Harley Benton CST-24HB Tortoise Flame

I have made this into an excellent guitar and, if you have the ability, it is an excellent buy. If not it is a bit disappointing.

I have an HB Strat copy which cost a bit over £100. That has an excellent finish, a really good sound and is generally very good quality but needed a fret polish and a bit of setup. This cost very nearly £200. Again it has an excellent finish, a great sound, looks fantastic for the price and is mostly of very good quality. However it not so much of a bargain.

The problem is that although I'm fine with polishing the frets and doing a bit of setup I'm not so happy that, for quite a bit more money, I'm having to file and recrown some frets. When I first received it it was buzzing halfway up the fretboard. I let it settle for a few days and did a setup. The action was very low so raising it and tweaking the truss rod for a little more relief sorted out most of the buzzing. But the second and fifth fret were still causing problems and I had to do a bit of work on them.

The guitar looks great. OK, there isn't the depth to the veneer you would get on a PRS but I think it has some depth, so it's not a photo print. And as soon as you step back from it it looks amazing. The sound is warm and versatile, though the coil split doesn't add as much as I'd hoped and it doesn't have as much of a hollow body sounds as a 335. The tuners do the job, even if they don't feel particularly inspiring. All in all a great addition to my collection, now that the frets are sorted.

As I said, it is not a big deal if you have the skills and the tools but I could see it being a big problem for newer players. I guess the real problem is that my first experience with an HB was so good it set the bar very high. Having spent more money I didn't expect he quality to be worse. That said, now that it is sorted it looks, feels and plays brilliantly. I'm glad I bought it and would buy it again.

I just wanted to sound a word of warning to less-experienced users

LONGER TERM EXPERIENCE

I've had this for about ten months now. For most of that time I didn't use it. Every time I went to it it needed setting up again. It seemed that the wood needed to season a bit more. After about eight months (having tried it in between) it seemed that the neck had finally settled down. I have set it up and not needed to change it since.

I'm playing and recording with it now and It's a comfortable and versatile guitar. It's a great intermediate step between my big semiacoustic (Vintage VSA500) and my solid PRS SE II Santana. Very pleased with it now and intend to keep it and use it more.

Pros:
- nice and solidly made instrument,
- weight,
- beautiful colour and outfit,
- very good staying in tune,
- perfect feeling while holding the instrument in the hands,
- probably the best guitar neck of all Harley Benton electric guitars,
- unbeatable price in this class of the instrument.

Cons:
- pickups,
- 3-Way blade switch.

Even with a cursory glance, it is clear that this instrument has more positive than negative characteristics. However, the sound of the pickup in this case is quite a problem, which especially comes to expression in the dirty mode, while the clean sound are O.K. - nothing spectacular, but also not bad. If you decide to replace the pickups, taking into consideration the average price of 80-150 € per piece, in that case the price of the guitar would rise to 449-589 €, which, even in the most expensive variant, is about 2.5 times lower than the PRS SE Hollowbody II ( without any modifications this guitar is almost 5 times cheaper than PRS, which is the world record).

The guitar has an extremely pleasant feeling when playing, the neck is literally perfect, regardless of whether you have a smaller or larger hand, and it is so light that you can practically forget that you have it hanging around your shoulder.

Conclusion: if you are a fan of hollowbody guitars and if you don't mind a slightly undefined and muddy tone during overdrive - don't hesitate, this is the guitar for you. Even if you decide that you want to upgrade the guitar with other pickups, you'll still be in a winning position because you'll have a guitar with a more comfortable neck than the PRS SE Custom, so the only possible conclusion is that Harley Benton literally pushes the boundaries when it comes to the availability of instruments to everyone. If there was no above mentioned pickup issue, the rating would be a pure five stars, which could not be compromised even by a very hard 3-Way Switch, which requires a smaller setup by yourself or your favorite luthier.

Recommendation: After receiving this guitar, smear the neck with lemon oil - it will be softer, smoother and more pleasant to play.

I like my Tortoise Flame HB quite a lot..... Now.

I have to consider the affordable price of this guitar when I start to critique it, but was it value for money ? Having seen plenty of online reviews of this model and purchased other H B products, I knew there was an element of chance. So I'd hoped to get lucky.

The Pros. It looks great. Lots of comment online about the colour not following the Thomann catalogue too well and a few people being unhappy with instruments shipping brighter/lighter in colour than the photos. I was hoping for this ! The photos make the Tortoise Flame look a little sombre and muddy, I was hoping for something warmer, richer and that's what I got. I was once a professional photographer and I know how difficult some hues are to record, even in this digital age. It looks to me like Thomann have tried to address this issue, some of the detail shots look colour manipulated to correct. But for me, I am very happy with what has arrived. The flamed maple top is nice, not to strong and well "book-matched", so it does create the "illusion" of an old classical instrument, which I like.

It sounds nice, middle position gives a nice rich colourful tone. But sound is so objective, what amp, settings, strings, playing style. Plenty of range available with pick up selection and coil split. I'm no expert but very happy and I do think the semi hollow body has something quite different, to say my SG, so a nice addition to the collection. The fret board and neck are nice to play, I like the subtle decoration on the fret markers which have been reasonably well done. Machine heads feel fine, look good.

