Harley Benton CLJ-503CE WN

First impression when I opened the box was, is this really a budget priced guitar?
It looks expensive; the only thing that seems a little cheap, looking very closely, is the pick guard. Closer inspection found four marks in the varnish on the back, a couple of specks in the varnish on the top and a little excess glue between the rosette and the pick guard where the latter was fitted, but these are the only faults I found with this guitar. The nut is superbly positioned and finished, the finger board smooth and not dry, book matched solid spruce top which will darken nicely with age and a Fishman pickup system. I like the gloss finish on the neck. I left the guitar to acclimatise for a day before tuning two semitones low and again left it for a day before tuning to concert. So how does it play? The action is nicely set up and much as you would expect with an acoustic guitar, could be lower but for me fine as it is. The intonation is right, the neck comfortable, fingerboard a little flatter than some but really easy to play, frets smooth with no rough edges, the sound, string balance and volume really impressive - I have played some well-known expensive brands that sound nowhere near as good as this and not had near the same volume. Machine heads operate smoothly and positively, the guitar stays in tune very well. Fishman Presys II system – I played though a Fishman Loudbox amp, the sound even and well balanced if a little “toppy” but the controls on the guitar and amp give a wide range of settings so no problems there.
Just some observations… the Walnut sides and back are finished in a dark varnish that does nothing to bring out the grain of the wood, just a shame about the marks I found. No battery or user leaflet included for the Fishman Presys II system. The strap button positioned on the underside of the neck makes a standard length guitar strap a little short for a tall person but this seems pretty standard with most acoustics these days. Strangely, no country of origin marked anywhere on the guitar or a serial number. When I ordered the guitar it was advertised as being fitted with Rotosound strings, now shown on the website as supplied with D’addario strings and this one is fitted with Adamus strings. When the time comes to replace them I shall use Elixir strings which I have used before on my other acoustic guitar. Overall, what a guitar for around £200! Really impressed! Service from Thomann is excellent, questions and queries answered promptly and sensibly. Delivery as advised when the guitar became available. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Thomann and Harley Benton to someone looking to buy one of their guitars.
So, what is it like coming up to six months from delivery? Restring with Elixir strings and sounded awful until played in but settled down to a nice sound. Second restring decided to use Adamus strings as fitted when delivered. What a sound! Nice highs with a hint of twang and really resonant mid tones and low end. Superb balanced sound and great volume and even easier to play than before, really came alive the more it has been played. Even more pleased with this guitar now.

I purchased this Jumbo acoustic guitar for live use, so the instrument had to be equipped with a pickup and an active preamp. Since the instrument in question would have been used mainly with DADGAD tuning and Heavy 0.60 / 0.14 caliber strings I needed an instrument that would support the tension of such big strings, not wanting to use one of my Martin or one of my Taylor I decided for this guitar, which honestly did not seem excellent but with a decent price-quality ratio, a very well-finished aesthetic and massive woods as stated by the seller. After the order the guitar was delivered in 4 days well packaged and intact, at a first visual examination the instrument was of considerable workmanship with very few smears of glue inside the box and valuable inlaid abalone as markers, very soft mechanics and precise with a beautiful golden color and faux mother of pearl knobs. Obviously the instrument was with the loose strings and then I proceeded to tune it and the only drawback: an Action too low that made it impossible to play the instrument, as a result I proceeded to raise the bone of the bridge by about 3 mm with appropriate thicknesses reporting the action at the right height. After retuning the surprise! Powerful bass and deep, medium and sharp balanced and ringing and a total volume in amazing acoustics (Much higher than my Martin D28 of 1978). Moreover, the very fast and fast handle allows easy jumps of position along the keyboard both in standard tuning and in DADGAD. Then I proceeded to test it amplified and yet the Fishman system with pre-amp and digital tuner did not betray my expectations: tested with a Hartke ACR5 50W amp the electrified sound is warm with powerful and defined bass, high-pitched and silvery bass (without the presence of medium frequencies that make an acoustic guitar more like an electric guitar). Ultimately a happy purchase that allows me to recommend this guitar to anyone!

This is the first time a new guitar or bass needs no big setup, and I own 19 of them, plus all those I owned before. The nut's notches are cut neatly, just the right width, and just the right depth. The saddle has precisely the ideal height, too. Intonation seemed to be off by a lot, but after adjusting the truss rod and stretching the strings, only four of them are off by one or two percents. That's tolerable for now, because I want to enjoy my new guitar, and keep the filing for later.

It's only a matter of minutes to remove a tiny bit of material from the saddle to make those strings 1/3mm longer. The action, overall, was very low, and barely buzzed, so I made the neck's bow a little deeper, and that's it. The fingerboard and saddle base were very dry, had to oil them twice over two days, but that's okay now.

The strings have precisely an identical spacing at the nut, and the spacing between the two E strings and the neck's edge is the same, and wide enough so the skin of the hand does not accidentally mutes them. The sound is very loud and shimmering, and those Adamas strings are very rich in harmonics, even when tuned down because they are thick for my fingers (these are 12-53 and I need 10-47).

The body's ergonomics are very good for my leg and my shoulder, same for the neck overall. I only made it less sticky with a kitchen sponge. I don't own an acoustic amp now, but the tone through an electric amp is very nice, that's promising. Fortunately, the neck's heel is well contoured, and I can finally play my usual tunes on the high frets without having to switch on an amp.

The top's halves are very well matched, and the assembly, inside and out, is free of imperfections, I checked with a flashlight in the interior. No buzzing from poorly glued bracing or whatnot. The saddle is ideally contoured for my hand, playing those muted notes is natural.

The keys are fine, not super finely responsive like Grover, but tuning up or down has no slack and no frustration. The small reduction in responsiveness compared to Grover's might be due to too many windings, I'll know when I change the strings in several months. For now I give them the benefit of the doubt.

The on-board tuner is accurate, and confirmed by outside tuners. I didn't like the first generations of piezo pickups, they sounded plasticky, but this is a piezo that sounds natural. I have to insist that the unplugged sound is very strong, and rich. Harmonics at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets are very loud and sustainy, and only great wood does that.

The aesthetics of the wood's fibers on the sides and back are pretty, and they match. The abalone inserts are cut without any gap or imperfection, and they shine beautifully. Several screws and nuts had to be tightened a bit, that's to be expected, and not annoying. By the way, I don't play with a strap, so I removed the strap attachments, and left only the golden screws for looks, the attachment at the neck hampers the hand a little when reaching for the high notes. But it can screwed at another place for those who wish.

With picks (Ultex) or bare fingertip skin, the guitar is powerful and shimmering. And the low action from the factory is THE big plus, for once I can play anything immediately with comfort and no fatigue. I used to believe in uncoated D'Addario's only, but after hearing those coated Adamas in person and upclose, I want to try them on other instruments.

And finally, the jumbo name is deserved, unlike some acoustics that only have the shape, this one has the bass-rich jumbo tone, too. Yes, this guitar can be advised for acoustic and amplifier players.

Edit: I removed the thick plastic pickguard and its thick rubbery layer of glue, after what the tone gained some clarity. If you still want one, it's easy to make a neutral pickguard with thin transparent adhesive film; it protects just the same, doesn't dampen the sound, and is replaced quickly.