HB Custom Line CLD-10S NS : great cheap guitar - they cut corners in the right places

This is a shockingly good guitar for the price. I've been playing guitar for 25 years and have some very nice ones, but I needed a cheap beater for a holiday away from home. This way exceeded my expectations. You can tell where HB tried to save some money (eg. the finish is a bit rough) but, IMO, they picked the best places to save money while still delivering a very playable guitar that sounds decent... it used to be that buying a cheap guitar was just throwing your money away - you'd end up with something that was just unplayable. I'll probably try and sand the saddle a bit to lower the action a tad, but right out of the box, I had no problem playing it. The sound is... a little bright? for my taste, but it will probably mellow a bit once the strings age. Overall, I'm very pleased and will definitely keep HB products on my radar for my future needs.