Top 10 Budget Electric Guitar Effects Pedals From Harley Benton
Harley Benton proved that “on a budget” does not always mean “cheap”.
Do you feel like you could use some more effects on your pedalboard? We agree that not every musician can afford to spend around 200 Euros on every pedal. Harley Benton proved that “on a budget” does not always mean “cheap”. This company is well-known for manufacturing impressively good budget pedals. They cover a wide spectrum of filters and effects. In fact, people often use their pedals on stage, as well as in the studio.
Harley Benton's effect pedals share several traits. They come in sturdy aluminum cases and are widely praised for being reliable and durable. They also feature True Bypass and add no additional white noise to your sound. No wonder they’re becoming the most beloved and popular budget pedals among musicians. Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, you should definitely check them out:
1. Harley Benton Vintage Overdrive see price
Vintage Overdrive does exactly what it’s supposed to do – it gives your amp a tighter and more articulated sound. It features three control knobs that allow you to go from light crunch to full overdrive. If you’re looking for a pedal that would give you a “tube-like” sound, Vintage Overdrive is a great bet.
2. Harley Benton Vintage Tremolo see price
This Harley Benton pedal features a hard, square-sounding tremolo. It works great with both clean and distorted signals and can process different sources, including e-piano. Vintage Tremolo allows you to alter the rate and intensity of the effect, allowing you to switch from subtle to well-defined tremolo when needed. Another pro of this pedal is that there is no volume drop when you engage it
3. Harley Benton Dynamic Compressor see price
This analogue compressor works like a charm with any kind of pickups. No matter if you’ve got vintage American Telecaster pickups or high-output output hot-rails, you’ll get a natural-sounding, smooth compression. Harley Benton’s compression can be considered rather balanced than aggressive.
4. Harley Benton DD-2 see price
There’s a huge difference between digital and analog delays. Simply put, digital delay offers a higher-quality sound output. It doesn’t cripple the higher frequencies and it works perfectly with both clean and distorted sounds. Some guitar players say that analog delay “warms up” the sound by adding the mentioned “signature” distortions (such as high-end roll-offs, harmonic chipping, and so on). It’s a matter of taste and usage.
Digital delay adds no “signature” sounds, but it works like clockwork with any signal type. If you’re looking for reliability rather than warmth or color, then the Harley Benton DD-2 pedal is a great bet
5. Harley Benton American TrueTone see price
If you are looking for a budget analog to the famous Tech 21, then you just found it. TrueTone is an overdrive pedal with an inbuilt 3-band EQ. It sounds as good as the Tech 21 with a little more “crunch”. It has a robust construction and it comes in a sturdy and durable metal box. Many satisfied users reported that those pedals last for years.
6. Harley Benton Classic Chorus see price
This pedal is definitely not meant for those who strive to achieve unearthly and experimental sounds. Instead, the Classic Chorus is a straightforward, simple to use pedal that allows you to add some smooth “sparks” and warmth to your sound. It’s built on a way that you simply can't get a bad sound out of this pedal. The Classic Chorus can be considered a reliable workhorse. Its metal cell feels solid and greatly adds to its durability.
7. Harley Benton HM-100 see price
If you were looking for an edgy and aggressive-sounding pedal, then look no further. The HM-100 is meant for those who strive to achieve the perfect tone for the heaviest music genres, ranging from hard rock to black metal. The HM-100 has four knobs that allow you to tweak the distortion process quickly. Twist a couple of knobs and you’ll jump from vintage 70’s rock to NuMetal. Twist them a little bit more and you’ll sail to the realms of black and death metal.
Many musicians from all around the world use Harley Benton’s as workhorses for studio recordings and live performances.
8. Harley Benton Extreme Metal see price
This pedal features a chunky and sharp sound, which will easily cut through the mix. Its 6 knobs and two buttons allow you to customize pretty much every aspect of the distortion. Besides the three classic “boost-level-drive” knobs, it also has an inbuilt 3-band EQ to further tweak the output sound. All of the mentioned means that you can use this pedal for blues, rock and metal.
9. Harley Benton Ultimate Drive see price
Ultimate Drive has all the perks you’d expect from a good overdrive pedal. Its versatility makes it perfect for virtually any musical genre including country, rockabilly, stoner rock and even metal. Ultimate Drive might not have any signature sound, but it gets the job done. This pedal is also very sensitive to dynamics, which means that it sounds soft if you play lightly, even if the gain knob is turned up high. This is by far one of the best overdrive pedals within this price range.
10. Harley Benton Digital Delay see price
Ironically enough, Harley Benton’s Digital Delay pedal sounds more like an analog delay. As we’ve mentioned before, the “echo” produced by analog delay pedals sounds different than the original input signal. If used properly, it will add additional colors and warmth to your tone. Heavy distortion often sounds muddy with this kind of pedals. Thus, this kind of delay works better with clean or slightly distorted signals.
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for some effect pedals that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, then Harley Benton is definitely your brand. Those pedals might not have a well-defined signature sound, but they get the job done. Many musicians worldwide use Harley Benton as workhorses for studio recordings and live performances.
We sincerely hope that you’ll have fun discovering the possibilities those pedals offer.
About George Katsanos
George is the bassist of Mobvibe and a avid fan of Rock music and Fender Telecasters. When not practicing his bass lines he is busy writing code for web applications.
Contact George Katsanos at georgekatsanos@musicngear.com
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