MT
Very Good Indeed
A cutaway electric 12 string for 118euro. Can it possibly be any good at this price?
Yes it can- and indeed is!
Just for the record, at the price I paid,I have given it a deserved 5 stars all round. To be fair, had it been priced at say £3000 it wouldn't have scored quite so well.
Visually it's a looker. Cream bound neck and cream bound body set off the black bodywork to perfection. To be picky, I could comment that the paintwork is a bit thin, but then thin paint gives the wood more opportunity to produce a good sound. As is to be expected at this price, the top (and sides and back) are going to be laminate, and the strings are not from the top price range, but that doesn't stop this baby from producing a surprisingly good tone. One of the first things I normally do on a new guitar is change the strings, but I just don't think it needs it. And volume is very good too..
Straight out of the box it was very nearly in tune, and absolutely playable, with no sharp fret ends, which is very creditable. Like just about every guitar you buy- from anywhere and at any price (at least under around £500-£600) it will greatly benefit from being breathed upon by a good luthier. As supplied, the truss rod is pretty well set, although measuring might well yield some minor improvement. The bridge and nut can certainly be lowered, speeding up the action. The frets are pretty level and would be adequate for most people, but fret levelling and polishing would improve this guitar even more.
Ok, like some other reviewers, I have gone on about setups, Please accept that this guitar is NOT inferior- it's jut that setting up is very time consuming, and would put up the initial price, so manufacturers cut back. But this guitar is so good to begin with that any additional work by a good luthier would be well worth it- and I would go so far as to say that spending say £75 on a full fret level and polish, plus a set up would produce a guitar that would easily match any guitar on a shop wall costing £400
Yes it can- and indeed is!
Just for the record, at the price I paid,I have given it a deserved 5 stars all round. To be fair, had it been priced at say £3000 it wouldn't have scored quite so well.
Visually it's a looker. Cream bound neck and cream bound body set off the black bodywork to perfection. To be picky, I could comment that the paintwork is a bit thin, but then thin paint gives the wood more opportunity to produce a good sound. As is to be expected at this price, the top (and sides and back) are going to be laminate, and the strings are not from the top price range, but that doesn't stop this baby from producing a surprisingly good tone. One of the first things I normally do on a new guitar is change the strings, but I just don't think it needs it. And volume is very good too..
Straight out of the box it was very nearly in tune, and absolutely playable, with no sharp fret ends, which is very creditable. Like just about every guitar you buy- from anywhere and at any price (at least under around £500-£600) it will greatly benefit from being breathed upon by a good luthier. As supplied, the truss rod is pretty well set, although measuring might well yield some minor improvement. The bridge and nut can certainly be lowered, speeding up the action. The frets are pretty level and would be adequate for most people, but fret levelling and polishing would improve this guitar even more.
Ok, like some other reviewers, I have gone on about setups, Please accept that this guitar is NOT inferior- it's jut that setting up is very time consuming, and would put up the initial price, so manufacturers cut back. But this guitar is so good to begin with that any additional work by a good luthier would be well worth it- and I would go so far as to say that spending say £75 on a full fret level and polish, plus a set up would produce a guitar that would easily match any guitar on a shop wall costing £400
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c
Not sure if I'll keep this one or not
I bought this guitar as sort of an add-on to another HB I ordered.
I'm not sure if this problem was weather-related or not, but the strings were wound VERY tightly. When I started to tune the guitar, the high G snapped as soon as I started to turn the tuning knob, so now I need to order strings. Also, this guitar has a lot of headstock "dive", meaning it wants to droop forward. The body is way light for such a huge headstock. Maybe this is a thing with 12-strings, but I didn't notice it the last time I played one.
When I removed the broken string, I noticed that this guitar has the rattly tuners that my HB 35 had (which I replaced) but I'm not sure I want to spring for 12 new tuning machines.
I also noticed a couple of blems in the finish. One at the top of the headstock, and one in the sound hole. They're not B-stock bad, so I can ignore them.
So, my third HB and my first non-great one. Hopefully a fluke.
I'm not sure if this problem was weather-related or not, but the strings were wound VERY tightly. When I started to tune the guitar, the high G snapped as soon as I started to turn the tuning knob, so now I need to order strings. Also, this guitar has a lot of headstock "dive", meaning it wants to droop forward. The body is way light for such a huge headstock. Maybe this is a thing with 12-strings, but I didn't notice it the last time I played one.
When I removed the broken string, I noticed that this guitar has the rattly tuners that my HB 35 had (which I replaced) but I'm not sure I want to spring for 12 new tuning machines.
I also noticed a couple of blems in the finish. One at the top of the headstock, and one in the sound hole. They're not B-stock bad, so I can ignore them.
So, my third HB and my first non-great one. Hopefully a fluke.
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JS
For under a 100 bucks...........really?
I am a very happy HB customer, not only did all my product arrive in perfect order.....took the guitar from the box and it was 100% perfect, not a mark or anything. Cleaned it with a cloth and oiled the fret-board then tuned it up, Sound, play-ability and tone is amazing. This is a 500+ guitar and more any day of the week. HB if you keep this up some of the fancy names are in trouble.............enough talking, time to play!!! Wow, what value!!! Yes, I am very happy indeed!!
