The Best Classical Guitars of the HARLEY brand

I was expecting a shiny gloss finish, instead the surface of the body (Back and front) looks like it has been polished by a rough cloth causing surface scratches!. Small brow mark on the cream binding and binding not even all round the body. The strap button on the back of the guitar was loose and will not tighten. The instrument was very dusty. Im actually wondering if it was checked at Thomann when received from the factory – There was no checkers note or no label attached to the headsock! Plus points reasonably low action, no high frets/buzz, only wo slightly rough fret ends overall it does play well but very disappointed in the scratched dull surface.

What’s on offer here far outweighs the guitars diminutive price tag. It’s first job was to play a rehearsal after a friend’s guitar string broke en route. This instrument held its own when up against far louder and more expensive guitars. It’s a testament to how the quality of cheap/budget guitars has improved since the 80’s/90’s, when you couldn’t even change chord without the guitar going out of tune. There are some small issues with the finish (general untidiness in the finish – paint smudges on the binding) but really the negatives are few. I’d recommend it highly as a beginners guitar or for a first classical in your guitar collection (like me).

I initially purchased this guitar for my older brother, since he was interested in starting to learn how to play the guitar. He just wanted something to play around at home, learn a couple of chords and scales. Sound wise it was alright, but the high E string could not stay in tune.

Pros:
1. Look. The look of the guitar is pretty well. Good quality materials.
2. Sound For a classic guitar, the sound is pretty reasonable.

Cons:
1. As previously mentioned, it was a massive problem to get the high E string in tune. You could get all 5 lower strings in tune, but the highest E would just not stay in tune. We took it to a specialist who managed to fix the issue, however it was quite dissatisfying having this issue in the firs place.

In conclusion, it highly depends on how serious on playing guitar is the person who is getting this guitar. If it is a small gift for someone who just wants to strum couple of chords and play couple of verses of popular acoustic songs. If it is someone who is more serious on playing the guitar, I would not recommend this guitar.

This cg-200bk was well set up no dings or scratches or colour differentiates,the neck was straight the action was quite high as you would expect on a classical guitar at this price point, overall very pleasing to the eye my students are very happy to use this once I lowered the action the, guitar played and sounded great.At this price point an incredible guitar, excellent value for money, this guitar chimed nicely, resonance was ok, another great classical guitar on a budget which looks and plays great .

This is my 5th Harley Benton purchase and I’ve left it a little while to "review", to try and form a reasoned opinion.

Pros – The instrument looks fine from a short distance. It plays nicely – after a little work. I find it nice to go back to a classical guitar string spacing for clean chords, maybe I have fat fingers ? To have a nylon string guitar but with a truss rod adjustment is nice, to have the ability to fine tune the action is great and helps the playability. The price is incredibly reasonable and to incorporate a piezo pickup and tone controls within that package, very good.
Cons – I find with each of my H.B. guitars there always seems to be some imperfections in the finish, it is a bit of a lottery. This guitar is no exception – A few minor marks and scuffs. I have learned to accept that these products may need a little extra finishing and setting up. Consequently and ironically I have learnt quite a lot about guitar finishing. This guitar had a number of high frets, but I have found that before you get involved in "dressing" them, use a mallet and a wooden die of some sort, support the neck immediately under the problem and give it a tap, problem goes away. I’m surprised how many H.B. frets are not seated properly. Sound wise – Acoustic. I feel it lacks a brightness, the top three nylon strings lack a clarity. I was hoping for something a little crisper, I’m sure I’ve had even with cheap classical guitars. Obviously I changed to fresh strings, a brand which I assumed to be of reasonable quality, straight away – though I’ve a feeling that the guitar was shipped with good fresh strings. Sound wise – Pickup. I like the amplified sound a lot but I’m sure the response to the low E is down, I’d say 50% of the other 5. Though it’s hard to tell with the guitar in your lap. I need to distance the amp and get another listener. But to me it’s apparent via Headphones.

Sum up. I purchased this guitar for a variety of reasons. In my youth I always hankered for the "O" type guitar this is based on. I like and wanted to recreate the slightly artificial / synthesised sound of a nylon acoustic put through effects; reverb, delay, chorus etc. By plugging this guitar into a Katana I get the kind of thing I was after with lots of sound options at great price. I can EQ some treble clarity back into the sound. There are small finishing issues, most of which are easily sortable and having done so, I am going to live with the questionable piezo. I would never have purchased the four figure equivalent. But I do have something which looks great in the collection and is very enjoyable to play and experiment with. Therefore, for the price, reasonably pleased with my purchase.

