A Cabronita Tele For Under £200... but is it any good?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ส.ค. 2018
- Today we look at the Harley Benton TE-90 FLT SB Deluxe Series.
Can a sub £200 Cabronita Tele be any good?
Donate to Guitars For Good Causes: www.gofundme.com/guitarsforgoo... - เพลง
Such a worthy cause, and kudos to you for your involvement. Nice playing.
Really great playing and lovely tone from that Tele Cabronita. Thanks for the review and demo
Nice review John. It's so satisfying to buy a guitar with potential and then work on it to make it your own.
Well done on reaching 6K. Bob, Nige and Tempest send their congratulations (they've moved in together). So does Gaz via his probation officer. Can he pop round when the restraining order is lifted ?
Next stop 7K...onwards and upwards !!
Great review, John. I have this very guitar and I bought it used from a fellow that didn't like it. After a pro setup, it plays and sounds fantastic. I've experienced the sloppy tuner issue so I may put some GraphTech Ratio tuners and a bone nut on it. Bridge seems perfectly serviceable and the pickups are really fine..no complaints.
Happy new guitar John....Now you`ve got me back on thomman again looking at these...tele,ash & maple....who needs the price of a G& L when we can get these !!
Nice one as I've just noticed you now have 6K Subscriber's & I'm sure after they've watched all of your video's they'll spread the word & your site will continue to grow to a bigger site of all things electric guitar...
As always an honest and No BS Review...
All The Best Over The Weekend To Everyone Watching Johns site & continue to practice & play your guitar...
Man you have some serious chops
I like your Videos, keep going😊
Sounds great John, and for the price, how could you go wrong, all in all great value for money, Great playing as always, Cheers
That was some nice playing, enjoyed it very much. Lot's of people reviews Harley Benton guitars, unfortunately they can't play, but you sir are pleasure to listen, one's again thank you very much for honest review. Best regards from Austrailia
Hi John, once again a great video with some great playing. I was wondering if you had looked in any Cash Converter shops, a mate of mine picked up a Squire Tele type from one I Dewsbury at just over half price, and it plays great. Keep up the good work, I’m sure there are rewards out their for thoughtful people like yourself
Nice Review John. I’ve been looking at purchasing this guitar only a Lefty and it seems they can’t keep it in stock! They’re out 3-4 was now. But I’ve seen a few other reviews of this model and it seems most are about the same as yours. Some complain about Fret Sprout and a lot of note choking as well. I agree, I think their QC is starting to fall apart some. Great Video, please keep up the Good Work!!
That demo playing picked up and ended beautifully,,,Really nice playing John🎸🎸🎸🎸🇺🇸
nice review, and sounded great ! still looking for a RE 90QFM, found one on Reverb (US) but as much to order n ship from Thoman.
Heyj John,your style is so much efficent&smoother &more melodycly?(a unword)expressive as the channel starts👍lot's of rockn rollys for that!🤝
thanx just bought the tuners for $35 us including cheapo shipping... the guitar i ordered a few days ago...thanx for your videos i find them helpful. cheers
That guitar sound f-ing amazing.. I had a wonderfull Fenix telecaster in the 90's (i loved that guitar but it was lost somewhere in my many moves) looking for a replacement tele style guitar that is not going to cost the earth, and these HB guitar's are looking very promising.. Thanks for introducing me to them and your stunning guitar skill's... Well played sir
Excellent playing!!!
Cheers mate 😀
Absolutely love your playing style!
Thank you ❤️
Nice guitar mate, they're like a cross between a Tele & a Gretsch Duo Jet, great twang & growl machines on the bridge pickup 👍 La Cabronita roughly translates as little bastard.
I made my own a few years ago and I love it. I called mine El Cabron - the bastard, but it cost me way more than £200. In fact the pickups cost me that much because I went a bit silly and spared no expense on the parts seeing as it was my first build I wanted it to be special. They're great guitars but I'm a bit biased towards Gretsches & Filtertrons as well as Teles so they're ideal in my eyes.
Sounds good! I think with your skills, anything you play will sound good though! Nice guitar for the price!👍😎🎸🎶
Great guitar and sound and playing!.
Fast forward 5 years and I'm looking at getting it, like the sound. Cheers.
Note definition and clarity is amazing
Can you find after market parts for this guitar in case you need to change something? Also would you recommend this guitar or the Squier standad tele? Many thanks
Fab playing John!
