Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE NS

This is very much a first impression as the guitar only arrived today, but I am blown away. It is great.

I've been playing since 1972. My last full-size acoustic was a Taylor, and I've been doing instrument repairs and setups for years - so I have a little knowledge of guitars.

Recently I bought another HB guitar: a cheap short scale thing called a Custom Line CLGS-10S Travel. I got it as a travel/beater/campfire guitar and I was surprised how good it was for a cheap guitar. So, when I found I needed a decent, but inexpensive, electro-acoustic for my band I thought I'd try a slightly higher-level HB.

The reviews of the Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE were excellent, and the few YouTube videos also looked great. The guitar is pretty low-priced, so I went for it. Thomann are always great about returns, so I had little to lose.

Forget that. No way am I returning this thing.

I think the body is a little shallower than the Martin model that obviously inspired this guitar and the unplugged volume is a little lower - but not much. This is an average volume acoustic guitar. That is the only average thing about it.

The fit and finish are, as far as I can see, absolutely excellent. The neck relief and action have been set up perfectly and there is even a battery installed in the preamp/tuner. The tuners are of very good quality: smooth and stable. Intonation seems spot on right up the neck.

The fret job is neat and well finished, without sharp ends. This is the first acoustic guitar I've had that I have not felt the urge to improve the string height at the nut. Whoever set this guitar up obviously checked and adjusted the nut slots to perfection. Thank you, Thomann setup person, whoever you are - I hope they're paying you enough because you've done a great job. I've had guitars with setups as good as this but I don't recall any better. I'm delighted.

The frets are smooth, not raspy like on many inexpensive guitars. I will polish them a little more, but only because I like a real, glassy mirror finish on my frets and these are just a tiny bit below that level of polish.
The fretboard is not actually dry, but it looks as if it will benefit from a light oiling, which I will do tomorrow.

Plugged in, the Fishman pickup and tuner work great. The sound is standard undersaddle piezo. I'm a bit odd because I prefer magnetic soundhole pickups rather than piezos, but this one sounds a lot better than many of its species. Perfectly acceptable and I'll be happy enough to gig it.

Visually, this is a beautiful guitar. The solid mahogany is made from a nice piece of wood. Actually, it looks like it may be a two piece top, but that's no problem. I've seen very high end guitars deliberately made with two piece tops for the book-matching effect they allow.

The acoustic tone is very nice. The strings are still a bit fresh and metallic yet for me to fully hear what it will sound like when they settle down, but it sounds fine already and the tone will get even better when that new-string bright twang wears off.

So, absolutely full marks, Thomann. This is extraordinary value for money. I couldn't be happier.


EDIT: I've now had the guitar for a few days. The strings have settled and I've had a chance to use the HB at a pub gig.

A bandmate who plays a Martin 000-15 is staggered by the quality and volume of the Harley Benton. I didn't think it was that loud, but comparing side-by-side it is as loud as his Martin.

I already gave this guitar top marks. If I could give it more stars I would.

I'm going to buy the dreadnought version as soon as it's back in stock next month. If you're not a logo snob then these guitars are just too good to miss.

I have several acoustics, mostly Canadian like Seagull, Simon & Patrick, La Patrie, Faith, Wasburn but have had many more including Martins, Taylors etc. I think right out of the box and tuned up this is a beaut.
I nearly bought the guitar it is a copy of a few years ago while working in a music shop but can't remember why I didn't so when I saw the HB one I decided to give it a try with the intention of stringing it for Nashville tuning, but after my initial test I may leave the tuning as is and even get another one of these for nashville tuning as it is a lovely player and I can see myself gigging it a lot.

I had no doubt the quality would be good as I bought a Harley Benton PRS 24 electric copy in green a while back and though it need fret dressing and setup it plays as good if not better than some of my more expensive guitars (lovely neck which allows lower action when setting it up than some).

This is a great acoustic guitar for fingerstyle (thumb pick or thumb) cause it's more middy than a dreadnought, projects more mids with less low end and not as jingly / toppy as some due to the woods used if you get me, it's nice and mellow. Strummed it is the same, more focused. I imagine while recording with a nice condenser like a Rode NT5 or 55 or a stereo pair it would record really well on account of it's nice focused projection. It would be a great wee guitar if you play in a band and you need a guitar to sit nice in the mix without competing with some of the bass guitar's area of the frequency spectrum but you could stand up solo and gig with it no bother, it won't be as full sounding as a jumbo or dreadnought for strumming (it is a different sound) but will be better for finger picking. If you play with a person who plays a jumbo or dreadnought in an acoustic band one of these for your end of things would be a good option, good for acoustic lead.

I used the built in tuner and checked it against the one I use in studio and live a lot and it is spot on. Didn't record with the fishman pickup or run through a PA yet but I'd say it will be grand, I will know soon and will add that end of my findings.

The way I look at HB instruments is they are good value. If there is a very obvious problem send it back and try another. You WILL get a good one. I had a Gibson here that was the worst instrument I ever had (from another online supplier) so all companies get it wrong sometimes or let one slip through the net.

