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Yes! You just plug it in and let it do its thing. You don't even have to do anything and you have 90's Black Metal sound? This is what I call true innovation! Kudos Thomann! I'm gonna buy one and set it on fire while recording to get that really Trve Kvlt Black Metal sound. Gonna be CRISPY sounding for sure.
@@TenFalconsMusic i imagine they QC check using some tiny clean practice amp to check if there is a signal at all. probably in this setting there isn't nearly as audible hiss like running it into a high gain ENGL. Thats how they do it at Gibson, on the silly little fotos they include in the guitars on the QC desk you can actually see the tiny amps (of the belt clip on variety) standing on the desk.
One of the biggest QC issues with any manufacturers is the amount of guitars that the QC staff has to process. Often times, it's a pallet of 100 or so guitars. So, quick unbox, paint looks good, neck straight, plug in and strum. Signal? OK it passes. Often times, these people don't even play, the just follow a tech sheet, and often rubber stamp a guitar to keep their numbers up, and keep the bosses off their back.
@@bigbo1764 It's not a qc or a r&d problem. It's a chinese "I don't give a shit and you get what you pay for problem". (issues are magazines and newspapers)... I've worked with many chinese manufacturers and the way they work is, money. The cheaper westerners want a product, the more they will have to tolerate one less step in the production line. In this case, the guy who files frets is removed from the production line. "Oh, you want cheaper? ok". We remove guy who sands off black finish on bottom of bridge from production line. "but now the pickups are noisey", "sorry, we cannot do for $138 buck". If Thomann gave them 15 or 20 dollars/euros more for each guitar, you'd probably have smooth frets, and properly grounded pickups.
"... So it doesn't scream like an angry Karen when you plug it in!" You nailed it! Crazy stuff cause EVERYONE of these HB active series that went out are faulty. Thomman needs to do a mass recall. This is big bad news. Thanks for catching it!
Hey Glenn. I am really happy to hear you are going to work on those guitars to make them playable. I bought my first guitar just a few month ago. It's just a cheap Squier but it's an absolutely amazing product in my yet not so musical hands after I worked on it. I worked for years in machine production where wood and also metal processing is daily work. Because of that I have a really good eye for bad manufactured products and their usabillity. Since I knew cheap stuff is made cheap first thing I did was looking up how to make cheap guitars better. I found a ton of info on that and ran into almost all the problems I found online. Intonation, sharp frets, adjusting the tremolo, string height, pick up height, jack socket. I needed to do just everything. Since I worked in machinery I know how to do it and know all the physical aspects. So I had an absolute blast doing it and also got to learn tons of new cool stuff how guitars work. Now it's MY guitar that I set up on my own and I am proud as heck about it. Unfortunately I am not the average beginner with that background but I wish more people would develop the courage to do something with their instruments to make it better instead of keeping it how it is and trash talk it or even lose interest. I guess most people just want to play and don't want to know how it works. Damn I am fortunate when it comes to that. Love your work.
Love this. I’ve been playing for nearly 10 years I’m still not great. But I only just started modding my guitar. Recently bought a Squier mustang the pickups are great in my opinion but found some nice p90s can’t wait to make it my own. Good luck on your guitar journey
I'm glad you're doing the right thing and trying reasonable measures to get these guitars up to spec. Agreed, you shouldn't have to. But people who buy at these price points know they're going to have to file some fret ends from time to time. I still have lots to learn, but I believe the more you can DIY your axe, the better.
I never could figure out why people don't learn to do their own setups. It's not difficult and it's kinda fun (to me, anyway), and why waste money paying someone else to do something you can learn to do yourself in about an hour?
@@michaelhendricks9462having to completely file down the enamel on a bridge to properly ground is NOT a basic setup. Nor is it even something you should ever have to do even on a cheap guitar. Look, they spent time and money coating these bridges, which costs us more money, something they should have never done. For the sake of proper grounding and for the sake of budget, it just doesn’t make any sense to do that.
