Harley Benton Blues Harmonica in A-Major

I have been playing Harmonica since the 1970s and have owned a number of different brands over the years.
Unable to resist the price, I purchased a few of these Harley Benton harmonicas, in various keys.
Pros: The harmonica comes in a small, plain, plastic case (That’s no longer a given with more expensive harmonicas) and is wrapped in paper.
It seems to be well made, relatively airtight and in (Checked on a tuning app) tune.
I was also able to get semi-tone bends on all of the correct holes, which is nice since, often, it is nearly impossible to do so on cheaper harmonicas.
The sound is OK (for the price it is fantastic!) It may not be as good as harmonicas costing 10 times as much, but it is certainly not 10 times worse. Unlike some other cheap harmonicas, this does not sound like a “cheap squeaker”.

Cons: It would have been nice to have gotten a cleaning cloth with the harmonica, but I suppose for the price one really cannot complain.

In conclusion: The Harley Benton harmonica, like many other Harley-Benton instruments from Thomann, is good value for money. If you just want a harmonica to begin learning on, harmonicas in various keys to accompany other instruments, a good low cost harmonica to practice your bending techniques or simply something to practice with, to “save” your more expensive harmonicas, then the Harley Benton is definitely worth a try.

I play a lot of sessions, & do a lot of live work. I use these harps as an everyday instrument, playing both blues cross harp, or as a first position instrument. I sometimes play guitar & bass with these harps on a rack; as this type of use involves more spit than subtlety, I have worn out my more expensive Lee Oskar models, which I now use for session or solo work only. These harps are the budget fall back. Loud, with soul, well made, they compare extremely well with classic expensive brands. I spent time & money on other budget brands until finding these, which are a cracking standby, & have been fairly rugged & well made for the abuse I give them. I would recommend these for use as above as a cracking day to day harp, & would offer an encouraging quality in sound to the beginner too. My recommended choice of budget harmonica. Excellent value for money!!