I have a real PRS SE 24 and the HB CST 24. Know which one I play? The Harley Benton!! Although I love my PRS I just connect with the HB better. I am a bit of a luthier I can at least do set up work on guitars. I spent two days on the PRS verses just a few hours on the Harley Benton. It was actually set up fairly well out of the box. The PRS had too high of action and I had to do multiple fret levels to get the action on par with the Harley Benton. Intonation was way off on the PRS so had to do all that where the HB was ok but it too needed some adjustement there. Build quality is just as good as the PRS I dont buy the tone wood BS knowing how pickups actually work. The HB also has jumbo frets verses PRS has medium frets. As for the stock electronics they are Identical I mean exactly the same!! It turns out both my guitars were made in Indoniesia. I have to wonder if they are actually made at the same facility? Either they are or Harley Benton did one hell of a job copying the PRS counter part. I am left handed and PRS does not support us lefty's with USA made models. The Beauty of getting a Harley Benton is you can change out things and upgrade it, you just saved 600 bucks. So any upgrade is going to add value to it. Verses change anything out the PRS and you de value it. I did change out the pups and electronics with an EMG system and ordered PRS knobs for it. The Rosswells are also decent pick ups there really is nothing wrong with them. For what these guitars cost in this cheap guitar space this particular guitar is an absolute steal for its price!! Take care of that guitar dont treat it like its a piece of junk. Because its just as good if not better than most high end brand names.
Thx very much for your detailed comparison to PRS SE, assuming its the same factory and PRS is more expensive, a shame that they not deliver at least same quality as the HB. For a beginner NO GO is for me, if you have to do fret leveling. This need some practise and more attention. Sometimes you get a no brainer HB and the other day a guitar to spend some hours work. On this particular CST I have not won the lottery :-). Greets
@@fritzsguitars Ive never bought a guitar that did not need fret level at any price range. And I was actually being nice on the PRS quality. The finnish was also not all that good it had and still has swirl marks all over the face. But yeah I agree every company has its Friday built products.
30-40 yrs ago you had to go to a music store and pick from what they had on shelf, 99% were the big 2 companies Gibson and Fender, or the want ads or maybe someone you knew had a friend or older brother that had guitar they were selling amd then you had to have it "set up". 10 yrs ago still had to deal with the absolutely unpleasant experience of dealing with fucken G Center and their self centered, failed musician staff and then still have to have it "set up".... now the last 5 guitars I've bought have been high quality Chinese/Japanese/Indonesian "copies" of Les Pauls and out of the box they're ready to go. No adjustments, no set ups, I only put my favourite strings on them. I am amazed and proud to say that, with the exception of my 1978 Les Paul Standard I've owned since high school, (36 yrs), these are better quality than any big company guitars I've ever played and you cannot beat the price of $250-350 tops when Gibson is asking 3 grand for a LP starter guitar. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these Harleys! Sláinte ☺️ 🇨🇦 🥞
this is very useful. I am one of those who believe youtube reviews and bought guitars but then realized many untold flaws. thank you for sharing . the list spec also superb.
Your welcome. My aim is that if someone wants to buy equal gear, that they know what to expect. I really like HB and it helped me training my skills for setup and adjustment :-). In the past I had Gibsons and too much respect to do the work, cause of the high price.
I bought mine CST24 T at HB 25th anniversary sales in August '23 for just 209 € instead of 279 €. It came with a real good setup out of the box, i just lowered the string action a bit more. I didn't like the Roswell PUs, imho they sound somewhat harsh or raw. So i changed them to a Tonerider Classic A4 at the bridge and a Humbucker sized Artec P90 at the Neck! Now i got that creamy sound i wanted. The playability is great, better than my Player Strat! Even the workmanship is at same level. HBs quality increased since they are made in Indonesia - maybe Cort factory?
HB sent me 2 instead of one. Yes, the QC isn't perfect. But with just a little work it is an great platform to modify. I added locking tuners that I had and added a VEGATREM tremolo and it sounds and plays amazingly. I take it on the road with me and it sounds fantastic. Don't expect out of the box perfection. But for the price and a little TLC you can do wonders with it.
