Harley Benton HBO-850NT

174

Steel-String Guitar

Design: Roundback with cutaway
Top: Spruce
Body: ABS super shallow bowl
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Roseacer (thermally treated maple wood)
24 Frets
Body and neck binding: Cream-coloured
Scale: 650 mm
Nut width: 43 mm
Built-in pickup with 3-band EQ
Machine heads: Diecast
Strings: .011 - .052
Colour: Natural high-gloss
Matching case available under Article Nr 177639 (not included)

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

3-Year Thomann Warranty

Available since December 2006

Item number 196793

Sales Unit 1 piece(s)

Top Spruce

Back and Sides Plastic

Cutaway Yes

Body Depth Super Shallow

Fretboard Roseacer

Nut width in mm 43,00 mm

Frets 22

Pickup System Yes

Colour Natural

Incl. Case No

Incl. Gigbag No

Show variations of this product

174

Harley Benton HBO-850NT

Harley Benton HBO-850NT Steel-String Guitar * Design: Roundback with cutaway * Top: Spruce * Body: ABS super shallow bow...

$111

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682

Harley Benton HBO-850BK

Harley Benton HBO850 BK Steel-String Guitar Steel-String Guitar with Pickup * Roundback with cutaway design * ABS super ...

$111

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238

Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Blue

Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Blue Roundback Guitar * With nylon strings * Design: Roundback with cutaway * Top: Spruce ...

$111

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138

Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Black

Harley Benton HBO-850 Classic Black Roundback Guitar * With nylon strings * Design: Roundback with cutaway * Top: Spruce...

$111

to the product

262

Harley Benton HBO-850SB

Harley Benton HBO850SB Roundback Steel-String Guitar Steel-String Guitar with Pickup * Roundback with cutaway design * S...

$115

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$111

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Sales Rank

in Roundback Acoustic Guitars

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Harley Benton HBO-850NT Bundle

$131

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$179

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All the world’s a stage...

acoustic-electric steel-string guitar Harley Benton HBO-850NT

Roundback guitars are the epitome of the electro-acoustic guitar. They traditionally come from the USA and are usually handsomely priced – a perfect reason for Harley Benton to develop its own interpretation of this classic design: The HBO-850NT. Of course, all the essential features and adornments – including the richly decorated off-centre sound holes and the rounded bowl – are included here, and the Harley Benton HBO-850NT also boasts an integrated pickup, which makes it an ideal choice for even the most devoted electric guitarists.

Harley Benton HBO-850NT roundback ABS body

Round sounds different

For once, the focus is not on the guitar’s top but rather on its ABS shell. Beyond its inherent technical advantages (such as excellent feedback suppression), this design also has a strong influence on the acoustics, since the sound waves behave differently than they do inside flat-backed guitars, and that is what creates this guitar’s characteristic tone. Because the guitar’s body is also very shallow and features a cutaway, it provides unrivalled playing comfort. The spruce soundboard is fitted with X-bracing and finished in a clear lacquer, while the sapele neck offers a 650 mm (25.59”) scale length and the fingerboard extends to an impressive 24 frets on the treble side.

spruce top on the Harley Benton HBO-850NT

Rock stars love it

Yes, the Harley Benton HBO-850NT is the right instrument for acoustic-savvy electric guitarists. The slim neck, low action, thinline body, cutaway, and last but not least the .011-gauge strings fitted as standard will make every electric guitarist feel at home in an instant. In addition, the piezo pickup with its three-band EQ will deliver the very sound that fans have come to associate with this type of guitar thanks to countless Stadium Rock anthems. And needless to say, this complete package comes at a sensational price.

chrome tuners on a Harley Benton headstock

About Harley Benton

Since 1998, the Harley Benton brand has been catering for the needs of numerous guitarists and bassists. In addition to an extensive range of stringed instruments, Thomann's house brand also offers a wide choice of amplifiers, speakers, effect pedals, and other accessories. In total, the range includes over 1,500 products. Built by established names in the industry, all Harley Benton products combine quality and reliability at attractive and affordable prices. The continuous expansion of the range ensures that Harley Benton always provides new, exciting, and innovative products that keep players perfectly in tune with the musical world, day after day.

