Harley Benton Victory-BK Classic Series

For the price of this guitar, I can't argue that its great.

The neck is a really nice thickness, its fast, and the frets are a good size to allow for comfortable chords and easy riff and lead work.

The balance of the body is better than nearly any V shaped guitar I've played. Absolutely 0 neck dive, even if the top strap pin feels like its in a slightly.. odd place. But it doesn't get in the way for me.

The pickups are bright and agressive, I use them for punk/black metal tones and they cut well for recording, they're quiet and have plenty of clarity. I will say, if you're into crystal clean tones, this probably isn't gonna be for you.

The tunes are fine, nothing special, but they do the job, not having to retune often. I might change them out in future, but until then, they're good enough for me.

The whole construction, fit and finish are all top notch, especially for something that cost just a little over £100, I've owned more expesnive guitars that can't contend, this and my other HB's are great. Especially for experimenting with new shapes and styles without busting the bank.

There is however, one tiny little issue.

The pickup selector doesn't like to stay in place. It loves the middle position, but will sometimes ping back from the bridge setting, or flat out refuse to stay in place in the neck one.

Its not great, but I'm fine with it. I take the neck pickups out of most of my guitar because I don't use it at all live, and have a bunch of options for neck pickups when recording. I'd obviously prefer if it worked, but worst case scenario a £2 part and 10 mins soldering as and when I may change the pickups and its fixed.

Very pleased. Nice one, Harley Benton.

Love it, better as i expected!
You can't get this v from gibson anymore*, but the HB is great fun!!!!
*Well..now they have one for 16 x and one for 34 times this price...

Good looks, plays well, frets are nice, good electronics: pots turn nice, switch is ok, , sound is really great: blues, jazzy, rock...(All on a full tube Marshall and a handbuild 5 watt tube job )
Had to do some set-up of course, not much. Looks as Thomann has a really good quality control, at least with my 2 guitars.
Will have to give the fretboard some oil treatment, but not yet: the strings are in good condition! * well after half a day i oiled and cleaned the neck and put 010 d'addario's on. Way better.
The nut is a tiny bit wrong, not a big problem, i will change it in time. You can't have it all for ?99, Edit: the nut has settled in now. ok.
btw: Humbuckers are open, with sort of silk tape protection. Might be like the real thing.
* after checking the internet: originals look the same. Plastic protection foil took a long time to get of, broke a pot trying to get a volume knob of... Lucky i had a 250K spare :( (yes, they are 250K)
For home use it's lots of fun. will probably try it with the band, but with a flashy axe, you have to play really well :)

It's not as heavy or massive as a mahogany Gibson of course, rather lightweight. Better not bump into things, but it plays well sitting or standing.

EDIT:
I changed the stock pot for 500k log ALPS, large.The capacitor for a 0.22 (mallory), the toggleswitch for a gibson switch, the input plug for a neutrik (Switchcrafts is really good too)
More dynamic sound, since it was original 250k and 047.
The nice knobs fit exactly on the ALPS, had to clear the holes for the pot a little bij hand (8.5 drill)
Volume replaced to the long side, tone nearest to the bridge.
Damped the pickup cavity with old foam my telephone came with.

This one is now such a great guitar!!!! And the humbuckers are very good indeed. ;)

This one is different but just as nice as the more expensive HB gold top/P90. And that is a really good guitar.

i'm still having fun, from T-rex to Metallica ;)
Are there no bad things? No, not for this price. Wishes: the highs notes, 20 fret and up on the e and b string don't sustain as long as my 35 year old strat.
Long enough of course, and with a pedal you won't notice it at all. The neck and tuners had some trouble with the hot weather last month, but are settled in nicely.