Harley Benton RB-612BK Classic Series Reviews

Surprised how good it is!

I'm totally impressed by the craftsmanship, aesthetic, sound and feel. Super happy!

Fixed the Issue. It's Now GREAT!

To be honest with you, I spent the first year disliking this guitar very much! No matter how much I tinkered with the bridge .... I couldn't get the action to be reasonable at all. That's not great on a 12 string. But eventually, I realized that it wasn't a bridge adjustment at all, but a neck adjustment. The neck arrived with far too much relief and I didn't spot it. Once I made the adjustment and tightened the truss trod .... it played much much better. It's a keeper and I am now a very happy camper. Just something to check when it arrives. I missed it and shouldn't have.

great guitar

great guitar only issue is a slight bit of neck dive.

I have so many guitars, Four x 12 strings, 2 of them electric ... This has to be the best out of the box of all of them.

Makes me play it. And it looks beautiful. I only needed to tune it out of the box, which has never happened before from an un-played delivered piece. I'll probably do a few slight alterations over time but for now - Out Tha' Box SMASH! For the money ... nothing compares to Sinead!

Wow! Looks great and sounds better.

I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing the sound is on this guitar. I received this and plugged it in to my Fender Deluxe Reverb amp and it was so rich and full it blew my mind. Two things: First; the intonation is a bit tough to set because each set of strings is on one saddle, so it's a compromise. Second: The string tension is a bit much (for me) and I may change to a lighter gauge string set . I find "cowboy chords" easy enough, but going further up the neck takes a bit too much pressure to cleanly chord

Flawless!

I've been looking at this gorgeous 12 string for a while now and finally bit the bullet. I have to say, it far exceeded my expectations - it's absolutely flawless! I've chosen that word very carefully - I love it and can't find a single thing wrong with it, no matter how minor.

So perfect is it, in fact, that I have also bought the 6 string version...

For the price, amazing quality.

This is my first 12-string though, so I have no idea how others compare.

Better Than Expected

I originally bought this guitar to try out different pickups and switch configurations. It actually sounds pretty good as is! Not a $4000.00 guitar by no means, but it is put together pretty good to get someone started on a budget! Definitely recommend to anyone just starting out in the music business or as a hobby musician!

Worth it's weight in gold.

First time played today at County Fair. 7 song Tom Petty set. Sounded amazing paired with my Vox AV30. A huge win.

You will not be disappointed

Bought as a backup 12 str. Lowered action to almost nothing. I own or have owned Fender, Ric, Hofner, Douglas, Ibanez, Taylor, Dean, Yamaha. I play in a working band and I use it onstage regularly. Like all 12's the neck is slightly wider but no overly so. Guitar has a good balance and feel. No problems staying in tune, at least for a 12. Thought about stringing it like a Ric but actually I prefer the sound it already has to a Ric. The thing I like about it is the same as my Ric. I can hit the switch for an instant change in toner. I did replace the bridge with a Ric trapeze angle bridge, but just for looks and coolness.

Incredibly cool 12-string

If you're like me and you might want to use an electric 12-string on a couple of songs but you're not fronting a Byrds cover band, this is a purchase you won't regret. It's certainly not the exact same sound as a real Ric - you can ascertain this from any number of YouTube reviews of this product. However, it definitely still has an inimitable chime that you can't get without a real second course of strings. I would also say that with some compression and EQ, you can actually get this sounding VERY close to the classic RIc sound. JangleBox has a whole line of products combining compression and treble boosts, but I got the same effect from a cheap Danelectro compression pedal and a Harley Benton "British Sound" amp simulator. Low level, high sensitivity for the compression, low gain but high treble on the amp sim = great 12-string tone at a tenth of the price of a Rickenbacker.

Aside from the great 12-string sound and the insane affordability, the guitar is easily playable, came well set-up, and has solid, responsive electronics. The only negatives I can think of are that tuning is tricky as it is for all 12-strings (stability is good - just dealing with 12 strings is not ideal) and that accessing the bridge for intonation adjustments seems hard. These are both complaints I think you'd find with a real Ric, though, and they're very minor.

