2023 Harley Benton RB-612 12-String Electric Guitar

My friend Rob picked this guitar up on the cheap direct from Thomann in Europe. It arrived here with a horrendous setup but after dialing-in the bridge via extra compensation and then tweaking the neck and overall setup, it's now a nice, slick player with a quick, even feel.

It does, however, have a bit of a wide, clunky neck. If you're used to the Rickenbacker 12s that this emulates in looks, it definitely does not hit the mark. The bright-sounding, Gretschy-looking mini-humbucker pickups, however, do dish-out plenty of jangle. I was impressed by that, actually.

Yes, though -- the style is very-much a take on Rickenbacker looks -- a 620 body shape, semihollow build a bit like a Tele Thinline, stacked pickguards, and high-contrast looks with bound edges. It's slick.

If I had to advise someone interested in this model, be aware that it could cost upwards of $100 in work-time to get one to play well. Out of the box this was a "guitar-shaped object" and not at all a player.

Ready to see some bridge work?

Above: the bridge as it was when it arrived -- slotted for pairs of strings but no individual compensation so it wouldn't play in tune up the neck.

The first step was to solder blobs onto the tops of the saddle to make more ledge up there to compensate with.

Next I re-slotted and filed compensation into the saddles for each string. Note how the strings sit forward and backward for octave/bass on each of the EADG saddles so they intonate correctly up the neck.