Harley Benton has exploded this last year ! So many off brands have stepped up , gives us regular people with average means to afford to own a good qty guitar
I recently bought one, and I am delighted with it. Your summary completely accords with mine, I am playing jazz standards , which works surprisingly well. Thank you.
I got a Harley Benton CST/24 and it's got the wraparound bridge. I bought it brand new a couple days ago. It's making a buzzing sound on the B and G string at the 10th fret, i'm guessing it's the 11th fret that have a high spot and I going to need to raise the bridge up a little bit on that one side and swap those strings out for some 8.
I bought a PRS CE 24 back in the 80’s and the first thing I did was change out that ridiculous 18 position switch and later on the Fralin pickups. Sold it a few years later.dont miss it, but I do miss the style of the guitar. I will get one of these.
What HB did in the past ~10 years is really amazing. Even the < € 100,- guitars are worth every cent. I have a 335 Clone and the PRS SemiHollow Clone with Tree of Life inlays as well as a simple strat, and have to say that I enjoy all of them. The overall feeling on the original custom shop models is better. But compared to the standard gear, the HBs win. I like the HB35+ much more than the Epi Dot and even than the Gibson Std. ES-335, I prefer the € 180,- Strat over any Squire or Fender up to the Player Series and higher (I'd probably love the Fender '62 custom shop). And I prefer the CST24 (Semi Hollow) over both the Ibanez AR520HFM and the PRS SE Semi, as both are not that flexible (but even more beautiful^^) in terms of sound. The main reason for Harley Benton guitars: They are more than just OK - they are really good guitars, like Ibanez in the 80s, and if they break or get stolen, you never loose something expensive and can easily replace it.
I bought the CST-24 a few months ago, mainly because of the reviews. Love the feel of the neck, ect, blaw, blaw. But, no matter what I did I could not get this thing to stay in tune even with the trem block screwed down. I have just figured out why, the top of the body under the tremolo is not flat. The tremolo block is rocking from side to side. I am going to flatten the body under the tremolo block to eliminate this. Ok, using my precision reciprocating sander I sanded the area under the block flat. It stays in tune now.
@@TheGuitarGeek Vanson 18:1 tuners, Vanson Alnico II pickups, Wilkinson Wraparound Tailpiece/Bridge. I'm not saying that I did THE ULTIMATE mods, but it's easier to get it in tune, the sound is less brittle, and there may be more sustain, although it didn't really suck in that department before. Cheers!
I've been lookin to get my first electric guitar and had been looking at epiphones and squires but now i am sold on this for the sound and gorgeous look. great review thanks.
@@12south31 Just a couple of things about what you said. You have zero clue as to how long these *"will last"* vs a PRS. It is all speculation on your part, built around your feelings, not on actual facts! Also a PRS Standard 24 SE is €575 f-ing Euros and I can buy *three* different, excellent Harley benton guitars for that money. Let's say a gibson type, a strat type and a prs type guitar, depending on what I want. Though my personal tastes would leave me with buying two slightly more 'expensive' ones and having over €100 left in change! Never predict or make judgment on something you have not experienced, because you would be surprised at how good these guitars really are, if you had ever owned one!
@@Jooeffoh "Speculation and feelings"? What did I hurt your feelings with some facts? Not only do I own Gibsons, Fenders, PRS, Epiphone and guess what, Harley Bentons, I own a repair and set up shop! I've stripped every guitar I own down and set them up and upgraded any junk that was inside any one of them. Every single day I work on guitars in my shop and see what is inside of them as well as the problems that result. So save your bullshit for someone else. I get HB's in all the time with shot components and people asking me to tear the guts out of them to replace with quality parts. It's so funny how people that have an HB get so defensive to any criticism. Your cheap potentiometers have at least a 20 percent tolerance. The capacitors, when they even have them, are worthless. They do absolutely zero! The switch is lucky to last a few years, same with the jack. Cold solder joints everywhere etc. So no, it's not my speculation, it is a fact. Knowledge gained from fixing more of them than you have ever even seen in your lifetime. I wish they were better, I would buy more and sell them in my shop. But I would never let a customer walk out my door with something I cannot stand behind 100 percent. HB's are great for children learning how to play guitar and don't know if they will stick with it, or a learning guitar for doing your own work before tearing into a quality one that you wouldn't want to ruin. I bought 2 just to see what all the fuss was about. They look beautiful! Sound like shit and are full of shit. Putting lipstick on a pig as they say. They are easy to mod into a great guitar but after spending (I live in America, so I'm giving you USD) $200 for the guitar, $250 for decent pickups and $75 for all new components your at $525! That's if you know how to install everything yourself. Add $40 for a good set up and $60 for me to do the swap out and your now at $625! Like I said, more than the cost, either way, for a brand new PRS Standard 24 SE. Which in the states is $500. PRS uses great components, no need to swap anything. They do not need a set up new either. They retain a resale value as well. Put a few hundred bucks into your HB and you will never recoup it, it's still an HB. I'm not saying this because I have a grudge against HB. I'm saying it because of what I have learned working on thousands of guitars of all makes and models, as a warning to anyone looking for a new guitar. The only PRS i get in is the occasional customer who wants a new tone and swaps out the pickups. Hardly ever for a repair. When they do need a repair it's the same thing. Someone tried to adjust the floating bridge with the blade screws not the claw screws and springs and ruined the knife edge of the bridge. With HB they say, "it was fine last time i played it, then this morning i picked it up to jam and have no sound"! Good luck with yours, too bad you're not in the states I would be happy to fix yours when it gives out.
@@Whispererinthenoise Funny how HB owners always whine when anyone brings up facts about them. Yes, I bought 2 of them a few years ago to see what all the fuss was about. Since then they have got popular and I work on them all the time now in my shop. Don't try and spin what I said to try and make me out to sound like a liar. Enjoy your cheap guitar.
Great review. I had heard that the reason they stopped using Wilkinson pickups was that there were a number of counterfeit pickups purporting to be genuine Wilkinsons on the market, and some were finding their way on to Bentons. The company that makes Roswell pickups also produces pickups for other OEM brands.
