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Snapped up another used (but mint) Harley Benton Fusion II...never in my 20+ years of playing guitar have I been so impressed with what a company is putting out at such a low price. I already have a blue one of these but couldn't resist this one since it's basically the same look as the Suhr Guthrie Govan I've lusted after for years (but could never justify spending the 4K). Likely going to keep the blue one a step down and keep this one in standard.

Nato body, roasted flame maple neck and fretboard, stainless frets, HSH pickups with coil split switch, locking tuners, Wilky trem...all for well under $400. Hard to do this neck justice in photos, the chatoyancy is crazy though it is not quite as insane as my blue Fusion T. Another company I know and love (Kiesel) would charge you $600 for this neck alone.

Some pics here, that'll probably post sideways until you click on 'em like always .

And another pic of it with its sibling:

chatoyancy? You got me on that one.
I was all set to hunt down one of these but then i saw it had a painted back. Yes, i will find ANY excuse to not buy another guitar it seems.
How much did you pay again?

nomadh wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 1:52 pm chatoyancy? You got me on that one.
I was all set to hunt down one of these but then i saw it had a painted back. Yes, i will find ANY excuse to not buy another guitar it seems.
How much did you pay again?

Yeah I love that word, hahaha...it refers to the optical effect you see with figured woods where that 3D figure looks different in different lighting, etc.

While I admit that I too would prefer the backs left natural here, it probably saves them a few bucks in so much as they don't have to try and buy aesthetically perfect nato mahogany. With this particular finish though I actually don't mind the painted back at all since the colors work so well together.

I wish I had the problem of finding an excuse not to buy another guitar...usually my task is finding an excuse to let someone else buy it when I find somethin' great for a really good price

This one was $300, not too far away from the new price of $401 shipped from Thomann but the guitar is MINT and I really prefer to buy these used given the variation in veneers and the roasted necks. I've never seen a "bad" looking roasted neck or veneer on these Bentons, but some are super figured and some only have a lil bit of flame to them.

This new arrival ranks #2 of all the HB necks I've seen online or owned, so I'm pretty pleased with it. Here's a (kinda) better pic; and a pic below of my Benton Fusion T which holds the #1 spot and is just outta this world.

Man, you have got the guitar luck on your side. That is a fantastic looking guitar...if it plays half as good as it looks, its a complete steal. Love that wood grain/texture/color on the body, neck, fretboard and headstock...all match seemlessly. Nice score!

bleys21 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:14 pm Man, you have got the guitar luck on your side. That is a fantastic looking guitar...if it plays half as good as it looks, its a complete steal. Love that wood grain/texture/color on the body, neck, fretboard and headstock...all match seemlessly. Nice score!

Thank you! It really plays great and sounds pretty good too, though the pickups will be getting swapped. Here's a crappily recorded clip of a little jam I just did tonight with my lil Spark amp while putting it through its paces:

That is hot! I’ve wanted one of these but not brave enough to order new and gamble on international shipping. When I’ve looked at the used ones, they are usually listed for more than their new price. I should keep a closer eye out for a used one.

Flatline wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 11:03 pm That is hot! I’ve wanted one of these but not brave enough to order new and gamble on international shipping. When I’ve looked at the used ones, they are usually listed for more than their new price. I should keep a closer eye out for a used one.

Neither am I, every one of my 6 Bentons was bought used for 2 reasons - the one I mentioned above about seeing exactly what I'm getting in terms of the top and the neck figure, and because I don't want to risk having to deal with an international return in case of a QC issue or something similar. Keep an eye on GC Used, they tend to pop up there fairly frequently and I'm usually able to get 'em for about $100 or so off the new price.

another beauty. love my Fusions, had been looking at used, but B-stock for the difference in the price of shipping was good enough to take the plunge. I've yet to be disappointed with Harley Benton since their move to Indonesia for production.

Very nice.

Again....cut it out!

