Harley Benton CST-24T Paradise Flame (Looks GOOD!)

[@MrPolevaulter]

Check out more guitar reviews: kzbin.info/aero/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES Or check out some of my music: kzbin.info/aero/PLNaLwTdlpQNHKlg8ALZfM3AINC20WMp8s

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Best gear and honest reviews on YT imho.

[@Juno58]

Listening to your guitar playing makes me dizzy. 😅

[@richfiryn]

10 days ago i won $4000 and instead of buying more guitar stuff like i usually do i blew the whole pile on some custom high end indoor grow gear for growing some you know what since it finally became legal to do so !! I will be back to the ever present binge of guitar stuff soon enough, Cheers :) Oh and that Harley Benton CST-24T sure is a beauty.

[@dafud77]

I owned one in Ocean Flame about a year ago. I absolutely loved the way it played and felt. I hated the pickups, they are very hot and muddy. I sold it, and have been kicking myself ever since. I will own another at some point and use it as a mod project.

[@GuitarsRgood7]

I think this will be the guitar I go with. I haven't played in like 6 years, but I used to play all the time. I was going to save up for a PRS SE Custom, but a lot of people have said that this guitar is a close competitor at a quarter the price!

[@jonniegibbins]

I bought one of those 2nd hand for £100. The pickups had been swapped - no idea what's in there now, and locking tuners fitted. I replaced the knackered pots and it's now an excellent guitar. Not as good as my PRS SE, but sound-wise I probably couldn't tell the difference between £100 HB and a £600 (second hand) PRS SE.

[@jayteesgear]

Great playing and it trips me out seeing Harley Benton keep making these wonders of the music market! Cheers from Arizona US

[@danfango1333]

Got a green one. Frets, set up, feel, looks all good. Weak points... Pickups and tuners. Vanson for both...£50. Wonderful guitar ⭐🇺🇦🍺 Approved

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

It took a while on mine but tuning stability will improve as the nut breaks in. But even new it was fairly stable with light use.

[@paulrerrie75]

These have a quality Wilkinson tremolo having steel block and saddles but they don't use notched screws like PRS does.

[@cloughie1981]

Good morning Elmo! I hope you are well :) edit: These guitars go for £211 here in the UK.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers! You too :)

[@The_Macaroon]

They should make this with 22 frets. The pickups are too close together. Good review Elmo.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@Winterhe4rt]

The most important thing would be to make them lighter. Those things are unnessecary HEAVY!

[@jeremyrafuse5330]

They're identical to PRS... PRS does pretty well for themselves so I doubt the pickups being close together matter

[@johnpearson4899]

PRS discontinued his 22 fret models a couple of years ago. I thought that was a terrible move. It's mostly psychological but, I'm not the only one who feels that blues and certain other types of music are meant for a 21 or 22 fret guitar. 21 preferably. Metal, certain types of fusion, etc are for 24 fret guitars. Obviously any genre can be played equally as well on any guitar, regardless of the fret count. Some things are just right. Some things are just wrong. Lol.

[@ihmisenraja5482]

I think the body is first painted black and then sanded down to emphasize the grain before staining/tinting. Thats why the black color in the back. Nice video as always!

[@lapinmaki]

Ei, tuo musta on sähköä johtavaa maalia, mikä toimii eristyksenä (Faradayn häkki) mikä estää hurinaa. Tosin vaikuttaa olevan aika ohut kerros.. Tarvitaan yleensä lähinnä vain yksikelaisilla mikeillä. Tuossahan on tuo split coil-systeemi, eli saattaa olla tarpeen. Usein käytetään kuitenkin foliota. No, the black paint is shield paint for prevent humming.

[@miikkahannola9748]

@@lapinmaki Niinpä muuten onkin! Eihän tuolla selkäpuolella ole edes syykuviot niin tummat kuin kannessa.

[@Fawkes1978]

Great playing as always. Nice guitar. I remember Dave Simpson praised the Harley Benton CST24 too, preferring the neck profile over the original PRS Custom 24. Looks better than many SEs I've seen in real life. I'd be tempted if they made a DGT copy!!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool, thanks!

[@scottykingdavid]

@@MrPolevaulter I don't want a real fat neck profile on this guitar. I'm hoping the neck profile is fairly easy nad close to a ,60,s slim taper Gibson type .. slim. Not a fat one.. how is it

[@tranceadic1]

Just purchased a Harley Benton ,what a great guitar. Amazing for the money.

