Harley Benton SC-1000LH SBK Progressive Line

I just purchased this. It is my first guitar with active humbuckers. These are not super hot, but they will overdrive an amp if you really dig in. It is possible to get some decent clean tone, surprisingly.

These do have the correct 25k pots, just in case you might be worried about that.

It appears to have a bone nut, that is cut very well. Compared to a some cheaper Chinese guitars I've purchased on the internet, the setup is quite good indeed.

The only issues I had were with the finish. They mask off the binding on the top edge, but don't blend the edge well so it leaves a slight lip where the finish is easily chipped and it looks like some of the finish may have stuck to the tape so there are some rough areas along the top edge.

2 month Update:
Some issues I forgot to include. Mystery goo on frets requiring heavy polishing to remove. Looks like glue possibly.

I did not care for the stock pickups. I swapped them out in favor of Seymour Duncan Blackouts, which are a direct drop in replacement. Sounds incredible now.

The hardware is a step up over Chinese guitars in this price range, but clearly lower quality than what comes on most Epiphones and Squiers.

After the pickup swap and a little TLC, this guitar plays great, but it still looks and feels cheap.

Final update:

I reinstalled the stock pickups to give them a second chance. I think they are actually quite good upon further review. They sound like an active pickup should.

I think I was too quick to try new pickups in this, and did not give these a fair shake.

The guitar holds tune well and now that I've spent a little time polishing the frets it plays a whole lot better.

This being way to soon to leave a comprehensive review, I only received the guitar an hour or so ago. That being said I felt it relevant to pass along at least one quick piece of info along with first thoughts etc….This is the first “active” guitar I’ve actually touched so maybe it’s common knowledge to most active pickup guitar users. It seems active pickups do not work through wireless connections.. at least not through the line 6 G10 unit I have. I was stumped for a minute as to why it (the G10) unit showed a signal “hitting” the plugged in unit on the guitar ( light turns green when ever a signal is acknowledged) but no sound from amp… admittedly this was about the first thing I thought to check even though I didn’t think of it ahead of time .so I switched to a cable and all was / is right again …sort of sucks , hopefully I’ll find a work around eventually as I haven’t really used a chorded guitar in forever …. Beyond that ,I honestly cant understand how Harley Benton / thomann Sells this guitar for $169 . Don’t get me wrong I don’t wish for a price increase lol…it’s just seemingly that great of a guitar . Fit and finish in a preliminary exam seem about flawless. Setup is very good, action at about my perfect preference ,which I understand is a subjective thing but I’ve spent thousands on past guitars that were not setup this well…even intonation is very good .at 12th fret only a line on my snark tuner off at most on a couple strings ,which means it’s not really off at all. 24th fret the snark has a hard time locking onto but is maybe double (2 lines +/-) when it’s able to lock onto the proper tone / wave, but does seem to catch overtones on and off ( reading an occasional wrong note briefly) which I can’t really at this point blame on the guitar …. One small possible issue is the nut , even though it’s cut more or less properly it doesn’t seem to lay perfectly flat against the top of fretboard / bottom of headstock . I’m sure I can remedy this at the first string change , but in the mean time it isn't affecting tone or playability.everything else seems to be top notch at this early point in having the guitar. The tuners are way better than expected, bridge and stoptail seem as good as any …the arch top makes the input screw grommets ( or whatever they’re called) for bridge and stop tail show splines on the outside , wile ring flush on the inside….this always makes me a lil nervous but am fairly confident it’s more or less how it should be .the only possible area I can guess that maybe “money was saved “ is maybe the 3 way switch .. not that there is any issue but it feels maybe it could be on the cheaper side …oh and the knobs are right handed and are numbered backwards ,10=0 and 0=10 . But this is I common across many manufacturers an their left handed guitars, and I don’t normally look at the numbers anyways …also I think I’m going to get metal speed knobs eventually ( those aren’t numbered ) ….frets are well dressed / polished , maybe a slight edge end sharpness nothing bad at all really and no noticeable roughness to the surface when fretting / bending .I assume the body wood is multi pieces of not top notch / top grade but I don’t know with the awesome matte black finish it has . I can’t really fault anything about this guitar and I’m trying lol…I don’t know yet how I feel about the pups for two reasons , 1: I never owned active pups before, and 2: I’ve had this guitar less than two hrs …yet I hear nothing wrong with tone so far , if I was forced to make a complaint about the pups I’d only say maybe they’re not as hot as one would expect from active pups … but I can’t say that with 100% certainty .bottom line even with the high shipping and handling cost ($100+) it’s still well worth it imo….in fact it’s a steal of a deal imo, maybe I got lucky with this particular guitar but I dont think so . This is my second Harley Benton ,both purchased from thomann …and this one is nicer than the HB35 plus LH ,which was very nice to say the least and was more expensive at $235+ shipping and handling(think it’s cheaper now too) .. I honestly can’t see an area where getting the “name brand” version of this guitar would justify the price difference … you could buy replacement electronics and parts and still be way under that cost , hell you could probably refret it too and still be under their cost ( but I haven’t done the math lol) if you’re not a headstock name driven guitarist I see nothing so far that would make you regret buying this guitar . On the contrary I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised ,especially if you’ve never owned a Harley Benton before. If I can and there is reason to ,I’ll update this review after owning the guitar awhile . If you’re on the fence , my first reaction is definitely don’t worry about being let down…that is unless you expect a custom shop signature guitar for $169+ S&H , otherwise your expectations will be exceeded in about every place by multiples

