Harley Benton CST-24 Paradise Flame

This review is for the previously made in Vietnam model I bought in November 2019. Can't say if the current Indonesian build is similar or as I would imagine better based on the other Indonesian made guitars I use & love. Very keen to try out this new model & see if it's better than the last, because the one I have is awesome & a steal at the price! If you're thinking about it, do it. You can always return it if you don't like it. Thomann is great like that!

Like I said above, it's an awesome guitar for the price. Well worth a look as a beginner or an established player.

Pros:
The price!
Great looking guitar! In some lighting angles it dazzles.
Came reasonably well setup in standard tuning & handled being dropped into C# DADGAD with not too many intonation issues.
Pickups handle some nice cleans & heavy tones through my amp & amp sims in the studio, split sounds good too.
Frets were of a reasonable finish, no cut fingers or other issues.
Comfort cuts & shape of the body are really nice.
Great mod platform but also really fun to riff on as it is.

Cons:
For a guitar in this price range you have to adjust your expectations despite it looking incredible on the website it probably won't come as nice as you see it here. The one I received is a looker don't get me wrong, but not as good as the one pictured. So keep that in mind & you will be very happy when yours arrives.
The overall finish is a bit rough.
Binding is not super neat. Painting on headstock was poorly taped in places. To be expected in some instruments in this price range.
There are a few marks & dust spots in the wood under the finish in 3-4 places. These cosmetic flaws are only obvious if you look really closely.
Frets were good but needed a little polish to play optimally, an easy fix.
Single coil sounds are a bit weak, but sound great with a volume boost in the mix.
Tuners aren't great, you can get by with them but worth looking at a replacement set at some stage.

Overall a solid instrument for the price. One of my favourite guitars despite it being one of my cheapest! Has some cosmetic flaws & needed a little love to get it to my liking but very happy with it. Most new guitars will need a setup to your liking, worth the time if you know how to do it yourself or spend a little extra at your local guitar tech to get it running nicely. As always with a Harley Benton, get your hands on one & see for yourself

Where to start.... There is not a single bad thing I can say about this guitar , but I will go over what I found on unpacking the guitar. First off it arrived here in NZ just a little over a week , customs took a few days because I had duty to pay, but still got the guitar in a good time frame. Right out of the box it was pretty much in tune which tells me someone checked out this guitar at Thomann before it was sent, top marks for that Thomann. The pup's are great for me I love the bite they have and the sound is awesome, they were also set at perfect height and no adjustment was needed. The action was a little high for my taste but it took just a few seconds to adjust it to my liking and retune. The frets are perfectly level and there is no choking or dead spots what so ever and I have the action set pretty low , If I could point to anything at all I would say the frets need a quick polish to make them perfect or I could just play it for a week or two and that would also do the job..... The tuners work OK but at this price point you can't expect perfection and there not perfect but hold the tune and iv'e had no problem with them. The nut is placed and cut perfectly and alignment with the bridge and pickups is spot on all strings pass directly over the center of the pickup ploes ( it bugs the hell out of me when they don't) The binding looks great and I can't report any color blead over that some others have reported. There is no body flaws at all no dings or scratches or any imperfections for that matter, it looks the way a new instrument should. All praise to Thomann for there quality control. I only have 2 other guitars to compare to, one is a 1991 PRS SE EG which is a really nice guitar and my goto for pretty much all my playing , the other is a fender strat made in the USA that cost $3500 that I never play because it is crap and does not feel right ...at least to me ...... This Harley Benton is far better and more playable in every way...... Price is NOT a good indication of if the instrument is a good one (I learned that the hard way) I would definately recommend a harley benton to any guitarist and for this kind of money you would be an idiot not to at least try one, sure you might have to do some minor work to make it your own and get the setup you like but you have to do that with every guitar....... all I can say is go for it and buy one today.

