Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE 4-stars Reviews

Well done

I've had this instrument for 2 years now and it still does the job for me. Biggest issue that I have is that there's only one strap button at the bottom portion of the guitar. This means that I'd have to use an alternative option if I want to play standing. The sating finish is very thin so be very careful of accidentally bumping your guitar on corners or the floor.

Outstanding for the price. Needed some setup.

I'm primarily an electric guitar player so this was my first acoustic. Hence I'm not absolutely qualified to judge it. I have 3 other HB electrics, I'm very happy with them and I have a lot of love for the brand.

The Good

- packaging was good and undamaged.

- The guitar looks really nice in a dark, understated way. This is a budget guitar and in my opinion, the flashier the budget guitar, the cheaper it looks. I paired it with the cheap, leather HB strap, which is also chocolate brown and looks great. The HB logo looks cool and minimalist on the headstock, better than the full name logo. I don't really like the name, but I love the guitars.

- The guitar sounds great to me. Really loud, vibrant and clear. The body vibrates like crazy and really lives.

- The tuners are really nice and this surprised me as it's often a weakness of HB's cheaper guitars. They're solid, chunky and kidney bean shaped, like the Grovers on my Epi SG. They're really smooth and precise, and the guitar is easy to tune. They feel much higher quality than the price.

- the guitar stays in tune really well, much better than my other guitars, which are generally more expensive. I don't know if this is a peculiarity of acoustics vs electrics.

- The nut is bone and perfectly cut. The guitar arrived very clean - no fretboard gunk, over-glue or wood shavings in the cavity. The bridge is also bone and compensated. The guitar intonates near perfectly.

- the Fishman Presys II works well and sounds great through the acoustic channel of my Boss Katana. I'm no expert, but I'm happy with it.

- the supplied strings seem reasonable quality, but I got rid of them immediately as, being an electric guitar pussy, I hated the relatively heavy gauge, but this is a personal thing.

The (not very) Bad if I'm being really picky...

- The fret ends are very crudely finished and not rounded at all. Fortunately there's no fret sprout at all so this doesn't really bother me. They were also quite scratchy so I gave them a polish.

- Frets 3 and 6 are a little high in places, but only noticeable with a fret rocker. There's no perception when playing.

- The action was very high at 3mm+ on the low E at the 12th. There was a QC ticket with the guitar which was very comprehensive and gave the height at 2.5mm. but I didn't believe this. I lowered the bridge which was really no hassle and took some relief out of the neck.

- there is only one strap button on the bottom of the guitar. It's plastic and I think glued in. The guitar is very light so it's not too much of a worry. I installed a metal strap button on the heel of the neck.

- The battery cover despite being branded Fishmann, is very cheap looking and feeling, but it's hidden at least.

The Neutral

- There was slightly excessive neck relief, but again it was no hassle to tighten the truss rod with the tool provided. The truss nut is a bit tucked away so the tool is indispensable.

- I changed the strings for 10s. Apparently this is detrimental to the tone on acoustics, but it still sounds fine to me. Ok, maybe there's some depth and resonance lost, but it still sounds better than my not being able to play the 12s supplied.

In conclusion...

- a great guitar for the price. It needed some setup, which I was ok with, but beginners might prefer to add 50 bucks to the price to get a pro set up.

I'd give it 4.9 out of 5, but this rating system doesn't cater for pedants like me.

Good for the Money

Pros:

- Good Quality guitar for the price

- Great finish

- Above Average sound

Cons:

- Pick up system is not working out of the box. I need to adjust the piezo pick up under the saddle and sanding the height

beautiful form factor and sound but flawed set up

Firstly I must say this is one glorious guitar, the solid mahogany construction gives the guitar a warm , rather surprising full sound given its an auditorium sized acoustic. Sadly the set up out of the box made it unplayable for me, the action was a bit too high,( 4-4.5 mm at fret 12). I"m not someone who is adept or experienced with setting or lowering the bridge, for me I would need to take it to a Luthier. however, for anyone competent in doing this, the sound is wonderful, the size is perfect, the neck is comfortable ( notwithstanding the high action) - the other small issue come cosmetic flaws i.e glue spot showing through the lacquer , and the pick guard was rough on the edges ( yes this can be replaced). Shame - I really liked the sound, and the size - I will definitely order a replacement, albeit one with a lower action

Great guitar, rough frets

I love the sound and clarity of this guitar, but the first time I picked up the guitar, I was not wowed.

The fretboard and the frets are rough.

After a fret polish and an oiling of the fretboard, the guitar plays great!

bang for the buck

Great product for the price, I am really happy with this. Does not sound or feel like a 2k guitar of course, but definetly beats or ties other 2-3 times the price. The preamp/tuner is handy, although of course entry level. There's nothing really wrong about this instrument, except that it needs a proper setup to be playable, so if you are a beginner keep that in mind: you are going to need either a guitar tech or a friend to lower the bridge at least. The action out of was extremely high, making it a pain to play with 012 (both out of the box and with Elixirs). The mechanics seem good so far, the nut height is maybe not perfect but decent out of the box (and that depends on your play style). I didn't need to move the trussrod. No dead spots.

Loud guitar, different type of sound

I thought I would take a chance on this one, just to see what an auditorium size guitar was like. It is very prominent in the mid-ranges, not so much in the low end, which is to be expected. Also, when I received it the action was very high. I am starting to think HB ships the acoustic guitars with a different setup than the electric models, which I guess makes some sense. After a $70 US setup, it plays great, and I think it will cut through the mix with my band much better than a standard dreadnought guitar.

Follow up: I used it with my band (classic rock style) and for the first time my other guitar player said "Your acoustic is killing me!" It cuts through the mix very well and sounds great. One issue... there is a pop every time I take it off it's tuner. Pretty loud pop, too. I'll probably start using an outboard tuner to see if it is quieter. But overall, still a fantastic guitar for the money.

Great for the price

Wow a great guitar for the price. Harley Benton products are incredible value. I have over 15 years experience playing guitar and it is a lovely guitar.

However, straight out of the box, the guitar was poorly set up. Action was too high and fretboard was dry and killed my fingers when playing. This was disappointing. I brought it to a guitar shop to "set it up" correctly. He applied some love and magic to the guitar i.e. lowered the actions and oiled the fretboard etc, and it a completely different to play.

Therefore, I would recommend the guitar for the price and give it 4 stars overall. But if you a beginner, it is essential to bring your instrument to a guitar store to set it up correctly.

Excellent for the price

Really nice, fairly lightweight slimline electro acoustic.

Looks great, -1 star for two marks on the rear which happened post-manufacture.

Finish looks great

Feel is really nice

Body is very light.

String gauge a little heavy for my liking but easily changed

Have not tried with pickup as will use for acoustic blues fingerpicking.

Doesn't project like a dreadnought but then it isn't meant to. This is a little more subtle and probably not the one for you if you will play big, strumming songs.

Excellent first or intermediate guitar, especially for a younger player or someone of average to below average height.

Came very well boxed, so I don't know when the marks happened, a minor annoyance only, but shouldn't be there on a brand new guitar.

Highly recommended!!!

Workhorse guitar

I really like this guitar, it came with a few blemishes but it sounds great and is so comfortable to play.

Piezo pickup gave me issues my last gig, sound became intermittent and I had to end with a different guitar. I've yet to fix that.

Even so, I still love this guitar and will fix that issue one of these days.

Great Guitar

Amazing guitar, with quality build and great pickup sound. Had to tweak a bit the neck since there was a big gap between the strings and the fretboard, but otherwise, can't really complain, especially with the inbuilt tuner.