Harley Benton Fusion-III EMG HT Roasted SBK Reviews

The best guitar I've owned. Ever.

The Harley Benton Fusion 3 EMG is, without any exaggeration, the best guitar I have ever owned. I say this as an owner of many guitars twice, or even three times the price of this. It plays incredible, has perfect fretwork, weighs nothing, and gives you the exact high gain tones you would want from it. I could not recommend this guitar more, and I will certainly be buying from Harley Benton again in the future.

Awesome looking guitar

Bought this for my son. Looks and sounds good for the price range Feels awesome in the hands Slender neck. Smooth

Great Guitar for the money

The satin black is clean, the roasted maple neck is beautiful and easy to play. Stainless Steel frets need to be played on for a little bit in order for them to be smooth.

Double the guitar, half the price.

Where to start? Have you been looking for a modernized s type guitar suited for metal and with a subtle design? Look no further, the fusion III is loaded with high end features for a price that doesn't seem entirely possible. Firstly, stainless steel frets, locking tuners and emg pickups all for under £400 is practically unheard of. For the price you'd expect there to be a saving somewhere and while the stock hardware is not of the highest quality(gotoh, hipshot, etc.) it more than makes up for it with the build quality. After being shipped from Germany during winter, it was perfectly in tune upon arrival and after a close inspection there were no rough or sharp frets. It is worth noting that there was a small chip in the fretboard where the nut has been installed but this is barely noticeable and only a cosmetic issue, otherwise the quality control on this guitar matches instruments at at least double the price point, if not triple. All electronics worked perfectly and the pots were smooth with no crackling, now the pickup selector does seem a little flimsy but I think that's more to do with the blade style over something you'd find on a Les Paul or PRS.

Overall this guitar came in what I would call pristine condition, especially when you factor in the price and this is most certainly the best value of any instrument I have owned. In the future I may upgrade some of the hardware and electronics but the fusion III is gig-ready and built to last as is. I will definitely be looking to buy the t style variant now that I have seen first hand the quality Harley Benton produces.

Speechless

Okay, I am blown away. This guitar is simply too good... I am in love with it and in particular with the neck and fretboard! Some people claimed that the neck of this guitar is thick but it's really not, it's simply beautiful and gives a great playability. People also complained about rough stainless steel frets but this wasn't the case with my guitar, they are just perfect. Moreover the EMG Retro Active Hot 70 Humbuckers, the awesome matte black finish and locking tuners make this guitar incredible. There is not even a small imperfection on my instrument, thereby I cannot recommend it enough.

Exceeded my expectations

I was eyeing this guitar for a a while but I’m in the US and these guitars are hard to find. I was Cruzing the intent and saw these were in stock. I was worried it was going to be shipped halfway around the world but I did it anyway. The guitar showed up set up perfectly and In tune no joke. I’m very pleased with my purchase and the quality of this guitar exceeds its $$$.

Amazing guitar

We are talking for a guitar that talks in the hands of a guitarist. Great value for money with low action and perfect sound.

Just play it

Fantastic instrument!

For under $500, this is a fantastic instrument both in playability and quality. With EMG pickups, locking tuners, stainless steel frets, roasted maple neck - how can you go wrong on this? My only gripe was the fret ends were a bit sharp, but a 30 minute filing job took care of it. To be fair, the fret ends were far less of a problem than I have had on much more expensive guitars! Highly recommended!

Better than you think

I purchased this after deliberating it for weeks, surprisingly it got to me from Germany in only 3 days. This guitar is the absolute best playing guitar for the price the neck is smoother than some of my custom guitars that costs over 1k. It also showed up in tune!! Very impressed with the quality of this guitar feels a lot like a charvel but the neck feels like an Ernie ball musicman neck. Don't wait if you're considering...just buy it and you'll have no regrets.

I am setting this up with 11-56XL strings

This guitar is almost perfect

Cons:

- Headstock stickers are crooked

- Lumed inlays lasts nothing and when not charged it is impossible to see them in low light

- Bridge came with paint chipped off

- Tuners are Gibson style instead of the pictured Strat style

- Flames on the neck are barely there

- Input jack was faulty, no sound came out

Pros:

- Retroactive Hot 70's sound amazing, a little microphonic but amazing nonetheless

- MATTEBLACKEVERYTHING

- Neck is thick and super comfortable

- Frets are perfect, no buzzing throughout

- It plays amazing

The only thing this guitar needs to be absolute perfect for me is a Floyd Rose.

Great guitar for the money.

This is a really great guitar for the cost. You get a lot of sweet features you’d only find in more upper priced brands for sure.