I have had this CST 24 for a couple of months before doing this review, been playing 23 years but I?m not a pro and have had a lot of guitars over that time. When I started out I wish guitars of this quality at this price point existed as for this money you used to get an unplayable plank!
Firstly a little about Thommans service, I am in the UK and ordered this guitar on a Friday morning at about 10 am by 11 am I had an e-mail to say my guitar had been shipped and it arrived on the Tuesday which is incredible.
Straight out of the box this guitar required very little tweaking. The nut was cut absolutely perfectly which you don?t often see. The action was spot on and the intonation was only slightly out. Don?t let anyone tell you that you cant intonate a wrap around bridge, there are 2 screws on the bridge to adjust along with independent adjusters for the G and B string, 10 minutes fiddling and its spot on. The stock tuners are the closed type and do their job well. I have got the paradise flame and the finish is absolutely beautiful, far better than the photos suggest. The fingerboard is roseacre I think which just feels like rosewood to me although it was a little dry and had a couple of glue spots on it, no problem really as it took another 10 minutes to remove and oil up. This guitar is comfortable and plays really well. The stock Roswell pickups are good and the coil split is a nice feature giving a huge variety of tones, at this price it?s a great modding platform if you are looking for something different. Plugged in to my amp this guitar can really sing and I can get some great tones out of it. People keep asking is it a PRS? I don?t really think its fair to compare this guitar against a £2000 one when I paid about £160 delivered to my door. I can tell you that it is a very versatile guitar which feels more like a £500 model and I struggle to see how Harley Benton can even make a profit on a guitar of this cost and quality. Thomman have done a first class job with this guitar and at these prices it means we can all afford to have great guitars in lots of different models. All in all this is a very very good guitar and I will most definitely be buying more HB models.

I can't say enough about this guitar. The finishes are perfect, the weight and balance of the guitar is great, and lemme tell you, I do a lot of mods on my guitars, especially with tuners and bridges but guess what? No need to change either on this one because the sustain is awesome and it stays in tune just fine. I will admit I got custom wound pickups swapped in, but that was due to personal preference as the stock Roswells can handle high gain and perform just fine. I love this guitar and can't stop playing it....so much so I take it to work every day! Do yourself a favor and purchase one. You will not regret it.

I am by no means an experienced guitarist, but this is a great guitar. I have an Epiphone Les Paul and a Squier Strat and this is by far the most comfortable guitar to play, so much that the other two are going. I play this all of the time. The finish on the guitar is great and it holds tuning perfectly. I haven't found any flaws and it sounds brilliant.
Secondly the customer service, the first guitar Thomann sent was used as a football by UPS who were awful. They initially lost the package and when it arrived it had been opened and the packing was so badly damaged it was held together by tape. When I checked the guitar it could hold any tuning, so had obviously been damaged in transit. Thomann were excellent, nothing was too much of a problem. The guitar was returned at their cost and a replacement was sent straight out. I couldn't be happier with this and wish all companies customer service was this good. I know this has been said before but Thomann ought to reconsider their working relationship with UPS who lied to me on more than one occasion. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this guitar and Thomann, both of whom are excellent!

My CST-24 is my fourth Harley Benton guitar that I have purchased and for me, everyone has been a winner. My CST-24 is by far the best one yet. I am no expert, nor do I gig professionally. I am somewhat of a beginner but I do know something about sound and quality and this one fits both wonderfully.

Pros:
Finish- outstanding, not a scratch on it.
Flame Top, not bad for 200 plus dollars. It doesn't compare to its cousin, but then again it doesn't cost $1000.00 either.
Pickups- to me, are outstanding, and with the split-coil option, the sound is fantastic.
Tuners- they work period. What else is there to say about that.
Neck- it doesn't look like its cousin's neck but back to my original point, it doesn't cost $1000.00 either. It is functional, straight and the nut is set just right for quick playing right out of the box.
Cons:
I bought the CST-24 hardtail based on some not favorable reviews of the "T" model and it does look like setting the intonation on the hardtail will be a challenge as the screws face forward under the strings. I am sure there is a way to do it and I as the blind hog will eventually find that acorn.

As far as being a modding platform, it's there if you want, but for me, the question is why? She plays like a champ through my Marshall 2X12 Cab and Orange Micro Terror, my Stage Right 15 Watt Tube Amp, and my little Fender L25 modeling Amp. So she stays the way she came from the factory. (Of course, I'm not really good with soldering anyway)
Even with the freight charge to the USA, it's a killer value, and for you players in Europe, it's a downright steal at the Euro price with free delivery.
All in all, a winner.

I've had this for two months before reviewing it, in order to write an accurate review of it.

