D
Good purchase. Highly recommended.
Background Info
After spending a month with a Harley Benton 7-string that I bought through an Indian retailer, I decided to order this Vintage-style V directly from Thomann - Cory Miura's review helped in making the decision.
Unfortunately, being in India, I had to deal with a very corrupt customs officer who overcharged me on the customs duty. Also, Thomann's regular shipping company, DHL, failed in providing any info regarding the product tracking and I'd almost lost hope of ever receiving this package.
But, things worked out alright, albeit after a hefty fees was paid to the customs department here.
Packing
I was surprised that this guitar survived the ill-treatment packages usually get at the Foreign Post Office in Delhi. But it was very well-packed and arrived in perfect condition.
Playability
The neck was a bit thicker than what I was used to, but after a few mins of playing around, i got pretty comfortable with it. If you are used to the Ibanez-style necks like I am, then be prepared to spend some time getting used to this thing.
The fingerboard feels nice. The bridge is pretty good and easy to adjust - I did spend some time lowering it once I put in a set of my favourite Ernie Ball set of 10s - Skinny Top Heavy Bottom strings.
One massive issue I have is that the strap button on the neck side is right on the bloody neck joint! The pics on this site showed that this had been changed, but I guess this was my bad luck. I'll get it shifted to another position soon, but I am disappointed about this.
Sound
The guitar sounds nice and warm, but a bit weak compared to my Cort X-6 and Ibanez ARZ 300. You can play a fair bit of metal on it with a bit of tweaking, but I'd suggest dialing in a bit more high-mids and treble for your tones. I will get the pickups changed at some point in the future.
Build Quality
Aside from the horrible strap button on the neck-joint, the guitar has been put together very nicely. It holds tuning alright, feels nice to play, and sounds good. And there were no issues with the finish, or the fret ends. If you are planning to invest in a good quality affordable model with a view to modify it later, I'd recommend this. But consider the thick set-neck before buying!
Conclusion
I love shred-style guitars such as Ibanez RGs and Cort X series models but I found myself enjoying this guitar a lot more than I expected - more than the Harley Benton 7 string, which isn't bad either. I have not taken this for any gig or a jam session though. But I see an opportunity to test that scenario coming up in a few weeks, so we'll see how this holds up.
I am pretty happy with the guitar. I'm not happy with the bloody month-long delay and wankery from the Customs department. If you are in India, then by all means order from Thomann, but be prepared for THAT bullshit. The folks at Thomann are pretty helpful, but even they can't help you in dealing with Indian Customs. Sigh.
PS I will definitely order another Harley Benton soon.
After spending a month with a Harley Benton 7-string that I bought through an Indian retailer, I decided to order this Vintage-style V directly from Thomann - Cory Miura's review helped in making the decision.
Unfortunately, being in India, I had to deal with a very corrupt customs officer who overcharged me on the customs duty. Also, Thomann's regular shipping company, DHL, failed in providing any info regarding the product tracking and I'd almost lost hope of ever receiving this package.
But, things worked out alright, albeit after a hefty fees was paid to the customs department here.
Packing
I was surprised that this guitar survived the ill-treatment packages usually get at the Foreign Post Office in Delhi. But it was very well-packed and arrived in perfect condition.
Playability
The neck was a bit thicker than what I was used to, but after a few mins of playing around, i got pretty comfortable with it. If you are used to the Ibanez-style necks like I am, then be prepared to spend some time getting used to this thing.
The fingerboard feels nice. The bridge is pretty good and easy to adjust - I did spend some time lowering it once I put in a set of my favourite Ernie Ball set of 10s - Skinny Top Heavy Bottom strings.
One massive issue I have is that the strap button on the neck side is right on the bloody neck joint! The pics on this site showed that this had been changed, but I guess this was my bad luck. I'll get it shifted to another position soon, but I am disappointed about this.
Sound
The guitar sounds nice and warm, but a bit weak compared to my Cort X-6 and Ibanez ARZ 300. You can play a fair bit of metal on it with a bit of tweaking, but I'd suggest dialing in a bit more high-mids and treble for your tones. I will get the pickups changed at some point in the future.
Build Quality
Aside from the horrible strap button on the neck-joint, the guitar has been put together very nicely. It holds tuning alright, feels nice to play, and sounds good. And there were no issues with the finish, or the fret ends. If you are planning to invest in a good quality affordable model with a view to modify it later, I'd recommend this. But consider the thick set-neck before buying!
Conclusion
I love shred-style guitars such as Ibanez RGs and Cort X series models but I found myself enjoying this guitar a lot more than I expected - more than the Harley Benton 7 string, which isn't bad either. I have not taken this for any gig or a jam session though. But I see an opportunity to test that scenario coming up in a few weeks, so we'll see how this holds up.
I am pretty happy with the guitar. I'm not happy with the bloody month-long delay and wankery from the Customs department. If you are in India, then by all means order from Thomann, but be prepared for THAT bullshit. The folks at Thomann are pretty helpful, but even they can't help you in dealing with Indian Customs. Sigh.
PS I will definitely order another Harley Benton soon.
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f
I love this guitar
I bought this guitar because I hoped that a V shaped body would be comfortable for my guitar playing posture, sitting down with the neck raised very high. This worked remarkably well.
The guitar I received sounds really great, the body resonates with the strings, and I love the sound.
The frets did not arrive in really good condition. For me this was ok, as I would generally expect to clean up the frets on any new guitar that I buy. But if you don't want to do that kind of work the guitar that I received didn't play very well straight out of the box. But after a small amount of work it was great.
The guitar I received sounds really great, the body resonates with the strings, and I love the sound.