Looks great. I hadn't had most of the problems you mentioned on a s-style. But I did polish the frets and rounded them very slightly with a leather belt. Since then I can play it as a no1 guitar, it sounds great. Go figure.
leather belt to round the fret ends, how does it work, I mean how should I do it. Do I need smooth or raw leather? I will give it a try, so far I used grid swamps of sometimes sand paper, but for bindings it was not the best. Greets
@@fritzsguitars I taped everything bar the fret ends. I then used sandpaper 1000grit, I think I also used some 600 at first by hand. In the end I took my leather belt that was old, brown not really soft but not entirely smooth leather and used that as a sandpaper of sorts, going back and forth. I saw it somewhere as a trick and I think it worked really well. Now you pass your hand and they are smoother vs how the guitar came which was not really bad to begin with.
check before return policy and cost. if it is more as an usual setup (relief, action, intonation, polishing frets) cost can drive quite high. maybe its still worth it, mybe not. greets
I can only concours to Fritz's pov. It's ok to pay for a setup, which is not so cheap. Setup in most case, is cleaning/conditioning of the fretboard, change of strings, setup of the bridge (floating or not, height of the saddle), setup of the nut, neck relief, then intonation. Proper setup takes time, so if it is affordable don't expect miracles, it is not a critic of the professional doing it, just that they can't spend a couple hours and a set of a strings, for say 30€ (I guess my statement depend greatly on the cost of living in your country). Most guitarists can do that after a while, a great and no risky way to do a basic polish of the frets is to use towel paper, paper is abrasive. it works well enough. Fret edges can be reworked, but that require tools and on a new instruments, whereas the manufacturer won't notice a change of strings, a mild polish, the setup, it could notice a setup that went wrong. Still one confident enough can deal with that. Now, on a new instrument, more often then not, fret buzz comes from frets that are not properly / fully set or encased into the fretboard. That is something else, it requires skill to fix and cost a lot, and you don't know if you're going to like the result. Those high frets may have been hiding other issues like improper neck/body angle (on reason I favor bolt on construction, other than the sound of it), or ultimately you're not so fond of the guitar. If you can't tell send it back, get a new one…
All I did to mine is a fret level and its my main guitar. My PRS SE24 I spent days on set up work and its still not as good as the HB. The Harley Benton is a better guitar period and for a fraction of the cost. I like my PRS but its a back up to the Harley Benton and not the other way around.
Dude these guitars are better than $1000 range PRS guitars you will encounter the same issues if not more. You should have kept it and done the set up work as you would with a real PRS.
@@Vicos not really, it's a business cost, but the trade off is a lot of these online sellers don't have sales people and a retail store to pay for. returns will happen by the droves, especially when it comes to online guitar sells
If you can return it for free or less cost, you can try it. If not stay away from it. I got in total 3 CST and all showed fret buzzing in different areas (maybe just bad luck for me and means nothing).... too high... too low frets. This would requier fret leveling and crowning job... means around 150€ - 200€ additional cost. Greets
Когда хочешь себе PRS SE, но твой уровень жизни не позволяют такую покупку и тут вам предлагают в магазине Альтернативу дорогому варианту и черт, вы купили и теперь понимаете, Счастье было рядом, просто надо опустить глаза пониже и узреть её.
I have a real PRS SE 24 and the HB CST 24. Know which one I play? The Harley Benton!! Although I love my PRS I just connect with the HB better. I am a bit of a luthier I can at least do set up work on guitars. I spent two days on the PRS verses just a few hours on the Harley Benton. It was actually set up fairly well out of the box. The PRS had too high of action and I had to do multiple fret levels to get the action on par with the Harley Benton. Intonation was way off on the PRS so had to do all that where the HB was ok but it too needed some adjustement there. Build quality is just as good as the PRS I dont buy the tone wood BS knowing how pickups actually work. The HB also has jumbo frets verses PRS has medium frets. As for the stock electronics they are Identical I mean exactly the same!! It turns out both my guitars were made in Indoniesia. I have to wonder if they are actually made at the same facility? Either they are or Harley Benton did one hell of a job copying the PRS counter part. I am left handed and PRS does not support us lefty's with USA made models.
