Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG - Overview and Best Prices

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Review
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  • 1 Prices - New from €379 >
  • From Harley Benton's 2021 Deluxe series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 13.78" Fretboard Radius
  • AA flamed maple top
  • Okoume body
  • Nyatoh neck
  • Jatoba fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG Retro Active Fat 55 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG Retro Active Fat 55 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 2 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • WSC LP17 Tune-O-Matic bridge
  • 1960 C Set neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
  • WSC Schaller Style J07LKF locking machine heads tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Specifications
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG
General
Brand: Harley Benton
Year: 2021
Configuration: HH
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: Deluxe
Colors: Orange
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Top: AA flamed maple
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Okoume
Bridge: WSC LP17 Tune-O-Matic
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: WSC Schaller Style J07LKF locking machine heads
Fretboard: Jatoba
Neck Material: Nyatoh
Decoration: White Pearloid trapezoid
Scale Size: 24.75"
Shape: 1960 C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.807'' (20.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.886'' (22.5mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel
Fretboard Radius: 13.78"
Nut: Graphite
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: EMG Retro Active Fat 55 (Humbucker / Active)
Neck Pickup: EMG Retro Active Fat 55 (Humbucker / Active)
Switch: 3
Knobs: Bell
Volume Controls: 2
Tone Controls: 2
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome
Show Diagram
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's switch options

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 73
Sound 73
Build quality 67
Value for money 81
Overall Score 71
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG
  • Stainless Steel Frets
  • Locking Tuners
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $800, which means that the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG is around 56% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

Videos

Active Pickup HATER Tries EMG FAT55 | Harley Benton SC-550+ EMG
NEW 2021 Harley Benton SC550 Plus with EMG RetroActive Pickups
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG - Sound Demo (no talking)
Harley Benton - SC-550 Plus & SC-Custom Plus EMG -
28 differences between Harley Benton SC-550 and SC-550 Plus
A new level for Benton! HB SC550 Plus Review
Any Modern Rockers Dream Guitar! | Harley Benton SC550 Plus EMG Paradise Flame Review / Unboxing
Feel like SLASH for under $500 // Harley Benton SC-550 Plus // Review & Sound
Harley Benton SC-550 plus EMG paf demo
Harley Benton SC 550 Plus EMG - Modest Kind of Review

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's 24.75" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Scale Length Comparison
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale length used in most Gibson guitars. If you like the playability of a Gibson, this guitar will feel pretty similar. It's a lot shorter than the typical Stratocaster (25.5'')

As you can see from the picture above, a shorter scale length also means shorter separation between frets. If you got really small hands, you probably will feel more comfortable playing this guitar than a Fender Stratocaster.

This scale length also allows for easier bends and vibratos because the strings will have lower tension due to the shorter scale.

Finally, another thing affected by scale length is tone. A shorter scale will give less room for the harmonics, thus resulting in a warmer, more 'bassy' tone.

Still, remember that you string gauge plays an important part in all of this. A lighter gauge will make it easier to perform bends, vibratos and will also give you a brighter tone.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Neck Profile
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's neck thickness is approximately 0.807'' (20.5mm) at the first fret, and 0.886'' (22.5mm) at the twelfth.

These measurements were taken either from the official Harley Benton website, or, in case this information wasn't provided, by researching multiple online marketplaces and forums where owners of this model have posted their measurements.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG has a 13.78" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's fretboard radius compared to others

This makes it more similar to Gibson guitars (12'') than Fender (9.5''). It's slightly flatter than most modern Gibson fretboards though, which makes it more comfortable for single notes, bendings and vibratos, but less comfortable for chords.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

24.75'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
25'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Nut Width
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Nut Width

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG has a nut width of 43mm (1.693''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

Finally, these are stainless steel frets. They're the best fretwire available. This means you won't need to change your frets since they should last as long as your guitar. Some people also feel easier bendings after swapping to stainless steel.

More with stainless steel frets:

Fret Size

Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG Fret Size Comparison
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's frets are Medium Jumbo size. These sit somewhere between a Jumbo and a Medium fret. They're not quite as tall as a full Jumbo, so you'll still feel the fretboard, but you won't feel it as much as with medium frets. This is a good size if you want to make it easy to press the strings but would also like a little bit of ''feedback'' to know when to stop pressing so the notes don't go out of pitch.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 70
Playability 73

Tone

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Okoume wood pattern used for guitar building
Okoume Body
Nyatoh wood pattern used for guitar building
Nyatoh Neck
Jatoba wood pattern used for guitar building
Jatoba Fretboard

Okoume Body: It's an affordable wood and it was one of the first to replace Mahogany when prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.

Nyatoh Neck: It's a wood type found mainly in Indonesia. It's fairly hard and durable and is becoming popular for building guitars because it isn't expensive.

Jatoba Fretboard: It's an exceptionally 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.

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: EMG. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are active pickups, so you can expect a lot of output with a highly compressed signal that will give your tones more distortion while retaining a clear, defined sound, which is what many Heavy Metal players need. However, they have the disadvantage of sometimes lacking a fully clean sound when playing without distortion.

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.

More with the same pickups

22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
EMG Retro Active Fat 55 Bridge Pickup
EMG Retro Active Fat 55 Neck Pickup
Cort CR300
Compare
22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
EMG Retro Active Fat 55 Bridge Pickup
EMG Retro Active Fat 55 Neck Pickup

Versatility

It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH configuration and Active pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Heavy Metal or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 90
Sustain 75
Versatility 48
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 73

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Still, remember that we're taking about Harley Benton here, which is a brand with good renown. They know how to use cheap labor in this country without sacrificing too much quality. So you shouldn't end up receiving a useless or ugly instrument.

Bridge

WSC LP17 Tune-O-Matic: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

Tuners

The Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG comes with locking tuners, which helps with tuning stability and makes changing strings a lot faster and easier. As long as they're high quality, these are the best tuning machines you can have. The only disadvantage is that they are a bit heavier than normal tuners.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG has a Graphite nut. This material is self-lubricating, which allows the strings to slide over the nut without too much friction. This helps to keep the guitar in tune when bending and using the tremolo. It's not as resistant and it doesn't sound as good as bone, but it is much better than a plastic nut.

More with the same nut material:

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Set neck joint. This type of neck joint consists of using different pieces of wood for the neck and the body of the guitar. Both pieces are then glued together. This is more expensive to make than a bolt-on neck, but it's cheaper than a neck-through guitar. Some people believe that this gives more sustain than a bolt-on neck due to both pieces having a 'better connection' than with bolts. Still, it's something difficult to prove.

However, this type of neck joint does have the disadvantage of not allowing you to easily swap the neck for another. This makes this type of neck joint less mod-friendly.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 75
Features 60
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 67