Review: Harley Benton Single-P90 SC-Junior under $200 US

[Chiogtr4x]

I felt the same way — I wished the DC Junior FAT came with 2 pickuos too. I tend to play neck pickup only, or neck + bridge pickup, but rarely bridge-only, so the idea of a guitar without a neck pickup seemed foreign to me. But the rest of the specs (even the color) seemed perfect to me, so I decided to consider it challenge. “ Can I learn to deal without a neck pickup?” I turns out, “Yes, I can!” It forced me to better my picking.

The pickup is a stacked pair of coils and the volume knob is a push-pull pot. Down is “normal” single-coil and Up is dual-coil. For me, adding the second coil removes too much upper harmonic content, so I usually don’t use it, But it’s there if I want a little boost and the volume is already max’ed.

I actually liked my DC Junior FAT so much that I bought a second one to stash away as an unmodded spare and bought an SC Special hoping it would be the same guitar, but with a neck pickup. But the SC Special is not the same. The neck profile is slimmer and the Soapbar pickups are darker, so it doesn’t have the same magic for me.

Before I bought it, I read a lot of forum posts about the FAT’s neck not being fat enough for a lot of guitarists. It’s not as big as a Baja Tele neck, but it’s very rounded and fills my smaller-than-average hands nicely — much better Fender modern C or Gibson 60s slim taper. The Asian ebony was a big surprise to me. It’s closed-pore like “normal” ebony, but it feels a little waxy like some rosewoods do and has the color of dark rosewood without the streaks that plague a lot of new guitars these days.

It’s great to hear that @ChicknPickn likes the neck on his new SC Junior. It’s probably the same profile as my DC Junior FAT and it looks like the same finish. If it sounds the same as my FAT in single-coil mode, then I know it’s a surprising guitar that’s a real bargain. These things make fantastic “beater” guitars. I finally found some guitars that I can leave on guitar stands 24x7 without worrying about them.

Great info- will let all sink in
I'd like a fat neck! ( not so much huge, but round)

I have a Strat and a Tele , both with Fender modern C necks, and an Epi SG, with the '60's slim taper.
All are pretty comfy for me, but I also know how much I'd love a rounder/fatter neck.

Funny, I have always used all pickup positions ( big variety of music at gigs) of either 2 or 3 pickup guitars.
So my 'rational' brain says " go with the 2 pickup LP Special type guitar, you will regret just one pickup!"

But my R&R side loves the minimalist vibe ( and stripped down beautiful) of a Junior- a friend of mine has a real '57 ( lightweight and so comfy!) and this guitar plugged into a cranked '66 Super Reverb is without a doubt, one of the best R&R sounds I've ever heard, period!

My heart & gut say " get the Jr., you will love it!"

 

[ChicknPickn]

Great info- will let all sink in
I'd like a fat neck! ( not so much huge, but round)

I have a Strat and a Tele , both with Fender modern C necks, and an Epi SG, with the '60's slim taper.
All are pretty comfy for me, but I also know how much I'd love a rounder/fatter neck.

Funny, I have always used all pickup positions ( big variety of music at gigs) of either 2 or 3 pickup guitars.
So my 'rational' brain says " go with the 2 pickup LP Special type guitar, you will regret just one pickup!"

But my R&R side loves the minimalist vibe ( and stripped down beautiful) of a Junior- a friend of mine has a real '57 ( lightweight and so comfy!) and this guitar plugged into a cranked '66 Super Reverb is without a doubt, one of the best R&R sounds I've ever heard, period!

My heart & gut say " get the Jr., you will love it!"

I've heard over the years that single-pickup guitars may have unique sonic qualities because there is only one magnetic field damping the strings, rather than two, three, etc. This idea may have been debunked somewhere. I have a cheap single-bucker guitar that has similar sizzle and sustain to that of my new toy. I'm inclined to think there is something to this idea.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I've heard over the years that single-pickup guitars may have unique sonic qualities because there is only one magnetic field damping the strings, rather than two, three, etc. This idea may have been debunked somewhere. I have a cheap single-bucker guitar that has similar sizzle and sustain to that of my new toy. I'm inclined to think there is something to this idea.

