Harley Benton Single Cut Comparison (7 Cheap Guitars) 

Check out 8 great cheap alternatives: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MsEp-yPTRWo.htmlsi=1QUvaxen1-eyae2v

Always the HB with stainless steel frets. All the other parts are less expensive when replaced

It's interesting how much I agree with Elmo's appraisal. I have owned and tested several of the Harley Benton SC guitars, and own three of them: the SC 450 Plus (2017), the 450 P90 (2022), an SC550 (older version, 2020). Hands down the best of them is the SC 450 Plus, it is a real beast. It has a Wilkinson ceramic bridge pickup which is just amazing. However, despite the great reviews, the SC550 did not turn out to be as good for my taste. Good but just not special, also the pickups did not 'bite' as much as the Wilkinsons. I sent back an SC400. My SC 450 P90 came with uneven frets, which I had to file. The pickups are very vintagey and do not take distortion well, but for clean playing or blues they are fine. The feel of the SC450 Plus is really amazing from the get go, once you polish the frets -which came dirty- and lubricate the nut. I play it as much as my Gibson Les Pauls! It is lighter, it has character, a vintage vibe, stays in tune really well, and just, incredibly, feels and sounds like a very good Les Paul. And what a price. (And I cannot say the same thing of my other SCs, even the 550, which are just good budget guitars).

Very cool and affordables Les Paul copies, good endings and good audio, without busting the bank. Thanks for showing us!

Wow interesting comparison I have the SC450 BK, gave it a setup and it's lovely. No fret sprouts, no pickup squeal, stays in the like a champ, even though the neck is glossy it plays beautifully. I don't know if all of them are like this or if I got lucky but I love it

Haven't seen a review and demo from you in quite a while. It's certainly nice to see you again Mr. K!

I have a dozen HB guitars all purchaaed in the past 18 months, (when QC and consistency claim to have been fixed) and they are all fantastic! Not an issue with any. I have a SC450 plus in Amber and its brilliant.

I have the SC-450Plus I replaced the tuners, nut (to graphite) and pickups for Tonerider Alnico II Classics and it is completely mindblowing how great this guitar sounds. The guitar is heavy though, it seems to be true mahogany so if you have any spine problems, I do not recommend, unless you play sitting only.

Glad you picked that guitar. I was just listening on my phone so I can’t really tell, but that one did jump out a bit. The neck pickup sounded really good. Nice and throaty with good transients.

I have the 450 plus and I love it! I actually like the Roswell pickups. In my rig they sound articulate and punch hard. Only thing I've done is replace the tuners with locking tuners and tone and volume knobs. I've had other HB guitars but my 450 plus is the only one I've kept. Lovely guitar. Awesome video Elmo!

Thank you for this video Elmo. I have been looking for a cool Les Paul style guitar from Harley-Benton

Great comparison, now we want the same with "Fusion" models ;)

Huomenta! Good review & demo. Got the first generation 550-tobacco burst as well. A keeper....just like my other HB ST-62 CC Deluxe(silverstrat).

Thanks again for a brilliant review, It's a tough choice but you're conclusion I think you're spot on. I love that little riff that you do when you're starting a review - clean with a low tone - the riff kind of sounds like percolating coffee. Anyway massive appreciation.

Thanks Elmo, great video… yours feels and sound opinions are so important for us… Please the same with tele style hb…

Sorry Elmo...but this is NOT my experience AT ALL! 🤔 I've had over a DOZEN Harley Bentons by now, including 5 different SC's. Just to give some perspective... I've been playing over 50 years, and have bought, sold, teched, and played...EVERYTHING. Literally...EVERYTHING. Out of the maybe 15 or 16 Harley Bentons I've had...maybe THREE were pretty duff. But nothing that a couple of hours on my workbench wouldn't fix. Funnily enough... I've had THREE of the Goldtops with P90s, and they are one of my favourites, and one of the best bargains in the HB line-up. I WOULD say...that you should be prepared to do a basic set-up on most HB guitars...as you would any guitar. I've only EVER had bad fret sprout on ONE HB guitar...and that was the "ricky"-looking 12 string. So... To anyone watching this, I would undoubtedly say...ignore these conclusions. They are certainly NOT representative of 99.9% of Harley Benton guitars. And that's...50 years guitar experience talking ☺️

Thanks for a real showing of HB vs the rose colored stuff others have put out around here.

