Harley Benton SC-400 SGT Classic Series Reviews

More coppertop than Goldtop

It’s unfair providing any real criticism. But there has to be one ‘con’, right?

The colour would be better described as copper. Otherwise what an awesome guitar for the price. It’s heavy and feels similar to the real deal. Tones are a little muddy and reserved. This could be due to timber used in the body. Make no mistake, these are not weight relieved!

The design, although more modern than a traditional LP shape, still works well. The stain finish is fantastic, although mine had a quality control issue with the rear plate routing that seems to have resulted in finish being missed on one edge of the cavity backplate. I’m yet to remove the plate to see just how far it extends.

I’d buy ten of these in all colours if I had the money! Cannot speak more highly of the rest of the quality of this guitar.

Ok, so that was two ‘cons’

very good

Very well ! Fast shipping . The guitar is well made for its price.

Great cheap guitar

It is meant to be used at home for practicing.

The guitar is not heavy, it is well balanced and more than good looking if it is something that you want.

I am a bit worried about the paint finish, it looks like it can be easily scratched, but it just me...

The sound is really good.

The feeling of the guitar, when playing, is that the guitar is well and precisely built and no sharp edges on the neck that are common to cheaper models of electric guitars.

I would definitely recommend it to someone who is starting or even someone more experienced.

Nice guitar

Really nice guitar, more red orange it's never gold

Unfortunately damaged frets in transit,.Never been a fan of ups and I would suggest another carrier. In the process of a return, seem very helpful but a little slow,

Follow up, really great service, guitar replaced and very happy and would recommend a little patience as they deal with a lot of orders.

I'm so impatient !

not a bad guitar iv got to be honest im a fender type guitar man but for the money you can not fault it

Have some little scratch

Guitar have some little scratch, also paint is more orange color (not gold), and also have some paint defects, not perfect painting (some spots). but overall for this price this guitar is good. You can use it play. looks modern.

fast neck great sound BARGIN

Extremely usable workhorse/backup

I bought this guitar to use for a side project which is playing in drop D tuning and I've been very impressed with the instrument so far.

First the cons up front:

Some finishing issues - One of the tuning pegs washer sort of bits on the top of the headstock isn't seated correctly so it popped out when I restrung it. It doesn't affect playability or tuning, just looks a bit jank if you look close.

Some minor chips to the paintwork on the headstock too...seems most of the issues with my unit are localized to the headstock. Some minor discolouration to one of the tuning pegs.

The nut is definitely not the best but it does the job. Some minor tuning issue on the G string but that's been an issue on nearly every guitar I've ever owned, even high end ones (I'd strongly recommend trying a string pack with a wound G. It'll feel different at first but you soon get used to it and it has an extremely positive impact on tuning stability.)

Now onto the positives - The guitar arrived ready to play right out of the box. The intonation was good and it was very nearly in tune straight out of the box. The body has a nice weight to it and is legitimately stunning especially with that carved top.

The action is nice and low and there was zero fret buzz. The frets are not remotely sharp and are well polished for an instrument of this cost.

Acoustically this guitar is SO loud which is a very good thing. This translates into how it performs when plugged in which is to say it has a powerful and resonant tone and sustains like crazy. Honestly this was one of the things I was really taken aback by. Hit a big chord and just let it ring out and you'll see what I mean.

The pickups are surprisingly articulate to say they're cheap stock ones. They're loud and powerful but you can also pick out each string in a chord.

To sum up. If you're after an LP style guitar and can tolerate some potential cosmetic issues from the obvious corners they've had to cut to get the price this low then you can do a lot lot worse. Besides, these issues are far outweighed by the playability and sound you get from the instrument.

Recommended for players of all levels as a cheap workhorse or a backup/mod platform.

Suprisingly good for the money

I bought this guitar as a present for my father. I was pleasantly surprised at the good intonation and overall the guitar shipped well set up. The build quality is actually very good apart from some less than impressive woodwork on the body which can be seen even through the golden finish. But for the price that can be accepted and looks don't make sound. This guitar sounds rather good I have to say. We compared it to Gibson Les Paul and in a way I prefer this one as I find it cleaner sounding.

Good Enough for a beginner

This is my first guitar and its better than i expected for the price. It not fantastic but it gets the job done is higher quality than the price would have you believe. I've been using it to practice and play RockSmith for a month or so and everything on it is still solid.

The Good: The tuners keep there tune, and the frets aren't sharp or fuzzy like I've seen with lower end Squire and Epiphone guitars. The humbuckers do there job and all the knobs do there job.

