First Harley Benton, which single cut?

[naikon]

Hi there

I've played guitar for a couple of years now, and I've been playing on my only electric guitar, a Jackson DK2M. I'm looking to expand my guitar collection with a Les Paul-model and I'm browsing through all the Harley Benton models.
I am an amateur who only trains at home, so a top premium class won't be necessary.

I'm looking at single cut models because I want to broaden my skill on different electric guitar models. The Jackson I've already got is some kind of super-strat, and I want a guitar that feels different so I can be experienced in playing on different guitar models. 
My playing is mostly rock and heavy metal. But it can span from modern pop songs to progressive metal aswell.

These are the ones I'm looking at:


www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_sc_custom_vb.htm
www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_sc_550_desert_flame_burst.htm
www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_sc_450plus_cb_vintage_series.htm
www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_sc_500_bk_vintage_series.htm (Out of stock for almost 9 weeks so I'm close to ignoring this one)

So which one would you recommend? Im open for all kinds of advise. Esthetically they all attract me.

Regards

[Deleted]

I'm very happy with my SC-550, so that's the one I would recommend. Looks awesome too!
My co-worker has the SC Custom, which is also a good guitar, but its sound is more metal.

[Donut]

I'd go for any in the SC-Custom range (excluding the P90 version), the exact model dependant on your budget. Unfortunately every model is OOS for another 2-3 weeks.

I went for the SC-Custom VB FR and it's a great guitar, but you may find the pups too weak and need replacing. I replaced the bridge pup with a Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader as both my stock pups were faulty anyway. Apart from the 2 active models and the P90 version, all the SC-Customs come with Roswell LAF, which is supposedly a clone of the Gibson PAF.

I play everything from BB King blues to shredding and it does them all well.

[naikon]

Apr 30, 2020 9:34:21 GMT @coldwar1977 said:

I'm very happy with my SC-550, so that's the one I would recommend. Looks awesome too!
My co-worker has the SC Custom, which is also a good guitar, but its sound is more metal.

Great, have you had the chance to compare them both? Because its almost 100$ between them. Are most of the extra money just for the paint?

May 1, 2020 8:17:54 GMT Donut said:

I'd go for any in the SC-Custom range (excluding the P90 version), the exact model dependant on your budget. Unfortunately every model is OOS for another 2-3 weeks.

I went for the SC-Custom VB FR and it's a great guitar, but you may find the pups too weak and need replacing. I replaced the bridge pup with a Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader as both my stock pups were faulty anyway. Apart from the 2 active models and the P90 version, all the SC-Customs come with Roswell LAF, which is supposedly a clone of the Gibson PAF.

I play everything from BB King blues to shredding and it does them all well.

Thanks for the reply. Well I was already 60% sure of going for the SC Custom before this thread www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_sc_custom_vb.htm
But now I'm pretty sure thats the one I want. I do play mostly metal, and I have no trouble with waiting 2-3 weeks. Do you know what the difference is between the SC Custom and SC550 except for the looks?
And by the way, Ive never used strap locks before. Do I need a special strap too or does just the cheapest one work? www.thomann.de/se/thomann_gurt_nylon.htm

[LeoThunder]

I have no idea how the regular SC-Custom should sound "more for metal".
It has the same Roswell LAF as most SC-550 unless one goes for the SC-Custom Active which is a different thing altogether.
The wiring of the SC-Custom might yield a duller sound, although this ought to be a subtle difference.

Note that the SC-550 Paradise Flame has open Roswell HAF pick-ups with more output and more high end than the LAF found in the other SC-550 or the SC-Custom.

The SC-Custom Active has pick-ups delivering such a high output level they probably can't be used for anything that's not using high distortion, so that's a special case.

[LeoThunder]

The SC-Custom has a thinner body, Grover tuners, a single tone control and a common coil split.
The wiring is so that both volume controls are independent (Jazz Bass style) while the SC-550 has the usual (modern) Les Paul wiring, which means that turning one volume down in middle position also shuts the other down.

The SC-550 has a rounded neck heel. No coil split.
As an aside, the SC-450 Plus has two coil split functions, one for each pick-up.

[Deleted]

Mea culpa, I should have mentioned it's indeed the matte black SC-1000 Custom with active pickups.
Pretty hot, those pups. Cool and awesome looking guitar, but soundwise far too hi-gain for my own taste.

[blindwilly3fingers]

No you don't need a special strap with strap locks.

Split coil humbuckers aren't all their cracked up to be, some are better than others. Like all pickup types they have their niche. They most definitely are not an essential requirement..

[fourelms]

May 3, 2020 20:31:36 GMT blindwilly3fingers said:

No you don't need a special strap with strap locks.

Split coil humbuckers aren't all their cracked up to be, some are better than others. Like all pickup types they have their niche. They most definitely are not an essential requirement..

.....wow, now that's a statement when one considers how much music has been recorded, using a split coil nailed onto a P bass😂😎

[Deleted]

I guess some niches are massive fourelms .

[naikon]

Back to topic, 

Can someone please describe in simple words what the primary differences is between SC-450Plus, SC-Custom and SC-550. I'm not really a guitar nerd and I'm having trouble understanding what I am paying for. I get that it's different colors and different mics, but I'm just doing some amateur home practices with my guitars so the sound is not really that important. 
I'm just trying to figure out if the SC-550 is worth 100€ extra in terms of quality.

[fredsky]

Hello,

I've bought sc custom over sc450plus primarily because neck size was thinner on custom.

Neck size 450Plus > sc550 > sc custom.
Table quality is highest on sc550 but it's only cosmetic.

Sc450 and sc custom have both coil split although sc450 has finer controls.

Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with any of these. And my personal opinion is that a guitar is also a beautiful object. So you should also look for the one you find pretty (if not the prettiest)

Regards,
Fred.

[DerAlex]

The SC-550 has much better hardware and finish than the 450 I had. IMHO it´s worth the surcharge - YMMV. Coil-split for me is way overrated and not necessary - but you can look up the threads here where we discuss e.g. 50s wiring vs. modern wiring. :-)

I had never the SC Custom in my hands so cannot comment on them.

[blindwilly3fingers]

May 4, 2020 9:23:52 GMT fourelms said:

May 3, 2020 20:31:36 GMT blindwilly3fingers said:

No you don't need a special strap with strap locks.

Split coil humbuckers aren't all their cracked up to be, some are better than others. Like all pickup types they have their niche. They most definitely are not an essential requirement..

.....wow, now that's a statement when one considers how much music has been recorded, using a split coil nailed onto a P bass😂😎

Not a statement just my opinion. Split coils are often pushed on here as being some sort of next level pickup.

And to put it into context if you consider how much music was recorded using any of the following:
Single coil
Humbucker
P90
Or any incarnation of the above. 😎 😁..

[Deleted]

One of the best things about the split humbucker on my Pacifica is that it is AUTOMATICALLY split when in the middle/bridge setting so the classic stratty sound is available. Switch it to bridge and it's a humbucker unless I pull up the tone knob...which I rarely do because it makes a great humbucker!