Nice to Hear You Play Bro!

Hi Elmo, it's the 2nd time I see this video. Great blues and rock licks, and you play clean in way that's almost unplugged, which allows to hear woods, and sticky frets. I have a L400 Lefty, a correct les paul shape with basswood body and set neck. Out of this bunch my favourite is the...SC200!

I have the 450plus in (I think) Vintage Burst. It's B stock but you wouldn't know it. I think I paid £135 for it just over 2 years ago and I gigged it straight out of the box no setup required. For an old blueser like me, it's a great fit. I have upgraded the bridge pickup to a Wilkinson Vintage and taken the cover off the bridge pickup. Great video as always 👍

I loved your approach in this one. Let the buyer beware. And I just happened to have been considering one of these. Great video.

Have a 450 (plus) since about 8 years. The frets were very rough when delivered but a quick polish fixed this. Then changed the pickups to a rather cheap but great Iron Gear set. It sounds ace, is very solid (and quite heavy) with lots of bite and sustain. Never had an issue since then.

Thanks for the review Elmo 🙏✌️❤️🎼🎶🎵

Great comparison Elmo. My son's got the old sc450+ lemon drop and, with a couple of minor tweaks, plays great. Now i have the 550 2 and the 450+ gold top. Both are great axes. No problem with the roswells on mine (it seems that there's the same tolerances that you'll find on guitars....some pups sound good and other are crap...just my thoughs) The only thing i dislike a bit is the neck thickness on the gold top...is just a baseball stick 😅

Thank you for the honest review! 🤘

Hey brother great video. I've ad the 550 to the custom. I love them all but the next will be with the fat emg's. Rock on sir

ive seen the SC 450plus and thought it looked incredible, especially in the Lemon Drop finish, but ive personally been on the fence, but recently ive been craving a LP style guitar and HB has the most choice out of every budget brand out there. i am definitely getting the Lemon Drop 450Plus as i dont wanna spend alot of money and i want to be able to upgrade later on and only really use my guitars for home recordings.

I love these, i have 3 sc customs and 2 sc450's

Hi Elmo, nice review. I have an old L400 lefty, basswood body, lp correct shape, that I love. At the end of the video, when you share, your conclusion about the SC450 plus, you talk about another model that is out of production, what model was that?

Yeah I got the first gen SC550 deluxe and it is one of my favorite guitars. Its a shame they discontinued it.

I have an SC-550 II Gotoh PAF, which is really good, especially for that ridiculously low price :)

Elmo, you could make a broom jammed into a barrel and strung with fence wire sound great ( what would that sound like through a Strymon Riverside I wonder?). A useful review for sure and very informative for the newbie on a budget. I still think the SC550 Mk1 is a killer cheap guitar, even with it's original pickup's and I really should buy one as I don't have a Les Paul style guitar at all in my collection. Anyway's keep up the good work and as always I await your next release with great interest. I am as ever your humble servant. Alex the K

I own a SC Custom II and it's a joy. I agree that on paper isn't something special, and honestly, don't sound impressive with their roswells. But it's an easy fix with a proper set of pickups. Other than that, the looks, the finish, the fretwork, the ERGONOMICS (really nice), is excellent.