I think what makes this even worse is, a lot of people have to buy this online because they don’t live in Germany so returning it for some people just isn’t an option. And I just have to thank you personally. I was literally about to buy one of these but looked around for reviews and found yours. I would have been absolutely heartbroken to hear this shitbuzz.
I don't know how thomann works in the US, but in Europe it doesn't matter if you live in Germany, if you want to send it back they'll arrange it, you don't have to pay to return it back or anything, pretty smooth process actually. Edit: I've just checked, they have the same 30 days money back thing in the US, you can return it no problem too
Thank you for the last two reviews. I was looking at this series from them after your other reviews of their better guitars. Was hours away from hitting the purchase button and then watched and heard that v. Thank you for Saving my wallet. Picked up an Epiphone sg p90 in a gorgeous worn Inverness green instead, and it slays.
@@DarrenWaters75 thanks! I imagine it’s because they don’t have to keep the exact “legacy” design spec that ensures bad tuning stability that Gibson uses. I honestly don’t know and it’s something I’ve wondered for years with other companies Les Paul copies. Like the headstock angle the Gibsons have is just ridiculous. Thanks again!
Great that you identified the problem! I have purchased a Multiscale 7 a month ago, black hardware, and the passive pickups were fairly quiet (although I threw in a couple of Fluence Abasi, as, well, speakers do most of the sound indeed, but pickups do bring clarity, precision and warmth), so I guess they did the grounding correctly on my Multiscale 7
I remember seeing a Dullahan video where the bridge was not grounded properly because of the black paint. The youtuber in that video sanded down the contact point of the ground and it worked well for them. When I took my Dullahan apart, it was already sanded down and had no grounding issues, so someone either dropped the ball, or actually listened (just didn't apply the knowledge to the rest of the guitars offered).
They still look a great modding platform, also a great way of learning how to maintane an instrument. Hope you have some luck with it, great vid as always sir.
True ! It's a shame though cuz the whole point is to get a good, functional instrument for a bargain price 🙁 New pickups would probably cost more than the entire guitar LOL
@@ReizokoRyu Now that people know about it, if they look at the purchase as a mod platform from the start and know what they're doing, I'd say its a great place to start from for a tinkerer...
@@FloridaManRacer also a good point ! I definitely agree. I'm just running on a low budget right now haha, so I'd hope to get something decent to start with for now
@@ReizokoRyu I got a HB Multiscale 7 for $250 just to try a fanned fret guitar(no real guitar stores within 90 mins of me to demo one) and without eating most of a paycheck and it honestly only needed new tuners and a setup. Pickups aren’t the best but with an eq/boost pedal to clean up the mud before the amp i have no complaints. Does not at all feel or sound as cheap as any ltd Jackson or Ibanez you’ll find for that price
This really makes me look forward to the pickup comparison testing you keep hinting at. Also, how about doing a tremolo shoot out? (Floyd Rose's, Vega-Trem, Wilkinson, Kaher)
As I've suggested to take a look at the HB JA-20HH last week, looks like you've already shot that video! A comparison to the Squier Contemporary Active Jazzmaster would be in order! The Squirt is a genuine good guitar! ;)
I have a Fender MB-5 bass from the '90s, one of their cheaper models that I think got relegated to being Squire before they disconinued it, and I love it. I've seen mixed reviews, everything from "amazing" to "this thing sucks," I always figured the guy who made mine at the factory was having a really good day. I've never been a guy who uses pedals or effects, I just plug into a good amp and go. If I want some growl I use a preamp and overdrive it. So what I get is the sound of the BASS, not a bunch of electronic effects, and I've always been pleased with the sound of this thing and it fits well into live mixes. I used to play through an Eden, a very clean, non-coloring amp, and for the fun of it I've tried other people's WAY more expensive basses (mine was $350) through the same amp, and while they may sound DIFFERENT they never really sounded BETTER... which made me happy because I never felt the need to "upgrade" to some $3,000 instrument and instead spent that money on, y'know, weed and tattoos (I am a bassist, after all). It is well-known that it doesn't really carry the B string very well, probably because it's a shorter scale than most 5-strings, but that doesn't affect me because I tune it up to C instead of down to B. The only thing I've considered upgrading on this bass is the bridge, because the original one looks cheap and crappy and a beefier one would both look better and give me more sustain. It's incredibly playable, comfortable, and lighter than a Jazz or P bass because it doesn't have that baseball-bat neck and there's way less wood in the body than those basses. Oh, and I WAS considering changing the pickups after all these years, but thanks to Glenn I took those off my wish-list, which would have cost me more than the bass, itself, and... you guessed it... instead of pickups I'm gonna get a tattoo of some weed. I'm still not gonna practice, though.