Great video...I recently bought their SC 450....it stays in tune, but I noticed on the backs of the tuners that they are crooked. ..even looking at the front you can see the pegs are not perfectly aligned. The post themselves seem centered. ....do you think this is going to cause problems and I should replace them.. or more just an esthetic issue? Thanks John love your videos here in the states!
Personally, I wouldn't worry. They seem to be doing their job OK. Just call the crookedness "character" 😀
great playing!!! i received this guitar last week. it is amazing. set-up is very good. As I am not professional I am selling my Jackson SDX and sending back a Fender Player Plus Nashville Tele and I keep this guitar.
Awesome jamming man.
I recently got one of these (in blonde finish). And I agree with Robson, it is a good sounding quality instrument. With the maple neck, steel bridge and ash body, it has a nice bright ringing sound, reminding of a 12-string ('Byrds' sound). And the bridge PU has a great twangy rocker sound when overdiven. My only minus is that the nut needed a little work. And the price! Hats off to Thomann's Harley Benton that gives us mere mortals a chance to try also the odd guitar models too :-)
Nice video John (as per usual) I'm just waiting for delivery of a 450 plus which you and others have sold me :) I'll let you know how it goes. I'm a electric virgin moving from acoustic for the shits and giggles. I'll let you know how it goes.
I love the Cabronita because I have a thing for Gretsch stuff...and it's a perfect meld with a Tele style guitar. I have a Gretsch 5230T solid body with Broadtrons...but I'm not sold on those pickups. So can I justify getting the TE-90???????????????????????????????
I can try. I do want one. Its a definite maybe.
Hi John, what is it for a Bass Guitar in background?
hi john i own one of these , did you notice the difference from thomann website pics ? ie , black back colour and a belly cut . also mine came with the bridge at a funny angle and misaligned string through holes
Yeah, I noticed the absence of a belly cut & the bursting on the back. I was going to mention it, but I reckoned the pictures told the story. I guess you lose a belly cut but gain a nicer finish.
Not a bad sounding cheapy 'Fray Bentos' guitar! Love the playing too John.
I customise cheap and dilapidated guitars. One of the first things I end up doing, is upgrading the tuners, nut and quite often the pups too. I recently purchased a cheap roundback acoustic off a friend.. It had awful tuners, plastic nut and poorly finished frets. However, upgrading the nut to a very nice carved bone nut (Vanson), plus replaced the bridge with a compensated bone version and replaced the horrid machines with a bargain set of locking Sperzels (in GOLD!) from eBay. I also completely redressed all the frets and removed the horrid plastic rosette. This guitar - A Chinese made 'Martin Smith' (LOL) was actually a solid top, with a flame veneer... I now play this, more than my Yamaha Jumbo 'Compass' CX50.
Most planks can be upgraded to a pretty decent gigging instrument, given some dedicated TLC.
Keep up the great work John. And I second *Andrew Guttry's* sentiments below.
Absolutely Deebz. I do the same with unwanted, unloved electrics. Amazing what you can do with a little TLC and very little money.
sounds to me that you may have recieved something somebody else had returned?......never-the-less.....you are able to get it good. However, i am not sure that many typical buyers would be into switching out tuners.......(having watched about 10 reviews............. it's not typical to hear much complaints about that Harley model.......although there was one guy who also had tuning issues)...........really they are fixable things for sure. ...........However, your comments are correct and it should not be the BUYER fixing stuff and Thoman should have sent you a perfectly set-up instrument .........as they so often do.................
You're a good man John Thank You Sir
Hi Rob, Thank you for your well inspired vids!Did you stay in 09 or did you change thé gauge?sorry for my french english language!
I put 10s on all my guitars 😀
Funny anecdote, I was looking for Harley Benton videos. Came across this one, where I recognised the man in it. Took a moment to twig that it was you with hair! I felt a bit dim!
I sometimes see videos from when I had hair & it just looks "wrong"... Like those episodes of the Simpsons when they show a flashback to Homer with hair 😀
I knocked this guitar when you showed all the mods you did....bridge ..tuners...but this guitar...in your hands...sounds great........
John,.. is that 1st song you play in the video an original ? It’s really good !
Thanks mate. Yes, it's one of mine 👍
I ordered the Harley Benton Black Pasiley on July 21 it's still not here yet and it's August 10. It was 10 days before it was shipped. Last I checked it was sitting in customs. Should have just bought a Squier and been done with it.
