Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series Reviews

Great value for the money - happy customer

Currently I have a Fender Telecaster 60th Anniversary. In the past I had a Gibson Nighthawk 1996 and an Epiphone Les Paul Custom 2009. I missed having a guitar with some more beaf to it than my Fender. Also, I just wanted to have something new to have some new inspiration. I really did not want to spend a lot of money at this moment and took the decision to buy this Harley Benton. I red a lot about it, watched many You Tube videos and most is very positive. I have to confirm these reviews! I would have send it back if I wasn't happy. Since its arrival I have been playing around 7 hours on it. I play through a Boss Katana with a Ibanez Tube screamer. The guitar is lots of fun. It keep its tuning okay and sounds good. I might have to polish the frets but after playing they already felt a bit more smooth. My fingers were a bit black after playing, not sure why, I honestly I don't care. In general, you want something new ? You want something gold with P90s and keep low budget? Than I would highly recommend this guitar!

Decent guitar for the price

The fret work could be more precise, but overall the guitar is well made, didn't change the tuners yet, the only complaint aboute the part is the pickup switch after one year. But overall it's a good deal with this price and built quality.

You get so much guitar for the price!!

Okay so I am a big Les Paul style guitar user in the studio sessions and at home.

So recently i wanted to buy a gold top and played a friends sc-450 gt and was very impressed with the quality, which led me to ordering it.

The pros on this guitar are : good quality build and really good play ability right out of the box (fret board was dry but that is normal during shipping). The finish had zero flaws which for the price point of this guitar is very impressive, I seen guitar 4x the amount with imperfections through out the finish.

The hardware itself is good for the price. For me the only problem was the tuners but that's an easy fix, once i added new tuners it helped the tuning stability. The nut was cut very well with no sharp spots which again is very impressive for the price point.

When it comes to the electronics the pickups in my opinion sounded good and are very usable. The neck pickup is a little to muddy depending on the gain amount but that's where the tone control comes in handy and helps to brighten it up. The controls work well and actually have proper working volume pots.

Now for the downfalls which aren't that bad or hard to fix. I have already mentioned tuning machines but the other problem area is the actual control pots. Unfortunately they are dime sized pots which is a shame but for the price that is to be expected but they work great.

Overall this guitar is one the best playing single cut style instruments I have played in a long time. Definitely would recommend getting if you want a different look or sound with the soap bar pickups.

Amazing Quality / Value

This is a fabulous Les Payl replica - I have owned a few in the past - this is really good. The soaip bar P90's are really good, as is the general build quality.

I would have preferred a more subtle 'Gold Top' but nevertheless this is a great guitar.

One of the Best!

The only potential problem is the PU selector switch has some side play, apart from that it's an excellent guitar.

Great P90 guitar for the collection

These guitars have a pretty beefy neck. Great value for the price, and pretty good quality. One small flaw in the finish, a mark on the front, unfortunately, but otherwise a great feeling, playing, and looking guitar.

Amazing!

The SC-450 GT is amazing from sounds to looks. It is better than the my Les Paul Studio. For the price, nothing can beat it. This is the 5th Harley Benton I owned.

Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series

great guitar ' and the price is excellent' flawless paint job' and sounds killer with the p90s

Needs some work

First of all a disclaimer, this guitar was playable as received but, it needs work to be a professional quality instrument. I'll start from the top on down. The tuners are Gotoh style keystone tuners, the ratio is 14:1. This is acceptable, no problems with them. Next is the nut, it was well cut, strings move smoothly while tuning. The strings themselves were no name brand 10's. I always use D'darios. Next the fretboard, as other reviews mentioned the black comes off on your fingers, after using lemon oil applied 2X this was not a problem. The frets were O.K. no buzzing but I polished them. The neck itself was perfect. Intonation was spot on. Hardware was good for this price point. Next the electronics. The pickup selector switch was wobbly, it worked but not what I would want on any guitar I was playing out with. Next the pots, they are mini, I don't have a problem with mini pots, but these had to be replaced, as the tone pots were either on or off, they did not taper the tone. As I was going to replace the pickup switch anyhow, I replaced the pots along with them, and shielded the cavities while I was at it. Next the pickups, I love them, the only thing I did was remove the foam backing and replace it with springs. They are the coolest sounding P90's that I've played, sort of hot but not a big 60 cycle hum associated with P90's. Last, but not least, the cosmetics. The gold top is flawless. The model shipping now has a dark back, I like it all, bindings are perfect.