This acoustic is fine as it is but I will probably lemoil the fingerboard and smooth the fret edges a wee bit when I do first string change but I do these things - setups etc on a very regular basis and have the tools to do so, but believe me it's fine as it is, I could take it to a gig right now (I only took it out of the box 3 hours ago) . I only intend doing a wee bit of work on it as I have the means at my disposal and would tweak a big brand a bit to for my liking the same way. The reason I say this is if you did happen to get one with the odd sharp fret etc, but otherwise the guitar is great it is worth taking it to a local repair guy or some person guy who plays in a band etc you know who can do it for you.... you will end up with an even nicer playing experience.........but........I would be very happy to take this one out and gig it right now if a gig came in.... it's ready to play like........ Try one!

This is one of those I don't normally leave reviews review. By that I mean this guitar is so much bang for your buck that I just had to leave a review to let people know the guitar can compete with many others at a much higher price. For ages I have been looking for a GA size electro and tried pretty well everything in the price range up to a £1000. Other than the Faith Venus (the neck profile and body shape didn't suit me) I could not find a guitar the anywhere near seemed to justify the asking price. I took a chance on this HB based on the reviews thinking I had little to lose and at least could use it as a knockabout guitar. How wrong I was, the build quality is frankly amazing and just as good as many of the much more expensive guitars I tried, and the sound quality is as good as anything I tried up to £1000. Full and well balanced, very articulate and complex sounding, frankly I cannot believe how good this guitar is regardless of price. You won't be disappointed.

Pros:
* Build very nicely, looks gorgeous on the front;
* Nice components: solid wood top deck, tuners, Fishman pickup, bone nut;
* Super comfortable to play. Came in perfectly set up: low action, no fret buzz, no fret sprout. I just tuned the guitar up and instantly began enjoying myself playing it. Could use a bit of fret polish though, but it's just me being nit-picky;

Cons:
* Strings behind the nut ring out very nastily, but this problem is easily countered by a soft welcro wrapped around the strings ring behind the nut without any negative impact on the sound;
* The looks are a bit negatively affected by a couple of very obviously visible places where the pieces of wood are glued together (on the back of the neck). The joint is done perfectly and smoothly, but is just visible. Not a problem at all and can be expected at this price range, as using single large pieces of wood would be much too expensive;
* Protective film on the pickguard was a bit hard to remove;
* Only one strap button.

Overall, the guitar is amazing and in many respects punches well above it's price point. The components, build quality and setup are great. The pickup works fine with my Audient iD4 interface, sounds clean, the in-built tuner is easy to use and seems to be accurate. The guitar seems to be as good as a Crafter GA-7 I previously owned, that Crafter though had no pickup and was almost twice the price of this Harley Benton. Highly recommend this guitar!

Looking around for a mahogany auditorium style guitar and was impressed by the reviews. I already own a very nice Crafter and a good old Fender Dreadnought, and I wanted a different sound.
Have messed about on some friends’ new Gibson and Taylor as well as a Martin travel, but I didn’t want to spend a fortune.
Absolutely delighted with the guitar. Lovely action although I may lower it a touch. Playable straight from the box. The sound is more mellow than my Sitka topped Crafter, and it lends itself to blues.
Comparing it to the top end guitars is somewhat unfair as they are solid wood and a much more delicates instrument, but they are over a thousand pounds more expensive. However, I can honestly say there is not a 10x difference in how they handle or sound.
My only gripe is the strap button. Such a lovely guitar, and it comes with a cheap plastic button which looks like a repurposed bridge pin. Absolutely useless. Small flimsy and won’t hold the strap. Can’t even fit a strap lock washer either. Looks like it is glued in. Will be changing this

Out of the box, the first impression was how attractive this guitar was. Mine had a lovely "tiger stripe" to the grain on the solid mahogany top. The tuners are solid and similar in appearance to the ones on my Martin. The nut and bridge are well made, the electrics sound great when plugged in with a really handy built in tuner. As I tune my guitar a semi tone down I didn't expect to be able to tune it with this, but it does handle #'s.
The sound is more mellow than my Martin (solid spruce top) which I really like. If I was picky I would say the base is much weaker but it is not fair to make this comparison given the price point and it still sounds really well balanced and pleasant to listen to.
As I have smaller hands, the really great thing I liked was the profiled neck. It is quite a slim profile and I have no trouble getting my thumb over onto the sixth string. Also I really like this size guitar (Goldilocks...not to big, not too small) which sits comfortably on my lap and easy to get my hands into position.
The frets and pretty smooth, and the intonation is great. It seems to play really well with a capo and stays in tune as I move it about (some of my other guitars need to be re-tuned each time I move the capo!)
In summary and taking into account the price point, in my opinion there are no negatives. On a blind test I would say it would retail for 2-3 times more than the asking price. Tone, play-ability, looks, components and craftsmanship are all fantastic for the price. If you are not sure but feel it is the type of instrument you are interested in...take a punt and I doubt you will be disappointed.

I played with this one now for about 2 years!
I really didn't expect this much from a small guitar like this one!
This is a perfect guitar with a slim neck & body,
good setup Straight out of the Box
Regardless the size it has It can deliver good Sound overall and it gives A very comfortable sound from the lows and the midst when finger picking.
I did enjoy it very much to play with this amazing guitar as a beginner it did not just end up On the wall. had a lot of fun with It.
I recommend this Harley Benton guitar To get creative And explore New soundsNew sounds.