Harley Benton GS-Travel-E Mahogany

I normally play a Martin 000-15S and my son plays a Taylor GS Mini (of which this little Harley Benton is a replica). I know a good guitar when I play it.
I was looking for a cheap little travel guitar to take on a boating holiday and saw all the rave reviews of this little baby and decided to take a punt.
When the guitar arrived, the first things I noticed were that there was a slight buzz on the low E string and a dead spot on the B. No problem though - a 1/4 turn on the truss rod (key in the lovely travel bag!) gave a little more neck relief and buzz/dead spot gone like magic.
Only imperfection I could find on the whole instrument was a crease mark on the very thin pick guard. Again - no problem. I just peeled off the pick guard which left absolutely no mark on the guitar. I think it looks way better without it.
The action is now absolutely superb all the way up the neck and the intonation (checked with Snark tuner) is, remarkably, also spot on at every fret. With the original strings and a little relief adjustment the guitar plays great now. Sure it's not a Martin or a Taylor but it is a remarkably good sounding little instrument in its own right and for the Euros 109 I paid, absolutely stunning value for money. It comes complete with a smashing little gig bag, truss rod key and even a cheap, but functional lead for hooking it up to an amplifier. I tried it with a MicroCube amp and the output from the fitted pickup is more than adequate.
I will be fitting a Graphtec TUSQ XL saddle when I replace the strings with Martin Custom Lights as I think very slightly heavier gauge strings might just add a little more bottom end, and the saddle that is on the guitar is a very cheap plastic job that isn't really doing anything to improve the tone. However, saying that I generally make these simple mods to any guitar I buy, irrespective of what I paid for it.
To summarise then, if you are looking for a really great value travel guitar then look no further. This really is 'a steal'.

Update: I have now had this little gem for around a week and I haven't picked up my Martin in that time. This little guitar is stunningly good. I just can't believe that an all laminate, small guitar can sound and play as well as this one does. String spacing I find a little to tight for my liking when finger picking, but for flat picking and strumming, the v shaped neck and excellent action are spot on. I've yet to replace the saddle and strings because every time I pick it up I start playing it!
I may be one of the lucky ones to get an absolute gem, but somehow, given the other reviews, I think not. Absolutely the best value guitar I have ever bought in terms of bang for buck. Amazing!
Update: Have just replaced strings with medium gauge Elixirs (13s). Had to lower action slightly at nut for low E and A strings to accommodate heavier gauge strings. Great success, much less unintended bending of treble strings when playing up the neck and much improved base response. Although slightly harder on the fingers, I think it's well worth putting heavier gauge strings on this great little guitar.
With the Elixir 13s this guitar is the DADGAD beast!

Motivation: Guitar for the living room!

Background: I've had dozens of guitars over the years and played 1000's of solo & band gigs. I read several positive reviews & watched a bunch of YouTube videos on the Harley Benton GS-Travel-E Mahogany.

The neck is stable & feels good, soft "V" I wouldn't know it wasn't as round if I hadn't read the specs. It holds tune fine, tuner gear ratio is a tad high but I quickly got used to it. It comes strung with 12s but I prefer 11s. Warm (darkish) tone, mahogany seems to suit this body size well, and balances the lack of bottom end that often make small body-size like this overly bright IMO. The tone isn't nearly as complex or rich as higher-end guitars - but neither is the price!

Overall, it's a very enjoyable guitar to play & plenty loud for my requirements. I don't know how they do it for the money.

24 month update: I've done 100's of hours on it, I love the size & have done a bunch of gigs with it. Stable guitar, great value for money overall - just don't expect it to sound as complex or sweet as a high-end guitar.

First of all, let’s get it out of the way. I’ve been playing for over 20 years, own 14 guitars so I’ve seen my fair share of rubbish! Obviously sometimes you get a dodgy one, and QC sometimes have shockers, so I will review this based on my guitar I’ve received.

I read all the reviews, everyone saying it’s amazing for the money. I’ve fallen for that trick before with Squiers and Epiphones, but THIS little travel guitar is absolutely stunning.

The quality of build is amazing. It’s flawless. The finish, the fretboard, everything… it’s beautiful. The tuners are really good, solid and keeps it in tune. The sound is amazing, so loud and full of mids and bass. You’d think it would be tinny, like them Ed Sheeran-esque travel guitars, but nope this sounds like a full-size acoustic.

The pick up sounds good, and has a built in tuner with a display on so you can find your notes to tune it however you like.

All in all, if you paid £500 for this guitar and it said a more expensive name on the headstock you would not be complaining. I am actually confused how this high quality instrument is so cheap. It is much better than my £400 epiphone acoustic. I cannot put it down.

I took the scratch plate off as I prefer it without. There was 3 sharp fret ends, not to worry - filed them down and now it’s all good. Action was nice out of the box.

Just buy it - it’s the best £100 you’ll ever spend on a guitar. Harley Benton are the future!!!!

I have just today recieved this guitar in about a week of ordering. That's quite good I think.

The instrument was well packed in a gianormous box which held the usual trapiziod box which contained this lovely guitar.

I have to say that this instrument looks SO much better than in any pictures or videos. It is really nice.

I must say that I am not too keen on the supplied strings and these will be the only thing that gets changed on this guitar.

The acoustic sound is fantastic. I mean it, really great considering that the size is somewhat smaller than a Dreadnought.

Now here is where I got an amazing shock. I have been a professional musician for over 45 years and have always like Valve/Tube amps over Solid State. However, for the past 20 odd years, I found that my performing circumstances did not require the necessity of valve amps and I used Solid State because of carrying and transporting convenience. The sound was not important as I am mostly a vocalist.

After so long on transistors, I thought it would be nice to introduce into my little home studio a valve amp. I purchased the Harley Benton Tube 15.

I've had Blues Juniors, Dual Showmans, Bandmasters, Twin Reverbs, Marshall 100's , Peavey, Roland Jazz Chorus etc. Well you would after almost 50 years knocking out music (went pro in 1970).

This is not to brag, as most of the time I earned a pitence but just to show that I know what I'm talking about.

Today, I played this very affordable little instrument and was impressed BUT, when I plugged it into my HB Tube 15, I was completely and untterly blown away.

The sound was fantastic and I shall be using this guitar to record and play on gigs for sure. I cannot believe the beautiful sound I was getting.

So, in conclusion, if you are wanting a nice guitar that you can plug into an amp or even a DAW, this will be most interesting and I'm sure you will get great results and not be at all dissapointed.

The guitar was set up well for the strings supplied, I will be changeing those asap but believe me, I do not think you can find a better, smallish acoustic guitar out there.

Thanks Thomann once again for allowing us hard up musicians being able to get our hands on very decent instruments that we can realistically afford.