Harley Benton Custom Line King-CE VS

Gitara jak tysiące innych. Ogrywając ją w sklepie zwróciła moją uwagę jasnym brzmieniem. Próbowałem "bliźniaczy" model z EPIPHONE i jak na warunki w sklepie, brzmiały w zbliżony sposób. Jakie różnice? HB ma zamontowany uboższy preamp. Reszta bardzo podobna. Co jeszcze je różniło? Waga, HB jest o połowę lżejszy (to raczej wada niż zaleta) ale zarazem o połowę tańszy (to raczej zaleta niż wada). Wybrałem HB ze względu na cenę, wagę. Sprawę preampu można przemilczeć bo i tak lepiej nagrywać z micro. Ogólnie fajna gitara, dobrze wykończona. Po roku używania ma tylko małe rysy na tylnej stronie pudła. Jakiś mały kawałek "perły" z podstrunnicy się leciutko oderwał (to chyba był kawałeczek lakieru z wierzchu), ale nie ma to wpływu na użytkowanie. Progi ładnie wykończone gładziutkie i równe. Dość długo podło śmiedziało klejem ale już się wyśmierdziało. Pudło jest duże, więc raczej zalecam zakup osobom o długich ramionach. Jestem zadowolony i uważam, że to był dobry wybór. POLECAM.

Just to let you know I am not a precious guitar purist and I won't pretend what I don't know. I have been playing for my own entertainment for over 40 years to no great level. A bit of flat picking on old Neil Young songs is about my limit. So really I will be using this guitar to play at home and also at church.

It made me smile when I took it out of the box, it was in DADGAD tuning which enabled me to do a rendition of Music is Love by David Crosby (which is actually in DADDAD). It was at this moment that I realised how sweet this guitar sounds and how booming on the bass notes. Now I'm having trouble with deafness with the peaks of high end frequencies lopped off so I have to say, to my ears, which I know aren't yours, it sounded really very good indeed.

The guitar looks like a class item, plays extremely well, and is inexpensive. I won't use the word cheap because there is nothing cheap about this guitar. It is as great to look at as it is to play. To my ears the sustain (if that's the word used to describe the rise, decay and length of the note) is not as good the further up the fretboard I go, but I have no great experience with other guitars other than an old Japanese made Fender F15 or Fender CD60 that I bought without realising it was a laminate top. Maybe the sustain is better on more expensive branded guitars or not I don't know.

The quality of the finish, Grover machine heads, D'Addario strings, Fishman electrics mean that to my ears it is at least as good as the Epiphone EJ200, which I have played, maybe better and at less than half the price. Plus I think the cutaway looks better. I can't really review the electrics as, although I have a practice amp, I'm not qualified to say. Although if Jackson Browne speaks in reverential tones of Fishman pick ups, as I have heard on YouTube the electrics must be ok.

In summary this is the best guitar I have ever owned. I am really pleased that at 62 years old I finally have a professional standard instrument and at 198 euros in price it has to be five stars all round. I cannot find an instrument of this price and quality in England so I am glad I found the Thomann website. The communication of the international sales section was first class on to delivery. I will be buying another guitar as soon as I am able and it is likely to be the HB CLD41S. I have no complaints at all and am unable to take any issue with Thomann. From a cost benefits analysis perspective it is an excellent guitar and an absolute keeper.