D-120CE NT : Unbelievable!

To start, I should say that I am not by any means a professional guitarist, however I have played for several years, and am a bit of a gear nerd. I like to think I can tell a quality instrument when I see one, and know many common flaws or issues to look for.

So far I have been completely blown away with the quality of this guitar. For being one of the two least expensive options on the website, it not only met but greatly exceeded all my expectations. Shipping was very fast and it arrived to me in the US in two days and with no damage. I was somewhat amused that the shipping cost more than the actual guitar did, but it was well worth the cost.

The craftsmanship is second to none considering the price. I was simply hoping for something in the starter - guitar range to replace my old Ibanez acoustic that was stolen years ago, but this gorgeous Harley Benton has created a new standard that I doubt anything short of a much more expensive guitar manufacturer could exceed.

The natural, unamplified "tone" of this guitar is rich and beautiful, and the intonation is spot-on all the way down the neck. The finish of the guitar is impressive and eye-catching. This guitar makes me want to pick it up and play every time I see it.

The electronics and pickups are perfectly acceptable and useable. I admit I don't have much of a reference there when it comes to acoustics, but I don't find there to be any issues or noticable negatives when it comes to the amplified sound.

The tuners are smooth and responsive, though the plastic nut does cause tuning to be a little jumpy at times. I will likely upgrade to a bone nut and saddle in the future as I've noticed that simple and cheap upgrade did wonders for tuning stability on the other guitars I own.

The guitar came with two different colors of pick guard options (marbled red and traditional black), which was nice except that the sound-hole border was improperly sized on both and would have to cover up the abalone inlay if used without making any changes. I had to cut and enlarge the circumference of the pick guard's curved edge so this would not be the case as I really like the look of the abalone and didn't want to cover it up. Personally, I would have preferred that the pick guard came pre-installed from the factory, however I'm sure that some appreciate the option of leaving it off.

There are minor imperfections, the most noticable of which was a small amount of fret sprout over the neck. This caused a few cracks in the finish and binding along the underside of the neck; however this could have happened after I received the guitar as I live in a desert which is undoubtedly causing the wood to shrink, so I wouldn't hold it against the manufacturer. I corrected the sprouted frets with a file where necessary, and could likely fix the cracks in the finish and binding of the neck with a little paint and lacquer if I wanted to, however I am not very concerned with that as it doesn't affect playability or appearance at all. None of the flaws are anything more than minor cosmetic issues; none are noticable at a glance; and none take away from the fact that this is undeniably a well constructed and beautiful guitar.

To summarize, if you're considering getting an acoustic to practice or possibly even do some small street or bar performances, I don't believe that you could go wrong choosing this guitar. I'm looking forward to many more years playing this and hearing how the sound develops as it ages. I most certainly will be back for more Harley Benton guitars in the future.