Rocking Like hetfield has never been more affordable
Disclaimer: This instrument was sent to me by Thomann and I get to keep the instrument as compensation for my work. However, as my long time readers know, whether the content is sponsored or not, you always get my honest opinion.
What is harley Benton EX-84 EMG?
The Harley Benton EX-84 EMG is an electric guitar manufactured by the German music store Thomann. The design of this guitar is inspired by Mr. Hetfield’s signature instrument, but at a far more affordable price point.
Some of the highlights of the guitar include EMG 81 and EMG 60 pickups, a Slim Taper C-shaped neck, and great build quality that’s uncommon at this price point.
Specifications
- Pro Series
- Body: Mahogany
- Set-in mahogany neck
- Fretboard: Ebony
- Fretboard inlays: White dots
- Neck profile: Slim Taper C
- Neck thickness: 1st fret: 22.5 mm – 12th fret: 25 mm
- Fretboard radius: 305 mm (12″)
- Scale: 628 mm (24.72″)
- Nut width: 42 mm (1.65″)
- Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut
- 22 Extra jumbo frets
- Pickup: Active EMG81 (bridge) and EMG60 (neck) humbuckers
- 1 Master volume control and 1 master tone control
- 3-Way switch
- WSC Tune-O-Matic bridge
- Tuners: HB by Jinho J-03
- Black hardware
- Factory stringing .010 – .046
- Colour: Vintage White Gloss
First Impressions
First of all: this guitar looks fantastic.
Finish-wise, it’s one of the best-looking Harley Bentons I’ve seen (yes, I have a soft spot for white guitars). I obviously can’t say how this guitar’s finish will handle sunlight and aging over time, but so far so good.
To my surprise, the guitar came strung with a decent set of strings, and it was almost in tune as well, so we were off to a great start. Everything from the tuners to the fret ends felt good to great.
There was one small thing to fix though: the tone pot had loosened up quite a bit. If you own any basic tools, this is a quick fix. Things like this can happen when shipping an instrument from another country.
What I learned after having this guitar for few months
It wasn’t my intention, but it took me a while before I got around to working on this guitar’s review. On the other hand, that means I can now provide some longer-term observations on how this instrument handles the Finnish climate.
As you might know, we go through big temperature and humidity changes during the year.
I’m actually surprised at how well this guitar has acclimated to the local conditions: there’s still no fret sprout, and I’ve only had to make very slight adjustments to the neck.
This guitar isn’t completely immune to the typical budget-instrument quirks though. For example, the truss rod sits a bit deep in the neck, which makes adjustments slightly more difficult. As I mentioned earlier, one of the pots had also loosened up.
Luckily, most of these issues are quite easy to fix at home and are fairly typical when dealing with budget-friendly instruments.
Tone-wise, it’s exactly what you’d expect: killer classic metal EMG tones that continue to inspire countless guitar players in 2026 (myself included).
Is Harley Benton EX-84 Good?
I have had plethora of great guitars stop by at my studio, yet somehow this one hits me differently: it’s one of THOSE tones you grew up hearing as a kid in a music video on TV (yes, I’m that old).
I have tested dozens of Harley Benton instruments, but somehow this one struck different. I would even say I connected with this one to some extent, which came as surprise to me. To be a bit poetic: The instrument I got wasn’t flawless, but neither is the person playing the original as well.
And one more thing: if you ever want to take your guitar to band rehearsal or just to a friend’s place, you’ll probably need a gig bag. Luckily Harley Benton offers a bundle option, which you can find in the links below.
Guitar and gigbag: https://thmn.to/thoprod/558030?offid=1&affid=394
Just the guitar: https://thmn.to/thoprod/482142?offid=1&affid=394