Harley Benton SC-400 SGT Classic Series Reviews

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

"A nice bang for your bucket"

I recently purchased the. Harley Benton SC-400 SGT Classic Series and the product is just really good. Despite some imperfections in the paint, it's a great guitar for the price range. And let's not forget, IT LOOKS GREAT!

Good Guitar, Worth the price

Love it!

I just bought my Harley Benton SC-400 SGT Solid Gold Top March 2023, and I freakin' love it. I HIGHLY recommend it if you have the same reasons as me: 1) Satin neck. I mean seriously, who actually likes a glossy/nitro/poly neck? Nobody, people just put up with it because it looks shiny. 2) Full body, no belly cut. This just fits my body better than a belly cut guitar because belly cut guitars angle away and slide down my leg when playing. I constantly have to push it back into place. Standing with a strap is not an issue either way. 3) Black fretboard with big trapezoid inlays. This is my personal preference. 4) Looks awesome! I have the gold top and in my opinion it looks really, really good. Personal preference. 5) I wanted a LP style guitar that sounds good, and believe me this sounds good for any style you want to play. To each their own. One other thing... the guitar that I received has a perfect neck, no fret sprout, very well setup from the factory, and it plays as smooth as silk. I've owned about 10 other guitars of various makes and models and this is by far my favorite. For a legit comparison, I also bought a SC Custom II: sounded good but was really heavy, had neck dive, and didn't feel great. Sold it. I also bought a SC-DLX Gotoh: sold it when my SC-400 SGT arrived and was by every measure a nicer guitar. I was tempted to also try the SC-1000 but I have no need now because the SC-400 SGT is really really good.

Beginners dream

The guitar came great out of the box, frets were a bit sharp bot still really playable, no need of truss rod adjustment, action was good. Finsih was decent. Keep in mind this is a 160euro guitar. So you wont get Profesional guitar. But never the less a great instrument to start your journey, would recomment it for everyone who is looking for classic gold top les paul style.

Poor service

I can't comment on the playability of the guitar, I had to send it back immediately as it had a cracked neck on arrival, along with scratches everywhere and a dent in the body. Pickguard had a huge gap between the neck

Sent back, which has been laborious- having to constantly email for updates, only to be told 2 weeks after sending back they have lost the parcel

So I now have no guitar, down £133 + postage and no offer of compensation other than they might refund

Great addition to the collection

It arrived quickly and looked great out of the box. Since I have some skill in care of my equipment, the little issues found were easily adjusted. Small dry solder ground problem and I swapped the tuners to a set I like better.

The Best

This guitars rates the same as most 2000 dollars guitars. I have no idea why anyone would spend 4k on a les paul... Respond how ever, but in todays technology and mass production ways Harley Benton's quality and quality control is da bomb.

Avoid

This guitar looks pretty but came with lots of issues: Frets not level, nut cut terribly badly, pickups are harsh. It needs a set up and some repairs so in reality would have cost £330-350. The SC550 emg i got before had none of these issues so my advice go higher these guitars are not for beginners

Sounds as good as it looks

This guitar is actually insane! The finish, the sound, the feel. One of the best looking goldtops out there.

Ten out of Ten!

This is such a great deal/guitar for the money it gets a 10 out of 10 rating, get one before they are all gone!!!