genuine good guitars, not surprising because Squier Contemporary series aren't beginner instruments, they're top level Squiers pretty much in the same category quality-wise as MIM Fenders, I remember their price, they've been going for 400$ used vs this guitar's 160$ brand new. They have features you can't even find on 800$ MIMs, like roasted maple necks.
Hi Glenn, i'm a hobbyist luthier and those guitars bring up some questions... Active Pickups actually do not need to be grounded to the strings, even though it doesn't hurt. From this point of view the insulating paint would be half as bad, but still a pretty serious design oversight in case the parts are used in another guitar with passive pickups. To find the problem, I would proceed in the following order: 1. Check the battery. Is it fresh? Is there any kind of insulating tape for the transport? 2. Check if the strings are connected to each other. Check if you have continuity between all the strings. If thats not the case, you need to remove the insulating paint in the saddle slots. 3. Check if the ground wire is installed correctly. First measure the continuity between the pot and the bridge itself. If there is no connection, check the ground wire and if necessary use a bit of sandpaper on the backside of the bridge to sand of the paint. I just wonder, that you have the same problem with the V. This guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge with metal posts inserted into the body. That post should not be painted and attached to this is the ground wire. It might be possible that the paint is also insulating to the strings, but at that point i'd just deepen the string grooves in the saddle just to remove some of the paint. However, i'm really curious what's the matter with those two guitars and i would be happy to see a follow-up video. Best Regards Max
Great job on identifying the issue with these guitars! I've been looking for a guitar with active pickups, and now I can avoid these!!! Thanks Glenn!!!
I love that you follow up with multiple HB guitars that don’t have the same issue as the Active series. Really highlights the issues with their Active pickups.
I’m still going to buy the V. Yeah the issues are inexcusable, but at least for someone like me, I can mod it to hell and back. I’m planning on doing something stupid like installing a fuzz circuit or a distortion circuit in it. If I ever do end up doing that project I might make a video on it, just to see the before and after on it. I still think a guitar like this has its purpose though. It’s not impossible to save, and i think it’s better to show musicians that. You should learn how to do your own maintenance on your instrument. I know it’s easier to just pay someone to do it, but there are too many players in my experience who discredit a whole guitar over some easily fixed issues (not these ones, but other epi’s and squires I worked on back when I worked on guitars.)
Hey! Could someone explain to me, how did Glenn do the tests in the V video without noise, if it's so noisy with amps? Was it an amp plugin? Or the other way around? How are the two different in terms of noise? Thanks
The noiseless test he did at the beginning was running the guitar through the audio interface into a plugin so it didn't pick up any noise like that. I don't recall if he had a noise gate in the plugin though.
This is the funniest RU-vid channel I’ve seen in a while. You’re absolutely killing it with the jokes and the humor and the anger. Enjoy the videos keep up the great work.
For a test, you can just use a piece copper wire. Plug the guitar in using a instrument cable with bare metal connector(important), take the copper wire and wrap one end on that metal connector then use the other end to touch all the strings. That will ground all your strings directly to the instrument cable. If that cuts down most of the noise then you do have a ground problem.
