Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue

Arrived today, this is not my first Harley Benton guitar but is my first electro acoustic from the range. First impressions were really good the guitar looked great. Started tuning to find that i had muted strings and fret buzz, not an issue as you get provided an allen key to adjust the rod and adjust the neck. Two minutes later nad the buzz and muted string issue is dealt with. This is the first time ive had to deal with that on a harley benton guitar sono probs. Once all tuned i was suprised to find a 9vlot battery provided, nice suprise. Plugged it in and happy with the tone. So why not 5 stars, well on the body where the neck meets the body i have small cracked finish due to neck movement, possibly from tension in the next but either way the finish is now not great. As this is for use in my home recording and not for show im ok with it, if it was for display on a wall etc i would have returned it as its not great to have the finish cracked on the first day of the guitar.

I understand the design isn't for everyone, but I really like it. The round back makes it a bit awkward to play sitting as it slips off from your leg if your posture isn't correct, but on the other hand that forces you to play with correct posture. There was rattling when playing the D string, turns out the springs in the battery compartment resonate with it. Simple fix by putting a bit of foam between them. doesn't stop the battery from working.

Pros:
-Great neck profile
-Great tone both plugged and unplugged
-Interesting design
-can't lose your picks in it

Cons:
-slips from your leg sometimes
-rattling from battery compartment(easy to fix)

Apart from the incredible price, this HB purchase fares well when compared to my now aging Ovation - which was bought when I was 18 stone - and a bowl-back was the most comfortable option available .... 15 years ago (I'm now back to my fighting weight of 13 stone).
This time comfort again played a big part in my decision - but it was old age, and stiff, aching joints this time.
I've got a dozen or so acoustics, and half of them are HBs.
Why ?
Well, as well as being very playable and affordable I'm a big fan of alternate tunings, and thanks to Thomanns' prices each of the HB acoustics is in a different tuning, and the cost for all six was slightly more than my latest Thomann purchase - a Taylor 112ce.

My first guitar arrived in a banged up package and not very well (some styrofoam pieces would be great) so I was wary... But it was in one piece, thankfully!

First, the cons. Immediately I noticed some finishing issues where the neck meets the body: paint flaws and marks where the frets where cut. The worse for my OCD was some marks on the wood, one of them small but deep enough to break through the lacquer. I considered returning it but it's not worth the hassle and the extra shipping fee. But beware if you want a pristine guitar, this might not be it.

Pros: What it is is an excellent sounding and beautiful guitar for its price range. Very happy with my colour choice, the shade of blue is really subtle. I don't notice a significant drop in sound quality comparing to a more expensive guitar, not as loud but that's okay. The action is great for a beginner, maybe too low since it might buzz if you go hard on it but I'm told that can be fixed.

All in all, good guitar, looks good, sounds great, could be perfect if it was packed with more care.