Review of the Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow Electric guitar. Where to buy it?

I’ll tell you how this post is built. First I list the features of the Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow guitar. Then you have a video or two, purchase links and useful comments from other users and then you have one of the most useful parts; comparison tables with similar items so you can compare.

  • AKA “The Dirty Mustard SC”
  • Vintage Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 305 mm
  • Scale: 628 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90S-N AlNiCo 5 single coils
  • 2 Volume controls and 2 tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • 3-Ply black/white/black pickguard
  • WSC Wrap Around bridge
  • Vintage-style machine heads with 15:1 gear ratio
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: TV Yellow Satin

review harley-benton-sc-special-tv-yellow

This guitar usually has a price around 199.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow watch these related videos to learn more.

Not bad at all! Harley Benton SC Special TV Yellow Review

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Some comments from people who come to the forum about this model:

Comment:

Highly recommended! What a great take on the classic LP special.

Bought this because last week I bought the HB DC-Junior faded cherry single p90-pickup guitar. I was so impressed with that Indonesian made guitar, that when I saw this was available and made in Indonesia (probably the same company) I knew I wanted it.
I’ve been playing, building and fixing guitars for over 50 years. I went over this guitar inch by inch when it arrived. It’s FLAWLESS.

The finish, fretwork and setup is spot on. Intonation is almost perfect (I’ll be setting that up later when the guitar gets used to the humidity here in Nashville TN) . The nut is cut perfect and feels like bone. The neck is straight with no dead spots. Pickups sound great with minimal buzzing, so probably good shielding inside. Pots sound good and spin well. Fretwork is very nice with no sharp edges and reasonably polished for this price point. The fretboard wood looks and feels exactly like ebony – really! All the side markers are in the right position and spaced perfect. The wraparound bridge is well made and solid as a rock. Plays like butter and sustains well. Good balance, no neck dive when you hold it.

Like others.. I’m astonished at the value you get for the price. I know guitars, this guitar literally is a good as guitars costing thousands more. More importantly, it is really fun to play. It sustains and sounds good "unplugged" which makes you want to play it more.

Note: The finish is not "satin". It’s gloss (just like in the photos). Mustard color is exactly like in the photos. Also, I’m pretty sure the neck is one of the "fat" necks that HB sells on their "Jr" models, because it’s thicker than my DC-junior. Guitar weighs 6 pounds 14 ounces (almost 7 pounds). Looks like the body could be 2 or 3 pieces of mahogany glued together.

I’ll be doing a full "set up" on this guitar later.. but I won’t be changing much. Someone who knows nothing about setting up electric guitars could pull this out of the box, tune it up and play it with no changes.

Cons: This guitar is new and shiny and sparkly. It’s covered with polyurethane and not nitro. So if you are looking for a vintage look, this is not the guitar for you.

Hats off to Harley Benton and Thomann regarding this guitar, quality control is spot on.

Update Dec 2020. This thing acoustically rings like a bell! My personal test of any electric guitar. You can always swap pickups… but if a guitar is dead you can’t do much about it.

This guitar is "Alive"

Comment:

My 2nd Harley Benton and again very happy i bought it.
Body: Really nice processed. No faults at all. Color isn’t TV yellow but light brown leaning more to orange then yellow. No complaints – I like it.
Bridge: Ok. I had to file sharp edge on 6th saddle that was hurting my palm. Not a big deal. Design of the bridge is a little problematic if you only need to change one of the strings since pickup is very close to string holes. But I think most wraparound bridges have same issue.
Pickups: Ok but not so happy as I am with Roswell Filtertronics on Harley’s FLT90 Telecaster. They sound decent but my ear missing something. Can’t say exactly what. Always had trouble explaining sound to others. It’s not so important since sound is very subjective thing. I’ll just say that they don’t match so well in my setup as the rest of pickups I already own (setup: Marshall JVM with 4×12 Greenbacks 25).
Elektronics: Great. Feels and works even better than on HB FLT90.
Neck & fretboard: Really nice. Feel and shape is almost the same as on my Gibson SG 2008. Really comfortable to play. Some frets needed sanding. No sharp edges – good job on fret ends. Fretboard was really dirty and all frets needed polishing but I am not counting that as a bad thing.
Nut: Not cut as it should but it’s not a big deal.
Tuning machines: Great. They don’t hold tune so well but that could be cause of the headstock design (eternal Gibson problem) or because of the nut not cuted as it should.

