Review of the Harley Benton Delta Blues O Acoustic guitar. Where to buy it?

I’ll tell you how this post is built. First I list the features of the Harley Benton Delta Blues O guitar. Then you have a video or two, purchase links and useful comments from other users and then you have one of the most useful parts; comparison tables with similar items so you can compare.

  • Design: Vintage-Style Orchestra
  • Body: Okume with quarter-sawn tapered spruce bracing
  • Neck: Okume
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Dovetail construction
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • ABS nut
  • Black / Green abalone rosette
  • Blackwood bridge
  • Chrome Die-Cast machine heads
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Ex-factory stringing: Bronze .011 – .052
  • Dimensions: 102 x 38 x 10 cm
  • Colour: Bourbon vintage satin burst
  • Suitable case: Article no. 122211 (not included)

review harley-benton-delta-blues-o

This guitar usually has a price around 67.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O watch these related videos to learn more.

Harley Benton - Delta Blues - Series Overview - Comparison -

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Some comments from people who come to the forum about this model:

Comment:

While the world was going to hell in a handbasket, I serendipitously found myself stranded in a beautiful part of Greece and decided to ride out the pandemic living beside a remote deserted beach. But I missed my guitars. Thomann to the rescue! Shipping took about a week – which is amazing really – and the contents arrived well packaged and undamaged.

The Delta Blues O is actually the second acoustic guitar I ordered from Thomann whilst here. The first was a Harley Benton CLJ-503CE WN, which is a stunning instrument. So good that I want to protect it and keep it safe beside my sofa, out of the sun and salty air. So, after a lot of research, I opted for the Delta Blues O as my cheap throw-around beach guitar.

Out of the box it was almost perfectly setup. Just a quarter turn of the truss rod required. The action and intonation are pretty much spot-on. Apart from a few minor cosmetic blemishes – which you would need to look very closely to see – the guitar is a real looker. The frets needed a little polish and the fretboard and bridge needed some oil, then it was ready to rock. The guitar is a real joy to play!

Although billed as a mahogany guitar, I have my doubts. Is it a really thin mahogany top or a stained laminate? I suspect the latter. The body is really light and gives a bold, deep bass response, almost a little too boomy for strumming. I play fingerstyle mostly, and even my boom-chicks were a little too bass heavy, causing the top strings to less prominent than I would like. Overall, it was somewhat muddy and did not project well. It can sound bluesy for sure, but it doesn’t strike me as a typical delta blues guitar. Needs more jangle.

Long story short, I fitted a Tusq saddle and brass bridge pins. These 2 changes went some way towards balancing the tone, allowing a more pronounced treble and improved sustain. I was honestly surprised at how much positive difference the brass pins made. They really help to add clarity to my picked notes, however volume is not much increased. I’ve solved this by learning to use metal fingerpicks and I have finally arrived at a tone that makes me smile. I like my guitars bright, YMMV.

The tuners are just OK, they do their job but can be a little fiddly. Other than that, no real complaints for the money.I spend a lot of time playing this guitar sitting outside and it makes me happy.

I’m not sure that I would recommend this as a first guitar – I would tend to stretch a little more and get a nice sprucetop, but that’s just my opinion. But if you want a cheap, decent sounding secondary practice guitar with head-turning looks to sling over your shoulder,and it easy to play, then this should be on your consideration list.

Comment:

Budget guitars(when done right) can be grouped in 2 categories, 1: To give you good fundamentals, and a solid platform(allowing you to build up the guitar), and 2: To do something ‘off label’, and allow guitarists to take a risk, and maybe find something special.

This guitar is something special, and mine is perfect(from the woods, the construction, the paint, the finishes, it’s flawless, literally).
Being a guitar without binding, without wood-filler, and without PU-finish, it really allows the wood to sound-out, and that it does, it’s a very lively guitar-sound, and it’s very loud(even though the O is a smaller guitar than the regular Dreadnought, it can easily keep up with normal Dreadnoughts).
The tuners are solid die-cast, nice and heavy, good grip(on the string, and the buttons), which makes them very stable.
The nut/saddle/pins are very neutral(no muddling of the strings at all), and have a finish(that makes them look a lot more classy, than the normal ABS stuff).
The blackwood(fingerboard/saddle construction) is great, it’s a more natural wood(sometimes blackwood can be very dried out(very ‘toasted’), this is very healthy-, almost ‘juicy’-blackwood, with a very gentle, natural touch, that plays out-of-the-box, like you played it for years.
The construction on mine is very clean, and very precise(the bridge is perfect, the neck is perfect, and the binding-free construction is perfect.

In short, I love this guitar, it does something unusual in being very natural, very raw in it’s build, and it works out perfectly, allowing for a very natural guitar, that plays out-of-the-box, as if it’s been in your family for generations.

