“Our most powerful yet”: Harley Benton already has the best-value electric guitar of 2024. Now it might have done the same with amp modelers

It’s only been a few weeks since Harley Benton dropped the ultra-affordable ST Modern Plus HSS, and now the budget brand has followed up with a new addition to its flagship multi-fx and amp modeling range, the DNAfx GiT Advanced.

The unit expands on the entry-level DNAfx GiT, but still sits below the top-of-the-line DNAfx GiT Pro in terms of price (though they are all on the affordable end of the spectrum – as we’ve come to expect from Thomann’s in-house brand).

Despite the lower cost, Harley Benton is saying the Advanced now represents the most powerful unit of the range. It offers 55 amp models, 26 IR cab sims (plus support for third-party IR files) and a sizeable range of 151 built-in effects.

The latter, alongside the built-in expression pedal, will help players cover all bases – from distortion to compression, EQ, modulation, filter and pitch effects, plus the usual reverb and delays.

You can use nine effects types simultaneously and, yes, there’s a built-in looper [available at launch – Ed] which can handle loops of up to 80 seconds. Not to mention a drum machine, chromatic tuner, and audio interface capabilities.

So why is this new and reportedly more powerful unit priced less than the Pro? Well, it likely comes down to the hardware costs.

The Pro offers a 5” full color screen, an expanded control set and a wealth of connectivity. The Advanced meanwhile, offers a more basic LED screen and indicates the effects chain with a series of LEDs (which light up when that effect type is engaged).

Then there’s an economical selection of Master, Mode and Value dials, plus three footswitches, the expression pedal and a few backlit push button controls.

Round the back of the unit, connections include a single input, stereo quarter-inch jack outputs, stereo XLR outs, plus headphone and USB connections (the audio interface offers a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz and 24-bit sampling accuracy).

The DNAfx GiT Advanced is all boxed up in a robust black aluminum chassis and, on the basis of the spec list, looks like remarkably good value for a modeling unit.

Indeed, with a price tag of around $170 it even sneaks in below the likes of Line 6’s stripped-down POD Express (though, it's worth noting, US buyers will have to pay around $30 shipping).

For more information on the DNAfx GiT Advanced, head to Harley Benton.