I just want to point if anyone decides they want the semi-hollow body version (CST-24 HB (hollow-body)) of this model, please know the neck is completely different, the CST-24 HB has a real chunky fat neck. Nothing blade or speedy about it at all.
I am. I just received my SC-400 with matte black finish with the intent on refinishing it. It's perfect; I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it. I ~do~ plan on putting a set of P-Rails in it and making it the 'everything' guitar. I had a very experienced builder look it over, and aside from suggesting a graphite nut or just putting graphite in the nut he couldn't find anything to complain about, was staggered by the low cost even with shipping to the USA.
Not convinced. No way. You need to try an SE to put it into context. I know there's £275 difference but that axe doesn't sound very PRS like at all. The neck, from your description is not very wide-thin either, neck is a tad narrower. Workmanship looks cheap and it shouldn't have a wraparound tail. Plus it appears to have a coil split and not the tap circuit of the PRS. Is it worth the money? Maybe, but with PRS SE models going for £475 it is questionable. Stick this next to that guitar and then see. Bridge humbucker sounds terrible.
I bought this to compare with my new PRS SE Custom 24, was surprised how well made and how well set up it was - maybe pay over 200 euros for an HB (but I always polish my frets and board anyway) - so I put Fleor split humbuckers in and it's even better. The PRS feel and 85/15 pickups have a tiny edge for me, but I don't mind which one I grab first. Impressive guitar.
I would be tempted to slap a bigsby style trem on that thing although I suspect the selector switch would get in the way. I don't like the bridge they went for so that would have to be changed.
He said PRS has no character, i agree. Harsh, brittle, expensive, too. But i admit PRS are well made and beautiful guitars with the best note definition in the business. I do think they are great guitars for fast metal because of the things i just said.
I have that exact guitar...same color, same wrap-around bridge, etc., but mine is about a year old and it has the Wilkinson pickups. It also has a different Harley Benton logo on the headstock. The neck profile on mine is very round (C shape). The guitar is pretty close to flawless. It looks great and everything functions as it should. Great guitar at a ridiculously low price.
I have one that has a tremelo I like it it is emerald green but it had razor blade fret ends and it in no way reminded me of any thing that would resemble an ibanez especially a wizard neck
Price Jan 2023 is around 270€, not under 190€. I guess HBs will level up prices until they are at least in the Squier/Epiphone range within a few years, not that they aren't worth it. With all those resounding reviews on YT plus personal experiences (like my HB-35+) they are bound to. Get them while they are cheap :)
My big plan for my son is to likely score something like this, set it up right and let him at it. It's cheap enough he can knock it around and I won't cry if he kills it within a year and needs a new one. I just have to wait until he's old enough...
I only wanted to buy the tobacco burst Sc 550 but now It looks like I´m going to have to buy both the CST24 deluxe and the 550 as well ...thanks a bundle
I scored one (well the tremolo model in emerald flame) extremely cheap and my impression was actually pretty much the same; seems to be so close to the PRS that it even has that "no character" feature of those ;-) If I'd keep it, I'd change the pick ups and do some more modifications, but I most likely will sell it. If one views the CRT24 as a customizing base it is excellent for the price.
I´ve got a PRS Custom and I have just acquired one of these cause I want to have it as a second back up guitar. Harley Benton is doing things in the right, way, the problem is that in the short term it is going to be difficult to keep these prices. The factory prices are influenced by wood price and each time is more difficult to find certain pieces of wood and they are going to increase the price significatively in the future.
Hey Andy, are you planning to do a review of the CST 24 HB by any chance? I am contemplating an Epiphone Casino and have been attracted to the 42 HB what are your thoughts if any?
I have similar guitar w tremolo and to me the neck profile is one Im not fan of. Its a brilliant guitar, but somehow it just exactly fit my hand. Neck feels little wide to me
I have a Harley Benton CST-24 with a Wilkinson vibrato. It is perhaps one of the best sounding guitars I own. The Roswell neck pickup measures the same (within reasonable tolerances) as a P** 85/15, 4.648H @ 1Khz and 9K D.C. The bridge pickup is much hotter at 8.185 H and 17.05K. Overall the HB sounds darker and warmer than the P**. The Roswell pickups sound astoundingly good. Mine is all mahogany - a 3 piece neck, a 3 piece body and I'm pretty sure the top is just the decorative maple veneer glued directly over carved mahogany. There is no maple cap. The only thing I don't like about this guitar, and as you mentioned, is the nut width of only 42mm. Why are the far eastern manufacturers so fond of these spindly little necks. I did have to do quite a lot of tweaking to the guitar. The biggest flaw on mine is that they put a vibrato bridge that is designed for a flat topped guitar, on a guitar that has a carved curved top. As a result the bridge is never stable because it can rock from side to side. I fixed this by adding washers under the bridge plate under the two outside bridge screws. Of course this isn't a problem on the guitar you reviewed. I agree with you though - a lot of guitar for the money.
@@TheGuitarGeek well , HB quality is not consistent, you may receive a model that you have to return because of too many flaws and difficulties to sort, fix or set up ( my experience with a HB35 ). On your model, it looks like the quality is pretty good out of the box, the minor flaws you mentioned are those you get on Gibson Standard ( my experience again with a Les Paul and a SG )
Looks like a guitar I’d like to pick up, and definitely way more in my price range compared to a PRS. I may have to order one from Thomann soon. I really like the blue finish for it shown on the site
A PRS Standard 24 SE is only $500 and a much nicer guitar. HB's have tuning instability and the pickups sound terrible. The electronics are junk, so once you upgrade everything it will cost you more than a PRS Standard SE. Great guitar at its price point sure, but you get what you pay for.
The terms coil tapping and coil splitting are interchangeable. One of the two bobbins is simply shorted to ground leaving one bobbin in the signal path instead of two. The effect of a coil tap varies a lot depending on the gauge of wire, number of windings, the character of the magnets, etc., etc.. Also, young hands lacking callouses will cause a slick neck to feel sticky. Mine did too, but as I got older and did more real work with my hands that went away, but it's mostly an "age thing". Lastly, I have owned some of the finest guitars made and I can say that since the advent of PRS to the wider market (beginning in about 1998) Gibson has been making nothing at PRS quality level. I have a 2002 Custom 24 and a 2017 CE Signature Custom 24 with core pickups and they are both superb. Having said that, I will be buying one of the P90 versions of this HB simply because they are a blast to play at a STUPIDLY low price.
