NGD: Who'd I just buy this Harley Benton 8-string from?

  • Thread starter Thread starter phillybhatesme
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phillybhatesme

phillybhatesme

Well-known member
I've been GASing for a multiscale 8 string for some reason. I've only had about 3 hours of playing on extended range guitars in my whole 25+ years of playing, but I have been GASing for a fuckin 8 string lately.
One popped up this morning on 'verb with Lace Aluma Deathbar 5.0s and a hard case, so I pulled the trigger. Was it from anyone on here?

 
If it wasn't me or Techy, it probably wasn't from anyone here :ROFLMAO:. ?‍♀️
I've seen mixed reviews on those, so you'll have to let us know.
Though looks like someone loved it enough to invest in those pickups and a hard case, so seems like a good start.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
If it wasn't me or Techy, it probably wasn't from anyone here :ROFLMAO:. ?‍♀️
I've seen mixed reviews on those, so you'll have to let us know.
Though looks like someone loved it enough to invest in those pickups and a hard case, so seems like a good start.
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I've essentially been telling my friends that I bought new pups and a hard case today and that they come with a free guitar lol. I had another one of the HBs on my radar and kicked the tires a bit with the seller. That seller said the same things that I've been reading about the HBs: neck is good, frets are fine, but not perfect, electronics leave a bit (read: lot) to be desired. So if replacing the pups are already part of the equation of buying the Harley Benton to begin with and this seller's already done that legwork, it was kind of a no-brainer. Too bad it's ugly as fuckin' sin, but I'll live.

MetalThrasher said:
Start ripping on Bleed
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There's a part of me that believes I won't even turn the gain on until I familiarize myself with the added low-end haha.
 
phillybhatesme said:
There's a part of me that believes I won't even turn the gain on until I familiarize myself with the added low-end haha.
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Don't go playing that elevator prog metal on us now. :ROFLMAO:
What do you plan on tuning it to?
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
Don't go playing that elevator prog metal on us now. :ROFLMAO:
What do you plan on tuning it to?
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Yes and no re: elevator prog. I’ma write out a longer reply from my computer later with my thoughts on that but I want to answer with examples instead of snark lol.

I currently play drop D 99% of the time. Without knowing anything, my first thought was to keep 6-1 as DADGBE and then do C on 7 and A on 8. The C on 7 just cause you never really get open C outside of open tunings. And the A to give C its minor third (this intrigues me a lot and I might keep this mindset) when barring those two strings.

But in practice, I think having C (7) and D (6) next to each other on the neck is gonna be nightmarish.

Standard F# and drop E are the next obvious choices and I’ll probably give F# a go until I try and barre the 876 strings out of habit, get frustrated, and then tune 8 to E.

Going back to minor thirds, I might tune 7 to B and then Ab on 8? I don’t know man. Having two extra strings is gonna be a wild. This instrument is gonna teach me things.
 
JackBootedThug said:
Let us know how you like the pups…
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I know this wasn't directed at me, but I have them in one of my 10 strings, which look to be the same size as those ones:oops:
Not many options in these dimensions :ROFLMAO: I don't know how to compare them to a six string variant though since I don't have the lace ones in that size and the output is higher afaik, but I was happier with the stock PAF-ish things for articulation in the lows, but happier with the tone if you want to try and make sense of that. That particular one I have tuned EADGEADGBE (standard guitar+bass) or it just sounds like mud between each note. I'd be interested to see pbhatesme's opinion and what else they're using.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
I know this wasn't directed at me, but I have them in one of my 10 strings, which look to be the same size as those ones:oops:
Not many options in these dimensions :ROFLMAO: I don't know how to compare them to a six string variant though since I don't have the lace ones in that size and the output is higher afaik, but I was happier with the stock PAF-ish things for articulation in the lows, but happier with the tone if you want to try and make sense of that. That particular one I have tuned EADGEADGBE (standard guitar+bass) or it just sounds like mud between each note. I'd be interested to see pbhatesme's opinion and what else they're using.
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I have always been a fan of Lace. I had a couple strats with their pups in them and loved how they sounded. I always thought the alumitones were super cool and would love to try a deathbucker.
 
Idk where to begin. This was delivered to me on Friday. My absolute first impression was that it looks much better in person than it did in the pictures. I'm not really a fan of the finish, but it was the least expensive 8 string on the market, and if it works out for me, I couldn't care less what it looks like, or I'll stickerbomb it or do some other dumb shit with it.





But, I can't really fuckin play it hahaha. It's so goddamn flubby and it buzzes up and down the neck. Strings are currently 10-80 - I ordered a set of Stringjoy 11-90, which are gonna be a big step up in beefiness, but I'm hoping it really tightens up that garbage bottom end. The scale is 25.5-27.5 and at this point, I'm wondering why I didn't pounce on one of those ridiculous Agile Pendulums with a 27-30" scale lol.

Anyway, look at this nut :gay:



I don't do setups or know anything about fret work (or when fret work is even needed), so I'm just gonna take it to the tech I've worked with and say ask him to plz fix. Cut these freakin nut slots and make it not buzz.

