Harley Benton SC-450PlusLH LD Vintage Series

Firstly, I was amazed to find that Harley Benton guitars actually make left-handed models in a range of stunning finishes - as a lefty, I'm used to 'choosing' either black, white or if I'm lucky red. I could quite happily buy one of these in each of the finishes on offer, but I totally fell in love with the Lemon Drop and I'm so pleased I did - it looks awesome in all lights!

Out of the box, my guitar was set-up perfectly - no fret buzz, low action, nice smooth fretboard edges and no cosmetic damage. I'm really impressed, as I had seen some negative reviews about this on youtube etc. This is the first time I've purchased a 'budget' guitar, so I really didn't know what to expect - I own 2 x Fenders and 1 x Gibson.

As soon as I plugged this guitar in I was gobsmacked - it is extremely comfortable to play and it sounds great. I'm really impressed with the pick ups, but I don't rate the coil splitting at all, it makes the sound way to thin to my ear. But that is the only negative thing I can find to say!

So, this is now my go to guitar - the neck is absolutely perfect and is really helping me improve my playing. I also prefer the sound of the pick ups to those in my Gibson (that's probably down to my style of playing). I am a very happy customer and will be back for more guitars in the future!

If you're looking for a new, budget single cut guitar at a very reasonable price you would be hard pushed to find better, especially if you're in the UK or Europe where delivery is fast and free and returns are pretty hassle free with Thomann should you really need to make one.

I've given it five stars based on the combination of price, quality, features and finish. Understand that you're not buying a Gibson Les Paul and on a budget instrument there are obviously going to be compromises on electronics, machine heads, and (to a degree) pickups. If you don't spend thousands you don't get a top tier instrument and you should not expect to.

However, I have bought two of these in different finishes (Vintage Burst and Lemon Drop) and both have been excellent quality with no serious flaws or problems and both look stunning. They also sound absolutely fine. They have a nice heft to them without being too heavy....obviously weightier than a Strat or a Tele but that is as it should be and shouldn't come as a surprise.

The addition of coil splitting on the Roswell branded humbuckers is a nice touch on a budget LP copy - not needed and maybe not even of interest to a lot of people who want a guitar of this type but it's a nice little extra feature to have on hand and to be able to experiment with.

The only thing both of mine needed were a fret polish - even the factory strings were OK, although I change them out on all new guitars for my preferred brand anyway. Basically, neither of these things were particularly detrimental to their playability out of the box. Both were set up and intonated well and the action on both was fine so any slight changes I made were purely subjective and personal ones.

In conclusion, if you're a beginner or a more seasoned player, it's hard to be critical of this guitar considering how cheap it is. As an entry point into this style of guitar it makes a lot of sense - if you find it really doesn't float your boat, you haven't taken out a mortgage to scratch the itch and you'll have confirmed your own preferences and biases at little financial cost. Even a used base level Epi with a bolt on neck is probably going to cost you more...and I doubt it will be as good.

Personally, I can neither afford, or would want to spend the kind of money a genuine Les Paul demands as I'm only a hobbyist and I'm sure that is the case for many others and absolutely not the case for just as many more. My son's guitar teacher, a staunch Fender guy for 40 years, played mine and was blown away....he loved the sustain, the sound and the feel of this humble instrument so much so that he's now going to spend serious money on a Gibson Les Paul, something he's never wanted until now. I told him to buy an SC450 Plus and save a fortune but he's a very brand conscious type of guy....for him the name on the headstock overrides financial considerations and well, he is a professional musician after all and is used to "the best".

He wasn't just being polite - he has played several of my HB guitars, both electric and acoustic and now happily recommends them to new players just starting out as reliable and decent instruments at a fair price - something which parents of budding little rock stars probably appreciate hugely.

I'm very happy with my purchases of the SC450 Plus and have no qualms about recommending it to others.

For a starter - its a 200$ guitar so naturally you cant expect the best of the best. I own another guitar from the brand and dare I say I expected little more again. But this time the guitar was not set up as previous, the action high, some minor buzzes, and I'm not sure(and I'm not claim that) but I had a feel this might've been a b-stock. That's the cons for me.
Other than that - I love the look and feel of it. I'll be modifying it in the future but even now I get decent sound and just... enjoying it.