Show Full Spec Comparison
| Harley Benton CG-45E Natural | Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Harley Benton | Martin |
| Year: | 2021 | 2019 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | United States |
| Series: | Standard | Authentic |
| Colors: | Natural | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Mahogany | Solid Adirondack Spruce with VTS |
| Sides Material: | Mahogany | Rosewood |
| Back Material: | Mahogany | Rosewood |
| Bridge: | Roseacer | Ebony |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Gold-plated diecast machine heads | Aged Waverly Nickel Open Back |
| Fretboard: | Roseacer | Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Genuine Mahogany |
| Decoration: | Dots | Abalone 1937 Diamonds and Squares Long Pattern |
| Scale Size: | 25.591" | 25.4" |
| Shape: | Acoustic Modern C Shape | Acoustic Authentic 1937 |
| Frets: | 20 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 16" |
| Nut: | Plastic | Bone |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 44.5mm (1.75'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | Preamp with volume control and 4-band EQ (Preamp / Active) | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Gold | Nickel |
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural over Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Reasons to Get
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged over Harley Benton CG-45E Natural
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural vs Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Shared Features
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural vs Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Common Strengths
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged favors large hands more than the Harley Benton CG-45E Natural.
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural:
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged:
Beginner Friendliness
The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton CG-45E Natural
It's also known as roasted maple, which is regular maple that has been treated with heat to remove humidity. It makes it more resistant to temperature changes and also darkens its color.
Woods Used in the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Electronics
The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.
Winner:Harley Benton CG-45E Natural.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Harley Benton CG-45E Natural compares to the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural is built in China while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged is made in United States.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged comes with a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural's are Gold-plated diecast machine heads while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged's are Aged Waverly Nickel Open Back
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton CG-45E Natural
- Expensive Wood
- Electronics
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged has the wider nut with 44.5mm (1.75'') vs 43mm (1.693''). This is a 1.5mm (0.057'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural has the longest scale: 25.591". The Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged is only 25.4" long. This is a 0.191'' (4.9mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Harley Benton CG-45E Natural has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
The Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged, on the other hand, has a Vintage neck. This means that it's thicker than most modern necks, and makes it a better fit for playing chords and slow solos. Some people prefer this type of neck because it gives them a better grip thanks to the extra mass. Still, the vast majority prefer a thinner, faster, and more ''modern'' neck.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Harley Benton CG-45E Natural's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