Have read this too, with respect to both Esquires and Juniors.

I'm kind of gravitating towards the Jr. direction -just wanting to go for that 'making it work with 1 P-90...' vibe, and I do love the look of either the single or double cutaway versions.
Bad***!

plus just want to get an HB guitar, curious!

Money is tight, so also, another reason to get a Jr.
( I know not much real difference in $$ between the Jr & Special, but on my planet, it is!)

 

[middy]

In this case, where the guitar arrived already strung, I noticed when I tuned up that several of the saddles were as far back as they could go, but the strings still needed to be lengthened ("sharp is short," meaning that if the string pressed at fret 12 is sharper than the harmonic at the 12th, or the open string, the saddle needs to go away from the nut.). So the first task was to use the screw adjusters to move the entire saddle away from the nut.

Then, I worked with the intonation adjuster on the high E saddle until intonation was dead-on using an old quartz analog tuner. At that point, I checked the string length and found it was exactly 24.75 inches, as the guitar's specs indicated it should be. I used the adjuster at the high E side to lower that end of the bridge, checking both height and buzz of the high string with each 1/4 turn of the adjuster. When buzz was not noticeable using a light grip on the neck, and full note bends were clean and clear, I was satisfied.

I then went to the low E and did the same thing, working my way through each string in the same way. Since this Gibson-style bridge does not adjust for height on individual strings, one has to work with the two post height adjusters to find the string height that works best for all strings.

Others may do things differently, and I'm sure the real pros do, but it was at this point that I checked relief by putting a capo on the first fret, pressing down the low E where the neck joins the body, and checked relief at fret 8 using a feeler gauge. I can eyeball it after having done this so many times over the years. I'm looking for only a sliver of light between string and fret.

Last, I checked the nut slot depths (after removing the capo) by pressing each string at fret 3 and eyeballing and feeling the gap between the bottom of the string and fret one. I was looking for the slightest sliver of daylight between them. This process, for me. makes things right. I did not need to touch the truss rod this time, but if I'd needed to, I would have moved it 1/4 turn and checked the result after playing a little while, repeating if necessary.

I do it the same way, except I tap the string down to the fret with my finger to gauge how big the tiny gap is. Faster than looking for my bifocals or feeler gauges.

 

[middy]

With CNC machining and plentiful high quality African mahoganies, there is no reason a basic design like a lp Jr should cost much more. Assembly is literal child’s play. Modern finishes are fast and easy.
There’s no magic mojo to the mythical handcrafted Gibson. The only magic is in a great setup and honest materials.
When you look at what $180 will get you at Home Depot, it’s a wonder Harley Bentons aren’t even cheaper.

Unless a lot more people start playing guitar or at least buying them, we’ll be burning great guitars for firewood in 10 years the way they are cranking these out.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

With CNC machining and plentiful high quality African mahoganies, there is no reason a basic design like a lp Jr should cost much more. Assembly is literal child’s play. Modern finishes are fast and easy.
There’s no magic mojo to the mythical handcrafted Gibson. The only magic is in a great setup and honest materials.
When you look at what $180 will get you at Home Depot, it’s a wonder Harley Bentons aren’t even cheaper.

Unless a lot more people start playing guitar or at least buying them, we’ll be burning great guitars for firewood in 10 years the way they are cranking these out.

I know nothing about DIY/ shop/power tools
( good guitar player but NOT 'handy'!)

Is RYOBI saw above only $180?

 

[Tele-friend]

How good can a Les Paul Junior-inspired import under $200 US possibly be? I decided to find out and share with the group what I’ve found.

