Harley Benton Aeolus Frost Flame

Got the guitar when it was originally released - the version with the grover locking tuners. Whilst the top wasn't super stunning (the venner halves were misaligned and one side doesn't show full figuring unless you look at an angle) and the inside of the body looks a bit rough around the back plate, the guitar has a ton of mojo and playability.

I was wary of the neck at first as it's quite chunky, but it quickly became one of my all time favourites, round but fitting the hand perfectly. The roasted maple is very smoothly finished and is a joy to play. The frets are level and there's no sprout, but they were a bit scratchy for the first week or so of playing.

The pickups are quite versatile - from playing clean, jazzy ballads to drop tuned alt rock styles - they work perfectly. My bandmates said it's quite surprising to see a hollow body and hear the rock/metal tones come out of it easily!

The testament to how great the guitar is to me was the fact that I sold it to a friend a year ago and bought it back as I missed it dearly - and now it's here to stay!

I can highly recommend the Aeolus - my favourite out of ~12 Bentons that I owned throughout the years!