Ha! I had exactly the same issue on both of the HB PB-SBK basses that I own. Great basses once you sand off the paint on the back of the bridge but as you rightly point out, this should NOT be allowed to go out of the factory in that condition. Do they not even plug them in and test them? Obviously not.
Got their p bass too and sanded off the coating, sounds nice now. It's hilarious that they not only didn't fix the issue for years but they introduce new product lines with it. It's not a bug, it's a feature.
Fascinating. I have a Harley Benton SBK 5 PB which I run through a high gain amp and a fuzz pedal, and it is completely fine. Wonder whether I am the exception or whether the fuckups are the odd ones out. When did you buy yours?
Think it was June this year. Was researching it heavily on RU-vid beforehand so I knew what I have to do, there are at least three tutorial videos about grounding issue in pb20 sbk 4 string model. Did it in about 20 minutes without taking strings off, just let them loose a bit. It wasn't nearly as bad as shown here though, maybe active pickup and guitar frequences make it way worse?
@@MrPlastyfikator No idea if a guitar really goes that much higher than a bass when you include overtones. I bought mine around the same time and play the high strings like a guitar. Guess it really comes down to luck or QC?
@@MrPlastyfikator it doesn't help that the amp in this video is a noisy valve amp which only makes any grounding issues worse. It's an easy fix, simply sanding the underside of the bridge fixes this.
I have the exact same guitar which also had the ground hum issue and I solved it: I had a look under the hardtail bridge, and I saw that there is a spot, where is no paint to make the connection to the ground cable. The only problem is that the ground cable was not attached to this non painted spot. I attached the cable there, fastened the bridge…and the hum was gone! I do think, that Thomann knows about the paint, which is nonconductive and that’s why there is this spot without paint at the bottom of the bridge. The only problem is probably that in the factory the ground cables of all guitars didn’t get attached to that spot.
You should get a fret rocker and check to see how level the frets are on the guitars you review that would be interesting to see how much attention they pay to the frets
Why do that when you could check a guitar after setup to see if you have fret buzz? You don’t need the tool unless you really need it. Or like getting stuffed by Stew Mac…
GLENNNNN! I think it would be great for you to review Ibanez Gio guitars. I always hear mixed opinions on them and I just want honest opinions rather than paid sponsors telling a lie or two.
I would love to have that thing, I love doing projects, and fixing stuff, especially because my favorite pickups are a cheap, 20 dollar china special set, and I know how to solder and do fun modifications, so this thing (assuming I wouldn't have to pay too much for it) would be a dream.
I do feel vindicated it is the coating, it was my theory from the get go. You know, sometimes it feels nice to know exactly what's wrong with a product, unlike the whole company that makes the bloody thing.
@@reghunt2487 I am confused, Glenn is talking about pickup noise and grounding, and that the bridges paint stops the grounding from working. What do you mean by grounding the strings?
@@grayfox9000 He WAS talking about pickup noise, but he's now looking at making sure the strings are grounded. Normally electric guitar strings are connected to ground by a wire running from the bridge to the output jack, otherwise the strings act like antennas for all sorts of noise. (if you pop open your control cover, you should see a random looking wire going into a hole in the body) Trivia: some makers think grounded strings are a hazard, and do not ground them. But in this case I think it was a mistake, not a design choice.
@@reghunt2487 Oh I misunderstood what you meant then, my bad. I know pickups have a grounding wire that goes to the bridge, but I admit I never knew where it went to the bridge it also did the strings. Is this why when you aren't touching the strings there is some noise, but when you touch them the noise gets a lot more quiet?
@@grayfox9000 Well, the pickups will be grounded to the other electronics, not to the bridge. The bridge will usually be grounded to the electronics too (the back of a pot), which then grounds to the output jack. And yes, if you have noise that disappears when you touch the strings, either the strings aren't grounded, or the guitar is badly grounded (possibly an amp or power issue). Passive pickups have a ground wire. It's to provide shielding for the pickup wires going to the electronics, and if the pup has a metal cover, the ground wire connects to that too. For active pups, the circuitry will take care of the grounding for the system, but will still ultimately connect to the jack ground.
