Harley Benton Fusion-T EMG HT Roasted SBK Reviews

The hype is true, awesome guitar

What can I say? I have 0 complaints from this guitar and at this price point it exceeds all my expectations. If I compare the fretwork of this guitar with a more expensive PRS, the Harley Benton wins by far. Of course the finish is a simple mate black, but simplicity makes this guitar awesome. The tuners are solid, the guitar stays in tune quite well, no issues with the finish or the wood work. I only had to do a small intonation adjustment, but the height of the strings was in a sweet spot already. Sound wise, it is very good for high gain sounds as expected, with lots of treble and nice definition. I use it mainly to play progressive metal but my impression is that it can do also classic rock as well since the retro active EMG pickups are not as compressed as the traditional 81/85 set. Perhaps the only thing is that since the tuners are so solid the guitar suffers a bit from neck dive but nothing than a good leather neck can’t help. All in all, great instrument.

Really Happy

Very impressed with this guitar, my first one thats not like a bottom of the range cheap beginner guitar and I can really tell the difference. Made me realise I might actually be a but better than I thought

exceeded my expectations! but theres some stuff need taking care of...

well its pretty much what I expected... in my opinion the neck is the most stunning thing about this guitar even though i'm used to playing a thin neck, overall everything feels solid I was a little underwhelmed by the pickups, in distortion mode they are phenomenal but in the cleans the bridge is way too bright and distorted, in the neck pickup, cleans sound bright yet with a deep and rich sound to them... the build quality was top notch I was kinda worried about that but it turned out great, also the delivery was way quicker than they said which i'm thankful for... the guitar does require some setup to it which is not ideal for beginners and for the people this guitar is targeting despite that i still think its worth the money and the "minuses" it has and there arent many at all.

What a tele!!

Solid, resonant, snappy tele sound! Add EMGs to the mix- sooooo chuggy-chuggy good!!I I play metal and this beast does not disappoint.

Excitement turned to frustration

I purchased this guitar after doing a ton of homework. I read reviews, watched videos on YouTube, searched on Reddit prior to making the investment.

Shipping was fast and the package was in tact. This guitar is absolutely stunning. Fret job was great. Neck feels comfortable.

After a week of playing the guitar the toggle switch stopped working. Had that replaced. Then, my neck pickup started buzzing. Had to have that replaced, and now, I’ll have to replace the input jack.

I would’ve returned or exchanged this guitar if it weren’t for shipping costs. I love this guitar but the electronic components have been a nightmare. Had I known it would need so many parts replaced, I would’ve been better off purchasing a more expensive guitar elsewhere. Buyer beware.

Great guitar for the price

Love the guitar, does need some tlc to round the edges off but will probably do that over time just by playing it. It looks great and sounds amazing..

Fantastic guitar

I finally decided to check out Harley Benton and I was blown away. The spec on this thing does not match the price point, you get a lot of bang for your buck! Will be getting more of their guitars!

Slowly becoming my favourite axe

Really love the sound of the retro active hot 70s.

The neck is absolutely lovely. The modern C is something I never thought it would like but honestly, it's great.

The body feels a little light compared to the neck so it has a little neck dive. But it's not aggressively neck heavy.

It came almost perfectly in tune shipping all the way from Germany to the UK. Never had that experience before which is crazy.

The only issues I have with apart from the slight neck dive I mentioned earlier were the cosmetic blemishes. But they actually work in a way. However, there are big blobs of glue around the material that covers the pickups but obviously that's more to do with EMG than Harley Benton.

All in all though, I'm really happy with this purchase ☺️

Well done HB, amazing guitar!

I was looking for a new guitar with these or similar specs and I came across this beauty from Harley Benton and decided to take a chance. Just WOW!

Some very minor issues but nothing serious (I mean yeah come on, it's not a custom made 3.000 euro guitar). It plays like a beast! Great sound, very nice neck, fretwork is amazingly done, you can't go wrong with this one. And a killer price as well! If it had a big brandname on the headstock, it could easily cost three times as much.

Look no further, if you like what you see just go for it!

Superb

Fantastic quality for the price paid, beautiful neck and overall finish. Excellent sound from the EMG pickups.

Very comfortable to play.

Highly recommended!

Great guitar if you get a good one and don't pay duties and ship twice.

Purchased and received a broken neck pocket. I got sent a new one but it had to pay 122.76 CAD for duties again. Paying for duties twice to get one good guitar is something people need to be aware of. I could have gotten a Amarok for the money I spent. Staff was responsive but nothing they could do about the duties. Lack of RMA option is 2 stars. If you get a good guitar the 1st time it's a solid 4-5 star guitar + cost less :)

Amazing metal Tele

It's really hard to find another guitar with these specs, even from guitars 2x it's price. Sounds great and plays great my roasted maple neck also came really nice and dark with a great pattern. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a metal beast

Unmatched

Some info, the mat black finish is the kind that will scratch "easily" bit just small, semi-visible surface only scratches from your pick for example. This is something I like because it quickly gives a subtle custom worn look to the guitar, but might not be appealing to everyone. Pick-ups are a bit mellow sounding? Compared to the EMG 81 and Fishman Fluence in my other guitars.. also be prepared for small, minor or subtle visual inconsistencies. It's a cheap guitar so it's what you can expect. Even my Schecter that cost 3x as much came with some visible scratches on the neck. Just something to bear in mind, but overall this guitar is incredible for the price.

