Harley Benton

Wound_Up

Wound_Up

You can call me Duane 😁
Jan 23, 2020
5,831
NW LA
At least some of their guitars are/were made by Yeou Chern Enterprises aka World Sound Music, who has made OEM guitars for Ibanez, Gibson, Aria, Fender, Dean, Harley Benton, and Monoprice/Indio as well as other well-known mfgs.

You can ask @CB91710 about the gold top Harley Benton that he bought. I think it was him.


If I didn't already have a mfg that I've been beyond pleased with, I'd definitely be considering their guitars.
 
Davono

Davono

Strat-O-Master
Aug 17, 2021
643
Ireland
OK....I wrote a big ol review of my pink harley benton tele. Its class.

So, while buying a bass....i bought a Harley Benton TE62 on a whim......and.......its bloody brilliant. Shell Pink with photos and review.

I literally have this guitar in my cart! It looks beautiful, the pink is really nice. I'm hoping to do some mod work on it though, and I'm wondering if you know if the neck can be replaced? With a Fender or G&L etc. I was also going to swap out the pick ups, tuners, and possibly fit a bigsby...
www.tdpri.com www.tdpri.com
 
S

StratDlx

Strat-Talk Member
Mar 1, 2018
47
Europe
I have 2 HBs - both are nice guitars. You get good value for the money. But somehow not the same thrill as playing a real Gibson or Fender, which is stupid, but whatever ..
 
crawdaddy

crawdaddy

Most Honored Senior Member
Feb 11, 2010
6,944
Valley o Sun
I purchased an MS-60L from Thomann a few years back. It was right around $200 to me with a great gig bag and shipping ($40 at the time) in that cost. The guitar was very nice, probably along the lines of a Squier. It sounded pretty darn good and played well. I liked it, but once I got my Jag-Stang it became redundant so off it went.

Here is pic of the one I owned:
IMG_20201117_091426898_HDR.jpg
 
Lucius Paisley

Lucius Paisley

Senior Stratmaster
Jul 14, 2021
1,243
Sydney, Australia
Always interested in "cheap" guitars. In Australia we have our own "version" of HB called Artist Guitars, biggest differences are free shipping, a 100-day return policy even for a change of mind, and a 3-year warranty. However, due to the standard legal bs, they can't make certain types of guitars, so if the need comes up for something they can't make, HB is always an option and I'd just have to take the risk of receiving a dud. But that's nothing a mod or a replacement part can't hinder.
 
JamesE

JamesE

Senior Stratmaster
Mar 30, 2018
1,332
Hamburg, Germany
Here's mine:

NGD - HB35Plus

This is the cheap Charlie's answer to a real ES335. Unplugged, it's great. A tiny gripe is that the fret ends are not as smooth as I would like - that can be fixed. If you want variety in pickups - both humbuckers have coil-splits. (I don't know if this is common.) It was 249 Euros, and they...
www.strat-talk.com www.strat-talk.com

I bought it on the recommendation of several "reviewers" on y--tube.
Unbelievable at this price! If I didn't have other commitments, I guess I would have bought an original.

Now I've had it a few months, the only thing that I find lacking is some punch in the pickups. Compared to my Gibson LP, Epiphone SG and Pearl LP copy, the pickups are a tiny bit dull. I don't know if a treble-booster would improve this, but I find I can compensate by turning up the treble on the amp. (Valve amp BTW.)
 
CB91710

CB91710

No GAS shortage here
Platinum Supporting Member
Feb 24, 2019
11,771
SoCal
Wound_Up said:
At least some of their guitars are/were made by Yeou Chern Enterprises aka World Sound Music, who has made OEM guitars for Ibanez, Gibson, Aria, Fender, Dean, Harley Benton, and Monoprice/Indio as well as other well-known mfgs.

You can ask @CB91710 about the gold top Harley Benton that he bought. I think it was him.


If I didn't already have a mfg that I've been beyond pleased with, I'd definitely be considering their guitars.
Click to expand...
Quality is hit and miss.
At the time I bought mine, it was $180 shipped, and it's not bad, for a $180 guitar.
One of the tuners is really tight.
Minor cosmetic issues all over the place... but it set up and plays pretty well.

I've not bonded with it, and honestly, it's not worth what it would cost to ship it were I to try to sell it.

Binding scraping was sloppy, chip in the board below the last fret (not sure what kind of wood it is, but it is dyed), and a finish issue on the bridge post.
Shipping box was clean and it was well packaged, that's not from an impact during shipping, it went into the box like this.

But again... the quality is hit and miss. A ton of people are super happy with theirs.... but every now and then, one slips through that is nearly unplayable.


HB_Binding-1.jpg

HB_Binding-2.jpg

HB_Bridge_Finish.jpg

HB_Fingerboard.jpg
 
JamesE

JamesE

Senior Stratmaster
Mar 30, 2018
1,332
Hamburg, Germany
CB91710 said:
Quality is hit and miss.
At the time I bought mine, it was $180 shipped, and it's not bad, for a $180 guitar.
One of the tuners is really tight.
Minor cosmetic issues all over the place... but it set up and plays pretty well.

I've not bonded with it, and honestly, it's not worth what it would cost to ship it were I to try to sell it.

Binding scraping was sloppy, chip in the board below the last fret (not sure what kind of wood it is, but it is dyed), and a finish issue on the bridge post.
Shipping box was clean and it was well packaged, that's not from an impact during shipping, it went into the box like this.

But again... the quality is hit and miss. A ton of people are super happy with theirs.... but every now and then, one slips through that is nearly unplayable.
Click to expand...
Dear, oh dear! It looks like you got the "Friday afternoon" model!
You prompted me to take a really good look at mine. Yes, it's not perfect - I've already said that the fret ends were a little sharp - that was easily fixed. The screw in the scratchplate is far too big - I've replaced it, but there isn't much space, so you need a really short screw. I've found a blemish in the varnish on the back, but certainly nothing like the shoddy work on your guitar. The Big T have a very good reputation for returns, but maybe that wasn't an option for you?

However, from my point of view, the one thing that really held me back was the name! Harley Benton? Sounds like a character in a novel...
"I love you, Mrs. Hamilton-Beauchamp." Whispered Harley Benton, slipping off his golf glove and caressing the bejewelled hand of his one true love.
"I love you too, Harley, but our love can never be." Replied Camilla Hamilton-Beauchamp, "There is another man in my life, one who plays croquet not golf..." To be continued - NOT!
 
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