Show Full Spec Comparison
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active | Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk | |
---|---|---|
General | ||
Brand: | Harley Benton | Washburn |
Year: | 2024 | 2010 |
Configuration: | HH | HH |
Strings: | 6 | 6 |
Made in: | Indonesia | Indonesia |
Series: | Custom Line | Nuno Bettencourt |
Colors: | White, Black | Red |
Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
Body | ||
Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
Body Material: | Meranti | Agathis |
Bridge: | Wsc Tune-O-Matic | Floyd Rose Special |
Neck | ||
Neck Joint: | Set | Bolt-On |
Tuners: | Grover Machine Heads | Grover Exclusive 18:1 Chrome |
Fretboard: | Jatoba | Rosewood |
Neck Material: | Meranti | Maple |
Decoration: | White pearloid crown | Dots |
Scale Size: | 24.75" | 25.5" |
Shape: | Harley Benton Modern C | Washburn Nuno Bettencourt |
Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.807'' (20.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.886'' (22.5mm) | 1st Fret: - 12th Fret: |
Frets: | 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | 22 Medium Nickel Silver |
Fretboard Radius: | 13.78" | 12" |
Nut: | Graphite | Locking |
Nut Width: | 42mm (1.654'') | 43mm (1.693'') |
Electronics | ||
Bridge Pickups: | Tesla TM AH-5 Active Humbuckers (Humbucker / Active) | Bill Lawrence L-500 (Humbucker / Passive) |
Middle Pickup: | ||
Neck Pickup: | Tesla TM AH-5 Active Humbuckers (Humbucker / Active) | Washburn Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) |
Switch: | 3 Way | 3 Way |
Knobs: | Dome | Dome |
Pickup Mods: | Coil Split | Coil Tap |
Volume Controls: | 2 | 1 |
Tone Controls: | 1 | 0 |
Hardware | ||
Strap Lock: | No | No |
Hardware Color: | Gold | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active over Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk
Reasons to Get
Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk over Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active
Other Key Differences
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active vs Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk
Shared Features
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active vs Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk
Common Strengths
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk favors large hands more than the Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active:
Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk:
Beginner Friendliness
The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk 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 SC-Custom III Active- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- 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 SC-Custom III Active
Meranti is an affordable wood used mainly for affordable electric guitars. It's generally lighter and softer than Mahogany. Find out more about Meranti.
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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
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.
Agathis is a softwood similar to Mahogany. It's more affordable, which makes it popular as a way to reduce production costs. People believe it to produce a warm tone with good punch and sustain.
Winner: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. 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
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active's pickups are Active while the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk's are Passive.
Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.
Winner: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
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
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Both give you different pickup mod options.
The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active offers Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
On the other hand, the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk comes with the following: Coil Tap.
Coil Tap is similar to Coil Split but it works a bit differently. Instead of completely cancelling one of the coils of the humbucker, it only cuts part of the output once activated. Some people believe this gives the split pickups a more real single-coil sound.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
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 SC-Custom III Active compares to the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Indonesia.
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: Tie
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 SC-Custom III Active has a Graphite nut. It's a self-lubricating material that will allow the strings to slide over the nut without a lot of friction. It's a good type of nut if you want to have better tuning stability than with plastic, although it's not as resistant as Bone or Tusq.
On the other hand, the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk 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: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
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 Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active 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: Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active.
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 SC-Custom III Active'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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk'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: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active's are Grover Machine Heads while the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk's are Grover Exclusive 18:1 Chrome
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 SC-Custom III Active 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk 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: Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Tap Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk, 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk has the longest scale: 25.5". The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active 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 SC-Custom III Active and the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk 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 Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active'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 SC-Custom III Active.
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
The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Washburn N24-Nuno Vintage Padauk'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.