Harley Benton SC-400 SGT Classic Series

Surprisingly good for the money

I bought this as a basis for modification - I plan to add an extra pickup for the low E and A strings with a separate output to go via an octaver into a bass amp. As such I know I'm going to replace much of the electronics, but straight out of the box, with a little tune-up, I was impressed with how well it plays and the sounds it makes. I previously bought one of the SC kits and the pickups supplied in that were terrible - these on the other hand actually sound pretty good! The instrument is nicely finished, with no flaws I could see. The neck is nice, and the frets are well fitted with no sharp corners. The fret tops are a little rough though, meaning bends sound a little graunchy. Nothing a little polish won't fix though! Tuners work well and it seems to stay in tune, and initial set-up is nice and low, although the intonation needs tweaking at the bridge. The only real complaint is the bridge/tail-piece doesn't seem to be earthed properly, so it's quite noisy if you're not touching a string. As I'm going to be stripping it and rebuilding then I'll fix that along the way, but it's a shame when everything else was so good!

Poor quality

I certainly thought that the Harley Benton instruments were of a high quality, but I was wrong. But, what could I expect for a super budget guitar. Blame on me for thinking that way. I learned my lesson.

Can't go wrong with the money spent

Nearly perfect

This guitar is nearly perfect. The pickups are very good with great clarity and very good tonal properties. The neck and fret work is top notch. The finish is beautiful and well applied. There is a small spot of overspray at the neck joint but not nearly bad enough to worry about correcting. The color of the top is a bit more orangey than I expected for a gold top but it has a very unique color that i immediately fell in love with. The fit and finish, the feel and the sound of this guitar are far better than the price tag would have you believe. I highly recommend it!

Good for the price

It's a beginner guitar. It's not a gibson, it's not an epi. Good for entry level players. If I was just starting out this would be a great guitar. If I've been playing for a couple years or more then I'd save another 100 or 200 and get something a step above this

Excellent

Honestly wasn’t expecting much for the price, but i was blown away, the tone on this guitar is literally perfect. It’s so universal! I highly reccomend wether your a beginner or experienced player

Nice

this guitar is lovely. it is better than it has a right to be for as inexpensive it is. with tuning it is playable right out of the box.

While it's gold, this definitely isn't a Gold Top.

Do you like having one pick-up that outputs twice as much volume as the other one does when measured with a decibel meter?

Do you like potentiometers that do nothing for most of the time you turn them, and then suddenly run through the full spectrum of tones in the last quarter twist? Also, do you like when the volume/tone knobs and potentiometers are so low they scratch off the paint finish of the guitar within a week?

Do you sometimes say "I'd like to cut my finger on some unfinished frets on the neck while I play?"

Do you think companies are wasting too much money on Quality Control departments?

Or are you simply looking for a guitar to hang on a wall for decor, but with no intention of ever playing it?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you'll be very happy with this guitar.

Best quality to price ratio

I bought this guitar as a Christmas present and am well surprised about its built quality and offering for the price. Recommended!

well worth every penny

well worth every penny you could gig with this straight away at the box and it looks expensive and not cheap