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!

Reviews are not something I do often and they are usually pretty short.
Harley Benton guitars keeps coming up in various reviews on Youtube and my curiosity finally got the better of me, I had to order one to see for myself what this was all about.
I did not want to go for one of the less expensive models but instead wanted to see what the higher priced models would look, sound and feel like. I chose the HB Fusion-T HH HT EB BK mainly because I don’t have a Tele style guitar already and I like the black finish and, the reviews I had seen.
The guitar arrived a little over a week after ordering, well packed and with no damage to either outer or inner box. I let the box sit in room temperature for a few hours after it arrived, I always to that to shipped guitars and electronics.
After unpacking, I spent some time going over the guitar just looking for any possible flaws, there were none, absolutely none.
I tuned the guitar and checked for intonation and a couple of string had to have a small adjustment but nothing serious. Even much more expensive Gibson’s need intonation adjustments.
The craftmanship behind this guitar is immaculate, the quality control flawless, this is a high quality instrument, super solid and beautiful to look at.
The neck is smooth as a baby’s a.. fretwork, polished better than any of my other guitars, fret ends are maybe not as rounded as they are on much higher priced guitars but they are well done anyway and don’t need any work.
Tuners are smooth and the guitar stays in tune very well.
Pick up’s are hot and sounds great, I have run them through the new VOX Cambridge 50 and an older Mesa Subway Blues and it sounds great on both.
The black piano finish on the top and the beautiful red back and side is a very nice combination of colors.
A review without a Con is not a real review and I do have one, the balance is not great, the guitar is very top heavy, more than my Gibson SG, it will take some time getting used to, I might try to add some lead to the potentiometer cavity to see if that helps with the balance, the guitar is not very heavy anyway.
If you have been looking at this guitar but are undecided, I can only say that I am very happy that I did buy this one. The quality is much higher than the price suggest.