Harley Benton Custom Line N-150CE BK 3-stars Reviews

BE REALISTIC !

What can we truthfully expect from a resonator for under £200. ? The answer….is not very much. I bought this as a project to see if I could improve it enough to make it a useable gigging instrument. I like the cutaway access for slide playing. In short, the fret ends were rough, as were the crowns of the frets. The nut was poorly cut, and the action was too low for any serious slide playing. The pickup was weedy, thin and weak, and the pots were scratchy and of very poor quality. The acoustic tone was thin and lacking any real body , warmth or sustain. I cut a new nut, tweaked the truss Rod, refitted the bridge, and upgraded the pickup and pots. Overall cost was about £100, so for under £300, I now have a a guitar that is reasonably ok without being a world beater, though it obviously can’t compare to high quality resos. The physical construction is quite heavy, and I’m not convinced that buying any more new parts is going to make a cost effective improvement in tones. It plays ok, without being outstanding, and would do for a couple of songs in a gig. I’m sure that at this price, quality control is going to vary immensely….. so it will be down to pure luck when your guitar arrives. Having said that, it is certainly the sort of instrument that can benefit from a small amount of work and investment. Be realistic in your expectations, and this guitar will serve its purpose.

Decent Guitar, but not much 'resonator' sound

I like this guitar, I am happy with the quality, especially considering the low price - but it doesn't have the metallic sound I expect from a resonator. It's pretty close to a regular acoustic sound.

Meh

It's ok but it has something loose floating around inside it, that sometimes falls on to places that make the guitar buzz on the bass strings. I little shake to move whatever it is, does the trick. Eventually, I will get it out of there, but I don't want to change the strings yet, because I'm not sure how big I want to go (Dobro strings are usually YUGE). Plus, I will have to take the resonator apart to get in there, which is new territory for me, that I'm fearful of. To be fair, I'm not sure I could get much further from Germany, and still be on land, so the blame could be on UPS.

As for the actual instrument, I'm not blown away. The amount of "resonator tone" is a bit thin, but it could be my play, or the small strings. I don't regret buying it; I always wanted one, and the price is right.

ok resonator for beginners

an ok resonator for beginners. very loud acoustic sound. the electric sound is also decent but noisy.

on the down side, well, lets just say its kinda heavy. so heavy in fact that i did not see any difference from my metal body resonator.

also, the saddle is sooo cheaply made, it is actually 2 tiny pieces of wood that are very easily lost while changing strings. after 2 months playing, the resonator started rattling so i had to disassemble and tighten the screws. now sitting in the basement gathering dust. waste of money?