Harley Benton unleashes a new Amarok Range for metal guitarists
Harley Benton has a new range of high-performance Amarok range of guitars for metal guitarists. 12 Amarok models are released to launch the new series, including 6-string, 7-string and baritone versions in a bunch of finishes. If you’re on a budget and looking for a high-performance guitar, this could be a good buy.
Amarok
The new Harley Benton Amarok series is aimed squarely at high gain, djent-like modern metal styles and remind me a lot of models by Solar Guitars or Chapman Guitars.
The bodies have mahogany neck-though construction with sculpted cutaways for better high-fret access and playing comfort. You get a nice 5-piece neck (maple/mahogany/maple/mahogany/maple) with a Macassar ebony fretboard loaded with 22 stainless steel frets and glow-in-the-dark side dot position markers, a black reverse headstock factory fitted with a set of Grover locking tuners and Graptech Tusq XL nut.
Each model comes with either a WSC hps-6 or hps-7 custom hardtail bridge depending on the number of strings. So I would expect the tuning on these instruments to be rock solid. Having a five-piece through neck should certainly help with sustain and make the tuning more stable too.
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- Harley Benton Amarok 6 String · Source: Harley Benton
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- Harley Benton Amarok 6 String · Source: Harley Benton
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- Harley Benton Amarok Baritone · Source: Harley Benton
Active Pickups
You then get a pair of active humbuckers, with an EMG Hot 70 ceramic at the bridge and an EMG retro active hot 70 alnico-5 at the neck. These should be perfectly suited for high-output metal tones but will probably work well with cleans, too. These are wired via a three-way switch to a single volume and tone control.
Solid hardware · Source: Harley Benton
Quilt or Flame Maple
The Amarok core models are the 6-string, 7-string and a 27″ scale length baritone versions. Each is available in four finishes over either a quilt maple or flame maple veneer top. You can choose from Black Natural Flame Burst, Black Blue Flame Burst, Black Red Quilted Burst and Emerald Natural Quilted Burst.
Harley Benton’s new Amarok series certainly looks like it has the right stuff for players of modern metal styles. If you’re looking for a high-performance guitar with good value for money and some high-end specification to offer, the Amarok series now gives you more to choose from.
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4 responses to “Harley Benton unleashes a new Amarok Range for metal guitarists”
Wow and not.
Hmmm… they should really hire a good designer. While the body is ok, the headstock is ugly and should be redesigned. But the worst part is the “Harley Benton” logo, it is just rubbish! Like a kid had 5 minutes to select a font from online Google fonts. Yak!!!
I wouldn’t buy this guitar just for this!
Otherwise the neck-trough design is sweet. And the price? Hmmm… they are already deeply inside excellent Ibanez range, so that would be another no-no for me.
No serious player would take the stage with a Harley Benton guitar.
In about 20 years there’ll be thousands of these guitars up on Reverb when a substantial proportion of them are found at the back of cupboards. “Asking for 50 quid – or free if buyer collects.”
Still, if it gets a few more kids into music, it’s a good thing. Hopefully they’ll work out that there is better out there for not much more money, and upgrade. I have much to thank Yamaha for helping me realise I could learn guitar, before I traded my Pacifica 112 for a Standard Stratocaster. She did okay to start me on my journey, that cheap little thing. But she was never going to take me far.
And another thing, sugestion to them: Just loose the “Harley” name (it reminds too much to Harley Davidson) and keep just “Benton”. Much more unique and cool. And redesign the logo!
Where did “Harley Benton” come from? It sounds like an septuagenarian West End musical impresario. Not exactly metal.