First, brief background. As a teen in the late seventies, I had a jamming buddy whose brother had a stable of Gibson guitars. We were not allowed to touch the Explorer, the LP Standard, the Flying V - - but he treated his cherry-red, single-P90 Les Paul Jr. as a beater and allowed us to use it in our jam sessions. I’d owned only humbucker-equipped guitars, and the Junior, in addition to feeling great in the hands, had something special about it. I knew nothing about the construction of various pickup types, but, unbeknownst to me, I was experiencing P90 love - - the fatness, grit, and growl of this early pickup design - - for the first time.

For years, I kept my eyes open at pawn shops, but no Juniors ever appeared. I played an Epiphone that was interesting and affordable but didn’t excite me. The Gibsons were priced far beyond what I could pay. Recently, having had a very positive experience with an inexpensive ES-335 knockoff, I started looking at Harley Benton offerings. And there, I saw it: a cherry red mahogany single-cutaway with one P90 in the bridge. The price, at $175 US, seemed too good to be true. I felt certain it was, but some internet reviewers seemed favorably impressed. I figured, what’s to lose? I ordered mine.

The double box from Thomann arrived a week after I placed my order on the website. The guitar was well protected and there was no damage evident. Weight came in just under 6.5 lbs. I noticed a few things immediately. The finish, a transparent satin, was pretty, though there were some areas where the sheen was inconsistent and had light scratches. The action was visibly high, and the white nut - - said to be graphite - - was without a doubt the roughest I’d ever seen or felt. The strings sat deep in their slots, and every angle was sharp. No contouring whatsoever. The amaranth fretboard was dry and dull. The neck was very nicely crafted, with an excellent scarf joint, medium-jumbo frets well shaped and finished, vintage Wilkinson Deluxe tuners, and a very comfortable slanted neck joint (glued/set). The body is a four-piece, with nicely executed and subtle joints in the mahogany grain. You can find good pictures here. But here are a couple of quickies:

View attachment 1068345 View attachment 1068346

A fan of chunky necks, I immediately was impressed by the profile, which is somewhere between a Fender modern “C” and an Allparts fatty. I measured thickness at 0.858 in. at the first fret and 0.990 at the twelfth. Radius at the heel is 14”. My left hand glided over the satin finish. The two control knobs moved smoothly and with a nice, viscous resistance. The face of the peghead is matte black with the tasteful Harley Benton logo. The truss rod adjustment is at the nut. I noticed that the height of the strings above the P90 poles was far greater than I’ve been accustomed to seeing.

I set to work addressing the obvious shortcomings. The strings, a 10-46 set, were of the “never in tune” variety, but I decided to use them for the setup and change to Ernie Balls later. The bridge, a Tune-O-Matic wraparound type, is adjustable for position, height, and per-string intonation. I found that no attempt had been made to set a reasonable action or intonation. I needed about an hour to move the bridge assembly back and achieve good intonation and string height approximating Gibson factory specs (3/64 in. at 12th fret). At that point, I found to my pleasant surprise that the nut, though rough, had finely cut slots. String height over the first fret was good. I rounded the bottoms of the slots with a few light strokes with nut files. Using a light touch, I found no buzz working my way up the neck. The truss rod needed no adjustment.

Opening the tight-fitting control plate, I found two Alpha pots, stamped “Made in Korea.” No pot value was visible, though I assume they are 500k. The cover is shielded, and the control cavity is shielded with paint. The soldering is neat and the wiring nicely done.

It took about 30 minutes with a file and Dremel tool to bring the nut into decent shape. I addressed the slight finish imperfections with a wipe of satin polyurethane. When it dried, a very light touch with 0000 steel wool had the results I wanted. Lemon oil brought out lovely grain and deep colors in the fingerboard.