The frets did not arrive in really good condition. For me this was ok, as I would generally expect to clean up the frets on any new guitar that I buy. But if you don't want to do that kind of work the guitar that I received didn't play very well straight out of the box. But after a small amount of work it was great.
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A
Wow! Just Wow!
Harley Benton have done it again! This is my 4th Harley Benton and I've been blown away once again. I purchased this guitar for use in live playing with a band and for my YouTube cover channel. I also had never actually played a flying V before and was always very interested in playing one. At a price like this, what did I have to lose? :)
When the guitar arrived, I was once again baffled by the quality of the guitar based on the price! Everything from the workmanship to the action on the strings was absolutely perfect. All hardware is of exceptional quality and electronics are also perfect! After give the guitar a physical once over and being overly satisfied with the quality, it was time to plug this bad boy in.
Upon plugging the guitar straight into my amp, I was instantly blown away by the quality of the sound. The output is very nice and clarity is amazing. The Wilkinson pickups are fairly bright but have a lot of power behind them also. The guitar is actually an amazing "All Rounder" and extremely diverse whether you are playing ballads/punk/metal! Everything sounds great through those vintage style pickups.
Physically the guitar plays like butter and is incredibly sturdy and well built. It holds very comfortably and rivals my more expensive guitars all round! I also love the no frills knobs - 2 volume and 1 tone. Suits my needs perfectly! Definitely an instant favorite! If you are considering purchasing this guitar, consider no more, just go for it. You won't regret it!
When the guitar arrived, I was once again baffled by the quality of the guitar based on the price! Everything from the workmanship to the action on the strings was absolutely perfect. All hardware is of exceptional quality and electronics are also perfect! After give the guitar a physical once over and being overly satisfied with the quality, it was time to plug this bad boy in.
Upon plugging the guitar straight into my amp, I was instantly blown away by the quality of the sound. The output is very nice and clarity is amazing. The Wilkinson pickups are fairly bright but have a lot of power behind them also. The guitar is actually an amazing "All Rounder" and extremely diverse whether you are playing ballads/punk/metal! Everything sounds great through those vintage style pickups.
Physically the guitar plays like butter and is incredibly sturdy and well built. It holds very comfortably and rivals my more expensive guitars all round! I also love the no frills knobs - 2 volume and 1 tone. Suits my needs perfectly! Definitely an instant favorite! If you are considering purchasing this guitar, consider no more, just go for it. You won't regret it!
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S
Great Alternative to Epiphone/Gibson
Great budget option flying V, Neck is a comfortable chunky perhaps epiphone C esque maybe a bit thinner, great for chords, bridge pickup would need to be replaced if your going for high output tones but its a very acceptable set of humbuckers, the tone they do provide is fantastic though so don't be put off by it, set neck construction is very clean and overall the V is a great buy
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TT
You gotta be kidding me
It’s been awhile since I bought a new guitar. Just cruising through the Thomann website and came across the HB Victory plus Vintage V guitar. What the heck, for $179 US why not? Got to Texas in 4 days and I could not be happier. It feels , sounds and looks as good as some I have that are 5X more expensive. Very happy. Thanks Thomann and Harley Benton.
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ko
if you need it buy it
sometimes when you see a guitar you might think yup I need it. I purchased this guitar with a mind set of low hopes of a good guitar, and was impressed how good it was. I love it a lot and will keep it for a long time .
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H
Brilliant
Guitar looks incredible!! Real head turner!! Gold hardware always stands out to me and not a blemish anywhere on guitar or hardware. Action is low and strings good quality too. New fave guitar!! Thanks
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FS
Just Amazing! Period!
I have a review channel and review many guitars, I must say that in this price range I was not expecting much. To my disbelief upon unboxing this V I could not find one single blemish... Not one... But how good could it sound? The answer is that it simply amazes. And I don't mean for the money, I mean at any price its amazing.
The Action is perfect, the strings are right, the sound is superior to most guitars in this style including ones into the thousands of dollars. I have never seen a guitar come so well set up out of the box, and I buy 2-3 guitars a month to review. It your wondering about frets. Don't. The frets on mine were perfect. Not even a questionable one. Well done Harley Benton. Bravo!
I am still shocked at the quality as I write this.
The Action is perfect, the strings are right, the sound is superior to most guitars in this style including ones into the thousands of dollars. I have never seen a guitar come so well set up out of the box, and I buy 2-3 guitars a month to review. It your wondering about frets. Don't. The frets on mine were perfect. Not even a questionable one. Well done Harley Benton. Bravo!
I am still shocked at the quality as I write this.
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E
Minor issues.
This is my first HB and my first V, I am a Schecter guy...
It is a cheap guitar, so I was not expecting much but playability is great. There is no neck dive. Somehow it is too light, I don't know how they did it. Most important one, it stays in tune while playing. When I pickup a guitar in the morning I expect it to be in tune, and this one was in tune. But there is grounding issue and volume pots wired reverse (rlly guys?). There was a dent on the headstock, but not really a big issue. Except electronics of the guitar, I'm really happy with the purchase. I'll probably discover some other HB models in future too.
It is a cheap guitar, so I was not expecting much but playability is great. There is no neck dive. Somehow it is too light, I don't know how they did it. Most important one, it stays in tune while playing. When I pickup a guitar in the morning I expect it to be in tune, and this one was in tune. But there is grounding issue and volume pots wired reverse (rlly guys?). There was a dent on the headstock, but not really a big issue. Except electronics of the guitar, I'm really happy with the purchase. I'll probably discover some other HB models in future too.
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BD
Bk vintage
Excellent sounds and it feels good to play
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