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Post by simonbedford on Apr 15, 2018 21:14:29 GMT
hi there, i am a lefty who has recently discovered harley benton, i am looking to get one of their les paul guitars but i am not sure which one is the one to go with, the lefty options seem to be the 400 450 (two types it seems) a custom one? and the 550 i have no clue which one is the "best" i owned a hagstrom swede but it broke...so i am looking to replace that.
simon
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Post by Surge on Apr 15, 2018 22:36:27 GMT
Hey Simon,
The only experience i have with HB LP style guitars is the LP 550. It is a great guitar for the price.
I would say for the price we are paying for these guitars it is absolutely worth spending a bit more money to get a really noticable change in quality.
Again, i have no experience with the HB-400 or 450. Mostly because everyone i know who wanted a LP style got the 550. That should say a lot.
Hope my opinion helped!
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Post by simonbedford on Apr 16, 2018 0:12:00 GMT
thanks , what about the 550 do you think makes it a better guitar?
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608 posts
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Post by oghkhood on Apr 16, 2018 5:00:08 GMT
Yes, absolutely no doubt the 550 is worth the extra dosh you pay for it. Even more if you upgrade the pups afterwards, but it is not mandatory. This is what a friend of mine did, and he is more than happy with it. And he also owns a 2500$ Stratocaster to compare. The 550 is obviously not the same lvl, but the bang for the buck is .... obvious
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 6:20:21 GMT
Observe the fretboard material! I would stay away from Blackwood! I have one guitar with this wood and the frets are "moving". I would suggest Roseaser fretboard seems to be more stable!
I had both 450+ and the 550 Amber and the 550 is a more comfortable to play as it had a more modern neck shape. 450+ used to come with a vintage C shape. I had these back in the days of Wilkinson pickups! Specs could have changed since then.
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Post by simonbedford on Apr 16, 2018 9:58:35 GMT
thanks . i have seen youtube videos where the 400 and 450s both sound very good but i am now leaning towards the 550. i was thinking of buying something cheaper and swapping the hagstrom pups ( which i still have) as they were very solid pickups.
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mrsilly
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by mrsilly on Apr 16, 2018 11:23:06 GMT
I own a Harley Benton SC-450 BK Classic Series. It plays well but the action was high out of the box. And I seem to get a bit of fret buzz when I play it. But it plays very nicely bit bulky neck. And the pickups are very nice. I can recommend it but to be honest this is my first guitar. And I plan on buying another one from Harley Benton but not a lp style guitar it's a shape I love to look at but hate to play. I am leaning towards there te-20 te-30 range atm
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 11:48:22 GMT
lp style guitar it's a shape I love to look at but hate to play. you said it
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Apr 16, 2018 15:44:04 GMT
Not me. Was playing my L-400 (older version of the SC-400) yesterday and it reminded me how good and balanced the guitar felt and sounded. Perhaps it's the basswood body ..I can see how a heavier mahogany body would be more inclined to reverse off my lap though. I love the pickups too even though by all accounts they should be rubbish.
I guess it's true that whenever someone gives an opinion of a pickup you need to know what kind of music they play. Clean or High-gain, vintage or modern sounding etc...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 16:56:54 GMT
Perhaps it's the basswood body ... ... ... I guess it's true that whenever someone gives an opinion of a pickup you need to know what kind of music they play. Clean or High-gain, vintage or modern sounding etc... and
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Post by simonbedford on Apr 17, 2018 1:19:39 GMT
well i certainly play more vintage at my age lol, and i guess i am looking for something that can handle both , although i do tend to think more high gain or overdriven when thinking les paul style guitars. i have the usual suspects for clean ( strat/tele) and have two very similar hollow bodies that sound better with a more dry sound ( a gretsch and a big tone) .
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Post by DerAlex on Apr 17, 2018 15:09:20 GMT
I would go for the SC550 as it is IMHO the much better guitar than the 450plus. And then you could invest in new pups.
Depending on what your budget is the "Whisky Burner"-Set from Craig Vineham (www.vineham.com) is absolutely incredible.
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Post by simonbedford on Apr 17, 2018 16:03:00 GMT
i have never personally swapped out pups, how difficult is it?
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Post by DerAlex on Apr 18, 2018 4:19:25 GMT
Depends on your soldering iron mainly. It should have 30-40 watts.
Changing PUs is easy as you only have two wires to resolder. Changing all electronics is also not difficult, there are plenty YT videos about it. The pots need to be soldered carefully. Remember to turn them to the ‚off‘ side before soldering the ground wire to reduce the possibility of damage.
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