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Few things are certain in this world. But we all know the sun will rise in the east, tides will rise and fall, and if you wait around long enough, Harley Benton will launch a budget S-style guitar with a price tag that defies belief.
Yes, the budget gear powerhouse is at it again, resurrecting its ST-Modern HH dual-humbucker S-style, giving it some really smart finishes, compound radius fingerboards, and a premium tone wood build, with solid American alder bodies complemented by roasted Canadian maple necks.
All this for approx $185, it’s a pretty sweet deal. These all have string-through hardtail bridges. No messing around with the whammy bar here.
And Harley Benton is making an occasion of it, with this feast of S-styles also including the launch of a right-handed version of an ST-Modern Plus HSS in Dark Purple Sparkle – hitherto, it was an exclusively southpaw finish option.
This shares a lot of design DNA with its HH siblings, with a solid US alder body, in that distinctive – and much talked about – double-cutaway shape, and this being a “Plus” model, a little more premium, we’ve got a roasted Canadian flame maple neck that is bolted to the body in the traditional style.
Again, there’s a compound radius fingerboard; these all measure up with a performance-friendly 12” to 16” radius and have ergonomically sculpted heels.
Indeed, there is a hot-rodded vibe throughout, in the colours and in specs. All have the truss rod adjustment wheel mounted at the summit of the fingerboard, taking some of the pain out of setup tweaks (c’mon, taking that truss-rod cover off the headstock, remembering where you put the screws, it’s a pain in the bahookie).
Isola Hydrazine sounds like a sinus medication but it’s what Harley Benton calls the ST-Modern’s humbuckers. They’ve got an Alnico V design and are hooked up to a three-way pickup selector, volume and tone controls, and there is a push/pull function on the tone pot so you can split the coils for some single-coil spank.
On the ST-Modern Plus HSS, you’ll find the more upscale VR-Nitro pickups, again, an Alnico V design. These are hooked up to a five-way blade-style selector switch, with volume and tone controls, and yes there is a coil-split again to make this one versatile S-style.
We also have some quality hardware by way of the Babicz FCH 2-Point Z-Series vibrato unit, and a set of locking tuners. Expect to pay $408 at Thomann for one of these.
This will feel a little different to the HH models. The HSS has a Modern D profile, a little more wood on the shoulders. A Modern C profile is found on the HH electric guitars.
The ST-Modern HH is available now in Radiant Red Metallic, Desert Metallic, Tangerine Metallic, and Purple Metallic.
It's a timely release. With all eyes in the guitar world currently on Fender's much-discussed cease-and-desist campaign – which is going after firms that have their own version of the classic silhouette – this is a good reminder of the sheer choice available in the S-style market.
For more details, head over to Harley Benton.
