Harley Benton Guitar MAX Fusion Signature EF

As always a massive thank you to all involved in getting my order processed so quickly.

Guitar after safety and well pack and to prove it was perfectly in tune out of the box.
The pickups are well balanced and very articulate especially the neck rail pickup which is super smooth..think 80,s power ballad solo tone.

The floyd rose is rock solid ,fine tuners a bit stiff but nothing a bit of vasoline won't fix.

Fret work is great no sharp edges but a little gritty but I have had this on guitars twice the money and again an easy fix.

It's certainly got all the shredder appointments except for the most important feature "the neck" while super smooth it is thick 23.4mm at 12th fret and while comfortable it can be hard work doing fast runs so please keep that in mind if your expecting slim speed taper this is not for you.

Well done to harley benton for letting the cat out of the bag and giving us such high quality at budget prices.

This beast is a masterwork of form and function: it looks uber-classy and plays very, very well.

The 24 jumbo frets, the roasted maple neck & fretboard, the Floyd Rose, the coil split, the beautiful finish and gold hardware, the reverse headstock (which serves no purpose but just looks cool), and most of all the playability--low action, smooth frets, good access to the upper register--make this not only a shredder's dream, but versatile enough for most rock, jazz, blues, or country styles.

Now, be forewarned: this beauty has a zaftig neck. The specs say a "modern C" profile, but it feels like a chunky C to me, so if you're used to an Ibanez or Jackson, you might go through a familiarization period. But if you've been playing a Strat or a Les Paul, you won't notice much difference.

If you're looking to step up from your first guitar--or step *over* from your second, third, fourth, or whatever guitar--this might well be the vehicle for you. No matter where you want to go musically, this guitar will probably get you there.

No hype intention behind this review but really this guitar is awesome, all from materials to workmanship is at a high level, and though it is not the cheapest hb model, I doubt there is ay other of better value. The neck is fantastic and the fretwork in my unit was almost perfect, you can set it up to a very low action with no fret buzz, and of top of that is beautiful :)

I have had several Harley Bentons and always replaced the pick ups for one reason or another, but no need in this one, they are really good for that 80s vibe sound.

Congrats, if the next Fusion series is all this quality, I sell all my expensive guitars and replace them with HBs!

So.. mixed bag! Overall a very usable guitar at a very good price. Beautiful wood selection! Flawless finish! Floyd Rose 1000 for the win! Pickups sounded like they cost way more than they do! The bad? The frets.. as per usual I needed to smooth out the rough SS frets. That being said the workmanship on them was almost flawless! Not a single high/low fret! No rough edges. The big bad? The neck angle was wrong on this. While setting it up I couldn't a good playable action even with the bridge screwed all the way down. I ordered a proper shim from stewmac and ordered the supplies to smooth out the frets at the same time. After some trial and error I had it squared away! The neck took it like a champ! I had to remove and replace it several times to get the angle right! I wish this would have cone with a good case otherwise it lives up to the hype! No wonder why it was sold out within a day!

Delivery was pretty quick, packaging was damaged but inner box was fine. The guitar itself is insane for the price point. Fit and finish is exceptional, quality of the hardware is better than on some of my €1K plus setups. QA was great, no fret issues, action was about where I like it, even tuning and intonation were excellent. The only single thing that I found a bit odd was no cable supplied which I understand is usual with HB/Thomann budget axes. Having said that, I think the Max Fusion Signature offers excellent performance, the tesla pickups are not for everyone but work well for me personally. The FR trem is a delight and hold tune as well as any other similar setup I have used. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a high spec superstrat in anything under €1000 price range. The looks are a bit flashy so might not fit at the Jazz session but whats the fun in being understated all the time.