Harley Benton GS-Travel-E Mahogany 5-stars Reviews

It's a little beauty!

With a lovely light mahogany finish it sat really well on my lap and had the feel of a solid well made guitar. It has a slight bulge in the back adding to the resonance and beauty of it's appearance. The black metal tuning knobs seem very precise and easy to use. Easy to strum and easy to pick with a lovely tone. Stays in tune with the use of a capo on the frets going up the guitar. Not had this long but tried a capo on the 7th fret and managed to play with ease.

Included is a lovely padded bag with handle and shoulder straps, an electronic pick up and a budget lead for plugging in. I plugged it in and the Integrated Bellcat AP-55 Aktiv Powerjack Pickup sounded great plugged into my amp. The neck feels comfortable and good to get your fingers round. All this for under £100 is remarkable value.

Some quick wins as other reviewers have mentioned would be to upgrade the plastic nut and saddle and perhaps put some wooden or metal bridge pins in. All in all a fantastic deal and for the money is a very serious contender against the Taylor and Martin market leading travel guitars (costing three or four times as much!) I am absolutely delighted with mine.

Superb tribute to Tay... GS Mini at a fraction of the price

My wife needed a backup for her main Guitar but was reluctant to spend huge dollars to get the Taylor. Ordered this on a wing and a prayer but totally floored by how good it is. Used at home and church.

Fit and finish are exemplary, it is well set up, easy to play and sounds great. She has the model with electronics which do a passable job. The only possible criticism is that it lacks any kind of controls on Guitar for volume, eq etc. This is a minor quibble. Comes with great soft case and even a cord/cable.

Super value and a staggeringly well made product at an unbeatable price.

What a bargain!

I normally play a Martin 000-15S and my son plays a Taylor GS Mini (of which this little Harley Benton is a replica). I know a good guitar when I play it.

I was looking for a cheap little travel guitar to take on a boating holiday and saw all the rave reviews of this little baby and decided to take a punt.

When the guitar arrived, the first things I noticed were that there was a slight buzz on the low E string and a dead spot on the B. No problem though - a 1/4 turn on the truss rod (key in the lovely travel bag!) gave a little more neck relief and buzz/dead spot gone like magic.

Only imperfection I could find on the whole instrument was a crease mark on the very thin pick guard. Again - no problem. I just peeled off the pick guard which left absolutely no mark on the guitar. I think it looks way better without it.

The action is now absolutely superb all the way up the neck and the intonation (checked with Snark tuner) is, remarkably, also spot on at every fret. With the original strings and a little relief adjustment the guitar plays great now. Sure it's not a Martin or a Taylor but it is a remarkably good sounding little instrument in its own right and for the Euros 109 I paid, absolutely stunning value for money. It comes complete with a smashing little gig bag, truss rod key and even a cheap, but functional lead for hooking it up to an amplifier. I tried it with a MicroCube amp and the output from the fitted pickup is more than adequate.

I will be fitting a Graphtec TUSQ XL saddle when I replace the strings with Martin Custom Lights as I think very slightly heavier gauge strings might just add a little more bottom end, and the saddle that is on the guitar is a very cheap plastic job that isn't really doing anything to improve the tone. However, saying that I generally make these simple mods to any guitar I buy, irrespective of what I paid for it.

To summarise then, if you are looking for a really great value travel guitar then look no further. This really is 'a steal'.

Update: I have now had this little gem for around a week and I haven't picked up my Martin in that time. This little guitar is stunningly good. I just can't believe that an all laminate, small guitar can sound and play as well as this one does. String spacing I find a little to tight for my liking when finger picking, but for flat picking and strumming, the v shaped neck and excellent action are spot on. I've yet to replace the saddle and strings because every time I pick it up I start playing it!

I may be one of the lucky ones to get an absolute gem, but somehow, given the other reviews, I think not. Absolutely the best value guitar I have ever bought in terms of bang for buck. Amazing!

Update: Have just replaced strings with medium gauge Elixirs (13s). Had to lower action slightly at nut for low E and A strings to accommodate heavier gauge strings. Great success, much less unintended bending of treble strings when playing up the neck and much improved base response. Although slightly harder on the fingers, I think it's well worth putting heavier gauge strings on this great little guitar.

With the Elixir 13s this guitar is the DADGAD beast!

Guitar arrived as part of a 3 guitar shipment. Parcel arrived fairly quickly over the Christmas season. Arrived in perfect condition. Guitar looks perfect. Action set up well. For a mahogany guitar the sound is a bit bright. Bought this as a gift for my daughter. She loves it. The low E string peg popped up during tuning, but with a light love tap from a small hammer, it stayed down like all the rest. By the way, the other 2 guitars in my shipment were perfect and also look and play great.

My Baby

First time buying a travel guitar and I can say, I do not regret one bit about this choice. From the beautiful wood itself, to those matte black guitar machine heads (OH MY ARE THEY SEXY) the sound is just great!The back of the neck to its body isn't clean, but it's not something to worry about and is barely visible. A cheaper clone but definately can be on the same level as the Taylor GS. For this price, it is something to watch. The tavel bag it comes with looks just like the Taylor too so atleast you can grab the attention of people before you start jammin' out!

Excellent litte guitar!

I absolutely love this guitar, It plays super well and sounds great. I made a video of the guitar and it's sounds (miked and line in) if anyone wants to hear for themselves. >

I am totally in love with this, and I look forward to bringing it with me!