Harley Benton Santos Series C-40SCE NT Reviews

Nice guitar for the money

I ordered this guitar based on You Tube reviews and found them to be mostly true. It arrived at my home in Wyoming, USA in good shape and the shipping time was crazy fast. As far as the guitar itself, the quality is above average for such a low cost instrument. The fact that it is a nylon string guitar but more of a hybrid between classical and steel string acoustic makes it interesting and a good beginner choice. It is well made, sounds good, and the pickup system works well. The only thing one should be aware of is that it is not set up out of the box. I had to give the neck some relief and lower the action, so if you don't know how to do that you will likely have to take it to a guitar tech to get it done. It plays nice though once you get it set up. The gig bag that came with (I ordered one) is pretty good as well. I will definately look to HB for more guitars in the future.

This guitar sounds amazing

Guitar sounds very good and was well set up from factory. Best budget classical guitar out there in my opinion. Harley Benton's really doing a great job with makibg affordable quality instruments.

a very good guitar

the action is good, smooth neck and a pleasant build quality

Great Value

only took a star off because of some rough gouges on one of the braces under the top sheet. Makes no difference to sound or playability but is visible when playing.

Hardly a concern at the price point of the guitar and the excellent tonality acoustically and electrically.

Great value for money hybrid guitar

Great value for money hybrid guitar

For those who frequently switch from steel string western or electric guitar to a nylon stringed instrument, this guitar will provide a more comfortable feel than a standard classical guitar. Its neck is slightly wider, just wide enough to accommodate for difficult fingering positions. The sound is surprisingly good, quite bright, with a well pronounced bass. I made a small sketch recorded directly from the piezo pickup here: I would say that this is more than just an entry level guitar, with some adjustments it is also suited for professional use. Great value for money!

Ease of use

I've been into acoustic for a lot of years and along the way I get to own classical guitars, 2 Ibanez and 3 Yamaha.

This Santos Series is really a surprise. First the sound is the same that you get from $700-priced guitars. Switching from steel to this one is remarkably easy because of the neck; not too wide. For those with smaller fingers, this one's spot on.

The sound when plugged is likewise impressive. The Fishman carries well this quite well.

I recommend this guitar for beginners and intermediate level players. Look beyond the brand name. At the end of the day, what pleases your ears is what you need to buy.

P.S. It's tune and play. The strings that go with it are really fine.

Unbelievable value for money.

Looks great, sounds great, plays great

intonation wasn't really good

intonation wasn't good like I'd play an open g chord and it'd sound good and then I'd play something higher up the fretboard and it would get out of tune only there, Fretboard was kinda bent sideways at least to my eye and the sustain wasn't that great. I suppose it's good for a kid or a guitar student starting out, but not for a studio, which is why I bought it in the first place

good but only for beginers

the bigger problem is the intonation of this guitar and the inboard tuner not so good ,its weired to play one string to tune and in the4th fret or 5th its off,the playability is very good

Great value classical/latin guitar

I am mainly an electric player into Jazz but had been looking for a nylon string guitar for Bossa Nova and came across this HB model which has the smaller nut width of 48mm which I though would help my short fingers so I decided to go for it.

The guitar cannot be faulted. No fret buzz, level frets although needing a little polish, not rough fret edges. I decided to fit D'Addario EJ45LP strings as I will do anything to reduce string squeal but I believe this guitar comes fitted with a good quality D'Addario string set as standard.

I cannot comment on how this guitar sounds side by side with similar guitars but the tone to me sounds great and the under saddle Fishman pickup works really well.

So if you are looking to add a nylon string model to your arsenal then this guitar could be a good way to test the water without breaking the bank. Certainly the narrower nut width may help players transitioning from electric.

Good for the price if you do a bit of work

Well and constructed. Wood and materials seem ok.

As with all Harley Bentons, expect to do a bit of work before being able to play it enjoyably, Sharp and rough frets and a roughly cut nut are common....as I experienced here. I do guitar work so it's not a big problem for me, but it someone had to pay someone to do it it sort of negates the economy of getting a low cost guitar.

Tuners work ok but I think they can fail or break quite easily (based on previous experience and looking at them).

Good value if you can do setups and repairs yourself....not so good if you have to pay someone to do it.

Very good quality at a low price.

The guitar is well refined. Very easy to play. Action is well balanced. Internal tuner and boost is an adding value.

Once connected with the amplifier the sound quality remain very high.

You have very little to envy to classic guitar of higher level when you are playing this one

Great instrument for a very low price. Sound unplugged is great, plugged in it is even better. However, it has some estethic issues.

+ Superb features - Defects in finish

The guitar's features and playability are just superb, but the quality control seems to have been sleeping the time my guitar passed it.

The guitar is very well built, but the satin lacquer has gone bubbles on the end of the neck above the resonator hole, and there is a place on the edge that is left unfinished. Moreover, i found some lacquer on the strings (!). I wonder if they were put on the guitar right after finish before it dried.

Guitar body was all in woodpowder when unpacked - it's definitely from the installation of pickup, and it made a bad impression.

The sound is good, but i'll try another strings instead of dirty ones installed - it may turn out to be even better.

My appeal to the shop'd managers and to chinese plant managers: pump up quality control! Othe HB guitars i bought were absolutely superb, but this one is designed and built great, but its finish is far from perfect. But even mentioning this, the guitar has no competitors with its features (solid top+narrow nut+strong design).