Goldberg 144
It should arrive to you eventually as I bought the Harley Benton Telecaster in Black Paisley finish back in May 2018 but as I told John back in May when I ordered it that Thomann have went down badly within my first purchase...
The only reason I thought of buying from Thomann was after seeing Johns reviews on a few of them & I had looked at Johns review for that Harley Benton Telecaster guitar & I knew to expect a few things wrong but what they delivered to me was a joke & I wasn't slow in telling them so...
Mine looked as if it'd be kept in storage for so long that dirt covered the entire fretboard & all the strings had become discoloured & that wasn't the only problems I had with that guitar...
I was going to buy another replacement guitar from them but their attitude & approach just put me off of them completely...
That was the first budget guitar I'd bought online & I won't do it again...
Budget shouldn't mean that the finish on the guitar doesn't look be be done properly or that it has a list of issues that you shouldn't have to deal with in the first place...
I think John has been lucky & nothing more as they (Thomann) are not doing a great job of checking their product before it ships & couldn't care less after it's been shipped...
Hopefully yours will be fine...
I only heard of these guitar after looking at Johns review when I first watched it in back in May of this year but all I've seen recently is complaints about the condition of thier guitars & the reason that I was given was by Thomann for this was because they were moving to another factory, I Don't Think So...
It's up to you but take it from me do not buy another guitar from them, as it'll have way too many issues that it'd be counter productive to get these issues fixed or replaced & by the time you add up all the money spent on it you could've bought a better mid ranged guitar from a local store or another online supplier...
Do it the old fashioned way & go into a musical instrument store/pick up a few budget guitar's to get a fell for them & how they sound & buy it from them...
I'd like to agree with John about these Harley Benton guitars as they are budget guitar's, but I've never had an issue with any budget guitar I've tried out in my local guitar store & if I've had any issues with more expensive guitar's all I need to do is take it back & they'll sort it in the store, but with Thomann I had to show them photographic evidence before they'd even listen to my case & then I had to arrange to have it shipped back to them...
You can guess by comments that its a case of Once Bitten - Twice shy, & I'd never order anything from Thomann again after what I went through...
Each to their own & mine might have been an exception to the rule but never again...
Again I hope your guitar arrives soon & it's everything you've been expecting & all the best over the weekend...
Ps
One more thing & that is I think you should gone for the Squier as they have been making guitars as long as Fender & have a great selection of budget to high end guitar's...
That's very unusual. I've bought three guitars from them and they arrived in three or so days. I was very impressed with the speed of delivery. This was about one to two years ago. Also, they were perfectly set up and playable straight out of the box. Maybe I was lucky and things have changed.
John, is this a lightweight guitar? My shoulder is not doing so well these days after decades of playing Les Paul’s. I’ve been looking for a lightweight guitar that plays and sounds good. I was looking at the Fender Player series but they are a bit hefty; around 4 kilograms.
I don't have any bathroom scales so I can't specify a weight, but it's a pretty average weight. Not surprisingly light, but not astonishingly heavy either.
Hi John, thx a lot for your review. Maybe some people outside the UK will not get all your words, as for many people you still talk too fast.
'For me this guitar is the BEST playable one that I have. The neck feels silky and the sound is awesome. Thanks again for you check. Looking forward for your next one
Hello. I always look at yours reviews and listen seriously what you say about the guitars you trying out. I’m a old beginner (51)and I bought a HB CST-24 for about a year ago. But I’m about to buy more guitars and this one is one of them I have felled in love with. But after this review I get insecure for I haven’t the knowledge to do that setup that this guitar maybe needs. Maybe I should look for another guitar? For what I know so was my HB cst-24 ok and I love that guitar. I changed my strings for a couple a weeks ago and after that the string height is a bit high I think.... ok love your channel and all the reviews you do for us all. Keep up the good work and have a fantastic day. Best regards from Sweden. 👍
Cheers mate. You should be OK with one of these. Most of the issues, like the string trees etc, have been addressed on the current ones. 👍
John Robson Guitarist Hi. Thank you so much mr Robson🙏👍🙏
This would be my dream guitar if it wasn't for the reverse headstock. I don't like reverse headstocks, they don't look good to me and tuning feels awkward. Also feel like Harley Bentons are getting a bit worse, still very good guitars for the money
I think their focus is now on those Fusion Pro models and everything else is getting overlooked a bit.
Yeah, though from what I've seen those have some issues too, especially the retainer bar which seems to be crap and the pickups aren't that great either. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that they're produced in Vietnam now.