That Gold Top rings very nicely when not plugged in. Maybe a pickup switch to that might make it a brilliant instrument. 😊👍💥🎸

I have actually been looking at these for months - I was mostly drawn to the PAF SC550-II purely on aesthetics but I did also have the one you picked on my radar and seeing as it is £100 cheaper I may bite (i'll use your link if i do) - Cheers for the video, I dunno if you can be bothered but would be awesome if you put up text on screen for each guitars actual name and cost if you ever do anything like this again or to make it less confusing for new guitarists who aren't used to Thomanns site

Had the custom active II and it was a great guitar with absolutely no issues anywhere. Sold it because the neck profile caused pain. TE52 with absolutely no issues and still use that daily

I have a 450 plus. I've spent just over £100 replacing the pickups/pots/switches/locking tuners and can honestly say it's one of the best guitars I have. I can't believe how well it plays and sounds. I'm comparing this to a PRS SE custom 24 and Fender Jim Root Tele. Great video, thanks! 🤘

Thank you, Elmo.

Thank you for doing the work for us mate - Great Job! 😎👍 I'm still on the hunt for a Single Cut I can get on with. Tried the Harley Benton SC 25th last year - On paper it was perfect 👌 But the neck was too chunky for me. Roswell's were also less than "meh" - but that's an easy fix. Cheers Elmo! 🍻

I have the same than you, dessert burst, and is awesome compare with the others. I also had the p90 with orange too. It arrived broken and quality seems very low compared with other HB, so I also sent it back

There's something wrong with your SC-450 P90. I have the exact same guitar and it doesn't feed back like that. In fact it's an incredible guitar.

hi from nyc! fantastic player and comparison! what pick are you using here???? thanks

Thomann has a satellite store in the States now, on Reverb. I’ve got a HB335+, and a SC450+, both came Surprisingly Perfect, and Feel great. I was all ready to rework the necks and change electronics I’ve got laying around here, but got away with hipshot & kluson lockers, couple tusq nuts, and strings. Frets were already great. Either QC has improved or I got Lucky twice. They’re an unbelievable Value, and make it embarrassing what I’ve paid for my real G and F brands…

Excellent this HB comparison. I've got an SC550 II - I bought it 2 years ago when I started playing the guitar. Nice finish ; only one issue, the pick-up toggle switch - no contact sometimes - but I find this issue also on much more expensive guitars.

Thanks man Well done 👊

Nice review! Just ordered a B-stock SC DLX Gotoh in shell pink😂 but for 207.- for a guitar with stainless stell frets....🤷‍♂️ Just a small reminder that these guitars would all cost WAY more if Thomann delivered to dealers! Hats off to them for keeping it that way🙏🏼🎸🤘🏼🎸

Hi Elmo. Nice idea there 🤘

I bought the #1 back In december, gorgeous and sounds good. I like it better than the LemonDrop version that I also own, which is almost half a kilo heavier! PS: My unasked recommendation: Always check both strap buttons

I have 3 a sc550 gotoh les paul, a ja 60 jazz master, and a rb-414 rickenbacker bass. The sc550 & ja 60 were great out the box i got them off the usa reverb shop. The rb-414 i had to do some shit to but its cool now and has an awesome growl i ordered it from thomann maybe there's a difference.

I have 550 Deluxe (model 1) really good guitar, model II is also nice but to my ear older model has better pickups.

I underrestimated how good the SC custom 2 was until I bought myself one. Only wanna play it since then 😅

Brilliant a good guide.

thanks for another interesting review. Have you tried the SC-550 plus? which is a pricier version with EMG pickups? in terms of sound or other specifics, does it worth the extra cost?

So which guitar is the one in the video caption pic as it isn’t featured in the video? I ask because it has a stunning top.

The SC450 P90 GT used to be a great guitar and amazing value. I got one in 2017 and it's Still a good guitar - no changes. Then it went off their lists for a couple of years. I was glad to see it return, but if they're all like your test model then maybe they've changed factories ?? That's a shame. I also got the SC450+ Cherry Burst in 2018. I was quite happy with the Roswells for years, but then, last year, I fitted IronGear TeSLA SHarks and it is now up there with my SG and DGT SE.

