Harley Benton HB-40MFX

Whilst looking for a budget practice amp, I came across the Harley Benton HB40R. After checking some reviews, it seemed quite decent. And then I came across the same thing, but with added modulation effects (reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo and phaser). At that time there was not much review on the HB-40MFX. But still I gave it a shot.

I use the amp mainly for practice in my room and I must say that 40 watts is quite enough (even too much). Due to its price, my biggest fear was that the sound would be too much "fake" and does not sound organic. But to my surprise it sounded really decent for this kind of entry price range. Obviously, it does not compare to a Fender Deluxe or Marshall Plexi. The MFX does not give you these extensive tones but still you will have something to have fun with.

Talking about tones, I have experienced the amp in various environments. The tone will surely alter from where you place, if it is a big hall, some room or stage. It sounds nice in a semi acoustic room. But definitely not for stage performance. It will sound loud enough for a gig in a bar, but in terms of tone, it might not be the best.

The amp has 5 selectable channels of "Voice" as it was called, namely Clean, Crunch, Lead, Overdrive1 and Overdrive 2. Each on has it own tone specification. You still have the ability change the treble, mid and bass.

The fact that it has 5 modulation effect is a big plus. While practicing I usually connect it to my pedalboard. But if my pedalboard is not with or if i'm too lazy to connect it, I still can use the mods. However, it is not possible to use more than one at a time (or maybe I did not figure out how to).

Built in bluetooth makes it really useful for pratice. Simply connect to your device, (phone, tablet,etc) and you can play your backtrack and rehearse.

The built quality is good. I've been using it for more than a year and it is still same. No failure or broken parts.

Pros:
Price
Bluetooth feature
Variety of channels

Cons:
Tone not super amazing
Single effect at a time
Not for stage
No channel selection footswitch

Conclusion:
For my personal preference, the HB40 MFX, is nice as a practice amp at home or in the studio. It have some interesting features like bluetooth and built in mods. For the price range it offers more than expected and is very decent for beginners or amateurs to practice.

I bought this amp not for guitar but for use with harmonica. Does it work ! Well if you use a proper mic with it, one designed specifically for that use then I have to say yes it does and it does it reasonably well. Maybe not enough or should I say as much 'crunch' as my Fender of a similar output but very usable. Not had it long enough to have had anyone try and snuffle it for use with a guitar at a gig but I'm sure they will at some point. Nice clean sound from this amp, loads of features and handy Bluetooth which works really well. The HB-40MFX is ideal when playing general pop type music but don't expect any heavy/dirty blues sounds from it, but having said that my green bullet seems to work well with it but perhaps its a little too light for the Bulletini which the amp seemed to struggle to cope with. All in all not a bad purchase and if it it stands up to as much abuse as some of my other amps the jobs a good un for the price point.