Harley Benton Custom Line CLA-15MCE VS

I bought this acoustic because My previous acoustic left alot to be desired. This acoustic is just absolutely perfect for me.

Pros:
comfort:
This guitar is about 4 inches thick which for me personally is the perfect middle ground for comfort and projection. its not so thick i cant play it (like some concert sizes and dreadnaughts ive played) but its not so thin that it doesnt project and sound like an acoustic.

Finish:
The Vintage sunburst looks absolutely gorgeous and catches the eye while remaining subtle. Id describe the texture as a satin closed pore, it feels silky smooth to run your hands across but not to the extent of leaving prints everywhere. the neck texture is slick but not glossy.

Action:
The action is perfect. the strings almost rest on the frets and require almost no pressure to make a chord at first fret. however is not so low that it causes any kind of buzzing. as i said, perfect.

important to note:
while this guitar is perfect to be that does not mean its without issue. these are minor enough for me to look over but ill mention them here.

cons:

strap mounting:
theres no second strap button at the base of the neck for easier mounting but thats not the only issue. the strap button at the base isnt a standard metal one that is held on by a screw. its essentially a big hole at the base of the guitar with what is essentially an over sized bridge pin jammed in with no glue. this popped out the first time i mounted a strap and if i didnt notice it then could have EASILY resulted in me breaking my guitar. VERY silly design on that part because even £10-£20 ukeleles ive seen have had those metal screwed on strap buttons. a case of them trying to reinvent the wheel and failing here. i hope they change this in future models and maybe install a neck strap button. but i fixed mine with just a bit of glue so not a *huge* issue. just an oversight that can result in a broken guitar if you arent aware of it.

Unorthodox fret markers:
This also isnt a huge issue for me because i rarely use fret markers and im used to slightly unorthodox markers (like on my sc500 les paul where they are just big blocks) but these are just plain weird.
Usually the frets are marked at 3,5,7,9 with a single dot and at 12 with a double dot, then 15 with a single dot. these are marked at 3 with a single dot, 5 with a double, 7 with a single, 9 with a double and 12 with a single. which is confusing compared to my old acoustic. that being said however ive seen some martins with similar inlays and there could well be some reason for this that i dont know about (being fairly new to guitar) so its not something id want changed as urgently as the strap button.

Firstly I am pretty new to playing guitar, this is my first acoustic but I researched very carefully before I purchased.

I have been learning on an electric (fender squier strat, also from Thomann) but after a few months I really wanted to add an acoustic as a lot of the songs I am learning with are more suited to that. I wanted something with a smaller neck and nut width and a lower profile body, I have small, stubby fingers so I need all the help I can get! This fits the bill perfectly. I knew that I wasn't going to spend huge on a guitar just right now so without a doubt Hareley Benton was the best bang for my buck.

For the money this guitar is simply excellent, the craftsmanship is very noticeable, there's nothing cheap or thrown together about these guitars! Really beautiful finish to the guitar and really looks the part.

The sound is excellent and keeps getting better as I get used to the new feel of an acoustic and the guitar settles after being tuned up and adjusts to the temperature in my house.
It has a surprisingly deep and warm tone to me, especially considering it's size and the guitar was pretty much ready to go out of the box after a quick tune up. It has improved markedly by letting it settle and making minor tuning adjustments and now it's a dream to play. I had planned to strip the strings out and put in new ones but there is no need, these will be fine for a while.
When I do change the strings in a few weeks I will give the fretboard a quick wipe down because there very very faint traces of sparkly residue from where the frets were polished lower down the neck, you'd have to look very closely to spot this and is a good sign as the frets were polished to a mirror shine)

I presume it was at very low temperatures for a week or so while it was being shuttled around during delivery which despite COVID delays was still a very respectable 10 days (this has nothing to do with Thomann but due to general delays across Europe and particularly my home of Ireland, and the Thomann support were very communicative and assured me my package would arrive in a few days)

Playability is excellent, I felt the action was spot on which was a relief to me as I have no inclination to go messing with the nut and saddle, it was a nice low height on the 12th fret but not too low, very easy to press the strings down nearer the nut but with absolutely no hint of a buzz across the whole fretboard.

Overall this item is a huge winner for me, I'm going to look to HB again for my next guitar when the times comes I think.

UPDATE: After a few weeks use, including a break over Christmas where the guitar was untouched I just wanted to point out how impressed I am by the ability of this guitar to keep in tune. I'm afraid to change the strings in case I mess something up it's that good.

I am not that experienced with acustics, but regarding the hype around harley benton and experience with other products, this was a bit of a disappointment, at least building quality wise. It sounds good, unplugged and plugged as well. But the setup was terrible, very high action, and the trustrod is very hard to get to, it's very deep inside a hole, unlike other acustics I have seen. After the setup it's better, there are a few high frets as well, but not that high, so it is still well playable. The tuners are fine. The strap button was the biggest problem though, it was not glued or anything, so when I tried to put a strap on, it just fell out. That could have happened after I put the strap on, when I am playing, so that's for sure is something to check if you buy one of these.
With all that said I still consider this a great buy, specs are great for the price.