Harley Benton SC-Custom II FR Vintage Black without a doubt !

That gold top looks pretty sweet

It is 6 years since I bought my Harley Benton CST-24HB and shipped it to Australia. That guitar needed a touch of truss rod and action adjustment. It played well then and I still get trapped playing it 😉 Your review shows that Thomann/Harley Benton have really dropped the ball with quality. 6 years ago I would not have hesitated to buy another HB. Now I would not buy a Harley Benton given how far the quality has dropped.

I've got the Harley Benton SC-550 II DFB (the colour they don't make anymore) - I had the nut changed, locking tuners added and had the pick ups changed for the Slash AFD ones. I think HB make really good guitars but I think you need to spend another £200-£250 to take it to the next level.

what you will suggest me i am a beginner i want a strat at 450 dollar range what can i go for elmo

Great video. Unfortunately I just bought a Gibson LP standard.

PAF refers to the color, got nothing to do with the pickups! I got the SC 550 II Gotoh autumn (November 😜) burst, love it…great fretwork in stainless steel! good neck, the Teslas are ok! Nice video!

On the sc 500 II, the “paf” stands for paradise flame. It’s the finish. I get the confusion 😋

Ciao Elmo, è da tanto che seguo le tue recensioni, sempre apprezzate. Volevo comprare una di queste chitarre perché mi piace il suono caldo e con sustein tipico LP ma, come tutti i mod. L. P. (anche originali) , mi spaventa il problema rottura della paletta al manico. Ne vedo tanti in riparazione anche nel mercato dell'usato. Possibile che dagli anni '50 ad oggi non hanno mai trovato una soluzione a questo problema!?

Nice video can you do a review on there amps to

gracias elmo

The 25th anniversary model SC has split coils, SS frets and locking tuners. Think I got it to Idaho for around $380 w/ shipping. Beats my epi 60's like a stepchild! Standard LP pot set up. If they come out with a new color other than satin finish gold top I might get another. They are not in stock at the moment.

I dont know if youre familiar with the guitar gear youtuber agufish, but he is a consultant for Harley Benton and he has designed some georgous pastel colored Les Paul clones for Harley Benton. You should check them out on his channel. HB does a really good job of doing quilted maple tops on their HB clones, but Id rather have a pastel one.

I’m a lefty so I got the 400 you called it the classic? I change the magnets in the pick ups to Alnico twos much better also got an agile Alnico fives both sound amazing

in HB single cuts i found the best value/quality for the money in the SC-550SL Tribute (SC-550II Gotoh PAF), but i guess it doesn't count since it seems to be out of catalog.

My SC-Custom II should be here in 3 days 👀

21:37 awesome to my ears, in general lines all hb deserves better than expensive gibson-epiphone

Hi Elmo. Correct me if I'm wrong: but has the HB smaller body measurements/dimensions than a standard epiphone les Paul?? It seems that the HB is smaller than an epiphone.

I have the SC-DLX Gotoh in Shell Pink and it's actually ridiculous what you get for the money: The Gotoh parts together already are like 130 € retail. Stainless steel frets, the fit and finish is great (unless you remove any of the plastic covers, but that looks crappy even at many high end guitars) and I have it for about 2 years now. The only issues I have: - The finish on the top already yellowed quite a bit, the pink colour was very close to white in the first place, now it's not really visible anymore. I have it hanging on the wall and it gets direct sunlight, still it's remarkable for being so young. And the finish is very light and mat, so I already have a few dark smudges from the strap, the case or just my clothes that don't come off anymore. - The other thing is that the volume drops extremely when you split the humbuckers. So it's somewhat nice to have the split option, but in practice it's not really usable. I actually think about having the electronics rewired to only one global volume knob instead of two individual ones and just ditch the coil split. One volume, one tone, one pickup selector is basically all I want and need. But the instrument is fantastic, sounds great and plays great and tbh it's better to have an option and barely use it instead of not having it in the first place.

