Harley Benton Fusion-T HH EB BK

After watching countless videos on YT, and reading reviews here on the Thomann website and various guitar-o-forums, I, like many of you here, decided to pop my Harley Benton cherry so to speak, and this little beauty caught my eye, calling to me like a siren,, lol enough of that. :)
So here is my honest review for others to consider.
First, let's get the bad out of the way; the package from Thomann arrived rather worse for wear, there was a huge hole in the bottom of the outer box, and the guitar was delivered upside down. Thankfully, the guitar sustained no damage whatsoever,, phew!
On to the guitar; after checking for any possible damage, my eye was drawn immediately to the output jack socket which was hanging off on one side, after tightening it up with a Philips, it still doesn't sit flush properly to the body on one side, and there's a tiny, but visible gap. Next thing that drew my attention s the fact that the wand of the pickup switch felt really, really loose. Again, both mounting screws were really loose, after a quick tighten though, no issues.
Finish wise, there are a few dimples, marks and areas where the undercoat can be seen under the edges of the black finish, especially the headstock, but you have to look really, really closely.
Right, now that's done, let me assure you reader, that aside from these few minor issues, I have completely fallen in love with this guitar. I've been playing over 30 years, I've played and owned guitars cheap, damn expensive, and in between; including a lot of the 'big names'. I can honestly say I think this Harley Benton stands up with many of the best of them, certainly guitars I've owned and played that cost 3-4 times what this guitar does.
The setup from Thomann was excellent, and needed very little fine tuning, little lowering of the action, and good to go. The guitar finish for this price is genuinely astounding, few issues aside, the wood binding is delicious, the fret - job, amazing. No sprout, no rough edges, a beautiful thick slab of ebony, with gorgeous clay dots (although stated as ivory), the locking tuners feel sturdy enough and they function perfectly. The Roswell pickups are a real surprise though. These things sound absolutely great. If classic rock and dirty blues are your thing, look no further,,,, and then, a click of the coil tap, and we're into (almost) twangy tele country. But seriously, AC/DC and Zeppelin have never sounded so good in my hands to my ears, bliss.
If like me, you're reading this review, and you have yet to burst your HB cherry,, go on,, do it, you won't regret it, Thomann have a great thing going here folks, an amazing guitar, and at this price point? Astounding.

I have this guitar since two weeks by now.

I am happy with the overall quality and sound of the instrument. Mine was delivered with a more or less acceptable setup. Frets were polished and no shape borders whatsoever. The fret board was a bit dirty. Action a bit high, but I lowered to the usual one I like for this neck radius, which is more or less 1,6 mm from top of 6th string to 12th fret, while pressing the first fret. No buzzing unless I played like an animal. In that case all my eGuitar expensive and inexpensive ones will buzz ;-)
Stock strings are just ok and will stay until a replacement is required.
Finishing is good. Mine have a very little dent on the neck, at the side that looks at me while in playing position. At the 12th fret. It is very little and looks to me like rather being a natural defect of the wood than an accident.
The locking round part of the tuning machines is not metallic. I have a magnetic tuner and it does not stick to that part of the machine heads. I bought once HB locking tuners that to me are similar ones and they were metallic. So I do not know why this downgrade. Anyway the tuners work very well and hold the tuning very well. They turn smoothly and you can really make fine tuning.
I replaced the string tree for a round T Style one that I like much more. Nothing wrong with the original one. I just did not like the stock one.
The nut is good, but the TUSQ statement label was not longer delivered with my instrument. So not sure if its is the graphitech one anymore. I am sure it was used to be so according to YouTube reviews.
My guitar has the switch in diagonal and the tremolo cover is routed on the wood. Something did not happen with the previous models. I believe even the advertised pictures are from the old ones. This is a big upgrade! Thanks Thomann for listening to the customers!
Pups are good. They have the necessary output for the music I play. Rock, Blues and Pop. The split coil is a bit on the tiny side, but still ok.
I replaced the capacitor and installed another for treble bleed. Now the guitar shines. Before it was a bit dark when volume pots was rolled back. Electronics work is ok. The volume pot is an Alpha Pot full size. The tone one with split function, I am not sure of which quality is it. It looks to me a bit too loosen.

I replaced the jack. The jack cable was easily unplugged. I did not like the feeling though it was working perfectly. I installed a switchcraft one from All Parts. I also change the barrel knobs for screw-fix ones, but I did that just for taste. No really a need. The commuter switch works hassle and noise free. However it looks to me a bit cheap and so something to replace in the future.
The lacquer is flawless. The neck is very comfortable and the instrument is beautifully crafted in Indonesia.
Not too heavy instrument but definitely not a lightweight one either.

This guitars series have Serial Number. I suppose this happens as from a price tag on?