In summation, for $50 U.S. and some hours work, I was able to bring this up to a high standard guitar. Could I have played it out of the box? Sure, but with the upgrades that I mentioned, it plays like a guitar 5X it's price point. Anyone who has been longing for a P90 Goldtop, this could be the one for you.

Nice surprise

I read some good words about this guitar, it is not expensive so I bought it. I mostly play for hobby. The single coil pick ups make noise in my amp with bridge and neck pickups but for unknow reason not when both pickups on ( middle ) . Aside this noise the guitar sound better than expect. A deep warm color from the neck pickup, deeper and fatter than any humbucker I know. The bridge pickup how ever is just so aggressive as my epiphone sg 400 but of cause different.

The guitar came well upset, good worked and nice to play. It keeps tune. A heavy wheight.

Just this bloody single coil noice, but may be my amp. So far I only play with humbuckers.

Those p90 how ever sound just fine and not less for a humbucker lover like me.

Worth of the price ? Absolutly !

Where do I start.

This is the second guitar I've put feedback on, the other is "very similar to a black cherry PRS", and I have to say the same again. This GT is FLAWLESS. I absolutely love it. I lowered the action, and if there is a negative the tuning heads are getting replaced with Grovers. They keep there tune mostly, but I need something stronger. Otherwise, a beautiful guitar. Really, would recommend to anyone thinking of buying. I can't praise it enough.

Great Sound Surprising Quality

I've wanted to replace a gold top LP I owned back in 1969 ever since I sold it (yep, I'm that old). The challenge is, genuine LP gold tops are damn expensive. I saw this Harley Benton being reviewed on YouTube and liked what I saw. I decided to take a chance and order one. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The build quality and finish for a guitar at this price range was amazing. I only had to adjust the truss slightly and lower the action to make it suit me. The P90 pickups sound like... well... P90's! No need for aftermarket pickups. I'm now a big fan of Harley Benton guitars. So much so, that I purchased a ST-62MN (vintage strat style), CST-24T (PRS style) and CLD-16S acoustic. Just remember, guitars at this price point will sometimes need some minor adjustments. However, I've had to make adjustments (over the years) on my 1970 Fender Strat, Pre-Gibson Kramer F 6000 and Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty to fit my preferences. I have no problem recommending Harley Benton guitars to anyone, from beginners to old professional musicians like me! I like 'em!

Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series

A well made guitar. Excellent value for money. It came well set up. The finish was very good but it wasn't too my taste. I'm not sure if it was the pickups that didn't really appeal to me, but l couldn't bond with this guitar. I'm sure it is a very good guitar, particularly for the money, but this one want right for me, so I've sold it on to someone else.

Fantastic!

This is my first experience with the Harley Benton guitars but probaly not my last. I have been playing for 40 years and have had a lot of different guitars in my hands. I'm mainly a strat guy but I have wanted a guitar with p90s for a long time.

Before ordering I watched several reviews on youtube and as soon as the guitar was back in stock i pulled the trigger, it arrived to my door within 5 days.

My first impression of the guitar is that the finish is flawless, and there are no sharp fretends. It feels good in my hands and sounds great connected to my small Vox AC4.

After my first evening playing the guitar I swaped out the strings to a set of 09s, polished the frets and adjusted the action a bit but nothing more than that.

