Harley Benton JA-60CC Dakota Red

I have two guitars like this and I am probably going to buy more. I saw a lot of guitars in all price categories, but this one is just great in terms of its build quality and features, and especially given its more than affordable price. The only possible criticism is related to the pickups: the sound is just a little bit thin to my taste, but still pretty decent anyway.
A special remark should be made about the baked maple neck--its colour is really pleasantly brown, unlike some less appealing instances that I saw on other guitars, including a Mexican Tele by Fender.
A funny "feature" of this guitar comes to mind. When I first got it, I immediately removed the thin protective film from the pickguard, and was somewhat unpleasantly surprised by the low quality of its plastic--extremely soft and dull-looking. It was only about two weeks later that I realized that the pickguard was in fact proteced by yet another layer of a really solid plastic film. ;) Having removed the second one too, I enjoyed the look and feel of a perfecly nice pickguiard.
All in all, the guitar is highly recommended, particularly to those who are on a budget and who do not require too much distorted/overdriven sounds.

I was never a fan of offset guitars, but I had been eyeing these JA-60s for a while.. I was going for the kit version, but it would be out of stock for months, so I had to satisfy my GAS, and when the custom colours where announced, it was time to pull the trigger...

It is a very good guitar. It has a distinctly different single coil sound, compared to, say, an HB Tele or St model. It is a very worthwhile addition to any collection and a guitar I like very much, due to its vintage sounding pickups. I find myself picking it up very often, perhaps its my current favorite.

I quite like the bright red colour. The finish overall is very good, mine only had a small, very small ding/mark on one fret, but, honestly, nothing too serious.

The neck is the best feature of the guitar (together with the pickups). I am comparing it to my HB ST-62 Inca Silver, possible my second most comfortable, and my Harley Benton ST-62 (and other HB Teles). It's very smooth and comfortable, it invites you to play endlessly.

The guitar is also very light - perhaps too light. I usually don't use a strap while playing in a sitting position, but in this case I will have to - the guitar is slipping on my legs. It must be below 3 kg, or thereabout..

Overall, this guitar is highly recommended. However, I wish it wasn't so expensive - although I bought it, I can't justify the extra 20 euros for a, so called, custom colour. Nothing "custom" about a red color which is used in so many other "custom" color HB guitars. Also, this guitar should not be more expensive than an ST-62, which has 3 pickups and is more versatile, with the same quality finish and colors. I assume Harley Benton will soon rectify that price issue.

Overall, as I said, a very good guitar. Highly recommended.