Wilkinson two points bridge with tremolo bar is very good looking, bread quality, easy to adjust, bar is screwed by in a very intelligent way and the trem along with the TUSQ nut work like a charm once all well setup and strings were stretched.
A
ttention; there is not pick guard on this axe. That makes the instrument more beautiful and noble. But know that your picking technique must be adapted to preserve the finishing. Just to mention this.

My final verdict: The overall instrument can be rated to near perfection taking into account the price.
The budget a person may need to replace the less quality parts in the long run (jack, tone pot, capacitor, barrel knobs, string tree and switch) is of about 50€ and the guitar is 300 €. Add an ABS case of about 70€ and you can be sure there is not known branded guitar in the market to beat this one.

About my HB's. I have already four HB. This is the most expensive one. The other ones are between 150€ and 250€. One was horrible. The other three including this last one make it a happy player. One is a TE-52 and I must say that in terms of T style guitar I am much more pleased by the sound of the SC pups of the TE 52, which BTW is almost half of the price.
But the fusion one has: more modern C shape neck, ebony fret board, binding, ergonomic body, more quality tuning machines, tremolo and stainless steel frets. All this, I suppose that makes this instrument a much more expensive one.
Obviously humbucker pups are to sound differently than SC even when the coils are split. So, no point to compare...

For the semi pro and pro musician in a budget and of course for any beginner, HB is a good alternative. Do not think that Ephis & SQs are better a part of the name in the head stock. I found the same and even worse electronics on them. Some small flaws on the finishing and even higher actions. Sometimes even no possible to fix by an average user buzzing problems.
I recommend this instrument. It could be compared to the quality to find on a 500€ axe but at 300€.
So very pleased with my purchase.

First off I live in the USA, I had never ordered anything from Thomann before and the ordering process was easy and the communication that thomann gives on your order and it’s progress is A++. The guitar was ordered and at my door in the United States in 7 days! Couldn’t be happier!
Now the guitar, I bought the fusion t in black and the guitar is incredible! The paint job was without flaws and all the electronics and pickups sound great, the Wilkinson tremolo holds tune well with the locking tuners and the neck and it’s stainless steel fretwork was perfect! It came well packaged and double boxed and whoever did my quality control and setup did a great job, it was setup wonderfully and after traveling all the way from Germany it was still just slightly out of tune! The guitar is like no other guitar I’ve bought in this price range, no other can even come close to the quality and features this thing has on it! All I can say is great job thomann! This is my first of many Harley bentons and you have gained a new and faithful customer! Keep up the great work!

This was my second Harley Benton purchase from Thomann. First and foremost, it is almost a work of art! If I had bought it only for its looks, it would still have been worth every penny that I paid for it! In terms of performance, let me refer to my first HB purchase, the CST24 semi-hollow as a contrast. This guitar is light, nimble and brightish. Interacting with and playing the CST24 is like having a mischievous flirtation in the sun on the beach. The Fusion on the other hand is like having Queenly authority in your hands! Initially at least, and certainly as compared with the CST24, its weight was quite noticeable. In every other respect, it plays and feels substantive, predictable, solid and confident. I am not a professional musician, play only for personal pleasure, typically by myself over tracks and sometimes with friends. I use almost entirely only clean mode and have found the stock pick-ups totally satisfactory for my needs and obtained from the Fusion only delight in whatever Humbucker and tonality modes I select. I have average hands and the embrace with the neck, which plays smoothly and easily, is perfect. So, do I have no gripes at all? Well, let me mention four things. First of all, if you are a buyer for whom weight of the instrument would be an important consideration, this may become a factor. In my case it has took me weeks to get used to the weight of the Fusion. Secondly, as pointed out in many other reviews, once the coil switch is engaged, a clear drop in output is noticeable. This is however is a function for which I have no real need for so the issue does not provide any detraction for my appreciation of the Fusion. Thirdly, and somewhat more importantly, the guitar came with a quite severe case of so-called fret sprout. It was B-Stock so I had expected that the purchase would come with some glitches. This was however quite a serious case of sharp edges which made the guitar impossible to play comfortably. The problem was easily redressed by the tech to whom I was in any case going to take guitar to check and set-up properly. My point is however that, since it is clear that this must be the reason why the guitar was returned as it showed absolutely no other problem, ding or glitch, it is unacceptable that Thomann would have put it back for sale without first correcting the problem. Thomman please! Finally, beautiful as the guitar is, with its glossy surface, every touch becomes a smudge! Everytime I play it, I have to rub it down before putting it back in the bag. But maybe this is not such a bad a thing as the physicality only serves to cement the intimacy with the guitar. I consider that in the Fusion I have acquired a very striking and great instrument which I intend to keep permanently. To those who may be considering getting one, I would not hesitate with my recommendation.

