Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series Reviews

a beauty

this is maybe HB best looking guitar. the p90s are not that noisy. you have to have it set up though. the nut on these needs work almost all the time, but once you have it done and have your action set up, its a great instrument

Great guitar but work to do

Now this guitar is playing and sounds as good as any guitar in 500-1000$ price range. Body, neck, electronics and finish are flawless. Beautiful LP classic vibe. However, I had to fix some issues: 3 high frets and action was way too high (was set to avoid fret buzz) / once the high frets were levelled I was able to set a very low action with no buzz / nut slots too high (cowboy chords out of tune). Had to file slots to standard height / polished all frets / bridge pickup way to low (had to put foam in the cavity to bring the pickup at a standard height) / had to fill one screw hole in the pickup cavity cause the screw had no grip / had to set intonation / fretboard was dry (but beautiful once oiled) / truss rod did not need ajustement (perfect). After a complete setup according to my preferences, this guitar looks and plays great 😊👍. More than happy.

Very good, with a little work

I like this guitar a lot. It came with flaws but plays and sounds nice so I kept it. It need some work however.

The positive: Sounds good, Plays nicely and the gold color looks great to me. It stays in tune well. Ooh yea and the price, this is a great deal if you can do the work to make it right.

The negative: The frets were sharp and needed about and hour of filing work. The fretboard and frets was extremely dirty and after 3 cleanings I almost have everything clean.

Great for the price

after droping Seymore duncans in it, it is one of my bast sounding p90 guitars

Great for the Price

Great looking guitar for the price. Quality is good although it needed a proper setup. Happy with the purchase.

Not bad for the price

Guitar arrived packed quite well, and didn't take too long. Overall quality is okay, you get what you pay for with this one. The gold paint around where the neck meets the body runs onto the neck a bit which is kind of odd. The bridge pickup output is WAY lower than the neck and also the bridge pickup is very very loose in the cavity (the cavities are also cut quite a bit larger than the pickups themselves). Overall not bad but not great.

Love Her Madly!

First HB.Bought 4 more since. Love em all.

Brilliant paint job

I absolutely love this guitar but the screws in the pickups are a big letdown.

So that’s why the four stars.

Why two such big headed screws are needed to go down into the pickups is beyond me ?

Everything about this guitar makes it a winner except for those pickup screws.

P90 love

This was my first Harley Benton and first guitar with P90's.

The 50's neck and P90 snarl just makes it stand out.

It arrived quickly and safely in the US.

Quality gets a 4. The pickguard had a 1/2" unfinished edge between the pickups near the neck pickup. Not a big deal and easily remedied. The tuners were the only weak point were and replaced with $20 Wilkinsons. The fretboard was a little dry and the frets needed a polish.

Fun guitar. Still have it and play it regularly.

Great guitar period

The SC-450 P90 GT is a great guitar period. In fact, compared to its big brother the SC-550, I believe it is a better guitar.

The Pros:

-Value, tough to believe there is that much quality in a $152.00 guitar, but yet there is.

-Sound, Great straight out-of-box sound from the P90's. I'm sure a little adjusting is in order, but for now, play away.

-Setup, intonation was almost perfect, a couple of strings were a little sharp, but well within specs as far as I'm concerned.

-Looks, a Very nice gold top with quality binding and nice inlays. The headstock looks very Harley Benton (ish) and nothing wrong with that.

Construction- Everything was put together nicely with no flaws. The fretboard could stand a little Lemon oil which is just like every guitar that I buy. The frets were smooth and decently polished. I haven't put it on my workbench yet, but I haven't had any buzzing, so the frets seem to be great from the factory. The Basswood body is fine, you can feel the difference between it and the 550, but it's not enough to worry about.

I say the 450 is better than the 550 due to its sound. The 450 pickups are nice, not muddy (my SC-550 is super muddy on the neck pickup), and produce a very nice single-coil sound but with a warmer sound. Just like the p90 is supposed to do.

-Cons, not any that I found, as a matter of fact, mine came completely ready to play, including the factory strings.

If you are in the market for a quality instrument for a little money, this is the guitar for you.

Solid Product

After already purchasing the DC Junior I was expecting the SC-450 to be every bit as good as the Jr. It did not let me down. This is a well constructed guitar that plays very amazingly. I compare it to the Gibson's I already own and aside from the mediocre hardware used in the construction, it comes quite close.

I would not hesitate to recommend Harley Benton brand to friends and I hope they get more popular in North America as it apparently is in Europe.

Beautiful guitar with an awesome P90 sound

Not impressed

Guitar showed up with major wiring issues; rhythm and treble switch wired backwards, both pickups wired to the same side of the selector switch, volume only worked on one pickup.

Great Bargain!

I own an original 1955 Gibson goldtop with P-90s that I bought over 50 years ago. I abused it during the 60's and 70's when playing and traveling professionally. Now I keep it mostly locked away and seldom play it. I bought this low priced copy a few years ago just to noodle on but it is a pretty good copy from the front and is fun to play. No complaints especially considering the price!

Great Goldtop!

The workmanship on these guitars is actually very good. Even though this one is basswood instead of mahogany, it is right up to par with my Gibson's in sound and weight! The only thing I immediately replaced was the plastic nut for a GraphTech nut. The electronics are fine and the finish looks better than in the pictures. Arrived without a scratch!

I've fallen in love.

I'll start with the problems the most noticeable being the fret ends. I had to round them off with a file to make this guitar comfortable, they were just a bit sharp. The second issue was in the tailpiece where the bass side did not fit around the post, and again I had to file off some material. About 30 mins work all in.

And now it is a total joy to play. The pickups are raucous with a distinct pop when you strike a string (which are stock); these P90s love drive and clean up really well so you can go from clean to dirt with the switch. The tuners are reasonable but do stick a little. Volume and tone controls both have a full range, and the hardware have given me no problems.

It's pretty. More copper-top than gold, but the finish has a subtle metallic sparkle when viewed up close. The binding on the neck gives a feeling of a higher-end guitar. The neck inlays and cream plastics do a really good impression of a late 50s LP. And the guitar is heavy, as it should be.

I've put aside my other guitars for the moment because this one is covering all the sounds I could ask for.

Amateur musician

This is my 8th HB guitar

I wanted a P 90 one that was missing from my collection.

The package came right with no damage the guitar as well.

Optic in perfect condition, the sound really nice P 90 sound.

All well but playability is not great due to high action that cannot be set lower even from a professional luthier.

Pitty!!! It took away the joy of playing whith her.

I'll seek professinaol help elsewhere and reedit my opinion.

NK

Faultless, great service as usual.

Fab.

Love this guitar.

It came well set up, it's very pretty, but most of all, it plays and sounds great.

P90's really are full of grunt, but they also have a soft side that's pretty clear.

For this price, I don't care about cosmetics, I just want to know how it plays, and this is a beast.

Great, fun guitar that is pretty versatile.

£144 for a guitar like this is a great price.

Happy Gift Recipient

I purchased this as a gift for my father. He absolutely loves this guitar. Says it plays perfectly and sounds incredible. Everything was nicely set up when it arrived and the finish is perfect. He was very happy with this gift.