Coil tapping involves taking a part of the windings inside one of the coils and 'tapping that off' with an extra circuit. That way, a switch can cause the coil to have less active windings. It requires the coil itself to wired differently, rather than simply cutting off the entire coil from the circuit (which is coil splitting).
I've been wondering why Thomann don't sell their guitars through overseas dealers. This one and the EC550 you played with Henning sound really good for the money but as someone who lives in Canada I'm really hesitant to order one in case I get a guitar that QC ( if it actually exists) should have pulled off the line.
Did you get to try it with a clean sound, it had potential to get close to the Santana sound. For that sort of money its a steal even if you have to play around with it. I bought a kit guitar for not much less than the cost of this to play around with but I wouldn't spend another bean on it but this though could be the basis for loads of upgrades.
I am very interested in the Fusion model. These CSTs also look decent, most of the HB guitars do for their price points, so I would say I am convinced by HB in some respects. I agree with the comments about the pups, bet you could get some tasty tones with it and a good set of Duncans.
Do they have it on Amazon where the shipping isn't $85.00,Amazon all my guitars were only $5.99 UPSand I get them in 5 days at the most,not one problem either,thomann you can do better than 85 dollars for shipping if Amazon can do it,
My suggestion is to record your evaluations in the morning when you have fresh ears . As you mentioned that you had just finished up a session day (lot''s of noise) The best time to get a piano tuner is in the morning . I found your finesse stuff dry , the heavy stuff was ok . Just find the touch to play in tune sometimes the ears play tricks . Always rely on your guitar tuner , i
I like your approach to "Does fingerboard wood type has impact to sound?" After all it's your fingers and frets themselves that shorten the lenght of a string not the fingerboard.
@@TheGuitarGeek I look at things like that more as a myth. After all it's the guitarist who plays the instrument not vice versa. Strings + pickups + effects + amp. So where's the place for fretboard? 0.1%? It's more of a being comfortable for a player or not.
@@TheGuitarGeek You would need to guitars. Both same model but with different fretboards, but with same frets made of same metal. And with new sets of strings on both of them. As strings change their sound with time as well. Otherwise I see it being pointles.
I had a tremolo versio with Wilkinson pickups, it came with outrageous high string action, which could not be fixed because of the faulty neck it-went sideways when adjusted. fret ends on high E cut fingers badly. on the good side-it intonated well and hold tuning. bought for 200 sold for 100 a month after. though a friend got one that was WAY better, action, sustain,everything-totally diff animal.in my experience Harley Benton been pretty inconsistent quality wise. you can get a good one if you are lucky.
6 years later, they're made in Indonesia and of very good quality! My no.1 guitar, before a Player Strat and a Epi Les Paul. 🙂 Swapped the Roswell Humbucker to Artec P94 pus.
Judging by the emblems on the back of that headstock (which now say made in Vietnam), these look like they're made in the same factory as Vietnamese LTD's.
Awsome review/ demo man. I just bought the tremolo version kit by Harley Benton. I'm going with a metallic purple, and quality hardware. I hope to have a very useful prs clone. Wish me luck. It arrives tomorrow 😁
The problem is: Take any HB from the shelf and play it unplugged. Then do the same with the correspondent original Guitar. Apart from tonal preferences you will have to notice how quiet and less resonant the HB's are in direct comparison.
Hello bro! I bought one when it was Wilkinson pups and rosewood fingerboard era. I sent it back coz' the old wraparound bridge doesn't allow intonation and damn.... it wasn't quiet intonated!!!! As for the Roswell pups, they are slighly better, less chemical in hi-gain mode than the Wilkinsons. If I were to buy another, I'd pick one with the trm bar., just to intonate as I wish. ;) "GUITIRED"!!!! LOOOOL
I've got a paradise flame cst, its a competent guitar (mostly). If this had have been my first ever electric guitar I would have been delighted though! I don't play mine much but it does look great on the wall in my studio! :D
Congratulations for the review, it is brutal! Which guitar would you choose if you could only keep one, the HB CST 24 T, or the CST 24 P90? I would like to buy one, but I don't know which one to choose. I need your advice.
Yay, thank you! Def planning on getting a looper. I came up with a creative way to use a looper pedal- most of my guitar playing is dedicated to replicating tones with the Katana, so I've realized that using a looper could drastically speed up my ability to replicate tones, saving me hours of knob tweaking. I realized when I'm trying to replicate a tone in a song, I spend most of the time playing the riff & focusing on the playing instead of focusing on the tone. But if you use a looper, you can just play the riff once & loop it, that way you can tweak the tone settings in real time with your guitar playing. That way you can focus 100% on listening to the tone instead of 75% playing the riff & only 25% on listening to the tone. Using a looper frees your hands & brain to focus totally on the tone rather than focusing on playing the riff.
Great guitars if they arrive in one piece. Mine arrived from Germany with a cracked neck and I'm afraid the supplier Thomann in Germany appear less interested in replacing this useless guitar than they are covering their own loses with the carrier UPS. They have so far declined to send a replacement or provide a refund. The packaging was undamaged and I expect the instrument was not inspected properly before shipping. If you order and receive an undamaged guitar you will have many hours of enjoyable playing ahead of you. They are lovely! However if you receive a danged instrument you might end up with a lot stress and annoyance courtesy of Thomann customer services and 200 quid out of pocket.
@@TheGuitarGeek They did send a replacement after a few weeks and collected the broken instrument. It s superb. I have since bought a jazz bass and a dreadnought acoustic from them with no issues. I guess I was just unlucky with the first one. Breakages can occur, it's how it's handled that matters and they did fix the problem.
