Harley Benton CST-24HB Tortoise Flame Reviews

Nice instrument with a few minor issues

Pros: - nice and solidly made instrument, - weight, - beautiful colour and outfit, - very good staying in tune, - perfect feeling while holding the instrument in the hands, - probably the best guitar neck of all Harley Benton electric guitars, - unbeatable price in this class of the instrument. Cons: - pickups, - 3-Way blade switch. Even with a cursory glance, it is clear that this instrument has more positive than negative characteristics. However, the sound of the pickup in this case is quite a problem, which especially comes to expression in the dirty mode, while the clean sound are O.K. - nothing spectacular, but also not bad. If you decide to replace the pickups, taking into consideration the average price of 80-150 € per piece, in that case the price of the guitar would rise to 449-589 €, which, even in the most expensive variant, is about 2.5 times lower than the PRS SE Hollowbody II ( without any modifications this guitar is almost 5 times cheaper than PRS, which is the world record). The guitar has an extremely pleasant feeling when playing, the neck is literally perfect, regardless of whether you have a smaller or larger hand, and it is so light that you can practically forget that you have it hanging around your shoulder. Conclusion: if you are a fan of hollowbody guitars and if you don't mind a slightly undefined and muddy tone during overdrive - don't hesitate, this is the guitar for you. Even if you decide that you want to upgrade the guitar with other pickups, you'll still be in a winning position because you'll have a guitar with a more comfortable neck than the PRS SE Custom, so the only possible conclusion is that Harley Benton literally pushes the boundaries when it comes to the availability of instruments to everyone. If there was no above mentioned pickup issue, the rating would be a pure five stars, which could not be compromised even by a very hard 3-Way Switch, which requires a smaller setup by yourself or your favorite luthier. Recommendation: After receiving this guitar, smear the neck with lemon oil - it will be softer, smoother and more pleasant to play.

4 oiut of 5 isn't bad

I must preface this to say I have 3 other HB guitars, and they're all fantastic playing. I ordered 2 of these (different finishes) with a buddy, his was Charcoal Black. Had to return this one due to a neck problem and the bridge was all the way down with the nut too high, couldn't lower the very high action at all. The one my friend ordered set up nicely for him he said. Both of us are competent at set ups, fret polishing, fret edging, etc. HB will no doubt take care of me, and I am ordering another guitar (different model) from them.

Needs setup, but...

Out of the box this guitar was unplayable. after adjusting the truss rod, action, and intonation. its really nice. i got this guitar for the neck and body. but if i had to, i could gig with it with existing hardware and electronics. frets are amazing. fret board needed oil. I would buy another.

Not quite a P*S but it'll do

If you're prepared to do a little setup work and perhaps change the pickups [T*yl*r do some nice ones] this works out a very nice guitar for not a lot of money. I've found they can vary a little [hence the setup work] but the one I got was a good player from the off, no rogue frets, nut cut properly.

With the pickup swap, this really sounds amazing. If you're not a headstock snob and are looking for a good playable guitar or a gigging spare, this could suit you right down to the ground.

Sweet tones !

Light weight - Woody tones - Howling humbuckers___ Beautiful Flame - Clean Binding___ Great Price ! What's not to Love !

Stunning Guitar

Very good guitar. Specifications are good, very easy neck to play..

Good options with pickup control.

Stunning to look at.

plays like a hollow body

I just bought one last week and received it in California from Germany in three days to my doorstep. Opening the box, I was apprehensive however the guitar was flawless in everyway cosmetically. The strings were a little high and the intonation was a little off, both of which are easily fixed. It plays better than my Gibson 335 unplugged and the pickups are fine. I'm going to have a luthier work on it that costs about $60 and it has become my favorite guitar around the house. I've been playing on stage for the last 15 years with a 1998 fender Lonestar Stratocaster which is much heavier so am thinking about switching. Moving from Texas special single coils to split humbuckers will take some practice, but that's what fun is all about. If you like this guitar don't hesitate. I am thrilled with it.

Not Bad With Proper Expectations

I ordered this hoping for more of a PRS look than what I actually got. Curves/carves were not as prominent as the pictures show, so the PRS aesthetic was lost to me. After putting those feelings aside and just looking at it from a quality perspective, it did look pretty nice, although there were quite a few glue drops inside the guitar, easily visible through the F holes. The F holes themselves looked okay if you don’t look at them from the side, as there was gunk visible on the underside of the top just inside the F holes.

As far as playability, it felt fairly nice. Nice thin neck, and the frets were in good shape. The tuners were pretty stiff, and there was a noticeable buzz on the G string that was not from the frets, so something in the saddle may have been loose. Pickups are not high output so they will need a bit of a boost if you want a heavy sound, but they sound decent clean.

All in all, it’s not a bad guitar. After tempering my expectations, I decided it was a nice guitar for the money, but not for me (though I ultimately couldn’t quite get over the difference between the pictures and what I got, subtle as it may have been, as I see that as false advertising).

My New Main Guitar

Disclaimer: I was sent this guitar to review

Holy cow is this guitar amazing! I've had it for over a year now and since receiving it, it has become my go-to guitar. It sounds absolutely incredible and plays amazing. The crazy thing is that it played amazing right out of the box and I haven't touched it for a setup yet after over a year of having it. That being said, I recently noticed that the intonation is a little off and have finally decided to do a proper setup and really make sure everything is good to go. The coil tap feature is fantastic!

