Harley Benton CLC-650SM-CE VS Solid Wood

I waited nearly 6 months for this guitar and all I can say is it was totally worth the wait. It is easy and very comfortable to play, and the sound is incredible!

Having owned it for a month or so now, there are 1 or two niggles. The side fret markers are black and in subdued lighting, they are almost invisible. I have replaced them with white markers and they have greatly improved the playing experience, as has also giving the neck a light sanding to reduce the friction of the glossed finish. These modifications will have invalidated my warranty I am sure, but they are very well worth it.

Now it is simply sublime and a wonderful instrument to hear and to play.

Don't hesitate (like I did for 18 months and then waited another 6 months for it to be in stock)... Just order it, you won't be disappointed!

Have owned the guitar since April of 2022, so had a few months to play about with it and get out of the "new guitar honeymoon period" sense of feeling.

Firstly, I'll say I'm very happy with it for the money.

Pros
- The guitar looks great at normal audience distance. It looks very classy. (Although, up close, you can see some black fills in between where the binding joins to the arm cut. The fretboard has some residue spots, here and there. At this price, these are not major issues, for me)
- Action is very low. If you're used to playing electric, this will be much easier for you to get used to than most standard acoustic "off the shelf" action height.
- Tuning is rock solid (after setup with my local tech)
- Arm cut is very comfortable. I've played gigs with 2 x 45 minute spots with it and it's a joy to play.

Cons
- Fretwork wasn't great. Fret ends were sharp and weren't very well levelled. I come to expect this with any new guitar, these days, so they all end up getting set up by my local tech. This one needed more than a basic setup. It needed full fret dressing etc.
- The battery connector doesn't come very far out from where the pouch is velcroed. This is really fidly when trying to take the old battery out and put a new one in.

It's not got as much low end as my Taylor 214CE Deluxe, it's a bit more mid focussed. Not a pro or con, just different. Through a Sigma acoustic impulse response, it sounds great through the PA.

I took the pickguard off, as I thought it looked better without. It's stuck on with a low tack, sticky substance, so it peeled off easily. A bit of Goo Gone cleaned up the few leftover residue spots easily. Again, not a pro or gone, just preference.

Again, very happy with it for the money.

The guitar came clearly used. Could clearly see that it was passed around 3-4 times may be more. Someone tried to adjust saddle and sanded it the wrong way so instead of standing straight saddle was leaning towards neck. There was a slight but clearly noticeable damage on the saddle. The pins were loose. Either the pins were too small or the wholes were too big. The pins were trying to pop out, especially on low E string. The neck is a separate story. The quality of the neck in general is low. Looks like it was taken from a 100$ guitar. But the main problem was frets. They were all over the place and half of them were not completely pushed in, I mean they were stinking out. The paint job around the neck was really bad. There was something on the end of the neck right above sound hole. The strings were very dirty and rusty so can't say much about the sound and to be honest I strummed it only a couple of times. Did not want to. So I packed the guitar and sent it back as soon as I could. That was a huge disappointment.

I received this beautiful guitar today and it is absolutely breathtaking!!! It plays well and sounds great, so what makes this guitar not perfect? The frets are very sharp, I actually thought I was going to cut my hand. It definitely needs a Set-up by a professional. The Saddle needs to be a little lower. The pick-guard could have been made a little smaller so it doesn't cover the beautiful Mother of Pearl on that side. But for the money and with a few tweaks, this is going to be a love affair :) I really wanted to give it a 5 Star rating.

Update!!! After getting it professionally set up, this is a 5 Star guitar now. My favorite guitar to play. The frets are great now, the Saddle is perfect and she plays like a dream. As I said, the love affair has begun. A must-have guitar!!!

Well, just to give a context first. I play since my 14 and now I'm 39, so I've play for a while and I can say that I have good ears for timbres. Well, about the purchase of this instrument.

I've never heard of this brand before I got to Europe. I needed a guitar for my staying, otherwise I'd get nuts lol. By doing A LOT, and I mean A LOT of research, I found out about those guitars and, after reading hundreds of reviews, not only on this specific one, I've decided to give it a go on this one! I couldn't be more happy!

It is crazy what you get for the money! I have a Taylor (my favorite one) and a good Fender back home, but if you consider the budget versus quality, this is an awesome deal! They should start selling this outside Europe as well. It's really comfortable, the sound both unplugged and plugged is great and well balanced and it comes well regulated.

The only issue that I found out and read about it before buying refers to the neck. The sensation of doing a bend is not good at all! It is really rough and lacks a better treatment. Other than that if you like the visuals and is looking for a great guitar and does not mind about brand marketing, do yourself a favor and get one. You will not regret it!

I wish I could get some more back to my Brazil lol.