[@masterquan4891]

Yeah, I bought it last year. One of my favorite things about the guitar is its really low string height. I swapped out the tuners for some locking tuners because I didn't like the original ones, and the new ones help a lot with tuning. I also like the C neck; it feels a bit thinner than the normal C, which I prefer. Bending strings on this guitar is wonderful. The pickups are a bit hot in my opinion, more like a '70s pickup. I have a PRS SE Custom 24-08, and they have a more rounded sound, but the price difference is significant. In my humble opinion, the HB is pretty close to the PRS standard and has a much better price point. I still find myself using the HB CST24T all the time and like it as much, if not more, than my PRS. However, if I need a lot of different tones, I take my PRS. Another good point is that if I'm going somewhere I don't trust my equipment, I'll take the HB instead of the PRS. Just saying.

[@tyjoisacoward4010]

I had one of these for 6 months. Very easy to play on and Great sound. It unfortunatly got stolen.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Sorry to hear.

[@MrSRV94]

believet it or not, i just bought one for 25 euros. It had neck problems, all resolved changing the nut. best 30E spent ever

[@c_b8925]

I love this color. I have more or less this guitar in blue with P-90s. Made in Vietnam. I think it's time to pick this one up, as well.

[@dragan4658]

Amazing color! Very affordable guitar line! Thanks for your honest opinion every time!

[@PooNinja]

14:46 that’s how I play ! Hence my propensity toward double locking trems. The guitars are very well made especially at the price point, and the ultra affordable models and kits are great for learning how to tech, without destroying the frets on an expensive instrument.

[@erickbertin78]

Funny, I personally don't have a guitar with an "out of the way" pickup selector such as this one, and thanks to my.... let's say "very enthusiastic" playing style, I often find myself flicking the switch by accident, so I'm very much looking forward to experience a pickup selector like the one on this guitar! Anyway, nice playing (Elmo seemed to really enjoy it, so did I!), some really brutal whammy bar testing as usual, and very cool video overall, thanks!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@erickbertin78]

@@MrPolevaulter hey, one quick question: I've seen/heard quite a few comments about this guitar being heavy, and I noticed you didn't mention it, so what's your opinion on that? thank you!

[@jorgetome7089]

I wish I could have a place where I can make noise.. and i would find a plexi.. nice guitar and amp. I have a Marshall origin 20c, it's too loud for an apartment. Cheers

[@sublyme2157]

In keeping with forum traditions, "you can find a used PRS Core for that." Of course, it's not true, and it's never been true, but forum people like to say things that aren't true :)

[@darthgibsonlp6631]

One of several reasons I don't bother with forums anymore. They're usually clique-ridden and full of people who've been posting for years & are more interested in guarding their territory than having a useful discussion.

[@KapoiosEipeKapote]

Another one to consider !!! Thanks Elmo !!!

[@aharkness5657]

If they had a fixed bridge model with P90s, I would probably have bought one. Managed to find a Revstar instead, finally. They've been sold out all around for a while.

[@andreaspapandreou871]

HB have a 200€ CST-24T P90 Black Flam with a tremolo bridge that can be blocked in 2 minutes with a piece of wood or a few coins and it looks and sounds great. Revstar RS502 with P90 and fixed bridge must be awesome though.

[@Morra5472]

Voi perkele! Ihana Elmo ihana! Just bought myself one! Good stuff!

[@ArticLight14]

My man Elmo starts digging in and feeling it. Question, will Harley Benton in the future get sued by some of these other brands like that one did? Can’t remember who it was.

[@John316TheWay]

All I can say is buyer beware. I have purchased 3 of these guitars. One for me, and two for Christmas gifts for my children. The first one I receive needed a little neck work to get it to play correctly. Not a big deal. The second one had a warped neck altogether and was not salvageable. My guitar tech of 30 years experience told me to send it back and get another one. Sometimes mass manufactured guitars a this price point have issues. It’s not a big deal when it’s an easy fix or when the seller honors their return policy and has great customer service and resolves the issues. Thomann, on the other hand, has terrible customer service. I reached out to Thomann via email, and explained the issue. Mind you, they have a 30-day, “money back guarantee” return policy that is stated on their website to be “hassle free” and “no questions asked.” They replied back to me asking me to send them a video explaining the issue, which I did. They asked me to compress the video and email it to them on a platform like Vimeo, Dropbox, etc., which I did. They told me they could not view the video. I put that to the test and emailed it to friends, and they stated they could view the video. So I uploaded it to Dropbox and sent it that way. Then they got back to me telling me they cannot do the return because the video doesn’t display the issue. Well, it’s a little difficult to see a warped neck through video. I explained to the customer service rep if the issue wasn’t resolved, I’d be posting comments on KZbin reviews. Well, since you’re seeing this review, I’m sure you can infer the issue was never resolved. They also stated they needed to see the issue on the video because this return would have a “serious economic impact on their business.” They should have considered how my reviews would impact their business rather than a single return. This could have gone the other way. They could have come out on top with a raving review if their customer care, but yea obvious they just want your money and aren’t abiding by their “no hassle” and “no questions asked” policy. Now I’m stuck with a bad guitar. I’m going to toss it in the garbage where it belongs. Think twice before you order one of these guitars.

