Harley Benton HB Custom Line King-CE BK

I already owned an Epiphone EJ200 in a natural finish but always fancied having one in black. I couldn't justify buying the same guitar again just to have a choice of colour but then I discovered The big King. It looked the same for less than half the price.
On opening the box I was impressed with the quality of the finish and could find no faults at all it's actually better than the Epiphone especially on the bindings.
It played ok but the action was too high for my taste. I had to take a bit of relief out of the neck and quite a lot off the saddle to get it right. Also I had to lower the nut slots on the high E and B strings to make them easier to fret at the 1st.
Comparing it to the Epiphone it looks just as good apart from the pickguard which looks a bit cheap. I replaced mine with an epiphone one and it looks loads better,
Sounds: you don't get as much bass from this the body is a bit narrower back to front but this makes it more comfortable to play and you do get a beautiful clarity from this that you don't with the epiphone.
I think the pick up system/tuner is adequate but not as good as the epiphone but this really doesn't bother me as I hardly ever plug in.
I've had this a couple of months now and I love it. I use it more than the epiphone and that says it all really

Guitar timely received and in good condition. Tuners move well and stays in tune. Looks are great! Almost a near replica of another higher end of a different manufacturer.
Neck is straight, action is relatively ok.
Frets are well inserted and filed well.
Pickup is ok.
Sound range not as dynamic as the higher end guitars but definitely not tiny. Low end is a little weak but improves a notch or two after continuous two weeks use.
Is it a G****n SJ-200? No. Don't set that expectation otherwise you'll be disappointed.
However, for this price range, I'm surprised at the good build quality (or maybe I'm just lucky) and the above average to good sound makes this worth every dollar spent.

I own a Gibson J45 which I keep as my 'good' guitar but I play regularly in a busy pub. Being concerned for safety at times, decided to get a 'big' guitar, hopefully with a 'big' sound and a fair bit cheaper than the Gibson for playing in the pub. Compared the EPIPHONE EJ200 CE with the HB, concluded they were probably made in the same factory as they were almost identical and the HB a fair bit cheaper. I have NOT been disappointed. This guitar is well made, very good looking, has a great deep sound, great electrics with excellent built in tuner. In fact I may have to keep it 'good' as well.