Harley Benton Custom Line CLR-ResoElectric

harley benton are a company manufacturer i have used now for a few years now
a banjo 3 bass guitars ..a classical guitar ..and now the resonator .
Harley Benton Custom Line CLR-ResoElectric..
this id an instrument i have been interested for a few months .. was gaining interest in slide playing .. i looked online at the various makes ..obviously i didn't spend too much on a resonator ..due to not knowing if i would get on with it .
looking at ozark gretch and such like ..and the national though very nice ..a bit out of my price range ,,
i looked and looked ,,and the more i looked at the harley benton Harley Benton Custom Line CLR-ResoElectric looked a lovely looking guitar ..
i guess it depends on what you prefer i guess .
when i unboxed it ..i made no adjustments to it ..and i still haven't after three weeks ..
it sound better than i thought it would be ..being a low end entry level ..
it sounds very authentic ..and just how i like it to sound ..
it's definitely developed its own character ..and i am really enjoying playing either slide or standard tuning ,
the quality is.. to be honest the superb quality iv'e come to realize with HB instruments.. so i had no doubts before i ordered it i would be happy with the quality .
like i said the sound is very authentic ..and plugged into an amp ..the tone is very very warm and still a very authentic tone .
the one lipstick pick up isn't the most powerful pick up ..but it has a very nice tone to it ..
there isn't really any thing that i have to say negative about this instrument .
well made ..sounds great ..looks great ..i'm very happy i bought it ..and probably won't bother upgrading to a more expensive model later on ,,
i really like this guitar and i'm sure you would be too ..and dare i say it ..it was the cheapest in its class ..chrome / electric /resonator
it feels great to hold ..and balanced quite well ..and not too heavy being a slim line .. all in all ..very very happy ..well done HB and thomann again for delivering satisfaction .

I've had brass bodied tricone, wood bodied spider cone, Fender resocaster, I've built 2 telecaster resonators - but this one takes the biscuit!! (good pun?) - I even prefer it over my mates 3 grand plus National! Its a very pretty guitar with the blend of gold finish & chrome, along with etchings. The neck is as comfy as any acoustic for regular playing, and even with quite low action behaves well for slide. the body is a nice weight, similar to a strat, and not much thicker so it is a very playable guitar with good balance and a loud acoustic reso sound. Tuners are well geared and stable. The electric pick up amplifies and works ok but for amplified reso performance it would benefit from a piezo centre biscuit mounted transducer, but I bought it really for acoustic play so it's absolutely fine. I play this a lot, which means a lot to me for a reso - usually they tend to fit into that 12-string category of "once-in-a-while" - but this gets a daily usage!

Let's face it, we're all attracted by the National Style O from Mark Knopfler, but they are really expensive. If you're looking for a guitar that has the looks of a National O and sounds more or less like one, but you only want to spend like 1/10th of the money, go for the Harley Benton.
First thing that pleasantly surprised me: the action! Really very good. The guitar came actually tuned as well!
The sound might be not exactly like a National O, but you've paid really a lot less as well! I've bought the guitar just to be able to play around a bit with the resonator and steel guitar sound, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Just try it out!

As expected from Thomann - excellent value for money
Compared to other branded resonators, sounds really good. Finishing is very good, with attention to detail. A highly playable neck, though I still have'nt tried the pickup. No intonation issues, compared to two other branded resonators I tried recently. Action maybe a little higher than I am used to on other guitars, still comfortable to play.
I will update review a few weeks later. Overall, I am very satisfied and a very happy customer of Thomann. Thank you Thomann.