I wanted a guitar to play and not to care too much about it. But now I think is more than that.
First thing noticed after unboxing, was the reinforcement profile on the neck, under the nut. Not all the Gibson have it, (Epiphones usually do) and they are notorious for neck breaking. Apparently, this one is safe. The guitar was set up in the shop, but action was pretty high. I tried to lower it and now is as low as any good guitar, so no frets problems. I wonder why they left it like this. The active pickups sound impressive, very hot, and lot of highs and no hum. The tone control is effective, but is working on first third of the turn, then nothing happen. I think there is a logarithmic pot installed, instead of linear.
Easy to replace.
The weak part are the tuners. Guitar stays in tune, but the the tuning process is a trial and error process. But I will upgrade them anyway.
Bodywork looks good, no visible defects. Neck feels a bit chunkier than Fender style guitars which is quite comfortable for me.
Overall, I think I got more than I paid for.

Ordered this with low-ish expectations but was pleasantly surprised. Build and finish are flawless. Intonation spot on. Action on the high side of medium. Nut perfectly adequate, but may need some lubrication. Stays in tune well but machine heads don't feel great (maybe due to the nut) Neck plays well and frets are well finished with the exception of the last two or so. Inlays are no great shakes but nice and level with fingerboard. Binding is flawless on body. One tiny spot on the neck where (I assume) the wood splintered, appears filled in. Roseacer fingerboard feels unfamiliar and dry at first. After a first oiling it feels a lot better already. Pots feel ok, but don't appear very linear, kinda wished they had lowered them into the body a little just for appearances' sake

Extremely surpised by the overall sound and the pickups in general. Other reviews led me to believe they weren't that great but I really love the nasty greasy dirty sound I can get out of them. I know this guitar is aimed squarely at the metal crowd but you can really get some Jimmy Page Whole Lotta Love-esque sounds out of this which makes me smile just thinking about it. Unsurprisingly the pickups are extremely hot. Turn that Master down first!

Came with 9V battery, truss rod key, and lead included.
Lead appears ok, but chances are you already have a much nicer one at home.

I had my doubts about buying a Harley Benton but I really am stunned by how good this guitar is. Not just good for the price, but good full stop.

The styling very reminiscent of a well known Japanese guitar, and the satin finish is gorgeous. The active pickups are clear and crisp with a nice bite that cuts through a mix. Bridge and tuners are a smart gold finish and work well and the control pots are smooth. The guitar is nicely set up and the finish is flawless. What?s more it even comes strung with D?addarios. Unbelievable at such a low price. It?s quite a heavy guitar - ways more than my LP Standard, but I like that. The one slight niggle is that the fret ends are not as smooth as I?d like, but this is an easy fix for anyone with basic guitar maintenance skills.

I own 30+ guitars including several custom shop instruments, but I would happily gig and record with this Harley Benton. I can see myself owning a lot more Harley Bentons in the future.