[@ClydeSlobbs]

I did the same with a Squire strat ..a proper bag of shit it was .warped as fuck..in the firepit it went

[@jerrycrowder6520]

enjoy video if you don't like just send it my way.Have a blessed year

[@Crabfather]

Great playing man! Nice guitar, but the tuning issue is a deal breaker for me. Did you resolve it?

[@MrPolevaulter]

I seem to remember I did. I compared it to the PRS CE and added nut sauce to the nut if I remember correctly.

[@MatteMike2345]

The "black wood" on the back of the guitar is probably sheilding paint.

[@sc0or]

HB's QC uses very wide margins. For 260 Ibanez China is like a day/night comparing to HB China. If I will replace all soft metal, cr..py parts, fix all painting/finishing errors, the final price will be higher than Ibanez, Yamaha, ESP, or Squirer. I don't need to maximize the player to see how little time they spend on finishing wood and lacquer

[@toxicmartoc]

Looks like a cross between a PRS and ESP/LTD very nice looking guitar

[@Powers3848]

I've fiddled with mine for about 6 months now. And for the price it's an absolute steal of a guitar. It looks amazing, sounds fantastic (if you like a little muddy growling tones like i do) and it's all around really great value for money! I remember about roughly, just not even a decade ago you would have to pay at lest 500+ euros for a guitar like this (Epiphone anyone?). P.S Where were you taking those B. May chords? Lol. Good vid and great playin! Power 2 The Rockin!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@vfamily2406]

Beautiful piece of guitarness... thank you for the review!

[@McLambo]

They also have a CST-24 without the T(remelo) Would you prefer that over this model? Or is the tremelo not all that bad for this price range?

[@IndyRockStar]

I would imagine any guitar through what looks to be a ;ugged into a Marshall Plexi would sound decent.

[@mikevega7740]

Sounds pretty good and looks even better. Great video

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@TariasNiniel]

Is this the newer version thats Made in Indonesia or is this one still made in vietnam? I have the P90 version in ocean flame, and love how that plays. (really wasnt sure what color to buy it in though - but on some picks the black dye on the paradise flame made it look really dirty), i wonder if the paradise flame with the black dye still has the "moving grainpattern" perloid-like effect of flame maple or if the black dye takes that away.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Can't remember.

[@LadiesMan96]

Ah finally affordable PRS.

[@BawlsMahoney]

And with at least a similar top carve to the expensive prs's. And it sounds great in my opinion.

[@larseikind666]

I'd go for this guitar if it didn't have the push-pull thingie. It doesn't sound like a single coil. It sounds like an out of phase broken humbucker. So it's no deal for me. BUT I like the overall specs!

[@juancarlosbernabeaviles]

Amazing guitar.

[@ruitravanca9059]

...And what compare with Modern Ephiphone Les Paul , what your feedback? M thanks

[@deanmccaskill5495]

I have one of these. My trem stays in tune but I never go to the pickguard like that ha ha. I actually bought a Custom 24 SE and only kept it for like 6 weeks. I play this way more. Great video!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@deanmccaskill5495]

@@MrPolevaulter Thanks for the reply as alway. May I make a request? On your next video when you introduce yourself do you mind saying your name nice and slow for us please? I know you say we will never pronounce it and that may be true. But if you say it slow for us……. Just once. Thanks

[@padawan9127]

@@deanmccaskill5495 car ee ah lie nen

[@darthgibsonlp6631]

Very nice guitar for the money, looks a joy to play. I agree that the Roswell pickups are absolute mince and would need swapped out

[@MrPolevaulter]

Yeah, they're not great.

