Harley Benton D-120 BK vs Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton D-120 BK over Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Reasons to Get
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa over Harley Benton D-120 BK
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton D-120 BK vs Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Shared Features
Harley Benton D-120 BK vs Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa is probably the better product overall with its final score of 79 compared to the Harley Benton D-120 BK's 71 score, although not by a lot.
The Taylor GS Mini-e Koa wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality. On the other hand, the Harley Benton D-120 BK has the upper hand when it comes to value for the money.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Harley Benton D-120 BK is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa is the better choice.
The Taylor GS Mini-e Koa meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Harley Benton D-120 BK meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Harley Benton D-120 BK- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Harley Benton D-120 BK Overview
- From Harley Benton's 2021 Standard series
- Made in China
- 6 strings
- 25.591"'' scale
- 15.748" Fretboard Radius
- Spruce top
- Sapele back
- Sapele sides
- Nyatoh neck
- Roseacer fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Roseacer bridge
- Acoustic Modern C Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Chrome plated die-cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa Overview
- From Taylor's 2014 GS Mini series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 23.5"'' scale
- 15" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Hawaiian Koa top
- Layered Koa back
- Layered Koa sides
- Sapele neck
- West African Crelicam Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: ES-B Electronics (Preamp/Active)
- West African Crelicam Ebony bridge
- Acoustic Taylor Standard Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Taylor Chrome tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
It's similar to Mahogany in both color and tone. It can produce warm tones, and it's known for its beautiful figured grain patterns. Find out more about Sapele.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton D-120 BK
Nyatoh has been replacing Mahogany for guitar building. It's fairly hard, durable, more sustentable and common than Mahogany. Find out more about Nyatoh.
It's also known as roasted maple, which is regular maple that has been treated with heat to remove humidity. It makes it more resistant to temperature changes and also darkens its color.
Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.
Woods Used in the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
It's a type of wood native to the Hawaiian Islands, where it's pretty common. Its musical properties make it a great wood for making guitars, but it's especially popular for building Ukuleles. Find out more about Koa.
Winner: Taylor GS Mini-e Koa.
Electronics
The Taylor GS Mini-e Koa comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.
Winner:Taylor GS Mini-e Koa.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Harley Benton D-120 BK compares to the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton D-120 BK is built in China while the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa is made in Mexico.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Harley Benton D-120 BK has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa comes with a NuBone nut. It's made by the same company that makes TUSQ nuts. It's slightly softer but hard enough to give you a brighter sound when playing open strings. It's also self-lubricating, so it's good for tuning stability.
Winner: Taylor GS Mini-e Koa.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Harley Benton D-120 BK's are Chrome plated die-cast while the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa's are Taylor Chrome
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton D-120 BK
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa
- Expensive Wood
- NuBone Nut
- Electronics
- Synthetic Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42.5mm (1.673''). This is a 0.4mm (0.015'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Harley Benton D-120 BK has the longest scale: 25.591". The Taylor GS Mini-e Koa is only 23.5" long. This is a 2.091'' (53.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Harley Benton D-120 BK and the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Harley Benton D-120 BK's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Harley Benton D-120 BK.
Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa favors large hands more than the Harley Benton D-120 BK. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Harley Benton D-120 BK:
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa:
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