Only for the brave

Mmm I thought this was the cheats way to get a 12 string elec. Ric? I have since discovered this guitar is very hard to play due to the widest neck I've ever felt on a elec. guitar! You need strong fingers to play a song straight through with this. But what I didn't count on was how hard it is to keep a 12 string in tune. I am a stickler for tuning with a 6 string but I have met my match with this beast. Tuning/plucking the individual strings was painful and honestly you need 20 - 30 mins if you want recordable concert pitch. It does look pretty cool I'll give you that but I think you know what I'm going to do with it...........

RB 612BK

I bought one of these guitars for my brother-in-law earlier this year. He loves it especially the bridge pickup. Thanks for this affordable take on a classic 12 string model!

I would rate it as four and half stars - if you do not mind a bit chunkier neck, than this 12stringer will do the trick at all fronts. The visual appearance is next to perfect, I like the sound of all three pickup positions, actually find it hard to decide which I like best (-: Fret edges could have been smoothed a tad better, but the action was fine right out of the box. The only caveat concerns tuning stability (obviously, it is a 12 string so you have to pluck and finger with more care). I got around it to a degree by replacing the thinner G string (which happened to be the thinnest strings of all the ones used) by a regular G, so the Gs are actually doubled now and the tuning feels more solid. Another small problem is that you cannot fine tune octaves per each string separately, as mentioned by other reviewers, but the sound of a 12 string is not all about perfect intonation, it is the magic chime that comes first... What an inspirational music instrument this guitar is!

best 12 string out there !!!!

i fell in love with this guitar before i even plugged it in.............coolest looking one by far.......tuned it up and it was in tune all the way to the 15th fret .....a great deal....i watched videos and read reviews first...and i was sold......shipping was the fastest i have ever seen in my life from anywhere...........2 days from germany to texas !!!!! didn't have to do anything it was perfect right out the box....string height you name it......plays great, sounds great,looks great,....only thing i did at all was poured a little black paint in the f-hole and sloshed it around to cover the inside ....worked perfect........i record songs all on my own at home and i get released on cd's and played on internet radio all over the world..........this will be used on my next album......

Great guitar! Stays in tune, and has great 12-string sound. Great value. I use it for "that special sound". Also recomended as a beginner or extra 12-string electric.

Total waste of money.

Arrived with broken string marks and scratches all over the body.

Setup was awful and wouldn’t stay in tune even with new strings.

An amazing weapon for your guitar arsenal

I've always wanted the sound of a 12-string electric guitar (think The Smiths, REM, The Beatles, The Byrds...), but could never justify going full price on a 'real' Rickenbacker or even a mid-price Danelectro or Italia. This is always bound to be an extra guitar purchase for people who already have a one or more six strings. So... I figured for the low price that this Harley Benton RB-612BK might be something of a risk. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's an amazing guitar. The first thing I noticed was how solid it feels. It's doesn't feel 'cheap' in any way. Well built, compact, and nicely balanced. And the neck and playing action... just blown away to be honest. I have the black and white one and it looks superb too. I've been using it for recording and just jamming around, and I can't get enough of it: it's just so much fun to play. The pickups probably aren't the best around, but they sound absolutely great both live and recorded. Put a compressor and a bit of phaser / chorus on, and you're in a world of psychedelia. Add some overdrive and you've got a great Indie rock sound. My only slight quibble - and it is slight - is that it's a bit untidy inside the f-hole. But for this price I don't care. I simply don't know how they make and sell such a solid, brilliant instrument for such a low price. Really recommend it if you want to treat yourself to a new toy :-)

7 weeks $178 to return

This was a mistake I will not make again machine heads to tail piece not good. Sounds like a cheap knock off which is what it is

Great

Excellent value for the money. Fun to play. I don't gig anymore but still jam when i can and it is a great addition to that. You just can't get a better deal for a 12 string.