Harley Benton SC-550 Plus Fluence adds Active Fishman Pickups
For those about to actively rock
Harley Benton’s SC-550 series is their entry-level single-cut guitar line. With the two new SC-550 Plus Fluence models, Harley Benton is adding the legendary pickups from Fishman to this series. Is this the best single-cut for beginners of all time?
First Impressions
The SC-550 series from Harley Benton is where most players looking for their LP-style guitar get in to the world of single-cuts. Releasing an upgraded version that includes Fishman Fluence pickups is quite the step up for these beginner-focused models that already punch way above their weight.
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus Fluence
In terms of tone wood that Harley Benton used for the SC-550 Plus Fluence, they went for an Okoume body with an AA-grade maple top. Furthermore, the neck (1960-C profile) is made of nyatoh, and the fretboard is crafted from toasted jatoba with ivory-colored binding. Of course, you won’t get AAA mahogany in this price range. But a AA-grade maple top? Beautiful!
The single-cut guitar also features 22 medium jumbo frets made of Blacksmith stainless steel, a nickel WSC LP17 Tune-O-Matic bridge, and WSC Schaller-Style J07 LKF locking tuners. Both hardware components are a step up from the DLX series that HB used in the regular models. So, it’s not just the pickups that caused the higher price, this is an overall much improved model!
Fishman Fluence
Of course, the two Fishman Fluence Classic humbuckers of the SC-550 Plus Fluence are still the real stars here. “Active, noiseless, multi-voice” is how Harley Benton describes these. Generally speaking, this seems to be a humbucker/P-90/Single coil kind of tone selection, you can choose from. Of course, this all depends on whether you go just for one of the pickups (which most of us do, don’t we?) or both through the three-way switch.
As is traditional with LP-style single-cuts, you get four controls, a volume and a tone knob for each pickup. Each tone-knob also doubles as a voice selector through push/pull. Reviews for these pickups have consistently been positive, only you have to be a fan of battery-powered operation.
Price and Availability
The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus Fluence is available in two colors: Paradise Amber Flame* with zebra-patterned humbuckers and Faded Tobacco Flame* with humbucker covers.
Each guitar costs 499 euros and is exclusively available from Thomann.
More on the new guitars from Harley Benton
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