The one use I'd see for having a reverse headstock would be if a guitar had a 5-string nut plus a zero fret on the sixth string, with another fret and a one-string nut behind that. Somewhat like the "C extensions" on upright basses, but probably only going to E. There wouldn't be room for that on a normal headstock, but on a reverse headstock there should be plenty. Get the benefits of drop D, while using standard fingerings for just about everything else (E chords would need to finger the zero fret).
@WaurufEx [EN] It's a great guitar, just badly set up when it arrived. I can live with that. £160 for a badly set up, but good, guitar is a compromise I'm happy with. I don't mind spending an afternoon sorting out the set up issues if it saves me a few hundred quid.
NOW made in Vietnam!! That's news to me! Think I'll give it a while before buying another guitar from them - until they get their act together.
It would be difficult to find a chap in You Tube that is as well versed as you are in guitar music and theory.
My copy of this guitar also has poor tuners, so I will fit a set of something better- are Wilkinson tuners any good?
Excellent choice 👍
Man, it's glory how it sounds
Nice Guitar! Can you list the Tools and the $$$ it would cost to finish the setup on these poorly setup Guitars from HB and other low cost Guitar Companies?
Around 20 quid for a decent file beveled edge a hardwood straight edge and 320 grit tape and 0000 steel wool . . And learn yourself it save you alot of money .
I've wanted this one for a while now.
It sounds glorious. ...but my "guitar list" is so dam long. I need to finish it, so I just cant add this one.
Well.... I might. : )
John, thank you for your work with Zoe’s Place and children with terminal illness. We have a son who has been given a life expectancy of probably 14-15 years old. And he’s 11 now. It’s a hell of a cross to bear. But I am grateful for people such as yourself who are so selfless and give back to the kids who are sick.
Well, I don't know what to say. I'm humbled by what you just told me. I started the charity appeal as a way of getting guitars to review & I wasn't comfortable asking people to give me money via Patreon (it just felt too much like begging). I reasoned that if the money ended up going to a good cause, and didn't end up enriching me, I would be OK with that. The way it worked out was that I got about £2K in donations, which I turned into nearer £3K in money to Zoe's Place (largely thanks to the generosity of people bidding on guitars that were being sold for charity). I got to play a lot of great guitars and grew my channel in the process. I'm touched that my small efforts are appreciated so much by people like you with the awful situation you & your family find yourselves in. It certainly puts things in perspective for the rest of us. Thank you for your comments.
14 inch radius neck but not much diff to 12 just smidge flatter . I think now there gone up abit 179
Are them pickups sounding like Gretch or Rickenbacker ?
Tele meets Gretsch
The Thomann "quality control" excuse is just that - an excuse. They have had new computer system issues for some time, I believe. I work in that area and I know it can take many months to bed new systems down. I think that's got more to do with your lateness problems.
They do have Plex machines but might be only for the dearer guitars.
Great review, I’ve been looking at that guitar for some time and your video has done nothing to dissuade me, I’m just gonna have to get one. Those Axesrus tuners look like a bargain too. Just one thing bothers me really and that’s the weight, I’ve found that the ash being used by guitar makers these days can be quite heavy, as you didn’t mention weight I assume that this guitar is not exceptionally heavy .
It's pretty comfortable. Not exceptionally heavy or light 😀
I’ve since had a look at this guitar on the website and they claim that it’s chambered. Don’t know how they did it but I guess that they carved out the solid body and stuck a back on as they do with the Fender Telecaster thin lines.
@@henryhunter5026 Don't know if there's any additional chambering, but the whole area under the scatchplate is hollowed out 😀
Interesting, I guess that’s what they mean by “chambered body”. It’s certainly an easy way to reduce the weight of a heavy ash body without getting involved with complicated woodwork. I seem to remember that Fender produced a few “smugglers Telecasters” in the 60s that were hollowed out under the scratchplate.
There really isn't any need to spend a fortune to get usable gear. The notion that a decent set of tuners costs about £100 is also total bollocks. Valves, vintage cloth wire. All bollocks. Going to a shop for a set up. No. It's so easy to learn the basics.
I have purchased for Harley Benton guitar and I must say the quality and fit for the prize is excellent 3 electrics and one electric acoustic and I'm quite satisfied for the fit finish and the sound these instruments have would recommend a Harley Benton very highly thank you
I don't think Thomann inspect guitars at all before they despatch them. I have bought a couple and it was obvious the boxes had not even been opened. Mind you they are not alone. In my experience very few UK shops do either. BTW I share your predilection for torty guards. It goes back to my very first decent bass which was a 1962 Fender Precision with the most gorgeous tortoiseshell pickguard you have ever seen. I still regret selling it.
kingstumble I had one that had not been opened, came straight from the factory via Germany, they only chech 1 in 100 if that.
