Harley Benton ‘SC-450 P90’
Harley Benton instruments have caused a sensation in the guitar world in recent years. They’re very cheap copies of glorious guitars. You can’t find them in shops so the only way to try one is to get one online. And so I did, and what a surprise this guitar turned out to be!
I’d been looking at getting a guitar with P90 pickups for a long time. I did some research and thought that I could risk £129 on a new Harley Benton gold-top Les Paul(ish). A year on from that crazy purchase I can officially state that this guitar sounds and feels great! Ok, there are a few things that betray its humble origins, but what a tone! And what a beauty!
I acknowledge that I might have got lucky with this specimen, perhaps not all HB’s sound and feel like this one, who knows? If you’ll ever get your hands on one you need to be prepared to do some basic set-up. The main problem with my HB is that the nut grooves are too narrow, which creates all sorts of tuning problems, particularly if, like me, you like to bend them strings like you life depended on it. But this is a problem that can easily be fixed with a file. The other issue I have is with the pick-up switch. Although it does what it’s supposed to do, it feels a little fragile and it rotates in all directions. A replacement can probably be purchased for the price of a pizza Margherita, but it leaves you wondering why they haven’t used a better switch in the first place, particularly given the fact that it’s a problem that’s highlighted on almost all the reviews I read prior to my purchase.
The gold-top finish looks great and so does the very comfortable blackwood fretboard. I should also add that it’s not a light instrument, so if you suffer from backaches or if you gig 5 nights a week, you might want to consider a semi-hollow alternative.
I sometimes wonder how big guitar brands like Gibson and Fender will be able to survive if you get this kind of quality at a fraction of the price.
This guitar is a joy to play and has a great tone. I thought I was buying a toy but I ended up using it live and in the studio, with surprising results.
