Saturday, November 9, 2024
ElectricGuitar

The Best Benton? | Harley Benton Fusion VS ST Modern Plus


They’re both incredible for the price! – imo ????
If you’re torn between the two – let’s have a closer look.
A Comparison between the Harley Benton Fusion Vs the NEW ST Modern Plus. With the ST Modern Plus still mostly sold out/out of stock, should you wait or maybe look at a Fusion instead? ????‍♂️

Apologies for the MASSIVE FAIL Re the recording clips of the Fusion. The phasing issue is sorted now, a new switch did the trick – but now the Guitar is gone – So I couldn’t re-record the clips ????

Please do consider subscribing… ya might like it here ????????????

Credit to Karl Casey @WhiteBatAudio for the awesome synthwave tracks ????????

Open letter to Harley Benton:

Here’s the Unboxing….

Check out Elmo’s Vid here: @MrPolevaulter

00:00 What’s happening?
00:42 Headstocks
00:53 Tuners
01:24 STRING TREES
03:15 Nutz!
03:44 Necks
06:36 Heel Joints
07:17 Body Wood
07:43 Pickups
08:24 Switching
09:52 Trems
13:04 Some thoughts

#Benton #Harley #Benton #Fusion #Modern

Originally posted by UCG7_vsGUZH4FLpgEySEiEzw at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcdNfAuozSs

46 thoughts on “The Best Benton? | Harley Benton Fusion VS ST Modern Plus

  • the never mentioned reality of guitars is does it stay in tune?
    locking tuners DO NOThold the string in tune,its just a lazy way of stringing a guitar..
    the shredder making silly bugger noises only goes for a minute…the nut gets the blame a lot, but really, any old guitar roadie will tell y, the new string tensions will WANDER up n down , y have t stretch each string and properly wind in the old way to get a reliable tuning setup that will handle mannish bends and chug, the best ive found so far is ibanez/gotoh zeropoint trem , its floating in BOTH DIRECTIONS, once you get it stretched in ,its gunna stay in tune even if you get all albert king on it…i had a prestige ibanez ,it could NOT stay in tune, stringlocks?nup. wilkinson? made of old cans and sinkers.

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  • I have the old harley benton fusion II HSH its a great guitar but the pickups are kinda meh. Recently i changed the frets on my old takamine gx 200t and now im thinking selling the benton and getting some SSS strat maybe jet js 300 or 400 with aftermarket SSS pickguard and some tonerider pickups.

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  • My HB Fusion 3 HSS is my favourite guitar, but it doesn't sound like a strat. I have put Tonerider single coils in it and a Shijie bridge humbucker, but it still doesn't sound like a strat because of the direct mount. The HB st modern is a really nice guitar however the jumbo SS frets are disappointingly low. One of the best things about the Fusion is the high frets. I will also need to get the ST modern plekked as there are high frets on it. My unexpected current fave strat is an Eart with Entwistle pickups. The Entwistle AS57 is a great pickup and works well with the Eart.

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  • If I had to choose between the two it would have to be the ST Modern Plus for me. I have a thing about pickups mounted directly in the body like the Fusion's – needs a pickguard or pickup surrounds.

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  • I am the proud owner off a fusion 3 strat, changed Pick-ups and trimpotts, now its my nr. One guitar to play! Thanx for posting! ????

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  • i had a harley benton les paul shape SC500 deluxe. i put the Slash pick ups on it and locking tuners – i stupidly sold it. It was great. Cant remember the colour but they no longer make it in that colour. Gutted

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  • Great video Steve, I completely agree with all of your comments on the Fusion 2 and ST Modern. I own a Harley Benton Fusion 1 HH with Floyd Rose, Fusion 2 HSH, and Fusion 3 HH. I bought an ST Modern LPB but returned it due to multiple high frets (9 out of 22) and a significant number of other production and QC issues. All of my Fusion’s are modded, the Roswell and Tesla pickups have been replaced. The HH Fusion 3’ s ‘are touted’ to be the HB version of Suhr’s Pete Thorn signature standard. I modded mine to Suhr spec with 2 Suhr Thornbucker pickups, a Wilkinson WVS 130 trem and upgraded electrics it’s an amazing guitar now and all done at a total cost of circa £800 as opposed to £4000 for a Suhr Pete Thorn signature.

    I cannot understand at all why HB have not put STAGGERED locking tuners on the ST Modern’s in the same way they did on the Fusion 2 & 3. Staggered tuners means you can remove all string trees which massively reduces tuning issues.HB could leave string trees off altogether which would reduce their production costs.

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  • That Older Fusion i wanted but they were out of stock at the time in 2020. I wound up grabbing the tele. Now, i wish i could trade the Tele HH FNT i have for either of the two you have. One thing is true. This Tele HH fusion Pro is one of the best necks ive ever played on. So smooth. The frets are amazing. The only issue with mine is its tele shape. Hahah Which i still like but rather ST style and get a tele later that is stock SS. Hahah Excellent review man!!!!!!!! Still waiting on the Clicky click typing effect with your finger gestures. Hahahah Did i miss it?? Hahah Keep it up. Also yes indeed. EVERYONE should start grabbing Rick "Im trending" Beato…hahah

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  • I had a couple of the 1st gen Fusion S-types. One had horrific sharp fret ends & the other didn't. Later I had a Fusion T which was a fantastic guitar. Nice video, mate ????

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  • So Elmo's stays in tune and yours doesn't. What could it be? Removing the string trees would make an easy test. Not a permanent solution but it would tell if they are the problem. Maybe they are screwed in too tight (more friction). If not, the nut probably has an issue. One binding slot is enough.

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  • Wooow you got Rick to do that???? Seriously though. The fusion series really are just the best for the money out of anything. Love um. Ever tried an SX VTG Steve?

