Bently 5150 Blueburst Cutaway AE

veneered top but very well selected one peice top, blue and black high gloss.
volume and tone (not working)
passive electronics
unknown woods
non locking tuners
thin neck

passive pick up that no longer works but I like the sound that this cutawaw gives . I have a fender f-15 and the bently 5150. The bently gives me the raspy base and twangy treble that I look for in a blues guitar. I needed to replace the bridge with a custom made one that is higher, it keeps the base strings off the frets. it plays well into a mike.

the 5150 was well set up direct from the factory, it's about 10 -15 years old i'm told.
the pasive picup died at some point before it came my way. the fret wires could have beem filed smoother (which I did with a set of diamond files. Finish was not perfect but two steps below is very good
minor flaws that are hard to find in the finish

Plays very well live. tuners do slip some but not much, only when I do heavy bending of the strings during practices. The finssh is solid and of top quality. The blue finishlets the grain through very clearly, as good as any analine dyes I've ever worked with.
It has been very dependable.
Never go into a gid with out a back-up!

unknown

Been playing about 15 years. I had the Fender first and it;s still my first love, sweet sound great finish and stays tuned for long peroids.
Since I got the bently as a gift I have no complaints. It's a good compliment to the femder

I'm not sure the year mine was made, but I bought it June 16, 1990 . It's made in Korea. It has 22 full frets with a 23rd fret for the B and E strings - never seen that before or since. This one is an all-plywood body with I believe Phillippine Mahogany neck and end blocks. Rosewood fretboard is 25" scale. Pre-amp employs piezo transducer under bridge saddle and 9-volt battery clip on left side facing the front. Tuning keys worked okay, but wore out fairly fast. Got a case to fit for extra $75.00.

Actually sounds pretty good unamplified, but I had some issues with balancing the sound when plugged in. It tended to be too trebly, even with the Tone control adjusted, to suit me. Maybe some advanced EQ system would cure it. Feedback has been pretty pronounced at some awkward moments. I use a Samick 70-watt amp with single 12" speaker, and it has done the best job of evening out the sound. It would have been a joy for finger-picking, which is mainly how I play acoustic. A solid Spruce or Cedar top may have made up for this, and the piezo elements could be dampened a bit to compensate. It has more potential than was built into it, though.

Here's where I have the most problems. The neck never did fully straighten out, and eventually cracked under the third fret. The truss rod system failed; it caused the neck to crack when adjusted. I went so far as to have a new truss rod made, and installed it myself, but it didn't cure it. For a while it was tolerable. Other notes: the neck joins the body by three dowels instead of a dovetail joint. That's the worst construction I've seen on a guitar for that. The glue joint was never very strong, consequently. I've dismantled it now, and other things I've found were insect-damaged bracing, little if any real scalloping on the braces, and the X-brace was cut through to accommodate the piezo fit to the bridge saddle. The routing and truss rod adjustment were misaligned, and the rod was deliberately bent to cosmetically disguise this flaw. The saddle was too high at purchase, but fixed. The finish was reasonably done, but had a few runs. The binding was painted over in spots to make it loook even. From a construction standpoint, this is a perfect example of how not to do it.

It withstood many years (almost 13) of playing, overall. The tuners were substandard, and the gears wore out and began to slip. The binding was cheap and cracked/came off in sections soon and the finish turned yellow in a lot of areas within 3 months after I bought it. I did like the design of it, and may rebuilt it with better materials over time as a personal project. Built properly, sure I'd use it. I'd added an extra strap button behind the heel on the back, and that helped a lot.

Never used it - not that it matters now, because they don't exist anymore.

After 28 years of playing, and 25 guitars come and gone, this one stayed around the longest, despite it's limitations. The bad construction features are a recent discovery - over the past 6 months to be exact. This is a case of much experience gained, and actually a good lesson learned for a part-time luthier.

I don't know when it was made, but it was made in Korea and I bought it in 1996. I have no idea what it's made of. It has 20 frets. It is an acoustic electric with Parateck (?) active equalizer. I'm sure the body is plywood.

It actually sounds pretty good for being a cheap guitar. I would say it has a bright sound. I usually play it through my small Trace Eliot amp and it sounds good. I mostly strum and it works pretty well, although it doesn't stay in tune all that well.

I don't know enough to speculate on any of this. I don't think the wood is very good. One of the tuning pegs is falling off, but it just needs a new screw. The chrome coating is peeling off some of the tuning pegs to reveal the opaque plastic underneath.

No complaints. The strap button on the first one I bought fell off and the guitar came crashing to the floor. I brought it back to the store and was given stern looks from the owner as if to say (You're totally f#*!ed, dude.) But apparently, he sent it in and they replaced the guitar. I have used it at a gig without a backup, but I won't do that anymore. I'm buying a friggin' Taylor. For the price I really can't complain.

They replaced it when the strap button popped out and the guitar smashed on the tile floor.

I have been farting around on guitar for 13 years but am starting to do less farting and more serious playing. I have a Yamaha 4- something and it was the first one I got (17th birthday.) It is still my favorite guitar. I have a Dean acoustic/electric bass, a Gibson/Epiphone Sheraton, and an old, old, old harmony violin style guitar which someone gave to me and I sort-of refinished. I wish I would have known the Bentley would be cheaper if I waited a couple of months.
If someone stole it I would claim that it was a Gibson Songbird on my insurance claim and buy me a Gretsch.
I chose it becuase it was the best sounding acoustic electric I could find for that price.
Want to buy it?????????????????

Acoustic-Electric cutaway. Purchased in 1988, made in Korea. 22 frets, 24 frets on strings 1 & 2. Nice Blueburst gloss finish. According to www.topshelfmusic.com, it's a spruce top with maple back and sides... hmmm... Volume & tone controls, piezo pickup. Concert thin-body. Medium frets. I picked it up when I was 15 and it's still with me now in 2001... it was the coolest looking guitar I could afford and still plug-in to my amp.

I love it. I'm in the market for a new acoustic, but I keep comparing it to this one. Unamplified, it's got a solid, bright tone, bass is a little week due to thin-body. Amplified sound is a little thick, especially in the mid-range. I play straight to PA, with an occasional chorus added. Piezo pickup grabs solid midrange and a nice treble when volume and tone are maxed out, bass still a little weak, but I like it that way.

Factory setup is quite high on the action. I sanded down the saddle to almost 1/2 it's original height and had no problems with fret buzz or keeping in tune higher up the fretboard. The concert style body is obviously smaller than a DREADnaught, which fits quite nicely whether seated or standing.

I play XL strings and have played it live at churches since 1988 without any problems. Have banged the body into doorknobs walking around the house with it. Seems tough as an acoustic can be without being made of plastic (a la Ovation). Tuning machines are weak; one actually fell apart on me 3 months ago... I put it back together, screwed it back in, and I'm back in action. Gloss finish is there forever... no pickguard, and I still haven't worn it out in 13 years. 1/4" plug comes out of the strap button which easily pulls right out if you're not careful.

Bently's were made by St. Louis Music back in the 80s. They're the same company that makes Crate amps. They're no longer in the guitar biz, though.

Once I purchase my Blue Taylor 612ce, this will be my backup and drag to the beach and desert guitar. The best $235 I've ever spent... and irreplacable since the company's out of business! hehe