Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst Reviews

Happy with it, despite some minor issues.

Pros

- Looks like a lot of guitar for the money, with some caveats (see below).

- It resonates and sustains like crazy. I really like the sound.

- I also love the growl of the humbuckers as an alternative to my Strat. The pups are quite hot and crude, but I'm happy with them.

- neck is straight and frets are level(ish). There are no dead frets. There are a few sharp ones on one side towards the 15th fret. Nothing too serious.

Cons

- Pickguard is horrible, both the cheap plastic, the sharp-edged finish and the way that the main screw holding it in place is not fully countersunk. Once I decided I was going to keep the guitar I removed it. It looks much nicer without it anyway.

- there were a few hums and buzzes when I first started playing it. There was some loose veneer or wood inside the top which I either removed or glued down. It's fine now.

- The dots on the side of the fretboard are slightly off centre. It's not something that bothers me.

- the seam in the middle of the flamed top is about 3mm off centre. Again, this doesn't bother me.

- the vintage burst is more orangey than I expected. It still looks nice hanging on the wall next to my tidepool (blue) Strat.

- the G string kept going flat one evening when I was practicing a solo with a lot of bends on it. I grated some pencil into the nut slot and it cured it for a while, but then the problem comes back and disappears from time to time for G and D strings. Apparently this is an issue with many 3/3 tuner headstocks. Maybe I'll change the nut.

- the inlays really look like mother-of-toilet-seat plastic. In retrospect, the dot inlays of the non-plussed version would look better. Come to think of it, I can live without the coil splits too, so maybe I should have gone for the black version. Ah, who cares?

- the pau ferro fingerboard is redder and lighter than expected and doesn't feel substantial. It feels like a veneer. Maybe it will improve with age.

In conclusion it's more than good enough for the money and is a useful new sound to my guitar collection.

I purchased this guitar with intensions of altering it to my spec's

The finish is perfect couldn't have wished for better. I altered it to suit me and the alterations are.

:- l changed the bridge to a roller one.

l changed the tuners.

Changed the strings

Altered the set up to my specks.

My friend took a fair amount of wood off the neck to suit me, changing it to more of a D shape and it now plays to my entire satisfaction, l also changed the strap lock from the back of the neck to the top horn and it is now my favorite guitar.

Cheers

Kevin E

I love this guitar

I bought this guitar after reading various reviews about how good they were, they were not wrong. This is a brilliant guitar, especially for the price. it plays well and sounds great. I have an Epiphone Sheraton and bought this as a backup but using the humbuckers it is almost impossible to distinguish between them, plus you have the option of the coil split for altogether different tones. I made one small adjustment to the bridge to correct the intonation but other than that it played perfectly straight out the box. Highly recommended!

WOW!

The HB-35B is looks and sound amazing. I highly recommend for anyone who look for a hollow body.

Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst

Thinking Semi-Acoustic for a while, and buying Harley Benton also?When this was available I jump in...And was a good buy.

Sound, quality, etc. are good...The action was a little high, nothing else.

If you looking for good, affordable guitar...This is one option.

Stunning value for money great sounding guitar.

Only gripe is the horrible scratch plate so removed it.

Looks better without.

Wish HB made this guitar in candy apple red.

Amazing guitar

My acquaintance with Harley Benton guitars began with the Harley Benton HBO-850NT guitar. It was not very good quality and there were concerns about buying a Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst guitar. After reading reviews of other buyers, I decided to buy it. About a month of waiting and the guitar appeared in stock. Another 2 weeks of being sent to Russia and the guitar is in my hands.

They delivered to me exactly the same guitar as in the picture. It is very well made in quality. The neck is perfectly straight. All frets are sanded, it is clear that the guitar went through pre-sale preparation. Strings do not ring or cling to frets when played. Guitar tuners have a small gear ratio, which lengthens the tuning time of the guitar.

Humbuckers have a coil cutoff which allows for a wide variety of sounds from Les Paul to Telecaster.

This is my first semi-acoustic guitar and I absolutely love it.

The sound is very pleasant even though this is a guitar that costs less than 200 euros.

You need to understand when buying that this is not an acoustic guitar and without connection it will sound quiet. The empty cavities are found only on the sides of the case where the holes are cut. in the place of the pickups and the bridge is a mahogany block.

The guitar has a significant weight.

This guitar was purchased for home use.

To my incredible pleasure, I did not find any downsides in it. Only pluses in everything.

I am not a professional musician and I think this is the most beautiful instrument for amateur home playing.

First time buying a semi hallow guitar, it was amazing and I really liked it.

Great value!

Do not fool yourself. This is a great instrument right out of the box. It feels like a 335 and delivers in spades. Much better setup and action from factory/store than my 2k$ Fender I bought from Guitar Center. Slightly heavier than I expected, but way more sustain than I expected. Highly recommended if you're looking at a 335 style guitar at an awesome price.

Absolutely love this guitar.