Hi I was considering to buy this guitar and mod it a little, but i wanted to have a couple more infos: can the intonation set individually? And how low can you get the action from the bridge? Great video btw, very helpful
Hey Leo. You're welcome. Each guitar is different but I like a low action and this does pretty well for me. You might want to think about purchasing a third party bridge though
Can I ask the brand/model of that pink guitar in the background? The colour is just look cool! Also, great review. Now if I can order this guitar to Thailand..........
I dont,know,if it is because the fixed bridge but mine has the tremelo 6 screw and the neck is far from,a wizard it is not a Gibson either more of a slightly larger fender strat neck but like he said it is painted mahogany with a more glossy finish can be a bit grabby if you keep it,polished or use a little powder it is fine I like it I go for ibanez necks but it will grow on you and you wont notice it after a few min playing
I have heard good things about all of the HB range, they seem to be satisfying a market, this one looks and sounds pretty good to me. Will you hang on to this one you reckon? I don't think we can get the Harley Benton guitars as easily in Australia.
Nice Andy! Greets from sunny England to our German brethren. The sound is quite dark, is that the pickups or the amp? Looks a good value for maybe a back up guitar or younger players.
It's been 7 months since you did the review. How often have you played the CST-24 since then? Any positive or negative comments since the review? Is this the only Harley Benton you have?
Well done Geek! Don't think I would buy one (the price is good), I have a small collection (12 currently) and if I do anything, I am incline to sell two and upgrade to a better guitar. Q uick question on a different subject...your favorite amp for under $1,000.00?
Fair enough...but let's take that to the next logical question. I really like the Katana Artist...if I go to just over $1,000.00, are your favorites worth double the money? I am looking to make the investment for a long term purchase...your thoughts are always of value and trusted.
Harley Benton has exploded this last year ! So many off brands have stepped up , gives us regular people with average means to afford to own a good qty guitar
@sethaskani Behringer pedals too.
There are no flying animals on this guitar 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I recently bought one, and I am delighted with it. Your summary completely accords with mine, I am playing jazz standards , which works surprisingly well. Thank you.
Harley Benton for the most part make very affordable, good looking and good quality guitars.
I got a Harley Benton CST/24 and it's got the wraparound bridge. I bought it brand new a couple days ago. It's making a buzzing sound on the B and G string at the 10th fret, i'm guessing it's the 11th fret that have a high spot and I going to need to raise the bridge up a little bit on that one side and swap those strings out for some 8.
If you get a good harley benton you will fall in love with it. I have 2 les paul style guitars and they are great!
That's pretty true!
I bought a PRS CE 24 back in the 80’s and the first thing I did was change out that ridiculous 18 position switch and later on the Fralin pickups. Sold it a few years later.dont miss it, but I do miss the style of the guitar. I will get one of these.
What HB did in the past ~10 years is really amazing. Even the < € 100,- guitars are worth every cent. I have a 335 Clone and the PRS SemiHollow Clone with Tree of Life inlays as well as a simple strat, and have to say that I enjoy all of them. The overall feeling on the original custom shop models is better. But compared to the standard gear, the HBs win.
I like the HB35+ much more than the Epi Dot and even than the Gibson Std. ES-335, I prefer the € 180,- Strat over any Squire or Fender up to the Player Series and higher (I'd probably love the Fender '62 custom shop). And I prefer the CST24 (Semi Hollow) over both the Ibanez AR520HFM and the PRS SE Semi, as both are not that flexible (but even more beautiful^^) in terms of sound.
The main reason for Harley Benton guitars: They are more than just OK - they are really good guitars, like Ibanez in the 80s, and if they break or get stolen, you never loose something expensive and can easily replace it.
I was worried that is guitar would have 2-3 strings per tuner...thanks for clearing that up for me...lol
I bought the CST-24 a few months ago, mainly because of the reviews. Love the feel of the neck, ect, blaw, blaw. But, no matter what I did I could not get this thing to stay in tune even with the trem block screwed down. I have just figured out why, the top of the body under the tremolo is not flat. The tremolo block is rocking from side to side. I am going to flatten the body under the tremolo block to eliminate this. Ok, using my precision reciprocating sander I sanded the area under the block flat. It stays in tune now.
Get some slotted screws for the bridge it will improve the tuning alot.
I've made a few mods to mine, but I love, love, love it! It plays and sounds like a dream!
What did you mod?
@@TheGuitarGeek Vanson 18:1 tuners, Vanson Alnico II pickups, Wilkinson Wraparound Tailpiece/Bridge. I'm not saying that I did THE ULTIMATE mods, but it's easier to get it in tune, the sound is less brittle, and there may be more sustain, although it didn't really suck in that department before. Cheers!
I've been lookin to get my first electric guitar and had been looking at epiphones and squires but now i am sold on this for the sound and gorgeous look. great review thanks.
You’re welcome! I think this is a good move
So what did you get? A PRS Standard 24 SE is only $500 new and will last you much longer! Sounds and feels much better. iMO, of course.
@@12south31 Just a couple of things about what you said.
You have zero clue as to how long these *"will last"* vs a PRS. It is all speculation on your part, built around your feelings, not on actual facts!
Also a PRS Standard 24 SE is €575 f-ing Euros and I can buy *three* different, excellent Harley benton guitars for that money. Let's say a gibson type, a strat type and a prs type guitar, depending on what I want. Though my personal tastes would leave me with buying two slightly more 'expensive' ones and having over €100 left in change!
Never predict or make judgment on something you have not experienced, because you would be surprised at how good these guitars really are, if you had ever owned one!
@@Jooeffoh "Speculation and feelings"? What did I hurt your feelings with some facts? Not only do I own Gibsons, Fenders, PRS, Epiphone and guess what, Harley Bentons, I own a repair and set up shop! I've stripped every guitar I own down and set them up and upgraded any junk that was inside any one of them. Every single day I work on guitars in my shop and see what is inside of them as well as the problems that result. So save your bullshit for someone else. I get HB's in all the time with shot components and people asking me to tear the guts out of them to replace with quality parts.
It's so funny how people that have an HB get so defensive to any criticism.
