Harley Benton. Seriously...?

[AndrewG]

Ok, so whilst browsing the web I came across a pretty little parlour; solid sitka over laminated walnut, enough bling to make Liberace weep and, surprisingly (taking into account crappy laptop speakers), what appears to be quite a nice tone. The surprise came when I saw the price-less than £200 including delivery from Germany to England!
Doing a bit of delving it seems that Harley Benton is the house marque of Thomann.de. They have the guitars built for them in China/Indonesia etc.; no middle men, distributors, wholesalers and all the other cost-inducing peripherals to get in the way, hence the ridiculously low price. Ok, it ain't an 0-45, but for £200 I figured it has to be worth a punt...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oGJTllArc
https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_clf_200_wn.htm

[Penrith Pete]

Hi there.
I briefly owned a Harley Benton all-solid dread with cedar top. It was only about £220 I think. It was a nicely built guitar and the tone was good, volume very good. There was something about the neck profile I could not get used to. It was a 45mm nut and a very wide flat neck. It just wasn't for me at all but that is a purely personal thing - no criticism of the guitar which was very impressive for the money. I can see another in my future but with different neck / nut.
Pete

[marit]

I have several Harley Benton acoustics and they are great guitars. The mostly positive reviews speak for themselves and I would definitely give them a go.

[fazool]

That's a pretty little guitar. I do not think too much bling, but instead of putting extra money into all that meticulous inlay, I would rather they put it into solid body instead of laminate.

[marit]

Originally Posted by Penrith Pete

Hi there.
I briefly owned a Harley Benton all-solid dread with cedar top. It was only about £220 I think. It was a nicely built guitar and the tone was good, volume very good. There was something about the neck profile I could not get used to. It was a 45mm nut and a very wide flat neck. It just wasn't for me at all but that is a purely personal thing - no criticism of the guitar which was very impressive for the money. I can see another in my future but with different neck / nut.
Pete

That must've been the CLD-30SCE Solid Wood guitar. It indeed has some specs that are different from the "usual".

[thegazza]

Looking for an inexpensive parlour guitar at the moment and have HB on list to research. Would like to play one first but not an option in UK.

Gazza

[Penrith Pete]

Yes indeed, Marit, it was that one but the non-cutaway, purely acoustic version. It had a lot going for it. I traded it with a local shop and they sold it in no time to someone who couldn't believe what he had got for his money. Good guitar alright.

[AndrewG]

Well, the order is in! Let's see in a couple of days. Thomann have a great returns policy, so if it's crap I'll get my money back.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by thegazza

Looking for an inexpensive parlour guitar at the moment and have HB on list to research. Would like to play one first but not an option in UK.

Gazza

Look out for my review next week.

[thegazza]

Will do. Have bought two acoustics from Thomann previously and they were great to deal with. They'll do an inspection of boxed guitars before shipping if you ask too.

Gazza

[marit]

Originally Posted by Penrith Pete

Yes indeed, Marit, it was that one but the non-cutaway, purely acoustic version. It had a lot going for it. I traded it with a local shop and they sold it in no time to someone who couldn't believe what he had got for his money. Good guitar alright.

Yeah that guitar has got a lot of value for money. It's a shame it has a cedar top rather than the more standard spruce top, I would've gone for it if that was the case.