Review of the Harley Benton ST-Modern Carlos Asensio CGM Model]

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What is it?

With over four million subscribers on YouTube alone, Guitarraviva founder Carlos Asensio has become one of the leading voices in the online guitar community, particularly for the Spanish-speaking world.

Just before last Christmas, he announced his very first signature product through Thomann-owned brand Harley Benton, with the manufacturers describing it as “both a looker and a player”.

Unlike most artist models, however, this one is still priced close to entry-level instruments – making it one of the most accessible signatures you’ll find in today’s market. Does that mean it sounds and plays like an entry-level guitar? Let’s find out.

Specs

(Image credit: Harley Benton)

Launch price: $714 | £525 | €603

Made: Indonesia

Type: Six-string electric guitar

Body: American alder

Neck: Roasted Canadian flamed maple/Smooth D profile

Fingerboard material/radius: Rosewood/12″-16″

Scale length: 25.5″/648mm

Nut/width: Graphite/42mm

Frets: 22 medium jumbo stainless steel frets, 2.7 mm with rounded ends

Hardware: ML-55 CR machine heads with engraved Harley Benton logo, VegaTrem VT1 Ultratrem STD Glossy Steel bridge, chrome hardware

Electrics: 1 Tesla OPUS-X humbucker with black cover (bridge) and 2 Tesla Time Machine 57’s single-coils (middle and neck), mini toggle for coil tap

Weight: 7.8lb/3.54kg

Left-handed options: No

Finishes: Cactus Green Metallic Gloss [as reviewed], Ice Blue Metallic Gloss

Case: No

Contact: Thomann

Build quality

Harley Benton ST-Modern Carlos Asensio — (Image credit: Matt Lincoln / Future)

Build quality rating: ★★★★★

Judging on looks alone, our test model appears to have been built to a high standard, still in tune and clearly ready for action right out of the box. The medium jumbo stainless frets are well dressed with no sharp ends in sight here.

The Cactus Green Metallic Gloss finish is certainly easy on the eye too, catching the light in an almost two-tone kind of way that really exaggerates the overall silhouette.

The inside of the horns and sides coming out as a much darker green, almost close to black, compared to the emerald hues of the front or back.

And to top it all off, there are also some rather lovely flames on the back of the roasted Canadian flamed maple neck. We’re definitely off to a good start, then.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★½

From the front, you might think this is just a classic S-style design. but when you turn it around you’ll notice the ergonomic tummy cut and tapered heel, giving it a nice balance of vintage spirit with modern playability.

The neck has a smooth D profile that feels comfortable in my hands, though it might be a little too deep for those with smaller fingers or perhaps even ambitious lead guitarists who like the flatter profile of Ibanez Wizard-style necks.

Arriving well set-up with 10-gauge strings and low action, this is a guitar that’s a breeze to hold and play, with enough weight at 7.8lbs to be substantial but not overwhelming.

Many might say the main draw with this particular model is the inclusion of a VegaTrem VT1 Ultratrem, which feels every bit as fluid as it does sturdy, adding a lot more scope to what a vintage-style whammy system can do while also avoiding the grievances that come with double-locking designs like the Floyd Rose.

It truly is a thing of wonder – and will inspire you to be more creative in how you can control your pitch without even touching the fretboard.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★★

To test, I’m plugging the guitar into a Victory V30 mkII head and cabinet, with some ambience in the effects loop coming from a Boss DD-200 and RV-200.

The Tesla Time Machine 57 single-coil in the neck feels warm and chimey, and surprisingly lively for a guitar at this price range. Blend it with the same pickup in the middle position and you will easily be in Mark Knopfler and Nile Rodgers territory.

The OPUS-X humbucker in the bridge naturally packs more heat, but not so much that it starts to sound like another guitar. And if you need to tame it, there is a mini toggle in between the volume and tone dials that serves as a coil tap.

Harley Benton ST-Modern Carlos Asensio

(Image credit: Matt Lincoln / Future)

There’s not really much this guitar can’t do

Given that you have two single-coil pickups and a humbucker with a five-way selector, plus a coil tap and accommodatingly reactive pots to control the volume and tone settings, there’s not really much this guitar can’t do.

If you really want to rattle some teeth, any Tube Screamer or Klon-like pedal in front of an already overdriven amp will give you that extra push into high-gain heaven.

Verdict

The last decade or so has seen a lot of brands go head-to-head in terms of how much they can include in an affordable guitar.

It’s quite possibly the most feature-rich electric guitar in its price range I’ve tried, while also being one of the best-sounding and most playable

It has to be said, Harley Benton is not messing around here – from the locking tuners and roasted neck to the ergonomic tummy cut and tapered heel, this is undoubtedly one of the most feature-rich instruments you’ll find around £500.

But it’s the quality of the pickups and the VegaTrem system – the latter of which is worth nearly half the guitar’s overall value when bought separately – that makes this instrument such an all-round winner.

A small handful of players might be put off by the chunkiness of the neck and the awkwardly placed mini toggle, but for the most part this debut Carlos Asensio signature is an absolute steal when it comes to quality and value for money.

MusicRadar verdict: In terms of how much you get, this debut Harley Benton signature for Carlos Asensio will leave you wondering how anyone is making any money. It’s quite possibly the most feature-rich electric guitar in its price range I’ve tried, while also being one of the best-sounding and most playable. Could this be the best value S-style on the market right now? I reckon so.

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Ratings scorecard
Test	Results	Score
Build quality	The quality of the components from tonewoods and pickups to the highly dependable VegaTrem makes this an instrument you can rely on.	★★★★★
Playability	It’s an instrument that plays like butter, arriving with low action and the right kind of tension for big bends.	★★★★½
Sounds	You might normally think about replacing the pickups on guitars at this price point, but the Tesla single-coils and humbucker are seriously impressive.	★★★★★
Overall	At little over 500 bucks, it’s hard to see where you can go wrong here. This guitar can compete with some instruments costing three times as much.	★★★★★