Your cheap potentiometers have at least a 20 percent tolerance. The capacitors, when they even have them, are worthless. They do absolutely zero! The switch is lucky to last a few years, same with the jack. Cold solder joints everywhere etc. So no, it's not my speculation, it is a fact. Knowledge gained from fixing more of them than you have ever even seen in your lifetime. I wish they were better, I would buy more and sell them in my shop. But I would never let a customer walk out my door with something I cannot stand behind 100 percent. HB's are great for children learning how to play guitar and don't know if they will stick with it, or a learning guitar for doing your own work before tearing into a quality one that you wouldn't want to ruin.
I bought 2 just to see what all the fuss was about. They look beautiful! Sound like shit and are full of shit. Putting lipstick on a pig as they say. They are easy to mod into a great guitar but after spending (I live in America, so I'm giving you USD) $200 for the guitar, $250 for decent pickups and $75 for all new components your at $525! That's if you know how to install everything yourself. Add $40 for a good set up and $60 for me to do the swap out and your now at $625! Like I said, more than the cost, either way, for a brand new PRS Standard 24 SE. Which in the states is $500. PRS uses great components, no need to swap anything. They do not need a set up new either. They retain a resale value as well. Put a few hundred bucks into your HB and you will never recoup it, it's still an HB.
I'm not saying this because I have a grudge against HB. I'm saying it because of what I have learned working on thousands of guitars of all makes and models, as a warning to anyone looking for a new guitar. The only PRS i get in is the occasional customer who wants a new tone and swaps out the pickups. Hardly ever for a repair. When they do need a repair it's the same thing. Someone tried to adjust the floating bridge with the blade screws not the claw screws and springs and ruined the knife edge of the bridge. With HB they say, "it was fine last time i played it, then this morning i picked it up to jam and have no sound"! Good luck with yours, too bad you're not in the states I would be happy to fix yours when it gives out.
@@Whispererinthenoise Funny how HB owners always whine when anyone brings up facts about them.
Yes, I bought 2 of them a few years ago to see what all the fuss was about. Since then they have got popular and I work on them all the time now in my shop. Don't try and spin what I said to try and make me out to sound like a liar.
Enjoy your cheap guitar.
Great review. I had heard that the reason they stopped using Wilkinson pickups was that there were a number of counterfeit pickups purporting to be genuine Wilkinsons on the market, and some were finding their way on to Bentons. The company that makes Roswell pickups also produces pickups for other OEM brands.
Whatever it was, they made a good move by putting in roswells
I just want to point if anyone decides they want the semi-hollow body version (CST-24 HB (hollow-body)) of this model, please know the neck is completely different, the CST-24 HB has a real chunky fat neck. Nothing blade or speedy about it at all.
Thank you for adding that. I'll check out the sh version at some point
Who's convinced?
I am. I just received my SC-400 with matte black finish with the intent on refinishing it.
It's perfect; I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it. I ~do~ plan on putting a set of P-Rails in it and making it the 'everything' guitar.
I had a very experienced builder look it over, and aside from suggesting a graphite nut or just putting graphite in the nut he couldn't find anything to complain about, was staggered by the low cost even with shipping to the USA.
TheGuitarGeek Sounds like a keeper. I would probably change the pick ups to something a bit more bluesy.
Ditto. I liked it but I'd put something a little less aggressive in
Not convinced. No way. You need to try an SE to put it into context. I know there's £275 difference but that axe doesn't sound very PRS like at all. The neck, from your description is not very wide-thin either, neck is a tad narrower. Workmanship looks cheap and it shouldn't have a wraparound tail. Plus it appears to have a coil split and not the tap circuit of the PRS. Is it worth the money? Maybe, but with PRS SE models going for £475 it is questionable. Stick this next to that guitar and then see. Bridge humbucker sounds terrible.
I'll get a prs se and try that against it. Good idea
I have the tremolo version in black flame. I'm a strat guy but this is best guitar I've ever owned.
That's cool to know. I need to try the tremolo version
I bought this to compare with my new PRS SE Custom 24, was surprised how well made and how well set up it was - maybe pay over 200 euros for an HB (but I always polish my frets and board anyway) - so I put Fleor split humbuckers in and it's even better. The PRS feel and 85/15 pickups have a tiny edge for me, but I don't mind which one I grab first. Impressive guitar.
I would be tempted to slap a bigsby style trem on that thing although I suspect the selector switch would get in the way. I don't like the bridge they went for so that would have to be changed.
That sounds like a damn good idea
Not crazy about the bridge either. With so many better style bridges, it seems strange that they went with what they did!👍😎🎸🎶
He said PRS has no character, i agree. Harsh, brittle, expensive, too. But i admit PRS are well made and beautiful guitars with the best note definition in the business. I do think they are great guitars for fast metal because of the things i just said.
I have that exact guitar...same color, same wrap-around bridge, etc., but mine is about a year old and it has the Wilkinson pickups. It also has a different Harley Benton logo on the headstock. The neck profile on mine is very round (C shape). The guitar is pretty close to flawless. It looks great and everything functions as it should. Great guitar at a ridiculously low price.
Same here. Awesome guitar, especially for the price.
For what it is, it's a good deal. I think it's a great mod platform because that bridge pickup is harsh.
I have one that has a tremelo I like it it is emerald green but it had razor blade fret ends and it in no way reminded me of any thing that would resemble an ibanez especially a wizard neck
You have to do close up of the dangerous areas the nut and the binding
you are right. My bad
Price Jan 2023 is around 270€, not under 190€. I guess HBs will level up prices until they are at least in the Squier/Epiphone range within a few years, not that they aren't worth it. With all those resounding reviews on YT plus personal experiences (like my HB-35+) they are bound to. Get them while they are cheap :)
My big plan for my son is to likely score something like this, set it up right and let him at it. It's cheap enough he can knock it around and I won't cry if he kills it within a year and needs a new one. I just have to wait until he's old enough...
Because of the distortion, I can't hear much difference between humbuckers and coil tap/split ?
