Harley Benton Fusion-T HH HT EB BK

My 3rd Harley Benton, a bit more expensive than previous ones and a bit disapointed. Proof that more money doesn't necessary means better.
Body: Really nice processed. No faults at all. Beautifull.
Bridge: Looks ok and doing the job.
Pickups: Bridge PU is perfect while neck is a bit darker.(setup: Marshall JVM with 4x12 Greenbacks 25 - 2005. model). Do consider that sound is subjective.
Elektronics: Volume pot is fine while tone pot with split coil function is not. It feels almost like on/off switch, no smooth gradation and rotating is way, way too easy. Definetly need to be change.
Neck & fretboard: Neck is really nice. Smooth silky feel. It feels a bit fatter (or maybe is just wider) than neck on my Gibson SG 2008. It's a bit thinner than neck on Harley Bentons SC Special and a bit bigger than Fender's standard C shape. Frets are perfect. Great size. Fret leveling were done perfectly. Perfect edges. Fretboard was really dirty so prepare wipes and time for cleaning.
Nut: Almost perfectly cut. Great job on that too.
Tuning machines: Great. They do hold tuning. Did 10 minutes of Gilmour's bends and they kept strings in tune.

!! Now the issues !!
Why I gave 3 stars on quality?......Bridge is angled and that causes problem to achieve intonation on 6th string. I screwed saddle to bridge root and still didn't get perfect intonation. It would probably need to shorten the spring so I can get perfect intonation. On the other hand, 1st string saddle is at max distance from the bridge root and I need to find longer spring that will help keep saddle at place when I set perfect intonation. After further exam I noticed that bridge is aligned with the holes on the body (wich it should) but the holes itself are drilled at the angle. And if that angle is like on Gibson's tune'o matic bridge that would be no problem, but this is opposite. First string hole is further from the neck while 6th is closer.
The second issue is with 1st string saddle. I flush it with the bridge and I still don't have string height that I want. I am not sure if that problem is caused by bridge aligment mentioned above or neck pocket on guitar is cut too deep. Still waiting reply from Thomman support team regarding these issues.
Saying all this I still decided to keep the guitar since I like to solve certain problems by myself. Beside that, I bought this guitar for my 50th brithday so didn't want to bother with return and wait for a month or so for replacement. (Child in me is unpatient).

Now regarding dark neck pickup.
I solder .027uf capacitor on hot wire that goes from neck pickup to switch. (didnt have lower nearby but I will probably go .022 or even lower). That solved problem with dark neck pickup comparing to bridge one. So you really don't need to waste money on new pickup. Roswell doing a good job. Side effect of this change is when you split neck pickup you will get brighter sound. I do not care about that, ' cause, there is a tone pot on guitar, remember? :)

Oh, guitar is a bit neck heavey so prepare good leather strap to overcome that. Weight is 3.3 kg.

Would I buy HB again?....Yes. I saw and played much expensive instruments that also have issues needed to be fixed.

Rock on!

I dithered and deliberated over buying this guitar. 300 euros is well below the price of name brand guitar, but it marks the upper range of harley bentons. I read the other reviews here , some were effusive, some disappointed, I was one of the unlucky ones it seems

I have 6 other Harley Benton electric guitars. All of them save one had better QC than this one. All of them are cheaper.

So the good
Smooth neck
Locking tuners
Steel frets
Good fretwork, no sharp or pokey frets

The bad:
Cosmetics- marks and minor dings which were not terrible but should not be there on a brand new guitar.

Control knobs were funky, no other word for it. No sign of carton damage so I guess it was inspected and passed like this. One knob sticks, gets very stiff half way through revolution. The other turns freely with no resistance whatsoever.

Whoever inspected this guitar was having an off day. It sat in Thomann's quality control for a week before despatch. I don't know what they were doing with it, but not inspecting it properly it seems.

For comparison I bought one of the new Harley Benton ST62 models a few months back, aside from the obvious lower cost fittings that guitar was flawless at half the price of the one.

So it goes back and the pain is it will take 10 days minimum to get back to Thomann and by the time I can order a replacement (not this model) 25 days will have passed.

Please Thomann up your game with QC, your customer service is good, but your QC is very hit and miss. I have been lucky and unlucky

An amazing feature set for a twin humbucker electric guitar at this price.

Pros: the features are amazing - ebony fingerboard, stainless steel frets, Tusq nut & locking tuners

Cons: slightly neck heavy, and may need either a pro setup on arrival or at least somebody who is competent with tools and basic guitar setup

Summary: for me, a great buy. But based on what I received, I'd suggest you need to either factor in extra cost for a basic setup by a pro, or the time to do this yourself, if you are competent in basic setup. For a guitar that has been shipped internationally and at this price, you can't really expect it to be perfect out of the box, and it is always handy to be able to do your own adjustments, so worth acquiring some basic skills. Recommended!