Harley Benton ST-Acoustic Black

Overall this is a really nice addition to the HB stable. I suspect the one I received probably should have been a "B" stock. There are globs of what appears to be epoxy or some other adhesive substance in the sound chamber of the particular guitar I received, but it doesn't seem to be affecting playability. The sound is a bit deader than I expected, but in fairness that could be the ABS body simply doesn't resonate as well with that adhesive in the sound chamber. (I was not able to get a mirror in there to tell conclusively.) Still, this is a really nice guitar. No discoloration on the binding and no fret sprout. All I did was oil up the fretboard a little bit and it seems fine. The fretboard looks great and the frets themselves were highly polished on arrival.

After my initial testing, I did swap out the stock tuners for some locking tuners and roller-type string trees. I did have to adjust the truss rod a little bit as the action was a bit higher than expected. (It was .012 on the bass side and .10 on the treble side.) Once adjusted it dropped into a very playable state. Even with these somewhat minor issues, I am still a solidly loyal HB customer. I think that I just got that one-in-a-million glob of adhesive on mine in the sound cavity as I do not hear of anyone else having this problem.

I plugged it up to a Katana Air amp I have and on the acoustic setting. In both plugged and unplugged states, it sounds good. Again, not quite as resonant as I was expecting, but still really good.

This compares well with my other acoustic and semi-hollow guitars and I believe I will get a fair amount of use out of it. Love the black finish and it just gleams!

Thanks, Thomann. A great product (minus the few comments above.)

Update Nov 23, 2021: After spending quite a bit of time playing with this guitar, I have decided to revise my comments. While the epoxy inside is not visually pleasing, it does not in any way detract from the playability of the instrument. I did a couple of small upgrades (new tuners and shaved a tiny bit off the bottom of the bridge) which dramatically improved its playability. Not everyone is comfortable working on their guitars and I don't recommend this to everyone, but with a few small tweaks these guitars become highly playable and sound great. I would highly recommend this ST-Acoustic to anyone. I have found it to be the guitar I typically pick up when I am going to work on writing music as it is light, easy to play now, and sounds good for my own style of use.

I bought this thinking it would do nicely as a "general purpose dogsbody" guitar which I wouldn't need to worry about getting a knock or two - unlike my more expensive guitars. It's better than I expected.
The good stuff:
Very prettily finished, there are a couple of minor imperfections at the binding edges, but only noticeable if you look very hard and critically at it. Lovely neck and fingerboard, nice frets, no rough edges there. Action was fine for me, straight out the box. Unplugged, it is louder than I expected, compares well with my Ibanez Talman. Obviously not so much projection as a dreadnought - you couldn't expect it - but very useable all the same. Amped up, good tone (typical piezo undersaddle sound) and the 4 band EQ works well.
The bad stuff:
Nothing REALLY bad, but the tuning machines feel clunky, heavy and not nice to use. It seems to be stable enough once it is tuned but I'd consider fitting a better set at some point, Which, for a set of Klusons, would add about €40 on top. Still a lot cheaper than buying the Fender product, which is also not without its critics.
Overall, highly recommended as a good all-round top value guitar.

Update 3/10/2020: The clunky tuners were really getting to me, so I obtained a set of gold-plate finish ones (from Amazon - about €12, free postage) as well as some goldie roller string trees. Now I cannot fault the instrument, I took a bit of a gamble buying cheap tuners, yet even at that price they were much better than the factory ones. HB please note!

Update 18/10/2021: I'd like to add that I've now had this guitar just over a year and it has become my most used instrument of the seven guitars I currently have available. I don't think anyone could regret buying one and at this price they are amazing value as well.

Fantastic guitar. It's a Fender Stratacoustic at a third of the price. I wanted an acoustic that gave full easy access to all the frets without the huge neck heel that most electric acoustic have. With this guitar, i can play it just like an electric for some acoustic Hendrix tunes. Also, this sounds amazing through my Yamaha THR5A Acoustic Amp. As far as quality goes, the binding isn't perfect with some overspray which wasnt polished out before it was lacquered; but that's just cosmetic. Frets are good with no sharp edges or flat spots. Action was a bit high, but after filing down the underside of the bridge a little bit; it's fine and plays great. Tuners of course aren't as good as expensive ones but they work and stay in tune. Strap button is on the upper horn rather than the neck heel as shown in photos, but that's better to avoid the strap getting in your hand's way when at the top end of the neck. No bad points in my opinion. Over all, very happy; but wish they did some different models with pretty flamed tops rather than only plain glossy black.

What can I say about this amazing little guitar? I've been waiting for something like this for years, but wasn't going to pay a fortune for the Fender version. I've been playing since the 70s as a teenager, and do all my own mods and set-ups. I made the following mods to my new HB ST Acoustic:-

1) I rounded off the headstock "lawsuit point". I always do on Strat copies, regardless of the make. I prefer the rounded look.

