Harley Benton CST-24HB Charcoal Flame

I bought this as I wanted a 24 fret guitar and being a semi gave it a little something I couldn't get from my other instruments, despite how good the JTV models are. I hadn't intended it for anything other than noodling at home, but having tried it, I suspect it will become a gigging guitar once we're allowed out to play again.

To start with the (very minor) niggles. The finish on the inside of the f-holes could be tidier, and there is a very slight, almost imperceptible, imperfection on the binding near the neck.

That's it for the negatives.

What I like about it will take longer. To start with, it looks fantastic. The maple top is gorgeous, with a lovely, and consistent, finish.

The set up out of the box was outstanding. Low action, perfectly straight neck and level frets. The fret endings were so well finished I've had to order the tools to bring my other guitars up to the same standard. Now I know what good fret ends are. Having received unplayable guitars from a well known UK supplier (naming no names, but they make a nice demo video) that ostensibly check ever instrument before it goes out, I will be always ordering from Thomann from now on just for the set up.

Tuning seems stable. Given that they aren't the most heavy duty of tuners, once the strings were worn it it stayed in tune pretty quickly after some heavy duty bends.

I know "playability" is a very subjective thing, but I found the neck very comfortable, despite my short fat fingers. It's a nice lightweight guitar as well.

Again, it's subjective, but what really impressed me is the sound. Really versatile. Nice chiming clean tones with a very "open" quality to them, especially with the coil tap. Once you dirty it up it can go from warm crunch to something a bit filthy and still sound good.

Despite having a range of sound options available from my variaxes, this has something different about it that will ensure it gets good use. For overall quality and the sheer pleasure of playing it, this deserves the 5 stars.

My first Harley Benton, but I've already ordered another.

To get some context, I own a Gibson LP and a Ibanez RG, and I have played for ten years. I have experience with live shows, and gigs, I am not a pro, but I can say I am not only a bedroom musician. So, I moved to a different city, and I wanted a practice guitar since I could not bring mines. I choosed this mostly for the look (and the price), but since I got it I am quite amazed. It's really well constructed, and plays really nice and loud (because of the body type probably, since it my first of this type). Its feels more like the Gibson LP than the Ibanez, but it has 24 frets.
The greatest surprise was when I plugged into a sound card, and record some tones, I was really blown away. So I overdub some some tracks that I previously recorded with the Gibson and the Ibanez, and it really can compete with them. I had quite a variety of tones (it has coil split Wilkinson picks). By far, those do not sound like a "starter" pickups.
I have not played live with it, but after what I have used it, I think it can probably withstand a gig without further problems. It's quite stable for the tuning.

Pros
- Quality : Well constructed , nice finished.
- Price : For the price, amazing quality and features.
- Sound: Very versatile and quite variety of tones.
- The look: One of the most beautiful guitars I have owned.


Cons: (actually not so cons, but I would say details to consider)

- I had to slightly adjust the trust rod (neck) after the first three weeks, but nothing to serious just a buzz on the first string. Since, then I have not had any problems with it, nor intonation. (I think is not a Con, since my Ibanez need the neck adjustments every couple of months).
- It's heavy. I thought since it a hollow-body, it would be ligther than the Gibson LP, but it feels just like that. (Also not a con, just a tip to be prepared).
- The neck is fat/bigger. It's definitely in the zone of a fat LP neck, and even a little bigger. I would say almost like a slim electro-acustic. Anyways, it is really comfortable, but don't expect a Ibanez type ultra-slim neck.

Guitar looks awesome from 10 feet (3 meters) away. Have checked some reviews and thought - manufacturing issues, it would be improved and the biggest issues are fixed, well…
Given the sound I decided to keep it and have a project guitar. I spent more that 5 hours by now.

