Harley Benton SC-450 CB Classic Series

Visually flawless (no cracks, gaps, runs or other nasties, NONE!) except the fretboard was very dry but a bit of oil fixed that up. The action was extremely high, even the nut seemed too high. The nut popped off without drama and I sanded the flat bottom but then I took off *too* much and had to shim it. The bridge end was a simple adjustment of the two screws holding up the TuneOMatic style bridge. Oh, yeah, I loosened the truss rod about 1/3 revolution. Now it's about as low (and quick) as you could reasonably expect, although on the low E string it buzzes on the two highest frets. I may run a whetstone over them a time or two next time I change the strings. All other frets are buzz-free and don't fret out on big bends either. The 2nd fret failed the rocker test (using an old credit card) but a couple taps with the plastic handle of a large screwdriver fixed that, too.

As far as playing it, it's quite different from the HSS Strat copy I was playing before, but I'm getting used to it (4 days now). I wasn't impressed so much by playing individual notes, but the first time I played a cowboy style G chord I had to sit back a bit. I've never had a guitar that sounded this rich. One last thing, I read in reviews that the tuners and plastic pieces are "meh", but these tuners hold a tune and are geared much lower than any I remember having before, I don't have to hold my tongue just right hoping I don't overshoot the pitch. I also read about casting flash on the plastic pieces, but I see no evidence of that or even the seams of a mold.

Actually I wanted an HB SC-450Plus even though the web page said it'd take 2-3 weeks to get in stock, but as I waited that went up to 5-6 weeks and I asked to switch to this HB SC-450 CB which was available immediately. Once I switched, it took 10 days to get here to the East Coast USA in spite of the US Postal Service misrouting it one time.
Would definitely buy again!

EDIT: I've had it about a month now, and I still stand by my comments above. No additional issues have popped up in the meantime. I wouldn't have felt ripped off if I'd paid $500 - $600 for this guitar.

I purchased this guitar as my 9 years old first electric guitar so to " hook him up" and start studying a bit more.Bought this for the looks of it and the price of it ,thinking that no guitar can be good for the money i had to spend ,so why at least not look awesome?
Next scene... I was playing myself till five thirty in the morning!!
Awesome build,very detailed and careful manifactured.The body is awesome,the neck is so smooth to slide your hands like touching velvet.The fretboard too...You can slide and play whatever you want and it feels almost like a les paul gibson.The strings keys have no label but they are strong and stable,the knobs,nothing impressive but they are ok.No noise,perfect tones and sound.The only cons are that the last,last, last fret at the bottom E string is kind of dead,doesnt make a sound.The pickguard is kind of ...meh...but this is not important and it s the cheapest thing to replace if you dont like it.It s just aisthetic...Not about the guitars performance.The colour and the fonish are incredible,it s a solid guitar.
I ve read and read and read about these guitars and took a risk but found out that they are awesome!! No 144 euros guitar in the world can top this...And if you change the humbackers and key strings it s like a 1700 euro guitar. I own myself a fender tele and an sg gibson. And i can say for sure that this guitar is really awesome. I wont let the kid play with it :P :P

USA buyer; bought this as a gift for my 10 year old nephew as a first guitar. Figured the looks alone would make him want to play it. It was backordered for quite a while, but the Thomann CS team communicated well and I decided to wait for it.

Once in stock, the guitar shipped and arrived quickly, though shipping was expensive at over 58 eur. It came with a cord, but no strap, and the folks at Thomann even included an actual, old-school photo of the guitar, as this particular unit was the model used for the product images on the website, complete with wood imperfection below the tailpiece, which i thought was pretty cool!

Out of the box it was in good shape, though the included stings did not feel to be of great quality and the action was very high, and the frets were a teeny bit off. I paid to get it set up and now it plays like a dream! Very warm and rich tones, and individual notes are bright and clear now that there are good strings on it. As others mentioned the tuners aren't great, but they hold tune reasonably well, though tuning will be required fairly regularly. Definitely will work for a kid's first, though it's pretty heavy.

My purchasing decision was between this HB and an Epiphone Les Paul Studio for $250 at a local store. Really glad I chose this one. I've been playing a USA-made Gibson LP Junior for years and this HB is actually comparable. I almost don't want to give it as the gift it was intended to be!