Harley Benton HBO-850BK Reviews

Looks good but...

Looks really good but to many issues with it. Horrible setup, fret buzz, strings are worthless and I needed pliers to remove the 6th string, with new strings sound improved a little. Machines are loose and of low quality. Pick up is very silent. I'll take it to my luthier and see if he can do something with it. My 3rd Harley Benton and 1st that doesn't get 5 stars.

Tuner

They could include a tuner next to the volume pieces. Otherwise I like the sound.

Great buy for 1st acoustic

Bought this guitar to enter the world of guitar . Very happy , sounds great and easy to play . Slight buzz on low e string but nothing to ruin the overall quality and build . Highly recommend to anyone thinking about purchasing this guitar .

Poor mans Ovation?

You ain't getting Ovation at this price, but, what you get is a beautiful crafted low end electro acoustic with a twist... resonation... resonation.... it isn't in the ovation sound league, but sounds as good, if not better than you're average starter guitar... a lot of product for ridiculously low price 👍 hot chocolate ' everyone's a winner'

Cracking wee guitar

I have quite a few high end signature guitars and some Harley Benton guitars also.

I'm Very impressed with this guitar. I have an ovation already and to be honest, this is probably up there with it.

Firstly, the over all quality is very good. There are no blemishes to the bodywork. Paintwork is like a mirror finish, neck is very smooth & comfortable, the action is lovely and low which makes it super easy to play.

The sound is refreshingly bright & crystal clear - intonation is perfect!

I bought as a package and got a gigbag with it which is also good quality and fits well.

I added the black Harley Benton signature strap to my order which really dresses off the guitar beautifully.

You won't find better for the price - it's a total gem & a bargain - I genuinely can't fault the guitar or extras... Well done on this one Harley Benton!

You get what you pay

This is my first Ovation style guitar. Ordered the black one and received in August 2022. Delivery worked quickly - less than 5 days as far as I can remember.

The instrument is made of exceptionally cheap materials and components that began to break even before I changed the stock strings.

First of all, a piece of decorative lining around the holes broke off - it is glued pointwise and in some places "hangs" above the surface. In the same way, the wooden parts are glued to the plastic inside the case. In my case, this was not critical and did not affect the sound.

Very soon, the wire inside the case (from the EQ to the output) began to hang out and rattle with almost any movement. The output jack nut spins simply from vibration, even if you do not connect the guitar. In the end, it got lost during the play.

The pegs fundamentally refuse to keep the tune. After six months of use, almost any touch to them breaks the tune. Just like any bend. It looks like the teeth just wear out quickly and start to slip. Had to change.

The neck is glued in incorrectly - with a classic production defect - a hump at the 14th fret. You can even see how the edging cracked and was re-glued. Also, the freeboard is not 100% even along the entire length. I'm trying to do fretworks now (in the moment of writing), but this definitely the defect, so I do not expect much more...

In general, trying to perfect this guitar can easily cost more than the cost of the instrument itself.

Electronics - little use, but it definitely works. Because of the disgusting connection, there is a lot of extraneous noise, but it works. The equalizer is working.

The best thing is the body. It's plastic and seems to be unbreakable. In general, the guitar looks good from a distance.

Conclusion: Only if you're in extremely tight quarters and need a camping guitar. But it is by no means a serious instrument.

Good but needs work

It needed the following to get it right:

Underside of bridge filed down to sort the high action.

Light filing to nut as high E string snapped at nut when tuning out of the box.

Change of strings as the ones they come with are poor.

Filed the edges of the fretboard as sharp.

Treatment applied to fretboard.

One piece of the inlay at fret 12 was slightly raised and had to be sliced off with a blade.

French polish applied to decorative wood work. Looks unfinished out of the box. Also had to chip away bits of glue residue and lightly file the decorative wood work.

Pros:

Price

Good sound

Cons:

QC/finish of the guitar.

Worth the price but be prepared to do some work on it to get it right. Once the work is done it looks, plays and sounds great for the price.

Excellent guitar

Excellent guitar. I used for almost 8 years.

I am not able to adjust the action now. It's high but still you will be able to pay it well.

Great value for the cost!!

Never in my years of music have I had such a variety of great instruments at such a great value. The tone of the tone of the Harley Benton HBO-850BK is just what I needed for my recording, and the electric capability is outstanding! 5 star on this item!!

Happy for the purchase.

Good enough if you can't afford an ovation guitar

Excellent quality my husband was real pleased with this guitar

Update: it plays just fine

I just needed to adjust the neck with the truss rod. Buzzing is gone.

Harley benton

A very good guitar for the money. After changing the strings, adjusting the neck and sanding the frets, the guitar sounds great. Used for oberkrain music. Great buy.

Wow, beyond my expectations

I bought this Harley Benton acoustic as simple guitar to keep around at work to play when the opportunity arises. I had average expectations for the guitar but after playing it through an amp and unplugged, those expectations were upgraded to HOLY COW!

I have played several Ovation acoustics before (some good/some bad) and so I gambled on this being a decent guitar. Well I hit the jackpot because this guitar was ready to go right out of the box. I tuned to D standard and off to the races we went. It sounds amazing plugged in or au natural.

Some might say it's a bright sounding acoustic (which it is). but that's the point it will cut through a mix with clarity and sparkle without a whole lot of fussing around.

Yet another outstanding Harley Benton guitar in my collection.

HBO-850BK

Happy with the quality and sound

Ova-Who??

I used to own a high end Ovation and this guitar performs just as well for a fraction of the price! I paid $183 U.S. WITH shipping! I don't know how you guys do it, but I'm glad I found you! The guitar is solid and there does not appear to be any areas that are loose, unglued, etc. I'm really glad I took my chances. Granted, this guitar sounds best plugged in, with a preamp in front of it, so don't expect it to sound like a Martin, or Taylor out of the box and you'll probably want to change the strings to your liking. However...that's the point of this little beauty....if you're looking for something to play live and you only need an acoustic for a few songs then this is perfect. The ultra slim shell gives it more of an electric guitar feel as well.

Just what I needed

Great sound, easy to play. Part of the decoration on the front came off but was easily glued back on

Great sound especially considering the low price would recommend highly

Impressive instrument for its money

Impressive guitar in appearance, with nice sound, especially for the money it costs.

I did not like the controls in the position that the hand goes there without wanting to and deregulates them, the poor quality of the strings and also its tuners poor quality ...

Value ovation copy

I have several expensive guitars but just wanted a cheap acoustic to leave about the house for practice and this is perfect, the decorative leaves are a little thin and not glued in too well and frets a little rough all sorted plus a decent set of strings and all is good, sounds great