Harley Benton HB-35Plus Lemon

I had wanted a semi hollow for some time. A Starfire lV or a D'Angelico DC deluxe were defiantly on my radar but the price was a real barrier. Enter the Harley Benton HB-35 plus. With favorable reviews, sounding good on YouTube and coming in at only £175 - I took a chance and ordered one in a Lemon Drop finish.?I was resigned to the inevitable flaws that would come with such a low priced instrument so I waited anxiously in the UK for 48 hours while it came from Germany by road (yes, pre Brexit)?
On unboxing I was in for a shock. I could find NOTHING wrong. Nothing!?The finish was immaculate, no glue lines under the stain, no loose nuts or screws, no stickers under the pots (just paper rings) and the well documented pick guard issue had been addressed. These newer models also have block inlays instead of dots and a pau ferro fingerboard with a bone nut. (It says ?Pau Furro? on the box)?Mine has a lovely (almost) book-matched flame maple top and the scarf joint in the neck is barley visible. The neck is a sort of chunky round back (not for you if you are a wizard fan) This neck is very reminiscent of a '65 Starfire that I had recently tried.
Plugging in, the trend continued with all the hardware working. The Roswell pickups are adequate, maybe a bit hot, with the back pickup sounding harsh when the coil tap is engaged. However, the tone and volume controls work well, which can tame the pickups for a more relaxed jazz tone. I am not a fan of top hat knobs and want to replace them. Because of this I found that the knobs are VERY securely attached (not all bad if you have to pull on them for coil tapping)?I lowered the bridge and still have no buzzing.
Pros: Unbeatable value for money. Good playability out of the box (after tuning). A range of very useable tones.?Awesome sustain. Good QC on mine. Beautiful finish all round with no orange peel or glue lines
Cons: You may need to upgrade the pickups and tuners to match the big leagues like Gibson, Guild and D'Angelico but already the HB-35 is there alongside, no, dare I say AHEAD of an Epiphone with non USA pups.?The fingerboard was a bit dry but nothing a dash of lemon oil couldn't fix. You may want to polish the frets.
Overall: I'm not a beginner. I have owned / still own Gibsons, Fenders, Ibanez, Peerless, custom built guitars - the works! The HB-35 plus may be inexpensive but it is not a "cheap" guitar. It's a great instrument. I would not be at all embarrassed to show up at a gathering of Gibsons with it.?Five stars. Don't hesitate?*****

I had been hearing so much about Harley Benton instruments from friends in Europe, as well as going down the You Tube rabbit hole, that I felt it was time to give one a try. I chose the HB-35 Plus because I wanted a semi-hollow with a great color, as well as some versatility.
This Guitar did not disappoint in any way. The fit and finish is great, no blemishes or defects. The binding is done very well and the inlays are impeccable. This is the first guitar that I've owned with a pao ferro fingerboard, and I must say that I really like it. The feel is just like rosewood, but with a lighter, more woodsy color that really matches well with the Lemon color of the guitar. This guitar also came to me set up with perfect action, intonation, and was packed very well. The pickups are very decent, better than I was expecting. They are a little hot for my taste in this type of guitar (when maxed out), but backing off the volume and/or tone takes care of that and puts it in the jazzy/warm zone. This would be a great semi-hollow for rock/blues players looking for something unique.
The only complaints that I have about this particular guitar is
1: 3 way toggle is slightly loose and feels cheap.
2: Fretboard was dry.
3: Very small finish cracks at the neck joint, but very superficial and only in the clear coat.
Aside from these small issues the guitar is absolutely wonderful, and I truly feel the HB-35Plus is on par with similar offerings from Epiphone, but at a fraction of the price of those instruments. This guitar easily outperforms all of the semi-hollow guitars from most other manufacturers in the 300 - 600 range.
I would highly recommend this guitar to literally any player due to it's price, quality, and versatility.
Great job and a sincere thank you to Harley Benton and especially to Thomann for the great set up on this instrument!