The Cons. On arrival I just got the sense this guitar was not brand new. Maybe it had been demo'd or something, very slight scuffs and traces of polish caked in corners, as if it's been re-buffed - badly. The neck pickup surround ring was cracked in several places, not sure if due to over-tightening or an impact. But I couldn't look at it while playing.

Thomann were as efficient as usual, very fast to send me out a replacement part - plus goodies, for my inconvenience. While changing this piece I did discover additional holes, failed attempts to get it right in the factory. You don't want to look to closely inside these instruments.

I was surprised how high the action was on arrival. My own past experience and comment from others suggests that Thomann inspect and set-up before shipping, I'm not convinced in this case despite the QI label. So as soon as I tried lowering the action I found why, 3rd fret very high. Someone down the line has set this guitar up to a point just before a fret buzz and left it at that with way too high an action. I don't think it should have been let through, even for ¤220. The fret was correctly pressed home so I got stuck in and "dressed" it level. Now after much tweaking of truss rod and bridge height I have achieved an action which for me is enjoyable to play. However the bridge is as low as possible on the high e side, so nothing left if I wanted further adjustment. Another shame is the cut on the end of the fret board between last fret and pick up, "chewed" I think would be a better description.

If I were the designer of this instrument, I would have sat with the prototype, played it, looked down and realised that the view into the lower "F" hole is seriously spoilt by the guts - back of the position switch and wiring. Not attractive and no attempt to disguise, spoils the classical instrument illusion. It would have been much more elegant looking into a dark empty void. Re-position the switch above and behind tone control or up on one of the wings, Les Paul style maybe. And If I ever want/need to service or change electrics, how does that work, there is no service cover on the rear. This is a point I was aware of before buying, but I am intrigued to know how it was assembled in the factory ?

To sum up. I am happy with this guitar (at this price), it's nice to play - now, and looks great from a distance (more than a couple of feet). Should I have had to put the time in sorting it out?* - no I don't think so. Did I get lucky ? - no not really. Will I buy further Harley Benton
instruments ? - yes, probably.

*I know that Thomann have a very fair and efficient returns policy. I could have declined and asked for another. But it is a bit of a hassle organising return shipping, you need patience whilst without your new "toy" and there is always an element of 'the better the devil you know'. So in this instance the tweaking was within my ability, I had the time, and now I like the end result.

This was one of the most beautiful guitars I've ever purchased, until I looked a little closer.
Pro: The Tortoise flame veneer looks absolutely incredible. The neck feels very comfortable and I had no issues with fret sprout or high frets. The neck pickup is divine. It sounds distinctly better than the same pickup in a solid body.
Con: Cosmetics and attention to detail. The F-Hole binding was poorly done. Some spots have been sanded down so bare wood was showing underneath. I took a white magic marker to color in the thin spots. The block of wood inside looks awful. There are black paint splotches on parts of it and bare wood on parts. There are gouges and splintered wood hanging off of the center block. I have tried to clean it up as well as I could, but I can still see it through the f-hole if I look down at my picking hand while playing. The finish at the neck joint was applied over glue that had been pressed out and dried. The frets desperately needed polished.
Conclusion: At this price point, some cosmetic finish issues should be expected. There were too many to give it 5 stars. That said, the playability and beauty (from a little ways away) make it worth the price. The tone that comes out of the pickups - particularly the neck - makes it a keeper. Now if I could just remember to never look down at my picking hand while playing and accidentally catch a glimpse inside the f-hole, it would be perfect.

Absolutely great guitar for those looking for a PRS style hollow body without having the budget. It looks the part, sounds amazing and plays well.
I have a slightly older model that came with the roseacer fretboard and morning star inlays. The inlays look ten times better than the dots, but the roseacer is not ideal as a fretboard. I have a lot of trouble with little fibers that come loose and little cracks appearing. it requires a bit of maintenance to keep it looking good. But I do it gladly because this guitar is awesome. The newer model comes with a different fretboard material, so I can't speak to it's quality.
There are slight imperfections here and there, but overall the fit and finish of this guitar doesn't disappoint, especially because it costs so little.
De sound from the Roswell pickups is amazing. Very clear and well rounded. The coil split makes it versatile as well.
The guitar required a setup when I got it and I needed to do a little fretwork to make them nice and flat. There were a few high spots. Luckily I am capable of doing that, but it should have been done at the factory. So that is a slight blemish. Other customers who aren't guitar techs themselves should look out for imperfections like that and immediately contact Thomann for a replacement. Because I could do the work myself it was easier for me to just do it and not contact Thomann.

This is my first Harley Benton and, based on this guitar, may not be my last. First up, the positives:
- Great playability. Super comfortable neck and fretboard with no fret protrusion or popping
- Good pickups. Best described as inoffensive, I don't feel the need to replace them immediately but they also don't really inspire.
- Great tuners.
- Gorgeous top. Could have been a fluke, but mine had a perfect bookmatched top with a deep flame.

The flip-side:
- A lot of finishing flaws. Binding sanded completely off in places around the cutaway. Finish scuffing and scratches. Fretboard looks like it was lubricated last when the tree was still in the ground.
- The bridge. Don't know who on God's green earth thought having only 2 strings intonatable was a good idea, but they should be fired. Budget for a bridge upgrade with purchase.
- No backplate. Again, don't know how this sort of thing happens after all these decades, but unless there is a structural reason (with the MASSIVE centerblock I doubt it) why would you not put an opening on the back for replacing the components. Expect a few headaches replacing parts.