i own this exact guitar(left handed), i must say i love it. I am 5'7" so i tend to prefer smaller "Ibanez" style necks, this one has that. John, your review is spot on. I have blocked the trim because i want a hardtail and they don't have a left hand hardtail option. The tuners are literally the only thing that really needs changing. This was my first HB, and i will be returning for future guitars.
Just in case you haven't seen my other comment: for the love of god and the amount of possible clicks: use the subject ob the video in the title: imagine HOW many people will search for "Harley Benton CST 24 T“ versus "xyz clone under 200£“ it must be a relation of at least 5000:1 😉😄... 10000:1? All these possible clicks!!!! You have such a great video like/dislike ratio, your videos will be exposed to so many possible views! I want to see you succeed, you are such a nice and honest guy. Feel free to ask, I will gladly help out.
good review. Bought an HB P50 bass recently and was a bit discouraged because the volume pot was either on or off. But then I remembered that it only cost 109€. And a pot replacement is cheap. I also have an HB tele which had bad tuners but the rest was great. I still think you are better off buying an HB and modifying it with “fender/gibson/prs/” level hardware and electronics than buying a squire or epiphone and modifying that. With HB you get a good body and neck for a much cheaper price. Ultimately you end up with a good instrument for cheaper than a midrange guitar.
I bought that same model of guitar. No matter what I did initially I could not get the damn thing to stay in tune with the tremolo properly set up. After playing with it for awhile I finally discovered what the problem was. To fix it I marked where the front of the tremolo sits on the body & carefully sanded the area down underneath where the 6 screws sit so that the tremolo sits on a flat surface. The tremolo block was rocking side to side on the curved top of the body underneath. Now it works properly & stays in tune. I like this guitar.
It says the nut is graphite I think I'd rather have that than bone or plastic no trouble tuning and you are a great teacher just in case you're wondering and you're big-hearted taking care of the kids love you brother!
John I just got one of these guitars a couple of weeks ago and for the most part it is as you say. But, the nut on mine is not cut properly. The low E string was cut too deep and was binding in the nut the high E string was cut so shallow it was barely holding on the top of the nut and a d g b e all not cut deep enough in order to pass the proper height over fret 1. They were all slightly high. I also have a high spot on Fret 2 under the D & G strings and several of them between 17 and 24. Just a couple of semi sharp fret ends but everything else on the guitar was fairly standard. As you say the action was set too high but that's likely because there were fret problems at the base of the neck. The tuners are of lower standard quality similar to what comes on the Firefly if not exactly the same tuners that are quite course adjustment. But once you get the strings stretched and in tune they stay fairly close to InTune which depends a lot on the neck movement for temperature changes in its environment. And yes it traveled across the world so it needed a truss rod adjustment. I've never experienced the Wilkinson humbuckers but I like the sound of these Roswell brand. I find I can get sharp cleartone better than any humbuckers I've had so far which has only been in a Les Paul type that I've changed 3 times and still haven't found What I'm Looking For until this Harley Benton.. I'm really liking the feel of the guitar to play it and its sound. The neck feels just like my telecasters so it feels like home to me. I can certainly see some enjoyment with this guitar in my future.
I have just had this exact guitar for my birthday, The quality of the finish is excellent and apart from tuning a couple of strings, it played straight out of the box. A couple of gripes though, the push/pull tone pot doesn't work and the pot itself is out of square to the body. I also noticed the tuners were a bit clunky, but apart from that overall I'm very pleased. I will probably take it to a pro for a complete set up and get the pot changed and possibly the tuners, as I intend to keep it ( you don't get one of these for your 60th birthday to sell it). Anyway, one of the reasons for going for this guitar was your review. I was sent to your channel courtesy of my brother who recommended you, and I haven't been disappointed. Keep up the good work, oh and I've subscribed :)
If you got basic guitar skills these guitars are unreal. Being able to set action intonate polish sand etc is something that turns these into gems. However I also see people who get pristine guitars set up from the factory
Hi John Joe Lewis from the Joe Lewis Band here in the USA You sir are a very good guitarist and a great reviewer as well thanks for everything you do 😎👍
As an update on a previous comment I made about this guitar. I changed the tuners for a set of Vanson ones, but I still wasn’t totally happy with the overall playability and sound. So I took it to a guitar tech, had him change the pickups for a pair of Iron Gear one’s, Dirty Torque in the bridge and a blues engine in the neck, plus a complete setup and wow, what a fantastic guitar it now is. It has become my go to guitar.
I have this guitar in the yellow and red. I set it up for a fully floating trem and the tuning stability is excellent. I'm really happy with the guitar. It does the Les Paul sounds and can also approach the fender single coil sounds. It looks great, fits in Fender hard cases and is worth far more than its price. It is just slightly heavier than my Fender American Special Strat.
I own the same Harley Benton model. I had a heck of a time trying to get this thing to stay in tune. I finally realized that the tremolo block was rocking from side to side because of the curve on top of the body. With my custom sanding device I leveled the body area under the tremolo. Stays in tune now. I have changed my mind & decided I like this guitar now.
Its always nice to upgrade the pickup..i had 4 Harley and upgrade all the pickup simple bcoz no matter what we say its sound good but mod has always sound better ..i put all bone nut and change all the head stock tuner too...
I have this guitar with P90 PU's. I also own another HB guitar with cream P90'S. I switched out the P90's and knobs for the cream ones with the knob on the trem bar to cream. All this looks much better than the black ones. It matches the cream binding very well. Oh, also I installed Grotoh locking tuners with cream buttons. Both guitars look better with the switch. I don't like the look of the headstock design either. I cut off the peaks on the end. My guitar did have raised frets. I know how to level and crown frets so this is not a big deal for me. I am also polishing the frets. After these mods I have a guitar that I would compete with a PRS guitar.
Thanks once again John, finally an honest opinion on the difference's between Wilkinson and Roswell pickups, its been the only thing keeping me off of buying a second DC-Custom!
Great review! This is the first video of yours that I've watched and I'm going to go down the rabbit hole and watch a bunch more. I'm still undecided about buying a HB, I have a nice PRS now but would like to get a backup that's similar for less than half the price and then replace the nut and perhaps the Bridge to be more stable, this video had edged me closer to pulling the trigger one.
