Harley Benton JA-Baritone BK

More than just a great value — This is simply a great guitar

Here’s the nitty gritty: in a sound test, this guitar fooled colleagues. I re-recorded songs I had originally done with a custom Kiesel 7-string on this Harley Benton baritone, and no one could say with any certainty which recording was the $3,000 guitar and which was the $200 guitar. Do you know how absolutely insane that is? Here are the notes broken down based on recording, and notes on the guitars: Custom Kiesel 7-string: 26.5” scale, Fishman Fluence pickups. That’s the difference. HB JA-Baritone BK: stock, tuned down to drop G# Listener blind notes on the Kiesel recording: - More clarity and shimmer in clean passages - More note separation, slightly less “mud” in chords utilizing GBE strings. - More fizzy midrange in heavy passages, not pleasing to ear Listener blind notes on the HB Baritone recording: - Cleans sounded a bit “flatter” - Heavy passages had way more balls/grit/drive — overall listeners really liked the bite offered by the P90s - More sustain — one song had guitars ring out at the end, and it was noted that the Baritone rang out for nearly two measures longer, roughly 6 bars in 4/4 That’s kind of it. I love how it feels and how it plays and how it sounds. The 30” scale takes some getting used to, and if you deal with hand/wrist pain already, this may not be the guitar for you. That being said. This is a $200 guitar that, in a blind test, competes with a $3000 custom guitar. I can give it no higher praise than that. I will also note that playing down-tuned music *feels* better on the longer scale length. I actually tune it all the way down to F# now without needing to get thicker strings. Those wanting to tune down to E or Db will need to get thicker strings. Whenever I want to put money into it I will likely get higher quality tuners. The only part of the guitar that feels “skimped” on is the tuners, in my opinion. Still, a 5-star instrument all around.

Stunning value for money

I'm going to start by saying I've never been so impressed by any instrument relative to its price tag. The build quality is great, the neck is fantastic, the bridge is solid and adjusts smoothly, the pickups are clear and punchy and the whole instrument looks like I paid five times as much. the frets could do with a tiny polish but I'd be pleased with the shaping and ends on a guitar costing far more. The pots are smooth and clean, and the tone control is probably the most useful I've ever had across its entire range. I've brought the action down to 1.5mm bass side and 1mm treble, and there's not a hint of buzz anywhere, which is astonishing. I did have to put a bit of extra tension on the truss rod and discovered that it's already cranked to the max, which is worrying but hopefully something I won't have to touch further. I haven't had any issues at all with microphonic pickups or grounding so I presume that was an early thing. The only things I would note are that the selector switch feels very notchy (even though it works perfectly) and the tuner heads don't inspire confidence, especially with this amount of tension. No problems as yet though. Get one, but book time out because it's hard to put down.

insane quality to price ratio

arrived in decent setup, i was going to swap to 24-84 guage strings anyway so didnt mind much. the new set fit perfectly and after a quick setup which took 10min (since the guitar had no flaws) the guitar was playing as smooth as butter. if you are looking for a 30" baritone look no further.

Great Baritone

After returning to being in stock it arrived very quick to the US! Guitar is great quality, the neck and frets feel good. The pickups were okay but unfortunately they did start to get scratchy and eventually they stopped working, which was fine because I ended up swapping them out for EMG's. Holds tuning really well and intubation is on spot, even with the plastic tuners. Would absolutely recommend!

More than what I expected

The guitar is awesome. The setup was good, no sharp frets, no buzzing sound, no grounding issue and the cosmetic is also top notch.

amazing design, two complaints though

one of the things i didn’t like about it is the tuners. they’re plastic and couldn’t hold tuning very well. it also came with sharp fret edges. all that being said, if you put in the work and work on it, you will be rewarded 👍

A great instrument for a great cost

Influenced by YouTube, I bought myself this guitar as a gift. And what a gift! If you want a super tight B standard guitar, it does it out of the box. I dropped it to a Low E Standard and it chugs! I find myself lowering the gain as it doesn't require a lot to cut through the mix and chug. It does however require you to work with your tone knob to get a humbucker-ish gain sound, but you get used to it. The tuners are a bit meh, and fretboard had some filler, but what can you expect at this price range? Middle and neck are great for clean, I was surprised how well the p90s sound. Tip for using - make sure that when you buy strings, they are long enough to fit a 30 inch scale guitar. Not all 8 string sets work, baritones do.

JA-Baritone Killz It!

The JA-Baritone is pretty much my favorite guitar. Stays in tune, perfect fret-board feel, quality materials, solid construction. The only thing that lacks is the pickups, replaced with Fishman Fluence Richard Z, good to go! Thank you Harley!

For the money? No brainer.

A 6 string baritone is something everyone should play around with at some point. But to own one with these specs and at this price, do your self a favor and pick one up, or three like I did. They serve as an amazing starting point for wild mod platforms. I made one of the headless and regret nothing. The P-90s introduce many fun ways of playing the guitars as iv never had a guitar with them before. Love it. 9.7/10

A Beast!

What can I say more.... Fat tones!!! Such a ling neck you can drop the guitar very low. I love it!!!

Of course, not a bad choice to change the tuners. They are cheap but hold my low tuning (G) pretty good.