Harley Benton HBJ-25

Have had this for a week now.
Super enjoyable instrument!
I bought this because I'm really getting into indie folk, and wanted to have an actual banjo for recording my tracks instead of using a mandolin as some kind of high pitched banjo sounds. Wanted to be able to use it like Gregory Alan Isakov or Sons Of The East. Can't wait to actually be recording some songs or writing songs with it! It's fun to play, and transforms my "guitarist wants to write a song" into "songwriter writes a song" which is very good, because now I actually won't get lost in trying to solo over a backing track, if that makes sense. Anyways, short summary:

Pros: Price, quality, sound, finishing, looks. Flawless delivery!

Cons: Tuning stability, two very small dings, tad bit high action (not a big deal for this instrument), but still very playable,


As for the pros: The price is ridiculously good, and totally worth it! I've searched through the entire internet for an affordable 5-string banjo, and even used, and haven't found anything even remotely as affordable as this! The quality is remarkably good, fret ends are very smooth, flawless finish, nice smooth ebony fretboard! The sound is very authentic and exactly what I want a banjo to sound like (fun fact, the use of different strings and different frets, and different plucking places make the licks sound entirely different, even more so than on a guitar, I think)! Another thing I really like about it are the looks! The tuners look very cool with the open gears and a pearloid shiny MOP imitate material for the pegs, the chrome coloured hardware is all shiny and nice to look at, especially together with the flawless mahogany back and the black burst maple neck! The Harley Benton logo looks pretty cool, with a cool silvery shiny MOP imitate, and last but not least, the binding looks incredibly clean and solid! (double bound body and bound fretboard!)

As for the cons: I was very skeptical getting my first Harley Benton, and especially a banjo at such a low pricetag, and I immediately gave the instrument an inspection before I played it. The only things I found were: a very small scratch on the binding where the 5th string joins the fretboard and a small ding in the headstock, barely noticeable. The only thing that really annoys me at times, but am definetely willing to deal with, is the quite annoying tuning stability. Maybe because the nut is a tad bit high, I don't know. Action is not super low, but not ridiculously high, and I don't really think a super low action would fit this instrument anyways.

As for the delivery: Very easy and fool-proof (my first time ordering something from Thomann) ordering, flawless tracking of shipment and a lot of information! Very nicely packaged so it's safe and secure. Very decent wait time overall (1 week is a very good job considering that everyone orders stuff online now with the lockdown)!

Thanks to all at team Thomann for making this possible!

P.S.: sorry for the long review :p I'm just excited about this banjo :p

Another absolute win from the Harley Benton team. I was put off buying a banjo for many years as everyone claims that to get a "good" one you have to spend £5-600+ and that was just too much for me merely to "test the water"...

However, I'm really glad I chanced this purchase. I figured it was so cheap that it wouldn't be a great loss if it turned out to be a piece of junk but, just.... WOW !

My friend has a banjo that he paid 800 euro for and I shall not name the manufacturer but it's made by one of the premier/big banjo producers and this banjo, in my opinion, plays and sounds just as good. It's crazy.

There is NOTHING low quality about this instrument to my eyes/ears. It really is a classy looking banjo and I would easily have expected to pay a lot more for this kind of sound and playability. It's a joy to play and sounds lovely.

It also looks very nice, with no part of it belying the cheap cost. The wood finish looks great, it's not "too heavy" but has a suitable weight to it and the remo head and tone ring look really "the part". It has the look of something that should be a lot more expensive. Tuning pegs are nice, not slack and they're responsive and easy to tune with. The neck is very nice, too, very fast and no quibbles whatsoever with fretting or any other usually problematic matters on lower end stringed equipment.

I've said it in other reviews but everything I have bought by Harley Benton is just great. I've seen them getting a lot of grief on forums etc but when I check the dates of these posts they're always from around 8 years ago so I can only presume that quality took a real jump forward. So, basically, don't let negative press fool you, these instruments are really great and are of astounding quality and playability considering the price.

I don't say that as a negative, either, like "well, it's great - CONSIDERING THE PRICE", as in if you pay a little you should expect to get something not so great. No, quite the opposite, I think in this case you pay a little and you get something that is comparable to instruments many times the cost.

For beginners and banjo afficionados alike this is a great instrument. I'm really glad I made this purchase and have no problem at all recommending it to others.