I have a pair of these in Ocean Flame and Emerald Flame, All of the Aesthetics were great, no fret issues, no issues with the finish and they played beautifully, I was just not in love with the pickups. I swapped out the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan P-Rails, Changed the Electrics with CTS Push-Pull pots and Gibson switches and changed the tuners for 18-1 Locking Tuners from Vanson. Total Outlay was under £450 per guitar and they are now absolutely fantastic. They look amazing, play beautifully and sound even better, so versatile.
I also have one. Perfect out of the box but after 2 months I'm having issues with the jack. It's really fickle and even after tightening I'm guessing I'll have to change it.
The main draw when I ordered my very 1st HB guitar was seeing that it had binding up the neck.I'm just a pushover for a pretty looking bound neck😊....I love Harley-Benton stuff (Endorse me guys???..lol).
John I live in the state of New Jersey all the way across the pond in America. And I still watch your videos whenever I see them pop up in my notifications. I just want to tell you that there's a guy in America(me).. who thinks you're a great guitar player man. And just like me I'm glad that you're not afraid to let it be known to people that..." yes I'm playing a cheap Harley Benton guitar and I'm not embarrassed because I love the way it plays and sounds and I promise you if I play it with a band you won't be let down".... it just warms my heart to see somebody else carrying the torch for this company because I really really like the guitars they build for the price that I pay. I've dealt with all kinds of companies that sell cheap guitars, and over the past 30 years I found Harley Benton to be the best other than some of the Hondo's and Ibanez' from the 70s.
@@ziggylayneable Thanks mate. Glad you enjoy the videos. Nice of you to comment, too. More Harley Benton reviews coming this week... Got a Fusion Pro arriving tomorrow 😀
All in all John it looks and sounds great, and at that price point, i think you would hard pushed to find one any better, just my thoughts, great playing as always, thanks for a great review , Cheers
As always a good review that gives the Pros & Cons of what you'll get with Harley Benton at the moment & nice touch to review it for one of your students birthday which is next month... Nice one John & wicked playing as always... 🎸
I bought one last year and it had a twist to the neck - could not set up properly. It was an absolute nightmare dealing with Thomann to return it - never again.
Great sounding lead tones,very led paul ish when switching from the neck to the bridge but come in Johnny boy,,,you have to share that tap n bend !pick at 3/05,,absolutely smoking !
Just waiting for the color I want to get back in stock and I am picking one of these up. I just got an HB strat copy (ST-62 in Vintage White) and it's fantastic for barely over $100. I shouldn't even qualify it by saying it's great for $100. It's just plain great. Took a little while to get used to the super flat radius feeling on strat, but I love it.
John Thanks for taking the time to share what you know about Harvey Benton guitars I am getting one for sure Bruce south of Detroit Michigan you also have a great talent playing them
Brilliant stuff John, a Bobby Dazzler of a video, cracking playing yet again, thats why i watch you, one of the very best on the tube, catching up with your early videos. Cracking player
I take it this is your Birthday Gift for next month Sean & if so you couldn't have picked a better guy to look your guitar over... As I've seen on many of Johns reviews that he'll go through a guitar with a fine tooth comb but he'll always be very honest about the Pros & Cons of Budget Guitars also & again you rarely get that on most TH-cam Guitar Reviews... They're usually done by a Guitar Store or if its by an Online Company they will outsource their guitar to a TH-camr who has done guitar reviews on their site &.has alot of followers & let them do the review for maximum exposure of any specific guitar... There's a German lad based in Germany (but he speaks in English ) who's done quite a few reviews for Harley Benton Guitars but his name escapes me for now & he's been given a few Harley Benton Guitar's to do reviews on because he states that he likes them so much & he is basically their unofficial reviewer at the moment... He'll give you the pros & cons also & seems honest enough but like John says & I've found that out also that it's a bit of a Lucky Bag when you buy a Harley Benton at the moment as their Quality Control is fine one minute & shockingly bad the next & the excuse I got was because they were moving to a new factory, but it looks like you lucked out & got a good guitar from them... Basically don't believe all you hear on some of these TH-cam Reviews & if you can you really need to get hands on in a store with it but you can't do that when buying online... I understand & know that Harley Benton are shipped by Thomann hence why Johns looked it over for you... I hope you enjoy your guitar & have many good years of use out of it before upgrading to a mid to higher end model, if you so wish to do so... Best Wishes & Many Happy Returns when it is your Birthday Sean... All The Best... 🎸
Thanks, my Mother offered to get this for ͏m͏y 40th but I was a bit worried about ordering it and unwrapping a "Friday afternoon" guitar a month later as I'd heard some differing accounts about QC at Thomann lately. So I asked John at my last lesson to check it over. Kind of a "blind test" from Thomann as well as they may have caught on to send John the best examples as he reviews so many now. I've owned all sorts over the years, especially when I was single, but never had or even tried a PRS. Just fancied something different with a lot of versatility that was sensibly priced.
John, forgive me for taking so long to subscribe. I've constantly enjoyed, and learned from your videos. I'm really getting behind the Tele style controls that Harley benton is using. Thanks for this video! Fifty year plus Telecaster player, also playing , recording, and touring musician!
So true! You either get a perfect guitar or a total paper weight with these HB's. I bought 2 SC Customs at the same time. One was great, the other had so many popped frets it was unusable. Doesn't really make sense if Thoman actually does any QC. Seems that QC must mean Quickly Check and send out the door - properly made or not.
These Harley Benton's are in many ways great guitars and a lot of guitar for the money, but they do have an almost absurdly narrow string spacing at the nut of only 34mm (at least mine does), which makes it very difficult to play clean chords in the first position. The Wilkinson bridge is the version with the cast zinc alloy inertia block, not steel as you state. This bridge is designed to operate on a flat guitar body. The top carve on this guitar results in a curve under the bridge plate so the bridge rocks from side to side (as well as from front to back as it is intended to) and this affects tuning stability. I don't know if they stain the fretboard as well as heat treat it, but the roseacre baked maple looks to me more like ebony than rosewood.