Always wanted an electro acoustic to play thru my PC and maybe try something smaller than a dreadnt. Took a chance on a HB to see what all grt reviews about. Overall delighted. Couple of cons being rusted strings and tarnished frets, but would probably have changed them and cleaned everything anyway. A 2nd strap button would have been nice. Everything else fantastic. Looks great, lovely weight and balance. Wider nut is a joy as I can finally play a C chord with proper fingering! Amazing tone, and not as deep as I thought a mahogany would sound. Great volume for just me and my guitar, but the pickup works just fine for when I get the call to the Albert hall. Set up was pretty spot on, nut cut lower than anything I have ever owned, which helps the playability of this, and why I will be reaching for it for yrs to come. 1/9th of what I was contemplating a similar Martin for - ridiculous.

I have to put my title in context here. I haven't been able to play my acoustics because of a problem with my left hand. I now primerely only play electric. However after playing a friends HB J200 copy and his HB Ta***r (Shh!) copy I was pleased to find that the radius and neck profile where really easy on my hand. Now, when I was only playing acoustic's I played 000 models 00028 Martin and 00016 rgte. I thought I would have those guitars till the end of my day's and hand them on to my son. I had owned to 00016 for over 20 years. I just couldn't play for long periods anymore. So sadly I sold them. I'm a finger picker so I also chose rosewood backed spruce topped instruments as I found they projected better. Now the CLA-15.... If you're a finger picker you'll love this guitar, but don't expect it to cut through if you jamming with friends and they have spruce topped instruments. The CLA-15 does not have a top conducive to resonation and or projection due to the mahogany construction. Fear not though as a song writing tool it has a lovely sweet little voice and is very pleasant, if muted. If you use a plec and are a strummer this may not be a problem for you in the slightest. The pre-amp however is killer. I had the early PREFIX system in my 00016 Martin it never sounded natural and I was always trying to EQ it to my taste in live situations. I ended up with a 'make do' sound that I was never entirely happy with. However the system on the CLA-15 is beautifully voiced (EQ wise). Plugged into the PA it sounds fantastic live. Finger picking is a joy again. It was hard to believe this guitar came with 12's on as standard, the feel and the action were that good. I have dropped to 11's (even better for me) and as a live tool this is now my only acoustic instrument. No it's not an all round guitar it is very quiet (due in most part to that mahogany top, but it comes to life when plugged in. A gem of a find and I understand why so many people have given this such good reviews. Only 4 stars overall and with sound because of how quiet it is for me as a finger picker, but that's down to me, others may not even notice.

This guitar came to me in good condition. It did have some minor blemishes on the top but they are not noticeable. The strap button at the rear of the guitar was not glued and pulled out when I attached a strap. Poor designing on that. The guitar came setup and very playable. It has a sweet warm voice. Substantial volume but not like that of a dreadnought. Overall I am pleased but really had higher expectations after watching videos and reading reviews. It is worth the money paid but I feel just a little more attention to things like adding a front strap button and definitely not using a cheap plastic one in rear and not even having it fastened would make this guitar seem more appealing. The tuner works perfectly and the preamp sounds very good. The guitar stays in tune very well. The tuners work well but they aren't as precise as could be. They have quite a bit of travel to make change in the sound of pitch. Once tuned it stays in tune very well.

I was looking for a guitar comparable to the Guild OM-240CE without the price tag, and I find this guitar is of equal quality, sound, and feel, and it even looks better! At $211 USD, I can't wrap my brain around how well built this thing is. The action is about as low as I would dare, no buzzing, intonation is spot on, frets are butter smooth, tuning is shockingly stable, the satin finish feels expensive, the preamp is even name brand. These guys missed no marks with this guitar. Without looking at the headstock, one could legitimately mistake this guitar for a four-figure guitar. Now, the resonance from this thing is something you have to experience yourself. You feel everything through the body of the guitar, and it projects crystal clear and loud! Plugged or unplugged, it's an absolute inspiration to play, and you won't be seeing me without this guitar on my person any time soon! Mad props, HB!!

Is it an alternative because it is inexpensive for mahogany? I thought so.
I was sure the sound would be commensurate with the price.
However, I was wrong!
It is very good.
The wood used is also massive and seems to be mahogany.
It is a product of China, but the construction is good down to the smallest detail.
There are some cheapness in the pegs and other parts, but that can be changed later by the customer.
I am a guitar teacher and bought this guitar to lend to my students.
The sound is perfect for my students!

The first strings are a little stiff, so I'm going to change them to an extra light gauge for beginners.
I suspect the sound will improve further as they age.
Thanks again for your good products Toman!