Harley Benton SC-Custom II SPAF 4-stars Reviews

Shockingly good

I wasn't expecting much, but I did have hope and I was surprised at the fit and finish of this instrument. I've been playing guitar off and on for many years and I've owned a good number of different guitars, some cheap and some not (LPs, PRS, etc.), and this thing compares very well with the expensive ones. I think it's significantly better than something like a PRS SE 24 (or maybe just the one I tried). If you are simply considering quality without looking at the price point, I'd say it's maybe 7 of 10.

I knock off points for the input connector (generic), the white color of the nut (odd choice), perhaps the sticker at the headstock, and maybe the fret wire could have been polished better. There are also some very small defects with the binding where it seems something blemished the finish slightly at the top of the body and on the neck (not the color so much as the polish) but you can't really see it except from close up inspection. The strings don't sink very far into the nut but so far, no issues. The tail might be a bit low as the high E string hits the back of the bridge, doesn't seem to matter much.

What it has going for it is that it's a very solid build in general. Had to adjust the intonation slightly but the relief was perfect. The saddle adjustment screws don't rattle on this. I'd say the action height was sort of middle of the road for an electric, good enough for me to just leave it. No dead spots on the neck...plays really nice. This thing has some heft to it and feels good. Neck thickness is perfect for me (my hands maybe on the small side). Looks great (aside from the white nut) and the pickups with the coil tap are good enough for me to keep (maybe an OK/decent rating).

The biggest plus is the holy crap price point. If you factor that in it's a solid 9.5 or perhaps 10 compared to some other cheaps I've had that were a similar price and weren't nearly as good. Of course, what kind of consistency are we getting in the manufacturing? Dunno but this one is great.

Recommend!

A lot of bang for not much buck

This guitar could easily cost twice the price. Well finished, versatile sounds, and a decent setup right out of the box. Looks-wise, this thing is lovely, and feels really nice. Only a couple of small issues are holding back a perfect five-star score... one wrong screw was used in one of the pickup surrounds - it's bigger than the others and has been screwed in at an angle. Easy fixed, but a little disappointing that this was missed before being sent out. The nut was pretty roughly finished, but a little light and careful sanding sorted that out. Pickups could be a little hotter, but that just personal taste. All in all, I can't recommend this enough, despite those small issues. A guitar of this quality at this price is quite incredible!

Great guitar, worth more than what you pay for

First Impressions:

The guitar is alot darker than the images on the website suggest. The finish on my guitar is alot different from the one presented in the website. Despise that the darker shade of brown does not affect the playability. Also i noticed finish flaws where the neck joins the body.

First Setup:

The guitar is a looker, it is very nice and can easily be mistaken for a more expensive model. The Grover tuners hold tunning very nicely and the nut has been finished in a precise manner. The bridge is sturdy and can be lowered to 1.70 mm on the Low e and a staggering 1.40 mm on the high E. The body weight of this guitar is just right. I have played other LP models and some were too heavy, but this is perfect for handeling in the studio,s tage, practice room , anywhere.

First play:

WOW! The neck is really fast but its not slim bu any means, its made to fit all genderes of playing. Overall i played the guitar for 40 minutes and it feld great.

Final conclusion:

I think the SC Custom II is a great guitar and its quality is definetely worth more than you pay for. I will be looking forward to buy more guitars from Harley Benton!