I stand corrected. I thought the trem block was steel as it's the identical model to the one I retrofitted to a Yamaha Pacifica (which DOES have a steel block). The string spacing isn't something I measured as it never "felt" odd. It's about 10yrs since I parted company with my PRS, but from memory, it doesn't feel radically different. My first impression when I got my CST24 was one of familiarity, to be honest. I did have a bit of a mess with the trem as I was checking the guitar out & I can't say I noticed the side to side movement you mentioned. It stays in tune about as well as a traditional strat wobble stick, but as I say... I'm not really a tremolo kind of lad. Cheers for watching 😀
A simple way to check whether the trem block is steel would be to put a magnet on it. Zinc alloys - like the Zamak used by Gibson and others - usually have almost no ferrous content.
Absolutely right, I didn't bother because I could see that the block on the guitar I had was zinc alloy. It is painted matte black and the paint has chipped exposing some of the metal underneath. From John's video I can see he has the same kind of block with chipped black paint and quite prominent moulding dimples between the string holes. I have now double checked on my block with a magnet and it is definitely not steel. These Wilkinson bridges are available with a either zinc or, at a higher price with steel blocks. At one point I'm fairly sure the steel blocks were sintered steel, then their appearance changed and I'm not sure now how they make them. They have a dark grey passivated finish. The moulded lip around the top of these bridges is chrome plate zinc alloy. A very good bridge for the money. The PRS bridge it resembles is I believe all brass, saddles, top plate, block, even including the grooved mounting screws.
Another great review, John! Just received my first electric guitar, a Harley Benton SC-450 Plus LD. It's a beauty and sounds awesome to my (inexperienced) ears. For the money, I don't know how Harley Benton does it. Glad I found your channel and thanks for the recommendation.
Agree with comments on your playing skills....Very good. John can you switch out the trem bridge with a fixed bridge without gaps or modifications? Liked your point about a heavy fixed bridge giving you more sustain. Liked the green version of this guitar but did not see availability with a fixed bridge.
I don't know if your Harley Benton CST-24T is, but I just took delivery of the PRS Custom 24SE in Whale Blue yesterday. Looks a lot like the one you're holding. I also have exactly the same Harley Benton CST-24T in Paradise Flame like yours. I love it as well, but I think the PRS is a nice guitar.
glad to here the frets are done well. i have actually never seen a HB which came with well done frets from the factory. that was my main issue. now it's all about the tuners. once they fix that, i just want some lacquers that feel more woody then plasticy. after that we enter the high quality market. is it real magony? or one of those "mahagony" ?
yeah sound legit :) i have heard that there are supposed to be different king of mahagonys. brazilian mahagony or african mahagony for example. it seems that some typed come from trees that are not at all related to the original (i think brasilian?) mahagony. i am currently looking for a guitarbody made from pear tree. i'll make a local wood-caster project, only with wood grown in central-europe.
@Vappo, Brazilian Rosewood is the one that all the fuss is about. I'm not aware of a shortage of mahogany. This is why the fretboard is treated maple rather than rosewood. I find these better than rosewood necks.
You're quite right. The original mahogany came from three species of the genus Swietenia, which is native to the Americas. Supplies of this wood were already becoming problematic early in the twentieth century. The rarest of the three species was placed on the CITES index as early as 1975, and all three species are now on the index. All woods not derived from those three Swietenia species but described as 'mahogany' are not true mahogony. Unfortunately, as with 'rosewood', the word has been used very loosely in the timber industry as true mahogany has become harder and harder to obtain. These non-Swietenia woods are better described as 'mahogany-like' or 'mahogany substitutes', and their properties vary considerably. Your local-wood project is the way to go, I think. The tropical hardwoods are only going to become rarer.
I think the Harley Bentons are hard to beat! Even if you take the cheap labor out of the equation, you can't build a guitar like this for what they sell them for! I know...I've started building guitars for myself and I know what parts cost! Even cheap parts, if you add up tuners, trem, pickups, pots and other electronics, not to mention a neck and wood for a body, you go way over$200 to $300 real quick! Then you have the finish...and these guitars have a gorgeous finish! I build guitars just as a hobby...for satisfaction and something to do. If I didn't, I would probably have a half dozen or so Harley Bentons sitting around my house!👍😎🎸🎶
the only way they make it work is being able to order at high volume. they buy those parts for at the very most 3/4ths the consumer pricing... I just ordered the CST 24HB in tortoise flame.
Thanks for the review, I'm just about to buy one of these (I think), or an ESP Ltd 256FM in black for the same but I prefer the beautiful colour of the HB. Glad to hear it sounds as amazing as it looks. On a side note, you sound like you're from my neck of the woods - Stockon on Tees? Definitely a fellow smoggie :)
My next guitar from thomann but I wish they would use the Grover tuners like they do in the sc custom. I absolutely love the Roswell pickups I have in my sc custom so bloody hot to trot. Excellent guitars for the price and I think are better than the same priced squire...
Way better than a Squier, all you get for this sort of money is an Affinity series with an agathis body & ceramic pickups. The Squier is an inferior instrument, but is often set up better, which can colour people's perception.
John Robson Guitarist I’ve said it before that’s is sometimes the letdown of Harley Benton/Thomann is the setup and it puts people off but it shouldn’t as often a £15 setup is all they need. I’m even contemplating trying one of Harley Benton’s acoustics just to see what they are like.
@@stu-j Got a dreadnought by them. You can hear it on the title track of my album The Whisky Made Me Do It. You can hear it on Spotify or on my website johnrobsonmusic.co.uk 😀
Hi mate great video as always,maybe its silly question but how you block tremolo bridge?im thinking about left hand version which is only with tremolo and want to block it. Thank you
Some questions, since you have a lot of experience gigging...would you take it for a gig? Would it be your main guitar? What modifications does ut need to be a relaiable gigging guitar? I don't mean to bother you with these questions - I just think it would be a plus for the videos 😁
No worries, mate. You could (probably) use it as it is. Although, I would shield the control cavity with copper tape (for those "awkward" noisy venues). If I was going to use the tremolo, I would probably replace the nut with one of those self lubricating ones, and put some roller saddles on the bridge.
