Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series

512 Customer ratings

4.5 / 5

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12 Reviews

Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series
$133
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In stock within 10-13 weeks
In stock within 10-13 weeks

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QC is dire, pickups are better than expected
Anonymous 11.03.2022
I bought this guitar with a plan to upgrade the electronics, hardware and pickups, but I'm not sure I'll bother now.
To start with, I wanted a gold top with P90s, and short of dropping £2-3k on a Gibson this looked like a decent option. My experience with Harley Bentons has been good in the past. I've previously bought b-stock models and been happy with the minor imperfections. This one was so cheap I didn't bother getting the b-stock model, though I wish I had now. The QC on this guitar is so bad. The holes drilled for the tuning machines look like they've been done by someone with a blunt drill bit, in the dark with their eyes closed. Chipped headstock, chipped binding, chip in the fretboard, paint missing by the pickups... The list goes on.
I know this guitar is cheap... Perhaps one of the cheapest I've ever bought, but this is way, way below HB's normal standard. It's like it's been made by a different company at a different shop. Tellingly it has no country of origin or serial number. Only a "QC Passed" sticker on the back of the headstock. They early just put those on there regardless of whether anyone's ever looked at it.
The paintwork shouldn't be described as being a gold top either. It's perhaps a copper top. People might buy it just to be different, but those expecting a gold top will be disappointed.
On the plus side, the P90s actually sound decent.
I complained to Thomann and they gave me £20 back, which was appreciated, though now I wish I'd sent it back for a refund. Especially as the toggle switch has since died (after 2 days of bare minimum play).
I really can't recommend this guitar. Even for the money it's a rip off.
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I
Badly cut nut made it unplayable
IgWannA 16.12.2022
After previously buying an SC-450 Plus and being very impressed with it overall, I thought why not get a P90 gold top since they're so cheap. Unfortunately, on the guitar I received, the nut slot spacing was too wide so that the low E and high E strings were right above where the frets bevel down. This meant that whenever the strings were pressed, they would just slide right down the end of the frets, basically making the guitar unplayable. There is supposed to be a 1/8" (3mm) space between the high E string and the fret bevel to avoid this (according to StewMac).

Additionally, the action was set up so low (about 1mm) that there was bad fret buzz on all strings and on all frets. Not a huge issue if I were to set it correctly, but if a beginner received this guitar they would be hugely disappointed and confused with both the fret buzz and the strings slipping off the ends of the frets.

Add to this that the pickup switch was very wobbly and much worse quality than the switch on my SC-450 Plus, and the splatters of silver paint on the top and underside of the headstock, overall I just really wonder how it passed QC. The nut issue is a huge error in manufacture and the action height / fret buzz should have been picked up by Thomann who claim they check and set them up before shipping them out, but evidently not. Really disappointed. Thomann were very good about returning it, although even this was a headache as the various DHL service points I took it to refused to accept it as it was too large, so Thomann had to arrange collection. Only giving it 2 stars because I would hope these quality issues are the exception.
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T
Pick something else
TravTheDad 05.10.2022
I was in initially is super excited to get this guitar but then instantly disappointed when I open the box. Guitar was damaged two frets were loose ,neck has a twist.. And a bridge pin is smashed down into the body.
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RT
Careful with this one!
Rich T. 23.08.2020
Developed serious Backbow near the nut making it virtually unplayable.
Probably due to scarf joint and wood selection. This type of bow is not fixable by truss-rod adjustment. Not immediately observed but happened over time. Too Bad, Nice looking guitar but useless.
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Not impressed
SteveHatch 28.02.2021
Guitar showed up with major wiring issues; rhythm and treble switch wired backwards, both pickups wired to the same side of the selector switch, volume only worked on one pickup.
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Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series