Secifications
What is Harley Benton Aeolus?
Aeolus is a weird one, because unlike most of the Harley Bentons I’ve seen, it isn’t based on any specific guitar on the market. It has classy looks with its semi-hollow design, great looking flame maple veneer top and Gibsonesque headstock, but also packs lot of modern features like glow-in-the-dark side dots, roasted maple neck and fingerboard, stainless steel frets and coil split capability.
It’s an intriguing concept in the budget guitar universe, one that I haven’t encountered before.
All the things I like about this guitar
The guitar I received came set up well, but as with all budget-friendly-instruments, your experiences may vary (mine certainly have). One of the first things I paid attention to was the great looking flame maple veneer. It looked ‘real’, and the overall finish of the instrument was done well. Not everyone has had the same experience with their Aeolus, but more on that later.
The guitar had some weight to it, but I wouldn’t call it heavy. The stainless-steel frets were polished well, and the fret ends were rounded up properly. The satin finished neck is one of the best I’ve tried on a budget-friendly instrument and overall, the guitar had a ‘premium’ feel about it even though we’re talking about a sub-400€ guitar here. The guitar also stayed in tune well.
While I hesitate to use the term ‘versatile’, I struggle to come up with any other way to describe it. If you check the video above, you’ll hear how well you can cover different music styles from jazzy vibes to blues funk, pop punk, hair metal / hard rock and even down tuned metal (using a Digitech Drop) with it.
The Tesla pickups in Harley Benton Aeolus are truly versatile and the coil split options work way better than on many instruments priced five times more than this one. You really can cover almost any music style with it.
The 25” inch scale length and ergonomic neck joint makes it feel different from every other guitar I’ve ever played, and I mean that in a good way.
Things to consider before buying
The Aeolus is a strange one: it almost feels like a side project for Harley Benton. Two years since its initial release they haven’t added any other finish options to the guitar, even though making something like a gloss black finish option is right there for them to make.
Despite its semi-hollow construction, the guitar isn’t particularly lightweight, which is a common trade-off for budget-friendly instruments. The guitar I had was a bit back-heavy and didn’t balance well against my thigh.
I’m not a huge fan of the alpha logo on the headstock. It seems like an afterthought and doesn’t match the overall look of the guitar.
As mentioned, the guitar I received had no issues and was well set up. However, based on reviews on the Thomann website, many people have encountered quality control issues, with their instruments arriving with flaws.
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