Harley Benton HBMA-50E Mandoline VS Reviews

Not bad, not good.

Unfortunately the pick-up is very weak and doesn't quite amplify as well as the rest of my instruments, which was a let down for sure. That aside, it sounds great acoustically. I'm assuming a performer would most likely be purchasing at a higher price point/quality point than this, so this is pretty good for a beginner to the instrument. I wouldn't recommend it to a novice/pro.

Great for the money

Looks and sound beyond expectation, no blemishes or loose screws, fretboard not too sharp either.

Changed strings with some effort, tailpiece cover was on very tight, but the result is great, a big bright sound.

Good intonation and tuning stability.

Playable and fun.

Great value for money.

Affordable and quality

I am satisfied with my mandolin, it sound great with or without amplifier. If you do not have acoustic amplifier you might need to adjust the tone and effects a little to get the authentic mandolin sound

Disappointed to say the least

My first mandolin. I've been playing ukulele and guitar for a while and wanted to give the mandolin a go. I got the electric one because I thought it would be interesting to play through an amp with distortion and some effects. After waiting 10 days for its arrival (held up in customs), my first initial impressions were good. It looks beautiful and feels good to hold. However, that was outweighed by the sound. The overall sound is very tinny and there is an obnoxious buzzing when you plug into an amp. The tuning pegs are tough to turn and sound like something is cracking when I tune. I am disappointed and wish I had saved some money and just got the basic mandolin.

Pretty good

for its price it is an amazing product, although i wish the sound was better when plugged in

At this price - a very good arrow !

I have been looking for travel and/or harsh party instrument low price (not to fear to damage or loss); tuned and should be played 4-5hours without finger-cramp. This is it - Simple, zen-builted, easy, no flimsy parade, but real workhorse! Test!

1. Tone & sound - high, clear, almost cut-through-stone (high freq.) with some middle range taste, as "A" mandolins have. Fine.

2. Tunning machines and tunning at high possitions: so-so to well. No miracle, no tragedy.

3. Electronics - eeeh... single pickup. High, little silent, with some noise - minihumbucker would be a better choice; think evryone pay cheerly some euros more for clear, non-affected sound..

4. Touch and neck - from acceptable to - good. Great possitive surprise!

5. Look and processing - fine. No considerable reservations. Back is black!

6. MINUS: dot frets - tiny and flimsy. I dont wait long durability.

CONCLUSION: for its price a VERY FINE INSTRUMENT for beginners and also experisenced players as a less-care paddle-board, where the beers-flies-through-the-air-with -glasses-and-dent-prosthesises... :-)

DRINK A LAMP & - ENJOY!

really nothing special

It's cheap so that's why 3 stars, but besides that it feels like one step above toy instrument.

After having bought it two or so years ago, i really don't find myself picking it up anytime. It's just not fun to play.

Bon instrument moyennant des réglages et modifications

D’abord changer les cordes, comme c’est un micro magnétique, mettre des cordes avec du nickel, genre daddario ej67

Baisser l’action avec les roulettes sur le chevalet, régler l'intonation, il y a des tutoriels sur youtube si vous ne savez pas comment faire, dévissez le micro,, virez les ressorts qui ne servent à rien et remontez le micro, il est beaucoup trop bas donc le niveau est trop bas, il doit remonter au moins de 5 mm, à faire faire par un luthier si vous n’avez pas l’habitude, demandez lui de mettre un fil entre la masse et le cordier ce qui supprime complètement le bruit de fond, indispensable ! Et voilà vous avez un excellent instrument parfaitement utilisable même en concert !

Awesome little instrument

I bought this as a novelty as I did not play a mandolin before. The build quality and the sound of the instrument is worth all the money. Pick-up is quite ok also.

I should have spent more for a mandolin

The price is what makes this instrument attractive, especially if you are not a demanding player. However, the construction and the sound does not meet even the basic standards (especially when you use the whole fretboard and not only basic chords). Next time I would spend more to get more when it comes to mandolin....

It's a good beginner mandolin, but the lowest string does sound a bit bad. But it sounds okay in the back of a mix as a little sprinkle of nice sounds. Also the pickup was noisy, so I wouldn't recommend it for live. I could have returned it I suppose, but it's good for the price and I think if I want to upgrade the pickup I will.

Works Perfectly

Great for cost. using to learn.

Good work horse

Nice sounding instrument, but have not very good qality & poore frets

mandomania

Guitarist ..only being playing mandolin a short while, didn't want to break the bank.

Positive reviews led me to this one... Glad I payed attention, for the money it's a delightful instrument.

The finish.. on mine anyway, is flawless.

The sound is good, maybe a tiny bit duller than an expensive old one I borrowed off an Irish trad player... but that's with factory strings, Got new Ibanez strings but not put them on yet.

Good to play straight of the box.. lovely...The intonation was spot on.

But then I did lower the action just a fraction.. easy operation .. just loosen strings and rotate the bridge wheels clockwise til it suits..being careful not to move the bridge...and it made it a little easier on my novice fingers without causing any fret buzz.

For the price.. and for the sound.. and the flexibility of a built-in pick up.. you can't go wrong with this thing, I've hardly put it down.

Excellent value, good instrument

I am a guitarist who bought this because I needed a mandolin part on a recording.

It seems very well made and to me is very playable.

Acoustic tone is nice and the sound from the built in pickup is bright and clear, though of course it does not then have the sound of the wood. Very useable sound either way.

I have no idea how it compares to a much more expensive instrument but I'm impressed.

It does the job and I certainly feel that I got value for money

Great Mandolin

Got it today, tuned it. Played it. Sounds great. I'm very happy with this mandolin. It's exactly what I wanted.

Perfect for that first Mandoline

I'm a guitar player and I wanted to own a mandoline in my arsenal. Probably going to be used at home even though I gig every now and then. I read some of the reviews here and changed the strings and it's a totally different instrument afterwards. I removed the thin strip that was underneath the bridge, don't know why that was there. But this mandoline has a full body sound unplugged with new strings. The craftsmanship is really good for that price. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that wants to get an affordable mandoline. It stays in tune, sounds good for the price and can be a wall decoration if you end up giving up playing it.

Excellent to start with

Bought this as a learning instrument for my son. Excellent to start from. Loses tuning easily for the first two weeks but this seems to settle.

You get a lot of instrument for little money.

Greate value mandoline

Great as a first mandoline. I'm a guitar player and bought this so I could have more variety when recording tracks.

A mixed bag

My first mandolin so I was not sure what to expect. I was pretty pleased when I first picked it up and when I plugged it into the amp and I was even more impressed. Then I thought I’d address the tuning which seemed off. Unfortunately, the intonation is pretty poor on this mandolin. Open strings are bang on but 12th fret are almost a whole tone off. Even the most basic chords sound a little out of tune. I’ve been told I can get it sorted by adjusting the bridge but that’s a tricky job and not for the faint hearted. It’ll do until I can afford an Eastman.