Harley Benton CLP-15ME Parlour Guitar £130 Colne

[bamboscha]

Here’s a nice little Harley Benton parlour guitar. A great couch guitar, or for beginners or smaller hands. I’ve been quietly impressed with this thing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a £200 guitar, but it has a bit of a voice, if you will. A little bit of bass and a little bit of volume, not what I would have expected. I guess the 12th fret neck join helps with this. It’s great fun to play. It’s in excellent condition. I have removed the pick guard as I thought it looked cheap and nasty. The finish has gone glossy where I’ve rubbed the glue off. It was very lightly glued. It’s hard to make out in the pics and hardly seems worth mentioning on an el cheapo guitar.

 

The neck is a very comfortable c shape, 45mm at the nut. Bone nut and saddle. There is adequate meat left on the saddle to take the action down, although it’s reasonably low as it is. Scale length is 24.7” so it’s a shorty.

 

The top is solid Okoume, back and sides are laminated Sapele.

 

It has a Fishman Sonitone pickup (piezo under saddle affair) and Presys active preamp 2-band EQ, phase switch and tuner. Runs off a 9v battery which is integrated into the jack socket. Not the most attractive solution, but beats the hell out of having to reach inside the guitar to change the battery. The Sonitone is Fishman’s cheapest offering, but again I’ve been impressed. I play pretty much exclusively fingerstyle and it doesn’t sound half bad. Of course, digging in harder begins to reveal the dreaded piezo quack.

 

The tuners, I have to say don’t feel great. Although I haven’t tried oiling them. They do hold tune though, which is the main thing.

 

Comes in a cheap and cheerful Thomann gig bag. I’m afraid it’s collection only on this one. I’m near Colne in Lancashire. I do travel round gigging a lot though, so if you’re interested but nowhere near, give me a shout. I may be in your area soon.