Harley Benton CLA-15MCE SolidWood

The guitar arrived with a high action setup, nothing unbearable, but it had room for improvement. The truss rod was stuck on both directions and I was afraid to force it, but after some tries I've managed to get it loose and now it is working correctly. I've sanded and lowered a bit the bridge saddle. You should look for a professional setup if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.

I cannot find any flaws on construction or finish, tuning pegs are very good, fretboard is well finished ( I like the "snowflake" inlays ), the sound, resonance and harmonics are great. I've only tested the electronics with a small amp and the sound seems acceptable, but we all know that proper acoustic amplification will require some good microphones.

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A guitarra chegou com uma acção alta, nada insuportável, mas tinha espaço para melhorias. O "truss rod" estava preso em ambos os sentidos e tive medo de forçar, mas depois de algumas tentativas consegui soltá-lo e agora está a funcionar corretamente. Lixei e baixei um pouco a pestana da ponte. Você deve procurar um luthier se não estiver confortável a fazer este tipo de ajustes.

Não consigo encontrar falhas na construção ou no acabamento, as cravelhas são muito boas, a escala está bem acabada (gosto dos inlays "flocos de neve"), o som, a ressonância e as harmónicas são ótimas. Só testei a electrónica com um pequeno amplificador e o som parece aceitável, mas todos sabemos que a amplificação acústica adequada requer alguns bons microfones.

Genuinely blown away by the quality of this guitar. I did need to lower the action a little. I also replaced the glued-in strap holder thingy with a locking one. I used a 7mm plasterboard plug for this and it worked a treat.

Truly outstanding value ... I do not know how they do it! Gotta love Harley-Bentons - this is my third and it is the first acoustic - if you are reading this and wondering then just buy it! It is as playable as my 335 and has been my go-to since it arrived!