Pretty Amazing…but…

Got this, Harley number three for me, as the spec looked excellent. The other two, a Fusion iii and the HP-42 Signature are utterly amazing, both re pick-uped though. All bought on a whim but gradually they found their way centre stage and now firm favourites.

Firstly the guitar is fantastic, but there were one or two minor fret issues which after five minutes filing work sorted completely. And i’m not subtracting any marks for that as many other guitars i have - big name brands - have randomly had similar issues too, and all at six and seven times the price.

The neck is to die for ( as is the neck on the HP-42) roasted and silky smooth, the SS frets allow for heavier strings which feel lighter and easier to bend.

The tuners and bridge are perfectly acceptable and work and sound great. They're upgradeable anyway if needed.

All in all its a beast of a guitar, incredible value, defying the odds.

Now the pick ups…….. EMG’s are a fav of mine for at least 25 yrs, i don't have them in everything but the guitars that do are savage, including this one. But my preference is for an Alnico magnet in the bridge ( EMG 85 ) - so I flipped them round and on doing so discovered made in Indonesia stickers on the Emg’s, and slightly different design to the US EMG website pics - no adjustable pole pieces.

Anyone clued in will be saying, but hang on the bridge pup is f spaced and blah blah………. doesn't affect the sound one bit, no string loss or anything from the different spacing which, is minuscule anyway. I’m around too long to put up with anything but perfect string audibility etc. I’d recommend experimenting, if you find the bridge pup a bit bright, as it makes a killer neck pup, and putting the Alnco in the bridge has more gain and sounds warmer.

BUT………I guess i’m just pointing out this as its not mentioned in the marketing end of things at all. Sound wise they’re pretty good and seem to have the same connectors as all other EMG’s so can easily be swapped around.

I would love someone to tell me about this. Am I right or wrong here? Are all EMG’s made in Indo or just these? A bit perplexed tbh but not overly unhappy lol! And I certainly have no issue with anything from Indo there is amazing stuff coming from there and has been for years!!

The Harley Benton brand offers incredible value and a wonderful range of equipment, and obviously keeping costs down is paramount.

I guess I would’ve liked to see it in the product description.

But don’t let this deter anyone from buying one, they are incredible.

I’m just around too long to be fooled, and I just had to ask 😎

Fusion T with EMGs!

You simply cannot get this level of features, looks, ergonomics, playability anywhere else in this price point. This is my first HB instrument I've owned and it won't be the last, especially considering another axe is on its way to me right now.

Excellent Value

Great guitar for the money its value is easily in the $500-$700 range. The fit and finish are excellent. The pickups are very good but not great. My main gripe is that the tuners are so heavy that it has severe "neck dive" whenever you play standing up. The solution is to install higher quality lighter tuners or re-drilling the strap button holes. I'm not ready to do either. Overall pretty k*ck ass guitar!

Amazing Surprise for the price - can't wall hang though

For the price, this is stunning. I won't go on about the spec as you can read it yourself, but you're getting soooo much for the money.

Everything feels and sounds amazing, I couldn't be happier with the guitar itself.

Only problem I've found is that you can't wall hang it. The headstock is so thin that most hangers hold it by the first locking tuner rather than the wood itself. It's incredibly annoying and such a stupid design mistake but all is forgiven when you plug it in and feel (or smell) it's utter beauty

Great guitar for the money!!

My only complain is that the pickups are a little too bright and midrangy for my taste but great specs! Very hard to beat this guitar in this price range

Perfect guitar for me

I am speechless!!

This is a riff machine at a budget price!

Mine came in flawless, using it as my main axe now and thinking about buying another one for rehearsals at home

I was wary buying it at first...

...due to mixed reviews of HB instruments, but man, this one is perfect. Came in with perfect action height, only needed to extra intonate 2 strings, but it was a minor adjustment. Has some file marks on the neck, but it is a non-issue, because they blend in with the dark-roasted Canadian maple's finish. Will see how the matte black finish holds up to time. Haven't opened the electronic cavity yet to check the quality of the solders, but so far sounds great with no issues wired or wireless.

I had an Amarok baritone before with these same pickups but they sound a lot better on this Fusion-T. The cleans are absolutely amazing and the distortion is meaty. Nevertheless I bought this as a "project" guitar and will be adding a custom pickguard and swapping the pickups for EMG 57/66 set and maybe while in there, add some extra shielding inside.