Just found your channel a while ago and love the content! Ever thought of doing reviews of the lower end HB guitars like the DC200 or others under $200?
It's interesting that they fucked this up so late into their line. I have a current Harley Benton bass in the same colour scheme, black hardware, with a single coil pickup. (That's a noise-intense one, for non-bassists.) Noise is completely normal, I'd even say low for single coils. So they basically unlearnt something they have gotten right so far. Maybe a change in factory or something.
We almost have Glenn at 500k! If you like this show, this content, the live mix reviews, demos, and recording tips, SUBSCRIBE!! Let’s get him over the 400k hump!!
Great rant, and well done for the extra effort to seek out and try solutions. Looking forward to the follow-up videos. As it is, these guitars are only useful as a stress test for the C***Blocker.
That's not enough. What very likely happened is that non conductive paint found its way into the chain without development or anyone else being consulted. Maybe some sourcing guy thought he'd save 2 cents, maybe a supplier even lied on the product.
@@Leo_ofRedKeep Quite possible. But for guitars, especially sub 200€ ones, a proper pre-production run is a big ask. If they received product that isn't to spec, there may be recourse...
@@luisnunes3863 Thomann has a habit of outsourcing quality control to its customers. Never trust a new model. They often come with "childhood diseases", bad designs that get sorted out in later batches. And the regular models often change in small ways, unannounced. They hide it all behind a "free return policy without questions" (within the EU). Harley Benton is a gateway drug, the bait to get people to want a guitar but they make more money by selling you a Fender.
Glen, Open up the control cavities on the Quiet vs Noisy Harley Benton models you have. I suspect all the noisy ones use two wires to the jack (same as Fender) but should be using shielded cable to the jack (like even the old Epiphone 'clipped-ear' bolt on $80 LP Juniors shipped with shielded cable to the jack). I have found that for most guitars the unshielded pair to the jack are at least 50% of the idle noise floor. That offset HB jack to volume pot is a long run, as are most Vs. Traditional Fender JMs have their jack in the shielded control cavity so they can kind of get by.
Lol your energy is so cool, I was having a pretty shite day until I clicked on this video & you had me laughing from the go.... Thanks man....if for nothing else at least I want you to know that I appreciate you for that, you've completely flipped my mood for the better Cheers
Damn Glenn, you ripped them a new one! Well-deserved for putting a product out with such a defect that could have been easily fixed before it was a real issue. Not even a real defect, just people not paying attention to proper design. The ground wire is an absolute MUST!
Not trying to defend Harley Benton here, but sometimes those cheaper active pickups get really noisy around led studio lighting. Especially if you point the pickup directly into the light. Have you tried playing it with normal room light instead of led/studio softbox? Also, there are gotoh and other hardware that is painted black, and still does induce electric signal, so it may not be the source of the problem. There is a video on one of the older "high end" 7 string fanfret Harley Benton with the same hbz pickups and the guy reviewing it basically said- those pickups are not designed for led lights.
I love that you're always so hilariously fair. God forbid if this was a Gibson. All guitar makers have quality control holes to fill, lol. EDIT: Just from the sound, I've been here before with pawn shop guitars I know I could fix this with only a soldering iron, which doesn't excuse the quality control.
Ok so today I found out that paint actually does effect noise floor. That's what these videos are good for, you always learn something new. I had no clue.
I would try to locate 2 things in your area: 1) a company that sandblasts metal parts 2) a company that powder coats That should fix any issues with the enamel Also, if they are extremely high output, you're still going to get some noise bc it's like having a cranked overdrive in front on your amp.
Hey Glenn Freicker, I don't know if you've heard this yet, but Thomann has opened a new warehouse and distribution center in the state of Maryland in the US. I'm going to be ordering from them at that location to speed up the ordering, shipping time and saving shipping cost.