Guitarists used to take planks of wood fitted with PUPs to gigs as that is all they could afford. And if you were good those planks of wood sounded good.
It really feels like you, Mr Robson, wants me to get another CST 24 ;) The two I bought had some really big problems and flaws that I couldn't stand, but I know that HB has gotten better this past year. Made in Vietnam ey? Could it be the same factory were my new LTD Eclipse was made?
You could stick covers on them, but you run the risk of squealy, microphonic feedback as the covers won't be wax potted. If you're after that look, here's some covered pickups that sound good & won't break the bank rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F122593737771
So nice what sounds you can get from these guitars. I'm thinking about getting a CST to. What would you recommend for a beginner? The Tremelo version or the fixed bridge? I dont know if i will ever get to use a tremelo, but it might be nice to have. On the other hand its a good excuse to get a new guitar some day.
Hi John, thoroughly enjoyed your videos, can they be bought in the UK or do I have to order from Thomann? Thanks. Perfect frets? Do you think it's been through the Thomann PLEX machine?
Great review John seriously thinking of purchasing this guitar to add to my collection, even without modifications sounds great, can I ask you what is the song called you start playing @ 1.29
Hey man, you seem like a cool dude. I love your vids. I got a question that u may or may not know the answer or at least have a thought about it. I just ordered the gold top LP p90. I haven’t even got it yet and I’m barely controlling myself from ordering the CST 24 Paradise before I even receive the P90. Anyway ... B Stock” . I don’t care about QC issues with glue or even a scratch or $&@& like that. What would really hurt my feelings would be fret issues. Dead frets, fretboard or somlike that. Do you know what kind of chance I’d be taking with B Stock? I’ve emailed them but no reply as of yet. I’m getting itchy!! Cheers and Merry Christmas from Canada DM
BStock are usually guitars that have been on the shop floor & have been tried by walk in customers. Had a couple myself & struggled to find any noticeable flaws
@@JRobsonGuitar Hey thanks for the quick reply! IM TOTALLY ORDERING ONE TOMORROW. Please excuse the caps. Thanks for the reply man. You got a great channel and you’re an excellent player. Like I said I ordered the P90 goldtop Christmas Day and I haven’t even got the thing yet and I’m ready to order again haha. I’ve got a bunch of Gibsons and a Fender or 2(?) 2 I think, but I thought I’d give these guys a chance. The other thing I want to get into is upgrading so.... anyway 2012 is going to be name brands... not so much.... trying new things..... most definitely.
The way you described the quality sounds the same as trying to buy a Chibson off AliExpress. I was keeping these guys in mind for my next buy but if it's no different that sucks. ☹️
this is one of the channels i used when I made the call to buy my Harley Benton CST-24T Ocean Flame. I just got it and did a little unboxing and review vid. Thx for checking it out: th-cam.com/video/rZCvU8IcZ4Q/w-d-xo.html
you will put us all out of work pushing these harley bentons... only kidding.. what can i say.. bargain, i dont how they can do these and make much profit
@@JRobsonGuitar haha! Okay, so kind of both..😁😉 Just found your channel, enjoying the videos, looking forward to the instructional ones, good work mate. 👍🏻
I disagree. There is no IP theft here. They aren't using any PRS branding or trademarks, they just built a guitar with a similar shape (it's not the same dimensions if you measure them both). Also, what about PRS building a single cut guitar? Gibson tried to shut that down & got nowhere. Ironically, Gibson forgot the fact that they released a very strat-like guitar under the Epiphone brand in the late 80s. Also, how do you feel about companies like Suhr & PRS producing Fender-like instruments? Is that IP theft, or is it just affordable guitars built in Asia that you have a problem with?
i own this exact guitar(left handed), i must say i love it. I am 5'7" so i tend to prefer smaller "Ibanez" style necks, this one has that. John, your review is spot on. I have blocked the trim because i want a hardtail and they don't have a left hand hardtail option. The tuners are literally the only thing that really needs changing. This was my first HB, and i will be returning for future guitars.
Just in case you haven't seen my other comment: for the love of god and the amount of possible clicks: use the subject ob the video in the title: imagine HOW many people will search for "Harley Benton CST 24 T“ versus "xyz clone under 200£“ it must be a relation of at least 5000:1 😉😄... 10000:1? All these possible clicks!!!! You have such a great video like/dislike ratio, your videos will be exposed to so many possible views!
I want to see you succeed, you are such a nice and honest guy. Feel free to ask, I will gladly help out.
Cracking guitar and great playing by you John as always. thoroughly enjoyable and informative. Thanks for sharing.
good review. Bought an HB P50 bass recently and was a bit discouraged because the volume pot was either on or off. But then I remembered that it only cost 109€. And a pot replacement is cheap. I also have an HB tele which had bad tuners but the rest was great. I still think you are better off buying an HB and modifying it with “fender/gibson/prs/” level hardware and electronics than buying a squire or epiphone and modifying that. With HB you get a good body and neck for a much cheaper price. Ultimately you end up with a good instrument for cheaper than a midrange guitar.
I bought that same model of guitar. No matter what I did initially I could not get the damn thing to stay in tune with the tremolo properly set up. After playing with it for awhile I finally discovered what the problem was. To fix it I marked where the front of the tremolo sits on the body & carefully sanded the area down underneath where the 6 screws sit so that the tremolo sits on a flat surface. The tremolo block was rocking side to side on the curved top of the body underneath. Now it works properly & stays in tune. I like this guitar.
Good tip 👍
It says the nut is graphite I think I'd rather have that than bone or plastic no trouble tuning and you are a great teacher just in case you're wondering and you're big-hearted taking care of the kids love you brother!
John I just got one of these guitars a couple of weeks ago and for the most part it is as you say. But, the nut on mine is not cut properly. The low E string was cut too deep and was binding in the nut the high E string was cut so shallow it was barely holding on the top of the nut and a d g b e all not cut deep enough in order to pass the proper height over fret 1. They were all slightly high. I also have a high spot on Fret 2 under the D & G strings and several of them between 17 and 24. Just a couple of semi sharp fret ends but everything else on the guitar was fairly standard. As you say the action was set too high but that's likely because there were fret problems at the base of the neck. The tuners are of lower standard quality similar to what comes on the Firefly if not exactly the same tuners that are quite course adjustment. But once you get the strings stretched and in tune they stay fairly close to InTune which depends a lot on the neck movement for temperature changes in its environment. And yes it traveled across the world so it needed a truss rod adjustment.
