Harley Benton MR-Classic BK

I bought the MR Modern version a while back, which has higher specification. This one gets close in terms of quality.

I'm a home player, intermediate, I don't own any high end guitars or amps, but I have owned several HB guitars and can compare in that ecosystem.

Fretwork:- frets needed a small polish. The play is generally comfortable.

Finish:- Very good, few minor scratches and dings in paintwork, nothing to worry about

Tuners- they are kind of a non-locking version on what is on the MR modern version. They hold tune ok but are a little imprecise and do jump occasionally.

Pickups:- I have owned a harley benton JA-60 with roswell P90s, and an SC 450 p90 GT with generic P90s, and these artec p90s beat both of those. The in between position sounds great. The bridge has more treble, without any shrillness.

Weight: I haven't weighed it. It is lighter than my copy of the MR modern, lighter than my TE-52. It's by no means super heavy, but I play sitting down so that's not usually an issue for me.

Action and playability: This guitar came with a fair bit of neck relief. I prefer a straight neck. I will adjust it but I think it will need a proper setup from my guitar tech. The action out of the box is higher than I'd like. The bridge leans forward slightly (as others have noted), don't know if this is a design feature or not, will update after my guitar tech sees it.


Update:-
Brought it for a setup to my guitar tech. He put a shim in the neck pocket as the action couldn't be lowered any further using the truss rod or bridge. Now the action is great- this was a quick, easy and cheap adjustment

He polished the frets, now they are smooth and feel great in play.

He filed two nut slots (again this needs to be done on nearly every guitar I've bought). The nut description says graphite, but he reckoned it was Graphtec.

These are all pretty standard adjustments and were reasonably priced.

He was very impressed with the pickups and his final word on the guitar "It's a keeper".

In summary, this guitar plays well above its price point. Most guitars, unless they are custom shop, high end, will need and benefit from a good setup, and I've learnt over the years that you need to factor it into your buying decision. If you're buying a 150 euro guitar, then an extra 40-60 (the average I spend) for a setup, might seem like a lot, but it's well worth it.

The MR classic and the MR modern I purchased previously are two of the best Harley Benton guitars I've bought at any price. Buy one, get it setup and you will love it.

Not great to play. Pickup levels are imbalanced, frets are rough, feels plastic and cheap. The bridge is horrible and was already scratched by people using screwdriver heads too small at the factory. It's a real pain to restring due to the sub-standard bridge design. It's essentially a low-end, budget 80-90s catalogue guitar you'd never knowingly buy that happens to have (budget) P90 pickups in it.