Show Full Spec Comparison
| Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS | Gibson G-00 | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Harley Benton | Gibson |
| Year: | 2022 | 2021 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | United States |
| Series: | Custom Line | Modern Acoustic |
| Colors: | Sunburst | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Spruce | Solid Sitka Spruce |
| Sides Material: | Okoume | Walnut |
| Back Material: | Okoume | Walnut |
| Bridge: | Ovangkol | Rectangular, Closed Slot, Striped Ebony |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | WSC DLX diecast chrome machine heads | Grover Mini Rotomatic |
| Fretboard: | Blackwood | Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Okoume | Mahogany |
| Decoration: | Mother-of-pearl parallelogram | Acrylic Dots |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 24.75" |
| Shape: | Acoustic C Shape | Acoustic Advanced Response |
| Frets: | 20 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 16" |
| Nut: | Bone | Ivory Tusq |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 43.8mm (1.725'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | Fishman Presys-II system with integrated tuner (Preamp / Active) | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS over Gibson G-00
Reasons to Get
Gibson G-00 over Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS vs Gibson G-00
Shared Features
Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS vs Gibson G-00
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
These are affiliate links. We may earn a fee if you purchase after clicking. These prices are prone to error. Make sure you're buying the right product after clicking on a link from our site. We are not liable if you buy the wrong product after following these links. As an Amazon Associate site we earn from qualifying purchases.
Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both favor small hands .
Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS:
Gibson G-00:
Beginner Friendliness
The Gibson G-00 meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS 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 CL Superior-E Pro VS- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Gibson G-00- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- 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
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.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS
Okoume is an affordable wood and one of the first to replace Mahogany when the prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.
It's similar to Mahogany and Koa but comes in a much darker color. Its tone is also comparable. As a dense wood, it gives a powerful punch with lots of resonance.
Woods Used in the Gibson G-00
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.
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.
It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.
Winner: Gibson G-00.
Electronics
The Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS 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 CL Superior-E Pro VS.
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 CL Superior-E Pro VS compares to the Gibson G-00.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS is built in China while the Gibson G-00 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: Gibson G-00
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 CL Superior-E Pro VS has 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.
On the other hand, the Gibson G-00 comes with a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
Winner: Tie.
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 CL Superior-E Pro VS's are WSC DLX diecast chrome machine heads while the Gibson G-00's are Grover Mini Rotomatic
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Electronics
- Bone Saddle
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Expensive Woods
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Gibson G-00
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Ivory Tusq 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 Gibson G-00 has the wider nut with 43.8mm (1.725'') vs 43mm (1.693''). This is a 0.8mm (0.032'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gibson G-00, 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 CL Superior-E Pro VS has the longest scale: 25.5". The Gibson G-00 is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) 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.
Both the Harley Benton CL Superior-E Pro VS and the Gibson G-00 have a C-shaped 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.
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 CL Superior-E Pro VS's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Gibson G-00'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 Gibson G-00.
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.