I've never experienced the Wilkinson humbuckers but I like the sound of these Roswell brand. I find I can get sharp cleartone better than any humbuckers I've had so far which has only been in a Les Paul type that I've changed 3 times and still haven't found What I'm Looking For until this Harley Benton.. I'm really liking the feel of the guitar to play it and its sound. The neck feels just like my telecasters so it feels like home to me. I can certainly see some enjoyment with this guitar in my future.
I received one last week. Same problem, the strings bind in the cheap nut. Damn thing won't stay in tune.
I have just had this exact guitar for my birthday, The quality of the finish is excellent and apart from tuning a couple of strings, it played straight out of the box. A couple of gripes though, the push/pull tone pot doesn't work and the pot itself is out of square to the body. I also noticed the tuners were a bit clunky, but apart from that overall I'm very pleased. I will probably take it to a pro for a complete set up and get the pot changed and possibly the tuners, as I intend to keep it ( you don't get one of these for your 60th birthday to sell it).
Anyway, one of the reasons for going for this guitar was your review. I was sent to your channel courtesy of my brother who recommended you, and I haven't been disappointed.
Keep up the good work, oh and I've subscribed :)
Thanks mate 👍
Dam John. You can really kick it. You had the hair on my neck standing up. Well done John!!
If you got basic guitar skills these guitars are unreal. Being able to set action intonate polish sand etc is something that turns these into gems. However I also see people who get pristine guitars set up from the factory
That is some great, tasteful playing John. That Vox Tonelab really gives that guitar some real balls. Good video.
Okay you got me on the team I just subscribed not just because of that beautiful guitar but the music that you played that was really cool man
Thanks mate 👍
Hi John
Joe Lewis from the Joe Lewis Band here in the USA
You sir are a very good guitarist and a great reviewer as well thanks for everything you do 😎👍
As an update on a previous comment I made about this guitar. I changed the tuners for a set of Vanson ones, but I still wasn’t totally happy with the overall playability and sound. So I took it to a guitar tech, had him change the pickups for a pair of Iron Gear one’s, Dirty Torque in the bridge and a blues engine in the neck, plus a complete setup and wow, what a fantastic guitar it now is. It has become my go to guitar.
I have this guitar in the yellow and red. I set it up for a fully floating trem and the tuning stability is excellent. I'm really happy with the guitar. It does the Les Paul sounds and can also approach the fender single coil sounds. It looks great, fits in Fender hard cases and is worth far more than its price. It is just slightly heavier than my Fender American Special Strat.
I own the same Harley Benton model. I had a heck of a time trying to get this thing to stay in tune. I finally realized that the tremolo block was rocking from side to side because of the curve on top of the body. With my custom sanding device I leveled the body area under the tremolo. Stays in tune now. I have changed my mind & decided I like this guitar now.
That solo though..... Come on man wth!!! Way to go
Its always nice to upgrade the pickup..i had 4 Harley and upgrade all the pickup simple bcoz no matter what we say its sound good but mod has always sound better ..i put all bone nut and change all the head stock tuner too...
I have this guitar with P90 PU's. I also own another HB guitar with cream P90'S. I switched out the P90's and knobs for the cream ones with the knob on the trem bar to cream. All this looks much better than the black ones. It matches the cream binding very well. Oh, also I installed Grotoh locking tuners with cream buttons. Both guitars look better with the switch. I don't like the look of the headstock design either. I cut off the peaks on the end. My guitar did have raised frets. I know how to level and crown frets so this is not a big deal for me. I am also polishing the frets. After these mods I have a guitar that I would compete with a PRS guitar.
Sounds like the mods and work you've done have made a very nice looking and playing guitar! That's great!👍😎🎸🎶
Very good Sir. Would you mind sharing that backing track? robinmat@gmail.com
Thanks once again John, finally an honest opinion on the difference's between Wilkinson and Roswell pickups, its been the only thing keeping me off of buying a second DC-Custom!
Great review! This is the first video of yours that I've watched and I'm going to go down the rabbit hole and watch a bunch more. I'm still undecided about buying a HB, I have a nice PRS now but would like to get a backup that's similar for less than half the price and then replace the nut and perhaps the Bridge to be more stable, this video had edged me closer to pulling the trigger one.
I have a pair of these in Ocean Flame and Emerald Flame, All of the Aesthetics were great, no fret issues, no issues with the finish and they played beautifully, I was just not in love with the pickups.
I swapped out the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan P-Rails, Changed the Electrics with CTS Push-Pull pots and Gibson switches and changed the tuners for 18-1 Locking Tuners from Vanson. Total Outlay was under £450 per guitar and they are now absolutely fantastic.
They look amazing, play beautifully and sound even better, so versatile.
I also have one. Perfect out of the box but after 2 months I'm having issues with the jack. It's really fickle and even after tightening I'm guessing I'll have to change it.
The main draw when I ordered my very 1st HB guitar was seeing that it had binding up the neck.I'm just a pushover for a pretty looking bound neck😊....I love Harley-Benton stuff (Endorse me guys???..lol).
John I live in the state of New Jersey all the way across the pond in America. And I still watch your videos whenever I see them pop up in my notifications. I just want to tell you that there's a guy in America(me).. who thinks you're a great guitar player man. And just like me I'm glad that you're not afraid to let it be known to people that..." yes I'm playing a cheap Harley Benton guitar and I'm not embarrassed because I love the way it plays and sounds and I promise you if I play it with a band you won't be let down".... it just warms my heart to see somebody else carrying the torch for this company because I really really like the guitars they build for the price that I pay. I've dealt with all kinds of companies that sell cheap guitars, and over the past 30 years I found Harley Benton to be the best other than some of the Hondo's and Ibanez' from the 70s.