I only wanted to buy the tobacco burst Sc 550 but now It looks like I´m going to have to buy both the CST24 deluxe and the 550 as well ...thanks a bundle
I scored one (well the tremolo model in emerald flame) extremely cheap and my impression was actually pretty much the same; seems to be so close to the PRS that it even has that "no character" feature of those ;-) If I'd keep it, I'd change the pick ups and do some more modifications, but I most likely will sell it. If one views the CRT24 as a customizing base it is excellent for the price.
PS: Mine still has the Wilkinson pick ups, which sound pretty much the same. I guess the change was due to cost, not sound.
I´ve got a PRS Custom and I have just acquired one of these cause I want to have it as a second back up guitar. Harley Benton is doing things in the right, way, the problem is that in the short term it is going to be difficult to keep these prices. The factory prices are influenced by wood price and each time is more difficult to find certain pieces of wood and they are going to increase the price significatively in the future.
Well i think you stand correct with this guitar being priced at 270€ right now
Can you get straty sounds?
its funny when he says...it got six tuners, one per string... hahahaha...!
Nobody ever accused this knucklehead of being a fucking genius.
Hey Andy, are you planning to do a review of the CST 24 HB by any chance? I am contemplating an Epiphone Casino and have been attracted to the 42 HB what are your thoughts if any?
I have similar guitar w tremolo and to me the neck profile is one Im not fan of. Its a brilliant guitar, but somehow it just exactly fit my hand. Neck feels little wide to me
I look into these or without deluxe. Total beginner but this looks fine. Maybe in blue or black
loving the Ibanez behind you
Which one?
@@TheGuitarGeek Probably the RG. It's most obviously an Ibby...
I'm watching the reviews of the HB CST models, and, thus far I think I might be taking the plunge.
The bridge coilsplit ia hardly noticeable but very much on the neck pickup. bang for the buck.
If I'm a blues player with his eye on a HB35 Plus (a real "bluesy" guitar) would this be any use to me? Or are they made for shredders?
You are able to play 24 frets vs 22 while atill having a single cut guitar.
Ive got the hb custom anyway. the great offer was gone of the ct24
I have a Harley Benton CST-24 with a Wilkinson vibrato. It is perhaps one of the best sounding guitars I own. The Roswell neck pickup measures the same (within reasonable tolerances) as a P** 85/15, 4.648H @ 1Khz and 9K D.C. The bridge pickup is much hotter at 8.185 H and 17.05K. Overall the HB sounds darker and warmer than the P**. The Roswell pickups sound astoundingly good. Mine is all mahogany - a 3 piece neck, a 3 piece body and I'm pretty sure the top is just the decorative maple veneer glued directly over carved mahogany. There is no maple cap. The only thing I don't like about this guitar, and as you mentioned, is the nut width of only 42mm. Why are the far eastern manufacturers so fond of these spindly little necks.
I did have to do quite a lot of tweaking to the guitar. The biggest flaw on mine is that they put a vibrato bridge that is designed for a flat topped guitar, on a guitar that has a carved curved top. As a result the bridge is never stable because it can rock from side to side. I fixed this by adding washers under the bridge plate under the two outside bridge screws. Of course this isn't a problem on the guitar you reviewed.
I agree with you though - a lot of guitar for the money.
Hi Terry! Thanks for that. Nice fix on that bridge issue
Good honest review. In my experience with Harley Benton guitars, they are very, very good value for money.
I agree. After a good setup they punch well above their price point
@@TheGuitarGeek well , HB quality is not consistent, you may receive a model that you have to return because of too many flaws and difficulties to sort, fix or set up ( my experience with a HB35 ). On your model, it looks like the quality is pretty good out of the box, the minor flaws you mentioned are those you get on Gibson Standard ( my experience again with a Les Paul and a SG )
I've taken to calling these the Pete Raul Shift guitars.
Pretty Radical Strings - gets my vote
Paul,
Really, Harley Bentons aren’t
Shitty
PRS
Looks like a guitar I’d like to pick up, and definitely way more in my price range compared to a PRS. I may have to order one from Thomann soon. I really like the blue finish for it shown on the site
Yeah the blue is a beautiful colour. I'm not convinced by the green though
A PRS Standard 24 SE is only $500 and a much nicer guitar. HB's have tuning instability and the pickups sound terrible. The electronics are junk, so once you upgrade everything it will cost you more than a PRS Standard SE. Great guitar at its price point sure, but you get what you pay for.
The terms coil tapping and coil splitting are interchangeable. One of the two bobbins is simply shorted to ground leaving one bobbin in the signal path instead of two. The effect of a coil tap varies a lot depending on the gauge of wire, number of windings, the character of the magnets, etc., etc..
Also, young hands lacking callouses will cause a slick neck to feel sticky. Mine did too, but as I got older and did more real work with my hands that went away, but it's mostly an "age thing".
Lastly, I have owned some of the finest guitars made and I can say that since the advent of PRS to the wider market (beginning in about 1998) Gibson has been making nothing at PRS quality level. I have a 2002 Custom 24 and a 2017 CE Signature Custom 24 with core pickups and they are both superb. Having said that, I will be buying one of the P90 versions of this HB simply because they are a blast to play at a STUPIDLY low price.
Coil tapping involves taking a part of the windings inside one of the coils and 'tapping that off' with an extra circuit. That way, a switch can cause the coil to have less active windings. It requires the coil itself to wired differently, rather than simply cutting off the entire coil from the circuit (which is coil splitting).
I've been wondering why Thomann don't sell their guitars through overseas dealers. This one and the EC550 you played with Henning sound really good for the money but as someone who lives in Canada I'm really hesitant to order one in case I get a guitar that QC ( if it actually exists) should have pulled off the line.
They are fantastic for the money. Your best move would be to contact Kris in the guitar department and explain your concerns
Did you get to try it with a clean sound, it had potential to get close to the Santana sound. For that sort of money its a steal even if you have to play around with it. I bought a kit guitar for not much less than the cost of this to play around with but I wouldn't spend another bean on it but this though could be the basis for loads of upgrades.
I am very interested in the Fusion model. These CSTs also look decent, most of the HB guitars do for their price points, so I would say I am convinced by HB in some respects. I agree with the comments about the pups, bet you could get some tasty tones with it and a good set of Duncans.