The Beauty of getting a Harley Benton is you can change out things and upgrade it, you just saved 600 bucks. So any upgrade is going to add value to it. Verses change anything out the PRS and you de value it. I did change out the pups and electronics with an EMG system and ordered PRS knobs for it. The Rosswells are also decent pick ups there really is nothing wrong with them. For what these guitars cost in this cheap guitar space this particular guitar is an absolute steal for its price!! Take care of that guitar dont treat it like its a piece of junk. Because its just as good if not better than most high end brand names.
Thx very much for your detailed comparison to PRS SE, assuming its the same factory and PRS is more expensive, a shame that they not deliver at least same quality as the HB. For a beginner NO GO is for me, if you have to do fret leveling. This need some practise and more attention. Sometimes you get a no brainer HB and the other day a guitar to spend some hours work. On this particular CST I have not won the lottery :-). Greets
@@fritzsguitars Ive never bought a guitar that did not need fret level at any price range. And I was actually being nice on the PRS quality. The finnish was also not all that good it had and still has swirl marks all over the face. But yeah I agree every company has its Friday built products.
30-40 yrs ago you had to go to a music store and pick from what they had on shelf, 99% were the big 2 companies Gibson and Fender, or the want ads or maybe someone you knew had a friend or older brother that had guitar they were selling amd then you had to have it "set up". 10 yrs ago still had to deal with the absolutely unpleasant experience of dealing with fucken G Center and their self centered, failed musician staff and then still have to have it "set up".... now the last 5 guitars I've bought have been high quality Chinese/Japanese/Indonesian "copies" of Les Pauls and out of the box they're ready to go. No adjustments, no set ups, I only put my favourite strings on them. I am amazed and proud to say that, with the exception of my 1978 Les Paul Standard I've owned since high school, (36 yrs), these are better quality than any big company guitars I've ever played and you cannot beat the price of $250-350 tops when Gibson is asking 3 grand for a LP starter guitar. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these Harleys! Sláinte ☺️ 🇨🇦 🥞
I have a 1987 PRS Custom 24. I paid $500 with OHSC. Bought it in 1988 from Paul himself
I guess with inflation the price would be ~4000$ today :-)
this is very useful. I am one of those who believe youtube reviews and bought guitars but then realized many untold flaws. thank you for sharing . the list spec also superb.
Your welcome. My aim is that if someone wants to buy equal gear, that they know what to expect. I really like HB and it helped me training my skills for setup and adjustment :-). In the past I had Gibsons and too much respect to do the work, cause of the high price.
I bought mine CST24 T at HB 25th anniversary sales in August '23 for just 209 € instead of 279 €. It came with a real good setup out of the box, i just lowered the string action a bit more. I didn't like the Roswell PUs, imho they sound somewhat harsh or raw. So i changed them to a Tonerider Classic A4 at the bridge and a Humbucker sized Artec P90 at the Neck! Now i got that creamy sound i wanted.
The playability is great, better than my Player Strat! Even the workmanship is at same level. HBs quality increased since they are made in Indonesia - maybe Cort factory?
Its not an affordable CE. CE's are bolt on neck and they have a maple neck. That is an affordable Custom 24
Thx, was just checking the body shape
Gorgeous! I want one in every color!! 😊
I am more into the new colors, purple and sun burst I need to see in person.
@@fritzsguitars The Emerald Green one looks amazing online, I can only imagine what it would look like in MY hands☺️
Ocean blue or black seeing through are also in my focus
HB sent me 2 instead of one. Yes, the QC isn't perfect. But with just a little work it is an great platform to modify. I added locking tuners that I had and added a VEGATREM tremolo and it sounds and plays amazingly. I take it on the road with me and it sounds fantastic. Don't expect out of the box perfection. But for the price and a little TLC you can do wonders with it.
Agree, if there is no fret buzz issue due to too high or low frets. Then it is easy to setup and a great deal.