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  • I had the St modern in LP blue. I returned it. I personally liked the Babiidge bridge but I had to raise the action to a ridiculous level to stop fret buzz. In addition, it had a crack around the neck pocket. The neck had no flame on it and the string trees were just super cheap. The sound was good but I could just did not enjoy playing it with the buzz. Back she went. I replaced it with a late 80s Fenix with a 2 point trem bridge which plays perfectly for 150 euros less even though it is not HSS I much prefer it.

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  • Hey Steve. Steve here. Steves are we. Etc. I love my Fusion II. I want an ST Modern Plus. In white actually. Some day perhaps. Love the channel. Also looking at the new Jet JS range. They look niiiice.

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  • I have a Fusion 2 with a roasted neck and it's a decent guitar. The only thing to complain are somewhat scratchy frets out of the box, but i've already fixed that.
    That's my first HB and tbh my expectations were quite low. I half expected to return it even before it arrived. But the actual guitar was quite a pleasant surprise.
    And it's been smooth sailing so far. Fret ends are impeccable, no high frets and no fret buzz. Neck is perfectly stable, even more stable then several times more expensive Ibanez with fancy multi-piece wizard-schmizard neck. The latter one i had to adjust this summer after especially hot and humid weather, while the Fusion neck did not budge (both guitars are in the same room, same temp, same humidity).

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  • The specs on both these guitars are super impressive for the price. They put my USA Strat in the shade to be honest. If you're thinking of getting a Modern Plus they're out of stock for many months to come though. Excellent honest review BTW Steve.

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  • Hi Steve, the bottom line of all this is that any budget guitar brand has got to produce guitars at the right price for their customers to want to buy them. Okay, so maybe the pickups aren't fantastic on either but how much more money would you need to spend to get a set of pickups that you'd really like as stock. If they pushed up the price too much then you'd be getting into the cost of a guitar with a designer brand name on the headstock and that does make a difference when it comes to the resale value of an instrument.

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  • I have a Fusion-II HSH and an ST-Modern (and a Fusion-T). The tuning stabilty and sustain on the ST-Modern is top-notch – I love the Babicz bridge. The Fusion is slightly on stability. behind, but not much. The Roswell pickups on the Fusion were swapped out for Toneriders almost immediately. The Tesla pickups on the Modern are better but I'll probably swap them out at some point – especially the bridge pup

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  • I have a Fusion III and they are amazing especially for the money but I agree with the pickups they are mot great but I think if you put high end pickups in it, it would be really worth it and they would be guitars that played and sounded almost like custom shop strat/super strats????????Never mind a campaign for 9.5 inch boards get all the YouTubers to start a campaign for a Harley Benton Firebird ????????????????????????

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  • Great video SCG. Just wondering, you say you don't like either the Roswells or the Tesla pups. Can you not eq it out or maybe you are an Alnico 2 man?

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  • I have both guitars…
    Im a C shape guy but the more id played the st the more i love it..
    The trem is one of the best feature imo… Yes, it takes a little time to get used to, but that happens very fast … Actually, I love the trem so much now that i'm thinking to install it on 2 of my other strats..

    I like that my fusion is such a light guitar…its very easy to play but the st overall feels just more "mature"…

    AND….I bet that the neck on my ST is mooore flammed as yours xd… 100% XD

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  • Hi Steve! Just say "that guy". Looks like the st takes a back seat to the fusion. Both however seems decent for the price as far as new guitars go. Good comparison! A tough choice as both guitars are worthwhile instruments! Cheers! See ya la er!

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  • I have Roswell pickups in my Fusion and I agree not great harsh sounding.. trem is great, the locking machine heads are very good, I have the Fusion 3 B-stock (could not find any problems). That ST Modern l was so close to getting one but l am opting for a Fazley, still watching your old vids so maybe some advice on HSS Fazley please!????

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  • I have a Fusion III SSP, great guitar overall. Not going to buy ST Modern, just don't need lots of HBs.

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  • Takes a big man to admit he's wrong, or that he might be wrong, about a thing he's complained aboutt, um, a lot….

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  • You say you're still uncomfortable on cam, but I think you and Landon Bailey are the most entertaining Youtube guitar reviewers. And you're a far better player. Elmo is great too, but he's not as much fun as you and Landon.

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  • To me the Fusion has a "PRS Vibe". The ST Modern is more "Strat-ish". I prefer look of the S like guitar.

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  • Steve have you thought about re-profiling the neck to 9.5inch radius, a tech should be able to do it, may be a bit pricey as its a complete refret job as well. nice vid.

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  • What's really put me off these and the idea of a babicz bridge is the screw in trem arm. There is just no need for that in this day and age ????????

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  • I have a Harley Benton silver sparkle superstrat HH fusion 2 roasted neck….dark dots are a problem in low light. I didnt like it too much at first but after one year I now love it, its feels like a premium guitar. The wonderful aroma of the roasted neck really brings out the arsonist in me. Good times.

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  • Both look like quality, but QC is everything and both are hit and miss, like most Harley Bentons. My Hb35Plus was awesome for me out of the box. My SC450GT not so much. If HB is going after gigging players, durability of electronic and hardware should be job 1. Looking cool should be the bonus and not the focus. Yeah, and 9.5 degree fretboards. Geez.

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  • I still have my HB Fusion 2 with an ebony fretboard, i can't stand maple necks even roasted ones.
    A new Fusion 4 is due soon, i expect it will feature rolled fret ends and fretboard edges.
    I will wait and see, the ST modern seems to have variable issues which sadly is typical of HB.
    My advice is save up for a Fusion, the extra money is well spent.????????????

    Reply

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