Harley Benton GS-Travel-E Mahogany

I bought the guitar with the pickup system installed. I love the actual guitar, it plays and sounds excellent, especially for the price. I gave it 2 stars for features and quality because the pickup system didn't work from the beginning. In fact, you can hear the electronics inside rattling around. Obviously, no one tested this instrument and just tossed it in the case as is. Since I bought this from the US, I didn't want to spend the next year returning it for a new one that worked (it took about 2 or 3 months to ship it here). However, I am very disappointed that I spent the extra money for the pickups and it never worked plugged in. If you buy this guitar, save your money and install the pickups yourself.

I read a ton of reviews on this guitar prior to buying it for myself. Lots of people were praising the sound of this instrument, saying its just as good as a full body guitar. I have to disagree with that. This guitar's sound unmistakable small - not a bad sound, don't get me wrong but it really just sounds small. You shouldn't expect it to sound like full size guitar.

That being said the fit and finish are great, the feel of the neck is really really good. Its so easy to play, very light and looks absolutely stunning. I would say everything other than the sound will make you feel that this is a more expensive instrument.

It is 100% acceptable that an instrument of this size and price won't blow your mind in terms of sound. I'm still very happy with my purchase.

Pros:
Great feel
Beautiful finish
Lightweight
Easy to play
Well built

Cons:
Sounds like a small guitar (which it is, so I guess this isn't even a con)

Overall incredible value for money!

Easy to play. Has great fit and finish. The sound is so big and amazing. I keep this by my bed to play for a few minutes each night. The frets beyond 12 are a little higher than the rest of the neck. A little adjusting of the neck helped but didn't eliminate the buzz. I don't really play much all the way up there so I can live with it. I may take it in for some adjustment because this guitar feels worth it even though it's really inexpensive and great value for the money. I would recommend it but your results may vary. I've notice with my limited experience with only buying two sub $100 guitars from Thomann that the quality is definitively lower at and below that price point with them. I absolutely hate my other cheap purchase, Harley Benton Delta Blues O, it's so bad. You'd probably be safe with this, Harley Benton GS-Travel-E, purchase though. Most of my Thomann HB purchases are a great value for the money. Thanks Thomann.

I bought this guitar as a beginner, having become frustrated trying to learn on my husband’s very, very lovely mahogany Martin D15 dreadnought. I specifically wanted something smaller that was more comfortable for me to hold and play, and having my own, inexpensive guitar meant I was more likely to pick it up and practice without feeling intimidated by learning on someone else’s (very expensive) guitar.

I bought it six months ago now, and my plan has worked. I’ve improved vastly thanks to buying this guitar. The sound obviously isn’t as beautiful as the Martin dreadnought I’m able to directly compare it to, but It sounds like a small guitar is supposed to sound, and now that I have six months of solid practice under my belt, I’m able to make it sound much nicer than I could when I first bought it.

A few small issues that I’ve had were that the glue holding the pickup inside the guitar came unstuck within a few days of playing, so we had to reattach it. We chose a different position than the original location to try and work with gravity a bit better, and made sure to stick it down nice and firmly, and it hasn’t been a problem since. The second issue is that my B string in particular does not hold its tuning well, but I check my tuning each time before I start to practice anyway, so it’s not a big deal. The last issue is that the neck is shaped in such a way that using a capo can be difficult. I use a Shubb capo, and the back of the neck is shaped in a way that doesn’t give the capo a lot of surface area contact and it can be easy to nudge it and have it move or unspring and fall off completely.

Probably the most pristine electro-acoustic guitar in the price range. The finish is good, and it is quite smooth to play. The shorter scale provides an easy-going feel for relaxed doodling and a better reach, especially for those with shorter fingers. The size also provides the possibility of traveling with it, depending on which airline one books.

The only two problems with the guitar are regarding the pre-amp. The lack of an actual EQ in the pre-amp is problematic as it provides a single kind of 'all-around' sound, which is alright but lacks versatility.
Another problem is the ridiculous placing of the power source inside the guitar near the soundhole. The removing and attaching of the battery requires one to remove or loosen the strings to succeed, which is very unpractical and almost dumb by design.
One might not feel this a big problem, but for me, a streamlined approach is important, whether it be budget or boutique guitar.

All-in-all, an excellent guitar for the price. Everything is great except for the eq and battery placement, which is the reason I am returning this product.