Looks great. I hadn't had most of the problems you mentioned on a s-style. But I did polish the frets and rounded them very slightly with a leather belt. Since then I can play it as a no1 guitar, it sounds great. Go figure.
leather belt to round the fret ends, how does it work, I mean how should I do it. Do I need smooth or raw leather? I will give it a try, so far I used grid swamps of sometimes sand paper, but for bindings it was not the best. Greets
@@fritzsguitars I taped everything bar the fret ends. I then used sandpaper 1000grit, I think I also used some 600 at first by hand. In the end I took my leather belt that was old, brown not really soft but not entirely smooth leather and used that as a sandpaper of sorts, going back and forth. I saw it somewhere as a trick and I think it worked really well. Now you pass your hand and they are smoother vs how the guitar came which was not really bad to begin with.
Do you think that the Thomann Plek Service Nut service would help to solve most of the problems you mentioned?
Deep clear sound. Maybe worth the shipping and setup cost.
check before return policy and cost. if it is more as an usual setup (relief, action, intonation, polishing frets) cost can drive quite high. maybe its still worth it, mybe not. greets
I can only concours to Fritz's pov.
It's ok to pay for a setup, which is not so cheap. Setup in most case, is cleaning/conditioning of the fretboard, change of strings, setup of the bridge (floating or not, height of the saddle), setup of the nut, neck relief, then intonation.
Proper setup takes time, so if it is affordable don't expect miracles, it is not a critic of the professional doing it, just that they can't spend a couple hours and a set of a strings, for say 30€ (I guess my statement depend greatly on the cost of living in your country).
Most guitarists can do that after a while, a great and no risky way to do a basic polish of the frets is to use towel paper, paper is abrasive. it works well enough.
Fret edges can be reworked, but that require tools and on a new instruments, whereas the manufacturer won't notice a change of strings, a mild polish, the setup, it could notice a setup that went wrong.
Still one confident enough can deal with that.
Now, on a new instrument, more often then not, fret buzz comes from frets that are not properly / fully set or encased into the fretboard. That is something else, it requires skill to fix and cost a lot, and you don't know if you're going to like the result.
Those high frets may have been hiding other issues like improper neck/body angle (on reason I favor bolt on construction, other than the sound of it), or ultimately you're not so fond of the guitar.
If you can't tell send it back, get a new one…
All I did to mine is a fret level and its my main guitar. My PRS SE24 I spent days on set up work and its still not as good as the HB. The Harley Benton is a better guitar period and for a fraction of the cost. I like my PRS but its a back up to the Harley Benton and not the other way around.
Yes, but if you buy them all, there won't be any left for us😂
:-) next one I got them on ebay
@@fritzsguitars Thanks super useful videos ;)
Thx, you re welcome!
Dude these guitars are better than $1000 range PRS guitars you will encounter the same issues if not more. You should have kept it and done the set up work as you would with a real PRS.
The next CST is already on the way. If no fret leveling needed, then I will do the setup :-). Thx
yep, unnecessary returns just drive the prices up for everyone.
@@Vicos not really, it's a business cost, but the trade off is a lot of these online sellers don't have sales people and a retail store to pay for. returns will happen by the droves, especially when it comes to online guitar sells
Wonder if HB will go all the way and start putting “winged” fret markers on these?? 😂
not on these one, but they have done it already on R model
Double split?
Yes, bridge and neck can be operated in single coil function via push/pull control
Its neck is fixed or what
What do you mean? The neck is glued in.
@@fritzsguitars yeah... Actually thinking to purchase it is there any problem on it.. Shall i get it
If you can return it for free or less cost, you can try it. If not stay away from it. I got in total 3 CST and all showed fret buzzing in different areas (maybe just bad luck for me and means nothing).... too high... too low frets. This would requier fret leveling and crowning job... means around 150€ - 200€ additional cost. Greets
Do you think the neck would be loose? 😅 Of course it is fixed!
Когда хочешь себе PRS SE, но твой уровень жизни не позволяют такую покупку и тут вам предлагают в магазине Альтернативу дорогому варианту и черт, вы купили и теперь понимаете, Счастье было рядом, просто надо опустить глаза пониже и узреть её.
Well said! In the end price doesn't matter, cheap vs expensive... only matters what makes you happy. Even a cheap guitar can do this.:-)
how much does it weight ?
all info you can find in the text under the video. 3,4kg
How much did you pay total?
~ 250€