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£100 Jazzmaster

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 10:03 am
by ekwatts
Not sure if this has been posted yet, but...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ ... _serie.htm

lol what

That's dreadfully cheap.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 10:56 am
by Aiden
has anyone got any experience with Harley Benton stuff in general? Are they total shit?

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 10:58 am
by George
HB pedal owner - its great

the ac30 sansamp clone

i also have a 212 cab waiting for me to pick up this afternoon

good kit, don't know about guitars specifically. probably some good some bad

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:03 am
by Aiden
I've been eyeing up their strat copies. And this JM now.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:06 am
by George
i'd have a punt at a mustang maybe

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:13 am
by BearBoy
I've got a couple of their pedals (the American and AC Tone Tech21 clones). They're the same as the Joyo ones of the same name - just different branding. Happy with both. No experience of any of the other Harley Benton branded stuff though. I think it's a brand Thomann slap on things so the quality could be variable.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:14 am
by Aiden
George wrote:i'd have a punt at a mustang maybe
As in a Sunn Mustang? One of my bezzies uses one of them and has for years. Good shout. Will investigate ebay.


But still - Harley Benton guitar experiences anyone?

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 11:30 am
by NickS

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 12:21 pm
by spirograph
bought my lady the 5string active bass a few years ago. setup was terrible, but then i suspect its harder to make a cheap 5string bass play good than a guitar.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 1:35 pm
by ekwatts
I think the vast majority of it is Chinese-sourced with the HB name slapped on it. They can offer it cheaper than other names who offer the exact same equipment because they can buy it in such obscene quantities.

So the quality could be somewhat variable, but I have found it difficult to find a cheap guitar that actually plays all that badly over the last few years. That said, I'm going to bet you'll see and feel a fair bit of the £100-£150 difference between this and a Squier Jag/Jazzy, though.

Except for those Wilkinson P90s. That's surprising.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 2:10 pm
by robert(original)
What is that in U.S. currency? it looks decent enough, and in reality, no matter how shoddy a fret job is, or a factory setup is, it can be sorted out in less than 1 hour by a decent tech. the guard looks like shit, and it kinda sucks that its just blocks and no binding, but its still pretty cool looking.

EDIT* thats about 158.29 in USD. not too bad i suppose. i would like to hear some decent reviews of this beast. it would be worth picking up and modding with a new guard IMO.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 2:20 pm
by Noirie.
I'm totally gonna get one and I don't care if it's shit.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 3:37 pm
by Bacchus
This going to sound stupid, but I like the way it looks a wee bit fake, but wish it'd look a wee bit faker. Like, not quite serviceman fake, but random '60s surf guitar fake.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 3:57 pm
by Dillon
From the look of it I would almost bet money that it's from the same factory as the Xaviere / GFS models.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/XV-JT40-Off ... _1294.html#

But the HB one actually looks better to me...the shape of the trem and the bridge looks more accurate, and it's got name-brand pickups.

Also, speaking of frets, for what it's worth, the frets on my Xaviere JM were (and still are) flawless. At a price like £123 I doubt you could go wrong. Just send it back if it's awful.

Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 5:00 pm
by spirograph
shudda bin a bit more in-depth earlier. the fretting on ms spiro's bass is all good (ive played worse epiphones), the finish was a bit thick n plasticy (its a £115 bass tbf) but overall its well put together.
also my co-guitarist tom has their 7string electric guitar, n all the same applies

this JM looks like a good buy.

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:23 am
by SirAstatine
I had their 70s Jazz bass that looked like the squier - big maple neck, black blocks and binding, natural finish body. Was a fine instrument for the price, got a few gigs with it and it was fine! I should think that jazzmaster would be more than ok.

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:41 am
by Gabriel
A bit of an aside, but they sell a telecaster for £50!
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbt16sb.htm