First Harley Benton, which single cut?

[forestfifer]

I dont get why HB dont put the better access heel joint they have on the 450 and 550s on the Custom, as it's obviously supposed to be more of a metal guitar.
I also dont understand why they left the coil split off the 550, when AFAIK its the same 4 wire pickup as the 450.

[lollerblade]

I was surprised that despite the square neck joint, the access to high frets on the SC Custom is way easier than I expected, because the body is overall pretty slim and doesn't get too much in the way.

I agree that of course it would have been even better with a specific cut, but it's not too bad the way it is.

[pelayo]

May 3, 2020 18:41:25 GMT LeoThunder said:

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.

I recently bought the SC-Custom Active II and the Roswell pickups included sound surprisingly well in clean tones too!

[slartibartfarst42]

I think that when choosing between the SC550 and the Custom it's easy to get sucked into factors that ultimately won't matter. One is NOT inherently more 'Metal' than the other. Here are some factors to consider:

1) The Custom may have a thinner neck but the neck on the 550 is based on Gibson's slim 60s profile neck so it certainly isn't chunky. I found switching between that neck and a PRS Wide Thin to be very easy.

2) Upper fret access on the Custom is surprisingly poor for a guitar that's supposed to be 'Metal'. When I bought my Gibson Les Paul I tried every SC on the market and the LTD had easily the worst upper fret access.

3) If you want a coil split option, that is not a reason to get the Custom as you can very easily just change one of the pots on a 550.

4) HB guitars, great as they may be, are undoubtedly built to a budget and if you're going to have some of the specification they've got, you have to save money somewhere. Like most cheap electric guitars, that's done with pickups and wiring. Whichever you get, the chances are that you will ultimately change the pickups and if you do that, you would be well advised to upgrade the pots at the same time. If you do this you could easily make a 550 into a Metal monster or a Custom into a Blues guitar.

I will get a 550 because I prefer the flexibility of having 4 knobs, I prefer the upper fret access and I prefer the higher quality aesthetic finish. I know that I will upgrade the pickups and wiring so it makes no difference at all to me what they come with stock. My question is do I get the Paradise or Desert Flame Burst finish? Whichever I get, the guitar will end up with zebra pickups from The Creamery.