@@ziggylayneable Thanks mate. Glad you enjoy the videos. Nice of you to comment, too. More Harley Benton reviews coming this week... Got a Fusion Pro arriving tomorrow 😀
All in all John it looks and sounds great, and at that price point, i think you would hard pushed to find one any better, just my thoughts, great playing as always, thanks for a great review , Cheers
As always a good review that gives the Pros & Cons of what you'll get with Harley Benton at the moment & nice touch to review it for one of your students birthday which is next month...
Nice one John & wicked playing as always... 🎸
I bought one last year and it had a twist to the neck - could not set up properly. It was an absolute nightmare dealing with Thomann to return it - never again.
I love watching you play, John. All the way from Philadelphia.
Now you're talkin I was really digging you solo you're probably the best guitar teacher in England in my opinion what a lucky student
Great sounding lead tones,very led paul ish when switching from the neck to the bridge but come in Johnny boy,,,you have to share that tap n bend !pick at 3/05,,absolutely smoking !
Just waiting for the color I want to get back in stock and I am picking one of these up. I just got an HB strat copy (ST-62 in Vintage White) and it's fantastic for barely over $100. I shouldn't even qualify it by saying it's great for $100. It's just plain great. Took a little while to get used to the super flat radius feeling on strat, but I love it.
John Thanks for taking the time to share what you know about Harvey Benton guitars I am getting one for sure Bruce south of Detroit Michigan you also have a great talent playing them
Thank you 👍
WIsh I could play like you. Absolutely amazing!
Great video and great playing!! You have an awesome sound! Thanks a lot!!
Brilliant stuff John, a Bobby Dazzler of a video, cracking playing yet again, thats why i watch you, one of the very best on the tube, catching up with your early videos. Cracking player
Great stuff John, thanks for checking it out for me. Hope it wasn't too much of a chore!
I take it this is your Birthday Gift for next month Sean & if so you couldn't have picked a better guy to look your guitar over...
As I've seen on many of Johns reviews that he'll go through a guitar with a fine tooth comb but he'll always be very honest about the Pros & Cons of Budget Guitars also & again you rarely get that on most TH-cam Guitar Reviews...
They're usually done by a Guitar Store or if its by an Online Company they will outsource their guitar to a TH-camr who has done guitar reviews on their site &.has alot of followers & let them do the review for maximum exposure of any specific guitar...
There's a German lad based in Germany (but he speaks in English ) who's done quite a few reviews for Harley Benton Guitars but his name escapes me for now & he's been given a few Harley Benton Guitar's to do reviews on because he states that he likes them so much & he is basically their unofficial reviewer at the moment...
He'll give you the pros & cons also & seems honest enough but like John says & I've found that out also that it's a bit of a Lucky Bag when you buy a Harley Benton at the moment as their Quality Control is fine one minute & shockingly bad the next & the excuse I got was because they were moving to a new factory, but it looks like you lucked out & got a good guitar from them...
Basically don't believe all you hear on some of these TH-cam Reviews & if you can you really need to get hands on in a store with it but you can't do that when buying online...
I understand & know that Harley Benton are shipped by Thomann hence why Johns looked it over for you...
I hope you enjoy your guitar & have many good years of use out of it before upgrading to a mid to higher end model, if you so wish to do so...
Best Wishes & Many Happy Returns when it is your Birthday Sean...
All The Best... 🎸
Thanks, my Mother offered to get this for ͏m͏y 40th but I was a bit worried about ordering it and unwrapping a "Friday afternoon" guitar a month later as I'd heard some differing accounts about QC at Thomann lately. So I asked John at my last lesson to check it over.
Kind of a "blind test" from Thomann as well as they may have caught on to send John the best examples as he reviews so many now.
I've owned all sorts over the years, especially when I was single, but never had or even tried a PRS. Just fancied something different with a lot of versatility that was sensibly priced.
If I sign up for lessons can I get one of those guitars for MY birthday? :D
Thanks Guy 2 years later I'm going for a Harley Benton in the future just want to check out that cool color blues for blues Man perhaps
Hi John,nice playing mate & yet another tasty guitar for a bargain,good stuff.
Sounds great even if you didn't know the price point.....
Sick playing.
A great looking, and sounding guitar. Thanks John!!
John, forgive me for taking so long to subscribe. I've constantly enjoyed, and learned from your videos. I'm really getting behind the Tele style controls that Harley benton is using. Thanks for this video! Fifty year plus Telecaster player, also playing , recording, and touring musician!
So true! You either get a perfect guitar or a total paper weight with these HB's. I bought 2 SC Customs at the same time. One was great, the other had so many popped frets it was unusable. Doesn't really make sense if Thoman actually does any QC. Seems that QC must mean Quickly Check and send out the door - properly made or not.
My Xt22 was faultless.
These Harley Benton's are in many ways great guitars and a lot of guitar for the money, but they do have an almost absurdly narrow string spacing at the nut of only 34mm (at least mine does), which makes it very difficult to play clean chords in the first position. The Wilkinson bridge is the version with the cast zinc alloy inertia block, not steel as you state. This bridge is designed to operate on a flat guitar body. The top carve on this guitar results in a curve under the bridge plate so the bridge rocks from side to side (as well as from front to back as it is intended to) and this affects tuning stability.
I don't know if they stain the fretboard as well as heat treat it, but the roseacre baked maple looks to me more like ebony than rosewood.
I stand corrected. I thought the trem block was steel as it's the identical model to the one I retrofitted to a Yamaha Pacifica (which DOES have a steel block). The string spacing isn't something I measured as it never "felt" odd. It's about 10yrs since I parted company with my PRS, but from memory, it doesn't feel radically different. My first impression when I got my CST24 was one of familiarity, to be honest. I did have a bit of a mess with the trem as I was checking the guitar out & I can't say I noticed the side to side movement you mentioned. It stays in tune about as well as a traditional strat wobble stick, but as I say... I'm not really a tremolo kind of lad. Cheers for watching 😀
A simple way to check whether the trem block is steel would be to put a magnet on it. Zinc alloys - like the Zamak used by Gibson and others - usually have almost no ferrous content.
