Harley Benton Custom Line Superior-E VS Reviews

Great guitar!

It's a while since I bought this one. Have been playing it a lot for some months now. I swapped the pick guard for a more Hummingbird-ish looking one, but other than that I have kept is as it came in the box, including the strings as well. Rich, full sound, great looks and playability. Neck is straight, with no feet buzz or sharp edges. Only negative thing is that the lacquer/paint on the neck comes off at the spots my hands stays the most. It gives it a nice sunburst/patina look, but it's of course a sign of the lack of top notch quality. But, hey, don't be discouraged by this. You do get a very fine instrument for the price you pay. I think it sounds good on my simple amp, but others may have higher standards for their use. I play mostly acoustic country singer/songwriter stuff for my own amusement, so this must be read as an amateur's opinion and for what it's worth. I do have about 15 different guitars, so I have some experience and ability to compare one guitar to another.

Would be better, but the fretwork and/or neck fail terribly

The guitar sounds and feels great to a point. From the 10th fret up, every string frets out over some length. I've given it months to acclimate, made small adjustments over time, but nothing improves the problem. It's not worth sending back. I had been extremely happy with other HB products, but this may be the worst playing guitar I've ever seen in the higher frets.

Really lovely guitar

Delivery was quick, and the guitar was playable straight out of the box. Adjusted the truss rod a little and polished the frets in the time I’ve had it, but genuinely a superb guitar for the price point. Beautiful looking and a joy to play.

works great, cheap price

works great, cheap price, fun guitar!

Can’t expect more for the money

Been playing 45 years, this is my «coastal cabin» guitar in northern Norway (= shifting temperatures, exposure to well below 0˚C in the winter, etc.). I have had this HB for 3 1/2 years, and it has grown on me. I especially like the resonance when tuning down to DADGCD or even CGDGCD. Action and frets are great, and it has proven stable over time. I don’t care much for the PU system, but I have no real use for it, and it is functional for the occasional event where it is needed.

Amazing quality and playability!

Straight from the box the intonation is perfect and the action is really low, without any fret buzz.

This is a keeper, it sounds both bright and silky like a quality acoustic should...and it's got an onboard tuner!... what more could you ask for?

I removed the western style pick guard as it was only glued on, and I thought it would make the guitar look better... it sure does!

Had higher hopes for this guitar...

This guitar was not as good as I expected when i ordered it. Normally I suppose Harley Benton Guitars are nice for what you pay... Mine came with a hump on the 13th or 14th fret causing buzzing sounds while playing from the 12th fret and upwards. I think that if you want some low ends in a guitar this is not the one to chose. The setup/action was ok but that hump totally ruined the guitar. Otherwise I suppose the building-quality is ok. I did not have the time or lust to send this back so I sold it. Instead I went for a Recording King RD318, twice as much in money but I hope it will be a more solid guitar in it´s construction without any neckproblems. I would say that this Harley Benton may serve well for beginners that comes without any cravings about the guitar, just something to learn to play on. For me that have been playing a while it was not what I expected from seeing reviews etc about the guitar.

Perfect

no, but actually this is perfect

Harley Benton Custom Line Superior-E VS

I must say right away that the guitar was delivered to me in excellent condition. Oftentimes I am afraid to risk buying such things for delivery. I had no complaints about the build quality.

The guitar very quickly became the mainstay in my arsenal. I very often heard only good reviews about Harley Benton guitars, so I was not surprised by such a gift.

In general I use this guitar on recordings at home. I may not be entirely happy with the pickup, but many other guitars are even worse for this price. However, all problems disappear when you record it on the line and on the microphone at the same time (however, as it should be). In general, this is more of a niggle than a flaw.

Personally, I think this guitar is great for strumming. With such a deep sound, she perfectly plays along with my girlfriend's vocals.

Before that I mainly played Epiphone ej200ce among acoustic guitars. It may sound strange, but Benton overshadowed it.

From Russia with love

Thank you so much for giving me something that finally satisfied most of my musical needs.

Great Guitar

Great Guitar and the price is even better. Love the way it sounds and plays. Sounds awesome plugged in.

Lovely Guitar For The Price

Really nice looking. Some small sacrifices in quality to get a guitar at this amazing price. Fretboard pearl inlays a little muddy around the edges and the tuner is a bit hit and miss at times, but overall no complaints.

Poor guitar acoustics

acoustic guitar is in a word a disaster, the neck of the guitar is much distorted, the keel is raised and the strings are too separated from the neck, mostly I do not recommend it

High expectations.... Absolutely met!!!

Lately, I've been learning songs in alternate tunings. Having only one each, 6 and 12 string A/E's, re-tuning got old fast! I needed to find a quality guitar(s) for an affordable price. I've grown quite used to playing guitars with great actions and didn't think I could find something of a similar quality without paying more than I really wanted.... Then a friend suggested Harley Benton Guitars. And after researching them as best you can without playing one, I decided to give one a try. Ordering the Harley Benton CLJ-412E 3SB 12 string, I found that one would be on back order. So I ordered the Custom Line Superior-E VS as well, to get one sooner, and I'm totally blown away! I see quality. For starters it catches your eye with its great looks. Then after playing it, I can say it has a very similar feel and play-ability to a guitar I have that would cost more than 10 times the price of the Superior E VS. Again.... I'm blown away! Now it will be difficult waiting for that back ordered 12 string. I just might have to order another one in the meantime. I highly recommend giving a Harley Benton a try. I've already passed the word onto a friend and now he's getting the buyers itch. It won't take long before he scratches it. Just as it won't be long before I place another order. Way to go, Harley Benton!!!

