Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid: Alternative Rock Meets Punk Meets Blues
P90, Humbucker, Locking Tuners - less than 200 Euros!
5,0 / 5,0 | 
Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid: Alternative Rock Meets Punk Meets Blues · Source: Thomann
Can this work? Might this actually be the new sonic world that manages to break away from the same old punk rock and alternative guitar pickup sound? HB combines a P90 with a humbucker in its four new Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid models, which feature a single-cut design. Traditionalists might raise an eyebrow, but everyone else should take a closer look at these new guitars, priced at 199 euros.
Okoumé Body, Flamed Canadian Maple Neck
In HB’s lineup, the Harley Benton Special Hybrid can be viewed as the successor to the SC Special. Compared to the SC-Custom III series, these four single-cut guitars feature a much more vintage-inspired design, but they do share the body shape and the fretboard wood: rosewood.
The body is made of Okoumé, a tonewood that is significantly lighter than mahogany and comparable to spruce. A distinctive feature of this guitar that we’ve already seen on the ST-Modern Plus series is the flamed Canadian maple neck.
I have an ST-Modern Plus sitting here at my desk, and I can tell you flamed maple is just so much more classy to look at. As for the numbers of this affordable Les Paul alternative, we get pretty much the same as specs: short scale (24.75″), 22 frets, 12-inch fingerboard radius. Anyone who’s ever played a Les Paul will feel right at home here.
Isola Pickups and Locking Tuners
When it comes to the rest, you can’t help but notice how well Harley Benton has consistently raised the bar in this entry-level price range over the past few years. Let’s keep that in mind: we’re talking about less than 200 euros per guitar.
The Harley Benton SC Special features locking tuners, which make changing strings much faster and more convenient. In addition, you get a traditional wraparound bridge, which is slightly less pitch-stable than the Tune-O-Matic bridge commonly found on single-cut models, but it also looks so much more vintage. Everything is beautifully chrome-plated, of course.
The ‘hybrid’ part of this model stems from its unusual pickup combination: there is an Isola CL-P90 at the neck and an Isola VT-500 Chrome Alnico-5 humbucker at the bridge. The Isola series appears to be Harley Benton’s latest generation of pickups, following the Roswell and Tesla models, representing yet another improvement in tone.
Unlike classic Gibson models, the Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid features only two pots: volume and tone, plus a three-way switch for switching between and combining pickups. In addition, the volume knob features push/pull functionality for coil-splitting the humbucker. So here we have a guitar with all three pickup sounds: it doesn’t get much more hybrid than this.
How much does the Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid cost, and what colors are available?
Just to recap: For 199 euros, you get a vintage-style single-cut guitar with a roasted maple neck, a P90 and a humbucker with coil splitting, plus locking tuners. Pretty impressive!
The Harley Benton SC Special Hybrid comes in four colors, all of which you can order now from Thomann for $195 / £169 / €199 each:
More on the new guitars from Harley Benton
*Disclaimer: This post contains about the Harley Benton SC Special affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
This might also interest you
