Harley Benton D-120CE VS

I was in need of a cheap acoustic guitar and I already own a HB 35. So I decided to stay with a "Benton", the price and the characteristics oriented me toward this model.

Pros
The guitar ha a really great sound, I didn't expect such a brilliant performance. The sound is really a nice one for the price. I personally prefer the amplified sound, with the pre-amp you can set a sound well balanced on bass/high.
The pre-amp is good.
The neck is comfortable even when you play for a long time.

Cons
While it's normal for an entry level guitar to have some imperfections, the HB D-120CE has something more. The tuning pegs are pretty bad, to be honest, the tuning pegs are the worst I've ever seen... You have to tune the guitar frequently because the pegs are quite awful. It's almost impossible to keep the guitar in tune for a long time, you have always to tune the instrument.
Frets are badly shaped, when you play on the high strings, and doing a slide it's really annoying because you can cut yourself. While the neck and keyboard is really cool, sliding is almost blocked by this.
Another annoying stuff is that when I received the guitar something was wrong, there was something inside making a strange noise, like something inside the guitar not fixed. I guessed the cables of the pre-amp were not fixed and the sound was produced by them... After shaking a lot the guitar I discovered that there was a "silica gel" stuff inside... I had to take it out. Why putting a silica gel inside?

Conclusions
For an entry level the guitar is amazing for the sound. If you're going to play it for recording it's ok, but some adjustments should be made. First of all, changing the tuning pegs. But, for the price, this guitar is really good becuase the potential is great.

I bought this guitar as a temporary replacement while my main guitar was getting fixed, but this quickly became my main guitar. It sounds and feels absolutely incredible, not just for the price but for a guitar in general. the piezo pickup inside works really well. the bass strings were kind of boomy and louder than the rest through the pickup but I sanded down the saddle and now it's absolutely perfect. the paint comes off very easily which is kind of an issue, i stuck down the pick guard but didn't align it right so tried pulling it off a little but all the paint came with it. other than that if you're careful with it it's not a problem. the action on mine came perfect straight out of the box and i noticed some reviews say the frets stick out a good bit and are sharp but the frets on mine came perfect, i suppose it's down to luck but i must have hit the jackpot.
this will be my main gigging guitar from now on. looks amazing, sounds amazing, plays and feels amazing. perfect for beginners or anyone really.

For the price, this guitar can't be beat. It feels good to play and also sounds good too. It's also nice to look at. Only complaints I have are that the frets are a little rough, it's noticeable when doing bends but it's not too bad. Also the quality of its sound is a little thin, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It has its own character. For just playing at home or taking with you on the go, it can't be beat as a backup guitar or just something you can take with you and not feel bad if it gets dinged up a little because of the low price. Overall I'm very pleased with it.

Home usage of this guitar, very satisfied with price and quality.
I'm very suprised with bass strings sounding of this guitar. They sound very loud and bright. It is also very beautiful looking.

It sounds beautiful, strings coming with guitar are good, this is actually one playable guitar for home and friend jamming.
Only bridge action is a little higher, and I'll lover it soon.

In comparasion with my Yamaha F310, HB has better sound, better looking, and better tuners quality. Only Yamaha has better bridge. Feeling while playing in these two is the same for first frets, until maybe to 12.where Yamaha's lover frets are more playable. I also like this frets, they are perfect for barre chords.
I think that this guitar is like some more valuable guitars, like mentioned Yamaha, and for this price you'll get very good guitar for beginners, for home playing, camping playing, all in all well balanced price/quality guitar with you'll not be sad if you hit in some furniture around you or scrach or something similiar.

And it's not a bad one despite the price!
I've played electric for one year, so it was about time I wanted to try acoustic. I've decided to go with a working strategy, and that means buying the cheapest and the most beautiful Harley Benton and see how it works.

So, for the good:
- finish is flawless! You can tell it's not a million dollar guitar, but it's made really, really well
- neck is straight and the guitar has a truss rod
- nut is okay
- bridge is okay as well
- it has no anomalies (like fret buzz) while playing whatsoever
- intonation is almost perfect, and for the price - what else you can ask for?
- preamp... works!
- it has strap buttons, which is good, for I'm learning to play while standing

And for the bad:
- fretboard is not made well, the wood required some sanding paper on it. It's my 3rd HB and 5th guitar overall, and this is the first time I see such a fretboard
- of course, fret ends are sharp. I didn't even expect them being not sharp, so - sanding paper!
- string action is higher than it is on electric guitars (3mm over 12th fret), so I'll have to get used to it

Overall:
It's not the prefect guitar, I might even go for a more expensive acoustic over time, but this time won't be short. As a first acoustic, it satisfies all my needs and will satisfy yours as well. It has flaws, but look at the price and make your peace with it.

I bouth this guitar to record some acoustic songs at home.

For the price range this is a great guitar.

Sounds bright and with a new set of strings it makes all the difference.

Sounds good acoustically slightly muddy through the pickup. Great entry level guitar even as far as to play some small gigs.

Harley benton's quality is definetly on the rise.

The finish is nice, I used the red pickguard (it comes with a black one also). Hardwear is solid decent enough tuners.

The action is comfortable and I love the strap pin placement.

Invest in a sound hole cover to avoid any feedback.

All I can say is this guitar is a bargain.

In sumarry

-Bargain price
-Great entry level guitar
-Comfortable for beginners
-Nice finish
-Slightly muddy on pickups
-Nice and bright acoustically
-Order some new strings to get the best first impression

Good stuff Thomann!