Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow

Harley Benton SC-Special TV Yellow review

The SC-Special TV Yellow is a budget take on the familiar double-cutaway guitar with two P90 pickups. Listed at $235, it has a nyatoh body and set-in nyatoh neck, an amaranth fingerboard, a 628 mm scale, and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Its glossy yellow finish shows some wood grain on certain examples, and owners often describe the shade as mustard rather than a precise match for classic TV Yellow.

That appearance is part of the appeal, but the more consequential question is how much attention a particular guitar needs after unboxing. Reports range from instruments that arrived cleanly finished and ready to play to examples needing fret, nut, bridge, pickup-height, or electronics work. That spread matters at this price. The model can be an excellent buy, but the reviews do not support assuming every unit will arrive in the same condition.

Build and setup

The core specification is straightforward: a 60s C neck profile, 305 mm fingerboard radius, 43 mm nut width, graphite nut, vintage-style tuners with a 15:1 ratio, and a WSC wraparound bridge. There is no tremolo, and a case or gig bag is not included. The factory string gauge is.010 to.046. Buyers should also note that the fingerboard is dyed amaranth. Some owners report color transfer onto their fingers, while others describe the board as smooth and comfortable.

Many positive reports mention tidy fret ends, good fretwork, a comfortable neck, and a useful setup straight from the box. Several players needed only a small action or intonation adjustment. Others found rough frets, a poorly cut nut, high action, or intonation that took more work to correct. A small number describe bridge placement or adjustment limits that made it difficult to achieve their preferred string height. These are not details to dismiss: inspect the instrument carefully, and factor in a setup if you are not comfortable making adjustments yourself.

Pickup height is another recurring point. Some owners found the bridge pickup too low to balance properly with the neck pickup using the supplied adjustment range. Shimming the pickup was a common fix, though it requires extra work. Other owners report no such problem, or simply adjusted the pickups to taste. The wraparound bridge is solid and simple, but its design offers less independent saddle adjustment than a bridge with individually adjustable saddles.

Sound and controls

Two Roswell P90S Alnico 5 single-coil pickups feed a three-way selector and separate volume and tone controls for each pickup. Players generally describe the pickups as lively, assertive, and capable of covering clean, blues, and rock sounds. The neck pickup is often praised for its fuller response, while the bridge pickup can deliver a sharper, more cutting sound. The middle position adds another useful voice, and the controls give players room to shape the output without changing equipment.

Opinions on the pickups are not uniform. Some owners are impressed enough to keep them stock, while others find the bridge unit thin or the two pickups uneven in volume. Adjusting their height can help, but the limited adjustment range reported by some owners may complicate that. As with other P90 designs, these single-coil pickups can produce audible hum, particularly with high-gain settings. Several owners report that the guitar sounds resonant when unplugged and sustains well, although those impressions vary by example and playing setup.

What owners should expect

Finish quality draws similarly mixed comments. Many buyers received a glossy, attractive instrument with no obvious defects. Others noted uneven paint, small blemishes, scratches, or finish marks. The finish is gloss polyurethane, not a thin satin or nitrocellulose finish, so buyers seeking a worn-in vintage appearance may prefer a different model. A few owners also mention hardware or electronics faults, including a noisy jack or a control that did not work correctly.

At $235, the SC-Special offers a compelling combination of a set-in neck, two P90 pickups, and a distinctive look. Its best examples appear to provide comfortable playability and satisfying tones with little more than routine setup. The less fortunate examples need hands-on correction, and some reported problems are better handled by a qualified technician. If you can inspect the guitar or are willing to check the setup on arrival, it is a strong-value way to get into a dual-P90 instrument. If you need predictable, ready-to-play consistency, buy from a seller with a clear return process and treat each individual guitar as its own case.