Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-16S

Blown away by the quality of the sound and the build.

I’ve got a CLA solid mahogany top and se it all the time for both practice and playing with other guitarists. It has recently had a set up and the action adjusted and is playing superbly. I was looking at a non electric auditorium size guitar to supplement it, and because I am so happy with that one, ended up buying this one. The build and set up is fantastic. No fret nubs or creep, frets polished smoothly. The action is spot on for me. Indeed, the thing was almost in perfect tune when I got it out of the box, which should bode well for tuning stability. The Sitka spruce top gives a warmer sound than my Mahogany topped CLA, so much so that my wife commented on it unprompted. I’ve started playing a lot more with my fingers as opposed to a plectum and that style of play seems to really bring the best out of it. It also seems to be easier to play finger style on, which I assume is down to the setup. I’ve had it for a day and I’ve hardly put it down. If it matures as has the mahogany one, it will be even better. It may not be the most expensive guitar, but it is a very nice instrument,and a pleasure to play.

Return process is swift and hussle free

The CLA-16s guitar was very good for the price, but the top board looked horrible with lots of discoloration. The return process was a swift and hussle free. I am replacing my order with another CLA model and hope I'll be lucky this time...

Great Value!

Better than expected! Set up too! Made from unexpectedly good materials. Solid top. Stays in tune pretty much. Very playable. I haven't had a chance to, you know, "get in the groove" with it to give a final verdict on the sound, but whatever the case, it's a good buy as is!

I love it!

The CLA-16S arrived in good order, flawless finish and almost perfectly setup. I only changed the strings.

It is a joy to play and has a lovely balanced sound when strummed and fingerpicked. A wonderful guitar for the money. Highly recommended.

great guitar for the money

i don't normally write reviews here, but this guitar is just crazy good for the money. i already own a harley benton clp-15m, which i was also very satisfied with and still have. but i wanted to try an auditorium-size guitar. i mean, aside from changing the strings, this guitar just played and sounded great literally right out of box. no rough frets, smooth neck, action was good. i mean, for this kind of money one is getting an insanely good deal here. for people just starting out --like myself-- it's great to have the opportunity to try different guitars without going broke. this is the fourth chinese-made guitar i've bought and all have been great guitars. so don't be put off by "made in china" here. i believe one would have to spend a great deal more money to get to the next level of guitar. you really can't go wrong here. so, thanks to harley benton for putting really decent instruments in everyone's reach.

An amazing guitar for an amazing price

I have been playing guitar (acoustic , electric and classical) for about 3 years in total. I bought this guitar to try acoustic fingerstyle in the style of Tommy Emmanuel.

Arrival:

The guitar arrived perfectly protected in it's box, with no damage whatsoever.

Setup:

It was flawlessly setup out of the box, with low string action, intonated properly, no buzzing frets or fret sprout, and no truss rod adjustment needed. The nut was cut really well with no buzzing or bad height.

Playability:

It plays really easily all throughout the neck, has a great neck profile and radius (reminds me of a Fender Stratocaster neck). All the chords and picking i did on it rang out greatly and flawlessly, and barre chords have never been easier to play all over the neck.

Sound:

It sounds much better than the sound clips on the site , to be honest. A balanced sound (as you would expect from an OOO) with all frequencies present as should , it is great for fingerpicking, but still not bad at all for strumming. Also, every hammer on/pull off and similar effects ring out with great resonance. At first, i thought i was hearing a much more expensive guitar, reminded me of some much more expensive ones like the Martin 15M.

Cons:

It arrived with some small cosmetic flaws. Some tiny bits of glue left over where the neck meets the body (i already took them off with a toothpick) and a small ding in the back , in that same spot.

Overall, a great guitar. Not just "for the money" . A great guitar all around. Highly recommended to beginners and advanced alike.

Absolutely love this guitar

The last couple of years I tried a lot of different acoustic guitars, but I never really fell in love with one. There Always seemed to be something missing on all of them (epihone/Sigma).

Kind of lost hope in finding a good fun acoustic guitar. After hearing a lot of good talk about the Harley Bentons I thought, what the hell, let's try one. And A

am I glad I did.

The guitar sounds really good. Very powerfull on single notes with the convenience of a smaller body than a dreadnought.

Was it perfect on arrival? No, Action was way too high at the 12th fret. But because it was so cheap, I decided to lower the action on an acoustic guitar for the first time by myself. And now it plays like a dream.

Is it better than a Martin: Probably not, but I played acoustics that were 3 times as expensive as this one that didn't sound half as good.

It is a no brainer. Just go for it.

Great Upgrade Guitar

What a great guitar for the pennies!! I ordered the cheaper Harley Benton CG-45 NS before this and I have to say that guitar was good, this is even better!!!!

Firstly lets talk about looks. The Mahogany veneer and binding is faultless, the binding has a subtle black pinstripe. which looks great against the wood and binding. The finish looks flawless with no obvious defects or runs.

Secondly the guitar is setup pretty good. The frets are level and dressed nicely. The action is fine and there are no buzzes or strange noises. The finger board is smooth and nicely oiled.

All in all I'm very impressed and would recommend this to anyone, gone are the days for have to spend thousands on a decent go too guitar.

I personally changed the strings on this and its made a world of difference.

Good guitar, great price :-)