Harley Benton EX-76 Classic GHW AN

A Solid Guitar

I was very curious about Harley Benton - they've developed a reputation for delivering decent products at low prices. After trying this one for myself, the reputation is well deserved. However, it definitely still feels like a 'budget' guitar to me. This would be a phenomenal starter/beginner guitar. Out of the box it is mostly playable (action is bit too high). Personally, I didn't like the finish, it's very shiny. The components feel quite cheap, but everything is well put together. Overall, pretty decent.

I’m done…

buying expensive guitar! I got so much more value/$ out of this guitar than any other one I’ve bought before. Two thumbs up HB!

good price for this quality

Absolutely stunning!

I couldn't believe how fast it arrived to me (Southern US) from Germany! And it punches FAR above its weight class, outperforming similar guitars 2 and 3 times its price! Sound and quality far exceed any other guitar in its range!

That’s way too Good.

This guitar punches way above its price range and is possibly the most accurate representation of the ‘76 Explorer. The quality control is outstanding. All the rumors are true, but this ASAP and in a hurry if your interested.

Oh yeah, the damn frets are perfect. Harley Benton has the other companies SWEATING…

The best guitar i own.

Long story short - its a great guitar.

Long story long:

- The frets have rounded edges that do nut hurt me and are well polished. Feels nice to bend, non of that wired fret scraping. I will polish them a bit more, but they are more than playable. No dead notes on any fret.

- The neck is lacquered, but not sticky. And i hate sticky necks. The shape is somewhere in between the Fender C shape and a Gibson fat D shape. Took me a day or so to get used to. If you like thin necks, its not for you.

The action can be fairly low.

- Pickups - they are PAF like and very dynamic. Too dynamic for my taste. They will be great for classic rock and blues. For high gain they are not the best. I raised them up closer to the strings to get that more compressed sound. Now they work better for metal.

- Controls - Knobs dont have wired scratching when turning and the switch clicky. Work well for now.

- Tuners - locking tuners that stay in tune great.

- Balance - the guitar has no neck dive when playing standing or sitting. Very well balanced.

- Misc - the body is smaller then other explorers, so its harder to bump it on stuff. All the glue lines are very visible through the finish and they are all nice and even. Cant see any problems with those. The guitar is well finished without any defects.

Problems - most are cosmetic -

- The post for the tail piece was sticking up. I needed to hammer it in a bit. Common for cheap guitars

- The knobs are way to close together. I have small hands are turning the volume knows is a bit hard for me. I will switch them to smaller knobs.

- Hole on the truss rod cover is not in the center.

- The nut is cut a bit high and the holes are a bit small for 10's. Still its a good material and the holes are evenly cut. I will take it to a luthier to fix this.

Nice guitar

The guitar is beautiful if you like explorer style guitars (I do!). The locking tuners are a nice surprise at this price point. Pickups sound decent, I still haven’t decided whether or not I will keep them. I am not crazy about the angled cable jack but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. The neck is not super chunky which is also very nice, at least for me. Frets seem nicely polished with no sharp ends. The 17th fret was a little high and needed to be tapped into place a little better. If I had any negative comment it’s that the action was set terribly high when I received it. I’ve been slowly adjusting the truss rod and action to get it more to my liking but it’s not there yet. The bridge seems kind of cheap and I will likely replace it. Intonation has been difficult to dial in with the B and G string saddles at full deflection. Overall I am pleased and will continue to dial it in to my liking.

Outstanding guitar

You can't go wrong with that guitar,plays way better than its price and the sound is too good with the stock pickups.It's unreal that it has perfect setup out of the box,i hope you keep the shape of the EX as it is because i would really like to get more of these in the future,overall extremely happy with the purchase,keep it up!

Very good, not perfect

I like: how it looks, how it sounds, locking tuners, price.

I don't like: heavy neck, all switches are feels cheap.

Anyway, I can't believe this guitar costs so low. It can't be better for this price. Just be sure that explorer-type guitar is what you need.

Man, I'm so pleasantly surprised at how they can make a £250 guitar feel like a £600 guitar

First up, the finish. It's so smooth and shiny. Looks beautiful all over.

The neck, whilst being pretty thick - this is quite the opposite of a Jackson style neck, so if you're looking for a very thin neck, this may not be the guitar for you - plays really fast and well. I am actually really happy with how the neck plays, because I'm used to much thinner necks usually, but it may be the finish ( same as the body, not a satin finish ) that is INCREDIBLY smooth.

So those with smaller hands may find it a bit more difficult perhaps as you'll need to stretch a little more, but it absolutely won't feel sluggish at all. The fretboard allows for easy fast fingerplay.

It does not feel heavy over your shoulder at all. I'm only 5'9 and hardly muscular or strong at all, but this does not weigh down on me during play. Make sure to just buy a good quality strap ( padded ) and some kind of strap locks/system, as the positioning of the strap hook might allow for the strap to come off at the front if you're moving around a lot as you play. But as i say, even a super cheap set of those plastic strap locks will help prevent this from happening.

I love the set in jack. Makes everything feel so much more solidly connected. Feels safe and secure when playing in a standing position.

I have already replaced the tone and volume knobs with a prettier set of gold ones, as they match the guitar well and add more to the (faux) expensive "look", but there is no need to other than aesthetics, as the standard ones look and work absolutely fine.

Sound is subjective of course. It all comes down to what amp / tone & pedals you use of course. It sounds great to me, but there are so many individual factors that make up a guitar tone we individually love. So i can't really comment too much on that, all i can comment on is HOW it plays. And I'm very happy.

You know what you're probably in for when spending only around 250/260 pounds on a guitar ( if you've been playing for years ) but this could not be better for a beginner on a budget.

It does not FEEL like you're playing a "cheap" guitar. The build quality is too good. Just remember that players/beginners with smaller hands, maybe try to go and test out a thick neck guitar in a shop before you think about buying this one, as it may not be perfect for you yet. Probably too bulky ( though it isn't big ), the shape maybe too unbalanced for very young players, so maybe go a different route for now if you're maybe 12 and under. But old people like myself should have no problem with the weight/shape.

Best "cheap" guitar I've ever bought and there have been so, so many over the years.