My first ever order with Thomann and my first Harley Benton. I ordered the HBO-850 in the blue finish having wanted a bowl back guitar since my teenage years (all the way back in the 90’s). So how did she do? Read on good people…

First Impression: It’s quite nice out the box, the leaf designs stood out nicely without being overstated, neck looks lovely and feels great in the hand and headstock was nicely done. No frets sprouting out but a few were a little sharp. Came with a wrench for the truss rod.
Action And Intonation: Once the guitar was tuned up and strings stretched in I measured exactly 0.10 relief at the 8th fret. Action is comfortable and low when combined with the comfortable satin neck. To my surprise the intonation was almost perfect out the box too.
Fit and Finish: A few sharp fret ends on the guitar but nothing that would cause blood loss or injury. A bit of light dressing or a rub down with a sanding sponge would sort this. The binding on the neck is lovely up to 12th fret but is a quite untidy around the neck join and upper frets. Around the leaf decorations and bridge there was a bit of glue residue and the finish was a bit untidy. Not the worst I’ve ever seen but if your a perfectionist this isn’t for you. If you can live with a few imperfections and are willing to do a bit of work yourself it’s not terrible. I initially thought the nut was badly cut but after checking it over it was just my eyes and the nut is reasonably well done.
Sound: Unplugged it has a sweet sound, a little light on bass but it has a unique and pleasant sound. When plugged in it’s quite responsive. The onboard eq is good and you can dial in a nice sound. Again not the best but very functional and tone wise it does a decent job.
Overall Impression: I paid £82 for this guitar and intended it for home use, a little recording and general jamming. And yeah it’s not bad for the money. If you are expecting amazing quality control and custom shop levels of attention to detail then save your money and get something else. If your after a reasonably priced acoustic and are willing to do a bit of work to tidy up a few odds and ends you will have a well set up, pleasantly sounding and reasonably good looking guitar. You could do a lot worse for the money folks.

A little background:
I bought this guitar almost a month ago since my old guitar developed a few dead frets. I have been playing since one year. I wanted a guitar to play daily and improve my technique, therefore, did not want to spend a lot of money.

Modifications:
Replaced the original strings with Knobloch CX Carbon Double Silver 300 ADC.

Guitar review:
The guitar looks clean and has an attractive finish. I did not quite like the initial out of the box sound. But that is not a big deal since it takes time for a new guitar and a new set of strings to settle in. However, I did replace the strings as I have had researched that these Knobloch strings can make an all laminate guitar sound much better.

The body is not that strong. I usually keep my capo attached to the top of headstock. I was surprised to see that the guitar is losing polish from the area where the capo is attached. Even though, the capo is made of rubber. Furthermore, I tried to take off the tuner to see something, while tightening the screws back in, the wood kinda got messed up and it felt like the screws, if tightened anymore, will break the guitar.

Coming to the sound of the guitar, I absolutely love that. This is the one thing that makes me forget about the above mentioned shortcomings. The knobloch strings have settled in quite well and the guitar is sounding better with each day passing by. I have a feeling I’m gonna keep this guitar for a very long time.

Conclusion:
Are you an intermediate or a professional player? You can get better guitars around 150-200 Euros. Since you would be experienced, you won’t have to worry about damaging the guitar anyway.

Are you a beginner? I wanted a cutaway guitar to allow me to play higher notes. I play, and learn to play, melodies and solos. Thus, if you need a cutaway too, I’d recommend this guitar. For 89 Euros it is a great deal. Just remember to replace the strings with Knobloch CX Carbon Double Silver 300ADC, that’s what I did. If a cutaway isn’t a deal breaker for you, it would be an option to buy an old guitar within the same price range. You could get used Yamaha guitars within 100 Euros.

P.S: I have no idea about the electric o/p since I don’t own an amp just yet.

The instrument is interesting in terms of sound and quality.
Quite good wood was used and you can hear it.
The neck is quite wide. The socket outlet could be centrally on the axis of symmetry (more practical).
I personally dismantled the piezoelectric transducer and use the instrument without harmful radiation. Keys without flaws hold the outfit. The thresholds do not need to be adjusted. The stands on the soundboard, if desired, can be lowered very low, allowing the strings to run slightly over the frets. We touch the strings like a harp. In my opinion, a product worth recommending. I recommend without electronics.
The thresholds could be a bit bigger. An individual matter. The markers on the edge slightly subtract from the classic charm.
I suggest 4+. Logo on the headstock unnecessary. This is, in short, in my opinion. Sounds like a harp.
I use the instrument in music therapy.

I am mainly an electric player into Jazz but had been looking for a nylon string guitar for Bossa Nova and came across this HB model which has the smaller nut width of 48mm which I though would help my short fingers so I decided to go for it.

The guitar cannot be faulted. No fret buzz, level frets although needing a little polish, not rough fret edges. I decided to fit D’Addario EJ45LP strings as I will do anything to reduce string squeal but I believe this guitar comes fitted with a good quality D’Addario string set as standard.

