Harley Benton CST-24HB Charcoal Flame

I have four Harley Bentons now. This was the baddest. Guitar wasn?t set up checked at all. B string was buzzing badly. I tryed to find the reason, and I located it to be in a bridge. Thomann service is great and they take it back. Also fretboard problem again. 1 st string 1 fret started to buzz . I have 4 Bentons. Only acoustic trave model have a stable fretboard and haven t repaired it. sc 550 and st 62 I have filed the frets even. I?ve been a guitar teacher for 25 years and I really like these cheap guitars and like if the fretboards could be do like that you dont need to repair right away. Fretboard should be quartersawn to be more stable. Some brands laminate it and that even more stable I quess. I have recommed bentons to my students, but also said that you might to need to get it to repair soon. I wish I dont have to say that some day. St 62 and sc 550 are great guitars for the price. I?ve changed pickups and now can play them anywhere. CST-24 is a rock device with ceramic pickups. I tryed to get deeper tone, but it?s not meant for that I quess. Guitar looks beautiful thou and its?good to play. Bridge have seperate intonation adjustment only for 2 nd and 3 rd strings. I needed to start adjusting after opening the package and I prefer old fashion where every string have seperate screw for adjusting.

I hope Thomann can resolve this fretboard issue somehow. Laminate quartersaw 3 or 4 layers? Good thing is that now I can file my own guitars. With cheap guitars it?s now so scary to learn these things. That?s also a good reason to buy a Benton. You can customize it and make great

Guitar has decent wilkonsons pickups and I think other hardware is from wilksons too. Plays nice and intonation seems to be good. Coil split was a nice add on the push pull knob. I didn't even notice that when I bought mine but it's a nice touch.
For the price guitar has excellent features and sound and personally I really like the looks. Some imperfections are still pretty easy to find around the guitar on closer inspection. Nothing major but for example one fret was installed bit poorly so they have used filler on factory. Doesnt affect playing but can still be seen if looked at closely.
Overall solid guitar and great value for money

I bought this as I wanted a 24 fret guitar and being a semi gave it a little something I couldn't get from my other instruments, despite how good the JTV models are. I hadn't intended it for anything other than noodling at home, but having tried it, I suspect it will become a gigging guitar once we're allowed out to play again.

To start with the (very minor) niggles. The finish on the inside of the f-holes could be tidier, and there is a very slight, almost imperceptible, imperfection on the binding near the neck.

That's it for the negatives.

What I like about it will take longer. To start with, it looks fantastic. The maple top is gorgeous, with a lovely, and consistent, finish.

The set up out of the box was outstanding. Low action, perfectly straight neck and level frets. The fret endings were so well finished I've had to order the tools to bring my other guitars up to the same standard. Now I know what good fret ends are. Having received unplayable guitars from a well known UK supplier (naming no names, but they make a nice demo video) that ostensibly check ever instrument before it goes out, I will be always ordering from Thomann from now on just for the set up.

Tuning seems stable. Given that they aren't the most heavy duty of tuners, once the strings were worn it it stayed in tune pretty quickly after some heavy duty bends.

I know "playability" is a very subjective thing, but I found the neck very comfortable, despite my short fat fingers. It's a nice lightweight guitar as well.

Again, it's subjective, but what really impressed me is the sound. Really versatile. Nice chiming clean tones with a very "open" quality to them, especially with the coil tap. Once you dirty it up it can go from warm crunch to something a bit filthy and still sound good.

Despite having a range of sound options available from my variaxes, this has something different about it that will ensure it gets good use. For overall quality and the sheer pleasure of playing it, this deserves the 5 stars.

My first Harley Benton, but I've already ordered another.

To get some context, I own a Gibson LP and a Ibanez RG, and I have played for ten years. I have experience with live shows, and gigs, I am not a pro, but I can say I am not only a bedroom musician. So, I moved to a different city, and I wanted a practice guitar since I could not bring mines. I choosed this mostly for the look (and the price), but since I got it I am quite amazed. It's really well constructed, and plays really nice and loud (because of the body type probably, since it my first of this type). Its feels more like the Gibson LP than the Ibanez, but it has 24 frets.
The greatest surprise was when I plugged into a sound card, and record some tones, I was really blown away. So I overdub some some tracks that I previously recorded with the Gibson and the Ibanez, and it really can compete with them. I had quite a variety of tones (it has coil split Wilkinson picks). By far, those do not sound like a "starter" pickups.
I have not played live with it, but after what I have used it, I think it can probably withstand a gig without further problems. It's quite stable for the tuning.

Pros
- Quality : Well constructed , nice finished.
- Price : For the price, amazing quality and features.
- Sound: Very versatile and quite variety of tones.
- The look: One of the most beautiful guitars I have owned.


Cons: (actually not so cons, but I would say details to consider)

- I had to slightly adjust the trust rod (neck) after the first three weeks, but nothing to serious just a buzz on the first string. Since, then I have not had any problems with it, nor intonation. (I think is not a Con, since my Ibanez need the neck adjustments every couple of months).
- It's heavy. I thought since it a hollow-body, it would be ligther than the Gibson LP, but it feels just like that. (Also not a con, just a tip to be prepared).
- The neck is fat/bigger. It's definitely in the zone of a fat LP neck, and even a little bigger. I would say almost like a slim electro-acustic. Anyways, it is really comfortable, but don't expect a Ibanez type ultra-slim neck.