Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW

264

Electric Guitar

  • Vintage Series
  • Basswood body
  • Bolt-on neck: Vintage caramelised canadian maple
  • Laurel fretboard
  • Block fretboard inlays
  • Neck profile: "C
  • Matched headstock
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale length: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Double action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell vintage-style Alnico-5 JM single coils
  • 1 x Volume and 1 x tone control
  • 3-Way pickup selector switch
  • Hardware: Deluxe chrome
  • Fixed bridge
  • Kluson-style machine heads
  • String gauges: .010 - .046
  • Colour: Olympic White
  • Suitable case: Art.122213 (not included)
Available since May 2017
Item number 398225
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Colour White
Soundboard Basswood
Neck Caramelized Canadian Maple
Fretboard Laurel
Frets 21
Scale 648 mm
Pickup System JM, JM
Tremolo No
Incl. Case No
Incl. Gigbag No
Design J-Style
Top None
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$155
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Classic retro flair

The Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW Vintage Series is a guitar whose shape clearly evokes that of certain well-known vintage models - an effect that is enhanced even further by its eyecatching Olympic White finish. The guitar's basswood body provides sufficient sustain, while the 21-fret laurel fingerboard features block inlays that provide enhanced orientation while playing. The bolt-on neck is made of Canadian maple, a wood that is considered to be even harder than oak, and has been heat-treated to give it a "caramelised" look. Last but not least, the neck is also adorned with white binding, a feature usually reserved for higher-priced guitars.

50s/60s looks with modern features

The Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW Vintage Series brings the style of the 1950s and 1960s into the present day. The nut width of 42mm and scale length of 648mm are also typical for this design, and the Kluson-style machine heads are the perfect addition. Thanks to the fixed tailpiece, the TOM-style bridge is able to provide extra sustain. The neck boasts a well-balanced and rounded C profile, and can be optimally adjusted via the double-action truss rod. In keeping with its retro design, the guitar also features a three-way toggle switch for pickup selection. All of these features together make for an uncompromising design that evokes the flair of The Beach Boys and Elvis Costello.

Rich in volume and character

Players who are into retro looks and deluxe chrome hardware but can easily get by without a tremolo system when performing will feel right at home with the Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW Vintage Series. Its single coil pickups, both vintage-style Roswell JM AlNiCo-5 P90s, deliver a warm and voluminous sound for clean guitar tones as well as a characterful crunch sound with plenty of distortion. So it's not much of an issue that the model features only one volume and one tone control. The guitar comes strung with a .10-.46 set as standard, which provides a full sound without making string-bending too difficult.

About Harley Benton

Since 1998, the Harley Benton brand has been catering for the needs of numerous guitarists and bassists. In addition to an extensive range of stringed instruments, Thomann's house brand also offers a wide choice of amplifiers, speakers, effect pedals, and other accessories. In total, the range includes over 1,500 products. Built by established names in the industry, all Harley Benton products combine quality and reliability at attractive and affordable prices. The continuous expansion of the range ensures that Harley Benton always provides new, exciting, and innovative products that keep players perfectly in tune with the musical world, day after day.

From Surf to Hard Rock

With the Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW Vintage Series, guitarists in cover bands get a guitar that recreates the look of the old days on today's stages without having to invest in an expensive vintage model. In fact, this retro instrument is an interesting proposition for anyone who plays Rock guitar. Of course, Surf and Rock aren't the only styles that it can handle: Those who love a full single coil sound with plenty of character can use this guitar for almost any genre of music. To ensure that the instrument is transported safely, a suitable case or gig bag is also recommended.

In the spotlight

264 Customer ratings

4.7 / 5

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206 Reviews

J
Stunningly Good
JayDock1 23.08.2021
I read a lot of reviews, and watched several videos, on this guitar before I took the gamble. I was not remotely disappointed.

Context: I've been playing guitar for about 20 years, and have owned and played a pretty good range of mid-high end guitars. One thing I've noticed in the last 5 or so years is the steady increase in quality of the cheap guitars, such as Squire, Laguna, and of course, Harley Benton. That said, this thing rises above even the best of the cheap "great" guitars

What I got was a guitar that was still 90% still in tune despite a trip across the ocean to the US and through a series of package processing facilities. It needed very little setup (could be none at all for some people), except for a small change of the action, and felt phenomenal.

