Fusion-III HSS Roasted DB : My first attempt at a "modern" S style

I have always thought about buying a super strat but the idea of very thin necks and expensive price tags has put me off in the past. After my experience with the Harley Benton SC550-ii I saw this was released and decided the color schemes were much more my flavor over the flame top and sparkle versions of previous versions... with the Blacksmith SS frets I loved from the SC500ii so I quickly ordered it.

The guitar arrived in perfect condition without a scratch on it, all electronics function as expected, and the action was at a playable level enough for me to film my initial review and demo of the guitar.

The neck on this is outstanding, and it's not the just the frets. The satin feel is great, but this is just the perfect size for someone like me who typically plays vintage style Fender and Gibson instruments. It's substantial without being a baseball bat, extremely comfortable. The factory setup wasn't perfectly set for the wilkinson tremolo to go back to tune reliably after heavy use, but after setting the guitar up myself with my own preferred gauge of string, lubricating the nut, and setting up the trem the guitar stays in tune perfectly even with very heavy use of the trem. Nothing but good news here.

Now the only part of this guitar I give 4* is the sound section, because in my own opinion I believe the Tesla pickups sound better than the Roswells... and well I am spoiled rotten when it comes to single coil sounds with my other instruments. They are by no means bad pickups, but they are the only actual "weakness" of this instrument if I were to say it has one. The good news here is, this is a very, very simple fix and something that isn't all too expensive.

All and all, I can say with confidence the brand has done a great job of making high quality instruments at a reliable rate. This is the 4th Harley benton i've had in the last 6 months, and none of them had any serious issues or defects. I would absolutely recommend this guitar.

I filmed a video on youtube of myself unboxing, inspecting, and playing this exact guitar if you are interested in that just search for Audiomo and Harley Benton Fusion iii on youtube.