CLA-15CE Java Exotic : Superb guitar

Great sounding, and very well made and finished guitar, let down only really by the mediocre tuners. Feature wise it is all there, with a reasonable sounding fishman presys too. The build quality is massively improved over earlier HB's. The guitar sounds very good, expecially considering it has a pretty typical laminate construction and is of a reasonably compact body size. The veneer top looks nice (personal taste of course) and the entire guitar has a satin finish that feels lovely in hand.

The guitar arrived with a decent truss setting, though the action was about 5mm at the 12th. I have cut down the bridge (bone btw) but we start to hear too much buzz once down to about 3mm at the 12th. When the strings need changing next I will level and recrown the frets, and tweak the nut (bone again) to get the action down a bit more and improve playability. Fret edges were surprisingly neat but could do with a bit more rounding if I was being fussy.

Overall its a great guitar, and not just for the money either. It's an all-round nice guitar that could easily be confused with something way above its price point if you were to cover the headstock. The Koa model sounds even better, though I bought this for my partner as she prefered the look of the top. In comparison, The Java version has a bit more of a hollow midrange to it than the koa, and is not quite as dark and warm as the full gaboon ('mahogany') version.

Recommended. :)