All right, let’s cut to the chase. I own, and have owned, a LOT of guitars – a LOT, and I’ve played and gigged for over 45 years. So what I’m going to tell you is worth a reading so listen up. I’ve played some expensive stuff and I’ve played some not so expensive stuff and for the most part you can feel and hear a difference between the two. However, keep in mind, you can own either and it can sound great or it can be lousy. Name brands are no indication of a great instrument. Those who buy because it says this or that high end brand name can easily end up with something pretty average. Also, if your skill level is not that of a virtuoso or you’re not gigging for a living, why the hell pay thousands for a guitar that only gets played in your bedroom? Because it “looks” nice? Really?? But I digress.
I decided to renew my love affair with semi-hollow body electrics, BUT on a budget. Guitar reviewers online almost unanimously praised the Harley Benton HB-35. So I pulled the trigger and bought a “HB-35 Plus” in yellow for around $225 (plus shipping). It arrived one week from the day of order. It was very well packaged and when I unboxed it I was surprised at how much better the guitar looks compared to the online photos. But beauty doesn’t make the player. So here is a quick rundown review of what I received:
1. Cosmetics: Flawless finish.
2. Neck: Comfortable
3. Frets: Needed slight polishing, but no sharp edges.
4. Fret Board: smooth but dry – fret board oil took care of it.
5. Knobs: Tone knobs are fine.
6. Tuners: They okay but they have a low turn ratio which makes fine tuning tricky. My personal ratio preference is 19:1 so I will probably swap these out
7. Strings: They’re okay but I always change out new guitar strings anyway
8. Set-up: Again, personal preference, I lowered the action and had to adjust intonation.
9. Pick-ups: The Roswell Alnico 5’s are really nice.

Bottom line: what a great instrument! I really like this guitar and I can honestly say, if you’re looking for a semi-hollow body guitar you would be crazy not to look into the HB-35. You get high end playability, a stunning appearance and you don’t break the bank.

Voor de prijs, 1 woord.. wow! Ik sta er toch echt wel versteld van, je krijgt heel veel gitaar voor weinig geld. Heb deze gitaar gekocht als oefengitaar en om bekend te geraken in de semi-akoustische wereld. Ten eerste, als ik geen zin heb alles in te pluggen en mijn versterker op zetten met de kans de buren te ergeren kan ik perfect akoustisch oefenen op dit instrument. Zal nooit zo luid klinken als een gewone akoustische klankkast maar er komt deftig geluid uit, mooi geluid ook.
Qua gewicht iets meer aan de zwaardere kant maar niet storend. De nek voelt goed aan en gewoon algemene looks vind ik echt wauw. Fretboard misschien net iets te licht naar mijn smaak maar nog steeds ok, kwam wel in erg droge toestand aan. In online filmpjes hoor ik veel mensen klagen over kleine foutjes in de afwerking maar zelf niets opgemerkt, enigste storende in de afwerking zijn de frets die krassen bij het buigen maar dit is iets dat vanzelf verdwjint hopelijk.
Ingeplugd vind ik de sound iets minder : de pickups klinken donker, modderig misschien zelfs een beetje? Vind de klank gewoon niet zo mooi dat er uit komt. Ben zelf iemand dat normaal single's speelt dus dit zal ook wel invloed hebben dat ik deze humbuckers niet zo goed aanvoel. natuurlijk voor deze prijs is dat ook te verwachten dat de pickups minder zijn. De gitaar heeft er in ieder geval veel baat bij de pickups te upgraden. Ik zou zelfs durven menen met een upgrade van pickups dat je echt een heel goed instrument hebt waar je live met kan spelen als het HB logo je niet te hard stoord. De push-pull functie om coils te splitten is leuk als extra maar eigenlijk door de ondermaatse picpups (in mijn opinie) merk ik eigenlijk erg weinig verschil in sound, de pickups blijven gewoon hol klinken.. Buiten dat de volume gewoon daalt veranderd er weinig. Daarvoor gebruik ik deze functie dan ook vooral, om snel van volume te kunnen veranderen. Tuners zijn huismerk maar ik kan goed doorspelen zonder te moeten tunen, heb de gitaar nu enkele maanden en de brug blijft mooi op zijn plaats. Al bij al een heel goed instrument, zeker als eerste gitaar of oefeninstrument. Heb al enkele HB gitaren gekocht maar telkens weg gedaan, dit is er toch eentje dat ik nog lang niet ga weg doen en evt. upgraden, waar dit instrument ideaal voor is.

