Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE 5-stars Reviews

Amazing Value

I purchased this guitar after doing some set-up work on a few Harley Benton guitars. I work part-time as a guitar tech and am luthier trained. Firstly, you can not build a guitar of this quality and materials at this cost if you were to do it yourself. Although this is not true mahogany, it is mahogany-like in feel and tone (it looks to be stained Okoume?) After tuning this guitar up I took a full assessment of its set-up. This guitar was perfect right out of the box. I was very impressed by the set-up and quality control on this particular instrument. The guitar plays very well and was excellent in fit and finish. The fretwork was smooth with no signs of tooling (this is rare on guitars at this price point). I work on many guitars and I am impressed with this brand.

amazing guitar

the guitar sounds and feels amazing couldnt be happier

HB Custom CLA-15MCE

This is the only acoustic guitar l own now, and it covers all my needs.

I was genuinely surprised at how good this guitar is, and how really good it sounds.

I've never owned a mahogany acoustic before and l really love the rich sound this guitar produces.

I changed the strings to Elixir 12's, adjusted the action slightly to my preference, and it is such a beautiful guitar to play. Anyone who plays it or hearts it, had been freaky impressed.

I've been buying Harley Benton guitars for a few years now, and an a real fan.

Just loving it

I haven't been playing the guitar for a very long time. I watched some musical performance video during the recent lockdown and they gave me the desire to play the guitar back. I am not a begainer so know a little bit about the instrument. With comparaison, I decided to buy this one. After playing it around 2 weeks, every aspect, the size, texures of mahogany, the tones, satisfies me. In conclusion, I think this is a wonderful guitar with a very superb price-quality ratio, worth to recommend it.

Electro sound is super great!

Wow is all I can say for the electro sound. The set up of the guitar needed some attention when it arrived, but once completed it's been great. Holds tune well and acoustically sounds good. When you plug it in though it really sounds good. Super pleased!

Very good, affordable acoustic guitar

I have used this for more than one year now and I’m impressed with the quality.

When I first got the guitar I changed the tuners because I had some better tuners laying around. After changing strings and lowering the action the guitar now suits my playing style. I’m very pleased with tuning stability, sound and feel.

Good quality

Good quality and nice sound.

Best acoustic guitar you can buy for under £300.

Real quality solid top guitar.

Sounds awesome, plays awesome, looks awesome.

Pickup is great and tuner is really useful.

No negatives.

Amazing guitar

I've been playing guitar my whole life and wow, what a great guitar. It needed a set up and new strings, but it sounds just gorgeous, forget about the cheap price. Only complaint was a little bash on the bottom of the guitar. Also, the pick up system sounds great. My guitar tech / builder friend has no idea who Harley Benton manages to build these instruments so cheaply.

Unbelievable

I, like everybody else, thought I was taking a gamble on this guitar. The finish is near flawless and it plays beautifully (It didn't even really need a set up). It looks beautiful. The tuners are of average quality, but everything else feels great. There is a very small mark on the fretboard near the nut where the factory have knocked it with a file, but it will never affect the playability and you'd have to put your face next to it to notice.

I gave the frets a polish as they were a little rough, tightened the truss rod slightly and oiled the fretboard and now it's near perfect.

Again, just unbelievable for the price, it's a really great guitar.

A great all purpose guitar.RGM

I sold my Martin

I sold my Martin when I received this guitar. Excellent. Action is a bit high but this guitar is excellent. I just put humidifiers (a lot) cuz it seems very dry. sounds great, feels great, looks great. What more can you ask? Nice!

Fantastic guitar

I bought the Dreadnought version of this guitar to keep at my GFs place previously and ended up liking it so much that I decided I wanted something similar for the studio as well. And in all honesty the Auditorium model is even sweeter. The unit is an absolute beauty with no imperfections to catch the eye and the sound crisp and clean. I've mostly been a strummer previously but as this guitar is so extremely well suited for fingerstyle I find myself doing a lot more of that now, and my skill is improving just because playing it is so much fun!

As the strings that came on the Dreadnought were downright awful I put a fresh packet in with the order and expected to re-string the guitar first thing. However, to my surprise I found the default strings to be totally fine on this unit and I'm still playing the original string a couple of months after purchase.

As for cons, the only thing I've noticed is a tiny amount of vibration/buzz which I think originates from the cables of the pre-amp running on the inside of the guitar body from the tuner to the jack. when I re-string the guitar I will put some tape over this to keep it fixed in place.

All in all a lovely guitar at an unbeatable price and I highly recommend it!

Brilliant--10/10

What a guitar, beautiful sound/action, connect to an amp and again, everything is excellent.

The finish and feel are unreal. Lovely crisp clear sound.

Cant find any complaints, I'm a semi/beginner with only 8 months in but after 2 second hand decent guitars, and they were 100% working fine. I decided to spend more and get a higher quality guitar.

I thought it might be novelty factor, its not, its just easier to play and everything just does what I'm trying to do.

Best investment I've made in long long time, I wanted to make a step up in a decent guitar. Delighted I chose this.

Considering I was going to spend approx €500 on a new one from a shop. This is nicer, better quality, and a great price tag to match.

Much more experienced musicians tried it and loved it.

Ill be buying more of this brand. the quality of the build is unreal.

