SC-Custom II Lemon Flame : Even Better Than the Real Thing!

I bought this guitar after much searching - to play in my band, that is raising money in 2022 for families living with Motor Neurone Disease. We will play a series of gigs next year in the UK, based on the music of U2.

I read loads of reviews whilst thinking, 'shall I stretch to a low end Gibson, maybe an Epiphone or Tokai'. And it was a battle in my head for months! In the end I was won over by the fantastic reviews which gave me a feel for what real musicians thought of Harley Benton guitars - the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I kept watching the YouTube videos and listening to the sound and thinking - I could recreate that and more with my Boss GT-1000 effects.

So I pressed the button with this Les Paul look-alike (SC Custom II Lemon Flame). At the price, I thought at least, I have little to lose if it isn't great.

The reality exceeded my expectations by some way! The parcel was delivered quickly (considering it was overseas), packaged well and arrived in immaculate condition.

It was ready to play and in tune out of the box and what pleased me most in the first instance was that the action was lower than other guitars I have at double the price.

Intonation was spot on and the sound surprisingly crisp and clear for an LP type guitar. Putting it through the GT-1000, I was able to get exactly the sounds I wanted for the biggest U2 songs.

Now, I have been playing the guitar for ages (more than 30 years), but I am far from an expert. So there may have been small things I may have missed, but if there are - I can't see them.

The SC-Custom is light (especially with the cut away sections in the back), easy to play and even has strap locks into the bargain - something really important to me as I have dropped previous guitars on a number of occasions!

The guitar holds tune really well - even with variations in ambient temperature and humidity. So, it is very difficult to find fault - yes the pickups are not as hot as my EMG's on my Epiphone Explorer, but I didn't expect them to be! They sound really good and with a few tweaks on the effects, I can more than cater for that to get the OD and distortion I need.

My conclusion - this is an unbelievable deal. You are getting a great quality guitar at a fraction of the price of the 'bigger' names. To me it is a no-brainer. So much so that I have just ordered two more Harley Benton guitars. I couldn't be happier!