Harley Benton CLG-650SM-CE VS SolidWood

This was my 8th HB guitar ordered from Thomann, and certainly the most expensive. That being said, I had high expectations that this guitar would my best purchase yet, and would require very little “correction” right out of the box. Other HB purchases usually needed small adjustments in intonation, string height, fret end dressing, or truss rod adjustment. Let me first say that the delivered CLG-650-CE VS is an absolutely beautiful guitar, with wonderful tone. It is well crafted with above average HB hardware. It does, however, have one glaring flaw- as delivered it had the absolutely worst fret treatment that I had ever seen. When trying to perform even a minor string bend, the strings actually catch on the frets, and the sound emanating when trying to bend a note sounds like fingernails running across a chalkboard.
I will have to turn this over to an experienced luthier because I think that trying to polish frets that are in such poor condition is beyond my capabilities. I had considered returning the guitar, but frankly, I’d rather not go through the hassle, and I believe that once the fret issues are resolved by a luthier, I’ll be completely satisfied.

Summary:
PRO- Beautiful guitar, great woods, fine craftsmanship, better than average hardware, and good initial setup.

CON- Terrible fret work- should have never passed QC.

Note.... I also need to mention that you must remove the guitar strings to replace the battery for the preamp. Ughhhhh!