I just had to sand the bottom of the bridge to bare metal to get it to ground. i didn’t need to mess with sanding anything on the top like the saddles etc. I think you just need to make sure the ground wire touches bare metal on the bottom. Took me about 3 minutes with 400 Grit sandpaper.
Hey Glenn, saying that the st 20 hh active sbk would basically have the same specs, would that guitar have the same problem? Because I am very heavily debating buying that guitar, and seeing these passed couple videos I am worried about that guitar now.
About upcoming pick up comparison. I have always been able to hear a difference between ceramic vs alnico.. so conformation or proof of my bias. Would be great. To me ceramic just sounds like all the mids are scooped out.
Dremel tool with a sanding wheel just use gently and you should have no issue getting the paint off the back of that bridge. sheet of 80 to 100 grit sand paper folded in half should fit nicely in the saddle grooves use a little elbow grease and the paint should strip out
The blackout look is fine Glen. As long as the guitar is firmly grounded. I'm amazed that they continue to send you stuff, given your stark honesty. But I say good on them for doing so. These would be great starter guitars, if they were simply built correctly. Good on you for telling the fucking truth Glen. Maybe your relationship with them will lead to better quality in Harley Benton's lower tier products.
Ironically, i have a self-built, fully blacked out guitar, with a black, low profile bridge, and a single active EMG, 0 ground issues. the black hardware SHOULD NOT be an issue if done correctly
Thank you so much for this! The price makes this a very appealing project guitar and it does look cool but yeah bridge work sounds a bit bigger than what I was hoping for. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it though.
I build guitars with black hardware all the time. I Dremel the paint off of a spot on the bottom of the bridge so the ground wire connects, then also where the ball of each string touches the bridge (if you're careful, you'll never see the ground away places).
Hey Glenn, you can actually order a Hipshot bridge, in black and it’s a drop in replacement for about $80. The brass is exposed on the back so no matter what color hardware you prefer, it will ground. And work properly!
I'm really happy to see that you're going to take the extra steps to fix the small issues on the V in order to make it better playing and sounding than out of the box. Most inexpensive guitars suffer from the lack of attention to detail on the fretwork and setup. I took my girlfriend's Ibanez GIO and did some fret filling, swapped the pickups for decent ones, and put in new tuners and a bridge and it plays like a much more expensive guitar. It actually sounds pretty damn good! I think the viewers might like to see the process of cleaning up the frets and other small detail work you can do to an inexpensive guitar without dumping hundreds of dollars into it at a luthier. All you need are the right tools and a little bit of research on RU-vid and you can learn some pretty valuable skills in luthierie. I learned a lot (pre internet) by tinkering with cheap used guitars. Now I know my way around an RG like the back of my hand.
Did you get a chance to look at their basses? There's the MJ-4MN Jazz bass, with a humbucker in bridge position, coil-split switch, and an active/passive switch. There's also a P-bass variant of it with a split-coil in neck position rather than the single coil. Was hoping to find your opinion on those but found no Harley Benton basses on the channel :(
ive had black painted hardware on deans with no issues. is there insulation paint on the inside? usually flat black. damage to or lack of that can cause noise.🤔🍻
Yeah you could say "shit happens", but Harley Benton had the same painting/grounding issues with the Dullahans shortly before. I will gladly defend Thomann anytime because my experience with them has been outstanding, but there is no excuse to putting out ungrounded guitars *after sending out ungrounded guitars the year before*
Hey Glenn, could you possibly drill a very shallow divot on the back and solder or screw to that to get a good ground? Losing the black hardware would kill the vibe of the design in my opinion.
I ran into the same problem Glen is having with an Epiphone Thunderbird bass once, and I solved it by taking the paint off the back of the bridge. It had tons of hum before I took the paint off, but once that paint was gone it was quiet as could be. I think pickip shielding would be excessive at that point
awesome video bud. Was wondering if you would ever make any videos to show us Bass players how to maintain our instruments. I guess you can do guitars and drums as well. Maybe even going into higher details where you take your instruments or gear you get apart and go into the electronics. keep making these videos buddy fucking eh!