I have used it in a band situation and at home, also in studio. The guitar has no problems tuning, the only part that deserves a modification is the bridge, cause you can't set the intonation properly, due to the type. The guitar is very clear and articulate, the pickups are very good for rock, blues, clean playing, but I'll have them replaced due to personal preference later on (the factory ones are great nevertheless!).
The finish is very very very good, it has just one very small misalignment on the body binding, but you'll see it only if you hold the guitar and examine it. The action came pretty high for my tastes, therefore I had to play with the bridge a bit. It holds its tuning better than my $600 Jackson KVX guitar when switching from inside to outside (in case of live playing). If you want to get this guitar to professional levels, I advise a bridge and tuners change (bridge with dedicated intonation control per string).
All in all, if you are looking for a great body with great sound, or maybe a modding platform, or maybe a cheaper Reed Smith but without compromising much of the quality, this guitar is for you. I recommend the tremolo version, though, because of the lower action on the higher frets.
One more thing worth noting - this guitar really delivers. I was skeptical of the other reviews at first, but I've convinced myself after having it in my possession for a month and a bit - my friend who tried it said it plays better than his Gibson SG Custom (price well over $2000), so this guitar, with a bit of caress and attention, will deliver great quality and for this price it's a bargain. I'm surprised on the fact that not as many people as it should be are buying and using them. I'd love custom options on Harley Benton guitars (like a custom shop).
Don't hesitate buying, if you don't like it (which I doubt), you have warranty and 30-days to return it.

I have been trialling this cheapy cheerful axe for 2 months now and I have say, with my right hand on my left heart, it's a brilliant runner! I have some high end expensive gear in my arsenal at home and I bought this with the HB-20R amp to use while I'm working away for 3 months to save damaging my good gear during transit.

As an all rounder I cannot fault it. Still with the original strings supplied this monkey can handle drop D and flat tuning without buzzing. The clean tone when using the bridge pickup is lovely and rich, although using the coil tap with the neck pickup for overdrive is only reasonable, if a little hollow. That could be compensated for with a different amp but that's not what we've come to read about is it?
I haven't adjusted the action at all, it's a LITTLE high but I've kept it that way to avoid any buzz buzz when downtuning. It feels lovely for lead or rhythm and I genuinely enjoy playing it for hours on end.

For the price this guitar is outstanding. I would be equally as satisfied with this beast had I paid double the asking price. The finish is lovely and the switchgear is all solid and good quality.

As a result of my brief bromance with the CST-24 I now have another HB in my home collection (the semi hollow CST-24 in Charcoal Flame) and my only change will be to fit new pickups (Seymour Duncan SHPR-1s), as the standard ones could use a bit more depth.

In summary I'd recommend this guitar to any and everybody. If you need a cheap travel guitar or you just don't want to spend £800 on a PRS SE then get one of these. I'm more than happy with mine.

Yep, this is my third HB and compared to the other two I am blown away by the quality to price ratio of a this Harley Benton. I feel like this is one that they should have hand picked to send out for reviews it is that flawless and good right out of the box, the biggest surprise of all.... 2 piece body and the heaviest guitar I have 4.3kg and I have a lot of guitars, 52mm wide and 22.7mm thick at the 12th fret. This time the finish and overall workmanship is perfect, all strings Intonated perfectly, yes you read correctly all strings. It is very resonate and sounds great unplugged, the pickups sound good as with the other two but still lack in the coil split mode. Not that it needs it but I am sticking a pair of Pearly Gates in it soon, otherwise everything else stays the same. Highly recommended brand for anyone like me who makes a hobby out of Scheiße in Rosen verwandeln.... ;)

I’m a hobby player, playing at home, and I have a few different brands to compare to. Honestly the only things I can remotely complain about or point out are cosmetic. There is some runout of colour into the binding on the fret board near the body but you have to really look closely, so no big deal. There seems to be a seam or ridge of sorts on the polyurethane finish on the bottom end of the body of the guitar near the binding. And finally the truss rod cover wasn’t cut to the proper size and appears to long with a gap behind it that you can look through, but that’s a very simple fix.

For the price you can’t go wrong, I would recommend this guitar to anyone. One, it looks great! It’s very light, the neck is very comfortable in my hand and the frets on this guitar are one of the best I’ve seen on any brand I’ve purchased! Out of the box it sounds as good as my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro at more than double the cost here in Canada.

I’m certain that Thomann and Harley Benton haven’t heard the last from me........well maybe they have for this year but 2021 is closing in fast! Lol. Maybe go all in with an Amarok-6......who knows.