Harley Benton CST-24T LH Paradise Flame

I got this item yesterday, and spent a couple of hours "fettling" it. It looks really good and I could only find one blemish, on the side of the headstock, but you have to be less than 30cms away to be able to notice. Whilst quite playable straight from the box, I adjusted the tremolo springs and the tremolo arm locking screw, located on the block, by pushing the arm down to make it accessible. This was a little fiddly, but the system works well now. If you jam something like a couple of beer mats between the tremolo and the top of the guitar, it makes the job so much easier. I lowered the string height as well as the intonation at the bridge. The fretboard benefitted from some lemon oil, too. The "action" is fine, but I'll do some work on lowering the nut slots, which are just a little high. Once this is done, I'll change the strings. The ones on it on delivery are really very dull, and so I can't do a review at this stage on the sound. I think that they are .009's, and I use .010's usually. All of these jobs are quite usual on a new guitar, especially a budget item, so don't be put off by this. In my view, this guitar is excellent value for money.

Okay, let me start off my saying you don't need to spend $1000 for a good guitar. I love this guitar. Everything about it I love, I love the Flame Top, The pickups, the neck, everything. I'll start with the flame top, it's absolutely beautiful to look at. Next, the pickups, the pickups have such a bright sound to them and I love them so much. The bridge, usually in the past I had wrap around bridges and tune-o-matic bridges which were a pain, this bridge is awesome. Along with this, the action, at least for me, of this guitar is amazing. The neck: the neck is perfect for me, I prefer fatter necks, Not really a big fan of thinner necks, This neck was perfect for me, that's just my personal opinion. The neck also had no fret spurs on it at all which was awesome. Tuners: The tuners are great, this guitar rarely goes out of tune. you can bend so much and the tuners never let go. In the end, I give this guitar 5/5 stars because it deserves it 100%. Never let name or price influence you. Just because it's not name brand or expensive, does not mean it's a bad guitar. I paid double what I paid for this once and got a piece of garbage. (Dillion les paul junior) so I highly recommend this guitar for any of you lefties who want a PRS style guitar but can't afford the $800 - $5000 sticker price. (P.S. I haven't used the tremolo yet. Haven't really wanted to but I'm sure its awesome)

pros:
1. its a bang for your buck
2. the material quality is actually good
3. its a versatile guitar cause its has the split coil
4. To me the finish is very beautiful
cons (at least for me)
5. the bridge is very nice~. It stays in tune like a champ
6. the stock strings where good for a guitar at this price
As for cons:
1.Seeing other reviewers, it sometimes comes with some minor errors.
For example, the 1st fret of my guitar was fairly low than the other frets. that means i can't play the 1st notes without having major buzzes.
Also, the tone pot was not very usable as it wasnt very consistent when i turn it (like at 1 to 9 its the same and at 9 to 10 has a very drastic tonal change)
2. Personally i like satin finish necks as it doesn't stick to my hand.
3. its fairly heavy for me but i guess they couldn't make it any lighter.
4. the truss rod cover was a little bit flimsy in my opinion

But all in all, its a very usable guitar!

I so wanted a left-handed version of the CST24-T I could taste it. Well it was finally offered and arrived today. Better than I could have wished for. Absolutely beautiful finish a few minor flaws as expected in its price range. Setup out of the box was spot on except intonation of 2 strings no big deal. No fret buzz anywhere plays like a dream. Sound is stunning and it came with a nice unexpected surprise. Coil Tap switch. This is my second Harley Benton but surely not my last. Highly recommend you won't be disappointed. Another surprise it only took 6 days to arrive in western New York State.