Harley Benton SC-450Plus LD Vintage Series

648 Customer ratings

4.6 / 5

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19 Reviews

Harley Benton SC-450Plus LD Vintage Series
2.499 kr
Including VAT; Excluding kr200 shipping
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KK
Disaster. Terrible quality control.
Kerrang Kerranz 08.01.2022
Delivery was very slow. It took two weeks.
Guitar packaging was ok but I immediately noticed a ding on the back edge of the upper bout. Then on closer inspection I discovered glue splattered on the fingerboard at 5 different fret positions. I had to scrape this off with a razor blade and sand with fine grit sandpaper.
I tried to tune the guitar but it would not stay in tune. The machine heads were loose and useless. I had to replace them which cost me €80. After that I realised that I could not intonate the guitar as the nut was a disaster. The height was too high and it kept pinching the string. It was cut horrific. I had to replace this shocking piece of hollow plastic with a tusq nut. This cost me a total of €40 to buy and get fitted. My luthier informed me that he had a problem fitting the new nut as the nut slot was uneven. He had to level it and insert a shim. He also noticed that two of the frets were high and had to level them.
The pickups are ok but not great. They tend to be very muddy with higher gain. The pots are aweful. They have no gradual taper. They don't increase or decrease volume and tone uniformly. The split coil function is rubbish. It just decreases the volume of the pickups.
The colour and finish on the top is nice, neck feels good and the guitar resonates really well. These were the only reasons why I decided not to return it. The guitar ended up costing me almost €300 and still doesn't include an upgrade of pickups, pots, switch or jack.
I thought that I was getting a single cut for a bargain but I was wrong. Overall I was very dissappointed with my purchase. It was a nightmare and I am very reluctant to purchase another Harley Benton guitar.
I regret not spending a little more for an Epiphone 50s Les Paul which is a quality instrument. Epiphone guitars also have a resale value should you wish to trade up in the future.
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its OK, but...
NZSpot 21.04.2022
So, I brought this as my first guitar after seeing great reviews on YT from China Guitar Skeptic and EytschPi42.
It arrived in good time and survived its journey halfway around the world with no obvious damage.
I played it for a long time without an amp, so I didn't find some of the electronic issues until it was too late to return it (along with the hassles that come with being half a world away), but here is a list of the defects I found in my unit

Cosmetic:
I ordered a Lemon Drop. What I received was a Honey Burst.
The neck, sides and back were polished to perfection, the front looked like they had skipped the final buff, or some overspray had landed on it.
The veneer book match joint is centered on the strap button, but not the tail piece or bridge - not sure if the veneer is off or if its the hardware

Functional:
Most of the tuners were not installed straight. One is so obviously out I had it fixed.
Pickups are offset - the Rhythm appears centered to the neck and strings, the Treble is offset towards the bass side to the point where the e string is almost off the pole screw.
Tone pots - when I eventually got an amp, there was pretty much no difference through the throw of the pots, apart from scratching noises at 3 & 5 positions.
Coil splits/ volume pots - just underwhelming. The knobs are sitting on the body and are so stiff you have to leaver them up with a pick.

Conclusion:
I've had it set up and it plays pretty well, or at least that's what players I know think. Its been a good introduction instrument and a great platform for doing your own upgrades, I've changed the pots, done the Peter Green mod and will change the switch and jack next. Its a great first instrument and development platform, just don't expect it to be perfect.
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Pot Luck on what you receive
frglee 21.12.2018
I bought this guitar on the strength of the reviews on this site and elsewhere. It's obvious that there are good ones to be had but unfortunately mine isn't really one of them.

Straight away, out of the box I spotted quite a bad blemish on the body underneath the clear finish. I intended to return the guitar but was politely informed by Thomann that for the price, imperfections are not unusual - why not mention that fact in the description?

I've since noticed that the headstock is twisted in relation to the fret board. It may be a too tight truss rod that's caused this, I don't know. This hasn't affected the tuning but it is there all the same.

I'm still within the 30 day no quibble return period but, under pressure from SWMBO, I've had to bin the outer packaging and cushion wrap.

So, by all means buy one of these guitars but be aware that it's pot luck that you get a guitar that is as good as other reviewers have received.
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D
Good looking guitar, awfull fretwork!
Damianisme 01.09.2023
This guitar looks really good and has a decent sound that most people will be happy with, bit it does have a few issues. Firstly the finish has a couple of small pin sized dents on the front and back of the guitar. The nut has been cut slightly to small so there is a gap on the one side. There is a slight chip in the lacquer on the fretboard binding. This is all minor imperfections and tbf is hardly noticeable, but what is noticeable is how awfull the frets are. As soon as I picked it up and tuned it you can feel how rough the frets are. Anytime you bend a string it just grinds and bites into the frets. Going to give it a good polish and hopefully that helps. Also needed setting up correctly, no issue if you know what you're doing , but for someone who is new or doesn't know may be a bit overwhelmed. Even with the fret issue it's still good guitar for the price, just be prepared to put some work into the frets when you get it.
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GF
Come on guys!!!
Glenn Fowler 16.03.2020
I love this guitar!! Neck pick up sound GREAT!!! Too bad I can't hear the other pickup because the selector switch it broken , as in, I move it and there is zero "clicking" into another pick up selection. Can't review the bridge pickup because I can't select it. Zero damage to packaging says it is a defective component. Send me another and I will replace it myself. I love this guitars finish and action right out of the box. Come on QC department!!! Would have given a 5 star, other wise.
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Nice looking guitar
Mutc 01.05.2021
I use this guitar mainly in my flat as a hobby and it does the job.
I guess the pros are the price for a Les Paul sounding guitar, it looks better than the photos and it has coil tapping between humbucker and single coil. Another pro is that most of the staff try their best to help you solve the issues you have.
I would say the cons are the finishing and quality control. The strings are not aligned properly (bass strings too near the edge of the neck, tuners are not exact, the frets need levelling and polished, neck binding crack and paint mark on the body binding.
I would say if you are looking for an affordable guitar with a Les Paul sound then this is the one to go for. Though don't look too closely at the finishing and quality control or you'll be disappointed.
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HB SC 450
Anonymous 16.06.2016
Let's be honnest, this guitar isn't in the same league with the les paul by big G.
But at the other hand is a pretty nice guitar for it's value, nothing more nothing less.

Soundwise is OK but i certainly prefer the combo 498t/490r, i was expecting a mellower wilkinson neck pick up but finally cant compete the alnico ii 490.

I'm in deep think whether to upgrade it or keep it stock. My reference point is a LPJ 2013 which i find to be a much better instrument, again i must notice that this is not a fair comparison but this goes to the people that insists to say that it is on par.

overall a nice beginer instrument. But if you plan to keep it for the long run you must upgrade all the electronics (pots caps pickups etc)

Pros+
-Nice finish on color and woodwork
-decent pickups
-good setup out of the box
-Coil tap

Cons-
-Poor fretwork
-Volume controls don't do nothing from 3-10 then from 3-0 volume drops vertically.
-Tuning machines on headstock have a gap, not a big deal over the stabilty of tuning but a point that shows poor workmanship.
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mr gadgey
Gareth3643 03.09.2015
bought this les paul copy because i allways liked the lemon drop finish,i wasnot disapointed! stunning looking guitar!dont know how they do it for this price.played straite out of the box ,tuning is stable frets well finished,pickups sound a bit harsh full on ,but roll back the tone you get a great les paul sound! and as allways great service from thomann.
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Harley Benton SC-450Plus LD Vintage Series