Harley Benton CST-24T Paradise Flame Reviews

CST24

One of the best guitars I've ever played, I've been hooked on HB every since

super guitare très bon son

Harley Benton CST-24T Rocks

This is my 7th HB guitar purchased and I am still amazed at the quality per dollar you recieve. I have many big name guitars and I constantly go to the Harley Bentons over them. I am not a professional by any means, but the value of these guitars, IMO is outstanding.

Harley Benton CST 24T

Ordered this guitar as I wanted a PRS style guitar, waited a while for delivery but was informed of the delay due to final checks prior to shipping, it finally arrived & it was well worth the wait, this guitar is visually stunning, out of the box & tuned up it sounds great, no manufacturer issues at all , this guitar sits well above its price tag , all in all this is a brilliant guitar at a mad price, I also have the Harley Benton SC 500 & again this come perfect & is also a great guitar

INSANE value

Let me start with a bit of context. I started playing guitar at age 10 and did so nearly every day until I went away to college. In college I sold my Les Paul, Strat, and Marshall half stack for beer money and haven't played much in the 20+ years since. Having just had knee surgery, I have gotten back into playing and I purchased this model along with the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG FTF which is a Les Paul replica. I would characterize my play as more towards a lead style and I enjoy playing anything from SRV blues to Metallica and Maiden. Having grown up with a Les Paul and Marshall half stack, that is the tone profile that I utterly crave and default to.

With that said, I bought this model for the times that I need 24 frets and a whammy bar. This thing definitely checks the box for that. I also was hoping to be able to get in the ball park of a SRV/John Mayer single pickup strat tone profile. Despite the fact that this does have the coil split, this hope was a little ambitious; I can maybe get in the neighborhood, but not on the same street.

In terms of being very nitpicky, I do have about 3-4 minor issues with the actual craftmanship of the guitar and one major thing (which actually is a pretty easy fix.)

The major issue is that the nut on the guitar I received is a trainwreck. It's significantly slanted and is so high on the lower strings that it actually bends roughly 1/4 of a note if the string is fully pressed against the fret board. With that said, it's not so awful that it's not playable; it takes a ton of pressure to get it all the way down. Also, nuts are a pretty easy fix for a guitar repair shop, though, and I'm probably just going to tackle this myself. The minor issues are all preferential, so I won't go into depth on any of them. The pickups are a bit dull. The input jack is difficult to keep tight. I definitely would prefer locking tune pegs. All in all, I expect that I'm going to end up putting another $250-300 into it to get it to the point where I've got the most out of this thing (new pickups, new nut, locking tuners).

Let's talk positives. The neck and fret work are incredible. It's a slim neck that plays fast as hell and feels incredible in my hands. I wouldn't say that it is exceptional at any single tone, but it is quite versatile. Its also an absolutely GORGEOUS instrument.

As mentioned, I'm likely going to end up puting as much into this as I bought it for. Even so, it's still a steal. I would say that this guy is ideal for someone who is looking for a BEAUTIFUL looking guitar that has a lot of versatility but is on a budget and doesn't mind spending more money on it down the road to get it to it's maximum playability. As someone who bought 2 HB's I would say that if you aren't interested in spending more money down the road, then look into a model that is another $100 or so. The SC-550 Plus I purchased was an extra $100 and it needs no adjustments.

All in all, I'm absolutely giddy with the purchase of this guitar. I knew coming in that I would probably have to toss another $200-300 into it to get it to the way that I like it, but even then it's still a fantastic bargain and it looks and sounds great. Very very happy!

Excellent value

These are great value, there are signs of cheaper production in parts but that's acceptable. Adjust the truss rod, lube nut slots, set the action low and it plays well.

Sounds amazing

This is a great guitar.you cant go wrong with this one.

Great Guitar At An Even Better Price

The guitar sounds and feels great. The flame maple Veneer looks nice too. This is my first Harley Benton guitar. I plan on getting another one soon. A+ customer service as well.

Love this guitar!

The guitar is stunning in person. The frets and neck are one of the best I've played especially in this price range. Harley Benton did a great job with this guitar.

Paradise Flame

Great feel, plays smooth, sound is fantastic, much lighter than my PRS and it’s a beautiful looking instrument

very good tool

top quality guitar. stainless steel frets. very playable instrument. everything is very well put together. in my opinion, it is not inferior to the prs, and maybe even surpasses it. the price is very adequate. I am very pleased with the purchase.

Excellent

I cannot find any faults or blemishes on this beautiful guitar. I am blown away with the specs. The tone on all settings is remarkable and I have only played through a Roland Cube 15

Absolute value - love it..

I'm IMPRESSED!

This guitar plays very smoothly. Nice fretboard and neck action. Couldn't ask for more at any price

Beautiful guitar fun to play

I put locking tuners on it for more stable tuning. Adjusted the whammy bar for full floating. Adjusted string height pickup height and intonation. Had to do some work on the edge of the threats they were Sharp and Pokey. Guitar plays nice stays in 10 pretty well now fun guitar to play. Well worth the money

Super guitar

Super guitar, very well made, sounds great and fast action. You can not go wrong by buying this guitar.

Paradise!

Top notch quality and playability. The pickups are clear and strong. Best bang for the buck! I'll be back for more.

Good electric guitar

I like it but i have troubles, the background noise, but i thing it has to do with the wire, i like that guitar.

Awesome

Unbelievable Quality i own about 80 guitars

Amazing tone and luxury finish

I normally wouldn't buy a guitar online without trying it first, but I couldn't resist this.. Been looking towards PRS guitars for the past year, and honestly can't afford one so this is my best shot at something near 'PRS like'. On a budget... Amazing but it comes with some flaws...

Right out of the box, the finish is astonishing. The guitar was well packed, for not having a case or gigbag, which is totally normal for this price point. The amount of clear coats on this thing is insane. Great binding and overall finish, vivid colours on the burst. Over actually really amazing.

Plays great out of the box. Only did some minor tweaking on the truss rod and bridge height to personal taste. Ok fretwork for the price and the neck plays great. It's a bit sticky because of the glossy finish, that's totally sandable.

The best part is the sound.. I'm surprised by the stock pickups (Roswell) and I was very eager to try out coil splitting for the first time. They came installed very low, almost under the pickup plates. Measured at around 8k, these pickups, along with the push pull coil splitting will bring you anywhere between crystal clean fender cleans and some heavier gibson humbucker tones.

Now comes the weird part.. The Wilkinson floating bridge. The trem arm came uninstalled (great), and it just wouldn't fit in the bridge. I'm aware of the Wilkinson mini hex screw that is installed on the back of the bridge to adjust the grip on the trem arm. It wasn't closed. It was the hole in the metal plate on top. I finally had to drill it half a millimeter wider. The whammy bar is hard to use, unlike my Stratocaster floating bridge which is basically the same system with springs. It stays better in tune though than on a Fender.

The electronics seem to have been poorly soldered, but overall clean. Luckily it's a case of too little solder, not like a total mess where the pots are all covered with too much solder.

The three way switch failed after a couple of days, there was bad contact with the bridge pickup. Resoldered but will replace it soon with something better as it doesn't seem to be of overall good quality.

Overall total bang for your buck!! You get a beautifully finished guitar with a great array of sounds. To me it's an everyday guitar and I bet it'll stay like that in the future!

Beautiful Guitar

Beautifully finished piece, smooth frets, very playable, great sound.