Im very satisified with my guitar and would recomend it to anyone who are looking for a gold top with p90s! For the price tagg, the guitar is amazing!

sc 450 P90

Wow, is all I can say, I got this after almost 3 months, and it absolutely looks gorgeous and flawless, I can't really find any flaws. The fret ends are smooth, binding is great, it's heavy and solid, the P90s sound great, I have a Slick SL60 with P90s and it doesn't play or sound this good. This isn't a fake review, I am literally floored by this guitar. The tuners are not the highest quality but fit and finish for what $180 US, it is just crazy. For that price, absolutely nothing to complain about. I need to set it up, and the pickup toggle switch needed tightening and could possibly be a problem way way down the road, but still

Excellent guitar

Excellent at a fraction of the price of what you expect to pay for a guitar of equal quality and features.

Great value

I love the quality and playability of this instrument,,the workmanship and finish are that of much higher prices guitars ,definitely buying more

No Collection is Complete Without an LP with P90's

This gold top is the real thing. How they do it for this kind of money, I have no idea. Getting the finish right on a clear coated gold metallic is the most challenging of all. They got a 99 out of 100. You see the challenge is that when you prep for your final coats of metallic under clear even the tiniest of lines will show through. Right next to the edge of the neck there is an area so tiny you would need a magnifying glass to see it, but if you get it in just the right light and angle, you can see some miniscule lines. It would be easier for me to simply say, the fit and finish on this guitar is superb, and it is. The gloss is a mile deep.

It plays fantastic and sounds even better. I have a 1966 Fender Telecaster my Dad bought new for me back then, and I still have, and in order to get around the crazy feedback when stepping on a distortion pedal with the factory unwaxed pickups, I bought a early 1960's Gibson SG Les Paul from a friend that had a warped neck, and took the neck pickup out of it, and put it in the center position on my Tele, and the P90's in this HB SC-450 P90 GT sound EXACTLY like one from that 1961 SG P90. No loss of quality there at all.

If I had to get critical, I'd have to mention that the nut, although cut superbly, was positioned a tiny bit favoring the 1st string. Consequently, when doing a pull off on the first or second fret it would slide off of the guitar. It didn't do that in a sweep pulling on the string, only when you do a grab and pull for the single note. I could pop the nut off and reposition it slightly which would easily fix it, but why bother, it plays perfectly the way it is, and I almost never do a dead standing pull off on the first two frets of the first string.

Staying in tune? I have to say that Harley Benton in their genius very simply solved the problem typical of the Gibson splayed out headstock on this one. They took what would normally be a very big wide nut, and only filed/cut the very top of the nut, leaving the steep angle off the back of the nut alone. The string never even touches the back side of the nut. That creates the same effect as having a tiny-thin nut with the exiting part of it wide open thereby eliminating the sharp edge, and deep trough of the typical Les Paul nut and the ensuing tuning problems; this guitar stays crazy good in tune. It's the only one of my LP's that does so without a String Butler. When you bend/pull on the G string especially in an LP it rarely returns to pitch; this one does superbly. How would HB know such a superb solution to a multi-decade old problem? My hats off to you guys. What a great idea.

P90's have a unique tone/flavor. For a single coil it is especially full bodied. I love the humbucker bark and bite, and I love the fullness with great mids in the P90's. Having both in your collection is a must.

One last thing I want to say is that this neck is superbly flat, and the frets are so precise I can get the action down even lower than my preferred spacing of 2/32’s between the top of the 12th fret, and the bottom of the string. This baby really flies. With my light gauge strings it almost plays itself.

Careful with this one!

Developed serious Backbow near the nut making it virtually unplayable.

Probably due to scarf joint and wood selection. This type of bow is not fixable by truss-rod adjustment. Not immediately observed but happened over time. Too Bad, Nice looking guitar but useless.

Liked it so much I bought 3 more Harley Benton guitars

I don't think you'll find a better guitar for this kind of money. The tone and setup on the guitar I received was fantastic. My only complaint is that the guitar is on the heavy side so keep that in mind. I play it at home and don't care at all.

The frets were level without sharp edges and the stock tuners work well. The guitar holds tune very well.

I always wanted to try a LP style guitar with P90's. I've also always wanted to a gold top. What luck!