I haven't plugged it into my Mesa yet, so can't really speak to the pickups.
And while this may sound a bit contradictory on the heels of talking about fret buzz, but the neck actually feels good. Like...you know those shitty 400 dollar Schecter Omens with the worst necks on production guitars? It's so much better than that and half the cost. There are zero sprouted frets. Fit and finish is good. I have confidence that with a setup, this thing will be as perfectly fine as a 700-800 dollar counterpart.

I am fiddling with EBDADGBE
So drop D 1-6.
7 is standard B.
8 is dropped to E.
In the 2 hours of neck time I've given the guitar I've become obsessed in with the minor 3rd interval between strings 6-7, which is forcing me even more out of my comfort zone - gotta find new shapes.
 
Neat, I’ve never played a multi-scale guitar. I have an RG8 I have tuned down a step to E, it’s just straight 27” scale.

I remember when I first got a 7 the neck felt massive, then again when I got the 8 it felt massive. Cant image what an adjustment going from 6 right to 8 is (assuming you don’t have a 7?)

With string gauges I struggled a ton to get the low strings to sound good. In my experience balancing tension of the high strings and low strings (especially low B but especially low F#) results in bridge cables for the lowest strings which sound too wooly and bass-like to balance tone-wise with the other 6 strings. Tweak the amp so they sound good then the top 6 strings sound plinky and thin.

I have I think 10-46 for the first 6, 60 for the low B and 70 or 75 (I forget) for the low F#, then whole guitar down one step. Lowest string is noticeably lower tension but the sound is much improved over thicker strings. Just took some adjusting of technique when playing on the low string.
 
Correct. About 3 hours of neck time with a 7-string. My thought process was that I’m committing to the extended range - just go directly to what I want.

The right hand gets lost a bit but I think it’ll get easier with more neck time. In other words, I thought the adjustment would be a lot more difficult but it’s proven to be a smaller adjustment than I anticipated. With that being said, I can’t wait to get this thing set up.
 
phillybhatesme said:
Idk where to begin. This was delivered to me on Friday. My absolute first impression was that it looks much better in person than it did in the pictures. I'm not really a fan of the finish, but it was the least expensive 8 string on the market, and if it works out for me, I couldn't care less what it looks like, or I'll stickerbomb it or do some other dumb shit with it.





But, I can't really fuckin play it hahaha. It's so goddamn flubby and it buzzes up and down the neck. Strings are currently 10-80 - I ordered a set of Stringjoy 11-90, which are gonna be a big step up in beefiness, but I'm hoping it really tightens up that garbage bottom end. The scale is 25.5-27.5 and at this point, I'm wondering why I didn't pounce on one of those ridiculous Agile Pendulums with a 27-30" scale lol.

Anyway, look at this nut :gay:



I don't do setups or know anything about fret work (or when fret work is even needed), so I'm just gonna take it to the tech I've worked with and say ask him to plz fix. Cut these freakin nut slots and make it not buzz.

I haven't plugged it into my Mesa yet, so can't really speak to the pickups.
And while this may sound a bit contradictory on the heels of talking about fret buzz, but the neck actually feels good. Like...you know those shitty 400 dollar Schecter Omens with the worst necks on production guitars? It's so much better than that and half the cost. There are zero sprouted frets. Fit and finish is good. I have confidence that with a setup, this thing will be as perfectly fine as a 700-800 dollar counterpart.

I am fiddling with EBDADGBE
So drop D 1-6.
7 is standard B.
8 is dropped to E.
In the 2 hours of neck time I've given the guitar I've become obsessed in with the minor 3rd interval between strings 6-7, which is forcing me even more out of my comfort zone - gotta find new shapes.
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Can you adjust the pickup height? I find lowering the pickup helps with low string clarity.
 
With an 8 string eq pedals can sculpt out any flub .
 
DeathbyButterslax said:
Can you adjust the pickup height? I find lowering the pickup helps with low string clarity.
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Techdeth said:
With an 8 string eq pedals can sculpt out any flub .
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Ah shit, I should have used a different word than flubby. I don't mean how it sounds when we're plugged in. I mean how loose the F#/E feels. Even the B is kinda loose. So I'm primarily talking about tension, I guess, which is one of the reasons I went with 11-90s lol.

For what it's worth, on my 6 string Gs, I rock 11-52, sometimes 11-56s (on both 24.75" and 25.5") so I'm accustomed to a tight, snappy feel. I rarely do bends, so I'm not necessarily swimming upstream with this setup either.
 
phillybhatesme said:
Ah shit, I should have used a different word than flubby. I don't mean how it sounds when we're plugged in. I mean how loose the F#/E feels. Even the B is kinda loose. So I'm primarily talking about tension, I guess, which is one of the reasons I went with 11-90s lol.

For what it's worth, on my 6 string Gs, I rock 11-52, sometimes 11-56s (on both 24.75" and 25.5") so I'm accustomed to a tight, snappy feel. I rarely do bends, so I'm not necessarily swimming upstream with this setup either.
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What amp you run it through
 
95% of time with it (about 2 hours lol) has been unplugged. The other 5% was through a Surpo Delta King. But again, I'm not even talking tone @Techdeth
 
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