Harley Benton Custom Line CLD-41S WN

I received the guitar yesterday and immediately tuned it and began to play it. This guitar has a great neck profile. I have an older v-neck D35 which is great for finger picking but is a little "fat" by today's standards. I just sold a Taylor because the neck was uncomfortable. I played this new Harley Benton for an hour and it is a great feeling neck. There were a few dust particles in the finish at first, but with an hour of playing, they disappeared. The neck is silky and fast.

Overall impression of the guitar is that the construction is flawless. It's a beautiful guitar. On the downside: The MOP inlays in the neck are fairly dark and not as pearlescent as I would have expected; and, I'm old school and guess I like shiny finishes over matte finishes. The guitar would benefit from a gloss finish. That's just me, YMMV.

Soundwise, I'm very happy with the guitar. It isn't a Martin, but it's got to be considered at the top of its class for Spruce top guitars that cost 2 or 3 times Thomann's price. Seriously, this is a very nice sounding guitar from the outset and it continues to open as time passes. Sustain on the guitar is very very good.

The action could be improved by lighter strings. The guitar came with a .012" high E string. I'm happier with 10's, so I'll change the strings in a few days after the guitar acclimatizes a bit more. Initially, the guitar appeared to have a rather high setup with too much bow in the truss rod. After 24 hours, the neck bow is .009", low E is 3/32" and high E is 5/64". Quite acceptable for factory setup. And I really appreciate the quality control card included with the guitar. They show that F8 andBI-BL inspected the guitar and tested setup. Thanks!

Overall, I doubt you can find another new guitar on the market that competes with HB/Thomann at this juncture. This D41 is astounding for this price.

EDIT: I decided to lower the action by sanding the bottom of the saddle. The frets are relatively small and I felt I was working to hard to get clear tones when barring. This definitely improved the action. I've had a chance to really play this guitar for extended sessions and the walnut is impressive for its ability to achieve bell-like tones on the upper frets. I've used the guitar in numerous recording sessions and note clarity has been superb. It's a nice complement to other guitars with rosewood or mohagany backs. Now, the downside: The bridge is a softer wood than it should be AND the string pin holes have been recessed too deep. When I changed out strings, the pins are now about .125" deeper than they were from factory setup. Not good. I don't think I'll need to do a changeout in the near future, but I'll probably install a brass backing plate inside the top, like Mitchell's PlateMate, to prevent problems.

Other than the bridge, this guitar is a gem.

Really impressed by this guitar. My old Martin D41 from 1974 is going to pension because I don’t dare to bring it out anymore, so it just have to stay home. Bought this to, just have a cheap guitar to bring to partys, crowded gigs aso. And I just have to say, even though it feels kind of cheap when you take it up, the sound and playabillity is top notch! I really dont know how they can build such a great guitar to that price!

And now to a whole different story. I bought a B-stock Harley Benton Custom Line CLD-28SCE!! In my ears, it just sounds even better than the CLD-41s!! More even! Just like a Martin D28. The CLD-28SCE is a very good guitar and I’m really happy I dared to try one more. I’ve been playing guitar for over 36 years now and I have to say, Im really impressed. If I could rate that guitar instead, I would give it really top grade over all. I think the built in pickup makes it sound really cheap though. If they can put something better in in the future, it will make this guitar a real bestseller. But it sounds really good in itself!

I already own a Harley Benton HB Custom Line King-CE NT and have always been very happy and impressed with it, but I wanted an acoustic guitar with a spruce top that was a little brighter sounding. After some research I settled on the Custom Line CLD-41S WN. I have now owned the guitar for over 3 months and have grown to like it more and more and play it for at least a 2-3 hours every day.

It arrived about 3 days after placing my order in the usual double transit box. My first impression was that, although understated in looks, it was was very impressive and an attractive guitar. Its' Satin finish was flawless and, the white binding to the body, neck and head-stock, really gave it a quality look. It also has a lovely fresh Spruce wood smell coming from the sound-hole.

On the Quality Control tag it was shown the high E was 0.5mm on the first fret and 2.00mm on the 14th fret, and the low E was 0.6 on the first fret and 2.5mm on the 14th fret. I checked the measurements and they were exactly as stated, so full marks for the quality control! However, the strings were a bit too high for me but the saddle had plenty of material to take off to reduce the height of the strings. After sanding down the saddle to give me a lower action, it is 1.5mm on the 12th fret on the high E, and 2.00mm on the low E on the 12th fret. I didn't need to adjust the nut as it seems perfectly cut and its' height was spot-on.

The truss rod had been perfectly adjusted and the guitar does not have any buzzing on any of the frets. The fret ends were fine as well, with no sharp edges. The intonation was perfect when I first received the guitar and still is, even after the saddle adjustment.

The tuners are of good quality and holds the tuning for ages. The Abalone fret markers were nice and flat on the fretboard so they are not noticed when playing. It has a nice comfortable neck which I would call a shallow 'C' profile. I find the sound projects well and is well balanced, with neither the bass or the treble being dominant.

After changing the strings to 10's, (as I like to occasionally bend the strings as I'm primarily an electric guitar player), to me it sounds and plays perfectly.

I know the Custom Line CLD-41S WN is supposed to be a Martin D-41 replica. It certainly isn't a Martin, and I wouldn't expect it to be for the price, but you should really take it on it's own merits as it is a fantastic acoustic guitar in its' own right. It is excellent value for the comparitively low cost. This is my 7th Harley Benton guitar and it will not be my last.

What a great surprise!
Every review of it said it would be the best guitar i could get in this price range and they were right! Even as a begginer who tried some other models around the same price i could notice how better this guitar felt as soon as i picked it up!
Even tho the daddarios sounded pretty good i got some elixirs phosphor bronze and it became even better.
The neck is extremely confortable and the overall looks are amazing and extremely well finished with only minor details that are expected for this price range.
Even this week i took it for a good setup from a luthier and he was crazy about how good it felt and sounded specially for the price!