Harley Benton JA-20HH Active SBK

Another kick@$$ entry in Thomann's series of Jim Root-inspired metal guitars with everything you need & nothin' you don't! This is my Mean Metal Jag!!

I've bought literally dozens of Harley Benton electric guitars & basses over the last couple years. I've rarely been disappointed. You just can't go wrong here. I love this 'dark mode' aesthetic and prefer fretboards to be clean with no inlays. Mine arrived with an extremely dry fretboard and drank in copious amounts of lemon oil. I applied it, scrubbed it in and let it soak for a good long time. Once that was done, she played smooth & sweet and I encountered none of the grounding issues I've read about with these models due to the painted bridge preventing grounding.

The 2 HBZ Active humbuckers absolutely weaponize this guitar! While I'm not going to say they're the equal of EMG's 60 & 81 or EMG 85 (or 89) & 81 sets but they're damned close! Especially for the price of entry. If you find yourself unfulfilled and cannot abide these HBZ 'alternatives' to the real thing, simply pay for the guitar now and start putting cash aside for the upgrade, which will likely double the cost of this guitar. Even then, this guitar would come in among the least expensive metal guitars worth owning & still be a smoking deal!!

In the long run, my recommendation would be to do just that: Buy one of these fine instruments, get it setup professionally (or learn to do it at a professional level yourself), install a set of locking tuners (perfectly good sets can be had for under $50. Less if you know where to look.) Buy your preferred brand/set of active pickups whether they're OG EMGs or Fishman Fluences, Duncan actives, etc. and you're good to go. Go play the hell out of it & soak it in the sweat of a million chugs.

Personally, I also installed a brass nut, a momentary kill-switch a la Buckethead and a second battery box to be able to run @ 18V. To each his own. Unleash your imagination. Doowutchyalike. (RIP Shock G.)

It's an excellent instrument & an excellent value, ESPECIALLY at this price-point! It makes a great mod platform. Make it yours! Remember the Metalman's Creed: 'This is my Mean Metal Jag. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. My Mean Metal Jag is my best friend. It is my life.'

I'm a huge fan of Harley Benton - I've owned over a dozen in the past couple of years - and I'm an especially big fan of the ST-20HH Active (which I firmly believe is unbeatable as a budget metal guitar). When HB announced this model, I was super excited... then dismayed once the grounding issues came to light. By that point, I had already placed an order for this, so I decided to see it through and see how it would work out.

The guitar arrived in great condition, with perfectly playable action and nothing out of place. The finish looks and feels great, really nails the aggressive metal look without getting too over the top. Fret ends are good, though they could use a little bit of cleanup for that perfectly smooth feel. It balances very nicely on a strap, but because of the body shape it's a little bit neck heavy while sitting down. (If you've ever played a Jazzmaster, you know exactly what I mean.)

The most important part, though, is the sound - and I was fortunate enough to receive a guitar that exhibited zero grounding issues! Plugged it in to both my available amps and my audio interface, and there was none of the dreaded buzz that these guitars have become rather notorious for. (I even ordered a second one after the fact to see if I could double my luck, and that one didn't have the grounding issue either - so either they resolved it, or lightning struck twice for me!)

The HBZ actives punch above their weight - the neck is pretty smooth and has a nice compression to it for cleans and leads, and the bridge has plenty of crunch and attack for the big chunky rhythms. They're a bit dark sounding, so that's something to be aware of, but they're plenty good enough and compare quite favorably to my guitars equipped with big-name actives.

The rest of the hardware is pretty great - the pickup switch is incredibly responsive and has a satisfying *click* when changing positions, and the Hipshot-style bridge is incredibly comfortable. The tuners are fine, but nothing to really write home about, and a couple of them are fairly stiff - they're probably the only thing on the guitar that could really use replacement.

All things considered, the JA-20HH is a great addition to the budget active line Harley Benton has been building up over the past year or so, and I'm looking forward to seeing what gets added to the line in the future. (A side note for Harley Benton, though... could we *please* get some other finishes?! Even just a satin white option would be welcome!)

I'm a big fan of the "gothic" look and have 2 of the ST-20HH's, one of the ST-20HSS, three of the TE-20HH's and also a JA-60SB.
Out of the box, the usual is apparent....it needs to be set up as the action is too high to solo comfortably! After tuning it up, inserting the battery and plugging it in, I see/hear that the HBZ actives are just as noisy and for my high gain setting need a gate.
My main issue with this guitar are the tuners, they are the worse that I've come across on a HB (I have 35 so far), so clunky, stiff and lose and really let the brand down, I've not had as bad a set from the Aliexpress budget buy range!
Another very small but noticeable aesthetic for me is the scratch plate, it's a 3 ply but has no bevel to it, from the top it might as well be a one piece black plate!
In comparison to my JA-60SB, it's night and day. The 60SB is by far the better quality guitar and makes the 20HH feel more like the kit version! In all fairness I may have got a bad one., there isn't a great deal of consistency with these models.