The woods, frets and finish are perfect. EXTREMELY well made.

Full transparency: Replaced pickups w/ Seymour Duncans, CTS pots, GraphTech nut, Guitar Fetish locking tuners, Gibson top hats.

And it is fabulous!!!!!!!!

Good guitar, amazing for the money.

Lets get it out of the way, its not a 1k$ guitar. Does it strike above its price range, sure. But still, it needs work.

the bad:

The bridge came uncut, the nut needed to be cut as well and after lowering the action the 8 upper frets turned out to be too high.

All in all I paid a 100 euro for the setup + elixir strings.

For what its worth according to the guitar tech guy, most new guitars have similar problems except MusicMan guitars and most of American PRSs.

You can see the wires in the f-holes =\

coil split is mostly useless for me.

Its heavy for a semi hollow (3.9kg!!) and the neck is fat, fatter than my les paul -- some might like that

The pots feel cheap but get the job done.

the good:

Well balanced, none of that neck diving.

Surprisingly good tuners.

Sounds great, soft and warm.

Playable out of the box and a joy to play after the setup.

Price is great --> With case, shipping, VAT and the setup it clocked at more than 400 euro. And that is still a good price for it. A similar guitar costs about 600-700 euro locally, without a case and would still need a setup.

Bottom line, its a good guitar for a great price.

If you want a semi hollow and don't plan playing standing up -- this one is a great choice!

Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst

Upon arrival, the outer shipping box was torn in multiple places, so I was apprehensive about the condition of the guitar inside. The double boxing worked to perfection! The HB box was in pristine condition and so was the guitar inside. There were no blemishes in the finish nor any damage anywhere on the guitar. The guitar was slightly out of tune but considering the distance that this traveled, and the condition of the outer shipping box, no problem there!

My only complaint:

There was glue residue on the pick guard and one of the edges was rough. An easy fix! Otherwise, I would have rated this a five star purchase.

I will be purchasing another Harley Benton in the future.

Amazing Value

I've had this guitar for about a month. It came well packaged and the finish is excellent. Fret markers were perfectly placed and there is an overall feeling of quality. The humbucker PUs are great with a very nice range of tones and while the switch to single coil sounds a bit thin without effects, it takes distortion well. For the price, this guitar is amazing. The only thing i will change are the strings, which are a bit dull, but dont let that put you off.

Pick of the litter

i said i would never buy a guitar over the internet and definitely not one from China. i had a semi-hollow body guitar about 30 years ago and always wanted another one, but could not afford a four figure price tag. About 12 months ago, while surfing the web for used semi-hollow bodies, i stumbled across a video comparison between a branded semi-hollow body and a guitar called the HB-35Plus. The reviewer said he was shocked about how well the HB-35Plus compared. After spending 100+ hours reviewing multiple sources, reading guitar articles and weighing the pros and cons (very few) that other musicians had shared in their reviews I took the plunge and bought the HB-35Plus Vintage Burst. I can't say enough good about this guitar. The flamed maple arch top is beautiful, the sunburst is well sprayed on the front, back, and sides, there's no bleed over on the cream binding, even around the f holes. The hardware and the fretboard are good quality. The inlays are attractive and the machine heads are sturdy and easily hold a tune. Concerning the Fretboard; lack of quality of materials and craftmanship most often show up in a low priced guitar when building out the fretboard and setting the intonation , not this HB-35Plus. The guitar was right on the mark. This will not be my last Harley Benton.

Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst

out standing build very happy with it sounds great the pots and switch feel good love the way it feels the only thing I would say it is the weight of the guitar is heavier than exspected

Harley Benton HB-35 Plus Vintage Burst Guitar

The guitar arrived in record time in Rochester, NY, USA. The guitar was in perfect condition with no scratches or dinks. The setup was perfect. There was no need for any adjusting. Electronics worked flawlessly. Intonation was very good. By lowering the pickups I was able to achieve the mellower sound I prefer. Fantastic instrument for the incredible price.

Pleasantly Surprised

So this is my first "China" non US made guitar. Simply there is nothing to complain about... I read a lot of reviews some good, some no so good. However I am pleasantly surprised. No it did not come with my brand of strings, but neither did my Gibson's or Fender's... The flame maple top is not as pretty as I would like, but the quality is good. It plays good, it sounds good, and I paid 10% of the price of a 335... So I say nice job!

Great guitar

The guitar is great, the roswell pickups are good, I like the tone. A couple of pure cosmetic minus. 1) mine is almost black, so it looks like the back and the darkness of the color of the 3 tone sunburst is not consistent and far from the picture, that looks like a dark red. 2) The veneer is barely visible and 3) the knobs feel chip.

The neck work is great and the actiom was perfect for my style.

started playing in 1973.i play my H B more than my gibson

a fantastic guitar for fantastic price

Almost a Gibson ! for the price payed it's a GGREAT piece kit.I could say its a poor mans Gibson.It is guitar of your dreams