Harley Benton Sounds Like Sh@t

guitarjack66 · August 2022

I bought a cheap Harley Benton a couple of months back just as a smaller bodied campfire style guitar. I changed the strings and had the action lowered by my local tech but it still sounds like crap. It sounds very 'tinny' if that makes sense. The only thing that strikes me is that the nut slots are not cut very well at all. Could this cause it to sound so bad?
PS.it's not just because of my playing as it doesn't happen on my other two acoustics.

earwighoney · August 2022

guitarjack66 said:

I bought a cheap Harley Benton a couple of months back just as a smaller bodied campfire style guitar. I changed the strings and had the action lowered by my local tech but it still sounds like crap. It sounds very 'tinny' if that makes sense. The only thing that strikes me is that the nut slots are not cut very well at all. Could this cause it to sound so bad?
PS.it's not just because of my playing as it doesn't happen on my other two acoustics.

Was it the one you posted about a few months back?

This one

https://imgur.com/v8tPVg4

TTony · August 2022

guitarjack66 said:

The only thing that strikes me is that the nut slots are not cut very well at all. Could this cause it to sound so bad?

It might be the nut slots.

Or it might be the materials that it’s made from (notice I didn’t say “wood”).

Or it might be the internal bracing.

Or it might be the bridge and how well it’s affixed to the guitar body.

Or it could be an issue with the neck/body join.

guitarjack66 said:

I bought a cheap Harley Benton

Or it could be all of the above.

You can hide the inadequacies of a cheap-shit electric by upgrading some of the components, and tweaking the FX/amp. That’s not so easy with an acoustic.

malcolmkindness · August 2022

It's a cheap guitar, that's probably why it sounds like a cheap guitar.

ICBM · August 2022

You can tell if it is or isn't the nut slots simply by capo'ing at the first fret. My guess is that it isn't.

This will not be a very helpful suggestion I know, but try very dead strings. (Yes, I know that pretty much the only way to make them dead is to wait a long time, or speed it up a bit by playing them which you may not want to if it sounds bad.)

I once bought a cheap plywood acoustic because it sounded very nice in the shop. I knew it wasn't amazing, but it was nice enough for a cheap guitar to take to open mics and jam sessions. The only problem was that when I replaced the completely dead and almost rusty strings, it sounded shit. It remained sounding shit when I tried a couple of other different sets of strings. It finally sounded less shit when I salvaged a set of dead strings from a repair job and fitted those... but still not as good as originally, possibly because the new dead strings were D'Addarios and not some variety of Chinese fence wire. I gave up and sold it.

mart · August 2022

Have you tried changing the pickups?

BigPaulie · August 2022

It might be a shit sounding guitar.

The only things that you can really change without major surgery, and that have a significant effect on the sound are:

Strings
Saddle
Nut

If these don't have the desired effect you're onto plums.

guitarjack66 · August 2022

earwighoney said:

guitarjack66 said:

I bought a cheap Harley Benton a couple of months back just as a smaller bodied campfire style guitar. I changed the strings and had the action lowered by my local tech but it still sounds like crap. It sounds very 'tinny' if that makes sense. The only thing that strikes me is that the nut slots are not cut very well at all. Could this cause it to sound so bad?
PS.it's not just because of my playing as it doesn't happen on my other two acoustics.

Was it the one you posted about a few months back?

This one
https://imgur.com/v8tPVg4

Yes mate. That one.

TheMadMick · August 2022

^^^ In that case if the top is mahogany (which is looks like it is) they take ages to break in. Keep playing it.

earwighoney · August 2022

I presume it's this guitar,

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_cg_45_vintage_sunburst.htm

I've not had one in front of me, but I'm amazed it's even possible to make an instrument for less than £60 and I think it should be judged for what it is, and in relation to more expensive instruments.

Soupman · August 2022

If it is the one @earwighoney linked, the specs state it's strung with 10 to 47s. Get a set of 12s on it.

BillDL · August 2022

Does the guitar still have the strings on it as supplied from Thomann? In your previous thread about the guitar you mentioned that you had been told by them it was strung with 10-47 gauge strings, and you also related a story about a tech that had advised you not to drop from 11s or 12s down to 10s on your Yamaha APX. If you still have 10s on it my guess would be that they are probably the greatest contributor to the tinny sound because of the lower tension and less "power" to vibrate the soundboard. I would probably be trying 11s on it to test it for a while, and possibly going up to 12s if the tinniness reduced a bit but was still present. There was a discussion a while back about the definition of "boxy" when we describe guitars or combo amps as such. I think we all have a reasonably good idea what a boxy sounding guitar is. A smaller bodied guitar built from laminate wood will sound boxier than a larger bodied guitar with a solid wood top, especially when strung with lighter strings. Additionally, budget guitars are often built with starters and students in mind and resilience to bangs and knocks is factored into this by sometimes using more bracing or stronger bracing than is ideal for an acoustic guitar.

guitarjack66 · August 2022

BillDL said:

Does the guitar still have the strings on it as supplied from Thomann? In your previous thread about the guitar you mentioned that you had been told by them it was strung with 10-47 gauge strings, and you also related a story about a tech that had advised you not to drop from 11s or 12s down to 10s on your Yamaha APX. If you still have 10s on it my guess would be that they are probably the greatest contributor to the tinny sound because of the lower tension and less "power" to vibrate the soundboard. I would probably be trying 11s on it to test it for a while, and possibly going up to 12s if the tinniness reduced a bit but was still present. There was a discussion a while back about the definition of "boxy" when we describe guitars or combo amps as such. I think we all have a reasonably good idea what a boxy sounding guitar is. A smaller bodied guitar built from laminate wood will sound boxier than a larger bodied guitar with a solid wood top, especially when strung with lighter strings. Additionally, budget guitars are often built with starters and students in mind and resilience to bangs and knocks is factored into this by sometimes using more bracing or stronger bracing than is ideal for an acoustic guitar.

Excellent points here BillDL.

bertie · August 2022

BillDL said:

If you still have 10s on it my guess would be that they are probably the greatest contributor to the tinny sound because of the lower tension and less "power" to vibrate the soundboard.

this

also IME, there is a ratio of poor sound to cost and size. ie "cheaper" small bodied guitars are impacted more than cheaper larger bodied guitars

hollywoodrox · August 2022

I’m very happy with my D120CE vintage sunburst it cost me £59 & is just the job for banging out
Stones, Guns n Roses & Poison Tunes it’s a cheap functional acoustic . I play mainly electric so it was a real winner . It sounds no worse than the EKO 12 string strung as 6 I had at the end of the 80s

adamino · August 2022

Use a pack of thick Elixir strings.

bertie · August 2022

adamino said:

Use a pack of thicker Elixir strings.

FTFY

IME too heavy a gauge strings dont always work so well on small bodied guitars - 12s tops

crunchman · August 2022

Elixirs always sound like they have too much top end for my tastes anyway. I'd stick with conventional strings.

guitarjack66 · August 2022

I will certainly try heavier gauge strings and see how it goes. Interestingly I tried the guitar through it's pick up and amp and it wasnt too bad,much better than acoustically.

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Harley Benton Sounds Like Sh@t

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