I took off the frankly awful factory strings and put on my Ernies, and I plugged directly into my Quilter Mini Reverb 101 with all the knobs at the noon position. I set the guitar knobs wide open and hit an open E chord. I was rewarded with the unmistakable warmth, smoothness, and rich sound of a good P90. I ran some scales and found the neck pleasant, even superb. Turning up the gain at the amp, the Roswell pickup entered sizzle-land, producing superb sustain and clean distortion - - the only way I know to describe it. Personality galore. Putting a Marshall OD pedal into the chain, I was rewarded with nothing short of superb blues screaming and harmonics, with excellent sustain. Overall, spanky and hot, but clear. Playing with the volume and tone controls, I found them to be very responsive and smooth. Cleans are warm and full. The absence of hum is intriguing - - noise is surprisingly low. Perhaps the use of shielded wire contributes to this.

The verdict? Once again, I come away thinking that imports are delivering greater value than they have a right to. When a guitar under $200 has this fine fit and finish, is aesthetically pleasing, and feels and sounds this good, it is a “shot over the bow” at guitars costing several times as much. Other reviewers have indicated they may use a shim to raise the pickup and perhaps choose a different bridge. I won’t rule out the shim, though, really, using the knobs on the guitar and amp produces a nice spectrum of tones. Adding the overdrive pedal unleashes a little monster. The Roswell P90, selling alone for less than $30 US on the Internet, has surprising character, which I am in no hurry to change.

Is my hankering for that old Gibson Junior fulfilled? I think that, at least for a while, it is, and surprisingly so.

Great review, thank you!

 

[middy]

I know nothing about DIY/ shop/power tools
( good guitar player but NOT 'handy'!)

Is RYOBI saw above only $180?

I lied. It’s $189

 

[ChicknPickn]

UPDATE:

I put a 1/8 in. shim under the pickup. With a turn or so of each pole, I was easily able to set the string height (string pressed at last fret) to 1/16 in. The results are worth the effort - - more control over tone with the guitar knobs. And sizzle with less gain at the amp.

I found a nice three-piece (1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 in.) shim set at Reverb. High quality material, very sturdy, perfect match for the Roswell pickup.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Pretty sure Artist Guitars sold down here are made in the same factory as Harley Bentons as a lot of the models are near identical and the headstock shapes of their strat and tele things are exactly the same. I'm very tempted by this LP Jnr DC, AU$279
View attachment 1068668

Yep. I like the double cutaway, too. And that color combination.

 

[CrazyFrankSD]

Pretty sure Artist Guitars sold down here are made in the same factory as Harley Bentons as a lot of the models are near identical and the headstock shapes of their strat and tele things are exactly the same. I'm very tempted by this LP Jnr DC, AU$279
View attachment 1068668

I picked up a “grungemaster” from Artist not long ago and was pretty impressed with it out of the box. I basically bought it for the body and bound neck and ended up replacing everything on it but the pickguard but it was a pretty impressive for the price instrument out of the box. With a Bigsby and a Tone Pros roller bridge, Schaller locking tuners and a Tusq nut it’s an absolute monster. Now I’ve got the itch to hot rod one of their LP DC’s.

 

[Flyboy]

I have the HB DC-FAT, bought last year. It's certainly not a fat neck, but full enough for me. Frets were a bit tall, which necessitated a level. I also bought a 2mm(I think) shim for the pup housing. Note that if you do this, you will have to shim the pup with foam underneath.

I love it! Great, natural tone, and you can buff the satin finish up to a gloss! I put speed knobs and a vintage tort 'guard on mine, just for a change.

 

[ChicknPickn]

I have the HB DC-FAT, bought last year. It's certainly not a fat neck, but full enough for me. Frets were a bit tall, which necessitated a level. I also bought a 2mm(I think) shim for the pup housing. Note that if you do this, you will have to shim the pup with foam underneath.

I love it! Great, natural tone, and you can buff the satin finish up to a gloss! I put speed knobs and a vintage tort 'guard on mine, just for a change.

