Harley Benton - have I been living under a rock?

V

VidarAus

Experienced
I have just discovered the Harley Benton guitar brand, and I simply cannot believe the on paper specs for the ridiculously low prices. But then there are TONS of reviews online (heaps of in-depth on YouTube) which have people convinced they can rival "professional" instruments that command high prices, especially after a few reasonably priced mods.

So, who has one and what do you think of it? Is this brand really redefining what you can get for a few hundred dollars? How the hell do they create guitars of this quality and materials for a few hundred dollars? Have we been lied to by the big brands on what a guitar should cost? Should we stop buying expensive guitars and buy Harley Benton's? ;)
 
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Compared to what else that price-point has to offer, I’d say they are actually doing a pretty-good job at supplying the next-gen-beginner’s parents, with halfway inspirational options ..Seemingly, they are a much better offering than the guitar made from actual plywood I had to Jiu Jitsu into submission just to get a chord rung-out of, when I first picked up a guitar. :0) ...Crap like the first guitar I picked up was designed more to separate the wheat from the chaff, I think. :0)

Nope! ...May not be PRS quality instruments, but, setting the bar for entry-level guitars, they are certainly bringing the industry forward. Glad they are out there.
 
Thanks for chiming in guys! Have any of you owned or played one? I agree it is hard to believe at this price point they could be great, but there seems to be an overwhelming number of detailed reviews online from people who know what they are talking about saying they are fantastic and can rival much more expensive guitars from traditional manufactures.

If true, we live in crazy times with those prices!
 
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aziz said:
Yes, they are revolutionary - for the price of tin and plywood you get a guitar made of tin and plywood!
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Haha yeah I thought so too. But their specs seem to include mahogany bodies and necks, stainless steel frets, beautiful looking flame and quilted bodies and matching headstocks, Wilkinson trems and fishman pickups (in their acoustics), and Korean licenced floyds which are still used in higher quality guitars from big name manufacturers.

Is a bit of a head scratcher for the stupid low prices ($200-300 for a guitar with these specs???) and the fit and finish and fretwork is reportedly great.

Apparently they use factories in Vietnam and Indonesia (among other eastern places), which all the big manufacturers use as well. They are built there, before being shipped to Germany to be finished, checked and setup and shipped to customers.

They seem to have low overheads as you can only buy direct from them (no middle man), and they don’t do any advertising or have shopfront costs or whatever. Maybe that is a big saving? That and they order metric shit tons of them at a time.

At $200 I should probably order something just to end my curiosity. And with a flat shipping rate for as many guitars as you want in one order (to the US for example the flat rate is $35 it seems), is kind of crazy shipping price too.
 
Hmm, now I'm getting interested in those 79e and 111e strats. I could give them away after gig to avoid carrying them back home. Logistics mastermind!
 
I have no direct experience with Harley Benton guitars, but I know that good guitars can be built inexpensively. I’m a fan of block-logo-era Austin guitars that came out of the same Asian factories. The brand screams “entry level,” but some of the models are totally gig-worthy. And some are excellent.
 
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I owned an HB 5-string bass guitar which was unbelievable. Ok, there were some minor signs of cheap production but they didn't affect the sound and playability. Never owned one of their guitars, though, but given the price tag they make a fantastic base for modding.
 
Yeah seems to be the best way to use them - replace the tuners, pickups and maybe some of the electronics and looks like could be a great instrument. The price just seems pretty insane.
 
Buy USA made guitars thats why these are 200 to destroy the small builder..
which they have done an amazing job of... People will flock to buy crap
but scoff at something hand built with a price the builder could actually eat from..
Oh thats too much why I could just spend 200 and send the money out of the USA and just destroy
the small builder.. Harley who ?
 
ultima hombre said:
Buy USA made guitars thats why these are 200 to destroy the small builder..
which they have done an amazing job of... People will flock to buy crap
but scoff at something hand built with a price the builder could actually eat from..
Oh thats too much why I could just spend 200 and send the money out of the USA and just destroy
the small builder.. Harley who ?
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Not everyone on this forum is from the US...
 
unix-guy said:
Not everyone on this forum is from the US...
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True good old USA where your fellow man knifes you on the way up..
I used to build them completely from scratch including the Truss Rod
its not worth it. When you can just pay 200 and watch the small guy crash and burn...
When I was making them by hand everyone wanted this or that they did not want a new shape
they wanted Fender or Gibson shapes which tended to get you sued..
I walked in 2005 and Fender sued someone else which is fitting considering....
Whos Gibson suing this week anybody know ?
 
ultima hombre said:
...Oh thats too much why I could just spend 200 and send the money out of the USA and just destroy
the small builder.. Harley who ?
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How are $200 guitars destroying the small builders? Totally different demographics. The people buying $200 guitars are not typically the people who would be buying from a small builder. And similarly, there are no small builders competing in the $200 guitar market.
 
I have tried an electric and an acoustic. I really hated both. Pretty much unplayable, frets all over the place, sharp edges cutting fingers, electronic useless and the list goes on.
I have to say that this is 5-6 years ago and some say alot of improvements have been made lately.
I got burned and will never buy anything form that brand again.
 
I´d say the HBs are extreeeeemly good for the price point, nothing less but then also nothing more.

Wood, Neck and in most cases production standards are astonishing - weak spots are to me the Tremolos/Bridges and the Pickups. You can change them but then the price arguments gets a little thinner.

They´re unbelievably great for beginners but they can´t really compete with a Suhr, Maybach or Made in Japan Ibanez AZs - nevertheless, I wish these guitars were around, when i started off playing.
 
Heinzi said:
I´d say the HBs are extreeeeemly good for the price point, nothing less but then also nothing more.

Wood, Neck and in most cases production standards are astonishing - weak spots are to me the Tremolos/Bridges and the Pickups. You can change them but then the price arguments gets a little thinner.
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So they are great upgrade guitars then? I'd rather have a guitar whose construction is solid but could do with better hardware then the reverse. And upgrading them is part of the fun of these kinds of guitars.

They´re unbelievably great for beginners but they can´t really compete with a Suhr, Maybach or Made in Japan Ibanez AZs - nevertheless, I wish these guitars were around, when i started off playing.
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But now you're comparing them to top of the line guitars, akin to comparing a cheap Toyata to a Ferrari. That's no contest. The true comparison should be to the entry level guitars of Fender, Gibson and Ibanez. Which you often also need to upgrade.
 
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