Harley Benton SC-450PlusLH LD Vintage Series

Firstly, I was amazed to find that Harley Benton guitars actually make left-handed models in a range of stunning finishes - as a lefty, I'm used to 'choosing' either black, white or if I'm lucky red. I could quite happily buy one of these in each of the finishes on offer, but I totally fell in love with the Lemon Drop and I'm so pleased I did - it looks awesome in all lights!

Out of the box, my guitar was set-up perfectly - no fret buzz, low action, nice smooth fretboard edges and no cosmetic damage. I'm really impressed, as I had seen some negative reviews about this on youtube etc. This is the first time I've purchased a 'budget' guitar, so I really didn't know what to expect - I own 2 x Fenders and 1 x Gibson.

As soon as I plugged this guitar in I was gobsmacked - it is extremely comfortable to play and it sounds great. I'm really impressed with the pick ups, but I don't rate the coil splitting at all, it makes the sound way to thin to my ear. But that is the only negative thing I can find to say!

So, this is now my go to guitar - the neck is absolutely perfect and is really helping me improve my playing. I also prefer the sound of the pick ups to those in my Gibson (that's probably down to my style of playing). I am a very happy customer and will be back for more guitars in the future!

If you're looking for a new, budget single cut guitar at a very reasonable price you would be hard pushed to find better, especially if you're in the UK or Europe where delivery is fast and free and returns are pretty hassle free with Thomann should you really need to make one.

I've given it five stars based on the combination of price, quality, features and finish. Understand that you're not buying a Gibson Les Paul and on a budget instrument there are obviously going to be compromises on electronics, machine heads, and (to a degree) pickups. If you don't spend thousands you don't get a top tier instrument and you should not expect to.

However, I have bought two of these in different finishes (Vintage Burst and Lemon Drop) and both have been excellent quality with no serious flaws or problems and both look stunning. They also sound absolutely fine. They have a nice heft to them without being too heavy....obviously weightier than a Strat or a Tele but that is as it should be and shouldn't come as a surprise.

The addition of coil splitting on the Roswell branded humbuckers is a nice touch on a budget LP copy - not needed and maybe not even of interest to a lot of people who want a guitar of this type but it's a nice little extra feature to have on hand and to be able to experiment with.

The only thing both of mine needed were a fret polish - even the factory strings were OK, although I change them out on all new guitars for my preferred brand anyway. Basically, neither of these things were particularly detrimental to their playability out of the box. Both were set up and intonated well and the action on both was fine so any slight changes I made were purely subjective and personal ones.

In conclusion, if you're a beginner or a more seasoned player, it's hard to be critical of this guitar considering how cheap it is. As an entry point into this style of guitar it makes a lot of sense - if you find it really doesn't float your boat, you haven't taken out a mortgage to scratch the itch and you'll have confirmed your own preferences and biases at little financial cost. Even a used base level Epi with a bolt on neck is probably going to cost you more...and I doubt it will be as good.

Personally, I can neither afford, or would want to spend the kind of money a genuine Les Paul demands as I'm only a hobbyist and I'm sure that is the case for many others and absolutely not the case for just as many more. My son's guitar teacher, a staunch Fender guy for 40 years, played mine and was blown away....he loved the sustain, the sound and the feel of this humble instrument so much so that he's now going to spend serious money on a Gibson Les Paul, something he's never wanted until now. I told him to buy an SC450 Plus and save a fortune but he's a very brand conscious type of guy....for him the name on the headstock overrides financial considerations and well, he is a professional musician after all and is used to "the best".

He wasn't just being polite - he has played several of my HB guitars, both electric and acoustic and now happily recommends them to new players just starting out as reliable and decent instruments at a fair price - something which parents of budding little rock stars probably appreciate hugely.

I'm very happy with my purchases of the SC450 Plus and have no qualms about recommending it to others.

First off I am going to base this review in light of its cost. I have been looking for a reasonably priced LP clone for a while now. 40 years ago I had a second hand Antoria clone and loved it. Thomann received my order on a Wednesday promising a 3 working day delivery. UPS knocked on my door the next Monday so a point to Thomann straight away. The delivery box had a fair bit of damage to it due mainly to the fact that the cardboard was quite flimsy with little internal bracing on the corners. The guitar box however had been protected by the bubble wrap around it. The guitar was delivered undamaged. First impressions. There were no dead spots on the fingerboard and the fret edges were well finished. The frets weren?t the most jumbo I?ve seen on a Les Paul type guitar. They seemed similar to my Telecaster. Intonation seemed spot on. The tuners held the strings well although feel a bit plasticky and will be upgraded at some point. The body was three pieces of mahogany and the finish was smooth although there was some evidence of uneven staining in the cutaway. I can?t get excited by this though for the price paid. Call it early relicking. The pots ran smoothly and the coil taps worked. Finally the negatives. The neck pickup plays fairly muddy and needs overdriven to get any clarity however again this is an area that frequently gets upgraded. The last thing is just irritating. When you tilt the guitar you can here something small rattling in the internal routing channels. I?d say it is a small piece of solder and will remove the back covers to try and remove it. In summary this is a fantastic guitar for the money the neck is fast and shallow. I?d certainly recommend this guitar and for the price it?s a no brainer.

This review is from a Left handed player .
Another little GEM. Why would you pay a grand for the big G, when this guitar is right up there. OK, so the materials might not be quite as top-notch, but the sound is.
The addition of coil splitting on both pickups is a surprise. The tonal variations open up this guitar to playing styles not traditional to "Les Paul" guitars. Actually it can go from a Garry Moore sound to a passable "Country twang" very close to a Telecaster.
Can't really fault this model but for one exception - the colour. I just wish the LD designation was dropped simply because asu,ing LD stands for Lemon Drop - it 'aint. Much nearer to amber. I wish they would offer more traditional colour variations such as Sunburst or Tobacco Burst. Whilst it is a good example of what left-handed guitarists are looking for, it could be improved cosmetically with more choice of colour. All in all though - highly recommended.

I've played this guitar for a bit more than 2 months now, and bear in mind that I'm just a beginner, that is my first guitar.
So far I've only played classic and hard rock (i.e. Creedence Clearwater Revival and AC/DC) using my Blackstar Fly 3 mini amp (great beginner combo btw). I don't use much gain though. Distorted, this guitar sounds suprisingly good for this price. Not very muddy and pretty heavy. The pickups are cheap, but they sound quite good, for beginner's level you cannot really get any better.
To my surprise, this guitar's clean sound was excellent: bright and quite warm.
About the negatives: the guitar is pretty heavy. Playing for a longer while when standing can get pretty tiring I imagine.
The biggest flaw is by far the string action. It's set pretty low by Thomann and from frets 2-8, mine was so low I got fret buzz with almost every note. I know it's not a big deal, but beginners like me don't know how to adjust the action right away.
Another setback is the neck's thickness. It's a bit too thick. If you have smaller hands, this could be a big problem for you.
Everything else is pretty much a standard on this guitar. Since it's my first one, I can really compare, but the frets seem nice with smooth ends, the binding is on point, the knobs feel okay and there weren't any cuts or other cosmetical errors.
Overall, I couldn't ask for a better guitar at this price point. Great for a beginner who is aiming to play some heavier-style music, but also excellent for blues. With an adequate amp, this is a terrific starter guitar, especially if you can sort out the string action.