I have a few dings for the quality but it’s not even that big of a deal. Some minor things. That’s what prevents the full 5 stars however. There’s a bit of tooling marks in the fret board. I have seen this with custom shop guitars even, so no big deal.

The bridge pickup is installed slightly crooked, lots of the Facebook page have minor complaints of this as well. No biggie to me, you have to really look to notice.

There’s some tooling marks by the nut. Again no biggie.

Finish is good. I can’t find any flaws. I have some more expensive guitars that have way worse issues than this thing. So all in all, an amazing buy. It’s just not perfect, but damn near close. I still say buy it if you’re eyeing it. If you’re into a total super strat this is it.

Almost perfect...

This guitar is a real looker. I was worried about unpolished frets, but thankfully everything turned out great. Except maybeee..there are some barely visible marks on the upper side of the neck, beside every single fret. That's a shame. Nonetheless, it's worth buying. You get a rock/metal machine for under 500€, that's ridiculous!

Best buy and great sound

I give it overall '5' rating...

Neck and fretboard will fly thru your playing hand and fingers..

I think the pickups sound very good..

Great price for a very good guitar.

Two Words....Clinical and Emotional

Clinical.

Your company has fulfilled and brought to fruition what was promised.

Emotional

My main guitar is a Schecter Hellraiser that my Mother ( God Rest Her ) got for me. I will always love it and her. As I plugged in my new Harley Benton ( now named Rose) and proceeded to play along with Gary Moore's " Still Got The Blues For You" I thought about how great Rose sounded and played. Tears welled and ran in gratitude for EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE involved in making Rose and getting her to me, and ALMOST making me forget about my Hellraiser. So I mean it, everyone involved...Assemblers, Testers, Plek Techs, Packaging, Sales Staff, and anyone I have forgotten...My heartfelt thanks and respect for your labor.

Conclusion

Give Harley Benton Guitars a try.

Get your guitar Pleked.

Be grateful.

Very nice guitar! Impressed

Ordered this after watching a blazing YouTube review. Shipped to me in Canada. I paid more for it in the end (due to shipping and duty), compared to someone in Europe.

Guitar was a bit rough out of the box. Neck pickup was installed crooked (honestly, how can someone not line these up?) Frets were very rough. Tuning pegs are a little shoddy. Input jack needs to be replaced (its shorting out when the cable moves around).

After a full setup (used fret erasers, Ernie Ball fretboard conditioner) the neck really came to life. Just insanely beautiful flame.

I think the guitar itself sounds VERY good. I am happy with the tone - the pickups feel great to me.

In the end, would I buy it again? Probably not - if I was in Europe - yes. But not in Canada. I would have rather put the money towards a real Charvel or something. With all the extra shipping/duty, needing to buy a new input jack, fix crooked pickups, etc. I don't think it was worth it in the end.

Can't get anything better for this price

PROS

- Only two strings weren't in tune and that was all the setup I had to do after unboxing.

- I can play for 2 hours and it's still in tune.

- The body paint job is perfect.

- The bridge is very comfortable to palm mute.

- The pickup selector is sooo smooth. It clicks into position and stay there, but it moves very smoothly.

- Very well weight balanced (I have another HB guitar that's very neck heavy, but this is perfectly aligned).

CONS

- The frets could have received a bit more care (they were a bit scratchy in the beginning), but after playing for a few days they're ok. But next time I changes strings, I'll 100% polish them. (no protruding frets though).

Overall, this is comparable to guitars that cost more than twice and looks like the best Harley Benton until now, to the point I'd consider getting the T version of it too.

The best Harley Benton guitar available right now

I've tried my share of metal super-Strats this year. Solar A1.6, Charvel DK24, and a couple of others. This guitar has them bang to rights.

Features you'd expect on a guitar double the price, it feels so good to play, sounds absolutely MONSTROUS, and looks the part. The only thing I could really be picky about is that it needs a bit of a setup out the box.

This is THE Fusion to buy if you're going to get one.

Best metal guitar in this price range by far

I was looking for a long time for a stealth-looking, modern, Super ST metal guitar and this has it all. 10/10 looks and the inverted headstock are the cherry on top, makes it stand out and feels more premium.

The specs are great, absolutely zero sharp frets and the pickups are quite warm and not so hot. This is probably the first guitar that I feel comfortable soloing with the bridge pickup. Also, the neck pickup doesn't sound so 'nasal' like they usually do.

My only remark is regarding the bridge.

Ideally, I would have preferred a non fixed bridge of any kind, quite possibly a Floyd, but perhaps the price would have gone up quite a bit. My bridge came a bit damage, with very tiny scratches on the paint, but it is the kinda thing that only I will ever notice and it doesn't affect the looks or playability.

In short, I'm extremely happy with it and would definitely buy again.