Harley Benton Victory-BK Classic Series

Musikhaus Thomann customer service is top notch. Other companies wish they had the Thomann staff. The guitar itself is good with some minor manufacturing flaws that I will go over in brief and include possible solutions for those who purchase the instrument. Keep in mind that it is entirely possible that mine suffers from these problems but yours may not.

The Action. When viewing the guitar from the side, the neck is set too low. This creates a high action even with the bridge flush against the pickguard. To remedy this problem you will need to cut a hole in the pickguard under the bridge, in the shape of the bridge, to allow it to be lowered further. Alternatively you could shave the bottom of the bridge so it is flat. If the neck were set roughly 4mm higher (when viewed from the side) this problem wouldn't exist.

The Bridge. Speaking of the bridge, the bass side is set too far away from the neck, making it virtually impossible to intonate the three low strings (e, a, d in standard tuning). A solution is to remove the bridge saddles on these strings and flip them around, which will give you a little more room to move them toward the neck; remember to remove the black washers from the inside of the bridge with a pair of tweezers first. If the bass side of the bridge were positioned 2mm closer to the neck this wouldn't be a problem in the first place.

The Tailpiece. Because of the problem with the neck height, and ultimately having to set the bridge flush against the body of the guitar, the angle of the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece is poor. I'm considering feeding the strings through the tailpiece in reverse and wrapping them on the under side to improve the string angle to the bridge.

Despite these flaws I am very happy with my purchase and if I had to do it over again I would not hesitate to buy it. I absolutely recommend this guitar, it kicks ass, just be prepared for some minor flaws that you will need to find solutions for or just learn to live with.

Thanks, Thomann!

Recieved the guitar yesterday and have only had a little bit of time to play around with it. First impression is very good! A great looking guitar for a very economic price!

Pros:
Extremely economic for the sound quality and build
Feels robust in the hand
Good balance with the guitar strap
Well done with good finishing
Well rounded frets
No fret buzz
Tuners seem to hold the tuning fine
Good guitar tone and sound

Cons:
Pickups could be better but still sound good

Suggestion:
It would be great to include a generic Harley Benton guitar strap with the guitar

I have always fancied a Vee but I was reluctant to spend a lot of money on one as the genre of music I play at my small club and bar gigs is more Folk and Country and the image of the Vee is not exactly suitable. Never the less, at home I like to rock out and the shape appeals to me.
I have several Harley Benton guitars and they have all, with one exception been very good value for money so on a whim I ordered the Victory-BK classic. When it came, I was shocked. It is beautifully made, light, has a first class paint job and low, fast action. Even the strings were good although not a name brand. The neck shape is chunky but not overly so.
I sounds nice clean which surprised me a lot and when I add distortion, it rocks like a beast!
Two things I would change, the Tuners are effective but generally poor as you might expect and will go. I think some serious pickups would improve the tones but I am not sure about that, it sounds pretty good with the stock pups.
One regret, the headstock design, I don?t hate it but if only it had a point design, similar to the original Vee type it would be amazing.
If you are thinking about a Vee, buy one of these, it is unbeatable for the crazy low price.

The first guitar I was sent had level fret work, but there was a split in the neck, and the neck pickup a volume pot didn't work.. so I sent it back for a replacement the replacement arrived but the fret work was terrible unlevel frets everywhere, I was on the point of returning this one and getting a refund, but decided to level the frets myself as I have done it on a few guitars in the past, now the work is done with perfectly level and polished frets, the guitar plays and feels superb, just as good as my £3,000 Gibson's and Esp… great guitar for the price but be prepared you may need to do a bit of work..

Well i have bought this guitar as my second one. I'm playing second year also so I'm not expirenced soo much.
Guitar is pretty well made , technically very good at first look
Sound like typhical guitar with hambuckers, good tone nothing special. It is very comfortable to play compared to my strat. As i said finish on this guitar looks very good so from first touch i was hyped about it.
After first week and a half of using it 5-6 hours a day couse i got summer time now frets starting to show first wear off.... maybe its becouse of cheap material , maybe i bend too much i don't know but its only thing i see bad about this axe for now.
Final note if you are looking for cheap V thats good choice it sound great with my Marshall MG30 DFX amp.