[@oncameramastery]

Ha, the only thing really I liked about my 2018 cst was the pickups 😊, I wonder if they've changed them since then? 🤔

[@atlejohnnyrygg7124]

@@oncameramastery did it have roswell or Wilkinson pickups? They switched to Roswell pickups some years ago

[@ces69]

Easy fix, just replace with some Iron Gear or Tonerider, modestly priced but both excellent for the money and won’t break the bank!

[@darthgibsonlp6631]

Well well well...have one of these arriving on Tuesday. Some new locking tuners and a pair of Seymour Duncans will seal the deal 💣

[@Probablyshouldnthave]

the front grain is black so they likely died the wood black then sanded it back a bite to darken the flaming ?.?.resulting in the unfinished black cutout for the trem

[@ces69]

Shielding paint!

[@muffinman1978]

PRS-magic is real. Combination of great work, enhanced innovations and adorable details. Still I prefer Gibson and Fender (Custom shop). This Harley Topper looks nice. Two things to make my world unreal - test Friedman gear and come to Chile or Brazil.

[@Nightingale1887]

Are you sure that's not shielding paint? Looks like it.

[@ces69]

That’s what I think it is too!

[@OscarRuiz-gj3mp]

Very melodic playing, Elmo! Ear candy and a great cheap guitar......

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@guitar_man3778]

I wish you could try a Telecaster from the brand Vintage. I have a Vintage Joe Doe Lucky Buck Telecaster and it's my favorite guitar! The price is a bit higher than the low budget guitars you've tried out recently, though... Tusen takk for en av de beste gitarkanalene! Hilsen Even

[@guitar_man3778]

I forgot to mention that I bought the cheapest Telecaster from Thomann: TE-20MN BM Standard Series. It's great apart from the fact it's so d...ned heavy! Unfortunately, the use of raw wood in cheaper guitars is a fact and it's a bit of a gamble with them.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Tackar :)

[@ninadugina4175]

Awesome. Did you think it was suitable for people with small hands?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Can't remember. Sorry.

[@mariokoppatz3294]

If tere was an little feather in the box...thats for the tremolo to keep it tight...best Regards

[@Lola_Santoro]

STOP IT!!! I started watching you a couple weeks ago and now I see me buying a Harley Benton in my near future. I don't need a new guitar (I just bought my "last" guitar). But, you're making it difficult to not want to try a HB.

[@MatteMike2345]

There is no such thing as "a last guitar"! 😁

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@Lola_Santoro]

@@MatteMike2345 I'm finding that out! 😋

[@Lola_Santoro]

This comment was 3 weeks ago - I've already ordered my Harley Benton sc-custom ii p90.

[@ruby2thursday]

lots of vinnie moore licks from you...nice!

[@SoMoMule]

I've considering one of these, love the color. I'm trying to decide between the trem and non-trem models. The trem model has a dark fingerboard which I prefer and I'm concerned the fixed bridge doesn't have much adjustment for intontation so I'm leaning to the trem model and just locking it down. Any thoughts out there?

[@patrickdufresne8485]

A nice adjustable bridge is an easy fix, and not too expensive.

[@williammolina9792]

Hey. How much does it weight.?? You should try out the harley benton fusion-III HH eb oct. Greetings

[@MrPolevaulter]

Don't know what it weighs. Don't remember it being heavy. I already tried one Fusion III.

[@carlinisatnirvana8499]

Do you think you could take a look at the Squier Classic Vibe 60s Mustang? I always like hearing your opinion

[@MrPolevaulter]

Mustangs aren't really my type of guitar. Maybe at some point.

[@carlinisatnirvana8499]

@@MrPolevaulter thats okay 👌

[@Smart-Alex]

I wonder how Paul Reed Smith feels about this. Is it a threat or an entry point into the actual PRS brand. Interesting point to ponder...

[@jimmyjames2022]

Maybe Harley Benton figures if it doesn't have bird or moon inlays Paul has no claim? I think the HB should at least have moons.

[@Smart-Alex]

@@jimmyjames2022 I mean, at that price point, I’m surprised it comes with strings LOL

[@Powers3848]

@@Smart-Alex Perhaps it will be the Greco/Les Paul drama again.

[@christoguichard4311]

Everyone is slagging off the Roswell pick ups in the comments... I think they sound GREAT! But...they ARE more of a 70's tone, than a modern metal tone, that most younger players know.

[@overthehillcheapgearnoodle9990]

Nice. Thanks. Yes, it's not a Floyd Rose.

[@tiago5a]

Can you get straty sounds?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Split the coils and yes.

