Demo of the Harley Benton – 612 CS classic Serie RB

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Reissue of the 12 string Rickenbacker

That guitar is from the Classic Serie from Harley Benton. They are reproducing famous guitar from the past. From the flying V to the Stratocaster.

The Harley Benton – 612 CS classic Serie RB is the reproduction of the famous Rickenbacker from the 60. The body shape is a little different from the original version, but it looks like a Rickenbacker for sure.
I bought this guitar a little over a year ago, for the cheap price of €225.

This guitar sounds extremely well and is easy to play. Controls are basic. A volume for each pickup, a tone knob for each pickup and a three-way selector. Tuners are holding the tuning pretty well. The neck is a little bit larger than a regular guitar, but it is extremely easy to play.

The only concern I have with this guitar is a balance issue. The head featuring 12 tuners is too heavy, and if you are not using a large strap, the guitar has a tendency to dive. Therefore, you have to hold it with your right forearm or play seated to avoid that problem. Apart from that, everything is fine.

To make a long story short, I was obliged to postponed my guitar carrier for over 10 years because of a recurring Tendinitis issue I had in my left arm. When I got back to guitar playing a little over a year ago, I entered into a buying frenzy, and I decided to get all the different type of guitar available. Up to the 12 string, I had no issue with my tendinitis. But when the 12 string got delivered I started to feel those painful symptoms right away.

I didn’t know what to do, return the guitar and stop playing the 12 strings, sell it…. So I let the guitar sleep on the guitar stand for a while, until I got the brilliant idea to tune it a tone lower.

That solved my problem instantly. Not only I have no more pain in my left arm, but I discovered a new approach of playing the 12 strings. The new tuning allows me to bend strings and to rock that guitar like a regular 6 string.
I just have to transpose when playing with other instruments. When the song is in C major, I have to play with the fingering of D major. But this is something easy to do.

Recently I recorded a song based around that guitar. You can check it out on my video channel following this link. I’m using many different guitars in that one. But the 12 string plays a major role in that one. I start the song with a clean sound playing chords and in the second part of the song I added crunch sound on it. It sounds fantastic.

Harley Benton has a bad reputation, but as far as I’m concerned every gear I have from this brand is just perfect. I don’t know all of their guitar models, but the two I have are superb.