Harley Benton Custom Line CLP-15M

I ordered this guitar based on the reviews on YouTube. Generally the people reviewing it are very impressed. I have to say I was surprised, but not impressed. But in all honesty I also have an Eastman acoustic and Eastmans just beats ALL acoustic guitars out there in terms of qc, playability and sound. Honest comparison could be Recording King. I've had a Recording King before and that one needed a lot more work as opposed to the HB in order to make it playable!

Truth be told: if you buy this guitar, just know it needs a bit of TLC.

1) the frets are not polished. This is an easy task you just use 0000 steel wool. Kudos to Thomann regarding the fret ends. These are nicely dressed, not sharp just a bit rough, but this you can solve this using the steel wool I just mentioned.

2) string height at 12th fret. There is a qc card which says 2.5mm at 6th string 12th fret. This wasn't the case, it was 3mm. The relief is good and the action at the first fret is about 0.6mm which is fine, especially since this is a short scale guitar (easier to fret).
I have to see if I'm going to sand the saddle down, there is a bit of saddle height you can work with, but it's not a lot. Maybe there are some shims underneath but I don't know yet.

3) the frets are pretty much even! I have a fret rocker and it didn't rock, only at the 14th fret or so. No one cares about that ;).

Overall it is a nice guitar for the money. If you know your way with setting up guitars yourself you can't go wrong. The price doesn't justify going to a luthier which is a shame really, but I do think that if you work a bit on this guitar you have an absolute belter. I'm not sure I will keep it though. I will decide within a week or so.

EDIT: So after 3 months of owning this guitar, I decided it needed a new owner. It still was amazing for the price but a parlor guitar isn't for me. I bought a harley benton st-90 in return :D

I am age 61 and my shoulders get stiff and achy after playing a big dreadnought. So I recently began searching for a smaller "parlor" guitar. I didn't care about electronics, but I wanted a mahogany body with a slotted head. Since I live in the USA, I had not heard of Thomann or the Harley-Benton brand and I was concerned about making an international purchase. However, I decided that Thomann had exactly what I wanted at a great price, so I was ready to take the risk. The Thomann website was easy to use and their shipping charge was very reasonable. I used a credit card so they calculated the dollar amount. Shipping was fast and I received a notice when my package passed through US Customs. The guitar arrived quickly and well packed. The packaging looked exactly like a Recording King I recently purchased. Maybe they are from the same factory? I have purchased guitars from US suppliers who charged more for shipping and took longer for my package to arrive, so I am very happy with my international purchasing experience. This little CLP-15M also sounds better and appears to be of better quality than my Martin DJR2.

I was after a smaller-bodied, shorter scale acoustic to add to my collection and this CLP-15M 00-12 Parlor caught my attention. To my mind it harks back to the vintage, cheap and simple small-bodied acoustics sold in the USA pre-Second World War. I own a 1937 National Trojan Wood-Bodied Resonator similar in size. I was impressed with the 24.75 inch scale, solid wood top construction, bone nut and saddle, and slotted headstock, along with the positive reviews. Also this guitar (albeit the models with a pickup) has some reviews on YouTube.

However as I live in Australia I hesitated at the expensive shipping offered: $251 Australian Dollars for a what was a $269 Australia Dollar guitar. Despite the cost associated with my geographical location I went with it as there seemed to be nothing comparable in quality and features to buy locally.

The guitar shipped to my home in about seven days and the package arrived in good condition. The guitar came in its own box inside a larger box. There was even a cardboard sleeve covering the neck. There were no visible defects in finish and the action was spot on. The inspection tag attached to the guitar was signed off in 2019 so this guitar must have been sitting in the warehouse in Germany all this time.

I immediately removed the pick guard to enhance the aesthetic and it peeled off easily without residue or damage. Love the guitar’s simple lines, lack of binding, and the shiny, decorative tuners suit the vintage vibe of this guitar. The solid Okoume top has a very nice mottled grain. The “snowflake” fret marker inlays are nice.

The sonics are fine. “Boxey” in tone I suppose if that refers to the midrange tones produced by the smaller body. The forty five millimetre wide nut facilitates finger placement, while the shorter scale enhances playability. Love the feel of this guitar in my lap.

I am well satisfied with this Harley Benton CLP-15M. Recommended!

I always wanted a 12-fret small body guitar that is both cheap and of decent quality. I looked on thomann and various other sites, and I found other options, but there was always something that didn't quite fit...they either had narrow nut widths, exceeded my budget, or had flat headstocks like most other guitars.
The Harley Benton on the other hand, has exactly the specs I want to see on a parlor: wider nut width, 12-fret body construction, a slotted headstock, and even a pickguard just in case! It came very well set-up, no need to adjust the neck! I never played a guitar so light on the fingers as this one! The bone bridge seems a little high, but that didn't affect the action. Maybe next time I change strings, I will sand it down a bit, cause the angle of the strings sitting on it seems a little abrupt.
The sound is very good. It is excellent for blues like Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy etc., you know the ones with thumping bass leads. It is also great for folk, and if you play alot of electric, this little guy is good with soloing as well! The bends sound superb!
The reviews don't lie, this guitar will NOT disappoint you!