I've got the fusion coming soon. Id take one of these and try and warm it up a bit
TheGuitarGeek I will keep my eye out for your review. They look nice.
They seem pretty cool
its good for gigging and projects, sounds good too! i got 5 harley bentons and NO issues!🤩
Good to hear!
Do they have it on Amazon where the shipping isn't $85.00,Amazon all my guitars were only $5.99 UPSand I get them in 5 days at the most,not one problem either,thomann you can do better than 85 dollars for shipping if Amazon can do it,
Thomann could really do with having a US distributor or even open a warehouse over in the US or Canada even if it was just for Harley Benton.
Please do a video of that sg
Which one?
@@TheGuitarGeek the black 1 over your right shoulder
Ahhh I think I did already
@@TheGuitarGeek the only sg I found is with the roadie Turner at the back of thomman with Mike?
I had considered these but I'd prefer it with a regular maple board. If they were to ever make that, it would be very hard to turn away.
My suggestion is to record your evaluations in the morning when you have fresh ears . As you mentioned that you had just finished up a session day (lot''s of noise) The best time to get a piano tuner is in the morning . I found your finesse stuff dry , the heavy stuff was ok . Just find the touch to play in tune sometimes the ears play tricks . Always rely on your guitar tuner ,
i
I'm waiting for mine to show up. Has P90S. AND sorta birds on fretboard
Gus Logozar came on the fretboard. Not stickers
what would be the strat equivalent of this? I see Harley Benton do a lot of S-types, i wonder which is the best one...
There's the st62 and the deluxe
Coughing and saying prs, is paul going to say something about this?
I like your approach to "Does fingerboard wood type has impact to sound?" After all it's your fingers and frets themselves that shorten the lenght of a string not the fingerboard.
Thanks! It of course has an effect but the question is, how large a percentage of the overall sound.
@@TheGuitarGeek
I look at things like that more as a myth. After all it's the guitarist who plays the instrument not vice versa. Strings + pickups + effects + amp. So where's the place for fretboard? 0.1%? It's more of a being comfortable for a player or not.
Sounds like a test needs to be done
@@TheGuitarGeek
You would need to guitars. Both same model but with different fretboards, but with same frets made of same metal. And with new sets of strings on both of them. As strings change their sound with time as well. Otherwise I see it being pointles.
I had a tremolo versio with Wilkinson pickups, it came with outrageous high string action, which could not be fixed because of the faulty neck it-went sideways when adjusted. fret ends on high E cut fingers badly. on the good side-it intonated well and hold tuning. bought for 200 sold for 100 a month after. though a friend got one that was WAY better, action, sustain,everything-totally diff animal.in my experience Harley Benton been pretty inconsistent quality wise. you can get a good one if you are lucky.
shouldve sent it back.
6 years later, they're made in Indonesia and of very good quality! My no.1 guitar, before a Player Strat and a Epi Les Paul. 🙂
Swapped the Roswell Humbucker to Artec P94 pus.
I'm wondering about the guitar's weight. Thanks!
Judging by the emblems on the back of that headstock (which now say made in Vietnam), these look like they're made in the same factory as Vietnamese LTD's.
That could very well be true
Now made in Indonesia - maybe Cort factory... 🤔
Is that a b-stock from thomann? When I look now the price says 211£ 🤔
Well the video was released a LONG time ago. Things have changed since then.
Awsome review/ demo man. I just bought the tremolo version kit by Harley Benton. I'm going with a metallic purple, and quality hardware. I hope to have a very useful prs clone. Wish me luck. It arrives tomorrow 😁
Brazilian cherry wood on the fretboard (Jatoba)
Thanks for the help!
The bridge is worrying me. So you're saying I can't intonate some of the strings?
Not accurately. This is not a HB thing. It’s a guitar thing
The problem is:
Take any HB from the shelf and play it unplugged. Then do the same with the correspondent original Guitar.
Apart from tonal preferences you will have to notice how quiet and less resonant the HB's are in direct comparison.
I have done that exact thing at thomann and it's not as dramatic as you seem to think. I wish they didn't cover it in so much poly though
Hello bro!
I bought one when it was Wilkinson pups and rosewood fingerboard era.
I sent it back coz' the old wraparound bridge doesn't allow intonation and damn.... it wasn't quiet intonated!!!!
As for the Roswell pups, they are slighly better, less chemical in hi-gain mode than the Wilkinsons.
If I were to buy another, I'd pick one with the trm bar., just to intonate as I wish. ;)
"GUITIRED"!!!! LOOOOL
Hey buddy!
I think the newest HB guitars are better than ever.
I'd also like to try the tremolo version
The coil split didn’t work maybe?
I've got a paradise flame cst, its a competent guitar (mostly). If this had have been my first ever electric guitar I would have been delighted though! I don't play mine much but it does look great on the wall in my studio! :D
I know what you mean!
What are problems you have with it?
@@humanchannel7825 it's just lifeless, I sold it years ago
Amazon total price delivery included 184,72$
can you get low action across all the fretboard without buzz?
Yup!
These have caught my eye a while ago, but for a vintage oriented guy the flat radius seems like a dealbreaker. Too bad I didn't try these out at TGU.
You should have man, very playable
Congratulations for the review, it is brutal! Which guitar would you choose if you could only keep one, the HB CST 24 T, or the CST 24 P90? I would like to buy one, but I don't know which one to choose. I need your advice.
which one did you choose?
Surprised you looked at this instead of the 24t. I've heard good things about the Wilkinson trem and bad things about wraparound tailpieces.
+TheGuitarGeek how do you like the Ditto looper? Are you still planning on doing a comparison video with different loopers? Great video btw
Hey. It is a great pedal for the money. Seems reliable and hasn't given me any problems yet
The video IS COMING! 😊
Yay, thank you! Def planning on getting a looper. I came up with a creative way to use a looper pedal- most of my guitar playing is dedicated to replicating tones with the Katana, so I've realized that using a looper could drastically speed up my ability to replicate tones, saving me hours of knob tweaking. I realized when I'm trying to replicate a tone in a song, I spend most of the time playing the riff & focusing on the playing instead of focusing on the tone. But if you use a looper, you can just play the riff once & loop it, that way you can tweak the tone settings in real time with your guitar playing. That way you can focus 100% on listening to the tone instead of 75% playing the riff & only 25% on listening to the tone. Using a looper frees your hands & brain to focus totally on the tone rather than focusing on playing the riff.
