Harley Benton BigTone Trem White

I've had the guitar for 2 years now

List of things I like:
- the gold finish, paired with my gold strings, and a custom gold-plated pickguard is really inspiring
- the humbuckers sound great and are versatile
- I didn't expect it to stay in tune well, so based on this I was pleasantly surprised. obviously I still have to tune it more often than my other guitars, but it's actually quite predictable, well now it is, see comment down below
- finish is good, you can tell someone with attention to detail worked on it. it's not perfect, but for this kind of price, it's more than amazing
- tuners are cheap but reliable, feel nice to turn
- the "tremolo" is fun
- changing strings is a breeze, contrary to what I expected!
- so is adjusting the pickups
- there's a lot more range in tone than I expected too, especially when you factor mixing at different volumes in the middle position
- fretboard feels great to play
- every strap I've tried was comfortable and holds the guitar well
- it's heavy but in a good way?
- for the most part, an authentic jazz/rockabilly guitar
- not nearly as much feedback issues as I expected, not even 10%
- sounds great acoustically, full-bodied & warm
- acoustic sound is very different from the amplified sound, but mixing mic + jack output can be a great stylistic choice!
- when it arrived, I kid you not, there was a tiny spider inside the body. I let it loose at my old workplace, where I got the shipment. hope you're doing well spidey

Here is the list of things I didn't like:
- when it arrived, it had a small crack in the paint at the neck. It was very concerning, I considered returning it. But in the end I loved it too much to send it away
- pots are higher quality than other chinese-made guitars here but still not quite what I want in a 'jazz' guitar
- despite staying in tune better than I expected, I was still forced to install "The String Butler" because, for whatever reason, my d and g strings would go out of tune more than the other strings
- it 'feels' fragile almost
- it took a long, long time to adjust the intonation well enough to be playable, I mean hours upon hours, and I'm an amateur but not a complete amateur
- bridge kept sliding towards the neck while playing until I put some felt under it
- the transparent pickguard looks good on pictures but was extremely ugly and a little yellowed when it arrived
- the jack keeps unscrewing and I've tried everything I could think of by now but it still keeps doing it
- when it arrived, a fret was a little unseated and lifted from the fretboard, causing painful cuts to fingers. Luckily I found an easy fix for it, hasn't been a problem since
- black pickup switch doesn't quite fit the style of the rest of the guitar
- hard to get the pick out if it falls inside the body :D

I've had this guitar for one full year now and decided it was time to review.

Originally there was no bundle offer with the white version and the corresponding case but a quick message to Thomann and they got back to me straight away saying they would amend the order to include it. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE AS ALWAYS!

Out of the case very impressed. Solidly built with quite a bit of weight to it. Finish was very very good, one or two minor blemishes but nothing unusual. The tail piece (bigsby) also very solid. I was anticipating this would be flimsy given the very good price but again it was solid.

Some people have commented on the tuners. I personally like the aesthetic. They are a little bit jumpy on some strings but again nothing I haven't encountered on more expensive guitars.

Frets needed work both on the edges and on the frets themselves to make them smooth. This is probably the biggest single flaw I could point out about the guitar, but this is very easily fixed even by an amateur like me.

Playability & Tone: This is why I wanted a jazz guitar, I was after the sweet round tone. I've been learning and listening to a lot of fingerstyle jazz guitar this past year and this guitar gets very close to some of the sounds I hear coming from my favourite players who would be using much more expensive and classic guitars. For the price I have to say I am 100% happy with the lovely tone coming from this guitar. Apart from some work on the frets I changed action to be a little bit closer to the strings. Again no problem for an amateur and the truss rod moved nice and easily.

Without using the bigsby It stays in tune really well.

After one year of playing the pickup switch is a little loose but that's completely normal as far as I can say.

With the bigsby set back into the neutral position the fit in the case was a bit snug. The case top is definitely pressed against the bigsby when it's closed but after a year there has been no issues with that.

This was my first Harley Benton. I was very impressed. I have since bought another HB and again was very impressed.

If you're thinking about learning or playing some jazz style guitar I can highly recommend this guitar. If it got smashed to pieces tomorrow (hopefully it won't) I would have zero hesitation in buying another.

I was tempted for some time, to get archtop guitar. I'm playing for 40 years now, I own several acoustic and electric guitars and also one hollow body LP shape. But I never really had archtop and the jazzy sound of it. I wasn't prepare to spend a lot, since I'm no pro and music is my hobby, not living. So I decided, after reading several reviews, to go and get this guitar. For me at that price, THE most important thing is quality of body and neck, all the rest can be easily replaced if needed. 200? is a gamble, I was willing to take blind.
When I received this guitar, i was pleasantly surprised. Just what I wanted (well, stil can not compare to Ibanez George Benson that I had oportunity to play) and expected. I have read in advance of all the bigsby problems, bridge problems, so I immediately unscrew top part of bigsby, put some wood under it and flattened the angle to bridge - the design is kind of silly, but managable. The only thing really annoying is the pickups, that buzz in their seats, so I guess I'll have to take the out, see the spring coil and adapt.
Neck is great, straight, in tune - if not, brige is adjustable, bigsby does it's job, not the greatest, but I have never used it before and have no technique so it's all right for me.
Without amp this guitar sounds nice and jazzy, just like I expected. It's very solid built and quite heavy.
With amp, (I use Fender Mustang) and with proper amp sound set, i prefer to use clean Fender Twin that sound great with this guitar, from jazz to rockabilly.
Pickups are nice sounding low output. tuners are ok., doing their job and keeping intonation.

All in all, I'm a happy camper.

After owning it half a year, I still like this guitar a lot. Adjusted some height of pickups to my liking, the rest is good.

I am 73 (playing since I was 10) & work on guitars for others. I also have quite a few guitars. Point being I know a great value, when I see one. The Big-tone is just that.

Cons: It is a bit heavy & I had to long gate the bridge holes, because my bridge would not go down to adjust the action. This is not the first time I have run into this & consider it all as part of a good set-up.

The Greats: This thing sounds great both plugged in and by it's self. The finish on mine is near perfect. The playability is very good. I am surprised at how well it stays in tune. This & a B-stock guitar came as advertised, in just 4 days! I live in the USA (Wisconsin) and am blown away by this very fast time. It is my first in stock order from Thomann. So, the two guitars I received are better then expected and one more still coming, with Thamann following up on that order as coming too. I will be ordering more from them and do recommend them. Thanks Thoman & my contact person: Melanie...