Well packaged and got it really fast. Great service.

Highly recommended as you can see in all the other reviews.

best guitar at low cost

best guitar at low cost money can buy. Amazing Guitar. Unbox it and ready to go.. It sounds very good and as if an very expensive guitar

This is a lovely sweet wee guitar, well set up out of the box

I have several acoustics, mostly Canadian like Seagull, Simon & Patrick, La Patrie, Faith, Wasburn but have had many more including Martins, Taylors etc. I think right out of the box and tuned up this is a beaut.

I nearly bought the guitar it is a copy of a few years ago while working in a music shop but can't remember why I didn't so when I saw the HB one I decided to give it a try with the intention of stringing it for Nashville tuning, but after my initial test I may leave the tuning as is and even get another one of these for nashville tuning as it is a lovely player and I can see myself gigging it a lot.

I had no doubt the quality would be good as I bought a Harley Benton PRS 24 electric copy in green a while back and though it need fret dressing and setup it plays as good if not better than some of my more expensive guitars (lovely neck which allows lower action when setting it up than some).

This is a great acoustic guitar for fingerstyle (thumb pick or thumb) cause it's more middy than a dreadnought, projects more mids with less low end and not as jingly / toppy as some due to the woods used if you get me, it's nice and mellow. Strummed it is the same, more focused. I imagine while recording with a nice condenser like a Rode NT5 or 55 or a stereo pair it would record really well on account of it's nice focused projection. It would be a great wee guitar if you play in a band and you need a guitar to sit nice in the mix without competing with some of the bass guitar's area of the frequency spectrum but you could stand up solo and gig with it no bother, it won't be as full sounding as a jumbo or dreadnought for strumming (it is a different sound) but will be better for finger picking. If you play with a person who plays a jumbo or dreadnought in an acoustic band one of these for your end of things would be a good option, good for acoustic lead.

I used the built in tuner and checked it against the one I use in studio and live a lot and it is spot on. Didn't record with the fishman pickup or run through a PA yet but I'd say it will be grand, I will know soon and will add that end of my findings.

The way I look at HB instruments is they are good value. If there is a very obvious problem send it back and try another. You WILL get a good one. I had a Gibson here that was the worst instrument I ever had (from another online supplier) so all companies get it wrong sometimes or let one slip through the net.

This acoustic is fine as it is but I will probably lemoil the fingerboard and smooth the fret edges a wee bit when I do first string change but I do these things - setups etc on a very regular basis and have the tools to do so, but believe me it's fine as it is, I could take it to a gig right now (I only took it out of the box 3 hours ago) . I only intend doing a wee bit of work on it as I have the means at my disposal and would tweak a big brand a bit to for my liking the same way. The reason I say this is if you did happen to get one with the odd sharp fret etc, but otherwise the guitar is great it is worth taking it to a local repair guy or some person guy who plays in a band etc you know who can do it for you.... you will end up with an even nicer playing experience.........but........I would be very happy to take this one out and gig it right now if a gig came in.... it's ready to play like........ Try one!

Best acoustic guitar for the price

Best acoustic sound for the price. Nice clear hights and full bottom.

Machines could be a bit better.

Comfortable to play, good Fishmann electronic.

A real gem

I love this guitar.

The price, the action, the sound, the build, the pickups.

If you want a really top guitar but don't have '000s to spend, then a couple of hundred will get you one.

I'm sure the top players will know the difference, and I am sure there are differences but for me, it feels like I am playing a guitar that cost 4 figures and not 3.

Beautiful all round guitar that over delivers on any realistic expectations.

Out of the box, the first impression was how attractive this guitar was. Mine had a lovely "tiger stripe" to the grain on the solid mahogany top. The tuners are solid and similar in appearance to the ones on my Martin. The nut and bridge are well made, the electrics sound great when plugged in with a really handy built in tuner. As I tune my guitar a semi tone down I didn't expect to be able to tune it with this, but it does handle #'s.

The sound is more mellow than my Martin (solid spruce top) which I really like. If I was picky I would say the base is much weaker but it is not fair to make this comparison given the price point and it still sounds really well balanced and pleasant to listen to.

As I have smaller hands, the really great thing I liked was the profiled neck. It is quite a slim profile and I have no trouble getting my thumb over onto the sixth string. Also I really like this size guitar (Goldilocks...not to big, not too small) which sits comfortably on my lap and easy to get my hands into position.

The frets and pretty smooth, and the intonation is great. It seems to play really well with a capo and stays in tune as I move it about (some of my other guitars need to be re-tuned each time I move the capo!)

In summary and taking into account the price point, in my opinion there are no negatives. On a blind test I would say it would retail for 2-3 times more than the asking price. Tone, play-ability, looks, components and craftsmanship are all fantastic for the price. If you are not sure but feel it is the type of instrument you are interested in...take a punt and I doubt you will be disappointed.

Goes in to the guitar hall of fame "Guitars under 1000¤"

I have had many acoustic guitars in the price range just under 1000¤ and all have had their "issues". Most issues have been high strings and of course neck changing with the weather. I got this, opened the box and it was already perfect in my hand. Has a low action and easy to play neck. Intonation is perfect and the sound is just awesome. I highly recommend this guitar even to so called professionals.