There is a guy local to me on another guitar forum who is big on the Fusions. So is his band -- they told him to always bring it to gigs.

Guess I need to keep an eye put for a used one.

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:16 am Very nice.

Again....cut it out!

There is a guy local to me on another guitar forum who is big on the Fusions. So is his band -- they told him to always bring it to gigs.

Guess I need to keep an eye put for a used one.

I can make it a little worse since I finally have some good pics now...ones in my first post really don't do it any justice.

Harley Benton is nuts. Check out the price on this one:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton ... tallic.htm

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 11:15 am Harley Benton is nuts. Check out the price on this one:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton ... tallic.htm

Yeah for sure, they have decent guitars starting at like $80. It’s what happens when you sell factory direct and there’s no middleman (or rather middlemen, plural), and no premium to be paid for a headstock logo. I am pretty positive that Indonesian guitars from Ibanez, Jackson, Schecter, etc are made in the same factories as these HBs but you pay 3-4X.

Kiesel is a high end version of the same kinda process…the guitars they make would cost 2X+ from any other USA manufacturer but because they sell factory direct the customer ends up getting a really great deal.

honyock wrote: ↑Thu Jul 21, 2022 12:02 am another beauty. love my Fusions, had been looking at used, but B-stock for the difference in the price of shipping was good enough to take the plunge. I've yet to be disappointed with Harley Benton since their move to Indonesia for production.

For sure! The MII stuff is definitely better than the MIV stuff from them by a good margin.

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:35 pm

bleys21 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:14 pm Man, you have got the guitar luck on your side. That is a fantastic looking guitar...if it plays half as good as it looks, its a complete steal. Love that wood grain/texture/color on the body, neck, fretboard and headstock...all match seemlessly. Nice score!

Thank you! It really plays great and sounds pretty good too, though the pickups will be getting swapped. Here's a crappily recorded clip of a little jam I just did tonight with my lil Spark amp while putting it through its paces:

By God you make that ax sing! HNGD.

pdcorlis wrote: ↑Fri Jul 22, 2022 12:00 pm

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:35 pm

bleys21 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:14 pm Man, you have got the guitar luck on your side. That is a fantastic looking guitar...if it plays half as good as it looks, its a complete steal. Love that wood grain/texture/color on the body, neck, fretboard and headstock...all match seemlessly. Nice score!

Thank you! It really plays great and sounds pretty good too, though the pickups will be getting swapped. Here's a crappily recorded clip of a little jam I just did tonight with my lil Spark amp while putting it through its paces:

By God you make that ax sing! HNGD.

Thank you for the kind words! I was just noodlin around with a backing track I like, I tend to practice that way more often than not.

Last pickup I am waiting on will be here Tuesday...and then things'll look sorta like this (except actually installed and not sitting on top of the strings):

Very nice! And thanks to your inspiration, now I have a used HB coming in, looks like Friday. You're right about how nice it is to see the actual grain and color of the guitar, as when I compared it to the retail page, I would never have bought it based on that.

And the cost with shipping and tax was less that the cost of it new from HB, so that works for me. Hopefully its decent...

Here's the retail pic:

bleys21 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 25, 2022 10:20 pm Very nice! And thanks to your inspiration, now I have a used HB coming in, looks like Friday. You're right about how nice it is to see the actual grain and color of the guitar, as when I compared it to the retail page, I would never have bought it based on that.

And the cost with shipping and tax was less that the cost of it new from HB, so that works for me. Hopefully its decent...

Here's the retail pic:

Nice! Think I saw the one you're referring to at GC, guessing that is the one you grabbed. Hope its a winner for ya, but if its GC you've got nothing to worry about anyway with their return policy.

Back fresh from my tech...now sporting a Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAF in the neck, a Fender noiseless single coil in the middle, and a Suhr Doug Aldrich in the bridge. Custom roasted flame maple knobs as well. Sounds absolutely incredible!

Also I guess we are back to pics posting sideways...so click it for the upright version .