Why I gave 4 stars on quality?……Bridge desing is very high so you cannot raise pickups close to the strings. Because of that I had to put 8mm thick wood shimm, screw it underneat bridge pickup and drill holes through it for pickup screws. Now its posible to raise or lower bridge with ease. If any of you going to do the same you don’t need 8mm shimm, 5mm thickness should be enough.

Would I buy HB again?…..Of course.

Rock on!

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow vs Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame

The guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellowis usually 12 € cheaper than Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame
  • AKA “The Dirty Mustard SC”
  • Vintage Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 305 mm
  • Scale: 628 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90S-N AlNiCo 5 single coils
  • 2 Volume controls and 2 tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • 3-Ply black/white/black pickguard
  • WSC Wrap Around bridge
  • Vintage-style machine heads with 15:1 gear ratio
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: TV Yellow Satin
  • Deluxe Series
  • Mahogany body
  • Flamed maple arched top
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Roasted jatoba fretboard
  • “C” Neck profile
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • 24 Frets
  • Pearloid dots fretboard inlays
  • Neck and body binding
  • Scale: 635 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 2 Roswell HAF AlNiCo-5 open coil humbucker pickups
  • 3-Way switch
  • 1 Volume- and 1 tone control with push/pull function for coil split
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson WVPC tremolo
  • DLX machine heads
  • Colour: Black Flame

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame

$200 Guitar... and it's Not Total 💩|| Harley Benton CST-24T Demo/Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame review

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow vs Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley

The guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow is usually 44 € more expensive than Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley
  • AKA “The Dirty Mustard SC”
  • Vintage Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 305 mm
  • Scale: 628 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90S-N AlNiCo 5 single coils
  • 2 Volume controls and 2 tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • 3-Ply black/white/black pickguard
  • WSC Wrap Around bridge
  • Vintage-style machine heads with 15:1 gear ratio
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: TV Yellow Satin
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • 21 Medium jumbo frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell STA Alnico-5 vintage ST-Style single coils and 1 Roswell HAF Alnico-5 humbucker
  • 2 Tone controls and 1 volume control with volume push/pull function coil split
  • 5-Way toggle switch
  • Hardware: Chrome
  • Wilkinson tremolo
  • Stringing: D’Addario EXL110 .010 – .046 (article no. 104555)
  • Colour: Black Paisley

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley

Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley Unboxing & Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley review

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow vs Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute

The guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow is usually 40 € more expensive than Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute
  • AKA “The Dirty Mustard SC”
  • Vintage Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 305 mm
  • Scale: 628 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90S-N AlNiCo 5 single coils
  • 2 Volume controls and 2 tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • 3-Ply black/white/black pickguard
  • WSC Wrap Around bridge
  • Vintage-style machine heads with 15:1 gear ratio
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: TV Yellow Satin
  • Body: Alder
  • Bolt-on neck: Canadian maple with stained nyatoh skunk stripe
  • Fretboard: Maple
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm (TUSQ XL)
  • 21 Frets
  • Pickups: 3 Roswell SK52 True Vintage Staggered Alnico 5 single coils
  • 1 Volume control and 2 tone controls
  • 5-Way toggle switch
  • Single-ply pickguard
  • Synchronised tremolo system
  • Kluson style machine heads
  • Chrome-plated hardware
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046 (article no. 104555)
  • Colour: Black high gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPkBd4s9Nv8

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute review

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow vs Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame

The guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellowis usually 12 € cheaper than Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame
  • AKA “The Dirty Mustard SC”
  • Vintage Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 305 mm
  • Scale: 628 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90S-N AlNiCo 5 single coils
  • 2 Volume controls and 2 tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • 3-Ply black/white/black pickguard
  • WSC Wrap Around bridge
  • Vintage-style machine heads with 15:1 gear ratio
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: TV Yellow Satin
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Neck attachment: Set-in
  • Fretboard: Roasted jatoba
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Radius: 350 mm
  • 24 Frets
  • Scale: 635 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90 Soapbar single coils
  • Controls: Volume & Tone
  • 3-Way switch
  • Hardware: Chrome
  • Nut: Graphite
  • Tremolo: Wilkinson WVPC
  • Machine heads: DLX diecast
  • Colour: Ocean Flame High-gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame

Harley Benton CST 24 P90 Ocean Flame Demo and Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame review

Where to buy the guitar Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
  • Sometimes better price.
  • He’s got worse stock than Thomann.

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Jaime Echagüe

Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

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