2) I upgraded the tuners to Musically Vintage Split Post tuners with white buttons.

3) I fitted a 0.5 pro shim behind the headstock to improve the action. A good move yielding very positive results.

4) I moved the upper strap button from the back of the neck to the end of the upper horn tip. I used a ball of Milliput epoxy putty to reinforce the ABS, which I pressed into place internally using a bent coat hanger and a borescope camera to see what I was doing. I then drilled through the ABS and into the hardened putty to fit the strap button.

5) I upgraded the bridge saddle with a bone replacement, using a pro sanding jig to the bottom glass smooth.

PROS: A fantastic concept that really works well. Sounds very good acoustically for a small-bodied guitar. When set-up properly, it sounds amazing through my all three of my PA system, even without an acoustic effects pedal. It's light and the action is really low. It also looks very nice. I'll be using this guitar mainly for jamming with friends and for open-mic nights. Amazing value at this price.

CONS: I have only one real, substantial complaint, and some recommendations.

Firstly, when I plugged it in, it sounded absolutely awful. Uneven volume across the strings and barking loudly on the middle two strings. I removed the bridge saddle and was horrified to see a bridge that looked as though it had been chewed by a rabid dog. It was chipped along the bottom edge and badly bowed at the bottom. It was literally rocking in the saddle slot.

Rather than send the guitar back, I decided to replace the original saddle with a new bone saddle. The difference after the fix was like night and day. The guitar now sounds genuinely awesome with a rich, full tone when plugged in, even before I switch in my acoustic effects pedals. My suggestion is EQ the guitar with plenty of bass before introducing any effects.

Minor grumbles. Please, Thomann/HB, consider placing the strap button on the upper horn. I absolutely hate buttons being placed on the back of the neck. Also, the neck screw-bolts were going all over the place, and one hole in the heel was too way close to the edge for my liking. Seems to be okay, with no signs of the heel wood splitting, but the least I'd expect is for the screwbolts to be going in straight and correctly distributed when they pierce the back of the neck heel.

SUMMARY: Whatever you do, buy this guitar. Even with the bridge saddle and misaligned neck bolt issues, I'd buy another one without hesitation. For a guitar with an electric style neck on an acoustic body, of this overall quality and massive potential, this is an awesome deal. I do ask that Thomann address the issues I have raised as some of them are basic QC failings that are unacceptable on any guitar, in my opinion, regardless of price.

Definitely, go for it. I now have an uber-comfortable, lightweight, electric/acoustic hybrid that sounds absolutely amazing, with a low action and a decent acoustic tone - and an absolutely fantastic piezo tone when plugged in. Thank you, Thomann Team, for the amazing guitars you sell for such amazing prices. You guys really are bona fide legends of the guitar manufacturing industry !!!

I've always wanted to try one of these and I got pleasantly surprised!
It sounds quite good for what it is, a slim sized acoustic guitar with a plastic -non wooden- body. It's loud enough to fill a room and sounds decently balanced. It is not as rich as a larger dreadnought guitar, but that is expected and that's why I give it 4 stars. The built-in preamp will be very useful for live performances.
I am mostly an electric guitar player and the ST-acoustic feels very comfortable to play, as it sits just fine on my lap, it's lightweighted and it doesn't feel bulky at all. Also the strat neck felt instantly familiar to the hand. It is very well built, without any flaws. I will only lower the string action just a bit according to my personal preference.
Overall, it's a fine little guitar at a great price.

Just had to try one of these for this amount of money, Delivery was quick via DHL, No damage or imperfections on inspection, tuned it up and played it unamplified and was pleasantly surprised at the loudness and tonal qualities. Popped the battery in and plugged into amp and again very pleasantly surprised at the sound and tone variations available. The action was far too high for me being about 5mm where neck meets body, and there was also no relief to the neck, so I modified the set up (generally in accordance with Fender recommended measurements)
firstly setting the neck relief, but when I checked the 'Action' I would have needed to lower the bridge by approx. 3mm, and as I did not want to do this (piezo pickup underneath), I decided to modify the neck angle - thank goodness for Leo Fender! It did not need much in the way of shimming and a small folded piece of emery paper at the bottom end of the neck pocket did the job perfectly so overall I am quite happy with the guitar especially at that price. It would be interesting to hear if others experience similar set up issues. Almost forgot to mention on the second day of playing via amp, the sound kept varying in volume and cutting in and out, I bought a new battery and when fitting it spotted what the problem was - battery too loose in plastic holder so fitted a folded piece of card to press the battery down onto the contacts and this seems to have solved the problem.