Review of the Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Blue classical guitar. Where to buy it?

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.