Harley Benton Custom Line King-CE VS

Just to let you know I am not a precious guitar purist and I won't pretend what I don't know. I have been playing for my own entertainment for over 40 years to no great level. A bit of flat picking on old Neil Young songs is about my limit. So really I will be using this guitar to play at home and also at church.

It made me smile when I took it out of the box, it was in DADGAD tuning which enabled me to do a rendition of Music is Love by David Crosby (which is actually in DADDAD). It was at this moment that I realised how sweet this guitar sounds and how booming on the bass notes. Now I'm having trouble with deafness with the peaks of high end frequencies lopped off so I have to say, to my ears, which I know aren't yours, it sounded really very good indeed.

The guitar looks like a class item, plays extremely well, and is inexpensive. I won't use the word cheap because there is nothing cheap about this guitar. It is as great to look at as it is to play. To my ears the sustain (if that's the word used to describe the rise, decay and length of the note) is not as good the further up the fretboard I go, but I have no great experience with other guitars other than an old Japanese made Fender F15 or Fender CD60 that I bought without realising it was a laminate top. Maybe the sustain is better on more expensive branded guitars or not I don't know.

The quality of the finish, Grover machine heads, D'Addario strings, Fishman electrics mean that to my ears it is at least as good as the Epiphone EJ200, which I have played, maybe better and at less than half the price. Plus I think the cutaway looks better. I can't really review the electrics as, although I have a practice amp, I'm not qualified to say. Although if Jackson Browne speaks in reverential tones of Fishman pick ups, as I have heard on YouTube the electrics must be ok.

In summary this is the best guitar I have ever owned. I am really pleased that at 62 years old I finally have a professional standard instrument and at 198 euros in price it has to be five stars all round. I cannot find an instrument of this price and quality in England so I am glad I found the Thomann website. The communication of the international sales section was first class on to delivery. I will be buying another guitar as soon as I am able and it is likely to be the HB CLD41S. I have no complaints at all and am unable to take any issue with Thomann. From a cost benefits analysis perspective it is an excellent guitar and an absolute keeper.

I have made several purchases with Thomann in recent years and have never been less than delighted with the quality and service.
On this occasion, I was looking for a jumbo acoustic electric guitar to use in a rockabilly trio, so the sound and appearance were the most important factors.
I had already tried the Gretsch 5022 jumbo Rancher, which I found to be a little lacking in mid-range tone, and the Epiphone EJ200 CE which was a little too heavy in the mid-range.
Looking through the offerings from Thomann, I came across the Harley Benton Custom Line King CE, that looked amazing and was around half the price of both the Gretsch and Epiphone.
It clearly takes styling cues from the Epiphone, with the flower pickguard and moustache bridge, but maintains it's own identity with a modified body shape and much shallower and under-stated cutaway which I prefer.

Taking the plunge, I ordered the guitar in vintage sunburst finish, not expecting it to live up to the on-line pictures! When it arrived - WOW!!! It looks fantastic and the sound was perfect acoustically - nice articulation between strings, action nicely set and a nice medium profile neck that makes it very easy to play. The fretwork is good with no sharp edges.
I particularly like the high ratio Grover tuners which maintain tuning stability.
As the guitar is fitted with the Fishman Isys+ pre-amp and under saddle transducer as used on the Gretsch, I fully expected them to sound similar amplified.
I found it sounded best using the auxiliary input on the PA which means using the guitars on-board eq to shape the sound. It sounds absolutely FANTASTIC, exactly the sound I was looking for!
Tuners can be a bit hit and miss generally, but this guitar is perfectly in tune when using the onboard tuner.
You have to look hard to find any imperfections on this guitar, but at this price they aren't worth mentioning. This is a serious bargain - grab one! You won't be disappointed!