I purchased this guitar after watching many reviews on You Tube, and was convinced it would be a nice addition to my collection. The consistent message I heard was the frets not being finished well, so while I waited the 5 weeks for my backorder to be filled, I purchased a set of fret tools to address. This is my 3rd HB guitar, and continues my belief that these are great instruments for the money invested.
When the guitar finally arrived, I was very pleased with the overall construction and appearence. Fret inlays and binding very nice and tight, with no fill gaps anywhere. The finish had no imperfections. There was a slight mar on the neck, which appears to be an adhesive stain around 5th fret of the B string, but is only noticeable upon close inspection. The nut fits well and is well slotted, the strings don't bind and are proper heights. I don't see an immediate need to replace with GraphTech. Intonation is correct, and action is very playable. The frets were a bit rough, but not nearly as bad as my YouTube reviews had led me to expect. Fret ends had no sprout, and only needed minor filing to shine up. I did tape off the neck and go through 3 grades of wet-sanding to polish to mirror finish. Took about 2 hours, but well worth it.
The wood looks beautiful. The maple top veneer is matched well and centered. It is a thin veneer, so the flaming is not super deep, but for the money I'll take it! The Pau Ferro fretboard needed a couple coats of oil, but looks and plays very well.
The neck shape is nice. Reminds me of playing an acoustic, or fat tele neck. Not a shredder guitar, but string spacing is nice for my "fat" fingers. The tuners have a nice feel, smooth and stay in tune.
The electronics all work well. My one complaint is the pots are stiff to turn. Combined with the top-hat style knobs, this makes rapid volume and tone changes on-stage more difficult as it should be. I will either replace the pots, or change out the knobs to get a better grip. The pickups sound nice, although not high output. The coil-tapping provides a nice range of tone options. I particularly like 1 split, 1 humbucker combos.
The body resonates nicely, and has terrific sustain. The guitar is a bit on the heavy side, but not overly so. Kinda like a Les Paul in weight.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with this guitar. I offers good looks, a variety of tonal combos, and great affordability all in one package. Keep it up, Thomann and Harley Benton!

Guitariste (amateur) depuis 40 ans, je possède plusieurs guitares et cet avis sera comparatif/relatif à ces dernières (Gibson Les Paul studio, Strat US, Ibanez Destroyer de 81, ...). Il s'agit de ma première Harley Benton, et de ma première Hollow Body. L'avis qui suit est mon avis personnel, et est relativisé au prix d'acquisition de cette HB 35+. Je ne l'ai que depuis quelques jours, mais inutile de vous le dire : Pour ce prix, elle m'a scotché, direct !

Habitant en appartement, ayant peu de place, je cherchais une guitare que je puisse laisser à poste, hors de son étui/case, sans remord. Ayant surtout des ST ou single cut, je voulais quelque chose de différent.
L'idée était d'avoir une guitare de "travail", pas trop chère, pas moche et fiable, de bonne qualité relativement au prix, et de plus plus généraliste.
Ce que je lui demandais ? Guitare d'étude : Styles clean, blues, crunchy et si possible rock et plus si affinités... elle permet beaucoup (mais alors, beaucoup...) plus.

Tout d’abord, la finition. Le jaune "Lemon" me faisais un peu peur au départ. Erreur. C'est une couleur "miel claire" de toute beauté, qui ajoute à son côté vintage. Le vernis est nickel, et au dos du manche ne gêne pas même si brillant. La table flamée est superbe, et les liserées sur les côtés de la table sont très propres. Il semble que les contreforts des ouies aient posées quelques problèmes de finition à certains. Là, ce n'est pas le cas. La jonction manche/corps se voit, mais pour moi rien de choquant ni de gènant. Le manche est très agréable et relativement rapide (ce n'est pas une guitare de shredder). Les frettes ne présentent pas de défaut et la touche est agréable. Les inserts de touches sont en plastique imitation nacre, certes, mais sont propres et bien sympa je trouve.Les alignements, du bridge à la tête via le sillet sont nickels. Les plastiques du pickgard et caches micros, couleur crème, sont relativement basiques (pli simple pour le pickgard) mais bien finis. Les mécaniques sont bien alignées et efficaces, tiennent bien l'accord même sur des bends limite outranciers.

Concernant le son : Lorsque je l'ai commandée, vu certains avis, j'avais envisagé de changer les micros. Après ces quelques jours de pratique, ce ne sera pas la peine dans un premier temps. Ils manquent un peu de rondeur, soit, mais sont équilibrés entre eux. Le split single/dual coil donne de vrais résultats. Même s'ils manquent un peu de profondeur et de grain versus une Les Paul, ou de puch "claquant" vs. une Strat US, ils sont loin d'être ridicules et sont totalement exploitables (avec plaisir - ils ne tombent jamais dans la "bouillie" ou le "nasillard"). La palette de sons offerte est très intéressante. Vraiment. Même plus sûr de vouloir les remplacer par des SDs maintenant... Le sustain est très bon (même unplugged - merci la lutherie et les ouies).