So about the guitar:
• It has sound that I enjoy, like the coil split from hum to single, solid action on volume, very light on tone
• high action (~2.5mm on bass E) which wasn't easy to adjust - when lowered to ~1.6mm, I got a huge string buzz and frets had to be leveled to fix it (probably the reason why the action was high in the first place, and thrust rod was all messed up with paint)
• frets and fret-board was all "gunked" up and pretty rough, probably a polish-o-paint from the fret-board sides, neck-paint is cracked between fret-board and the neck, and lastly fret was roughed-up next to nut
• huge and sharp tool marks on the nice big head screws of bridge
• something buzzing - intonation slider for B & G string had to be hard tightened
• very ugly F holes - lining poorly done and with dirty marks, mess coming out of there on the blow, partially painted black with shiny wood showing
• I am suspecting product was the B-stock

I have 14 guitars and this is easily the lowest quality of them all. Some issues I expected and are minor: needing a good cleaning from manufacturing residue, sharp fret ends, dry fingerboard, marginal electronics, etc. I can easily address those. Other issues left me disappointed and confused regarding the Harley Benton reputation: 1) sloppy, stiff, ultra-cheap tuners, 2) scuffed, poorly finished binding on the neck, 3) several areas of the finish on the body and neck that were not polished out, 4) cheap, mottled looking plating on the one-piece bridge, and 5) splotchy, uneven finish binding on the inside of the f-holes.

I'm really sorry to say that it has the look and feel of a guitar cheaply made; and made in a hurry without a great deal of care. I ordered and received two guitars from Thomann: this one and also an SC-450Plus (which was $40 LESS, by the way). The SC-450Plus mops the floor with the CST-24HB in every way.

I'm completely happy and content with my SC-450Plus. I'm completely underwhelmed by, unhappy with and confused by the CST-24HB and in all honesty will probably wind up selling it at a loss.

I have no idea how Harley Benton do it, but they've done it again. This is my 3rd HB in 1.5 years and I am consistantly amazed each time.
The quality of this guitar is amazing to say the least. When it showed up, I was prepping to do a lot of tweaks/adjustments etc but I didn't have to do a single thing with it. I could play it straight out of the box.
The action and intonation was perfectly set up. The guitar was even still in tune after being shipped from Germany to Ireland!! :) Amazing!!
As for the pickups, they are insanely good for a guitar of this price. Lovely bright tone off the top but also highly versatile. If you wish to muddy up your tone a bit, it takes a slight bit of tone knob adjusting and hey presto! Also, sustains for days.
This is without a doubt the most comfortable of all my guitars and is a lot better than most of my higher end models. I bought this guitar when it was priced at ¤222 and that was an insane price. It is now ¤199!! What are you waiting for?? Get one, you wont regret it! Thanks again Thomann! :)
-J

I would love to say that this guitar is something I was looking for. The small size and medium weight with a semi-hollow body. With the price rate, I should be very happy about the tone and its feature but there's some pain that broke my impression.

Here it is:
1. The finishing is very poor, there is some damage at the fretboard
2. Some point around the neck has a thick layer of color that affect my hand when playing. While other guitars (same brand) have no 1. and 2. which are the finished quality problem.
3. One of the washers in head tuner broke after 1st time I changed the string (within 1 month after I received). At least, Thormann sent me a spared part for this problem.
4. The latest problem, I can't turn the volume to silent. Now my guitar is always on after open the amplifier. I'm waiting for the response.

Some buzzing fret could be understandable.
I could understand the price range limitation if the other guitar from the same brand and price range has no problem at all (this one made in Vietnam and the other made in Indonesia)

I love some tone of it for the price and this guitar also has a long sustain sound, good for some sweet songs.

Just 3 months of barely use in at my home and some jam at practice studio.

Bought this guitar after reading and watching some reviews about Harley Benton guitars. As a fan of PRS guitars, the CST24-HB really caught my eye, so after some debate, I pulled the trigger and purchased one in the charcoal flame finish. First, aesthetically, this guitar is absolutely beautiful. Stunning flame top, silver hardware, nice inlays, etc. After unpacking it, the only real setup I did to it was a quick fret polish and fretboard condition, and a restring. After playing it for a day or two now, I can say that I am equally impressed with how it feels and sounds. For the money spent on this guitar, I was blown away. I primarily use my guitars for recording, and running this through an amplifier as well as into an interface and then through modeling software like Guitar Rig and Positive Grid, I was pleasantly surprised at the versatility with the Roswell pickups, coil tap options, etc.

I would highly recommend this guitar to anyone, from a beginner starting out to an experienced player. The CST24-HB is a gorgeous looking guitar that sounds and plays very nice. I am actually already thinking about ordering another Harley Benton!

On a side note, I'd also like to thank the folks at Thomann who were so nice to deal with. I had a bit of a shipping delay with my order, but the support team at Thomann were quick to answer any questions that I had, and I really appreciated that. Well done! Thank you!