Any of you familiar with Harley Benton Guitars?

HB guitars probably offer the best value for money ratio that I know. Not sure how they achieve this. I guess they cut the quality control (so you might be lucky to get a good model or unlucky) and you don't pay extra for the name. Also I am not sure about the working condition/payment of workers in the factories.

But on the other hand, you can have the same issues with the cheaper models of known brands and still have to pay for the famous name.
 
I have bought from Thomann for a very long time and have spent a lot of money, and quality control, with them being German, is very high. I’ve had a couple of orders spring an email saying sorry, we’ve noticed a mark on your product and asking what to do. One was a set of very expensive wind up speaker stands. I needed them so said it’s fine just send them. They adjusted the price without me asking. They arrived and both boxes were opened by them and re-sealed. I never found the mark they did! I guess they simply talk to the factory and probably visited. They then tell them a number and a price and the factory have constant work for maybe a year. Great firm. They speak better English than me!
 
Here is a comparison (sorry, German only):
www.amazona.de

E-Gitarre Vergleichstest: Harley Benton SC-Custom II vs Epiphone Jerry Cantrell Prophecy LP Cus - AMAZONA.de

E-Gitarre Vergleichstest Harley Benton SC-Custom II vs Epiphone Jerry Cantrell Prophecy LP Cus, wie schlagen sich die beiden Single-Cuts?
www.amazona.de www.amazona.de

269 EUR Harley Benton vs 1111 EUR Epiphone:
In the end both instruments are of similar quality. The pickups of the Epiphone make a better sound but this you could replace in the Harley Benton and still save more than 500 bucks.
 
So, here's my experience so far. It took about 4 days for the guitar to reach me here in the US after I ordered it. I don't know what brand of strings they use, but when I first tried tuning it, I actually broke one of the B strings. So I re-strung it with some D'Addario strings. Except when I did, because it's my first time stringing a 12-string, I accidentally wound one of the B strings on its post backward.

It also had some difficulty getting the bridge pins out the first time, but once I did it was fairly easy to put them back in. I think changing them next time will be easier.

It sounds nice acoustically. I haven't tried through an amp yet.

It came with two pickguards, so I can pick which one I want to use. It came with a black one and a tortoise shell one.

As I noted in my original post, I have my eye on a couple of others.
 
mjr said:
... It also had some difficulty getting the bridge pins out the first time, but once I did it was fairly easy to put them back in. I think changing them next time will be easier.
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My old Epiphone dreadnaught had several bridge pins that would stick. I found a good tool to remove them was an old pair of needle nose pliers. I did not grab the heads and pull or twist, I placed a towel on the edge of the bridge, slipped the tips of the pliers under the pin's heads (not squeezing), then gently pushing the handles down against the guitar top. This lever action popped them loose with no damage.
 
Spantini, I grabbed a couple of these Planet Waves winders years ago. They have everything you need for a string change, clippers to trim the strings, a puller for bridge pins, and a winder for the tuning pegs. Now I don't have to keep a pair of wire cutters and a winder in the case. Its the Swiss army knife for guitarists!

iu
 
I was thinking of ordering one of their guitars to Mod... the shipping is almost the same price as the guitar though. :P Still going to order it eventually I think... though I want to do a little more research on inlays first... (I want to make my own custom inlay and I assume I'll definitely have to remove the frets where I'll be doing the work... but not sure how easy it would be to reinstall the same frets or if I'd have to install new frets... ah... another project for another day...)
 
TalismanRich said:
Spantini, I grabbed a couple of these Planet Waves winders years ago. They have everything you need for a string change, clippers to trim the strings, a puller for bridge pins, and a winder for the tuning pegs. Now I don't have to keep a pair of wire cutters and a winder in the case. Its the Swiss army knife for guitarists!
Click to expand...
Hey, thanks! I see my GC has the same design in stock for $11 - I'll put them on my list.
 
I've been eying an LP copy. This one doesn't seem to be available from a US supplier, only UK. The price is $135 + $90 shipping + VAT.

I'm unfamiliar with how VAT works in a situation like this (ship UK to US). I think there will be no VAT in this situation - is this correct?

Are there customs fees to be paid?

I could handle $225 + sales tax, but additional taxes/fees would put it over the top - for me, anyway.

Fairly thorough review HERE
 
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The way VAT works, using my gear that I sell abroad is this. If I have an item that sells for £120 to people in the UK, I can sell it to a customer in the US and zero rate the sale so I charge £100. US import tax is code 9202.90 for a guitar which I think is 4.7%. You then would pay whatever your state tax rate adds. Worse - depending on who delivers it, say UPS, they might pay the tax and import duty on your behalf, and then charge you for the privilege. At least you won't get taxed twice. The only snag is that the seller in the UK must be registered for VAT, if you are not, then the selling price cannot be reduced. Thomann are not really in England - they're still in Germany, but the offices mean the point of sale is here. My Thomann order this week includes 20% tax, and they have a UK GB VAT code, so I claim it back using my VAT account. After Brexit they supplied goods without VAT, but it got a bit random, so they opened up here. Offices and a warehouse which keeps some fast moving stock. My item is going from Germany to the UK, then to me. Adds a couple of days in practice. I think the US operation is similar, but a much bigger warehouse. However - if when you buy, you make sure your region is set to USA, then they ship with no VAT, and they handle the customs fees - I'm not certain about state taxes though?
 
I wonder if all they do is open a new U.K. based office, and they take your money if you are in the UK, and submit the invoice, but sell no goods, and make a big profit. In Germany, they send out loads of goods free, make a loss, reduce their profit and pay less tax. The U.K. end would pay lots of tax as no real expenses bar premises and staff? I guess it’s just a way around brexit?
 
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