Harley Benton CLG-650SM-CE VS SolidWood

This is my third Harley Benton acoustic. I was already impressed by how much guitar you get for the price of a basic, all-laminate Yamaha, which left me curious to see how their higher-end models fare. It arrived today and hasn't disappointed.
The finish is excellent—thin enough to let the wood grain show through—with zero blemishes or assembly gaps. The setup details are spot-on: the action is right where it needs to be, and the frets are level with smoothly dressed ends. The bridge and fretboard use HPL, which surprisingly doesn't detract from the looks at all. Both the nut and saddle are cleanly cut, and the intonation is close (an easy tweak). The tuners feel smooth with no play, though fresh strings mean time will tell. Looking inside, the craftsmanship holds up with no excess glue and neatly fitted X-bracing with proper joint work.
Tone-wise, it has a lovely, balanced warmth—mellow without turning muddy, and clear without being harsh, backed by a strong midrange. The HPL fingerboard and bridge don't seem to negatively affect the acoustic resonance at all, and it’s very touch-responsive with great harmonics and sustain. This is a keeper that genuinely punches above its weight. Having played Martins, Taylors, and Yamahas in the £700–£1,000 bracket, this matches or beats them.

A lovely sounding guitar with a a comfortable armrest built in. The action was lowered by me by sanding the saddle and the action plays great.
Only 2 little niggles. The first was that the fret marker dots were black and indistinguishable from the fret-board in low light. I painted some white dots with acrylic artists paint to get around this. The second is that the battery compartment is inside the sound-hole and is Velcroed to the base of the neck Not only is it a real pain changing the battery as the all the strings need to be loosened to get my hand in, but also the Velcro has become unattached, (presumably I didn't push it back on tightly enough), and the battery is now hanging loose inside the sound-hole and I can't be bothered to loosen the strings to put it back. To cure this, I've ordered a battery compartment that will fit on the base of the guitar, although it will need cutting a hole into the guitars base near the strap pin.
It's a well made guitar with a good clear and mellow sound. Well worth the money.

I ordered this as a backup guitar for my Taylor cedar top which I adore. Everything exceeded my expectations in regards to the fret treatment, sound, etc. The only thing that confused me was the battery in the velcro pouch thingy inside the guitar which I had never seen because I was used to the little plastic cases that pop out. Thus, that's the only reason why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars on the features. Other than that, I'm ecstatic. The action is actually a bit lower than my Taylor making it somewhat easier to play; however, these are different guitars. One has more clarity in the midrange while the CLG has a really nice bass range and resonance. In a way, the resonance reminded me of my old Seagull S6. The finish on the back of the neck more like the Gibsons I have played in that the finish was more "sticky" than the Fender maple necks I prefer. However, that is a matter of preference, and it is easily remedied to match my needs. I can see myself playing this guitar for many years.

I had been looking at this guitar for some time but because it was one of the more expensive HB models I held off buying until I could comfortably afford it. I'm so glad that that I did. This guitar is one of the best I've played and I've played some costing three or four times the cost of this one. The tone is what you'd expect from an solid mahogany guitar, warm and well balanced throughout. When amplified the guitar retains the tone of the acoustic very well without sounding too electric if that makes sense. The guitar is a joy to play with a light and easy action even with the 12s it's strung with. Its sustain is excellent and the intonation was spot on out of the box. The arm rest is a big plus. You can play for long periods without having the top edge of the guitar digging into your biceps.
This is definitely a guitar that I will keep. The more it's played the better it will sound as the solid woods bed in. Buy one. You won't regret it.

Hi all)
I would like to comment on the guitar.
The guitar arrived in perfect condition, which I am very happy about)
The guitar sits very nicely in the hands. It is a pleasure to play on it.
I managed to perform with this guitar at my university, they checked it in practice. It justified itself 100%, both in pure sound and in connection.
The only hindrance was the tension of the strings, at first the fingers hurt a little. (Playing experience 6 years)
The frets cut your fingers a little, but that's normal for guitars from the factory. But this problem is very easily solved, take the guitar to the master and he will rebuild it for you. You can safely buy this guitar, you will not regret)

I have been playing mine for a few months now and I am more than happy with it!

To start, the main feture of this guitar. The arm relife built in to the body is subtle yet super comfortable, it's even made playing other acoustics without the feature noticibly more unpleasnt, all the more reason to stick to this one!

I was really pleased with build quality:
Good stable tuners, easy to see built in tuner, very nice top, comfortable neck, action is set just right (imo)...
just all the details are nice,
even including a tidy pouch for the electronics inside.

All pros, esp for the price. No cons that I can think off.
You will find it difficult to put this guitar down, I do.