The Bad: On a negative note there does seem to be a small chip on the fretboard near the Guitar nut, it doesn't seem to effect play-ability so far. I don't know if the minor damage was done in shipping or manufacturing but its not a major problem.

Awesome....for the money

You cannot beat this guitar for the price. You get a set neck, good electronics and good fret ends for a staggering $100 or so.

A few notes: It did need a full setup (the fine tuning was perfect, but truss rod and bridge needed adjusting) and the frets needed to be polished. Also, there is no binding and the paint job (especially the line between the black and gold) looks a tad cheap, but it is a cheap guitar.

Even if you bought this as a beginner and paid a luthier to adjust the action and polish the frets, you still are getting bang for your buck.

Its awesome for the price it costs, with a nice amp it could be even better. buy it. even if you have a cheap amp.

Good for the price but with a few QC issues

The good:

pickups sound good. Finish looks great, frets are not sharp. Tunes and seems to stay in tune. Sustains like a monster even without any amp FX.

The bad:

a few QC issues which should have made it B stock,

very minor paint finishing marks where the side of the fretboard has been painted black but not completely.

Perhaps not quite as minor- the tuners are fitted really badly, on one side of the headstock rear they are kind of aligned, on the others they are what could best be described as higgledy piggledy, as in allover the place. The tuners work but they feel super, super, super cheap.

Overall, sounds good, looks nice but not in close-up, finish feels like some kind of powdered matte and when you move your hand over the top you can feel inconsistencies in the finish, like the coating was applied a little unevenly. A bit disappointed to be frank- I'll be returning it which is a pain in the neck.

Beast LP style

I own and play a lot on an Epi standard LP last 15 years, was my first and nr. 1 el. guitar. Played on a buch of different amps during that period. Guitar was sold, ended in my band for a short period, so now I wanted some guitar, LP the best, to have one and play at home or gigs from time to time, so not expensive one.

I wanted the SC450BK, but was not on stock, so I look up for this gold toppy beauty with open humbuckers (which always have sounded nicer to me as covered ones). I was really affraid for the extremely affordable price, but finally ordered.

It has arrived. First finish impressions were flawless, matt gold top looks freakin great, brown back is in perfect contrast with the top, amazing! Touch the neck to check the fretwork... what?! super great! Next tune it up, play unplugged a few chords - nice sustain, fits great in my hands, heavy (great for an LP and me), a blast! Then plugged through multieffect unit with amp simulation to the PA - HEEEY what the..., 5 times better then my Epi for 10 times this price. I am done.

Just a little cons: (thats why 4 stars)

It needed a bit of intonation tuning, after that I recognize that the nut is not place right next to the fretboard, there is a small tiny gap visible, so during the restringing I am going to move the nut, its just a milimilimilimeter. I am sure the intonation will then be supergreat.

...and ordering a tele style, another Harley (TE52) next month, as I always wanted that type too.

Super Budget LP!

Surprised to say the least!!!... Quality guitar good build.. good sound.. nice neck.. used this live it sounded great!... if you're looking for a budget LP guitar THIS IS THE ONE!

Les Paul style guitar.

I had bought several other Harley Benton guitars and had been more than pleased with them so I wondered what the cheapest model would be like.

From the moment I opened the box I was unimpressed with this one. It looks dull in it?s matt finish. It is very heavy. The tuners are poor in operation. The feel of it does not inspire me at all.

After saying all that, there is nothing really wrong with it, it seems well put together. It has a very thick neck.

I suggest if you want a low price, high value LP style guitar, save up the few extra pounds or euros and buy the SC450+ model instead, they are really great guitars!

Love it! Nice sound from those pickups!

A very good guitar for a beginner! Those frets may need some additional work though. Especially on the high strings. Maybe it is just my guitar that has this issue. But other than that, I am still stunned. I also have a semi hollow more expensive guitar but this les paul is my go-to guitar for hard rock with pinch harmonics and all that!

rock machine

mine came with an intonation problem on the low E string hope the others are good but it has a great tone besides that and it's a 1 in a 1000000 problem all my other harley bentons work great

exceptional value

I am totally happy with this guitar, the feel and sound of the guitar ate great. I really like the revised shape making it less of an l.p. clone and more of a stand alone product with better access to the higher frets.

It plays well out of the box and everything feels solid. The pick guard could be a little more refined but it's fine really, that aside the finish is flawless.

Ideal as a first guitar or as a guitar to take to friends for jamming without worrying about a knock here or there.

I can't imagine you'll find a better guitar in this price range.