Harley Benton Santos Series C-40SCE NT

The guitar's features and playability are just superb, but the quality control seems to have been sleeping the time my guitar passed it.

The guitar is very well built, but the satin lacquer has gone bubbles on the end of the neck above the resonator hole, and there is a place on the edge that is left unfinished. Moreover, i found some lacquer on the strings (!). I wonder if they were put on the guitar right after finish before it dried.

Guitar body was all in woodpowder when unpacked - it's definitely from the installation of pickup, and it made a bad impression.

The sound is good, but i'll try another strings instead of dirty ones installed - it may turn out to be even better.

My appeal to the shop'd managers and to chinese plant managers: pump up quality control! Othe HB guitars i bought were absolutely superb, but this one is designed and built great, but its finish is far from perfect. But even mentioning this, the guitar has no competitors with its features (solid top+narrow nut+strong design).

Well and constructed. Wood and materials seem ok.
As with all Harley Bentons, expect to do a bit of work before being able to play it enjoyably, Sharp and rough frets and a roughly cut nut are common....as I experienced here. I do guitar work so it's not a big problem for me, but it someone had to pay someone to do it it sort of negates the economy of getting a low cost guitar.
Tuners work ok but I think they can fail or break quite easily (based on previous experience and looking at them).

Good value if you can do setups and repairs yourself....not so good if you have to pay someone to do it.

I ordered this guitar based on You Tube reviews and found them to be mostly true. It arrived at my home in Wyoming, USA in good shape and the shipping time was crazy fast. As far as the guitar itself, the quality is above average for such a low cost instrument. The fact that it is a nylon string guitar but more of a hybrid between classical and steel string acoustic makes it interesting and a good beginner choice. It is well made, sounds good, and the pickup system works well. The only thing one should be aware of is that it is not set up out of the box. I had to give the neck some relief and lower the action, so if you don't know how to do that you will likely have to take it to a guitar tech to get it done. It plays nice though once you get it set up. The gig bag that came with (I ordered one) is pretty good as well. I will definately look to HB for more guitars in the future.

Great value for money hybrid guitar
For those who frequently switch from steel string western or electric guitar to a nylon stringed instrument, this guitar will provide a more comfortable feel than a standard classical guitar. Its neck is slightly wider, just wide enough to accommodate for difficult fingering positions. The sound is surprisingly good, quite bright, with a well pronounced bass. I made a small sketch recorded directly from the piezo pickup here: I would say that this is more than just an entry level guitar, with some adjustments it is also suited for professional use. Great value for money!