Harley Benton has expanded its lineup of nylon-string guitars with the Nashville Nylon Plus Black, a smart cutaway acoustic electric guitar that is designed for 21st-century players, capable of taking classical guitar manoeuvres in bold new musical contexts.
And with its “Flower & Vine” inlay and its black, flat-top cutaway body, it looks like a natural rival to Tim Henson’s Tree Of Death Ibanez signature guitar. The similarities don’t end there, however, with this Harley Benton model similarly outfitted with a Fishman Sonicore acoustic guitar pickup system.
Unlike some of the other nylon-string Harley Benton guitars, the Nashville Nylon Plus Black eschews soundholes, with only a shoulder-positioned soundport offering the player some immediate acoustic feedback to what they are playing.
This has a thinline body of chambered mahogany topped with solid Sitka spruce, with the body’s top finished off with a strip of ivory binding with black purfling. It’s a classy looking instrument.
It is certainly not underdressed either – with that “Flower & Vine” inlay and carved fingerboard giving it a high-end vibe. Players weaned on the heady cedar scent of old-school Spanish-built guitars may need some adjusting to this.
The fingerboard might feel flat, a 15.7” radius offering a fairly conventional platform for showcasing your Malagueña.
But wait, there are controls mounted on the top of the instrument, just like an electric guitar – except here those controls are for volume, treble and bass, with the 2-band EQ not something you would find on an electric, where you typically start at 10 with the treble then roll some off if you want a bassier tone.
Harley Benton says it splits the difference between traditional classical guitar tones and the nylon-string’s more 21st-century applications, as popularised by Polyphia et al.
“The Nashville Nylon Plus Black remains true to its classical roots, delivering the warm, mellow tones that classical guitarists appreciate, whether acoustic or plugged-in,” reads the blurb. “Fingerpicking intricate melodies or strumming chords on the nylon strings brings the unmistakable voice of a traditional classical instrument into a contemporary design.
“Yet, for players wanting to push boundaries and explore uncharted musical territory, this guitar becomes the perfect partner. Whether crafting intricate harmonies or unleashing high-octane riffs, the Nashville Nylon Plus Black invites players to blend genres and redefine their sound.”
In other words, it is an invitation to experiment. Its also designed to showcase your chops. Looking at this doesn’t make us think a G/C/D open-chord progression with the melancholy counterpoint of Amin.
This for thinking outside of the box, for classically inspired shred, splitting the atom with some arpeggios, and maybe augmenting its sound with a well-stocked pedalboard.
The neck dimensions – 20.5mm at the first fret, 23.5mm at the 12th – suggest as much. Comfort U profile should make for a speedy, high-performance instrument. The neck is three-piece mahogany, and bound. The scale length is 25.5”.
There are has 21 premium nickel-silver frets. The aforementioned fingerboard is ovangkol. The nut is bone, as is the saddle, and it and measures 46mm wide.
The Nashville Nylon Plus Black is available now exclusively via Thomann and the Official Harley Benton Reverb Shop. It is priced £333/$421. For more details, head over to Harley Benton.
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