Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE VS Reviews

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.

Love this guitar

I have nothing negative to say about this guitar. I did do a setup on it when i first received it, but i would expect that from any guitar, (and have done on every guitar i've ever bought) ..

Sound is great, playability is great, looks awesome, cutout is perfect, preamp and pickups are good, the built in tuner is super cool... love this guitar

fantastic!

Considering the price point I said to myself let's have a surprise.

And .. I was pleasantly surprised.

Had it for about two months and I play it every day.

Sounds terrific !

It has this mellow beautiful tone that sits perfect in any track.

Great for finger style mainly but, also good for strumming .

The finish is good. The fishman piezo preamp/pickup sounds very usable not only for gigging , but also recording - very happy how it sounds. (Much better than the Yamaha preamp I have in my other guitar.

cons:

The only thing is that the action has to be lowered a bit. (You need to shave the saddle a little.)

I do recommend this guitar!

Amazing guitar, looks good, plays good

Now that i had the guitar for some time i can finally review it. The guitar arrived well setup, and the finish is perfect, no flaws, perfect. Mine doesn't look like the picture it's more like a stratocaster 3 tone sunburst but matte, beautiful, much better than what i expected. The neck is nice and slim perfect for fingerstyle, nut and saddles are well refined too. The fishman tuner/electronics work and sound pretty good through my scarlett and bias amp 2 plugin. The sound is very nice, it's not a loud guitar but it's perfect for fingerstyle/songwriting/acoustic blues. The mids are tight, very enjoyable sounds. Arrived with extra chonky strings, thinner strings improved the playability without changing the tone. The only things i don't like are the tuners that hold tune well but feel very cheap (one tuner takes a quarter of a turn before the mechanism engages and starts winding, annoying if you change tuning often) and the frets that were not polished (it took about two weeks of playing to start wear them in and now they are not scratchy anymore and feel fine). For the price is amazing, just swap the tuners. I would have gladly paid 40 extra bucks to have grovers instead of the cheap tuners, but at this pricepoint it's already amazing and the guitar stays in tune so no problem.

Great guitar for your money

The guitar arrived in Russia in 9 days. the quality of the packaging is excellent, the guitar came in perfect condition.

I'll add the sound later, when the strings settle.

thank you to this wonderful store for a great tool for a reasonable price!

Easy on the left hand

I have to put my title in context here. I haven't been able to play my acoustics because of a problem with my left hand. I now primerely only play electric. However after playing a friends HB J200 copy and his HB Ta***r (Shh!) copy I was pleased to find that the radius and neck profile where really easy on my hand. Now, when I was only playing acoustic's I played 000 models 00028 Martin and 00016 rgte. I thought I would have those guitars till the end of my day's and hand them on to my son. I had owned to 00016 for over 20 years. I just couldn't play for long periods anymore. So sadly I sold them. I'm a finger picker so I also chose rosewood backed spruce topped instruments as I found they projected better. Now the CLA-15.... If you're a finger picker you'll love this guitar, but don't expect it to cut through if you jamming with friends and they have spruce topped instruments. The CLA-15 does not have a top conducive to resonation and or projection due to the mahogany construction. Fear not though as a song writing tool it has a lovely sweet little voice and is very pleasant, if muted. If you use a plec and are a strummer this may not be a problem for you in the slightest. The pre-amp however is killer. I had the early PREFIX system in my 00016 Martin it never sounded natural and I was always trying to EQ it to my taste in live situations. I ended up with a 'make do' sound that I was never entirely happy with. However the system on the CLA-15 is beautifully voiced (EQ wise). Plugged into the PA it sounds fantastic live. Finger picking is a joy again. It was hard to believe this guitar came with 12's on as standard, the feel and the action were that good. I have dropped to 11's (even better for me) and as a live tool this is now my only acoustic instrument. No it's not an all round guitar it is very quiet (due in most part to that mahogany top, but it comes to life when plugged in. A gem of a find and I understand why so many people have given this such good reviews. Only 4 stars overall and with sound because of how quiet it is for me as a finger picker, but that's down to me, others may not even notice.

Great right out of the box

I wanted something a bit smaller than a dreadnought plus with a pickup and this seemed the best option. This was setup pretty much perfect out of the box. I am in Canada and it was in transit for 2 weeks. Obviously it was out of tune, but was all set to play when I tuned it up. I have had this for a few months now. Sounds great, stays in tune (!), and I almost play it every day. Really that is it. 5 stars in my opinion. I would recommend this guitar.

unreal value

After reading a lot of reviews and watched a bunch of videos, my expectations were pretty high. I was expecting an exceptional guitar "for the price". I was wrong. This is an exceptional guitar - period. It's really, really nice in all respects. If I was told that this guitar costs 800 euros, I wouldn't be surprised at all. It's flawless. Intonation is perfect. The neck is very, very comfortable. No visible imperfections. The sound ...well, the acoustic sound is definitely on the bright side. Indeed, I was expecting a less bright sound, considering that the guitar has a mahogany solid top. However, the strings are brand new, so it will probably get less bright over time, which is a good thing. I need to try with different strings. Anyway, as of today the sound is bright but well balanced already. The pickup also sounds very good. Pretty bright as well, but not "plasticy" at all. I was surprised, really. I was expecting a crappy pickup sound, for this price. Not at all. If I REALLY want to be picky, I would say that the pickup emphasizes a bit too much the lower strings, but that can be easily fixed with a little eq (so, it's bright but a bit too focused on the lower strings). Again, this is easily adjusted.

The looks ... well it's gorgeous, especially if you like a vintage look. I'm really glad I bought the VS version, 10 extra euros well spent. But that's a matter of taste obviously.

Overall, I strongly, strongly recommend it. And not just for the price.

Pretty perfect

Always wanted an electro acoustic to play thru my PC and maybe try something smaller than a dreadnt. Took a chance on a HB to see what all grt reviews about. Overall delighted. Couple of cons being rusted strings and tarnished frets, but would probably have changed them and cleaned everything anyway. A 2nd strap button would have been nice. Everything else fantastic. Looks great, lovely weight and balance. Wider nut is a joy as I can finally play a C chord with proper fingering! Amazing tone, and not as deep as I thought a mahogany would sound. Great volume for just me and my guitar, but the pickup works just fine for when I get the call to the Albert hall. Set up was pretty spot on, nut cut lower than anything I have ever owned, which helps the playability of this, and why I will be reaching for it for yrs to come. 1/9th of what I was contemplating a similar Martin for - ridiculous.