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Left Handed Baritone?!?!
If you are reading this, I don't think I need to explain to you how difficult it is to find a good quality left handed baritone 6 string for a decent price.
If you are new to the woefully barren and expensive world of left handed guitars, let me save you the hassle: YOU WANT THIS GUITAR!
Every Harley Benton I've purchased has never failed to impress. The Amarok is no exception, and passes with flying colors especially under the scrupulous standards that come with the $500 price tag.
The guitar is absolutely stunning in person, the photos on the website don't do the subtle blue undertones in the finish justice at all.
The pickups are phenomenal, crystal clear on cleans and wonderfully full with overdrive or distortion (and this is coming from someone who feels 81/85 EMGs muddy the tone of a guitar and are a waste of time, money, and a nine volt battery)
I could go on, but I just want to go back to playing my new baritone so I'll end the review there.
GO FOR IT!
If you are new to the woefully barren and expensive world of left handed guitars, let me save you the hassle: YOU WANT THIS GUITAR!
Every Harley Benton I've purchased has never failed to impress. The Amarok is no exception, and passes with flying colors especially under the scrupulous standards that come with the $500 price tag.
The guitar is absolutely stunning in person, the photos on the website don't do the subtle blue undertones in the finish justice at all.
The pickups are phenomenal, crystal clear on cleans and wonderfully full with overdrive or distortion (and this is coming from someone who feels 81/85 EMGs muddy the tone of a guitar and are a waste of time, money, and a nine volt battery)
I could go on, but I just want to go back to playing my new baritone so I'll end the review there.
GO FOR IT!
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D
Amarok BT LH
I use this guitar to write and record a variety of metal genre's in a home recording studio.
The specs on this guitar are awesome and it had me intrigued. I have been interested in a baritone for a while and had not had much luck finding one that was in the price range I was looking for. The Amarak BT fit the bill nicely I did read that there were QC issues with them so it was a bit of a crap shoot on what you get. As it turns out for the most part mine was very good. Only a couple issues. The first - the guitar was set up to standard tuning for a normal scale guitar and the second - the input jack would not hold my cable tight. I restrung the guitar and set it up for proper baritone tuning and fixed the input jack and all is right with the world.
Pro's - EMG pickups, Stainless steel frets, locking tuners, sounds great and fast delivery
Con's - required some minor work to be playable.
The specs on this guitar are awesome and it had me intrigued. I have been interested in a baritone for a while and had not had much luck finding one that was in the price range I was looking for. The Amarak BT fit the bill nicely I did read that there were QC issues with them so it was a bit of a crap shoot on what you get. As it turns out for the most part mine was very good. Only a couple issues. The first - the guitar was set up to standard tuning for a normal scale guitar and the second - the input jack would not hold my cable tight. I restrung the guitar and set it up for proper baritone tuning and fixed the input jack and all is right with the world.
Pro's - EMG pickups, Stainless steel frets, locking tuners, sounds great and fast delivery
Con's - required some minor work to be playable.
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s
Excellent Baritone Guitar
After seeing these become available for RH players last year, I emailed Thomann to ask when the LH versions become available. "Some point during 2021" was the reply. Vague, but at least I knew they were coming.
Fast forward to July 2021 I now have the BT version in my possession.
What a treat it is. Great build, looks and playability. Got it currently tuned to Drop A and the 13-62's hold tuning very well.
All in all, an excellent purchase.
Keep up the good work Harley Benton / Thomann and start giving us lefties a few more of the options the RH players get.
I especially like the Red version of this which we can't get... maybe another time eh?
*Update* 03/02/2023
Had this for quite a while now and have made a couple of adjustments. I tired of the Retro Actives quite quickly, bridge Pup always seemed a bit too harsh for my liking, so I swapped them out for a Brushed Black Chrome Het Set. It's perfect now with 13-72's tuned Drop B.
If you're still on the fence regarding purchasing this guitar, jump off it and buy on now.
Fast forward to July 2021 I now have the BT version in my possession.
What a treat it is. Great build, looks and playability. Got it currently tuned to Drop A and the 13-62's hold tuning very well.
All in all, an excellent purchase.
Keep up the good work Harley Benton / Thomann and start giving us lefties a few more of the options the RH players get.
I especially like the Red version of this which we can't get... maybe another time eh?
*Update* 03/02/2023
Had this for quite a while now and have made a couple of adjustments. I tired of the Retro Actives quite quickly, bridge Pup always seemed a bit too harsh for my liking, so I swapped them out for a Brushed Black Chrome Het Set. It's perfect now with 13-72's tuned Drop B.
If you're still on the fence regarding purchasing this guitar, jump off it and buy on now.
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A
Great overall, but QC could be better.
It's great to have an affordable left-handed baritone 6-string guitar. I tried an 8-string before, but the neck felt too wide for me, and I decided an extended range 6-string would be sufficient for my needs. Overall, the Amarok BT is well constructed, and everything works well. The pickups aren't exactly my first choice for EMG pickups, and the bridge is quite bright, but I'm still getting used to the guitar too. The only issue I really have is the quality control. The tip of the headstock looks like it was bumped into something and dented, and the nut looks a bit rough where it was filed for the larger strings. I feel like QC shoulda noticed this, and with some YouTube complaints I've seen on Harley Benton quality lately, I hope the company takes more notice. That being said, the issues don't affect the playing, and I look forward to jamming on it more. I would order another one, but a different color for lefties would be nice.
Update: The guitar seemed to work fine...for a day. The next day after work, I plug it in, and no sound. Switched 9 volt batteries, tried different instruments with my preamp, and the Amorok still wouldn't work. I can only currently assume there's loose or broken wiring inside, and I'll have to check it out later. I probably woulda replaced it in the future with EMG solderless wiring, but this is frustrating.
