Harley Benton JA-60CC Dakota Red 4-stars Reviews

A very good Jazzmaster-style guitar (but a bit expensive)...

I was never a fan of offset guitars, but I had been eyeing these JA-60s for a while.. I was going for the kit version, but it would be out of stock for months, so I had to satisfy my GAS, and when the custom colours where announced, it was time to pull the trigger...

It is a very good guitar. It has a distinctly different single coil sound, compared to, say, an HB Tele or St model. It is a very worthwhile addition to any collection and a guitar I like very much, due to its vintage sounding pickups. I find myself picking it up very often, perhaps its my current favorite.

I quite like the bright red colour. The finish overall is very good, mine only had a small, very small ding/mark on one fret, but, honestly, nothing too serious.

The neck is the best feature of the guitar (together with the pickups). I am comparing it to my HB ST-62 Inca Silver, possible my second most comfortable, and my Harley Benton ST-62 (and other HB Teles). It's very smooth and comfortable, it invites you to play endlessly.

The guitar is also very light - perhaps too light. I usually don't use a strap while playing in a sitting position, but in this case I will have to - the guitar is slipping on my legs. It must be below 3 kg, or thereabout..

Overall, this guitar is highly recommended. However, I wish it wasn't so expensive - although I bought it, I can't justify the extra 20 euros for a, so called, custom colour. Nothing "custom" about a red color which is used in so many other "custom" color HB guitars. Also, this guitar should not be more expensive than an ST-62, which has 3 pickups and is more versatile, with the same quality finish and colors. I assume Harley Benton will soon rectify that price issue.

Overall, as I said, a very good guitar. Highly recommended.