ago, Murph said:

I don't know.

When I was young, I always looked forward to getting a quality guitar that played better.

Maybe these new kids don't get that.

Does it ruin something?

We are of the same vintage (era, age ) I bought a 1964 Martin 00-18 brand new for $250.00, 

And that was a lot of dough back then,  my friends were buying Silvetones, Danelectro's,  Harmony's,  Tiesco' s but to own a Gibson LP , or any ES, or a Strat or Tele was pure nirvana,. Living in So. Cal, surf music was the big thing, so Fender and Mosrite were in big demand, there were no Chinese anything available,  Japanese guitars were or questionable quality.

Oddly, as I recall, you seldom saw any Gretch guitars, that was probably a So. Cal cultural thing, Rickenbacher's became a lot more popular after The Fab Four hit the scene. 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by jaxson50

[merciful-evans]

Re: Pickups.

One of those MIC guitars (Hagstrom) I replaced the whole electric loom except pickups because I thought they sounded great. I even tried to source some more. 

But everyone else I found that bought these replaced the pickups and disposed of their originals. Hagstrom based these PUs on 57 Classics. I know this because they called their ones 58 Classics.

Later, I got my Les Paul. Its equipped with 57 Classics. It sounds great, but the Hagstrom sounds (to my ears) more like a Les Paul than the Les Paul does.

 

Phil McKnight told a similar story about his made in Korea PRS SE Custom 24 (22?). He changed out the PUs for something expensive. It spoiled the sound for him and he changed them back again. I have the same guitar myself. When I played the Core version of this guitar in a store, I realised I liked the SE sound more than the Core guitar. 

I have no choice but to trust my ears. I have nothing else to go on.