Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Black Reviews

excalant value

lovely finish, internal pickup, you would be looking at €300 or more for this quality

Good for learning

I bought this guitar for my wife when she wanted to learn guitar. She started on one of my metal string guitar but got sore fingers. She found my classical guitar fingerboard too wide, but this was just right. When it arrived I was impressed by the action and finish. She enjoys playing it and has progressed well. The only slight problem she had was the round back rolling around while using a strap, though letting the strap pass over the soundboard helps. Plugged in it sounds good, though I haven't played it on stage yet. A good starter full size guitar with room to grow as a musician.

Very impressive 1st look!

Arrived on time to Vancouver Canada in perfect condition. Unlike some comments, this HB 850 is close to flawless. A little glue spillage on the bottom side binding will rub off, fret sprout/almost non existent... a few minutes of light sanding and filing... not to worry about, only 15th fret was a little high and I gently tapped it down, polished the frets, cleaned and oiled the fret board, oiled the decorative wood designs around the sound hole, the tuners seem fine after a couple of re-stretching's of the strings and no marks or scratches on the body finish. The action is way too high and the nut needed some serious filing, but I have the experience and the proper tools. The saddle needed trimming down, but, get this idea..... because of the very flat neck I thought I would try replacing it with an acoustic style compensated bone saddle with a 12" radius and it helped bring the action down on 1st and 6th strings, this sort of rounds out the strings on the neck and it works and sounds very good. I am not interested in playing classical music on this guitar, I just wanted a nylon string instrument for that softer feel and more mellow sound for my blues, jazz and rhythm style; [ this type of saddle does take it out of tune slightly at the 12th fret... no big deal. ] I will replace the nut to bone, change the strings to a light gage with ball ends and the tuners will be upgraded to a set of antique black for nicer ratio and appearance. The slimmer round back sits easily on my lap and takes getting used to while standing using a shoulder strap. All in all, for a budget priced nylon string guitar I am pleased and impressed. I have purchased several HB guitars and products before and this meets their expected good standards.

Not bad at all

Good sound, well made, i always wanted the Ovation style nylon guitar, to suit my purposes, only the price never satisfied me, even the Applause version.

I ve watched YouTube videos of comparison with HB HBO 850 classic vs Ovation nylon, and yet in terms of sound haven't found the crucial difference, the only difference are with the frets, yet

On this guitar the fret edges are quite smooth, which has pleasantly surprised me, to be honest.

not bad

i will write something after more than one year of use.

Accidental buy

Was really trying to order to steel string ones of these //and it got messed up but when they came they’re not bad little classical guitar not my thing but better than some of them

I bought it to make an affordable alternative to Ovation of Yngwie Malmsteen. If you get to set your amplifier and effects neatly, you may have a very similar tone. It has a 'acoustic guitar size' fretboard. And it is possible to adjust the neck.

There are no downsides except the preamp draining the battery too quick and fretboard is neither rosewood nor ebony.

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the guitar came with a broken neck, all in dirty streaks, a worn deck and dried mold on the fretboard pad. the issue of money back is being resolved. I couldn't replace it with another store. promised a completely free replacement, but I for delivery and taxes required more than half the cost of the tool. of course I refused. now the parcel will be returned to the store, and I am promised to return the money.. I was left without a guitar.

Very good classical substitute

Great for those who like nylon string guitars without the super wide classical guitar width.

Quality at a good price

Purchased this for a friends son to learn the basics. So far, So good. Excellent craftsmanship. fast shipping. I would recommend this guitar to others.

Good guitar in low price

This guitar's quite good for the price you are paying for, the relation between quality, sound, and cost is really good. I haven't tried in an amp but the acoustic sound is nice and loud. Recommended if you need an acoustic guitar to practice at home, you want some decent sound but you don't want to spend a lot of money.

A classic!

The nylon string version is great. It has a nice sound and the neck is not too wide. After changing the strings, the tonal range was greatly improved.

Great roundback acoustic for price

Great roundback acoustic for nylon strings for price. Action little high, but nothing that can't be fixed. Great sound for a very cheap acoustic roundback guitar.

Beyond expectation

I would have no problem to gig with it straight out of the box.

Pros:

-Sound is in my opinion great acoustically.

-Neck feels more like an electric guitar than a typical classical, which for me works much better.

-Built quality, in terms of looks and playability is excellent.

Cons: (there aren't any really, but just some heads up)

Plugged in, the sound is not really that great, kind of shallow sounding to my ears at least, but the electronics are easily replaced, and considering the price of the instrument, it's great!

Body ornaments were not glued properly, so they need a bit of work. Also the holes could be a tiny bit better looking, but that's nitpicking.

Overall, it would be a great instrument for three times the price, so I'm very satisfied with it.