Harley Benton CST-24HB Tortoise Flame 4-stars 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.

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 !

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

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.

Nice guitar!

I like this guitar but it needed to be adjusted for having high action. Of the guitars I purchased it is not one of my favorites.

Worth Waiting

This guitar took three weeks to go through US customs. I thought it might be lost, but arrived today! The build quality is good - two minor finishing flaws no one will notice, and the nut is rough at the edges ( I can fix the nut). Volume pot is stiff, tone pot has no friction at all, but they work. Coil split is effective and snappy. Clean sound from both pick-ups is fuller on the bass end, but not muddy. Overall a beautiful guitar equal to my other HB purchases. Very happy this one finally arrived!

Classy looking, decent playability

A gorgeous body finish and very fast neck/action combo. Mine had some tiny bubling on the side of the bridge and pick-up output drops dramatically using the split-coil. It is really light and time will tell if it maintains its overall integrity because it gives me the impression you have to be gentle with it .

Beautiful.

Beautiful looking and feeling guitar. Took a little setting up with the action, neck relief etc but aside from that it's easy to play. The sound is amazing too, considering the price and hardware.

If you're in the market for a PRS type guitar, perhaps give one of these a try first, you might save a lot of cash.

harley benton rocks

very nice guitar , well built , would look better with a dark fret board, and the star inlays, like the youtube videos show, that's really my only gripe.

Very impressive instrument

This is my second Harley Benton guitar. I bought this guitar for two years ago. I am a part time musician who plays a dozen parties a year and teaches some students. It is a very good playing and sounding instrument. There were a few small finish bubbles where the neck joins the body, but they do not hurt anything. They did not get any worse with time. I have made no modifications, and none are needed. I have full confidence in this guitar performing any time I play it. At this price point, I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. I have just ordered another Harley Benton Guitar.

Great for the price

Only a few issues, some cosmetic. Neck pickup not aligned with strings or other pickup. The neck star inlays are not centered. It will need some fret and truss rod attention but that was expected. I would still buy another of this type and recommend this one with the understanding of normal issues that are easily overcome after delivery.

Good if you can finish it off yourself

I have made this into an excellent guitar and, if you have the ability, it is an excellent buy. If not it is a bit disappointing.

I have an HB Strat copy which cost a bit over £100. That has an excellent finish, a really good sound and is generally very good quality but needed a fret polish and a bit of setup. This cost very nearly £200. Again it has an excellent finish, a great sound, looks fantastic for the price and is mostly of very good quality. However it not so much of a bargain.

The problem is that although I'm fine with polishing the frets and doing a bit of setup I'm not so happy that, for quite a bit more money, I'm having to file and recrown some frets. When I first received it it was buzzing halfway up the fretboard. I let it settle for a few days and did a setup. The action was very low so raising it and tweaking the truss rod for a little more relief sorted out most of the buzzing. But the second and fifth fret were still causing problems and I had to do a bit of work on them.

The guitar looks great. OK, there isn't the depth to the veneer you would get on a PRS but I think it has some depth, so it's not a photo print. And as soon as you step back from it it looks amazing. The sound is warm and versatile, though the coil split doesn't add as much as I'd hoped and it doesn't have as much of a hollow body sounds as a 335. The tuners do the job, even if they don't feel particularly inspiring. All in all a great addition to my collection, now that the frets are sorted.

As I said, it is not a big deal if you have the skills and the tools but I could see it being a big problem for newer players. I guess the real problem is that my first experience with an HB was so good it set the bar very high. Having spent more money I didn't expect he quality to be worse. That said, now that it is sorted it looks, feels and plays brilliantly. I'm glad I bought it and would buy it again.

I just wanted to sound a word of warning to less-experienced users

LONGER TERM EXPERIENCE

I've had this for about ten months now. For most of that time I didn't use it. Every time I went to it it needed setting up again. It seemed that the wood needed to season a bit more. After about eight months (having tried it in between) it seemed that the neck had finally settled down. I have set it up and not needed to change it since.

I'm playing and recording with it now and It's a comfortable and versatile guitar. It's a great intermediate step between my big semiacoustic (Vintage VSA500) and my solid PRS SE II Santana. Very pleased with it now and intend to keep it and use it more.

A terrific bargain, but expect to spend some time setting it up.

This guitar has six excellent sounds, is very attractive, and is light and well built. It was delivered in a timely manner. It has a few small finish flaws, but from 3 feet away, is a real eye catcher.