I cannot comment on how this guitar sounds side by side with similar guitars but the tone to me sounds great and the under saddle Fishman pickup works really well.

So if you are looking to add a nylon string model to your arsenal then this guitar could be a good way to test the water without breaking the bank. Certainly the narrower nut width may help players transitioning from electric.

My first Santos unfortunately had issues with the pickup system but as usual Thomann replaced it in double quick time and as it was a few weeks before Christmas this was above and beyond service so thanks Guys.
The finish on these guitars is the only con I can see in that it’s presentable but it won’t take your breath away.
When you start playing it you are in for a surprise especially as the tone far exceeded my expectation especially when plugged in. The built in Tuner is spot on and the sound from the piezo is top notch.
It’s well balanced and crisp I imagine it could get even better with a bone nut and saddles but for now I’m really happy. It took some time for me to adjust to the nylon strings but now I’m all over the fretboard and it’s genuinely a joy to play. The action came nicely set up and the intonation was perfect so I can heartily recommend it especially as a starter guitar that will take a long way into intermediate level. Another Harley Benton that well exceeds its price point.

First, I own 16 Harley Benton guitars and basses…love ’em all. My wife is the musician….I’m a beginner bassist and I bought this for myself to dabble in guitar and learn some chords so that I can better relate my bass playing to what the band is doing. Wanted a classical with wider nut and neck so I could more cleanly fret the chords while learning. This guitar sounds and plays quite nicely, and has become a favorite of my wife too (who ironically says she likes a narrow fretboard). It really is an outstanding value and a nice looking round back guitar….I have no idea how they can sell this for what they charge. The quality is very good, fret ends ok. The wood veneer designs glued on could use some minor sanding and oiling to be perfect. Really like this guitar, as well as all my other Harley Bentons. Outstanding value…just ordered 4 more HB’s….nice work Thomann!

For the money I expect a few minor defects. One at the base of the neck below the fretboard was extremely obvious. The rest of the finish was fine.
The setup was poor. The action was high, the neck bowed and a good deal of buzzing. Also the frets on both sides of the fretboard will bite you they’re so rough. If I keep it, it will take several hours of work to get it in shape.
Maybe it’s the luck of the draw. It’s my first HB and the reviews online were all raving about overall quality of their products.

I bought this instrument because of its price as an experiment to be modified to accomodate (way) heavier gauge MAGMA TRANSPOSITOR strings.

First the goods: For USD 175 I got a classical acoustic with a cutaway, a transducer, a preamp and tuner. It’s all black! And the best part it’s that for such a budget it sounds way better than expected!

Then the bads: The fretwork on the unit I got was the worse I ever had. I had to level all the frets, re-crown one by one and then polish in order to make this guitar usable. Luckily I have luthery skills and after several hours of work the guitar plays beautifully. The nut and bridge are the cheapest low density plastic and you should swap both for bone or graphtech to get the most of this instrument. Depending on which part of the world you are, having these tasks taken care by a luthier might cost you the price of the guitar or even more. The black glossy finish is not as comfortable as matte, open grain or even glossy finishes from high-end models. In addition, this finish gets marred and scratched quite easily and somehow I don’t think it will stay pitch black for long since white hue started to show in different parts of the body.

The conclussion: provided the frets are leveled and nut and bridge are replaced I find this is a great instrument for begginers (studying and performing). Just be aware of your local luthier’s reparation price-list before ordering.

Guitar looks nice but does not sound very good and is not super good to play. It is not bad for the price, so if you have to be under 200? and need mic’s then this is fine.
But if you do not need the mic’s you could be better of with something like Yamaha C40.
If you need mic’s and have a bit more cash to use, I would go with Ortega.
I bough this for work office coffee brake instrument. Just to use those few minutes for good purpose. This does not fit perfectly to that because I woul like it to be better playable, but I will try different strings to it and see if it gets better.
There is big difference between metal plated strings and the full nylon strings. Nylon ones are quieter and do not feel that well playable.
Guitar weights a bit heavy side, but not too much.
I selected this because it was the cheapest with tuner and with cutaway.
The tuner is showing about right, so you can get it into the play field, and ear tune the rest. The 12th fret is not in tune according to internal tuner.
My background for this review: I have played guitar for 25 years just for my own fun (no band/gigging), but I think I have a good feeling what guitar is good and which ones are not. I have owned many guitars, but currently I have two electrics and this is my third acoustic for now.
I did order another guitar also (the sub 100? Harley Benton HBO-850 round back). They do not have it in stock so can’t say anything about it yet, but if it is not good either, these are my last HB instruments I’ll purchase.
EDIT: Changed strings to A’Addario Classic (~7¤) and the sound and playability got better. For the price it is nice guitar!