Harley Benton Amarok-7 BKNT Flame Burst

In a nutshell: it's a steal for a price and there might be minor issues with finish or fretwork, but you can't find a better option in this price range!

Aww yeah:
- Macassar ebony fingerboard
- stainless steel frets
- Grover locking tuners
- stays in tune well
- super comfy

Cons
- chances are there are finish flaws or minor issues with craftmanship
- not perfect fretwork (mine)
- a bit heavy (seriously)

EMG 70's can be both a pro or a con, I found it quite a matter of taste.

Mine doesn't have any flaws, I'm quite lucky and happy about it.

I've never had such a guitar crush before. But I'm in love the Amarok model since I saw it on Harley Benton's page. I also own an Ibanez RGA in the similar price range and comparing the 2 guitars the RGA is a bit of disappointment. The Amarok came with perfect intonation, I just had to adjust the truss rod a bit.

I really love the neck profile. I have extremely small hands and fingers, but it plays well. It’s a slim modern C type - it’s a bit thicker than Ibanez necks but still comfortable to play, it's more like a Shecter-ish neck.

Clean sound is oookay, but this thing is to shred.

In this price range these Amarok models are unbeatable. You can complain that the pickups are not good enough or there are minor flaws regarding the finish. But you can’t really get better for this price on the market.

I was excited for this guitar. All over YouTube people seemed to have bragged about what excellent quality this is for the price and how well it plays and sounds. Spectre Audio even said it holds tuning….

Unfortunately this was not my experience. The guitar came completely jacked up. The input was loose and the cable kept falling out. The bridge was completely loose upon removing the strings and the screw holes were completely STRIPPED.

The guitar wouldn’t hold tuning for the life of me. I tightened all the hardware including the tuners and set up the bridge. I put new strings on the guitar, intonated every string perfectly. My friend and I played all day to break in the strings and it still doesn’t hold tuning.

Also, the frets were extremely scratchy and sharp on all the edges. The nut of the guitar is AWFUL. I don’t believe it’s what it claims to be. It seems like a cheap knock off. The low B string gets stuck inside the cutout.

The locking tuners were NOT Grover. They were cheap Harley Benton tuners that have HB on them. the locking tuners weee loose too.

The back of the guitar…There’s a little chip on on the paint in the crevice of the back plate.

The pots, I haven’t tested them but they don’t seem to be 500k for EMGS.

AND! The middle position of the three way switch is out of phase with the two pick-ups.

This guitar was a nightmare to deal with and took hours of setting up and fixing what I could.

This isn’t a Pro series guitar worthy of recording but a DIY series guitar because you’re going to have to invest $100’s of dollars on upgrading hardware and even then, you’ll just hope that it’s enough to fix the tuning stability.

I really wanted to root for the underdog this time and show that it’s worthy, but it’s not. There was absolutely ZERO quality control on this guitar. They just wanted a quick buck.

Since receiving this guitar I haven't set it down, I am happy to say this is the best Harley Benton I have played yet which makes sense as it is also the most expensive Harley Benton I have played. Out of the box I was happy to find that the guitar looks just as good as the photos and overall is very well finished, I was also happy to see that the guitar has stayed in tune during shipping and has a fairly good factory setup that most players would be satisfied with.

The Amarok features a comfortable C shape neck, It feels like an Ibanez but with a little bit more wood behind it, overall a nice medium, not too thick nor is it paper-thin. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised to say this has to be one my favourite neck profiles I have ever come across and the guitar is a dream to play.

If what you want is a serious 7 string guitar without paying big bucks then look no further, The Amarok is a top-notch 7 string dream that is more than just a pretty face. Equipped with stainless steel frets, locking Grover tuners & to top it all off a set of EMG Retro Active pickups that suit everything from crystal cleans to crushing distortion this guitar is no joke.

Positives:
-Insane value for the specs.
-Great player.
-Very stable.
-Premium appointments.
-Decent factory set up.

Negatives:
-If this guitar isn't 100% to your liking you might be able to find a better fit second hand.
-Packaging is alright but could be more secure at this price point.