Harley Benton Jazzmaster hardtail copy - Lightly Aged
NGD: Harley Benton JA-60 LA (Lightly Aged) in Shell Pink
Price: retail price at Thomann is 249,-EUR / $238 / £215
I paid 199€ for a b-stock (returned item), which is - considering that it's a artificially aged instrument - a pretty good deal tbh.
Here are some specs:
- body: american alder
- neck: lightly caramelised and vintage tinted canadian maple
- fingerboard: laurel
- block fingerboard inlays
- neck profile: C
- double action truss rod
- scale length: 648 mm (25.5")
- nut width: 42 mm (1.65")
- pickups: 2 Isola CL-JM Alnico 5 single coils (bridge and neck)
- 3-way switch (no rythmn circuit switch thumbweels)
- aged 3-ply white pickguard
- Tune-O-Matic bridge
- aged Kluson-style machine heads
- lacquer: matt polyurethane
- paintjob: Shell pink lightly aged
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Price performance guitar 9/10. For this price it's an absolute monster of an instrument... Love, love looove the poly finish. It just feels vintage and gives the aging some dignified authenticity.
The heavier alder body makes the guitar super balanced on the strap. I do have the same guitar with a basswood body: Harley Benton JA-60 CC in Shell Pink (see my post history). The cheaper and lighter basswood makes the instrument a bit top-heavy and some neckdive because both guitar necks are solid hard maple and heavy with the cheap chinesium tuners at the headstock.
Speaking of the headstock: that's really the only thing that's bothering me. And it's just the aesthetics: way too small for an offset - and especially Jazzmaster - enthusiast! The small headstock (picture 4) is tinier than a Strat one. Almost as slim as a Telecaster headstock. But again it's purely aesthetics....
The neck is fine, some slightly sharp fret edges but that seems okay-ish considering the price and manufacturing in far-east. The back of the neck feels really smooth and I have to acknoledge the sandig, aging and paintjob there.
Chrome (aged) hardware is working well too. Vintage tuners are a nice choice and are somewhat authetic to the JM vibe of the Squier CV and VM line, could be the same manufacturer, who knows?
The hardtail bridge is aged too, working fine but takes a way a lot of the true Jazzmaster experience ! But behold:
I will Jazzmaster the shit out of this guitar 🧑🏻🔧🎸🪚
and that's where I'll start: drill a tremolo cavity and install a JM vibrato bridge plate. I'll transfer this baby as much JM as it possibly can...
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Played it acoustic: good string qualitaty, Harley Benton!! (coated "high quality" strings as it appears) and I'm surprised how bright and clear as a bell the guiatr sounds acoustically. Back of the neck feels amaaaaazing! 🤩🥰😍 Compares to my CME satin finished JM (made in Mexico) that feels equally good.
Fretboard and block inlays are fine. Had some troubles with laurel and Harley Benton fingerboards in the past (knotholes in the wood grain directly underneath the strings - no bending possible). Gave it some lemon oil and now it's good as new (or aged)...
I haven't had the chance to play it on the amplifier - so this is just my first impression of that instrument.
In the end I have to acknoledge my privilege to be an EU citizen and to live in the land of Thomann (Germany): it was soooo easy to order and get this guitar delivered without any fuzz or hussle, or paying shittons of taxes or tariffs.
I see this privilege and feel blessed.