Harley Benton EX-76 Classic vs Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic over Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Reasons to Get
Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM over Harley Benton EX-76 Classic
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic vs Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Shared Features
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic vs Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Common Strengths
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Nut
- High-Quality Frets
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM is probably the better product overall with its final score of 80 compared to the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic's 74 score, although not by a lot.
The Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic has the upper hand when it comes to playability, value for the money.
If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic is the better choice.
The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM meets only 5. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic Overview
- From Harley Benton's 2020 Tribute series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 15" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- Mahogany neck
- Purpleheart fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Roswell LAF Alnico-5 (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Roswell LAF Alnico-5 (Humbucker/Passive)
- 2 volume and 1 tone Speed knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Wsc Tune-O-Matic Bridge bridge
- Harley Benton Slim Taper C Set neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- Grover Locking Machine Heads tuners
- Compare Specs >
Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM Overview
- From Jackson's 2018 Artist Signature series
- Misha Mansoor Signature
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 20" Fretboard Radius
- Flame Maple top
- Caramelized Mahogany body
- Caramelized Quartersawn Maple neck
- Caramelized Flame Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Bare Knuckle Juggernaut (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Bare Knuckle Juggernaut (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Hipshot 6 Fixed .175 bridge
- Speed Bolt-On neck
- 24 Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- Hipshot Open-Gear Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic
Purpleheart (also known as Amaranth) is a hard, dense wood with a brilliant tone. As its name suggests, the purple color makes this wood look exotic.
Woods Used in the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Harley Benton EX-76 Classic.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM gives you 5 switch options while the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic gives you 3. This means that the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM comes with some kind of pickup modification: Multi-Voicing.
Multi-Voicing means the pickups come with multiple ''voices'', which means they can change the tone and gain by a simple switch or knob. Piezo, Fishman and similar are considered multi-voicing pickups.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic compares to the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic is built in Indonesia while the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM is made in United States.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM comes with a Black Tusq XL nut. TUSQ nuts are usually the highest quality you can get. Black TUSQs are made from a special slippery material that helps the strings get back to its original position (one of the keys to tune stability).
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
Both come with a similar bridge: Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
They both have locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Black Tusq XL Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Multi-Voicing Pickups
- Strap Lock
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.9mm (0.034'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM has the longest scale: 25.5". The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Harley Benton EX-76 Classic has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
The Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM, on the other hand, has a D neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Harley Benton EX-76 Classic's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .
Harley Benton EX-76 Classic:
Jackson USA Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6FM:
Fret Size
Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.