Absolutely right, I didn't bother because I could see that the block on the guitar I had was zinc alloy. It is painted matte black and the paint has chipped exposing some of the metal underneath. From John's video I can see he has the same kind of block with chipped black paint and quite prominent moulding dimples between the string holes. I have now double checked on my block with a magnet and it is definitely not steel. These Wilkinson bridges are available with a either zinc or, at a higher price with steel blocks. At one point I'm fairly sure the steel blocks were sintered steel, then their appearance changed and I'm not sure now how they make them. They have a dark grey passivated finish. The moulded lip around the top of these bridges is chrome plate zinc alloy. A very good bridge for the money.
The PRS bridge it resembles is I believe all brass, saddles, top plate, block, even including the grooved mounting screws.
Another great review, John! Just received my first electric guitar, a Harley Benton SC-450 Plus LD. It's a beauty and sounds awesome to my (inexperienced) ears. For the money, I don't know how Harley Benton does it. Glad I found your channel and thanks for the recommendation.
How to order this? Do I have to pay custom tax in U.S
S
Agree with comments on your playing skills....Very good. John can you switch out the trem bridge with a fixed bridge without gaps or modifications? Liked your point about a heavy fixed bridge giving you more sustain. Liked the green version of this guitar but did not see availability with a fixed bridge.
As always John great video!!! Love your reviews and playing!!!
Great review, can’t wait to get my hands on one.
I don't know if your Harley Benton CST-24T is, but I just took delivery of the PRS Custom 24SE in Whale Blue yesterday. Looks a lot like the one you're holding. I also have exactly the same Harley Benton CST-24T in Paradise Flame like yours. I love it as well, but I think the PRS is a nice guitar.
I’ve got a feeling you could play a bent fork and make it sound good. Great player. Well done.
That solo belongs in some awesome vintage early 90s softcore porn. I mean that in a good way. Great playing brother!
glad to here the frets are done well. i have actually never seen a HB which came with well done frets from the factory. that was my main issue. now it's all about the tuners. once they fix that, i just want some lacquers that feel more woody then plasticy. after that we enter the high quality market.
is it real magony? or one of those "mahagony" ?
It says mahogany on the specs. It looks like mahogany (judging by the grain). Also sounds like mahogany. That'll do for me 😀
yeah sound legit :)
i have heard that there are supposed to be different king of mahagonys. brazilian mahagony or african mahagony for example. it seems that some typed come from trees that are not at all related to the original (i think brasilian?) mahagony.
i am currently looking for a guitarbody made from pear tree. i'll make a local wood-caster project, only with wood grown in central-europe.
@@vapporiesat3125 Sounds interesting!
@Vappo, Brazilian Rosewood is the one that all the fuss is about. I'm not aware of a shortage of mahogany. This is why the fretboard is treated maple rather than rosewood. I find these better than rosewood necks.
You're quite right. The original mahogany came from three species of the genus Swietenia, which is native to the Americas. Supplies of this wood were already becoming problematic early in the twentieth century. The rarest of the three species was placed on the CITES index as early as 1975, and all three species are now on the index.
All woods not derived from those three Swietenia species but described as 'mahogany' are not true mahogony. Unfortunately, as with 'rosewood', the word has been used very loosely in the timber industry as true mahogany has become harder and harder to obtain. These non-Swietenia woods are better described as 'mahogany-like' or 'mahogany substitutes', and their properties vary considerably.
Your local-wood project is the way to go, I think. The tropical hardwoods are only going to become rarer.
I think the Harley Bentons are hard to beat! Even if you take the cheap labor out of the equation, you can't build a guitar like this for what they sell them for! I know...I've started building guitars for myself and I know what parts cost! Even cheap parts, if you add up tuners, trem, pickups, pots and other electronics, not to mention a neck and wood for a body, you go way over$200 to $300 real quick! Then you have the finish...and these guitars have a gorgeous finish! I build guitars just as a hobby...for satisfaction and something to do. If I didn't, I would probably have a half dozen or so Harley Bentons sitting around my house!👍😎🎸🎶
the only way they make it work is being able to order at high volume. they buy those parts for at the very most 3/4ths the consumer pricing... I just ordered the CST 24HB in tortoise flame.
@@FloridaManRacer they have to get a huge discount! Good luck with the new one...that's awesome!☺
Thanks for the review, I'm just about to buy one of these (I think), or an ESP Ltd 256FM in black for the same but I prefer the beautiful colour of the HB. Glad to hear it sounds as amazing as it looks. On a side note, you sound like you're from my neck of the woods - Stockon on Tees? Definitely a fellow smoggie :)
Cheers mate 👍
I'm a Boro lad living in Redcar 😀
My next guitar from thomann but I wish they would use the Grover tuners like they do in the sc custom. I absolutely love the Roswell pickups I have in my sc custom so bloody hot to trot. Excellent guitars for the price and I think are better than the same priced squire...
Way better than a Squier, all you get for this sort of money is an Affinity series with an agathis body & ceramic pickups. The Squier is an inferior instrument, but is often set up better, which can colour people's perception.
John Robson Guitarist I’ve said it before that’s is sometimes the letdown of Harley Benton/Thomann is the setup and it puts people off but it shouldn’t as often a £15 setup is all they need. I’m even contemplating trying one of Harley Benton’s acoustics just to see what they are like.
@@stu-j Got a dreadnought by them. You can hear it on the title track of my album The Whisky Made Me Do It. You can hear it on Spotify or on my website johnrobsonmusic.co.uk 😀
Great review and video John thank you
Hi mate great video as always,maybe its silly question but how you block tremolo bridge?im thinking about left hand version which is only with tremolo and want to block it. Thank you
th-cam.com/video/7oiNMtI37AI/w-d-xo.html
Some questions, since you have a lot of experience gigging...would you take it for a gig? Would it be your main guitar? What modifications does ut need to be a relaiable gigging guitar?
I don't mean to bother you with these questions - I just think it would be a plus for the videos 😁
No worries, mate. You could (probably) use it as it is. Although, I would shield the control cavity with copper tape (for those "awkward" noisy venues). If I was going to use the tremolo, I would probably replace the nut with one of those self lubricating ones, and put some roller saddles on the bridge.
thank you!
Guitarists used to take planks of wood fitted with PUPs to gigs as that is all they could afford. And if you were good those planks of wood sounded good.
