Post by taurash on Jul 3, 2018 10:26:08 GMT
Hi guys,
these last months, I've ordered and tried several HB guitars. First, I wanted to make myslef an idea of how that unknown very low cost brand could sound. And then, I've kept trying different models, thinking that if one of them would suit me, I could keep it.
Now, something new occurred. First, I think I've exhausted the list of the guitars that could eventually interest me and it's time to make a global review.
Before giving you my own and very personal list of preference, here are a few clues for you :
- Before I decide trying a HB, my lower cost guitar was a Scheter Demon 7 that I had paid 516€.
- My favorite brands were ESP LTD and Ibanez (now, I would add Solar to the list).
- Since february I've bought and tried 8 HB guitars. I only kept one.
- To make a comparison, I've also tried other brands guitars under 300€. One Jackson (JS32T Rhoads) which is not better than the worst HB I've tried, and one LTD (MH-100) which is better than the best HB I've tried.
So now, here's my ranking with explanations :
1- SC custom passive black with Roswell pups. Fret job was just perfect, and you have to know that only the SC customs had a perfect fret job. Loved the look, the painting, the playability and the sound. I still play it very often. It's only real flow is its heavy weight.
2- SC custom active in white. As good as the passive in termes of fret job and playability. Though, I havent been a fan of the sound of the pups. A bit buzzy, which was a surprise for me - I'm used to playing on EMG active pups - and almost impossible to reach for a convincing clean sound. I also had a few reservations about the general look of this guitar. The white painting looked cheap and the yellow binding on the neck was not nice with white painting.
3 - HWY 25 BKS. Surprisingly, the cheapest of all, but not the worst ! Here you come with a lack of fret polishing, which is the main flaw of this guitar. Pups are not that bad, quite versatile, and the guitar is very pleasant to play (well, except for bends dut to the unpolished frets.) Keeping it would have driven me to a luthier or guitar tech, and pushed me forward into buying new pups. I had the idea that this guitar would sound fine with a pair of Seymour Duncan Distorsion. But all this would have cost me twice the price of the guitar itself, and something made me think that the tuners, though they were not bad, wouldn't last for long.
4 - SC custom passive with Wilkinson pups. This ranking is due to a major issue I had with the toggle switch on this guitar. It was a B stock. I had ordered it just to compare the Wilkison pups with the Roswell. Wilkinson had a lower output level and sounded less good to me on clean tones, so I didn't keep it. Fretjob was ok but painting was not as good as on the two others. There were yellow stains on the edge of the headstock
5 - CST 24T. I'm sure some of you will not understand this ranking for a guitar which is several HB Customer's favorite. Quite simply, it has sucked the inspiration about of me. I couldn't bear the sound of the pups. Fat, undefined, dirty, they just had everything I hate. Apart from the major point, fretjob was quite good but not as good than on the SC customs - small rough edges, polishing not very well done - and I couldn't fix that freaking trem bar, so it fell down the floor everytime I was leaning down. Some people on this forum told me I could have fixed it and how to do it, and that'n nice. But HB should give that explanation !
6 - Extreme 84 : HBZ active pups are loud. Very hi output level, but buzzes everywhere. The neck is too round for me. Finishes were dirty, the neck had holes and bumps on its edge. This guitar is also very heavy, uncumfortable to play sitting - the tail of the explorer shape is too high and went into my ribs.
7 - TE7 Fanfret. Good sound, though the pups suffer a lack of precision, nice wood and painting. But fretjob is as bad as on the 98€ HWY 25 - and the TE7 is 298€, so my tolerancy falls down to 0 for this kind of stuff - and most of all, it was impossible for me to set up the strings action to a playable level for leads. The bridge, with its individual slots, doesn't help. I liked its hi gain sound, but there was way too many problems to solve for a top of the line guitar.
8 - R-457. Poor sound, as well in clean as in hi gain, poor fretjob, the guitar feels very week - and it's not because it's made in basswood. I have two other basswood guitars, including the Scheter demon 7. tuners were a pain to setup and could get the guitar in tune more than 10 minutes. I got sick of that guitar in half an hour.
As a conclusion, I would say that HB is able to make really good guitars. Unfortunately, there are still quality issues. A poor fretjob, bad tuners and a guitar that sould be fine becomes a pain.
I know several of you guys are not afraid with that. I'm not very good at repairing fret issues, I just started very recently. And I believe the customer who buys a ready to play guitar shouldn't have to do this job. If I want some wood and steel to work on, then I buy a HB electric guitar kit.
But there's one thing that really contributed into having HB falling down in my mind. When I bought the LTD MH-100 for 299€. This guitar, as my luthier said, is close from perfection in terms of finishes, fretjob, setups, electronics, painting and playability. Its only fails come from the equipment. The tuners are not very good - though not the worst I've seen - and the pups are too brillant and loud even for the metalhead that I am. But it's ok : If I wanted grover tuners and Seymour Duncan pups, I could have bought the MH-1001 for something like 1000€. Or I could just buy good tuners and a pair of SD distorsion and put them on the guitar - what I chose to do.
So, now, I expect HB to do the same job on its guitars than LTD does. I'm sure they can do it, so come on HB staff !