I can attest to the fact the HB guitars can be addictive. If you know how to do basic work on a guitar, you can turn these things into superb players. Confession: I just received this:

And it actually looks BETTER than the picture. And sets up to 3/64" across the fretboard, no buzz. Sizzling pickups. And, oh yeah, $230 US.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I can attest to the fact the HB guitars can be addictive. If you know how to do basic work on a guitar, you can turn these things into superb players. Confession: I just received this:

View attachment 1073965
And it actually looks BETTER than the picture. And sets up to 3/64" across the fretboard, no buzz. Sizzling pickups. And, oh yeah, $230 US.

I'm not seeing this one on Thomann/HB pages?

Just the similar humbucker model- but I like this P-90 one!
Beautiful!

 

[ChicknPickn]

I'm not seeing this one on Thomann/HB pages?

Just the similar humbucker model- but I like this P-90 one!
Beautiful!

Uh oh - - another HB victim!

Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame

Electric Guitar Deluxe Series, Body: Mahogany, Top: Flamed maple, Set-in neck: Mahogany, Fingerboard: Roasted Jatoba, Dot fretboard inlays, Neck profile: C, Fretboard radius: 12, 24 Blacksmith stainless steel frets, Scale length: 635 mm, Nut width:...

www.thomannmusic.com

BTW, when they say the profile is a "C," it's really more of the PRS shallow/wide "C." For the first few minutes of playing after setting it up, it felt a little odd. But when that feeling passed, the profile (14" radius on mine, though listing says 12) was very comfy and fast. Really nice. Lends itself well to finger-style play.

 

[middy]

So they use child labor?

Ha, maybe some of them? I meant it literally could be... but I guess a lot of things could.

 

[57joonya]

How good can a Les Paul Junior-inspired import under $200 US possibly be? I decided to find out and share with the group what I’ve found.

First, brief background. As a teen in the late seventies, I had a jamming buddy whose brother had a stable of Gibson guitars. We were not allowed to touch the Explorer, the LP Standard, the Flying V - - but he treated his cherry-red, single-P90 Les Paul Jr. as a beater and allowed us to use it in our jam sessions. I’d owned only humbucker-equipped guitars, and the Junior, in addition to feeling great in the hands, had something special about it. I knew nothing about the construction of various pickup types, but, unbeknownst to me, I was experiencing P90 love - - the fatness, grit, and growl of this early pickup design - - for the first time.

For years, I kept my eyes open at pawn shops, but no Juniors ever appeared. I played an Epiphone that was interesting and affordable but didn’t excite me. The Gibsons were priced far beyond what I could pay. Recently, having had a very positive experience with an inexpensive ES-335 knockoff, I started looking at Harley Benton offerings. And there, I saw it: a cherry red mahogany single-cutaway with one P90 in the bridge. The price, at $175 US, seemed too good to be true. I felt certain it was, but some internet reviewers seemed favorably impressed. I figured, what’s to lose? I ordered mine.

The double box from Thomann arrived a week after I placed my order on the website. The guitar was well protected and there was no damage evident. Weight came in just under 6.5 lbs. I noticed a few things immediately. The finish, a transparent satin, was pretty, though there were some areas where the sheen was inconsistent and had light scratches. The action was visibly high, and the white nut - - said to be graphite - - was without a doubt the roughest I’d ever seen or felt. The strings sat deep in their slots, and every angle was sharp. No contouring whatsoever. The amaranth fretboard was dry and dull. The neck was very nicely crafted, with an excellent scarf joint, medium-jumbo frets well shaped and finished, vintage Wilkinson Deluxe tuners, and a very comfortable slanted neck joint (glued/set). The body is a four-piece, with nicely executed and subtle joints in the mahogany grain. You can find good pictures here. But here are a couple of quickies:

View attachment 1068345 View attachment 1068346

A fan of chunky necks, I immediately was impressed by the profile, which is somewhere between a Fender modern “C” and an Allparts fatty. I measured thickness at 0.858 in. at the first fret and 0.990 at the twelfth. Radius at the heel is 14”. My left hand glided over the satin finish. The two control knobs moved smoothly and with a nice, viscous resistance. The face of the peghead is matte black with the tasteful Harley Benton logo. The truss rod adjustment is at the nut. I noticed that the height of the strings above the P90 poles was far greater than I’ve been accustomed to seeing.

