Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE VS

I was despising ... but!

Is it an alternative because it is inexpensive for mahogany? I thought so. I was sure the sound would be commensurate with the price. However, I was wrong! It is very good. The wood used is also massive and seems to be mahogany. It is a product of China, but the construction is good down to the smallest detail. There are some cheapness in the pegs and other parts, but that can be changed later by the customer. I am a guitar teacher and bought this guitar to lend to my students. The sound is perfect for my students! The first strings are a little stiff, so I'm going to change them to an extra light gauge for beginners. I suspect the sound will improve further as they age. Thanks again for your good products Toman!

Great guitar

Nice guitar with nice tone and sound. The neck is slim and easy to play.

Very good first acoustic

I already own two electric guitars and was looking for an entry level acoustic guitar to expand the collection and get started. Really happy with this one. Very Nice action, nice full sound and no fret sprout. Frets are as good as level, only two are very slightly higher than the others (not even necessary to correct). Also Happy with the built in tuner and preamp.

Not to forget it just looks stunning, and really encourages me to play it!

Songwriter's Inspiration!

I was looking for a guitar comparable to the Guild OM-240CE without the price tag, and I find this guitar is of equal quality, sound, and feel, and it even looks better! At $211 USD, I can't wrap my brain around how well built this thing is. The action is about as low as I would dare, no buzzing, intonation is spot on, frets are butter smooth, tuning is shockingly stable, the satin finish feels expensive, the preamp is even name brand. These guys missed no marks with this guitar. Without looking at the headstock, one could legitimately mistake this guitar for a four-figure guitar. Now, the resonance from this thing is something you have to experience yourself. You feel everything through the body of the guitar, and it projects crystal clear and loud! Plugged or unplugged, it's an absolute inspiration to play, and you won't be seeing me without this guitar on my person any time soon! Mad props, HB!!

Perfect little travel guitar that you can gig

Let me start by saying that this guitar is an absolute gem! I'm blown away by how good it sounds, especially considering the price.

It plays like a dream. The action is perfect, the intonation is spot on, and the overall feel is just fantastic. The type of wood and body construction lends itself very well to fingerpikcking because it has an almost natural compression. I have much more expensive acoustics and both my bands prefer the sound of this one for recordings as it sits amazingly in the mix.

And it's not just the playability that's great - the sound is incredible too. The CLA-15MCE VS has a warm, rich tone that just sounds amazing. Whether I'm strumming chords or fingerpicking, this guitar sounds fantastic. I've used it for gigs, rehearsals, and recording, and it always delivers.

But what really impresses me about this guitar is how sturdy it is. I've put it through some abuse, and it still looks and plays great. It's been bumped, knocked over, and traveled all over the place, but it's held up like a champ.

Overall, I have to say that the Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE VS is a no-brainer if you're in the market for a great acoustic guitar at a reasonable price. I can't recommend it enough!

I've had this guitar for a while now and it is the best. The sound with and without amp use is incredible and the features are great. I've had absolutely no problems with anything on or with this guitar

Everything is good but...

I like this guitar, and it sounds very good. but

to access truss rod, is the most annoying thing ever.

I am not that experienced with acustics, but regarding the hype around harley benton and experience with other products, this was a bit of a disappointment, at least building quality wise. It sounds good, unplugged and plugged as well. But the setup was terrible, very high action, and the trustrod is very hard to get to, it's very deep inside a hole, unlike other acustics I have seen. After the setup it's better, there are a few high frets as well, but not that high, so it is still well playable. The tuners are fine. The strap button was the biggest problem though, it was not glued or anything, so when I tried to put a strap on, it just fell out. That could have happened after I put the strap on, when I am playing, so that's for sure is something to check if you buy one of these.

With all that said I still consider this a great buy, specs are great for the price.

Very pretty guitar with great tone.

This guitar came to me in good condition. It did have some minor blemishes on the top but they are not noticeable. The strap button at the rear of the guitar was not glued and pulled out when I attached a strap. Poor designing on that. The guitar came setup and very playable. It has a sweet warm voice. Substantial volume but not like that of a dreadnought. Overall I am pleased but really had higher expectations after watching videos and reading reviews. It is worth the money paid but I feel just a little more attention to things like adding a front strap button and definitely not using a cheap plastic one in rear and not even having it fastened would make this guitar seem more appealing. The tuner works perfectly and the preamp sounds very good. The guitar stays in tune very well. The tuners work well but they aren't as precise as could be. They have quite a bit of travel to make change in the sound of pitch. Once tuned it stays in tune very well.

phenomenal acoustic for the money

I bought this acoustic because My previous acoustic left alot to be desired. This acoustic is just absolutely perfect for me.

Pros:

comfort:

This guitar is about 4 inches thick which for me personally is the perfect middle ground for comfort and projection. its not so thick i cant play it (like some concert sizes and dreadnaughts ive played) but its not so thin that it doesnt project and sound like an acoustic.

Finish:

The Vintage sunburst looks absolutely gorgeous and catches the eye while remaining subtle. Id describe the texture as a satin closed pore, it feels silky smooth to run your hands across but not to the extent of leaving prints everywhere. the neck texture is slick but not glossy.

Action:

The action is perfect. the strings almost rest on the frets and require almost no pressure to make a chord at first fret. however is not so low that it causes any kind of buzzing. as i said, perfect.

important to note:

while this guitar is perfect to be that does not mean its without issue. these are minor enough for me to look over but ill mention them here.

cons:

strap mounting:

theres no second strap button at the base of the neck for easier mounting but thats not the only issue. the strap button at the base isnt a standard metal one that is held on by a screw. its essentially a big hole at the base of the guitar with what is essentially an over sized bridge pin jammed in with no glue. this popped out the first time i mounted a strap and if i didnt notice it then could have EASILY resulted in me breaking my guitar. VERY silly design on that part because even £10-£20 ukeleles ive seen have had those metal screwed on strap buttons. a case of them trying to reinvent the wheel and failing here. i hope they change this in future models and maybe install a neck strap button. but i fixed mine with just a bit of glue so not a *huge* issue. just an oversight that can result in a broken guitar if you arent aware of it.

Unorthodox fret markers:

This also isnt a huge issue for me because i rarely use fret markers and im used to slightly unorthodox markers (like on my sc500 les paul where they are just big blocks) but these are just plain weird.

Usually the frets are marked at 3,5,7,9 with a single dot and at 12 with a double dot, then 15 with a single dot. these are marked at 3 with a single dot, 5 with a double, 7 with a single, 9 with a double and 12 with a single. which is confusing compared to my old acoustic. that being said however ive seen some martins with similar inlays and there could well be some reason for this that i dont know about (being fairly new to guitar) so its not something id want changed as urgently as the strap button.