Harley Benton HB-35 VB Vintage Series

I recently joined a (gigging) band and decided it was time to expand my guitar collection. From what I have read about Harley Benton and given the price I decided to take a shot.

Aesthetics:
The guitar arrived in 3 working days, which was a nice surprise. Getting it out of the box I was amazed how pretty it looked, it was very nicely finished, and has no blemishes at all, not one! It looks a lot more expensive than it actually cost.

Sounds:
I first plugged it into my PC/interface and tried out a few amp sims to see what the clean tones were like. Again I was pleasantly surprised by the tones. I already own an LP style guitar and was concerned that this guitar would not sound different enough. But it sounds very different and there is no mistaking that this is a semi-hollow guitar, the pickups are warm, sweet and articulate, and allow the acoustic tones on the instrument to shine. The neck position was pure jazzy loveliness. Warm, but not muddy and had that nice woody tone, whilst retaining clarity. The mid position was perfect for those funky James Brown 'Get on up' tones, or B.B King, very nice. The bridge pickup was very Chuck Berry-esque. This guitar really delivers on tone. I was half expecting to have to upgrade the pickups at some point, but, I really don't have to, it sounds great. I also tried it on a Boss Katana head that our rehearsal space lends out, and even with distortion
it retained its character, though Im not a fan of solid state amps. Tried it later with my Marshall Haze 40 tube combo and its sounded fantastic!

Playability:
When the guitar first arrived I wasn't able to get the action as low as I would have liked without any buzzing. But after a few days, it seemed to be better, and now I have the action low enough to be comfortable to play. I'm guessing it just needed some time to acclimatise/acclimate. The frets could also benefit from a polish. The guitar came with 9 gauge strings fitted. I play with 10's, so when I change them, I will try and get the action a bit lower. If I cant, I will do a fret level, crown and polish. This is not absolutely necessary, but being a tinkerer, I'd like to try and get the action lower. Given the price of the guitar the frets are pretty level, and they were nicely finished on the ends.

Would I recommend this guitar?
Definitely . What you get for the price, is ridiculous. Beats the heck out of my '96 Epi LP Standard.

I've already made a wish list of 5 more Harley Benton guitars, I just have to convince my wife that having that many guitars is justifiable!

I bought this (my first Thomann order) to have a semi-hollow guitar for occasional use without spending a fortune.

For £155 I was not expecting much from this guitar, however I could not believe the quality of the finish on it. The wood underneath the coating has no blemishes, the fretboard has just the right balance between rough and smooth to my feel. The headstock is finished with synthetic inlays that have been very well done. Binding around the body is well finished and accurate as are the dot inlays on both the side of the neck and fretboard. I did not detect any roughness on the frets or dead spots.

To play, this guitar feels good. My initial reaction was that the strings felt very light for my use, measurement showed they are a set of 0.008-0.039". The tuners felt smooth and accurate. The setup was generally well done, the intonation on the D string was slightly low.

Plugging in, the tone surprised me; the glued in neck provides a great sustain and a good range of tones are available from this guitar. The neck humbucker has enough bite and lots of output. The bridge humbucker has enough low end for a balanced sound.

My only complaint was the dolly on the cheap toggle switch flaps around, not simple to replace on these types of guitars.

PROS: Generally well made, fantastic tone, plays well
CONS: Flappy toggle switch

Summary: Don't let the low price put you off. Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

At first i was sceptic about a €179- guitar. But after looking some reviews on YouTube i decided to buy one. Came in very quickly. Couldn't believe my eyes. Wat a stunning looking guitar. Inspected the guitar. No dents or flaws. No fret spraud or so ever. Smooth as a baby b*t. Did needed to do a little work. Strating the neck a little. Adjust the hight off the bridge to my personal preference. Iff you do that, you have to adjust offcourse the intonation. After doing that i plugged it in. It plays very well and smooth.

I own Almost 20 guitars and a lot off them cost more than 10 times the money and are not 10 times better.

The sound could be a little thicker, but with some amp adjustments it sounds very nice.
Tuners are acceptabele, but i will swapp them for a lower gear ratio 1:18 or higher
The Nut lookes a little cheap, even thow the guitar stayed in tune after yanking the strings a lot. Action at the nut is very good.

Overall conclusion:
Is it worth the money?: Yes its is!!!!!!!!!!
Would i recommend it?: Absolutly!!!!!!!!
I gave it a totall 5 star because price vs what you get is perfect.

Whell done Thomann

I bought this guitar for decoration, to hang on the wall. But it will be different. Man this guitar is so good. I just lowered the actions when this guitar arrived. There are nog faults or even inperfections. i am almost sure that the took care of the neck with lemon oil. No sharp frets, the frets are perfect levelled, the neck is straight out of the box and the intonations was perfect. I have a lot of guitars and a perfect intonations is most of the time an issue.
Then the sound, man what a sustain, it like the sound never stops. unbelievable i have not a single guitar that has such a sustain. Clean is beautiful, jazz is possible, metal is also possible, pop & rock is perfect.
i am very pleased with this guitat and i have nothing to complain a out. Yes there are more beautiful tops but considering the price i can't expect a AAAA top.
Conclusion: perfect guitar, unbelievable at this price. Buy while this is poossible you will not regret it.
ps: i am not wor,ing for Thomann and i've no connection with them neither do i get meney for this review.

I bought this guitar as an alternative to the lemon HB-35Plus I already own. And well I did. While the one I had was jazzy warm, I wanted a twangy semi for my clean needs, and this does the job wonderfully.

Like I mentioned, its tone is bright and clean, a proper guitar for surf rock or spagetti Western, particularly if one provides it with coil split switches. Its highs are not brittle, though, it has a smooth voice and can sound full, with the right amp settings. Its pickups are reasonable, a bit too high output for my taste.

The build of this guitar is nothing to regret, but not for the fancy. It feels solid and tied together, has no deffects. Tuners hold fine, everything works properly. The finish is simple, pretty, no nonsense, and the wood figure is beautiful. Its color is not that classic vintage sunburst, as exemplified in the pictures, but it's darker and reddish. This orange tint makes it look older / vintage. Its fretboard is dark, matte, barely figured, as shown on the website.

In summary: a simple, pretty, bright guitar, with a vintage twist.