I am thrilled with this guitar

After watching the Guitar Max review and several others on YouTube, as well as reading many posts, I went to the Thomann site to check out the HB Les-Paul and ended up buying the Harley Benton Black Proline Telecaster which cost about $400.00 delivered with a Gator hardshell case which is a bargain.

After owning the hard tail model (without the tremolo), for several months I can say without reservation that this is one of the best guitars I have ever owned without the low price even factoring into the level of quality and I have owned many, many guitars.

Since Thomann customer service is unresponsive and I as a result of the fraud protection on my card, I was forced to place my order 3 times and accidentally ordered the hard tail version. I fell in love with the guitar right out of the box and decided not to return it for an exchange because I was worried that I would receive an inferior guitar, so I decided to give the hard tail to my brother and ordered the tremolo model, which is the same top of the world-class quality.

While I love the tone of Humbuckers, I always found Les Pauls heavy and clumsy and was never that crazy about the shape of the body. I figured that the Roswell pick-ups on the Tele were probably the same as the Les Paul, and despite the myth, the wood body shape and weight makes very little difference for tone or sustain on a solid body guitar.

I would rate this guitar on about the same lvel or higher than a comparable Paul Reed Smith about 5X+ the price.

While I cannot recommend Thomann for their customer service which is possibly the worst in the world, they sell superior musical instruments and equipment at reasonable prices. The instruments I received from Thomann are plainly and simply 2 of the most gorgeous guitars I have ever seen that play and sound as good as they look.

Although I have built guitars from parts and buy and modify inexpensive guitars to make them perform as well as top of the line custom instruments, The Harley Benton played beautifully right out of the box with an absolutely minimal set-up.

I changed the nut with brass to improve clarity and sustain, changed the capacitor with an orange drop, and now I own a world class instrument

While the packaging was idiotic with the guitar shipped sided by side with the case because Thomann refused to ship the guitar in the case, claiming insurance issues which is idiotic and likely a lie. Luckily there was no damage and the guitar played like a dream out of the box.
The set-up at the factory was superb. No intonation adjustments were necessary, the frets were finished perfectly, rounded to the fretboard with no sharp edges and the guitar came with D'Addario 10's which are one of my go to brands and gauges. The worst criticism one could make was the guitar was slightly out of tune.

The list of features, fit and finish of the Harley-Benton Tele is impressive and reals like the appointments on a high end instrument. The finish is flawless, the Roswell Humbuckers are warm and high output which are as good as name brand Humbuckers, just a little warmer and darker tone which I like very much with push-pull pot splits the coil, making the guitar extremely versatile.

The guitar is aesthetically elegant and refined. The body is Sapele, an African hard wood comparable to mahogany with a slightly nicer grain that is a deep, rich red-brown. There is a lighter brown wood binding and a contour on the cutaway which creates a beautiful contrast between the gloss black face the lighter brown of the binding and red- brown of the body. The contours of the back of the body on the back make the guitar comfortable to play sitting and standing.

The neck is Canadian Maple with a perfect c-shaped profile, ebony fretboard and medium-jumbo stainless steel frets. The locking tuners seem to be comparable quality to the Fender locking tuners I use for all my builds and mods, the bridge is high quality chrome, well machined, the nut is tusq and the fret markers are ivory colored.

I accidentally ordered the hard tail when I wanted the tremolo, but I don't want to return it because it is just too good a guitar so I decided to give the guitar as a gift to my brother as a birthday present and ordered another Tele with a tremolo. I had no way to be sure that the quality of the replacement instrument would be as good, but the new guitar arrived and all I can say is wow, it is flawless as the hard tail and I may like it even better because the tone of the pickups is a shade lighter.

The tremolo is superb and the tuning stability fantastic.

All I can say is the Harley Benton Fusion-T HH EB BK may be the best solid body 6 string electric guitar on earth for the money. At 1/10th the price of a vintage Telecaster, Les Paul or Paul Reed Smith, there is little if any qualitative difference to speak of except for the fact that the brand fetishists paid so much more, so they are obliged to defend their delusional beliefs in the superiority of their instruments.

This is such a good guitar truly I was amazed

The story is a bought another HB guitar and it was terrible so I had to return it and I bought this one after the refund...I thought this would suck as well but it's so good...only some very small QC problems.

Pros:
Locking tuners are really good

guitar stays in tuner very well even with tremolo use
tremolo is really good it can kind of dive bomb it gets to where the low E starts to slack and then returns to tune...incredible

the guitar came set up relatively well

the neck is so smooth

the pickups are personal taste, I like them

the volume pot works well in cleans up on drive tones

it looks stunning flawless finish

stainless frets!!!!

Cons:
The tone pot is not that good

and for the QC problem:
on the side of the neck under the frets the holes for the frets haven't filled up correctly so there are some small holes but you can fill them up pretty easily with Light CA glue

I will try this and update this review


Much better than a fender player series