Try just sanding the bottom of the bridge with some 220 grit. If you find you need to remove the finish from the saddles, try just using the sharp edge of a square or triangle needle file and LIGHTLY file the string path.
All would have been fine had they simply used a conductive paint on the bridge parts. I'd start with some acetone on the parts that need conductivity such as the saddles and such while leaving as much paint on the bridge as possible for aesthetics.
@@Leo_ofRedKeep Probably saved 2 cents per 1000 units, but hey, the cost of the recalls are taken from another department's budget, so it's not their problem.
@@psykoklown874 Or someone is selling them normal paint for the price of conductive paint and pocketing the difference. All we really know is that customers find out because such a noise test is not part of the systematic factory QC.
That escalated quickly😅😂 For the ground it‘s enough to grind where the ground wire lies under the bridge and with a triangle file the slots on the saddles. I like the looks of that guitar. Cheers 😊
Speaking of Thomann, I bought a Jackson Randy Rhoads and hard case from Thomann earlier this year. Delighted with my instrument. I ordered a classical guitar from them a few weeks ago and filmed the unboxing when it arrived on Thursday. I wasn't happy with what I got and sent it back for a replacement on Friday. I still put the unboxing up on youtube. The bridge was broken when I opened the box and when I was repacking I saw the nut on the floor. It had fallen off the guitar. So I can sort of relate to your feelings here.
I have several Harley Bentons. Most of them are almost perfect but I had a few complaints too. But I have to point out their customer service is top notch. I had a problem with the black paisley Telecaster. The neck angle want right. When I put the guitar with the back in the ground the neck would point slightly up. And it wasn't because of the neck plate in the underside. The wrong angle was even visible when looking at the joint between neck and body. Received a replacement but same problem. Found one on the used market which didn't have this problem. Seems they received a faulty batch. The overall quality of the guitars is really impressive but they really need to improve QC. Seems someone on the router station isn't doing his work. Neck pockets are one of the most important things to get right.
Played guitar since '72 (i'm 65 now). Closest i ever got to 'active' was an '80s Cort Arrow with a built in preamp. I paid $150 for this in '96. Last battery change hurt this circuit but the guitar still works great. Offset, Sq Jagmaster, gift from my Wife. I love it.
That's not normally a problem with black hardware, and active pickups don't even require grounding to the bridge (EMG pickup instructions say not to do so, though the SD Blackouts recommend bridge grounding. Either way works fine. Not grounding just prevents being electrocuted if there's some catastrophic electrical problem. Pretty edge case scenario though.) Even even if it's not ground to the bridge, it shouldn't make that much noise. None of the others would make that noise when you set them down and are no longer grounding yourself to the string/bridge. I'm inclined to think there's an issue with the pickup design/QC or the wiring diagrams their builders are using.
It's not the pick-ups. Strings function as antennas if not grounded and the electromagnetic noise they collect is picked up together with their movement. That's why guitars connect the bridge to ground and this one does to but by some factory mishap, non-conductive paint was used on the bridge and it doesn't work.
Thanks Glen, almost pulled the trigger on one of these because they are super cheap and look great. Look forward to seeing what happens when properly grounded.
I wonder if the prototypes were done with black chrome hardware, and then a bean counter said "paint is cheaper" without asking any of the engineers. In any case, Glenn, you are absolutely on the mark, QC should have caught that before any of them left the warehouse.
I honestly hope people from Thomann are truly willing to listen about what you said and make their products better instead of either ignoring or, even worse, throwing shades and picking fights. I was considering their products (the one with Gotoh is a nasty amazing machine) once I leave Brazil, but I'd like to see how they deal with these recent QC issues.
