Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue

245

Steel String Guitar with Pickup

Build: Roundback with cutaway
Spruce top
Body: ABS Super Shallow Bowl
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Roseacer
Fretboard inlays: Snowflake
24 Frets
Cream-coloured body binding
Scale: 650 mm
Nut width: 43 mm
Bridge: Roseacer
Die-cast machine heads
Ex-factory stringing: .011 - .052
Pickup with 3-band EQ
Colour: Blue high gloss

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3-Year Thomann Warranty

Available since September 2017

Item number 408647

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 24

Pickup System Yes

Colour Blue

Incl. Case No

Incl. Gigbag No

$111

The shipping costs are calculated on the checkout page.

Sales Rank

in Roundback Acoustic Guitars

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All the world’s a stage...

Front of the roundback guitar Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue

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-850 Blue. 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 HBO-850 Blue also boasts an integrated pickup, which makes it an ideal choice for even the most devoted electric guitarists.

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 deep blue 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.

Rock stars love it

Yes, the Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue 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.

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-850 Blue 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.

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245 Customer ratings

5 158 Customers 4 66 Customers 3 19 Customers 2 1 Customer 1 1 Customer

4.5 / 5

features

sound

quality

Review guidelines

195 Reviews

Good value for money

davedoes 21.12.2020

Arrived today, this is not my first Harley Benton guitar but is my first electro acoustic from the range. First impressions were really good the guitar looked great. Started tuning to find that i had muted strings and fret buzz, not an issue as you get provided an allen key to adjust the rod and adjust the neck. Two minutes later nad the buzz and muted string issue is dealt with. This is the first time ive had to deal with that on a harley benton guitar sono probs. Once all tuned i was suprised to find a 9vlot battery provided, nice suprise. Plugged it in and happy with the tone. So why not 5 stars, well on the body where the neck meets the body i have small cracked finish due to neck movement, possibly from tension in the next but either way the finish is now not great. As this is for use in my home recording and not for show im ok with it, if it was for display on a wall etc i would have returned it as its not great to have the finish cracked on the first day of the guitar.

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I can't believe how much I enjoy playing this guitar

Bonner 04.09.2020

I added this guitar to my order as an afterthought. I needed an acoustic guitar with a pickup for those occasional "acoustic" gigs with amplification. Our band had recently played a gig where miscommunication resulted in our having to mic our guitars, and I thought this might be an economical way to deal with this. I had ordered a blue guitar for my son, and I added this during the wait for his to be delivered. I am really happy. The guitar looks amazing and plays beautifully. The only criticisms I have are that the tuning mechanisms could be a little better; and it is so new, that I can smell the glue from the body. That being said, a good set of locking tuners costs as much as this guitar! The neck is easy to play, and the action is amenable to leads in the higher neck positions. The frets were in need of a rub down with my polishing cloth, but that's all that was required. I really enjoy playing this guitar, and it has become my "go to" acoustic guitar. If you need a guitar like this, just order it and use the savings to buy it a hard shell case like I did.

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Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue

NSzK 07.04.2021

Pros
Basically it would be a good guitar. The acoustical sound is great, the neck is like an electric guitar's neck: quite comfortable and fast. The pickup is very good, the guitar has an amazing sound via my Peavy Audition 7W combo amplifier or in my DAW software, direct via my USB mixer.

Cons
The guitar's quality is quite bad. The first thing what has dropped off was one of the "leaf ornaments" piece from the front of the body. The frets had sharp edges and I had to polish them. Then, after half a year, the neck twisted, and the guitar became unusable for play solos because of the tuning issues over the 11th fret. So, now, I can use it only for playing some chords around the 1-4th frets. It is very disappointing because, anyway, it has amazing sound both acoustically and via its pickup.

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Don't Like As Much, But HB Is Still Great!...

MartinUToob 29.07.2024

I ordered this (and a bunch of other HBs) guitar a few years back. The 1st one I received played well, but the bridge had partially separated from the body. Also, some of the higher frets had buzz or were dead. Well, the "problem" with the bridge actually makes the guitar very playable, like a shock absorber. Anyway, I notified HB, and they said to keep that one and that they'd send a replacement as well, the rep warned me that there were build problems with that model, that I could return them both after a year or so to try them out. I was stunned by the magnaminity of their Customer Service. In that regard, HB is truely outstanding. Anyway, the replacement guitar had a properly seated bridge but serious problems with dead frets and buzz in the highest notes, it's much harder to play as well. They really do have a serious build problem with setting the necks on this model. So, I can't recommend this model guitar from HB, it's too much of a "crap shoot". I think I was lucky to get the 1st one and kept it; however, HB has a much better and consistent build among its other model accoustic guitars, and I would recommend one of them.

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Harley Benton HBO-850 Blue

Steel String Guitar with Pickup