Pros: The sound and playability are excellent. The fretboard is practically flat, if you are looking for that, and the neck is a little thicker than usual. This guitar can support a very wide range of sounds and playing techniques. It ships with a tool kit for adjustments, and I needed them. The unusual bridge seems to work just fine. I really like the Roswell Pickups.

Cons: As received, it was not set up, at all. No neck relief, intonation a half step sharp, very high string action. Several frets were too high, I was able to tap them in. A few other frets are too low. These will require a bit more work. The D string was bad, it buzzed like a sitar. With new strings, problem solved. The nut is ok, although some of the strings are a little high. Fixable. Pickups were not adjusted, adjusting them really improved the sound.

The tuners are lousy, surprisingly so. But these are easily changed.

****EDIT: The tuner paddles are held on with small Phillips screws. I discovered these were barely finger tight. After tightening the screws, the tuners work fine. So this is a ding on quality control, not the overall guitar. ****

After setup, it is playable and a very enjoyable guitar.

The guitar does stay in tune, has balanced sound over the whole range, and is fully stage worthy. With a fret leveling and new tuners, it would be right up there with my Les Paul or Stratocaster. At just over $200, you can't beat this guitar.

Great guitar w/ minor QC issues

This is my first Harley Benton and, based on this guitar, may not be my last. First up, the positives:

- Great playability. Super comfortable neck and fretboard with no fret protrusion or popping

- Good pickups. Best described as inoffensive, I don't feel the need to replace them immediately but they also don't really inspire.

- Great tuners.

- Gorgeous top. Could have been a fluke, but mine had a perfect bookmatched top with a deep flame.

The flip-side:

- A lot of finishing flaws. Binding sanded completely off in places around the cutaway. Finish scuffing and scratches. Fretboard looks like it was lubricated last when the tree was still in the ground.

- The bridge. Don't know who on God's green earth thought having only 2 strings intonatable was a good idea, but they should be fired. Budget for a bridge upgrade with purchase.

- No backplate. Again, don't know how this sort of thing happens after all these decades, but unless there is a structural reason (with the MASSIVE centerblock I doubt it) why would you not put an opening on the back for replacing the components. Expect a few headaches replacing parts.

Unbelievable for the price

I was fairly skeptical when I purchased this, but for the price I figured it was worth the risk. To say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I was blown away.

I own a variety of guitars ranging from cheap to mid-range, and from a play-ability and sound stance, this is among the best I own. Mine came fairly well set up with 10's, decent action, and pretty close intonation. I've owned more expensive guitars that were not as well set up from the factory, so nothing to complain about in that department as far as I'm concerned. I swapped the strings out for Ernie Ball Cobalts in 9's, lowered the action a smidge, and dialed in the intonation a bit better and WOW, this thing went from good to fantastic. A real joy to play and a sound that'll knock your socks off.

It's not without cosmetic issues (mine has a dot of excess clear coat on the top), but any blemishes at this price are acceptable. Go watch Henning Pauly's (EytschPi42) review on YouTube and you'll see what I mean about the finish.

All things considered, a fantastic guitar at this price point.

Awesome guitar!

I've owned several PRS guitars & I would say this is just as good as the SE Korean made models for the most part. Very well built & balanced. Fit & finish is very decent. Pickups are great & sound better than the ones in 2 of my SE models. The f holes look very nice. The completely adjustable bridge/tailpiece is nice. Tuners work well. Fretwork is great with no sharp edges. Binding looks ok. Actually like the look of the "morning star" inlays more up close. Really great workhorse guitar. Handles jazz, funk, blues, rock and metal with ease. Now the cons: 1. Flamed top was not nearly as figured and brilliant as in the pics. Said it was "AAA" flame, but it's barely "AA". 2. Setup was a little high. 3. Although the truss rod works fine, the cavity routing is a sloppy mess. 4. While wraparound bridge/tailpiece is adjustable, it's difficult to intonate. Overall a great guitar & worth way more than what I paid. Solid, reliable guitar that won't let you down

Comfy guitar!

Look and feel are great. I like it more than my Epi's LP, especially neck and scale length. Pickups are bit too simple, but OK for the money. I found some minor flaws on the finish, but nothing serious.

Slightly odd sounding

To my ears the HB CST-24HB sounds a bit "twangy" more like a Sitar than a Guitar. Maybe a change of strings is all that is needed, some people may actually like this sound.