Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit JA

Jeg har bygget flere forskellige guitarer, 2 af dem er Harley Benton kit.
Kvaliteten er god, delene passer sammen og alle dele er med. Jeg er ikke god til at lodde, så disse "solderless" kit er fine for mig. Lyden fra pick-upperne er god men jeg har et mindre problem med balancen mellem de 2 PU´er, neck PU´en er for kraftig, så jeg prøver at sænke den i forhold til strengene. Jeg har en del guitarer i forvejen så dette er en billig måde at afprøve forskellige guitar typer.

Jeg købte dette som et lille projekt jeg kunne give mig til. Manualen skriver ikke noget om hvilken pickup der høre til i neck og bridge, så jeg gættede og ramte heldigvis rigtig.
Jeg syntes at stemmeskruene sidder meget tæt, lidt mere afstand mellem dem ville have været at fortrække.
Stemmeskruerne er også den del på sættet der er ringest, faktisk så jeg påtænker at skifte dem ud som den første opgradering af guitaren.

I already own a HB 335 model that blew me away with its quality, so when I was next ordering a guitar, I figured I'd try one of these kits for a fun project. I do not regret it one bit, and the result is a very serious guitar.

The body was good and even, with holes all more-or-less aligning. The neck was impressive - neat binding, no rough fret ends, and a comfortable and smooth C profile. The frets just needed a little polish. I set this up with a low action and there is no hint of fret buzz anywhere.

Cutting the headstock to shape is a simple enough job with a coping saw and file, and represents the only real "craftsmanship" required in putting the kit together. I applied a two-tone burst with nitrocellulose lacquer, but this is very much an optional extra. The rengas wood comes filled and sealed and the grain looks nice enough that you could just spray it with a clear topcoat lacquer for a shiny and more durable finish. The electronics bar the pickups all come attached to the pickguard; you just plug the pickups in and there is no soldering to do. The soapbar pickups rather strangely have no brackets to attach them; instead there are holes right through the pickups to screw them down into the wood of the cavity. This isn't a problem, just an unusual design choice.

We all of course know which guitar this is emulating. Aside from the pickup design, the key difference from that guitar is the tune-o-matic bridge here and no trem, but I see that as a strength for its simplicity and tuning stability. The pickups are a little muddy but can be cleaned up with the right amp settings to give very nice clean and blues tones. A clear, singing sustain is evident before even plugging in. I have a couple of Fenders and a Gibson LP and this feels and sounds more like the Gibson. The greatest weakness in the hardware is found in the tuning pegs, which was also true of my other HB guitar - worth the £20 upgrade to some Vansons. The great thing about a kit is of course that you can mod and upgrade it to your heart's desire, so long as the body and neck are good, and they really are in this case.

Overall, I'm impressed and very chuffed. An enjoyable project and a credible, beautiful guitar at the end of it that I would happily gig with. Well done Harley Benton.