Harley Benton CG-45 NS

Having given away my travel guitar in the Far East I was looking for something cheap to be my travelling companion for days out and holidays. Having seen the kind of punishment an instrument can get on the road or in the air (even if you are careful). I did not want to spend very much on what would be my "Beater" guitar. These are my findings and thoughts on what I got.

First of all, the service (particularly by Thomas) at Thomann was first class. I couldn't be happier with the communication or their expediency.

My CG-45

Arrived securely boxed, well packaged and protected.
It was exceptionally light. Now for me this was a bonus, for others this would be a minus. There is of course a trade-off in terms of sound. Please keep in mind all the time, the actual price of this guitar though.

I put some Martin strings on it and "Oh Boy!" Now THAT is more like it.In fact, I liked it so much I took it to my guitar tech to install a pre-amp and piezo just in case.

I would not recommend this as a first or beginner guitar. It walks a fine line between toy and instrument. A person starting out would do better in my humble opinion to go for something they can grow with it. Buy the best instrument you can afford. Look at the top of the range Harley Benton's as well as the more "famous" brands.

I have had this guitar over a year now and it is holding up well. Keeps tune pretty good (often a problem with cheaper guitars). Would I gig with it? No. But I would use it as an emergency back-up.

I didn't bother with the stick-on pickguard and a small niggly point, the stickers added to look like mother of pearl on the tuners don't do it for me, nor does the printed rosette, but remember that price? I thought it was worth spending that amount again to electrify it. Just change the strings and you can have a very servicable laminate guitar like "Woody" too.

I wanted a budget-friendly guitar to keep at my girlfriend's place for when I visited. After doing some research, I came across a number of positive reviews about the HB CG-45NS and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with those positive reviews. The guitar's quality is almost on par with that of a toy. Just to clarify, I was anticipating an entry-level guitar with its shortcomings, but in my opinion, this is taking it a step too far.

From a distance, it looks decent, but upon closer inspection, I realized that I made a mistake with my purchase.

The rosewood fretboard (which is thermally treated maple wood) is terribly dry and unpleasant to the touch. The deep brown/purple grain color is either stained or painted on and comes off on your fingers (at first, I believed it was dirt, but it turned out to be a pigment).

The bridge is also made of stained wood (and I'm not even sure if it's maple), similar to the ones you would find on a toy guitar for kids. You can see the three-piece construction of the heel at the neck joint. It makes me wonder if they forgot to finish and paint it.

The tuning keys are made of plastic and have a rough appearance. The finishing on the gold-coloured diecast hardware is rough as well, and I believe it's the reason why the G and B strings broke off after retuning copule of times. The saddle and nut are made of plastic, which is acceptable as I wasn't expecting anything more.

Overall, I am extremely disappointed with this guitar (if I can even call it that) and with the reviewers who led me to buy it. It's amusing that the guitar had a QC label indicating it was inspected by a person named Miles. Clearly, the standards for this guitar are quite low. This was my first purchase at Thomann...well...lesson learned. So, I've learned my lesson.