HBJ-25 : Really, really good instrument

Another absolute win from the Harley Benton team. I was put off buying a banjo for many years as everyone claims that to get a "good" one you have to spend £5-600+ and that was just too much for me merely to "test the water"...

However, I'm really glad I chanced this purchase. I figured it was so cheap that it wouldn't be a great loss if it turned out to be a piece of junk but, just.... WOW !

My friend has a banjo that he paid 800 euro for and I shall not name the manufacturer but it's made by one of the premier/big banjo producers and this banjo, in my opinion, plays and sounds just as good. It's crazy.

There is NOTHING low quality about this instrument to my eyes/ears. It really is a classy looking banjo and I would easily have expected to pay a lot more for this kind of sound and playability. It's a joy to play and sounds lovely.

It also looks very nice, with no part of it belying the cheap cost. The wood finish looks great, it's not "too heavy" but has a suitable weight to it and the remo head and tone ring look really "the part". It has the look of something that should be a lot more expensive. Tuning pegs are nice, not slack and they're responsive and easy to tune with. The neck is very nice, too, very fast and no quibbles whatsoever with fretting or any other usually problematic matters on lower end stringed equipment.

I've said it in other reviews but everything I have bought by Harley Benton is just great. I've seen them getting a lot of grief on forums etc but when I check the dates of these posts they're always from around 8 years ago so I can only presume that quality took a real jump forward. So, basically, don't let negative press fool you, these instruments are really great and are of astounding quality and playability considering the price.

I don't say that as a negative, either, like "well, it's great - CONSIDERING THE PRICE", as in if you pay a little you should expect to get something not so great. No, quite the opposite, I think in this case you pay a little and you get something that is comparable to instruments many times the cost.

For beginners and banjo afficionados alike this is a great instrument. I'm really glad I made this purchase and have no problem at all recommending it to others.