I docked a star in the features section for three reasons. First, I wish the bridge had the ability to adjust the intonation for each string. Second, I wish that it used a push-push knob for the coil split instead of a push-pull. Third, I know that most semi-hollow body guitars don't do this, but I wish there was a back panel or something that could let you more easily access the electronics. Going through the f-hole is very daunting to me. Honestly, if I only had one of these nitpicks, I wouldn't remove a star, but with all three I think it's fair.

I almost removed a star for the sound because the neck pickup does sound a little muddy, but it sounds beautiful when coil split and I haven't taken the time to adjust the pickup height so I figured that would be unfair.

good guitar for the money

Good guitar and decent sound. The tuners are not of the best quality, they have an idle speed, but they do their job. Very beautiful guitar finish

Stunning guitar

Plays like a dream. Absolutely n complaints

Looks good, but workmanship could be better

Bindings in the f hole is not done properly. Some ugly overlapping, and some parts, the width of the binding does not match the thickness of the wood.

Extremely sharp fret ends, could easily cut.

The 2 piece flame maple veneer looks really good. Wish they could match them.

Absolutely Gorgeous

Beautiful guitar that sounds awesome. With all things, there is a value for money equation that needs to be made. This Harley Benton CST-24 HB offers incredible value. And did I mention that it sounds awesome? Out of the box, the setup is perfect. I did slightly adjust the intonation to my preference but not a big deal as this has to be considered normal for any new guitar. I also changed the strings to my preference (9's) and oiled the fretboard. Again, normal for any new guitar whether it costs 150 or 1500.

I love the weight. Very light, yet does not feel cheap. Great tuners. The knobs and switch feel good to me. Overall a wonderful guitar. Highly recommend.

Beautiful, but with cosmetic issues.

This was one of the most beautiful guitars I've ever purchased, until I looked a little closer.

Pro: The Tortoise flame veneer looks absolutely incredible. The neck feels very comfortable and I had no issues with fret sprout or high frets. The neck pickup is divine. It sounds distinctly better than the same pickup in a solid body.

Con: Cosmetics and attention to detail. The F-Hole binding was poorly done. Some spots have been sanded down so bare wood was showing underneath. I took a white magic marker to color in the thin spots. The block of wood inside looks awful. There are black paint splotches on parts of it and bare wood on parts. There are gouges and splintered wood hanging off of the center block. I have tried to clean it up as well as I could, but I can still see it through the f-hole if I look down at my picking hand while playing. The finish at the neck joint was applied over glue that had been pressed out and dried. The frets desperately needed polished.

Conclusion: At this price point, some cosmetic finish issues should be expected. There were too many to give it 5 stars. That said, the playability and beauty (from a little ways away) make it worth the price. The tone that comes out of the pickups - particularly the neck - makes it a keeper. Now if I could just remember to never look down at my picking hand while playing and accidentally catch a glimpse inside the f-hole, it would be perfect.

A great guitar

I waited a long time to get this guitar and it finally arrived...well worth the wait.

The fretwork on this instrument is unbelievable at this price range, the pickups could use a bit more punch but are good sounding right from the start. The gorgeous flame top and overall fit & finish are superb.

Beautiful guitar

I love this guitar. The veneer is fantastic, the fit and finish when I got it was really freaking solid for the price. I bought this with the intent of modding, so I had very few problems cleaning up the few visible details.

Pros: sounds great, plays great. It's a great guitar at a great price. Also, it sounds good acoustic.

Cons: when it arrived, I did clean up the binding of the f-holes, as well as the paint inside them. Beyond that there wasn't really any visible cons. That said, I bought this with the intent to mod it, so when I removed the tuners, and the jack plate, I found that the insides hadn't been properly cleaned out as there was a ton of sawdust hiding in places that usually would be clean. Finally the output jack often comes a little loose. I may add a locking washer to try to fix that.

Meh: I've kind of gone off of the gloss neck, but that's personal taste. Also, like all hollow body guitars, modding the pickups is a hassle- so much so that I've yet to bother.

Impressive instrument

I am a beginner player. I ordered this becasue I wanted a semi-hollow guitar at a affordable price. I expected less than what I received. The instrument is certainly beautiful no objectioable imperfections. I certainly would recomment this to anyone since it is very playable and a beauty of a guitar. The pickups work fine, being coil split makes it generate a variety of tones. No regrets whatsoever.

Good sound and usability but the build quality is just terrible :(

I've been waiting for this guitar delivery for a month and when it finally arrived, I was very upset when I saw in some places the lack of paint and sticking out pieces of wood on the body (it's a pity that you can't add a photo here), The sound and usability are not bad but the build quality very disappointing.

Cheap and not what is shown

I’ve had 3 other Harley Benton guitars. All of them lived up to the good value they represent.

This one is terrible. A completely different neck, very light color, a completely different finish, a bad tiger stripes. Fret buzz, terrible nut, cheap noisy electronics. Coil split sounds terrible. Feels like a cheap toy.

Support has not responded to three requests for return. Very disappointed, won’t be recommending Harley Benton to anyone ever again. Will be filing fraud report with credit card because it is so different than what was ordered, well beyond any manufacturing variation.

Great guitar!

My CST-24HB tortoise flame came well packed. No shipping damage. Opened it up and was pleasently surprized at the quality of the finish. Plays like a dream. Thought I might have to change the pickups, but they are great as is. Got my eye on a HB-35Plus LD when they get back into stock.