Harley Benton D-200CE-12BK 5-stars Reviews

Very Good Indeed

A cutaway electric 12 string for 118euro. Can it possibly be any good at this price?

Yes it can- and indeed is!

Just for the record, at the price I paid,I have given it a deserved 5 stars all round. To be fair, had it been priced at say £3000 it wouldn't have scored quite so well.

Visually it's a looker. Cream bound neck and cream bound body set off the black bodywork to perfection. To be picky, I could comment that the paintwork is a bit thin, but then thin paint gives the wood more opportunity to produce a good sound. As is to be expected at this price, the top (and sides and back) are going to be laminate, and the strings are not from the top price range, but that doesn't stop this baby from producing a surprisingly good tone. One of the first things I normally do on a new guitar is change the strings, but I just don't think it needs it. And volume is very good too..

Straight out of the box it was very nearly in tune, and absolutely playable, with no sharp fret ends, which is very creditable. Like just about every guitar you buy- from anywhere and at any price (at least under around £500-£600) it will greatly benefit from being breathed upon by a good luthier. As supplied, the truss rod is pretty well set, although measuring might well yield some minor improvement. The bridge and nut can certainly be lowered, speeding up the action. The frets are pretty level and would be adequate for most people, but fret levelling and polishing would improve this guitar even more.

Ok, like some other reviewers, I have gone on about setups, Please accept that this guitar is NOT inferior- it's jut that setting up is very time consuming, and would put up the initial price, so manufacturers cut back. But this guitar is so good to begin with that any additional work by a good luthier would be well worth it- and I would go so far as to say that spending say £75 on a full fret level and polish, plus a set up would produce a guitar that would easily match any guitar on a shop wall costing £400

Excellent for the price

Always wanted to have a 12-Strings guitar, but wanted something cheap to start with, to my surprise it's amazing value for just 100€... you really cannot ask more. Recommended.

Outstanding

This is the 3rd Harley Benton that I have bought, and I'm not disappointed.

The build quality is amazing for the price.

The sound is lovely and bright.

You really cant beat this.

Harley Benton 12 string electric/acoustic

I purchased this guitar to familiarise myself with 12 string country style guitar and then to upgrade to a more expensive product. I have now changed my mind. I wouldn't consider swapping it for any other guitar. It looks and sounds brilliant. Playability is second to none. Good range on equalizer. Exceptional finish. Highly recommended.

All round superb quality

Absolutely brilliant quality product that arrived well packaged and set up ready to play. Got it out of the box and after a bit of tuning played a lovely guitar for hours afterwards. This guitar holds the tuning well too as going back to it the day after it required very little tuning. Very impressed all round.