Harley Benton RB-600CS Classic Series

I don't pretend to know much about high end instruments, and I'm mostly an acoustic player but this RB600CS has given me more enjoyment than any electric guitar I've owned. The only issue I had with mine was a badly manufactured bridge saddle on the 2nd string. It was slightly wobbly and if I did a string bend it would move.

I fixed it myself by filing down the bottom side slightly until the wobble was gone and redid the intonation. After that, this guitar has been absolutely inspirational for my playing.

It features a volume for each pick up and you can blend them in the middle position of the 3-way switch. The tones are great through my Fender Champion 40 amp (In my home studio) on Blackface or British amp models, and there isn't a single blemish on that finish worth mentioning. I did a DIY mod to the pick guard because on real Rickenbackers the pick guard is elevated off the main white tear drop. Other than those two things I haven't touched a thing and I don't plan on it either.

Buy it. You'll like it A LOT.

* 6 Month Update*

Figured after 6 months with this beauty I'd give some long term impressions. 1.) I have not replaced anything electronic on the guitar. It just doesn't need anything else other than what Thomann gives you out of the box. 2.) You have to know what tone you want if you buy this guitar. If you want to sound like Tom Petty or the Beatles, you'll find those sounds. If you want to sound like Metallica, buy a metal guitar, this isn't designed to do that stuff. It's a classic rock/jazz/blues guitar, not a metal machine. 3.) I've read other reviews that try to explain what this guitar is. It's a tribute to the entire line of Rickenbacker. The body is actually more inspired by their bass guitars than the 660 small body like Tom Petty has on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes. And it works. The thing is GORGEOUS to just have a look at while it sits in one of my guitar stands.
4.) In the six months I've owned this guitar I haven't gone a full 7 days without being forced to pick it up and at least strum a Petty tune or Beatles tune just to get a few notes out of it... It's that much fun to play.

Indeed, a semi hollow, with a set neck, and styled just differently enough from a Rick to have it's own character all for the price of fifty pints of dubious ale.
It's a very fine guitar, and not just "fine for the money" but in and of itself. Really nice neck with very well dressed frets, and reasonably well set up too: a touch of relief giving you a nice low action with a TINY bit of fret buzz that was easily dealt with with just a little more relief dialled in.
The sound is pretty much what you'd expect when you clap eyes on it: a sort of econobacker sound - just jangly enough with plenty of poke too. Switchgear and pots are all fine and do the job they are tasked with perfectly adequately: they will of course break eventually, but you have no need to swap them put straight away unless you plan on some really heavy gigging a long way from home.
The big deal for me is the styling: there are any amount of guitars out there for this sort of money, and most are strat or tele or LP shaped. This one gives you a little bit of character to play with.
I use this guitar for Jam nights and it has so far stood up fine to being used by a bunch of players, some of whom might have had just a little too much...whatever it is that is making them walk like that.
So yes, it's sturdy, it sounds fine ( not brilliant, but nothing to be ashamed of by a long way) pleays great, and it looks like a grand and a half's worth from a few feet away. What's not to like?
well if I had to be picky, one of the machine heads is a little loose around the centre point, meaning you had to turn it a couple of degrees before it starts to move the string. This is something I have had on other 2-300 euro guitars and so far isn't anything to worry about: it holds it's tuning fine, it's just a bit of a pain, but it will be replaced and locking tuners wouldn't go amiss.
The interior finish ( in the F hole ) looks a bit like an impressionist painting, but in that you have to look hard to see anything I don't care.
If you want to upgrade, either over time as the existing hardware wears out, or as a project just for the fun of it, you'll be doing so on a guitar that will merit the extra work.
It's great.

Almost speechless when I opened the box - but maybe a "wow" could just about be heard. What a looker - front, back sides and top - just an all-round really nice guitar. Had to keep going back to the website to check the price again - £178 delivered UK - amazing ! Really nice quality and finish.

After a few "plings" I just hung it on the wall and looked at it for a couple of days ( not all the time ) before checking set up. Never really had to do much to make it sing - fret levels were ideal and no sticky out bits to moan about. After the couple of days rest the relief was 0.010 so just left it at that. Fretboard was not especially dry after transit, but it did get a tiny drop of lemon oil just to cheer it up a bit. Some minor tuning and intonation tweaks and it was good to go. Tuners feel pretty good actually and do their job well.

Lovely and light to handle and quite compact which for me makes it a lot easier to play as am relatively new to guitar
( convert from percussion ) and a home player only. Very forgiving I would say and also maybe a "nicer" more symmetrical shape than the RB600 type on which it is loosely based - being a Tribute Series Guitar. I believe the pickups are Artec Classic Mini Humbuckers and have to say I really do like what they can provide - quite versatile.

A quick tip for anyone interested in the sound of a 12-String without the expense of buying or " inconvenience" of trying to master playing one - problem solved. The Digitech Mosaic 12 -String Emulator Pedal ( Thomann have them ) works a treat with the Harley Benton RB-600CS and sounds fantastic ( ref. Hotel California intro and many others )

I really have to give this guitar 5 stars for everything for two reasons mainly - Quality of construction, appearance, playability and sound. Secondly value for money - to get something this good for such a price is impressive indeed and difficult to imagine anything better. Highly recommended - if you are a fan of R-Types you will love this. If you cannot play at all - just buy one and hang it on the wall to admire. It's cheaper than a framed limited edition print !

First Impressions
This beautiful looking Mahogany guitar is very light so it is easy to carry around with you and play gigs. The Mahogany wood is shown off to it best advantage by the cherry sunburst finish. My guitar has a flaw in the wood, not the finish but since it gives it personality and I am happy with that.

Influences
Guitar based on Rickenbacker designs are nickname "Rickenfakers". This guitar is not based on any one model but rather combines style elements from different models to create something new. The body shape is similar to the Rickie 600 series.

Set Up
Most of the strings were off the bridges, I didn't notice this at first because of the covered Rickie style bridge cover. The guitar has a low action. There is some fret buzz on the 5th and 4th strings at the first fret. I need to adjust the intonation on my guitar but I don't have a small enough spanner.

The control plate is covered with a protective plastic covering. unfortunately the plastic covering the lower plate cannot be completely removed without unscrewing the top plate. When I unscrewed the plate, expecting to separate them, I found that they were stuck together, curious.

Sound
This guitar wants you to play arpeggios in a lead and rhythm style that sorts certain type of songs. I have such a song I wrote called "Long Long Road" from my album "Mistress Of the Moon". The Rb600 fits this style of song perfectly and this will be my live guitar for this song from now on.

Techniques
Apply a little pressure to the floating tailpiece for some vibrato. It is also possible to create "behind the nut bends".