Jan Strydom
Tel Aviv
Jan Strydom
Tel Aviv
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M1
Top secret!
It's unbelievable that they can make a 12 string as good as this for such low money??
I've had all sorts of top branded 12 strings and this happens to be one of my favourite in the collection.
It has a really nice acoustic tone and the neck Is lovely to play.
The finish is brilliant in high black gloss.
Even though the eq is basic I gig with mine through a effect pedal and the crowd love it!
Again excellent service from Thomann quick delivery 👍👍
I've had all sorts of top branded 12 strings and this happens to be one of my favourite in the collection.
It has a really nice acoustic tone and the neck Is lovely to play.
The finish is brilliant in high black gloss.
Even though the eq is basic I gig with mine through a effect pedal and the crowd love it!
Again excellent service from Thomann quick delivery 👍👍
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p
Aaaaah!
12. I always wanted a twelve. So I ordered this one, because of the price and good youtube reviews. My first Harley Benton, but hey, all over my expectations!
Everything fine, two different pickguards came with to choose. No finish cracks, nothing bad, fretwork nice. So checked the neck - which was a bit bowy - high action, so lowered. I will maybe replace the saddle with compensated one, because of better intonation.
I am using it at home, for a jammings with friends, and this black beauty is well done and very nice and loud sounding instrument.
Everything fine, two different pickguards came with to choose. No finish cracks, nothing bad, fretwork nice. So checked the neck - which was a bit bowy - high action, so lowered. I will maybe replace the saddle with compensated one, because of better intonation.
I am using it at home, for a jammings with friends, and this black beauty is well done and very nice and loud sounding instrument.
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S
Love this guitar
I had to wait a long time for this giant killer to arrive.
One can play this hard without worrying about it falling to bits.
One can play this hard without worrying about it falling to bits.
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A
Great guitar for a first 12-string.
I've owned this guitar for a year or two now and have had no issues with it, it sounds excellent and is comfortable to play, it holds up really well under live conditions as well so definitely consider buying if you are interested in 12-strings, it's a good guitar to start 12-string playing on,
NOTE: if you are buying this to play JBT's 2012 "Ocean" definitely find a set of steel strings to sit on it, and get a 12-string capo. You might also want to consider getting a sub-octave pedal to go with it, this guitar does the song justice under those conditions.
NOTE: if you are buying this to play JBT's 2012 "Ocean" definitely find a set of steel strings to sit on it, and get a 12-string capo. You might also want to consider getting a sub-octave pedal to go with it, this guitar does the song justice under those conditions.
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S
Harley Benton D-200ce-12bk
I own 5 -12 string guitars including a Rickenbacker 330 so I have an idea what to expect with these guitars i have played in bands etc for 50+ years ..THIS GUITAR IS BRILLIANT from playability to sound and straight out of the box looks etc cannot fault this guitar and at this price i will be looking at the range of HARLEY BENTON for any further purchases Thankyou THOMANN great job
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D
All round superb quality
Absolutely brilliant quality product that arrived well packaged and set up ready to play. Got it out of the box and after a bit of tuning played a lovely guitar for hours afterwards. This guitar holds the tuning well too as going back to it the day after it required very little tuning. Very impressed all round.
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A
It's OK... I'd get a slightly more expensive one
Overall, I'm happy with this guitar, but there are a few things worth noting.
First off, I have to say that the build quality is just ok. The guitar feels nice and sturdy, and the finish looks great. But it does have some components issues which are easy to fix. I appreciate that it comes with a built-in pickup, which makes it really convenient for playing live.
I did notice that the strings are a little bit farther apart from each other than I'm used to. It took a bit of getting used to (I already played 12 strings, I'm not comparing it to a regular 6 string), but it's not a dealbreaker by any means. Additionally, I found that the sound is a bit thinner than I expected, especially when playing low on the neck. However, this isn't a huge issue, and the guitar still sounds enjoyable, particularly when tuned down to Eb.
I think that the Harley Benton D-200CE-12BK is a good value for the price. While it's not perfect, it's an ok option for anyone looking for a 12-string acoustic-electric guitar that won't break the bank. I'd recommend splurging a little more and getting one of the nicer ones that HB offers, even for those looking for an entry-level 12-string guitar.
First off, I have to say that the build quality is just ok. The guitar feels nice and sturdy, and the finish looks great. But it does have some components issues which are easy to fix. I appreciate that it comes with a built-in pickup, which makes it really convenient for playing live.
I did notice that the strings are a little bit farther apart from each other than I'm used to. It took a bit of getting used to (I already played 12 strings, I'm not comparing it to a regular 6 string), but it's not a dealbreaker by any means. Additionally, I found that the sound is a bit thinner than I expected, especially when playing low on the neck. However, this isn't a huge issue, and the guitar still sounds enjoyable, particularly when tuned down to Eb.
I think that the Harley Benton D-200CE-12BK is a good value for the price. While it's not perfect, it's an ok option for anyone looking for a 12-string acoustic-electric guitar that won't break the bank. I'd recommend splurging a little more and getting one of the nicer ones that HB offers, even for those looking for an entry-level 12-string guitar.
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