Harley Benton Delta Blues O vs Harley Benton D-120CE NT

The guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O is usually 1 € more expensive than Harley Benton D-120CE NT, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton Delta Blues O

Harley Benton D-120CE NT

  • Design: Vintage-Style Orchestra
  • Body: Okume with quarter-sawn tapered spruce bracing
  • Neck: Okume
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Dovetail construction
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • ABS nut
  • Black / Green abalone rosette
  • Blackwood bridge
  • Chrome Die-Cast machine heads
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Ex-factory stringing: Bronze .011 – .052
  • Dimensions: 102 x 38 x 10 cm
  • Colour: Bourbon vintage satin burst
  • Suitable case: Article no. 122211 (not included)

  • Build type: Dreadnought with cutaway
  • Top: Spruce
  • Back and sides: Mahogany
  • Neck: Mahogany (Sapele / Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  • Neck profile: C
  • Dovetail neck joint
  • Fretboard: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
  • 20 Frets
  • Scale: 650 mm
  • Bridge: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
  • Pickup with preamp with volume knob and 4-band EQ
  • Chrome-plated diecast machine heads
  • Strings: .010 – .047
  • Colour: Natural high-gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton D-120CE NT

€75 Harley Benton D120CE NT Acoustic Guitar Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton D-120CE NT review

Harley Benton Delta Blues O vs Harley Benton D-120CE BK

The guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O is usually 1 € more expensive than Harley Benton D-120CE BK, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton Delta Blues O

Harley Benton D-120CE BK

  • Design: Vintage-Style Orchestra
  • Body: Okume with quarter-sawn tapered spruce bracing
  • Neck: Okume
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Dovetail construction
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • ABS nut
  • Black / Green abalone rosette
  • Blackwood bridge
  • Chrome Die-Cast machine heads
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Ex-factory stringing: Bronze .011 – .052
  • Dimensions: 102 x 38 x 10 cm
  • Colour: Bourbon vintage satin burst
  • Suitable case: Article no. 122211 (not included)

  • Design: Dreadnought with cutaway
  • Top: Spruce
  • Body: Mahogany (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard inlays: Dot
  • Cream-coloured bindings on the body and neck
  • Scale: 650 mm (25.59″)
  • Nut width: 42.5 mm (1.67″)
  • 20 Frets
  • Bridge: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
  • Pickup includes preamp with volume control and 4-band EQ
  • Machine heads: Chrome-plated diecast
  • Strings: .010 – .047
  • Colour: Black, high-gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton D-120CE BK

The Harley Benton D-120CE TB Bundle Unboxing and review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton D-120CE BK review

Harley Benton Delta Blues O vs Harley Benton D-120CE TB

The guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O is usually 1 € more expensive than Harley Benton D-120CE TB, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton Delta Blues O

Harley Benton D-120CE TB

  • Design: Vintage-Style Orchestra
  • Body: Okume with quarter-sawn tapered spruce bracing
  • Neck: Okume
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Dovetail construction
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • ABS nut
  • Black / Green abalone rosette
  • Blackwood bridge
  • Chrome Die-Cast machine heads
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Ex-factory stringing: Bronze .011 – .052
  • Dimensions: 102 x 38 x 10 cm
  • Colour: Bourbon vintage satin burst
  • Suitable case: Article no. 122211 (not included)

  • Body shape: Dreadnought
  • With cutaway
  • Body: Mahogany (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  • Top: Spruce
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Neck profile: C neck profile
  • Roseacer fretboard
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • Cream bindings on the body and neck
  • Scale: 650 mm
  • Nut width: 42.5 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • Roseacer bridge
  • Pickup system with pre-amp
  • Controls: Volume and 4-band EQ
  • Chrome die cast machine heads
  • String thicknesses: .010″ – .047″
  • Colour: Translucent blue high gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton D-120CE TB

The Harley Benton D-120CE TB Bundle Unboxing and review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton D-120CE TB review

Harley Benton Delta Blues O vs Harley Benton D-120BK

The guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O is usually 9 € more expensive than Harley Benton D-120BK, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton Delta Blues O

Harley Benton D-120BK

  • Design: Vintage-Style Orchestra
  • Body: Okume with quarter-sawn tapered spruce bracing
  • Neck: Okume
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Dovetail construction
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • ABS nut
  • Black / Green abalone rosette
  • Blackwood bridge
  • Chrome Die-Cast machine heads
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Ex-factory stringing: Bronze .011 – .052
  • Dimensions: 102 x 38 x 10 cm
  • Colour: Bourbon vintage satin burst
  • Suitable case: Article no. 122211 (not included)

The Harley Benton HBD 120BK is an acoustic guitar in the dreadnought construction style and which comes at a sensational price. The bottom and sides are made of sapele, and despite the fact that the laminated spruce top may not be as large as on other models, it uces such a powerful and clear sound that you could hardly expect more from such a well-priced (really!) guitar.

  • Dreadnought style
  • Dovetail сonstruction
  • Top: Spruce
  • Back and sides: Mahogany (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  • Neck: Mahogany (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
  • Fretboard: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
  • Neck profile: Modern C-shape
  • Dot inlays
  • Cream bindings on the body and neck
  • Scale: 650 mm
  • Nut width: 42.5 mm
  • 20 Frets
  • Roseacer bridge (thermally treated maple wood)
  • X-Bracing
  • Black pickguard
  • Chrome diecast machine heads
  • String gauge: 010 – 047
  • Finish: Black high-gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton D-120BK

One of Harley Bentons cheapest guitars!! The D120.. any good?

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton D-120BK review

Where to buy the guitar Harley Benton Delta Blues O

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
  • Sometimes better price.
  • He’s got worse stock than Thomann.

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Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

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