Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid VW

First off the build quality and look of this guitar for the price is great it looks and feels like a guitar much more expensive than the £172 price tag. The fret board and frets seem spot on really couldn’t fault it and probably one off, if not the best Harley Benton out of the box I’ve had. There was no buzzing or flaws on the frets or the neck. The string action was nice and low and the intonation was almost spot on.

The only big issue and the only reason for returning it is the G string just wouldn’t stay in tune with any type of small or big bends it went very noticeably out of tune :(. The rest of the strings held their tune fine. I was gutted and really didn’t want to return the guitar but tuning stability is a key factor. I just wish this guitar had a 6 in line tuning headstock layout and then it would be the perfect guitar.

Also DHL I’m the UK are nothing short of shocking dreadful dreadful company wish Thomann used anyone but them in them. I ended up having to collect my guitar from a depot 29 miles/47km away because they never bothered to deliver it for 2 days even though it was out for delivery.

firstly let me say, the quality of this instrument in terms of the finish, the wood, and electronics seems to be too good to be true, can't fault it in any way, it's really nice coming back to a rosewood fingerboard after a few years of nothing but maple, good sounds from both pups,especially (as hoped) the P90, the only reason for the mark down is for two things, the wrap around bridge which is a nightmare if you set up your own guitars, the intonation required a lot of tweaking, similarly the action also, much better with individual string settings, the other thing is the coil tap knob which for an old bloke like me with a bit of arthritis is really hard to work, quite stiff, and my fingers keep slipping off, both are easy to change, and I may do although the hardwork is now done, there was actually very little to do, it plays like a dream is fairly lightweight (important for old geezers) good sustain and very resonant wood, it really sings, the pups sound good to me but that is very subjective and every one hears them differently, all in all a great buy, only marked down by me for those two things, which to someone else may not matter at all, it might even be the last one I buy, it's a keeper....

Byers then I expected and I expect a lot from HB. I have 7 HB guitars so far.
I am professional guitar repairer and I buy these things to see how good I can get them. And wow, not one disappointment so far. All excellent once set up to your individual tastes.
Pros:
Pickups, finish (generally), hardware, looks, weight, neck profile (not too slim), Thomann customer service, bang for buck, excellent fretwork and setup out of the box (generally… just needed bridge lowering and nut slots filing down for me)
Cons:
A little paint from the body in the neck finish where they masked off poorly…..
I can live with that and fix if necessary
Some of my neck laquer came off when using masking tape for a fret polish….. a little rubbing down and some polish fixed that
The tuners ….. they feel very cheap BUT work very well and are smooth ( the buttons are cheap)……. They don’t need replacing but will be replaced with some vintage Guyker locking tuners
The pickups sound great, especially the P90
The switch feels good quality
The knobs are a bit cheap feeling….. easy fix
Oh and a weird one….. the humbucker is fitted slightly skewed at an angle….. someone else mentioned this on Facebook.
Recommended? Yes totally. Now I don’t want a proper Lea Paul, this is fabulous and a little different
Once I have finished with this to my tastes it will be a definite keeper and a superb, unusual single cut
If it was double the price I would still recommend.