Show Full Spec Comparison
| Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT | Ibanez PF15ECE | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Harley Benton | Ibanez |
| Year: | 2021 | 2019 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | Indonesia |
| Series: | Custom Line | PF |
| Colors: | Natural | |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Mahogany | Spruce |
| Sides Material: | Mahogany | Nyatoh |
| Back Material: | Mahogany | Nyatoh |
| Bridge: | Roseacer | Nandu Wood |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Die-Cast Machine Heads | Ibanez |
| Fretboard: | Roseacer | Nandu Wood |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Nyatoh |
| Decoration: | Dot | White dot inlay |
| Scale Size: | 25.315" | 25.6" |
| Shape: | Acoustic C Shape | Acoustic PF |
| Frets: | 20 Vintage Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 9.843" |
| Nut: | Plastic | Plastic |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 42mm (1.654'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | Ibanez Undersaddle (Preamp / Active) | |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Nickel | Chrome |
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT over Ibanez PF15ECE
Reasons to Get
Ibanez PF15ECE over Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT vs Ibanez PF15ECE
Shared Features
Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT vs Ibanez PF15ECE
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Nut
- 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 Ibanez PF15ECE favors large hands more than the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT.
Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT:
Ibanez PF15ECE:
Beginner Friendliness
The Ibanez PF15ECE meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT meets only 2. 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 CLD-60SMCE NT- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez PF15ECE- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- 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 the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT
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.
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 Ibanez PF15ECE
Nyatoh has been replacing Mahogany for guitar building. It's fairly hard, durable, more sustentable and common than Mahogany. Find out more about Nyatoh.
It's an uncommon material that lacks more information.
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.
Winner: Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT.
Electronics
The Ibanez PF15ECE 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:Ibanez PF15ECE.
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 CLD-60SMCE NT compares to the Ibanez PF15ECE.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT is built in China while the Ibanez PF15ECE is made in Indonesia.
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.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Winner: Ibanez PF15ECE
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.
In this case, both have Plastic nuts. 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.
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 CLD-60SMCE NT's are Die-Cast Machine Heads while the Ibanez PF15ECE's are Ibanez
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT
- Expensive Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- 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
Ibanez PF15ECE
- Electronics
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- 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
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 Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 1mm (0.039'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT, 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 Ibanez PF15ECE has the longest scale: 25.6". The Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT is only 25.315" long. This is a 0.285'' (7.2mm) 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 CLD-60SMCE NT and the Ibanez PF15ECE 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 Ibanez PF15ECE's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT'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 Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT.
Fret Size
The Ibanez PF15ECE has Medium frets, which should be taller than the Harley Benton CLD-60SMCE NT's Vintage frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