C U
Taurash.
these last months, I've ordered and tried several HB guitars. First, I wanted to make myslef an idea of how that unknown very low cost brand could sound. And then, I've kept trying different models, thinking that if one of them would suit me, I could keep it.
Now, something new occurred. First, I think I've exhausted the list of the guitars that could eventually interest me and it's time to make a global review.
Before giving you my own and very personal list of preference, here are a few clues for you :
- Before I decide trying a HB, my lower cost guitar was a Scheter Demon 7 that I had paid 516€.
- My favorite brands were ESP LTD and Ibanez (now, I would add Solar to the list).
- Since february I've bought and tried 8 HB guitars. I only kept one.
- To make a comparison, I've also tried other brands guitars under 300€. One Jackson (JS32T Rhoads) which is not better than the worst HB I've tried, and one LTD (MH-100) which is better than the best HB I've tried.
So now, here's my ranking with explanations :
1- SC custom passive black with Roswell pups. Fret job was just perfect, and you have to know that only the SC customs had a perfect fret job. Loved the look, the painting, the playability and the sound. I still play it very often. It's only real flow is its heavy weight.
2- SC custom active in white. As good as the passive in termes of fret job and playability. Though, I havent been a fan of the sound of the pups. A bit buzzy, which was a surprise for me - I'm used to playing on EMG active pups - and almost impossible to reach for a convincing clean sound. I also had a few reservations about the general look of this guitar. The white painting looked cheap and the yellow binding on the neck was not nice with white painting.
3 - HWY 25 BKS. Surprisingly, the cheapest of all, but not the worst ! Here you come with a lack of fret polishing, which is the main flaw of this guitar. Pups are not that bad, quite versatile, and the guitar is very pleasant to play (well, except for bends dut to the unpolished frets.) Keeping it would have driven me to a luthier or guitar tech, and pushed me forward into buying new pups. I had the idea that this guitar would sound fine with a pair of Seymour Duncan Distorsion. But all this would have cost me twice the price of the guitar itself, and something made me think that the tuners, though they were not bad, wouldn't last for long.
4 - SC custom passive with Wilkinson pups. This ranking is due to a major issue I had with the toggle switch on this guitar. It was a B stock. I had ordered it just to compare the Wilkison pups with the Roswell. Wilkinson had a lower output level and sounded less good to me on clean tones, so I didn't keep it. Fretjob was ok but painting was not as good as on the two others. There were yellow stains on the edge of the headstock
5 - CST 24T. I'm sure some of you will not understand this ranking for a guitar which is several HB Customer's favorite. Quite simply, it has sucked the inspiration about of me. I couldn't bear the sound of the pups. Fat, undefined, dirty, they just had everything I hate. Apart from the major point, fretjob was quite good but not as good than on the SC customs - small rough edges, polishing not very well done - and I couldn't fix that freaking trem bar, so it fell down the floor everytime I was leaning down. Some people on this forum told me I could have fixed it and how to do it, and that'n nice. But HB should give that explanation !
6 - Extreme 84 : HBZ active pups are loud. Very hi output level, but buzzes everywhere. The neck is too round for me. Finishes were dirty, the neck had holes and bumps on its edge. This guitar is also very heavy, uncumfortable to play sitting - the tail of the explorer shape is too high and went into my ribs.
7 - TE7 Fanfret. Good sound, though the pups suffer a lack of precision, nice wood and painting. But fretjob is as bad as on the 98€ HWY 25 - and the TE7 is 298€, so my tolerancy falls down to 0 for this kind of stuff - and most of all, it was impossible for me to set up the strings action to a playable level for leads. The bridge, with its individual slots, doesn't help. I liked its hi gain sound, but there was way too many problems to solve for a top of the line guitar.
8 - R-457. Poor sound, as well in clean as in hi gain, poor fretjob, the guitar feels very week - and it's not because it's made in basswood. I have two other basswood guitars, including the Scheter demon 7. tuners were a pain to setup and could get the guitar in tune more than 10 minutes. I got sick of that guitar in half an hour.
As a conclusion, I would say that HB is able to make really good guitars. Unfortunately, there are still quality issues. A poor fretjob, bad tuners and a guitar that sould be fine becomes a pain.
I know several of you guys are not afraid with that. I'm not very good at repairing fret issues, I just started very recently. And I believe the customer who buys a ready to play guitar shouldn't have to do this job. If I want some wood and steel to work on, then I buy a HB electric guitar kit.
But there's one thing that really contributed into having HB falling down in my mind. When I bought the LTD MH-100 for 299€. This guitar, as my luthier said, is close from perfection in terms of finishes, fretjob, setups, electronics, painting and playability. Its only fails come from the equipment. The tuners are not very good - though not the worst I've seen - and the pups are too brillant and loud even for the metalhead that I am. But it's ok : If I wanted grover tuners and Seymour Duncan pups, I could have bought the MH-1001 for something like 1000€. Or I could just buy good tuners and a pair of SD distorsion and put them on the guitar - what I chose to do.
So, now, I expect HB to do the same job on its guitars than LTD does. I'm sure they can do it, so come on HB staff !
C U
Taurash.