The sound that came from my speakers after plugging it in and playing it for the first time was far beyond what I ever would have expected from a guitar at this price point. The overall sound maintained an excellent bottom-end without becoming muddy, while the high-end sounds (notes and natural sound of the strings) were bright without becoming shrill. I can honestly say I probably will not replace the pickups, which is first for me as far as factory pickups go.

The electronics are solid - no noise when turning knobs or flipping the pickup selector, and the jack stays pretty solid.

I have now gigged with this guitar several times over and found the tuning to be extremely stable, even in extreme temperature changes. My favorite example is when I took it out of my air conditioned car onto an outdoor stage when the temperature was 95F degrees and the humidity was about 80%. My ESP LTD EC-1000 Deluxe slipped out of tune a couple times in that show, but the Harley Benton did not - it held its tuning throughout the entire performance, was still in tune the next day.

Overall, the only thing I would change is the tuners, which are split-shaft for string-locking. They definitely work well, but they are a pain to work with when re-stringing. I will likely end up switching to proper locking tuners in the near future.
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D5
Harley Benton HB JA-60 OW
Deadrunner 5150 16.01.2020
I use this guitar for playing at home. I am a hobbyist guitarist and don't play in a band. However, I would use this guitar in any band or live event and be very proud that I own it. I cannot tell you how impressive this guitar is for the price. I feel like I should buy every single HB guitar I can before the price jumps. Unbelievable value!

Pros: I live in Midwest USA and it is winter here currently. This guitar was shipped through the winter weather and was more than likely warm and cold many times during this process. The guitar was almost completely in tune and the setup was very very close. I didn't have to adjust the neck at all. The finish on the guitar is perfect, the neck is beautiful and all the hardware has a great finish and no corrosion on the crome.

Cons: I love to work on guitars and I was planning to completey take the guitar apart upon delivery. I would say for a beginner this guitar would be great to play out of the box but there is a little work that needs to be done. The frets needed a polish and the intonation was a little off. I also needed to re-solder a connection on the tone pot. One typical comment is that the tuners are cheat on these guitar. I would say they are a little cheat but if you work with them they will improve. No you cannot do too much adjustment with a vintage style tuner but readjusting the screws did actually help. I will be adding shielding to the cavities so that will help one the noise.

Overall look at the price. You should be paying at least 500 for these guitars. I would be very happy with this guitar if it cost more than it does. I would still feel like I got a great value. But 138 come on that is crazy for this guitar! Get one and have fun, I am going to get a burst one just because of the price and amazing value I have now seen in person.
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5
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T
What a true Jazzmaster should be
TimurG 06.04.2021
Awesome guitar for clean and crunchy sounds. Looks sick, sounds sick, built with decent quality. I can recommend it without any hesitations. Maybe will order some other HB instruments in visible future.

Pluses:
- Overall look. Cool vintagy painting, binding. Even pau-ferro fretboard matches guitar nicely.
- Weight of instrument and wood resonating. Even unplugged sounds loud and narly. Can assume that materials are quite good. Back of the neck without too much finishing feels great.
- Pickups. These are no ordinary P90, more like fat-wound single-coils. Sounds spanky and bright. Even unique.
- Overall built quality. Truss-rod was setup properly. Good set of strings, sounds fresh from the box.
- Price. Nuff said. 120 euros ...
Minuses:
- Very fat and narrow neck profile. Really feels like bassball bat. I'm kinda used to it, but the neck is not gonna fit for ibanezy shredders.
- Vintage tuners. Would prefer standard grover tuners. But they look cool, do the job properly.
- The last frets are not rounded properly. Maybe it's just my only guitar's issue. But it's not that bad.
- Pickup height adjustment is quite difficult. Intonation wasn't setup properly from the box, string height was quite excessive. Fretboard was quite dry, needed lemon oil. But these issues are not fatal, but quite fixable.
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6
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KB
Fantastic Guitar
Karl Baby 18.09.2021
I started playing guitar in 1965...I have had all the great classic electric guitars over the years...I have built and repaired guitars for years...I was so impressed with this guitar I have ordered a LP Jr style...the fit and finish are excellent... the neck and fretwork are a thing of beauty...all the hardware are top notch....pickups are amazing... you get 3 wonderful tones....well balanced between the 3 positions.... wonderful, very inspirational sounds between the 3 pickups....I have a 2000 Fender Jazzmaster that I am putting up for sale as I like this one so much...Love the color....Great job Harley Benton.
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