Harley Benton

For a pedal buyer, the brand's interest is price. Harley Benton sells effects at budget levels, from compact single-effect pedals to the DNAfx GiT multi-effects units, and because it sells only through its parent retailer, the brand says customers benefit from not having to maintain a separate dealer network²⁴⁵.

Thomann's own brand, sold only through Thomann

Harley Benton is not an independent effects company. It is a house brand: the products are designed and branded by Harley Benton and then sold exclusively through Thomann's online store, with no other retail channel¹. The brand itself frames this as the reason for its pricing, saying that customers "benefit from the fact that we sell exclusively through Thomann and therefore we don't need to establish" a wider sales structure².

That structure matters for anyone outside Germany. There is no US distributor and no domestic dealer to buy from; every order, including pedals, goes through Thomann and ships from Germany³.

Budget pedals and the DNAfx GiT multi-effects

The effects range runs from small single pedals to digital multi-effects. The MiniStomp line is a series of compact pedals offered by Harley Benton⁹, and the range also includes units such as the Digital Delay, which RockBoard's PedalPedia notes can even produce a slapback echo¹⁰.

Pedals in the MiniStomp line include:

• MiniStomp PitchMate²
• MiniStomp Magnum D.I.³
• MiniStomp MicroCAB⁸
• MiniStomp 5-Band⁹
• MiniStomp Spinner¹¹
• MiniStomp Phone Home⁵
• MiniStomp Intersection¹²
• MiniStomp Edgy¹³
• MiniStomp True Grit²

The best-known Harley Benton effects product is the DNAfx GiT, which the maker describes as an "advanced amp modelling multi-effect processor" featuring two quality footswitches and a built-in expression pedal for on-the-fly editing of effect parameters¹⁴. RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the DNAfx GiT Pro with the same description: two quality footswitches and a built-in expression pedal¹⁴¹⁵. The family also extends to units such as the DNAfx GiT Mobile II¹.

Buying from the US: shipping and delivery

Harley Benton's FAQ addresses US orders directly. The average delivery time to the US is 6 to 9 working days⁸. For shipping cost, the FAQ gives guideline figures as of December 2020: 60 euros to the US for up to two electric guitars, and generally around 80 euros for a guitar and a case¹¹¹⁶. Those figures are dated and were given as examples for guitars rather than pedals, but they are the brand's own published guideline for US orders.

The FAQ also notes that no CITES-regulated wood is used in any Harley Benton products, so buyers do not have to worry about customs restrictions on those materials¹¹. For UK customers, orders since January 1st, 2021 incur government charges collected by UPS: 20% VAT plus a small amount for paperwork, usually around 2.5%, plus a UPS service fee of a minimum of 11.50 GBP¹².

Support: 3-year warranty and 30-day returns

Every order at Thomann, which includes all Harley Benton products, comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 3-year warranty¹⁷¹⁸⁸. This coverage is stated consistently across the brand's product pages¹⁸⁸¹⁹.

B-Stock products get the same treatment. A "B-Stock" item is a product that has been returned by a customer within the 30-day money-back guarantee or replaced under warranty. These products are offered at a special, reduced price, are fully functional, and come with the full 3-year warranty and the 30-day money-back guarantee³.

For a US player weighing an order from Germany, the return window and warranty are the practical safety net: a pedal that arrives with a fault is covered for three years, and one that simply does not suit can go back within 30 days¹⁷⁸⁴.

The range (57)

News

Questions