When I was sent the Royale RL4 from Greg Bennett to review, I just couldn’t get this scene from “Pulp Fiction” out of my head!

Jules Winnfield: What do they call it?
Vincent Vega: They call it a Royal with Cheese.
Jules Winnfield: Royal with Cheese.
Vincent Vega: That's right.
Jules Winnfield: What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent Vega: Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac.
Jules Winnfield: Le Big Mac. What do they call a Whopper?
Vincent Vega: I don't know. I didn't go into Burger King.

(Pulp Fiction, 1994, Miramax)

I loved that movie, so I immediately had a good vibe from this guitar. I also knew from my review of the Carolina that I was probably in store for a treat. I was not disappointed! Click below to read my review of the Royale RL4 semi-hollowbody guitar from Greg Bennett.


The Royale RL4

As we have discussed in previous reviews, Greg Bennett has done an outstanding job of resurrecting the Samick line out of “budget” class doldrums. Greg continually amazes us with his ability to design around traditional concepts, yet throw innovative features into the mix. Samick then goes to work in their huge Korean factories, putting all the high quality components (like mahogany tops and necks, Grover tuners and Duncan designed pickups) into a wallet friendly package. However, even among the entire line of electric guitars in the Greg Bennett line, the Royale RL-4 is a standout – receiving rave reviews from magazines and users alike.

The Royale line has deep roots; however, it is definitely an original design. It kinda, but not quite, looks like an ES-135 or an ES-175 or a Blueshawk/Nighthawk. It also features an easily adjustable Tune-O-Matic style bridge with a stop tailpiece, Grover tuners, two Duncan designed humbuckers, *separate* controls (tone and volume) for each pickup and a 3-way pickup selector. The top and neck are both Mahogany which is great tone-wood with dark resonance.

For every year that Korean guitar builders are in business, I find fewer and fewer differences between their guitars and American made guitars. The model that I was sent had an amazing – and flawless - black mirror finish. Usually, I can find subtle flaws in the binding, but not on this one – not even a smudge. The mother-of-pearl inlays on the rosewood fretboard were also extremely well done. I am personally really picky about headstocks, and I just love the Greg Bennett headstock – it’s very classy.




One interesting feature that is “under the hood” is the innovative monoframe construction of the Royale line. Where most semi-hollowbodies are made from a minimum of two pieces of wood because of raw materials cost, the body of the Royale is made from a *single* piece of wood. This is an unbelievable feature in this price range since it theoretically allows for much greater stability and improved resonance. I’ve borrowed a picture from the Greg Bennett website so you can see the body construction for yourself.



I should also mention that this guitar came with a very nice, plush lined hard-shell case. It probably isn’t sturdy enough for airplane travel but more than adequate for every other purpose. It even has a nifty little oversized compartment for picks and strings.

The Sound Test

I tested this guitar using a POD XT driven through an Atomic 112 tube amplifier, I also ran the guitar directly to a Marshall AVT series amplifier, and a Mackie Onyx mixer to two SRM350 speakers. The first thing I thought when I played this guitar on a clean setting was “Wow this guitar sounds great.” Immediately the guitar registered a very clean and very jazzy sound. The pickups were very loud and full with a good sense of complexity. Intonation was spot-on all the way up the neck. I found chords and notes to play easily and notes were well articulated. I was able to get great variation in tone by modifying the pick-up selector switch and tone pots. My favorite setting was the middle setting, with more volume on the neck humbucker for greater treble definition.

Then, I dirtied up the signal using both BOSS and TurboRAT distortion pedals. For some reason, this guitar really shines on an overdriven signal. My theory is that the semi-hollow reverberation just adds something to the distorted signal. I’ll let the physicists figure it out – I can just tell you it sounded really thick.

I’ll be honest here because I think it’s important. Initially, I didn’t think much of the sustain on this guitar. In fact, I called Gary to talk about it because I just couldn’t believe that the guitar would drop off as fast as it was doing on my initial tests. Instead of just putting this aside, I got to work and started to tinker. It was a pretty easy fix actually. Usually, Greg Bennett guitars are set up perfectly right out of the box – and this one also “felt” fine. Nevertheless, I lowered the bridge, changed the strings to some Dean Markley’s and reset the intonation. A basic setup by all accounts and it really did wonders. This guitar really rings out now. Most likely it just needed a string change, but it goes to show you how important the simple things are relative to good tone.

Final Thoughts

You could spend much more on a semi-hollow body…but why? The RL-4 line has all the features you could want for a guitar of this type including some that you would not expect for a guitar with a street price of about $600. After a simple setup, the tone really exceeded my expectations and I can now understand why folks love this guitar. Besides, the finish is fantastic! This guitar definitely gets our “Approved” award for 2006. And since the guitar now takes up a coveted space in my guitar stand, I’m giving it the “Rig Ready” award as well! So what are you waiting for…get the Royale…and skip the cheese!



Written by Daniel Halberg



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