Harley Benton DC-Junior FAT Faded Cherry 5-stars Reviews

Happy With The Purchase!

I ordered 3 total guitars in one shipment to save on shipping costs.

I ordered the SC Custom P90 Black, SC Custom FR VB and the DC Junior FAT Faded Cherry. I have owned many guitars in my 50 years of life and am very happy for what I received vs. the prices that I paid. I would definitely buy a Harley Benson branded product again!

An amazing guitar

I already have the SC-Junior single cut which is a great guitar and represents outstanding value for money, but this one is even better. What makes the biggest difference is the Fat '59 neck profile and slightly more pronounced curve of the fretboard radius. I don't have big hands, but It sits very very comfortably in mine and with the smoothness of the lovely enbony fretboard, make for a very comfortable playing experience. Fret ends are very well finished with no sprout whatsoever. The nut slots on the SC-Junior were cut a little too high and required deepening to achieve optimum action, but on this one the nut is cut to the perfect height. The range of sounds are expanded too with the single dog-ear pickup being switchable from parallel coil humbucking to single coil. The Wllkinson tuners fitted are also an improvement on the unbranded ones fitted on the SC-Junior. The standard of finish is superb throughout - the almost matt, almost open pore finish giving this instrument the feel of a vintage instrument. The only cons I can find are that the B and top E strings catch and ping a little in their nut slots - a common problem with 3-a-side headstocks but one easily solved with a little graphite and vaseline. Highly recommended - especially to other women players looking for a simple, lightweight rock machine.

Fantastic take on a classic

This guitar is clearly based on the iconic Gibson Les Paul Junior double-cut but is actually improved in some ways (hence giving 5 stars for features from what is a very simple design of guitar)

1. The Gibson had a bridge that could only be intonated by adjusting it at the two anchor points at the end posts. This HB bridge also has individual saddles for each string giving the user much more control.

2. The Gibson had a single P90, this HB has a stacked P90 that cain be split. Meaning you can choose between the P90 or a humbucking version. I've found the differences subtle but there is enough variety to give you more control of your sound.

All that said, this is a fantastic guitar, particularly at such a low price point. The tuners are good (solid 15:1 ratio Wilkinsons), the controls (1 x volume, 1 x tone (with ability to split the pickup)) are simple, classic and effective. There are D'addario strings on the guitar. The fit and finish is excellent and I particularly like the translucent thin satin coating (though I wouldn't consider it to be "open pore"). The chubby neck feels great in the hand too.

In terms of sound this has a pretty powerful P90 style Roswell (HBs own brand) pickup and can growl or clean up really well. This is the first single-pickup guitar I've owned and you really have a lot of fun, and can get a remarkable array of tones, with just a tweak to volume and/or tone.

I saw Guitar Geek review this months ago on Youtube and have waited patiently for this to arrive in stock; I have not been disappointed. My advice is buy one of these, you cannot really go wrong!

Superb value!

I was very pleasantly surprised by the build quality of this guitar. Playing it straight out of the box, it felt wonderfully comfortable, and the set up was near spot on. I corrected the intonation slightly, which was so easy with the cleverly designed wrap around bridge. I didn't expect great sounds, but I couldn't have been more wrong! It sounds great in either tapped or stacked mode! Peeping into the control cavity, it was pleasing to find full sized pots, unlike the usual miniature far Eastern fare. Being a gigging guitarist, I decided to install sturdier CTS pots. The pickup now sounds even better!

My only gripe was regarding the finish. The colour, and the grain of the two piece mahogany body looks great. Purely my personal taste, but I wasn't expecting it to be completely matte! No worries for me, as I got a nice sheen by applying wax polish. Overall, this is wonderful value for money. Having seen the budget offering from the originators of this design, at more that twice this price, it's a no brainer. Why pay for a label!

Well crafted tribute to a classic !

It was not tightly packaged (guitar a bit loose in inner box, inner box a bit loose in the outer box) but it arrived safely. Not in tune since it was shipped to USA, but not far off. The look and finish is beautiful. It reminds me of my 1st guitar, a 1963 Cherry Gibson Melody Maker. The hardware seems of high quality, still haven't used the tuners long enough to know. Tuners are vintage Kluson style, similar to those on my Melody Maker. The pickup sounds GREAT...very good cleans for Jazz & Blues, but it will also growl like a LP humbucker. It is a "stacked"? P-90 style humbucker. I gave it a 5 for "features" because although it COULD be a one trick pony guitar (one PU, 2 controls) it benefits greatly from a coil tap option to get more variety from the P-90 HB. Pull up on the tone knob and it sounds like a bridge single coil providing biting twang similar to a Telecaster. Everything is just beautiful as is. If I find the tuners need swapped that is ok, because the price is such a value for this instrument. I hope the people in Indonesia who crafted this guitar are making a fair wage because they apparently take pride in their craftsmanship.

Faded Cherry finish, mahogany body, ebony 'board on a "fat '59" chunky neck and the company's Roswell P90D stacked STK4P alnico-5 dog ear humbucker in the bridge tick some desirable boxes. It even has a coil-split accessible via push-pull to widen your tone options. Only the tuners will be replaced by locking tuners. Sublime finish. No remarks whatsoever for this price!