Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active - Best Budget Metal Guitar Under €300?

The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active VBK is a €250 active-pickup Les Paul-style electric guitar with a matte black finish, gold hardware, Grover tuners, and a graphite nut — a budget-friendly alternative to the ESP Eclipse built for modern and heavy guitar tones. In this honest review I compare it directly to the ESP Eclipse, test every pickup position through a Friedman preset on the Quad Cortex, demonstrate clean and high-gain tones, show a no-tool setup fix for high string action, and give my verdict on whether this is the best budget metal guitar you can buy for under €300. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro & Overview — Is This an ESP Eclipse? 01:27 Clean Tone Demo — Bridge, Middle & Neck Positions 02:14 Construction — Matte Black Finish, Gold Hardware & Graphite Nut 02:56 Neck & Frets — C-Shape, Jumbo Stainless, 24.728" Scale 03:37 High-Gain Tone Demo — Active Pickups 04:30 Setup Adjustment — Lowering String Height Without Tools 05:00 Continued High-Gain Playing 07:00 Final Verdict & Recommendation WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS VIDEO Full overview of the Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active VBK and how it compares to the ESP Eclipse Clean tone demo through Quad Cortex Friedman preset — bridge, middle, and neck pickup positions Build quality assessment including matte black finish, gold hardware, and yellow binding Construction details: graphite nut, Grover tuners, and Indonesian factory quality Neck profile breakdown — comfortable C-shape with 24.728-inch scale length Fret assessment — jumbo stainless steel frets with smooth fret ends High-gain tone demo showing active pickup performance for rock and metal Practical setup tip — lowering string height without any tools Assessment of factory intonation out of the box Honest verdict on value for money and who this guitar is for IS IT WORTH IT? The Harley Benton SC-Custom III Active VBK is recommended if you want an ESP Eclipse-style guitar with active pickups without paying boutique prices. At around €250, the build quality is genuinely impressive — the matte black finish with gold hardware looks premium, the Grover tuners and graphite nut are upgrades you would not expect at this price, and the jumbo stainless steel frets are comfortable with no sharp ends. The active pickups sound good for high-gain metal and rock tones, and the clean tones through the Quad Cortex Friedman preset show versatility beyond just heavy playing. The only issue out of the box was high string action, which was fixed in seconds by lowering the bridge by hand with no tools required. The factory intonation was spot on. For guitarists who want the ESP Eclipse look and feel on a budget, this is one of the best value metal guitars available under €300. 🛒 GET THE GEAR (affiliate links — supports the channel at no extra cost to you): 👉 Thomann: https://thmn.to/thocf/lp2yvmoqpw (affiliate link) ▶ Gear & accessories I use in most demos: ⚙️ Quad Cortex: https://thmn.to/thocf/se0fz40vpj 🎵 Strings: https://thmn.to/thocf/uvvxaj8dc9 🔌 Instrument cable: https://thmn.to/thocf/vbige2fdl1 🔗 Patch cables: https://thmn.to/thocf/v966xl6c3u 🎸 Guitar picks: https://thmn.to/thocf/x5vylmo2dm ⚡ Pedalboard power supply: https://thmn.to/thocf/9fadwf7br0 🪑 Guitar accessories: https://thmn.to/thocf/jij2eywplc #harleybenton #harleybentonsccustomiii #budgetmetalguitar #bestbudgetmetalguitar #activepickups #lespaulstyleguitar #esceclipse #guitarreview #budgetguitar #metalguitar #harleybentonreview #quadcortex #guitartone #guitargearreview