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Harley Benton Victory Active
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
VS
Playability
73
Sound
61
Build
50
Value
71
Score
61
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Playability
72
Sound
62
Build
50
Value
76
Score
61
FIND IT ON:
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Harley Benton Victory Active vs ST-20HH Active

Reasons to Get
Harley Benton Victory Active over ST-20HH Active

Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Scale Length
24.75'' (628.7mm) vs 25.5'' (647.7mm)
Easier bending, shorter fret separation and warmer natural tone

Reasons to Get
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active over Victory Active

Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Neck Joint
Bolt-On vs Set
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm) vs 24.75'' (628.7mm)
Lower action and brighter natural tone
Value Score
76 vs 71
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Harley Benton Victory Active vs ST-20HH Active

Body Wood
Mahogany vs Poplar
Different Body Wood
Neck Wood
Mahogany vs Maple
Different Neck Wood
Headstock
3-3 vs 6
Different Headstock

Shared Features
Harley Benton Victory Active vs ST-20HH Active

Bridge Pickup
HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker
Same Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker
Same Neck Pickup
Fretboard Wood
Roseacer
Same Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Plastic
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
0
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.807'' (20.5mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.886'' (22.5mm)
Same neck comfortability
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Active
More output
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Type of Frets
Medium vs Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Weaknesses

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Nut
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

Harley Benton Victory Active Prices

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that both instruments scored 61 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.

The Harley Benton ST-20HH Active wins when it comes to sound, value for the money. On the other hand, the Harley Benton Victory Active has the upper hand when it comes to playability.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active is the better choice.

The Harley Benton ST-20HH Active meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Harley Benton Victory Active meets only 3. 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 Victory Active
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

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 Victory Active Overview

  • From Harley Benton's 2022 Progressive series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Mahogany neck
  • Roseacer fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 0 tone Bell knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Tune-O-Matic bridge
  • Harley Benton Modern C Set neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Die-Cast tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Harley Benton ST-20HH Active Overview

  • From Harley Benton's 2022 Standard series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Poplar body
  • Maple neck
  • Roseacer fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 0 tone Bell knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Hardtail bridge
  • Harley Benton Modern C Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Diecast 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

Roseacer wood pattern used for guitar building
Roseacer

It's also known as roasted maple, which is regular maple that has been treated with heat to remove humidity. It makes it more resistant to temperature changes and also darkens its color.

Woods Used in the Harley Benton Victory Active

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany

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 ST-20HH Active

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
Poplar

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.

Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.

Winner: Harley Benton Victory Active.

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

None of these use a specialized pickup brand for their pickups. Some of the best guitars on the market come with pickups from brands like EMG, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. You might want to replace your pickups eventually if you want to get the best sound out of any of these instruments.

Both use Active pickups. These pickups use an additional 9v battery to be able to increase their output for high gain tones. This is why they're popular among heavy metal guitarists. Their disadvantage is that you need batteries for the pickups, so you'll need to spend money on batteries and time swapping them. Also, the clean tones aren't as clean as other pickups because they'll have really hot output.

Winner: Tie.

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

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

They both share the following switching options:

Harley Benton Victory Active and Harley Benton ST-20HH Active pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Harley Benton Victory Active and Harley Benton ST-20HH Active's switch options

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Harley Benton ST-20HH Active.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Harley Benton Victory Active
Pickups 60
Sustain 75
Versatility 42
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 61
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
Pickups 60
Sustain 75
Versatility 47
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 62

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 Victory Active compares to the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in China.

China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.

Winner: Tie

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.

In this case, both have Plastic nuts. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

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.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

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

Both come with regular tuners. The Harley Benton Victory Active's are Die-Cast while the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active's are Diecast

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 Victory Active 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 Harley Benton ST-20HH Active 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: Harley Benton ST-20HH Active.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Harley Benton Victory Active
  • Expensive Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • 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
Strengths & Weaknesses
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • 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

Final Build Quality Scores

Harley Benton Victory Active
Quality of materials 46
Features 50
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 50
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
Quality of materials 46
Features 50
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 50

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

Harley Benton Victory Active Nut Width
Harley Benton Victory Active Nut Width
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active Nut Width
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Harley Benton Victory Active has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 1mm (0.039'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Harley Benton Victory Active, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Harley Benton Victory Active's Scale Length
Harley Benton Victory Active's Scale Length
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active's Scale Length
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active's 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 Harley Benton ST-20HH Active has the longest scale: 25.5". The Harley Benton Victory Active 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

Harley Benton Victory Active Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same 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.

Both the Harley Benton Victory Active and the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active have a C-shaped 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.

Fretboard Radius

Harley Benton Victory Active Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same 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.

Both the Harley Benton Victory Active and the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

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.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Harley Benton Victory Active favors large hands more than the Harley Benton ST-20HH Active. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Harley Benton Victory Active:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Harley Benton Victory Active Frets Size
Harley Benton Victory Active's Frets Size
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active Frets Size
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active's Frets Size

The Harley Benton ST-20HH Active has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Harley Benton Victory Active's Medium frets.

Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.

Final Playability Scores

Harley Benton Victory Active
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 70
Playability 73
Harley Benton ST-20HH Active
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72

Specs Side-by-Side

Harley Benton Victory Active vs ST-20HH Active
General Harley Benton Victory Active ST-20HH Active
Brand: Harley Benton Harley Benton
Year: 2022 2022
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China China
Series: Progressive Standard
Colors: Black Black
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Mahogany Poplar
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic Hardtail
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Bolt-On
Tuners: Die-Cast Diecast
Fretboard: Roseacer Roseacer
Neck Material: Mahogany Maple
Decoration: Dots
Scale Size: 24.75" 25.5"
Shape: Harley Benton Modern C Harley Benton Modern C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.807'' (20.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.886'' (22.5mm) 1st Fret: 0.807'' (20.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.886'' (22.5mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Nickel Silver 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Plastic Plastic
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker / Active) HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker / Active)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker / Active) HBZ Hi-Gain Humbucker (Humbucker / Active)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 0 0