Harley Benton Amarok !

[Donut]

Apr 21, 2020 14:52:58 GMT LeoThunder said:

Apr 21, 2020 14:29:18 GMT Donut said:

I've a feeling they will be the LAF (PAF clone) humbuckers.

Yes, they are. It is now visible on the HB site. 

Good stuff!

I wonder how much of an upgrade these are in terms on playability on the EX-76, or if the doubling of price is just for the solid wood etc.  The EX-84 is a flatter neck at 350mm compared to the 305mm of this new one but the EX-76 is also 24 fret not 22.

Does anyone know the neck thicknessess for the EX-76?

[LeoThunder]

Apr 21, 2020 21:59:38 GMT Donut said:

Apr 21, 2020 14:52:58 GMT LeoThunder said:

Yes, they are. It is now visible on the HB site. 

Good stuff!

I wonder how much of an upgrade these are in terms on playability on the EX-76, or if the doubling of price is just for the solid wood etc.  The EX-84 is a flatter neck at 350mm compared to the 305mm of this new one but the EX-76 is also 24 fret not 22.

Does anyone know the neck thicknessess for the EX-76?

22.5 mm at 1st fret, 25 at 12th. Same as the EX-84, if data on the Thomann site is to be trusted.
This is an open question because the full data is only available on the English version for the EX-76, the German version having only half of it. If some copy/paste operation is being butchered, there is no telling why and what is accurate.

Someone please buy one and post measurements 

The cheaper Extreme-76 and 84 have lesser specs, especially pick-ups and, I would assume, looser quality requirements, implying luck fretwork. Neck angle is another risk to take. I seldom see complaints about the SC's in the same price range but it has happened. The Extreme models have a different shape too. 

[nudelmaker]

Has anyone received their 7-string yet and tried a tuning like drop G#? I'm not sure about the 25.5 scale for those kinds of tunings because I dont want to buy 2 packs of strings just to get a non floppy 7th string.

[LeoThunder]

Apr 23, 2020 18:33:44 GMT nudelmaker said:

Has anyone received their 7-string yet and tried a tuning like drop G#? I'm not sure about the 25.5 scale for those kinds of tunings because I dont want to buy 2 packs of strings just to get a non floppy 7th string.

You can buy single strings. Pyramid and D'Addario will sell you single strings in about any gauge.
Ernie Ball will sell sets of three 0.060 to 0.090 strings.

I'm not sure about the Fender scale either. Ibanez have been doing it for decades but tuning down by a minor third will probably not work.
I tuned my 4-string bass down to B once. It went all floppy. Yes, I know it's a fourth.
Tuning the 0.059 B string down to G# on a 27" scale, it's not great either. I'd want a thicker string.

By the way, thicker strings will restore the needed tension but not necessarily the expected tone. I had a thick taper-wound B string on a bass that sounded very different from the low E, all dull even after serious cleaning. It must have been a 0.135 or worse. Things went back into place when I put on regular Fender with a 0.125 B. 

[Donut]

I've just been looking at the Amarok series with a view to buying a 6 string. Unfortunately, they are all hardtails, why isn't there a trem version?!?

[hurricanemoon]

ibb.co/M5SRsJm

my amaorok arived lads!.....all good at myend...well except a stiff volume knob....its a bit grindy,but i can sort that.
frets are lovely...neck feels almost wizard like to me.

@taurus my jack was fine luckily on my model...cable pulls out fine...(but my hb 620 has that issue with a sticky socket)

setup and intonation seemed rather good too,but im sure ill tweak throughout the day.


what a bloody great guitar for the money.

[LeoThunder]

Nice fingerboard.
And the reverse headstock looks good instead of just goofy as they usually do.

[taurash]

Apr 27, 2020 12:29:19 GMT hurricanemoon said:

ibb.co/M5SRsJm

my amaorok arived lads!.....all good at myend...well except a stiff volume knob....its a bit grindy,but i can sort that.
frets are lovely...neck feels almost wizard like to me.

@taurus my jack was fine luckily on my model...cable pulls out fine...(but my hb 620 has that issue with a sticky socket)

setup and intonation seemed rather good too,but im sure ill tweak throughout the day.


what a bloody great guitar for the money.

Yeah ! Congrat hurricanemoon !
Too bad for the volume knob, but I think this first generation of Amarok still suffers a few youth problems.

And I do agree : for the money, it's a really great guitar. 

Now I have to save money for the 7 strings version

[hurricanemoon]

7 strings!.....are you insane man?!
well i will look forward to your future vids regardless of what guitars you play.

[advb]

Apr 27, 2020 13:43:52 GMT LeoThunder said:

And the reverse headstock looks good instead of just goofy as they usually do.

I'm with you on that.  I have a Squier Showmaster which has a reverse headstock.  I'm used to it now but the headstock is just the standard Strat shape. Maybe they did that to maintain the brand image but its not exactly an "edgy" look! 

[hurricanemoon]

[LeoThunder]

Apr 27, 2020 21:13:26 GMT advb said:

Apr 27, 2020 13:43:52 GMT LeoThunder said:

And the reverse headstock looks good instead of just goofy as they usually do.

I'm with you on that.  I have a Squier Showmaster which has a reverse headstock.  I'm used to it now but the headstock is just the standard Strat shape. Maybe they did that to maintain the brand image but its not exactly an "edgy" look! 

It's not about being edgy, more a matter of flow. When a guitar has a longer upper horn, it implies a sense of movement which is continued by a downward pointing headstock. Invert the headstock and that line is broken, the thing seems to say "look, I'm inverted, how cool is that?"
It works better on a Telecaster because there is no upper horn and the headstock is small, continuing the lower horn when reversed. On a Strat', especially with a large headstock, the effect is ridiculous, like an upside down head mask.



The Chapman ML1, by resorting to a more Telecaster-like headstock, avoids the problem to some extent:



On Solar guitars, the headstock doesn't seem as out of place as on a Strat' because the upper part is not so large. 
It also gives it a funny pitchfork character. Beware of Solar players…



The Amarok does the same, looking less asymmetrical. The tuner line is also slightly curved:

[blindwilly3fingers]

Apr 27, 2020 23:19:25 GMT hurricanemoon said:

The background music sounds a bit like Robin Tower? What? Who is it? 👂

Nice looking finish. 👍

[hurricanemoon]

i almost bought a chapman ml1 pro or trad model...because i liked there shape and reverse headstock.

funny story lads.....yesterday when tuning my amarok..for a breif moment i thought my tuners were broke....turning the peg...string wasnt budging anywhere....

after slapping myself i realised i was turning the wrong peg...even though they are reverse...in my brain i was still treating the high e as the low e......ect

doh...what a plonker eh ha ha

[hurricanemoon]

blindwilly3fingers...the background music is my tribute to the great robin trowers bridge of sighs,and is indeeed me playing the amarok yesterday.
its her christening ha ha...check my channel out mate...got tunes and jams and experimental ideas i put up ect.