I received the guitar yesterday and immediately tuned it and began to play it. This guitar has a great neck profile. I have an older v-neck D35 which is great for finger picking but is a little "fat" by today's standards. I just sold a Taylor because the neck was uncomfortable. I played this new Harley Benton for an hour and it is a great feeling neck. There were a few dust particles in the finish at first, but with an hour of playing, they disappeared. The neck is silky and fast.
Overall impression of the guitar is that the construction is flawless. It's a beautiful guitar. On the downside: The MOP inlays in the neck are fairly dark and not as pearlescent as I would have expected; and, I'm old school and guess I like shiny finishes over matte finishes. The guitar would benefit from a gloss finish. That's just me, YMMV.
Soundwise, I'm very happy with the guitar. It isn't a Martin, but it's got to be considered at the top of its class for Spruce top guitars that cost 2 or 3 times Thomann's price. Seriously, this is a very nice sounding guitar from the outset and it continues to open as time passes. Sustain on the guitar is very very good.
The action could be improved by lighter strings. The guitar came with a .012" high E string. I'm happier with 10's, so I'll change the strings in a few days after the guitar acclimatizes a bit more. Initially, the guitar appeared to have a rather high setup with too much bow in the truss rod. After 24 hours, the neck bow is .009", low E is 3/32" and high E is 5/64". Quite acceptable for factory setup. And I really appreciate the quality control card included with the guitar. They show that F8 andBI-BL inspected the guitar and tested setup. Thanks!
Overall, I doubt you can find another new guitar on the market that competes with HB/Thomann at this juncture. This D41 is astounding for this price.
EDIT: I decided to lower the action by sanding the bottom of the saddle. The frets are relatively small and I felt I was working to hard to get clear tones when barring. This definitely improved the action. I've had a chance to really play this guitar for extended sessions and the walnut is impressive for its ability to achieve bell-like tones on the upper frets. I've used the guitar in numerous recording sessions and note clarity has been superb. It's a nice complement to other guitars with rosewood or mohagany backs. Now, the downside: The bridge is a softer wood than it should be AND the string pin holes have been recessed too deep. When I changed out strings, the pins are now about .125" deeper than they were from factory setup. Not good. I don't think I'll need to do a changeout in the near future, but I'll probably install a brass backing plate inside the top, like Mitchell's PlateMate, to prevent problems.
Other than the bridge, this guitar is a gem.
