Show Full Spec Comparison
| Harley Benton Nashville-Steel | Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Harley Benton | Schecter |
| Year: | 2022 | 2021 |
| Configuration: | S | HH |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | South Korea |
| Series: | Custom Line | Exotic |
| Colors: | Blue | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Semi-Hollow | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Solid Mahogany | Black Limba |
| Bridge: | Walnut | Floyd Rose 1500 Series |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Dlx Machine Heads | Grover Rotomatic 18:1 |
| Fretboard: | Jatoba | Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Wenge w/ Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Rods |
| Decoration: | Dot fretboard | Aluminum Offset/Reverse Circles |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | C Shape | Thin C |
| Frets: | 21 Medium Nickel Silver | 24 XL Jumbo Stainless Steel |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 12" to 16" |
| Nut: | Plastic | Locking |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 41.3mm (1.625'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Piezo system (bridge) (Preamp / Active) | Schecter USA Sunset Strip (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | ||
| Neck Pickup: | Lipstick single coil (neck) (Single Coil / Passive) | Schecter USA Pasadena (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 0 Way | 5 Way |
| Knobs: | Dome | |
| Pickup Mods: | None | None |
| Volume Controls: | 0 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 0 | 1 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Black & Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton Nashville-Steel over Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
Reasons to Get
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote over Harley Benton Nashville-Steel
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton Nashville-Steel vs Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
Shared Features
Harley Benton Nashville-Steel vs Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Frets
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Strap Lock
- 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 Harley Benton Nashville-Steel favors large hands more than the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Harley Benton Nashville-Steel:
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote:
Beginner Friendliness
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel meets only 4. 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 Nashville-Steel- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel
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.
Jatoba is a hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end. Find out more about Jatoba.
Woods Used in the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
Wenge is a stiff wood that comes with straight and tight grains. Its color is dark brown and the tonality emphasizes the low and mid-ends (warm) frequencies, similar to Rosewood.
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.
Limba is a relatively rare wood that shows exotic tight dark grain stripes. It comes in white or black. As a tonewood, it is comparable to Mahogany but with richer mids. Find out more about Limba.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Pickup Configuration
The Harley Benton Nashville-Steel has an S configuration while the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote has HH pickups.
A single single-coil pickup is not a configuration commonly found in modern electric guitars because it lacks versatility. But if you only want a guitar that sounds very thin and twangy, this might be good enough.
On the other hand, Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote pickups from a more specialized brand than the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote gives you 5 switch options while the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel gives you 0. This means that the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
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 Nashville-Steel compares to the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Harley Benton Nashville-Steel is built in China while the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is made in South Korea.
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.
South Korea was for many years the number one choice for mass-producing semi-premium guitars. They can build excellent guitars for a cheap price. Now, it's less common to find Korean guitars because Indonesia has proved capable of building guitars just as well, but likely for cheaper.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
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 Nashville-Steel 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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
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.
In this comparison, the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Harley Benton Nashville-Steel's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote's is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Harley Benton Nashville-Steel's are Dlx Machine Heads while the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote's are Grover Rotomatic 18:1
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Harley Benton Nashville-Steel has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton Nashville-Steel
- Expensive Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Retainer Bar
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in South Korea
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- 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 Nashville-Steel has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 41.3mm (1.625''). This is a 1.7mm (0.068'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel, 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.
In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".
This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.
However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.
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 Nashville-Steel and the Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote 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 Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
Fret Size
The Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder Exotic Ziricote has XL Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Harley Benton Nashville-Steel's Medium 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.