They have no interest in pushing Harley Benton beyond the beginner crowd. Their main business is to sell the more expensive brands. HB is just the bait to get people into guitars.
Well, like many other "projects," it IS a way to get something good for a cheap price by just doing a little work on it yourself. I think the biggest problem with this is they're marketing it as a starter instrument for beginners, who wouldn't know any better and probably have no idea how to do the work, or lack the confidence and experience to attempt it. I'll be very interested in the followup video, whether the work he does actually fixes the problem or not. If it does, this can be a pretty cool thing. Buy a $200 guitar knowing what you're getting. Take it apart and Dremel, sand, or file some of the finish off the back of the bridge so you can contact metal with the grounding wire. Bingo, now you've got a good guitar for only $200 and a little elbow grease. Personally, I like stuff like that. Every minute of labor that goes into making that guitar costs money, therefore raises the price. Since I'm capable and like doing things anyway, I don't like to pay people to do things I can do myself for free. If I can get something that's perfect for $500, or get the exact same thing by paying $200 and DIYing it, I'll choose the $200 EVERY time. Now, uhh... if it turns out that the pickups themselves just suck... none of what I just said applies to THAT guitar.
@@Leo_ofRedKeep Yeah I don't think so. Big brands usually bring less profit margin. I bet their margins on Harley Bentons are much better than something like Fender, and their cheap stuff s their bread and butter.
Your reviews are amazing! You don’t just say it’s trash, you give them something to actually work with and make their product better! If I was selling something, I’d rather have an honest review instead of someone kissing my ass and dealing with a bunch of returns 6 months later.
I love the finish and look of this guitar, but that body looks like it's too light the way every person has handled it and I would have like to see a strap test. Looks like it might be a diver.
So not one but two guitars with the same issue using those pickups. I hope you can get them sorted, I am thinking of getting a Harley Benton but I will stay away from the ones that use these active pickups.
I'm not an active pickup guy, but I have dabbled in them a time or 3 (6 or 7 years ago)... I never understood why the documentation for actives (like EMGs) said you don't need to ground the strings. Since I'm a passive pickup player, all mine have grounds. Do EMG loaded guitars have the bridges not grounded? Or was that some BS that I may have misunderstood in the documentation? Are those HB active pickups high impedance, or low impedance like EMGs? I suppose that would make a difference. I'm interested to see what he finds inside the two guitars.
Nice! :) I was curious why you asked for the bridge color under my last comment and now I understand it :D. Maybe they should start to sell these in DIY/FIY (fix it yourself) kits together with a screwdriver and piece of sandpaper. Not sure what the general audience would be but I always enjoyed the process of fixing the cheap stuff so my ten years younger me would definitely like it :D. Anyway, this ruins the image "we make it build in Asia and then we do the famous German QC" which HB has. And yes, I am a huge HB fan. I have several of them. They have their flaws but all of them are understandable for the money. This is not understandable at all and I wouldn't bother to troubleshoot it. I would probably asked for replacement and then I would be pissed and asking for refund. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. I was planning to buy one of these just for the fun and after your videos I'll probably wait for the fixed revisions :).
Glenn, did you try playing it passively by pulling out the 9 volt battery? Can that be done? Active pickups are always noisier than passive brothers, but not that noisey. I usually install a grounded faraday cage around all the electronics with both aluminum and cooper to block out the radio frequencies and electromagnetic interference. This works wonders for achieving a super clean sound.
GLEEEEEENNNN!!! Thanks for the awesome review as always. I was wondering... I wanted to get the HB JA-60SB , and it's the same body type so now I'm concerned. Model names are different though - don't think it uses active pickups. Should I reconsider?!
Hi, I have had several HB guitars and basses. The Jag model you are looking for works fine. I can't guarantee it will come up with ABSOLUTE ZERO flaws, but a quick setup might be something to do. It will be playable. And, no, it's not active pickups. If you cannot tell by the technical information, just look at the pictures. If you can't see a 9v socket, it's passive ^^ *flies away*
