SC-Special TV Yellow : I'm running out of words

It's hard not to jump on the Harley Benton bandwagon as it really is worth hitching a ride. I'm of an age when guitars at these prices (allowing for inflation) would have been sold by Woolworths and been awful in every way. If Woolworths sold products like these, they'd still be in business.

One thing I've personally started to notice is that the extra £40, pushing these guitars up to the £200 mark, is rewarded hand over fist. In particular, the guitars have acquired much more personality IMHO. The Tesla pickups in my DC-DLX Gotoh and these P90s just have that certain something. This guitar is full of personality and vibe which is the one thing that is slightly (not entirely) missing at the lower price points. I have the HB Jazzmaster homage and that is a fantastic guitar but the pickups have no "personality" whatsoever. It was £40 cheaper! Like many, I originally came into Harley Benton expecting that I'd like the lovely necks but upgrade their pickups. On this guitar (and the DC-DLX) that really isn't going to be necessary. The neck is indeed a thing of beauty. Can a neck be yummy? Also, worth saying that I had to re-check the specs as these frets seemed as smooth as the DC-DLX which has stainless steel ones. Bonus.

I also feel that the finish quality is a bit better for that extra £40. That may be me but either way the finish on this was perfect. In fact, the only mark on it is a ding on the back, bottom edge - not by HB but I knocked it on the corner of a table two days after it arrived. Arghhhhh! Fortunately, we now live in a world where I can call this "reliced" so my Harley Benton has now increased in value.

I love the TV Yellow/Dirty Mustard colour which is much nicer in the flesh - more depth and gloss. As it's not a totally solid colour, you may see evidence of the wood grain. This means there may be less consistency and perfection visible through the finish than you would find on a more expensive guitar. However, that soon fades away when you pick it up. It's quite light and is dripping with vibe (in case I didn't mention that earlier). Again, this may be a personal thing but other reviews would indicate otherwise.

I know everybody says the first thing they do on many HBs is change the tuners but personally I find these to be massively inconsistent across all guitars, manufacturers and price points so have given up worrying. The HB DC-DLX Gotoh I have has, shocker, Gotoh tuners! These don't seem any better than these to me. If it's out of tune, I tune it. They all do that job which is good enough for me.

Quite how Epiphone can charge double is a complete mystery. I read one review a while ago which said we should buy HB now before the secret gets out and they start resting on their laurels instead of pushing the envelope. I hope that doesn't happen because this is the shake up the guitar industry has needed. I'm certainly doing my bit for the cause. So, buy it, you won't be disappointed. In the unlikely event you are, send it back. Win-Win!