Harley Benton SC Custom III

On the bench today is the Harley Benton SC-Custom III Gold Top. This is not a paid sponsorship. I was not supplied this guitar and purchased it with my own money without any discounts. My opinions are my own.

This guitar was just released by Harley Benton on July 9th, 2024.

Here are some of the specifications.

Body: Meranti
Set-in neck: Meranti
Fingerboard: Roasted Jatoba
White Pearloid Crown fingerboard inlays
Neck profile: Modern C
Nut: ABS
Nut width: 1.650 Inch or 42 mm
Fingerboard radius: 13.74 inch or 350 mm
Scale: 24.75 inches or 628 mm
22 Medium Jumbo Blacksmith stainless steel frets
Cream binding
Pickups: 2 Tesla TM VR-Nitro Alnico-5 humbuckers
2 Volume controls one for each pickup
1 Tone control with push/pull function for coil split on both pickups separate or combined.
3-Way pickup selector switch
WSC Tune-O-Matic bridge
Grover machine heads
Chrome hardware
Color: Gold high-gloss

Other colors include Vintage Black, Lemon Flame, Ocean Flame, Desert Flame Burst, Purple Burst, and Satin Paradise Amber Flame.

Other variations include flame tops, left-handed variations, Active Pickups, P90s, and Floyd Rose Tremolos.

This specific guitar in new condition is $271 and for a B-Stock model the retail is $195. From the US to order from Thomann Music was $119.


Observations:

The sides of the fretboard are smooth. The top of the frets I found no rocking anywhere on the fretboard.
The fit and finish of the body and neck is excellent.

I absolutely love having Grover tuners. They are so damned smooth to use. This is a great upgrade.

The nut is made from ABS (plastic) and seems to be adequate in that it works well.

One thing I always look at in inexpensive guitars is the bridge assembly. The bridge and stop bar on this guitar is great. They are heavier than what I have experienced on prior Harley Benton 450 style guitars. I do not see any reason to upgrade or replace.

The controls are full size pots and when you roll the control knobs, they are very smooth and feel like something you would get on a high-end guitar.

The control chamber has conductive paint and I was able to test this using a multimeter.
The action or string height was a little high but I was quickly able to adjust it down at the bridge without any string buzz.

The intonation from the factory was spot on and did not need to be adjusted. Neither did the truss rod\neck.

I like the belly cut/curve on the back of the guitar.

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Overall, the guitar is really nice to handle and play.

I feel comfortable comparing this guitar to any of the Les Paul line of Epiphone. I think the SC-Custom III holds its own and is as good a guitar as any of the Epiphones I have handled.