[@jayrichardson5811]

It's a thin veneer it's not a cap like Epiphone and Gibson do

[@kmichaelp4508]

$309 total price for US. Shipping has really gone up in the past year or so. Used to be $35. Still not bad . Just saying. If I were a younger man and still had a job I would be all over it.😬

[@germanCrowbar]

I must paied for an pair of shoes $60 shipping costs from the states to gerrmany including all US taxes and in germay I must pay taxes again for it. That's what i called expensiv. You can shipped up to 31kg from thomann to the states for the same price as my shoes (excluding german taxes!). I call it cheap. Sorry for my bad english.

[@kmichaelp4508]

@@germanCrowbar , I understood all of it 😊. I don’t think you pay any US taxes. One good thing about it is we don’t pay import taxes on most things. I don’t know what the amount is that is excluded. Have a great night

[@them18053]

@@kmichaelp4508 for now, how much is the shipping cost from thomann to Us?

[@jimmyjames2022]

Pretty for sure, sounds ok too. Is this the only half decent 'PRS' clone, 25" scale and all that anyone makes? This could be the 'Affinity' to the PRS SE as 'Classic Vibe' or more likely 'Contemporary', sure it's cheaper but would you sacrifice everything for the few hundred $$ you save versus getting the real deal and enjoying it more for many years. The main reason to buy the CST is you would mod it and not mind, but then the SE is perfect for mods and you get a better base platform.

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

US$260 and they got one for 185. It’s called Amber.

[@LurkenBoogieBand]

This guitar vs Harley Benton fusion III?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Not sure. Both are good.

[@Mr.5hady]

Seems like everything you try sounds good…. 🤔

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@ruckailo88]

Very nice guitar 😢😮😮😮😮😮

[@bradleyclosson5042]

I can't do that fretboard.

[@Juno58]

I got a CST 24 T for just 209 € new (because of 25th Harley Benton anniversary sales) and I like to play it. A flawless guitar, but I don't like the Roswell PUs. I think i change them, but I'm not sure to P90s in humbucker size or better affordable humbuckers such as Toneriders.

[@maninscratch]

8:08 simpsons

[@janusn9]

PRS minus the flock of seagulls A win to me. 😂😂

[@davidpopelka4073]

You are really crazy guy which I like :D.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks :D

[@seerattan]

I see that in thomann website the New cst-24t are being made with a pau ferro fretboard, stainless Steel frets and the veneer is a bit nicer looking. I'll wait on those. By the way, you have a weird tone. Very ice picky. Even so Nice video.

[@gmm8667]

Is there a release date?

[@seerattan]

@@gmm8667 they are available right now. But not all models. Some May be in stock in 4 or 6 weeks.

[@artwhat..]

Hi..E, nice you cross reference euros to dollars, some what, headstocks on those are nice,dug the way you tested the wammy (locking) machine heads? If that looked like a real woman,she would be fine as h#ll !!!!

[@brCharlieNagy]

well, if you don't have locking tuners, of course it wont stay in tune after whammy use ... ;-)

[@thefilmandmusic]

Great value for money….

[@Floodland-bn3ol]

I came for the review but stayed for the whammy test.😂

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@mohitdkarkera8800]

first one ...lessgooooo i love ur videoss

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thank you very much :)

[@smg4607]

Can you play heavy metal on it? 😮

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏼👍🏼

[@AlexA-fn2bg]

I didnt know Triple H was sucha great guitar player. lol.

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@alejandronavgar8798]

💪💪🎸🎸🖐️

[@jimgray774]

I love that guitar that's my next one,gotta add it to my collection,this one will be curtain divorce,lol,I'm not married just with somebody that thinks they own my money and not me,I don't want to turn into a bitch but sometimes it calls for it right,lol,my walls are covered in guitars but I can't stop buying them,jim from maine

[@kostaslekkas10]

I see prs suing in the very future after this

[@ces69]

That model has been around for years!

[@therollband1290]

Looks like a knockoff PRS

[@CopiumPF]

How dare you

[@oncameramastery]

Oh no, I'm going to get even more flak for hating the one I reviewed now! 😂

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@artwhat..]

Hi..one more thing,does a superheroes name,have to coincide with his powers? I guess your's would be,(Evaluator)look out he will eat your brain? ha,unless you're like me, not so smart,bye,eeeee

[@shanewalton8888]

How can it be good-looking? It looks like a PRS and we know how ugly those are.

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D