That's also something I do! Loopers are a necessary part of learning and playing guitar these days
Great guitars if they arrive in one piece. Mine arrived from Germany with a cracked neck and I'm afraid the supplier Thomann in Germany appear less interested in replacing this useless guitar than they are covering their own loses with the carrier UPS. They have so far declined to send a replacement or provide a refund. The packaging was undamaged and I expect the instrument was not inspected properly before shipping. If you order and receive an undamaged guitar you will have many hours of enjoyable playing ahead of you. They are lovely! However if you receive a danged instrument you might end up with a lot stress and annoyance courtesy of Thomann customer services and 200 quid out of pocket.
To where did they send it? You have a no quibble, 30 day return on everthing.
@@TheGuitarGeek They did send a replacement after a few weeks and collected the broken instrument. It s superb. I have since bought a jazz bass and a dreadnought acoustic from them with no issues. I guess I was just unlucky with the first one. Breakages can occur, it's how it's handled that matters and they did fix the problem.
Hi I was considering to buy this guitar and mod it a little, but i wanted to have a couple more infos: can the intonation set individually? And how low can you get the action from the bridge? Great video btw, very helpful
Hey Leo. You're welcome. Each guitar is different but I like a low action and this does pretty well for me. You might want to think about purchasing a third party bridge though
@@TheGuitarGeek hi, thanks for the tip! I was thinking about lockin the bridge down on the trem version, might be less bothering overall
Yeah it could be easier.
Can I ask the brand/model of that pink guitar in the background? The colour is just look cool!
Also, great review. Now if I can order this guitar to Thailand..........
Hi! It was a Squier FSR Affinity but then I modded it a lot
It has 6 tuners, one per string. Interesting way to put it. This guitar looks like a steal for $179.00 on the Thomann USA website.
What type of neck profile does this have? Is it like a PRS Pattern thin, pattern regular or pattern?
Check the video description for the product link
I dont,know,if it is because the fixed bridge but mine has the tremelo 6 screw and the neck is far from,a wizard it is not a Gibson either more of a slightly larger fender strat neck but like he said it is painted mahogany with a more glossy finish can be a bit grabby if you keep it,polished or use a little powder it is fine I like it I go for ibanez necks but it will grow on you and you wont notice it after a few min playing
I think there is a P90 version. I'm buying it!!
I have one of the cheap end of the epiphones would u recommend this to me as another guitar
I would definitely recommend this.
TheGuitarGeek thanks :)
is he avoiding saying PRS or even the actual name itself for any copyright things? i feel like he coughed at the beggining on purpose to not say PRS
I have heard good things about all of the HB range, they seem to be satisfying a market, this one looks and sounds pretty good to me. Will you hang on to this one you reckon? I don't think we can get the Harley Benton guitars as easily in Australia.
I'm not hanging on to this one but maybe I'll pick one up a little later on
Congrats on the new job by the way, sounds like a groovy gig :)
Thank you. I'm very happy
So what's the verdict now after 3-1/2 ish years?
Still have the guitar? Any necessary mods?
Curious minds want to know! :)
hi i love that guitar what is the weight in kgs thanks for the video.
No idea! Please check the Thomann website
I dont know,the actual weight but it is pretty heavy
great reviews! keep em coming.
Cheers billy
Hello bro is it a medium fret.. Or jumbo fret..
Nice Andy! Greets from sunny England to our German brethren. The sound is quite dark, is that the pickups or the amp? Looks a good value for maybe a back up guitar or younger players.
It is the guitar. I found the whole thing quite dark. Definitely a worthy addition.
It's been 7 months since you did the review. How often have you played the CST-24 since then? Any positive or negative comments since the review? Is this the only Harley Benton you have?
I didn’t keep it. Only because I have many many guitars. I am thinking of getting one though. It’s great for the money
Well done Geek! Don't think I would buy one (the price is good), I have a small collection (12 currently) and if I do anything, I am incline to sell two and upgrade to a better guitar. Q uick question on a different subject...your favorite amp for under $1,000.00?
That is a tough question. That Katana Artist is a great, great amp but $1000 is a toughie as most of my favourites are just above it.
Fair enough...but let's take that to the next logical question. I really like the Katana Artist...if I go to just over $1,000.00, are your favorites worth double the money? I am looking to make the investment for a long term purchase...your thoughts are always of value and trusted.
Hey Bill. One of my favourites is the fender deluxe reverb 65. I'm going to be testing one soon so I'm not sure if it's worth it yet.
I will be looking for the review! Thanks for your thoughts.
Great review!
Where did you get your currency conversion from? When you published this video, the price in GBP was £168 not £195.
the currency exchange rate changes daily. This video was posted over a year ago.
is it a good upgrade from a beginner status?
It can be. It really depends on what you want. A very different guitar from a Strat
Umm how can 188 euros be £197? The exchange rate works the other way round.
Because I made a mistake
@@TheGuitarGeek Fair enough ;)
Nice! Looks a lot like Brad Delson's PRS.
Yeeah
Where in U.S. can we order that?
www.thomannmusic.com
How do you intonate this guitar?
Grub screws on the bridge. Not as accurate as the movable saddles
Are you really tall? because I am 5-7 and I remember the PRS se C24 being moderately large in my hands. This guitar looks really small on your hands!!
Yeah I am 6’3 ish...
Euros to pounds convertion?
google... or just goto thomann and select british pounds and look at all their hb stuff?
How can you get that sound? What amp do you use?
That’s the honey boy 5 watt
@@TheGuitarGeek Ok thanks. I'm going to think about it
Great Amps!
Sand down the neck? Just use talcum powder
Are you Steve-O’s brother?
Twins
Haha...thx for the video