Some of you might have caught the story about a chap in Der Nederlands, who bought two Gibson Flying V guitars. The first he bought from Musikhaus Thomann... When it arrived, the state of the frets and finish, was *way* below standard of even Asian guitars, let alone a USA Gibbo! So he decided to buy another (!!!), this time from GAK UK.... Get this.... The faults on the second instrument, were virtually *identical ! !*
.
This clearly indicates, that not only is Gibsons' QC awol, but that the two main guitar dealers themselves don't bother checking the instruments they order.
.
Moral - When buying guitars, avoid GIbsons - Thomann and GAK UK !
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I suspect, that a 'Fray Bentos' 'Flying V' is probably as good as a GIbson and with upgrading of pups and tuners a far better value for money. Though I'd probably go for a Tokai instead.
Deebz270 Couldn't have put it better myself. Ages ago I bought a Yamaha acoustic from GAK. The action was even higher than you would have if you wanted to play slide. Much more recently I thought I would give them another chance and bought a Gibson Les Paul junior Special which was supposed to be "new". It had obviously been played a lot. It was quite scruffy and all of the protective plastic on the pickups etc had been removed. Not only that the QC card had a completely different serial number and referred to an SG!
@@kingstumble All of the above reasons are why I won't spend the money on "top shelf" guitars. My old PRS came from GAK & it was horribly set up. The notes at the 15th fret on the 1st & 2nd strings we're "missing." The 16th fret was standing so proud that it was obliterating the 15th fret. On a sub £200 guitar, I don't mind sacrificing an afternoon levelling frets & doing a set up. But on a guitar costing as much as a PRS, I feel like I've been ripped off.
The Reverse Head Stock on guitars never made any sense to me. Why make it harder to string up and tune a guitar?
It’s all about string tension. The lower bass strings are under higher tension, the treble strings are easier to bend and under lower tension.
@@aliengrey6052 Ok thanks for the info.
Your guitar was ordered in the summer holiday period. It probably spent time in the queue and received less set-up care than usual.
Set up care? Thomann? LMAO!
I received my sc custom from thomann a week ago and even tho the guitar is fantastic the quality of the fretting is shocking. The binding around the guitar is just pants and so was the nut or should I say the way it was cut was obviously done by a blind man! The guitar is now with a luthier to sort it out... so the £180 on the guitar and a bill from my guitar tech to come! I just think I would spend another £20 on the guitar if it was setup properly in the factory. Or even do this in the factory at thomann... can’t fault the guitar for spec but it’s disappointing when you receive something as bad as I did... and hello from a fellow northeastern ( Sunderland)
Yeah... I'm noticing a drop in quality since I first got a HB. It's stupid little things like nut & frets or intonation that are letting them down. It's a shame as they're good guitars.
John Robson Guitarist people won’t mind paying a little extra for better quality control at thomann end! They are a fantastic guitars even down to the T20 tele copy for under £80! But top of the line isn’t that cheap is it? My sc custom was £180 shipped so I could have bought a squire new or even a very nice second hand squire...Ibanez for that money. They do play great and I would recommend the SC custom with the Grover tuners and Roswell humbucker pickups (coil split) so it’s got good spec
can this one play metal?
Hi, I just received mine right now, and I'm disappointed, the guitar has come with a crack in the union of the body and the neck,a loose screw in a pickup and one lost in the pickguard, but what I found the worst is the frets, they are very rough, maybe the worst I've ever played, and I'm used to playing cheap guitars, I do not have any expensive guitar, when you do a bend they sound like sandpaper, I cannot understand it, I've seen several reviews and it seems that they talk about a different model. Since it has arrived in poor condition and I have to return it, I dont know whether to request that they send me another one or directly the money.
Cease with the tortoise shell!
I can't help it, I'm addicted 😀
And, Harley Benton would save on not using string trees if they fitted axes r us staggered tuners
Yup 👍
Interesting name for a guitar...
Seriously, "Cabronita"
A cus word?!
The name comes from Fender after which this guitar is cloned. They came up with the cabronita telecaster. I think it was for ZZ Top. There is also a cabronita boracha version
@@fukiu5154 boRRacha😁