Harley Benton HBMA-100E- VS

Normally viola is also a term used to communicate exclamation...so the first sorry...The second sorry in the title because I used Mandola as a rhyming word for Viola...Coincidentally Mandola too is a musical instrument that I haven't bought yet. Hence had to settle with 'mandolin'. Well. This was my first purchase from thomann.de ... Was excited obviously. The response and order processing was pretty prompt and fast. Got my delivery quite late due to Covid pandemic.
Use - I am a hobbyist today with interest in good music irrespective of its origin viz. Indian, Western classical, Bavarian, Arabic or whatever. Plan to use this instrument at private jammings to start with and gradually to bigger events with more expertise.
Pros -
Excellent looks,
Elegant styling,
Melodious sound,
Nice controls,
Reasonable finish for this price.
Cons -
(1) The protrusion seen on bottom right though looks sexy, pricks on the thigh if you aren't using a belt. An oval edge without any offset may enable playing the mandolin even by sitting on ground. So the 'edge' on this model compels to use a belt for long duration playing times.
(2) Tuning pegs - This is a really irritating fact to digest that the manufacturer seems to have given no due consideration. The buttons you hold while tuning are not sufficiently grippy. Hence its tough to turn them when strings are sufficiently tightened but not yet reached to the note/pitch you wish to achieve and you need to turn/rotate them more. Not at all comfortable experience while fine tuning the strings especially E and A if you are using a E-A-D-G tuning for the mandolin.

Summary - This could be a good buy for a beginner to medium level artist. It could easily serve the purpose to practise beginner lessons, play own music and present at private groups

Shipping from Germany to the US Virgin Islands was very fast and the customer service was excellent. The instrument came well packaged and in perfect condition. The neck and action were excellent and intonation was right on the money. The only problem was a bad ground hum when plugged in! And as any one who has tried to fix this issue especially on a mandolin which has minimum clearance to get to the jack etc. It is not easy! The Thomann people should have checked this before leaving the factory. If you buy one..and I do recommend it, communicate with them and have them check for this issue...Other than that I love this instrument. Oh and I also pulled up the original Gibson F5 patent from the 1920's from which this instrument was modeled and all the specs are identical. Very cool!

For the price, it's a nice instrument. I am still happy to have it, bought it a year or so ago.

Pros:
Good price.
Very usable (requires the setup, like any instrument with this kind of bridge).
Nice, balanced sound.
Reasonable craftsmanship (it's not the best, the F-holes weren't cut properly, but the fretwork on mine is flawless.

Cons:
The pickup is not the best, as you could imagine, but it gives you the option to record it with a DI for something.
Not resonant enough acoustically (as most acoustic instruments
below a certain price point). If you want a truly great resonant instrument - prepare to cash out much bigger sum.

Conclusion: it's a good instrument if you need a mandolin sound for something other than your livelihood and playing huge gigs.

After a little problem with the first mandolin I was sent I must say this is pretty much what I was after for my first mandolin.

It was easy to set up and tune, thankfully no strings broke as seems to happen often to me. The adjustable bridge is a really nice feature if you're looking to change the action of the strings. The sound is pretty good, if you want a slightly sweeter tone I guess you need to look at more expensive options, but as an instrument to learn on I have no complaints and I think it sounds really lovely when playing with other people on guitar etc. It adds a really nice sound dimension to group playing.

The pickup works fine, sounds a little muddy at high volume but I bet you can get around that if you're really into amp settings or using a regular mic etc. I tend mostly to play it in acoustic settings anyway.

I've been playing this for a couple of years now and it's followed me around various countries because of its size and ease of transport. If you do plan on travelling with it I would recommend getting a small padded case.

Keeps its tuning better than I would've expected and it's small enough that you can keep it out around the house to have a play when you feel like it.

I don't anticipate becoming a professional mandolin player so this mandolin should cover the rest of my playing career. I've heard nicer sounding mandolins (which are more expensive) but if it broke or got smashed tomorrow I'd get the exact same one again.

After playing guitar for a while I thought I'd pick up this Harley Benton mandolin for some variety. Overall I've been pretty impressed given the price.

The mandolin itself looks good and sounds good. The strings are nothing special, however, and it feels a tad cheaply built. The tuners for the E strings, moreover, do not inspire much confidence, even if they all do stay in tune reasonably well.

So for a cheap mandolin with a pickup it's hard to feel too hard done by. With a string change and a comfortable strap it certainly does the trick. You may wish to spend a little more for the extra quality, but you get what you pay for.