I set to work addressing the obvious shortcomings. The strings, a 10-46 set, were of the “never in tune” variety, but I decided to use them for the setup and change to Ernie Balls later. The bridge, a Tune-O-Matic wraparound type, is adjustable for position, height, and per-string intonation. I found that no attempt had been made to set a reasonable action or intonation. I needed about an hour to move the bridge assembly back and achieve good intonation and string height approximating Gibson factory specs (3/64 in. at 12th fret). At that point, I found to my pleasant surprise that the nut, though rough, had finely cut slots. String height over the first fret was good. I rounded the bottoms of the slots with a few light strokes with nut files. Using a light touch, I found no buzz working my way up the neck. The truss rod needed no adjustment.

Opening the tight-fitting control plate, I found two Alpha pots, stamped “Made in Korea.” No pot value was visible, though I assume they are 500k. The cover is shielded, and the control cavity is shielded with paint. The soldering is neat and the wiring nicely done.

It took about 30 minutes with a file and Dremel tool to bring the nut into decent shape. I addressed the slight finish imperfections with a wipe of satin polyurethane. When it dried, a very light touch with 0000 steel wool had the results I wanted. Lemon oil brought out lovely grain and deep colors in the fingerboard.

I took off the frankly awful factory strings and put on my Ernies, and I plugged directly into my Quilter Mini Reverb 101 with all the knobs at the noon position. I set the guitar knobs wide open and hit an open E chord. I was rewarded with the unmistakable warmth, smoothness, and rich sound of a good P90. I ran some scales and found the neck pleasant, even superb. Turning up the gain at the amp, the Roswell pickup entered sizzle-land, producing superb sustain and clean distortion - - the only way I know to describe it. Personality galore. Putting a Marshall OD pedal into the chain, I was rewarded with nothing short of superb blues screaming and harmonics, with excellent sustain. Overall, spanky and hot, but clear. Playing with the volume and tone controls, I found them to be very responsive and smooth. Cleans are warm and full. The absence of hum is intriguing - - noise is surprisingly low. Perhaps the use of shielded wire contributes to this.

The verdict? Once again, I come away thinking that imports are delivering greater value than they have a right to. When a guitar under $200 has this fine fit and finish, is aesthetically pleasing, and feels and sounds this good, it is a “shot over the bow” at guitars costing several times as much. Other reviewers have indicated they may use a shim to raise the pickup and perhaps choose a different bridge. I won’t rule out the shim, though, really, using the knobs on the guitar and amp produces a nice spectrum of tones. Adding the overdrive pedal unleashes a little monster. The Roswell P90, selling alone for less than $30 US on the Internet, has surprising character, which I am in no hurry to change.

Is my hankering for that old Gibson Junior fulfilled? I think that, at least for a while, it is, and surprisingly so.

It’s hard to believe they can eve. Make this guitar for that price . Let alone, making a profit . It looks really nice . I spent almost 3000 on a Gibson les Paul jr vos…. I love it but damn

 

[ChicknPickn]

It’s hard to believe they can eve. Make this guitar for that price . Let alone, making a profit . It looks really nice . I spent almost 3000 on a Gibson les Paul jr vos…. I love it but damn

I plan to write a review of the P90 PRS clone soon. If someone hid the headstock and put that guitar in my hands, I'd probably guess it was an entry-level PRS import in the $800-$1200 US range. HB price: $235. Hardshell case to go with it, $60. I've found a couple of tiny finish/binding imperfections that are cosmetic and not enough of an issue to me (and I don't like imperfections) to do anything about them.

 

[cyclopean]

Anyone familiar with the Harley Benton explorers?

 

[Deeve]

View attachment 1068578

This looks great - they even have B-stock for 148USD
Shipping is another story - how to make shipping as attractive as the guitar, finish & price?
Peace - Deeve