Is a good guitar tone expensive?

Some people think you have to pay a fortune to get an acceptable guitar tone, but is that the case? After this article, you’ll have an answer.

We will compare the “Harley Benton SC550 II FTF” to the “Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s BB”. Both guitars have a classic Les Paul body shape but are very different to each other.

We will start with the cheaper one, the “Harley Benton SC550 II FTF”, which costs 299€. It has a chambered Meranti wood body and a set-in neck with a Pau Ferro wood fingerboard. The guitar has 22 Blacksmith stainless steel frets and 2 Tesla Opus-1 AlNiCo-5 Humbucker.

The “Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s BB”, 3.199€, has a body and a set-in neck made from Mahogany wood. It has a Rosewood fingerboard with 22 cold-treated, stainless steel frets. The guitar has two Burstbuckers as

pickups.

Experts know why the Gibson is more expensive. It’s about the wood (and the brand, of course). Mahogany is a high quality tone wood. Guitars made from Mahogany tend to have a warm sound, with a midrange that is put in the foreground discreetly. Another advantage is that you get a fuller tone when the wood ages. Because Mahogany is very rare, it is extremely expensive.

The price is around 4000€ per square meter.

The second reason why the Gibson is so expensive is simple: it is a Gibson. Since 1974 all Gibson guitars are made in Tennessee, USA, while Harley Benton guitars are mostly made in Asia. Don’t think that something is low-quality just because it is cheaper or from China. The factories that produce Harley Benton guitars also produce guitars for big brands like Fender, Ibanez or Jackson. The low price can be explained.“thomann”, the company that owns Harley Benton, needs to produce many guitars because of high demand. Because of the purchase volume, the company pays less for each guitar manufactured, so you get to pay less too.

We compared the guitars’ tones and were surprised. The cheaper “Harley Benton” gets you clear heights, silky-warm mids and a round low end, so the guitar can give you a very versatile sound. The only downside is that the pickups don't give you the necessary frequency-peaks that you would otherwise get with the Gibson.

The “Gibson” gets you the same frequencies but has more bass in the tone. It sounds darker, warmer and softer, and is just as versatile as the “Harley Benton”.

We’d put our money on Harley Benton. Not only do you get a great-looking guitar that is cheap for beginners, you also get a good tone that is completely sufficient experienced players.