Harley Benton HB-35Plus White

Some guitars are impulse purchases.

This wasn't one of them.

I waited over nine months for this particular version to come back into stock. During that time, I emailed both Harley Benton and Thomann more than once hoping for an update because I was determined not to settle for another colour or another model. Every time I looked elsewhere, I found myself coming back to this guitar.

When I finally seen it was available, I don't think I've ever clicked "Add to Basket" so quickly.

Thankfully, the wait wasn't just worth it, it exceeded every expectation.

The overall craftsmanship is genuinely impressive. The fretboard feels smooth and comfortable from the very first chord, the frets only needed the usual clean and polish that I'd give any new guitar and the setup was remarkably close straight out of the box. Within minutes I was playing instead of reaching for my tools.

Then I plugged it in.

This is where the guitar completely won me over!

The sustain is outstanding. Strike a note and it just keeps singing, allowing chords to bloom naturally and lead notes to hang beautifully. It has a rich, resonant voice that makes you lose track of time because every "one more song" somehow turns into five.

In the interest of writing an honest review, I did notice one very small cosmetic paint imperfection around the edge of the neck pickup. It's purely cosmetic, has absolutely no effect on the sound, feel or playability and considering everything else about the instrument, it wasn't enough to take away from what is otherwise an exceptional guitar.

What impressed me most is how little needed to be done before I could simply enjoy playing it. Apart from the normal fret and fretboard clean and polish that I'd carry out on any new guitar, it was ready to go.

After waiting more then nine months, I almost expected reality to struggle to match the anticipation.

Instead, it somehow exceeded it!

My only real complaint?

I spent nine months waiting for one Harley Benton...

Now I'm spending every evening convincing myself I don't need a second one!