Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit JA

I already own a HB 335 model that blew me away with its quality, so when I was next ordering a guitar, I figured I'd try one of these kits for a fun project. I do not regret it one bit, and the result is a very serious guitar.

The body was good and even, with holes all more-or-less aligning. The neck was impressive - neat binding, no rough fret ends, and a comfortable and smooth C profile. The frets just needed a little polish. I set this up with a low action and there is no hint of fret buzz anywhere.

Cutting the headstock to shape is a simple enough job with a coping saw and file, and represents the only real "craftsmanship" required in putting the kit together. I applied a two-tone burst with nitrocellulose lacquer, but this is very much an optional extra. The rengas wood comes filled and sealed and the grain looks nice enough that you could just spray it with a clear topcoat lacquer for a shiny and more durable finish. The electronics bar the pickups all come attached to the pickguard; you just plug the pickups in and there is no soldering to do. The soapbar pickups rather strangely have no brackets to attach them; instead there are holes right through the pickups to screw them down into the wood of the cavity. This isn't a problem, just an unusual design choice.

We all of course know which guitar this is emulating. Aside from the pickup design, the key difference from that guitar is the tune-o-matic bridge here and no trem, but I see that as a strength for its simplicity and tuning stability. The pickups are a little muddy but can be cleaned up with the right amp settings to give very nice clean and blues tones. A clear, singing sustain is evident before even plugging in. I have a couple of Fenders and a Gibson LP and this feels and sounds more like the Gibson. The greatest weakness in the hardware is found in the tuning pegs, which was also true of my other HB guitar - worth the £20 upgrade to some Vansons. The great thing about a kit is of course that you can mod and upgrade it to your heart's desire, so long as the body and neck are good, and they really are in this case.

Overall, I'm impressed and very chuffed. An enjoyable project and a credible, beautiful guitar at the end of it that I would happily gig with. Well done Harley Benton.

First one I got: the wholes were misaligned for the pick-guard and saddle/bridge, and foam for pickup cavities was missing. Thomann replaced the kit immediately, no fees, in fact it had become cheaper by that time and Thomann gave me back the €20 difference. Excellent service!
I built the replacement kit, alignment much better but not perfect.
Fretboard looks like a different material.
Had to replace the tone pot which didn't work.

Plastic nut
Bridge p-up: 9.6
Neck p-up: 9.5
Pole spacing at neck p-up: 50mm
Pole spacing at bridge p-up: 52mm
String spacing at neck p-up: 48mm
String spacing at bridge p-up: 50mm

Pros:
Cheap
Excellent neck. Straight, no fret-sprout (frets rough, need a polishing)
Nut cut ok, action height acceptable
Tuners good (was expecting cheap and flimsy)
Body nicely carved
Neck sits correctly/snugly/tightly into body
Proper alignment of strings over fretboard
Solderless kit
Easy to connect electronics
Truss-rod key included (which I haven't tested)
Good P90 pickups

Cons:
Screw holes are mostly not drilled straight
This is specially annoying when installing the pickups as they don't sit parallel to the body (will have to re-drill)
Low-quality electronics
Low-quality strings
A little neck-heavy
Instructions manual needs to be more detailed

Conclusions:
I got this kit because I wanted to know how to put together a guitar, and have a cheap one to tweak and mod. Got exactly what I wanted. I also wanted P90s, so a win/win.
If you want a cheap guitar without having to buy tools or pay for a setup, you should get equivalent priced ones from Thomann that are already painted/built and might have better quality electronics. This kit is definitely for modders and builders.