A superb Guitar for the Price, sounds great and I have few complaints about the build quality.

Purchased to replace my 14 year old Yamaha APX - the frets have worn down to the fingerboard - so I fancied this as an inexpensive replacement, and I have not been disappointed, the Guitar played out of the box, with nothing more than a tune-up.

I had read some people found the action too high, but mine is fine, the setup exceeded expectations.

I chose this Guitar for it's sound, after watching as many reviews of Guitars in this price range as I could find - not really a substitute for playing your choice, but the only option possible online - mine definitely has a mellow Hummingbird tone, and my wife commented on how nice it sounded.

Cons then? well if I had to pick something, it would be the inlays on the fret board; they have some overspray on them which doesn't stand up to very close scrutiny (I managed to remove this) but at this price it certainly wasn't a problem for me, and I would recommend anyone to try one of these before spending big money for tone.

I have just purchased a Harley Benton electric semi-acoustic , I hope when it arrives it's as well set-up as this.

Very good guitar, incredible value for the money

After a couple of weeks, here my thoughts on the Harley Benton Superior E-VS.

This guitar looks quite good. At first look, it's beautiful: the woods are nice, the binding around the body and neck is flawless and overall doesn't look like a cheap guitar.

I think that the sunbutst looks awesome (the photos don't do it justice) and i love the headstock logo and shape.

Nontheless, if you pay attention to the details, then you can find some minor flaws. The blocks are a bit asymmetrical and there were some traces of glue around them (but it was esay to clear It).

The pickguard is very ugly and i think i will replace It as soon as possibile.

The construction is solid and i don't have any complaint about it.

The neck is straight and the frets are perfect, there are no sharp edges, dead spots or buzzing even if the action is quite low.

The neck is also very comfortable to play, even if i have small hands.

I love the vintage looking tuners: they are pretty decent, not the best in the world, but they do their job quite well.

And now the most important part: this guitar sounds very very good.

Like the real thing, it has a lot of attack, with a very brillant sound and balanced bottom (to be honest, it lacks a bit of it to really sound like a gibson hummingbird).

The strumming is where this guitar really shines, but it does a very good job also with fingerpicking.

Overall this is a very good guitar, far better than its Epiphone counterpart.

And of you think that i paid it 220 euros (including shipping and a gig bag) this is an incredible deal.

Once again Harley Benton proved to be a very good brand, and maybe the one with the best value for the money on the market.

Well done HB!

Simply Amazing for the Price!

Really similar to the Epiphone Hummingbird, great value for the price!

Highly recommended, it sounds great!

Jack capable and integrated tuner. All you need. Iàm very satisfied by this purchase.

Electronics, build and sound of the guitar is really good. It looks good too so very little to quarrel with there. This is an almost perfect guitar for players looking for a quality product without having to pay a premium price.

Con's:

* I am noticing a rattle that is coming from the tuning knobs at the top that I'm going to have to give to my guitar fixer to see can he do something about. I only hear it when my guitar is plugged in but it is annoying. I imagine that this is because it is a cheap product but it still effects the quality.

* The frets are quite high on the guitar so for soloing this effects it a little bit. Not a huge problem but does effect the smoothness of playing a little.

Other than that I've been complimented at many gigs regarding the sound quality of the guitar, compliments I haven't got from playing more expensive guitars.

great

ı love this guitar. kaliteli ve ben çok beğendim. her şey mükemmel. teşekkürler.

Delivered within 4 days well packaged and undamaged. but with faults the action is very high, I hope I can get it down enough by getting someone to take something of the bridge.

Whoever did the faux mother of pearl markers on the neck must have been a completely untrained amateur none of them are level they look atrocious they are so far out and at such an angle that where it is level with the string at the bottom the top part has over an eighth of an inch showing, and you can see through some of them where so much has been gouged out that you can see the indentation through the marker and there are black bits of glue or something on the edges as well and even the sizes and shade don't match.

The tuners seem firm enough but they turn and nothing happens and then suddenly they start to catch, once in tune they are ok but they make tuning awkward and more time consuming, something I can live with as they stay in tune once set, but a niggle all the same.

The action and the markers are the two really disappointing things, hopefully I can get someone to improve the action, but I can do nothing with the inlays on the neck, they look really stupid, how they got through quality control I don't know, they stand out like a sore thumb, which is a shame as the guitar otherwise looks and sounds really good.

I can't send it back, at the price it is not worth all the trouble of re-packaging and sorting out post, but someone needs to be told about the workmanship on the inlays, no professional could have done those, even an apprentice wouldn't have done work so bad, I would be interested to know how it occured and who did it.

noa bad....

my 5th HB guitar.....as all the others needed some setup and as all the others needed a lot of fret job....fret leveling and polishing...mine, came with the neck a little crooked on the side that is gloued to the body ....after sanding the saddle bone and the nut bone and after replacing the strings with (the exccelent) elixirs 12 nano web the instument was 100% tranformed ....since i am not a fun of fishman, fisrt thing i had to do was to replace the electronics with (my favorite) shadow e-sonic...so now my guitar is a machine gun.....decent instrument for the money but my Harley Benton CLJ-503CE WN is still my favorite one..is ligther, more beautifull, srtraight neck, less feedback when pluged ....is my main gig guitar.....more to come in a few weeks as it gets acclimated...