You have Sire L7 at $455 mahogany body and neck,ebony fretboard,bone nut,aluminum tailpiece,alnico 5 humbuckers and locking machine heads. That would be nice to see if it's good or not.

3:41 - 3:43 HOW could you make those notes so separate with so few pick hits?

Please do review of Cort G250 Spectrum

I have a couple of 1.5k PRS's, some nice Epiphones, top of the range Ephis, and HB 450 P90. HB is probably one of the best guitars I own, and it costs 10th of the price of the other guitars I own.

Brilliant, I have my thoughts but you said it all, Only thing I would add is if you and your mates went jogging and you got cheap plimsoles with a hole in, you would always blame shoes, so try to go higher, if you can.

H B dose not sell a p90 left handed so I got a agile

Hmmm what about the sc Dix got oh? I find it unbelievable for the €215 I paid. Fantastic value

Did you have experience with Cort Les Paul style guitars? (CR series for example) If yes, how they compare to HB? Thank you

I think ive heard someone having wiring isssues with some of their guitars but once fixed no problem. Maybe a bad selector switch

God, I tried to listen in the background but it really hurts. What did you record it with? Why the tone is so bad?

Can you make some shred exercises or tab some of those nasty solos brotha ;) Would be fun to practice them. Just a video idea.

I have a SC-450 P90, a SC-450 plus and my favorite guitar a SC-550 II. After this video I have to see my P90, I don't think that mine is microfonic.

34:00 I am confused. In first instance I thought the PAF in the name was about the pickups. Then, fully in line with HB names, I thought it was the name of the finish, that referred to a famous album, but now I wonder, did HB find a clever way to avoid TM issue and indeed has PAF-like PUs in that guitar? The same guitars (550s) without PAF in the name, in other finishes, have the same PUs.

It is strange. I own a lot of HB guitars. Only one of them had bad frets (MR Modern) that actually cut my fingers. And one Explorer style one which seems to have its neck set wrong is practically unplayable. Otherwise all of them are nicely playable and sound OK. And yet: when I want a strat, I take my Jet or my Pacifica, not a HB. When I want a single-cut, I take my ESP LTD, not a HB. When I want a semi acoustic, I take my Epiphone Wildcat, not a HB. In all these styles, the HB guitars have been replaced by some other brand, bought used or new. And that doesn't mean that they have been replaced by more expensive guitars, just by ones that feel better for me for roughly the same money. Only the DC-custom and the HB Victory (flying V) remain close to me. They are both great guitars. Still, I am very grateful towards HB that they let me try so many different styles of guitars, even if quite a few of them are more of decoration pieces by now. But still, I think I spent for this whole room full of guitars less than I would have to spend for a single mid range non-custom Gibson guitar.

Regarding feedback..How close are you to your amp ??

Can you please test the Jet jl 500?

Elmo, the man that can make a rope on a stick sound good 😊

Ground wire problem in mid position maybe

I do have two Harley Bentons. Never played the one with p90 loud😅 That guitar you have with p90 is multifunctional. Bet it can be used as babymonitor. Microphonic as it is.

Wow ! I had to check the Thomann site to accept that the prices wereso low 😲! I have no problem with cheap guitars. However, I always wonder if a 180 E HB would compete with my other guitars (3 or 4x HB price for most of them) 🤔 After the "new guitar hype 🥰🤪🤩" (😅), I am afraid the HB would sleep in a case... forever 😕

How does it compare to an epiphone?

Is this a video about harley benton or how good a guitar player this dude is?

The first guitar is just like Epiphone LesPaul Special 2.

I hope they gave you those guitars Elmo?

Buy the one with Stainless Steel Frets. Easier to change pickups than frets. If you should feel the need.

The SC-550 II PAF stands for paradise amber flame, the color, so not pickups