Harley Benton HB-35Plus LH Cherry

I am very happy with my new Harley Benton HB-35Plus LH Cherry. A good-looking guitar, fun to play, nice range of tones, and a much higher quality than I was expecting.

From order to delivery took 6 days, not bad considering it’s coming from Europe and has a number of customs hurdles to get past.
A note of caution! There are fees to be paid!! I spent £267 with Thomann on the guitar, small amp, and various accessories. There was a further £106 to be paid to the UPS courier for VAT, duties, and broker fee. An extra 40% on top of the basket price. Not Thomann’s fault. Brexit- we’ve been done.

The packing on the guitar is good a box within a box and plenty of stuffing to protect it. I found no damage to the guitar or any of the accessories.

The guitar has no marks or scratches, no runs in the lacquer, no rough edges to the cut outs or anywhere, no breaks or damage to the binding, the finger board is smooth with no rough edges.
The fingerboard is a little dry and lighter than on the pictures, not a problem, some lemon oil might help. The switch gear is a little clunky and stiff. The numbering on the volume pot is reversed. The tone pots aren’t progressive. 1-7 no change in tone. These are small issues

The guitar is comfortable and nice to play. The coil split pick-ups help extend the range of tones. Decent sustain.
I’m enjoying it very much. Even with the extra fees the guitar is very good value.

Many thanks Thomann

I heard a lot of nice words about Thomann and Harley Benton guitars and I decided to give it a try. It is still very difficult to find left-handed guitars, and Thomann has the largest selection of left-handed guitars, so the decision was even easier.
The guitar is in a beautiful legendary cherry red color, and when it comes to making wood everything is great, the body has a nice finish, the neck is nice and comfortable. The hardware is okay, the pickups sound exceptional, with the ability to coil split that extra features. The guitar sounds nice acoustically and has good sustain.
The only drawbacks that can be mentioned are the potentiometers that are installed reversed, for right-handed (i.e. 0 = open, 10 = closed), but I have researched a lot and it seems to be the case with many other left-handed guitars as well. Also, the nut is plastic, which is expected for this price, but it looks very cheap and differs from the rest of the guitar. It is also something that affects the tuning stability, which is okay, but it can be much better. Tuners look cheap also but work okay and do a good job.
All in all, the guitar is extraordinary for the price it is sold for, it is nice to play and most importantly it has a nice sound. There are a couple of little things that can be fixed, but the overall impression is great.

I am very impressed with the quality and playability of this right out of the box. Quality seems very good, with only a few issues. Sound is decent, to my ear.
Pros: Beautiful, and well-made, this guitar is stunning to look at. Everything works fine. Tuners, bridge, and tail-piece all seem sturdy, and work well. Pots and switches work fine, but could be better (see below). The guitar has a nice heft, but isn't super heavy (comparable to my Korean made ST). To my ear, the pickups seem fine. Frets are even and clean, and fretboard isn't too dry.
Cons: The knobs on the pots are for a right-handed guitar, and the numbers are reversed (pot is at 0 when the number says 10, and vice-versa). Switch isn't the smoothest, but it works. There were a few imperfections in the binding (one on an f-hole, one near the neck), but that was the only issue I could see with the fit and finish.
Out of the box, the guitar was well set-up with proper intonation, with a very high action, but that's easy to adjust.
Shipping to inland Canada took about 3 weeks.
Overall, this is a fantastic value for the money. Well done, Thomann!