If I improve a lot with this guitar, will I miss something important that could make me think about buying another better guitar?
No 👍
@@JRobsonGuitar Nice! Thanks you
Forgot to ask, does anyone know if the guitar is balanced when you use a strap ? no neck droop ? Thanks
I have one, good guitar, first proper guitar for me plus got a katana 100w
Nice Sound. Thanks John
It really feels like you, Mr Robson, wants me to get another CST 24 ;)
The two I bought had some really big problems and flaws that I couldn't stand, but I know that HB has gotten better this past year.
Made in Vietnam ey? Could it be the same factory were my new LTD Eclipse was made?
Hello! Which problems your HB guitar have?
Thanks John. Thinking of getting one of these. Could chrome covers be installed on the pups?
You could stick covers on them, but you run the risk of squealy, microphonic feedback as the covers won't be wax potted. If you're after that look, here's some covered pickups that sound good & won't break the bank rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F122593737771
@@JRobsonGuitar Hello, you choose between PRS SE and CST24 and you buy 2 CST24, it sound strange, is it promo video and where's compare with PRS SE
So nice what sounds you can get from these guitars. I'm thinking about getting a CST to. What would you recommend for a beginner? The Tremelo version or the fixed bridge? I dont know if i will ever get to use a tremelo, but it might be nice to have. On the other hand its a good excuse to get a new guitar some day.
Fixed bridge would be my recommendation 😁
A very Good Review , Thanks !
Where can I buy one in UK? I'm in Plymouth Devon. Neville
Hi John, thoroughly enjoyed your videos, can they be bought in the UK or do I have to order from Thomann? Thanks. Perfect frets? Do you think it's been through the Thomann PLEX machine?
Cheers... Harley Benton is Thomann's own in-house brand & can only be ordered from them. Fast delivery though - usually with you in a couple of days.
Great review John seriously thinking of purchasing this guitar to add to my collection, even without modifications sounds great, can I ask you what is the song called you start playing @ 1.29
Cheers. The tune is just a little thing I cooked up for the video in order to demonstrate the various tones of the guitar.
@@JRobsonGuitar cool tune, thought it was a 70's prog rock track, that I had missed, reminded me of Brand X or Budgie, original tune well done
I have the p90 version I will be changing my pots to ctk 500k ones
Nice, sounds great!
incredible playing...
Hey man, you seem like a cool dude. I love your vids. I got a question that u may or may not know the answer or at least have a thought about it. I just ordered the gold top LP p90. I haven’t even got it yet and I’m barely controlling myself from ordering the CST 24 Paradise before I even receive the P90. Anyway ... B Stock” . I don’t care about QC issues with glue or even a scratch or $&@& like that. What would really hurt my feelings would be fret issues. Dead frets, fretboard or somlike that. Do you know what kind of chance I’d be taking with B Stock? I’ve emailed them but no reply as of yet. I’m getting itchy!!
Cheers and Merry Christmas from Canada
DM
BStock are usually guitars that have been on the shop floor & have been tried by walk in customers. Had a couple myself & struggled to find any noticeable flaws
@@JRobsonGuitar Hey thanks for the quick reply! IM TOTALLY ORDERING ONE TOMORROW. Please excuse the caps. Thanks for the reply man. You got a great channel and you’re an excellent player. Like I said I ordered the P90 goldtop Christmas Day and I haven’t even got the thing yet and I’m ready to order again haha. I’ve got a bunch of Gibsons and a Fender or 2(?) 2 I think, but I thought I’d give these guys a chance. The other thing I want to get into is upgrading so.... anyway 2012 is going to be name brands... not so much.... trying new things..... most definitely.
Why was that your own composition as a member of the Swedish International composers Union my humble opinion is that you write good stuff
Thanks... Yes, all my own work 😊
Guitarist for the win!
The tremolo block is not steel, I tried it with a magnet. It will not stick to it. So probably white metal.
Great review,,,
sure like your playing mate.
The way you described the quality sounds the same as trying to buy a Chibson off AliExpress. I was keeping these guys in mind for my next buy but if it's no different that sucks. ☹️
Bloody Hell John you play great
this is one of the channels i used when I made the call to buy my Harley Benton CST-24T Ocean Flame. I just got it and did a little unboxing and review vid. Thx for checking it out: th-cam.com/video/rZCvU8IcZ4Q/w-d-xo.html
Any pics of you in the early days, when you probably had long hair...lol
yea, I hear gibson is moving all guitar production to vietnam, lol
can I go online and get a catalog for this guitar line?
Just google Thomann. They are a German music retailer & this is their in house brand. All the guitars can be viewed on their website.
There's no doubt that you're an amazing player of guitar... Cheers 👌🔥🤘 #deydreams
Erm…….. yes it is good. Bloody good.
Cool man!
Do you ever do a lefty guitar ?.
Couldn't play one 😟
John 👍👍
My fear is someday I'm gonna be rude to a stranger in a shop parking lot that can play guitar like that and I'd never know.
Eh! Yes!
you will put us all out of work pushing these harley bentons... only kidding.. what can i say.. bargain, i dont how they can do these and make much profit
Are you a giant, or just have a small sofa? 😁
Hahaha😄😄😄I'm 6'7" but the sofa looks small because it's behind my chair.
@@JRobsonGuitar haha! Okay, so kind of both..😁😉
Just found your channel, enjoying the videos, looking forward to the instructional ones, good work mate. 👍🏻
+It's Me Again He's a giant, of course. You don't think all that talent could fit in a normal-sized man, do you? *lol*
It doesn't matter ... its theft of intellectual property and gov'ts should do their job and ban import.
I disagree. There is no IP theft here. They aren't using any PRS branding or trademarks, they just built a guitar with a similar shape (it's not the same dimensions if you measure them both). Also, what about PRS building a single cut guitar? Gibson tried to shut that down & got nowhere. Ironically, Gibson forgot the fact that they released a very strat-like guitar under the Epiphone brand in the late 80s.
Also, how do you feel about companies like Suhr & PRS producing Fender-like instruments? Is that IP theft, or is it just affordable guitars built in Asia that you have a problem with?