Harley Benton GS-Travel Mahogany Reviews

Wonderful guitar at an insane price

This is the second Harley Benton I have bought and again it is amazing the quality of guitar you get at these stupid low prices.

The guitar has a nice mahogany finish, a couple of blemishes I found but nothing worth returning it over but overall very nice. I really like the binding on the body and neck and the black tuning pegs (which are holding tune very nicely)

The fretboard wood is nice, not very dry like the last HB I got and has a nice look about it. The frets were done very well, but they do stick out here and there so not super comfortable but something you could improve yourself.

I changed the strings over after getting it and it made a huge difference, the supplied strings are not very nice but this isn't really a negative since most people will restring when they buy a guitar.

Comes with a case that is very nice considering the price, it's well padded and looks quite smart.

There is very little bad things I can say about this, if you are looking for a smaller acoustic and are on a budget this is the best value for money you will find for a new guitar.

A Little Wonder.

I bought this guitar for two reasons. One I wanted to have an inexpensive 'chuck around' guitar that I could just bung in the car and take anywhere. Secondly I don't recall reading such glowing reviews of a guitar from...well.. anywhere.

On both counts this little gem definitely ticks all the boxes. No, actually it exceeds expectations big time, because for a little guitar it is exceptionally well made and sounds incredible. OK of course, you wouldn't expect it to it have the volume of a dreadnaught but the tone is awesome, full and balanced with none of the tinniness normally associated with small cheap guitars. Even many expensive full size guitars would have a struggle matching the sound and playability of this little wonder.

The bag is well made, strong and sturdy with carry handles and shoulder straps, the guitar stays in tune there are no sharp fret edges and the mahogany finish looks amazing especially when given a bit of a polish. Action is perfect and even with arthritic fingers bar chords are easily made and perfectly clean sounding. And I couldn't say that about my top of the range Yamaha until it had seen a tech.

If I looked hard to find fault it would be picky in the extreme. Yes the fret wire is dull, but er.....that's it.

So there you are, an amazing guitar for an amazingly cheap price. I have to keep playing it to believe it.

A GEM

Over the years I have owned many guitars..some good..some not so good.Having been disappointed with many major brands I decided to opt for a lesser known brand ie.Harley Benton.I have always liked smaller guitars but most have that ' boxey 'sound...not this model.I was amazed with the quality finish.It has a much bigger and better sound than any of my more expensive guitars.And it arrives snug in a quality case.I was so impressed I purchased both the mahogany and spruce models...and my daughter has one too.It would have been icing on the cake if Harley Benton had Included an onboard pickup...But thats a minor issue.Treat yourself ...You wont be disappointed.

Lady bump

We get impressed with the Taylor's size and effectivenes, and this replica gives nice results, too. This is probably the beat cost/ benefit travelling guitar, and with the mahogany table it is really beautiful. With the bag we can take it anywhere, no problem. The only thing I don't love is the headstock, but it seems easy to re-cut it with an electric tool.

Great Sounding Short-Scale Guitar

Pros:

The guitar comes with a good quality gig bag, it is not one of those super cheap, thin bags, it has some thickness to it. It comes with an exterior pocket for storage of your accessories, etc.

The string action is great out of the box, which is unusual for this price range. I may make very small adjustments later on if I change string gauges though. The string height at the nut is good, could be lowered by a tiny bit to achieve a perfect setup.

The frets feel smooth with no sharp edges. They aren't perfectly level (I checked with a fret rocker), but there is no buzz while playing so this is not a big deal.

The v-shape neck feels easy to play.

The tuners are smooth and precise, the guitar holds tune without any problems.

The guitar seems well built with no apparent structural problems. The curved back looks cool.

The sound of the guitar is amazing. Obviously there is going to be less bass than with a dreadnought but to me the tone seems well balanced. I will probably use this guitar with nashville tuning for recording/overdubbing, it seems like it would perform well in that role.

Cons:

There are small finish marks/discolorations in the rosewood binding and a little bit around the neck joint. They aren't very noticeable but I can't complain at this price range. The finish of the actual guitar body/neck/headstock has no marks in it.

Overall:

I needed a short-scale guitar for recording and overdubbing multiple acoustic guitars. I already own full scale, bassier acoustic guitars, and this short-scale guitar will provide me with an additional tonal quality that I have been missing so far in my acoustic recordings.

It is very easy to play, stays in tune and seems well built. I doubt you'll be able to find a better short-scale guitar at this price range.

This guitar would also be a good choice for people with smaller hands, as I said, it is very easy to play straight out of the box with no additional setup required.