Harley Benton SC-Custom III Purple Burst

Need to admit, this was an impulse buy, mainly because of the looks of the instrument. Arrived in perfect condition and I could not find any imperfections. Fretwork nicely done, perfect paintjob, Grover tuners work smoothly, pots seem to work and respond very well. And the finish is awesome!

Plugged the instrument in my Helix and sounded pretty good, although the difference with some other guitars is noticeable. Seems the pickups are of lower output compared to my other guitars. Don’t get me wrong, the sound is different, not better or worse and I could probably dial in new tones that sound great with little effort.

Some minor issues:
- neck needed a bit of adjustment yet the truss rod was very stiff to turn. In the end I managed, but I was a bit scared I could not get it to move at all or perhaps even damage the guitar.
- action needed to be lowered
- increased the height of the stopbar (or tailpiece, nit sure what it is called) because the strings were touching the saddles as well as the backside of the bridge (this is a common issue with these kind of systems; my Epiphone Les Paul has the same issue).
- intonation of E and A strings was off and needed adjustment

All but the trussed adjustment is pretty standard stuff that probably needs to be done (to some extent at least) on any guitar regardless of the price.

Now that the guitar is setup to my liking it feels and plays great!
And for 299 ... not a lot can go wrong :-)

Nice bonus are the strap locks which appear fully compatible with the more expensive S-Lock straps from Schaller !! All my guitars have these and this is the first guitar that doesn't require me to change the strap-pins. Nice work Harley Benton !

I have many guitars ranging from tele, strat, numerous ibanez including a jem custom, a Gibson LP and I started getting a few harley benton guitars after an impulse buy of a b stock cst24 - which is absolutely incredible and turned me onto this more affordable guitar brand. I loved the look of this sc custom and decided to get one. What a stunning guitar this is, the colour is incredible along with the dark hardware. I was worried it would feel flimsy compared to my les Paul but this thing feels solid, definitely not as heavy as the les Paul but to me that's a good thing as it used to only come out for a song or 2 at gigs due to the weight of it. After a bit of a setup and lowering the action this thing plays beautifully, and I'm really surprised at how good it sounds with the stock pickups, I've only tried it out through a spark vai but so far this thing is staying in tune and sounding great. Honestly you cannot buy a better guitar for the price. I'm a seasoned guitarist who has spent 20 or so years gigging all over in metal and rock bands and I would definitely use this as my main guitar.

I bought this to have in our summer home, and wanted a rather cheap, but good guitar that serves as a "keeping in touch with playing" instrument.

It is so much more. The neck is slim and easy to play, the fretwork is very good, and the pickups are much better than I expected. Great for rock and metal, and they clean up really nice. The coil split is also really nice.

Not to mention, the finish is something I want hanging from my real home wall. Just beautiful. Might get one more of this model.

Great choice for a novice or for someone transiting into the intermediate area even. No mods needed.

I can't believe I paid only 251 EUR for a guitar as good as this. It came with no issues whatsoever, almost perfectly set up. The almost part stems from intonation being very slightly off on the G string, which is normal and to be expected on a new instrument. And that's it. It took me only two minutes to set it up.

And it is absolutely gorgeous. No problems with the finish.

This is the newer model with black fretboard and Harley Benton tuning machines. However, there is nothing wrong with them. They are very smooth with no dead spots at all. There's no reason to change them whatsoever. It would be a waste of money.

There's no reason to mod this guitar at all. The pickups sound great, all the hardware inside is also quite good, the nut is well cut and made of graphite so the guitar stays in tune.

I honestly feel absolutely no desire to do anything to this guitar other than play it, which is very, very rare for me.

Oh, by the way, it's VERY comfortable for small hands. The neck is very slim and comfortable, and the fretboard radius of around 13.7" it's very well suited for fast playing.

Harley Benton SC Custom III Purple Burst Review
Listen up, Thomann! This is my seventh Harley Benton guitar—and by far the best one I’ve purchased to date. It’s also the seventh among my collection of 26 guitars overall. Honestly, you need to stop making these guitars so good—I can’t resist!
After extensive research to get the best value for my money, and because I wanted a stunning instrument, I confidently chose the Harley Benton SC Custom III in Purple Burst.

Looks
Let’s be honest—we often buy an instrument because of its looks. And this one? Absolutely breathtaking! The Purple Burst finish is flawless right out of the box. The maple top pops beautifully, complemented by black nickel hardware and steel jumbo frets. It’s a visual masterpiece.

Playability
The clarity across all pickup positions is incredible, and the split-coil option adds dynamic versatility without needing to swap guitars. I did switch the volume knob positions (personal preference, not a flaw) since the bridge volume was originally in the middle position. The action was perfect straight out of the box, and intonation was spot-on.

Price
At just £259, this guitar is an absolute steal for what you’re getting. I own guitars that cost four times as much and offer nowhere near this level of quality.

Conclusion
Highly recommended!

Looks: 10/10
Playability: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Shipping: 10/10
Thomann: 10/10

However… Thomann, you’re slowly bankrupting me!
Please keep up the outstanding quality and unbeatable prices.