Les réglages initiaux : Je pense que Thomann n'y est pas étranger, mais guitare reçue correctement réglée pour une guitare neuve qui travaillera avec le temps. Manche parfaitement rectiligne, harmoniques à l'octave nickel. Juste un léger ré-accordage à faire (normal), et le HB manche à relever un peu mais content. Après ces quelques jours, et donc heures de pratique, l'accordage n'a pas bougé. Les mécaniques tiennent bien l'accord, et les cordes fournies ne sont pas mauvaises, voire bonnes.

L'acquisition et la livraison : Là chapeau bas. Commandée en réapprovisionnement,, envoi dans la semaine, livraison quelques jours après, packaging ultra sécurisé et super propre... en plus déjà pré réglée... Cool.

En conclusion : Je suis séduis par cette guitare. A ce prix là, c'est exceptionnel. Légère, bien équilibrée, sonnant bien, belle aussi (...disons le) permettant de couvrir des registres cleans au sons hard des 80's, elle ne sera pas spécialisée dans un registre (quoique préférence pour le blues) mais ne décevra dans aucun d'entre eux.

I can’t believe they can sell this guitar at this price point. Because this is considered a “ budget “ guitar, I went back and forth on giving a rating of 4 or 5 stars. Going strictly on what you get for the price, I gave 5 stars.

To me, this HB35 can easily compete with guitars costing 3 times more with no upgrades done to it. The only things I did that I found were necessary on the one I received was changing the bridge, the strings, and polishing the frets.

After I lowered the action (came a little high) and tuned it up, I got a slight rattle from the bridge. One of the intonation screws was backed out so I put in an inexpensive roller bridge and now everything is good. The frets were actually not too bad but were better after a good polish. And I oiled the fret board while the strings were off. Kind of dry. The strings were not bad but I have my preference. I found the tuners to be pretty good and liked the pickups so I left them all alone.

The only other thing I did was cosmetic. I don’t like bell knobs, especially on push/pull pots, and I didn’t care for the color of the stock knobs anyway so I bought Musiclily Pro speed knobs that I think are much better looking and feeling and make an already beautiful guitar that much more attractive.

I liked this guitar so much that I bought a second one for my son who is a much more accomplished player than I am. He received his yesterday and was completely blown away. All he did to his was tune it up, no other adjustments, and off he went. He kept saying “I can’t believe how nice this guitar is.” High compliments from him as he is really picky and owns some high end guitars. He said it is really well balanced either sitting or standing and I completely agree with him.

Lastly, my wife said to me, “You must really like that guitar. You actually play entire songs, not just bits and pieces of songs.” She’s right. I really like this thing and do enjoy playing it a whole heck of a lot.

As an experienced player owning a number Gibson’s over the years …including a 335 — the simple summary of this guitar is No Words.

It plays easy - intonation perfect - the neck is wonderful- like the old Gibson Jazz boxes…thick & easy to play — fast fret board low action— great sustain…

The guitar sounds like a great 335 in humbucker mode…including the middle position Plink that guitar is famous for.

What few write about is the single coil mode — you can get beautiful tele & strat sounds for clean country chicken pickin — endless sound combinations.

It is a steal at this price …… the Lemon drop is more of a burst than what I was expecting …… flame etc…beautiful- classic.

Anyone who spends 4K on a new Gibson 335 is throwing money away. You lose nothing with this guitar - nothing compromised. A great guitar — much more inspiring than my last Gibson 335.

UPDATE:
Have had this guitar for a couple of months now. Managed to resolve the first string buzzing issue and, since there were no other problems, this guitar has just been a pleasure to play on. Bravo.

Came well packaged, but with a lot of what seems to be sawdust. Had to wipe the entire guitar clean, not a biggie as it had to be done either anyway. Nice colour and quite stunning to look at, but there are some imperfections and stains though (minor, only by looking closely will they be seen). The first string rattles, but the others don't - will need to work on it to check why and hopefully resolve. The other 3 guitars I recently purchased (Firefly FFLP Elite, HB Fusion-III Roasted and Ibazez) had no such issue, so slightly disappointed with this buzzing issue.