Update: The guitar seemed to work fine...for a day. The next day after work, I plug it in, and no sound. Switched 9 volt batteries, tried different instruments with my preamp, and the Amorok still wouldn't work. I can only currently assume there's loose or broken wiring inside, and I'll have to check it out later. I probably woulda replaced it in the future with EMG solderless wiring, but this is frustrating.
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W
Major QC problems but worth the work
Positives
For this price point you will struggle to find anything on par spec wise - neck thru construction with good, natural feeling access to the 24th fret - locking tuners - good high output active pickups with no problems becoming microphonic etc - stainless steel frets and graftech nut that feels they'll last.
Major props to Harley Benton for doing this model in left handed too - I've been on the search for a left handed baritone for years now but because its such a niche the only other option is going custom for thousands - next on the table for me is a 29/30" scale and you can be sure that, despite the problems explained below, if HB put out a lefty 30" baritone I'll put an order in soon as:)
Negatives
Sorry but in spite of loving the guitar I can't give this anything higher than a 3 star due to the appalling QC problems. I don't mind a few cosmetic marks/bumps (which this guitar has) but some of the problems have been key to the guitar working as it should - the input was on/off since first opening the guitar and a few weeks in stopped working entirely - just for me to take out the input and see the panels bent in some weird shape with crossing signals. And I know this wasn't my fault as I'm one of the most anal people out there regarding cable care - then once put back into shape wouldn't fit into place again, the screws wouldn't fit into their holes. That one was on me but still requires me to take it to a professional to replace the input with a higher quality one.
Another day one problem came when setting up the guitar out the box - tried setting the intonation just to realise it was flat regardless of saddles being right at the end of their bolts, and measured to realise the fret work is that of a 27" scale guitar but the bridge placement is that of a 27.5/28" scale length - meaning the fretted notes are going to be flat no matter what, until I've found some longer bolts with the same diameter&thread. And even then I can imagine the extra string behind the saddle will lead to ringing problems.
All in all though as long as you don't mind risking doing some (potentially major) DIY/taking to a professional if you draw the short straw on QC I'd say this is worth the money - even with the couple bits I need to replace the net price feels like a legitimate steal - just look to a few certain other metal guitar companies with these specs and you'll be paying >1500 easy.
Alright job harley benton, keep being you.
For this price point you will struggle to find anything on par spec wise - neck thru construction with good, natural feeling access to the 24th fret - locking tuners - good high output active pickups with no problems becoming microphonic etc - stainless steel frets and graftech nut that feels they'll last.
Major props to Harley Benton for doing this model in left handed too - I've been on the search for a left handed baritone for years now but because its such a niche the only other option is going custom for thousands - next on the table for me is a 29/30" scale and you can be sure that, despite the problems explained below, if HB put out a lefty 30" baritone I'll put an order in soon as:)
Negatives
Sorry but in spite of loving the guitar I can't give this anything higher than a 3 star due to the appalling QC problems. I don't mind a few cosmetic marks/bumps (which this guitar has) but some of the problems have been key to the guitar working as it should - the input was on/off since first opening the guitar and a few weeks in stopped working entirely - just for me to take out the input and see the panels bent in some weird shape with crossing signals. And I know this wasn't my fault as I'm one of the most anal people out there regarding cable care - then once put back into shape wouldn't fit into place again, the screws wouldn't fit into their holes. That one was on me but still requires me to take it to a professional to replace the input with a higher quality one.
Another day one problem came when setting up the guitar out the box - tried setting the intonation just to realise it was flat regardless of saddles being right at the end of their bolts, and measured to realise the fret work is that of a 27" scale guitar but the bridge placement is that of a 27.5/28" scale length - meaning the fretted notes are going to be flat no matter what, until I've found some longer bolts with the same diameter&thread. And even then I can imagine the extra string behind the saddle will lead to ringing problems.
All in all though as long as you don't mind risking doing some (potentially major) DIY/taking to a professional if you draw the short straw on QC I'd say this is worth the money - even with the couple bits I need to replace the net price feels like a legitimate steal - just look to a few certain other metal guitar companies with these specs and you'll be paying >1500 easy.
Alright job harley benton, keep being you.
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SS
Great affordable baritone, available Left Handed
Overall it's great value for money, very happy with it. It sounds and plays great. I like EMG retro actives so no need to change the pickups. It's got a huge sound with loads of sustain.
Here are some things that aren't perfect: There are some small visual blemishes / imperfections, the nut has sharp edges and the tuning machines aren't great. They kinda catch and don't move smoothly, so I would probably replace them eventually. It was set up great when I got it, except for intonation which is off.
The fret work appears to be impeccable, not long ago you would only find stainless steel frets like that on a much more expensive guitar. Electronics all in good order, strings are decent too. The flame top could be better, one half is more flamey than the other. It perhaps doesn't look as good as in the pics on the website, but still a good looking guitar.
Thomann were very fast and efficient, arrived to the UK 6 days after I ordered it.
Here are some things that aren't perfect: There are some small visual blemishes / imperfections, the nut has sharp edges and the tuning machines aren't great. They kinda catch and don't move smoothly, so I would probably replace them eventually. It was set up great when I got it, except for intonation which is off.
The fret work appears to be impeccable, not long ago you would only find stainless steel frets like that on a much more expensive guitar. Electronics all in good order, strings are decent too. The flame top could be better, one half is more flamey than the other. It perhaps doesn't look as good as in the pics on the website, but still a good looking guitar.
Thomann were very fast and efficient, arrived to the UK 6 days after I ordered it.
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