Being quiet is strictly optional

Of course, one can play the Harley Benton HBO-850NT purely acoustically. The shallow body delivers a subtle yet incisive bass response, and the sound feels well-rounded and “grown-up”. However, this guitar really thrives on stage – and the louder, the better. This guitar is pretty much feedback-proof thanks to its rounded ABS back and the design of its top. Incidentally, we recommend playing this guitar standing up and using a strap. This doesn’t just look good – the guitar also naturally tilts towards the player’s face, which allows an excellent view of the fingerboard.

In the spotlight

Roseacer

Rosewood is a particularly hard wood that has long been popular as a material for making guitar and bass fretboards. This wood is now considered endangered, however, and resources are scarce and expensive – which is why guitar makers have already spent several years searching for alternatives. The wood that Harley Benton has chosen as a fretboard material for its HBO series and many other guitars is a type of thermally treated maple known as “roseacer” (a word coined from “acer”, the name of the genus to which maple belongs). The heat treatment to which the wood is subjected reduces its water content to around three percent, which prevents subsequent shifting or warping and increases the wood’s stability while also giving it a visual appearance similar to that of rosewood.

174 Customer ratings

5 99 Customers 4 52 Customers 3 20 Customers 2 2 Customers 1 1 Customer

4.4 / 5

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120 Reviews

Sounds awesome and very light.

Aussie Dazzz 03.02.2020

About me:
Been playing for over 35 years, average at best. Mostly a 70s rockhead, Stones, CCR... I can play anything if you don’t mind it sounding like Chuck Berry….Ha Ha…
I have about 20 guitars (only 1 acoustic... well now 2...) Some good - USA 72 Deluxe Tele, PRS SE Custom 24 Exotic Top, Ibanez S series, some not so good – the wife has a Hanna Montana Washburn… crazy woman…

I recently bought the HB CST24HB and TE-70 Paisley and loved them so much that I followed up by buying the CST-24T Black Flame and the TE-90QM Trans Red. Now I have just purchased the Harley Benton TE-40 TBK Deluxe Series and the Harley Benton HBO-850NT.

Review of the Harley Benton HBO-850NT:
Pros:
This guitar looks amazing.
Sounds great.
It has a slim neck, the action is nice.
Very light.
Tuners are really good

Cons:
Couple of tweaks to the truss rod, now plays well.

Conclusion:
As an almost exclusive electric player I don't know how to compare this. I have always found acoustic guitar to be hard work, this plays quite nice and sounds very good.
If I can play it , it must be good. 100% recommended.

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very nice

spreadie 19.10.2017

I ordered this guitar for a friend who was trying but failing to learn on an unplayable guitar and on the verge of giving up.I couldn't play the harley benton before purchase but having delt with thomman many times before new it would be a safe bet (even if it was a bad one they would replace it within 30 days).
when it arrived we unpacked it and were really pleased, looked wonderful, played perfectly, no setup needed.
The only thing that could be done would be a fret polish ,but I am being picky and as a learner I dont think she'll be bending strings just yet.
so if you like bowl back type guitars and you can afford an ovation, try this one first it might save you a packet

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unreal value, really i didnt believe it !

Anonymous 26.06.2016

78 uk pounds for a guitar ? you've got to be kidding
ok I didn't expect much tbh
bad points first
tuners were not screwed in correctly
(it took 30 secs to do them up with a screw driver and a spanner)
strings on the guitar were awful
(5 mins to put elixirs on it)
it needed a polish on the fret board
that's it
everything else was great and now my small gripes are gone

it is as playable as my real ovation, possibly better
I do however find the string spacing being slightly more than normal a little hard to get used to so this guitar will be for student use mainly

in short a great buy you will not be disappointed at all it looks just lovely and sounds lovely too

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Simply excellent !!

Anonymous 06.04.2016

I read the reviews and knowing Thomann's high standards fealt confident in ordering one. For less than the price of a weeks food shopping, I have invested in a superb guitar. The build quality is excellent, the action of the guitar is superb, havent needed to do any set up of the neck and the electrics on board pre amp system is brilliant for it's price and very responsive. Compared to the Ovation price it is a winner.
Ok I realise the build quality of the Ovation is different, I have an Ovation and would struggle to tell the difference.
It is now my 2nd Harley Benton and wont be my last.
If you have any doubts about buying one be assured you will not be disapointed.
It sits amongst my collection of Gibson, Hofner, Fender, Epiphone and Ovation and I'm proud to own it.
Thanks Thomann for your usual great service and quality instruments.

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Harley Benton HBO-850NT

Steel-String Guitar