TRUTH about HARLEY BENTON TE20 INSIDE VIEW + UPGRADE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
- In this video I will reveal the truth about the laminated sandwich construction of the Thomann Harley Benton TE20 from Thomann and how I upgraded this nice bargain with a DiMarzio Chopper and Wilkinson bridge with compensated brass saddles:-) More tips, upgrades, and electronics on:
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Just a suggestion, if you ever have to drill through the body of a guitar again put a strip of masking tape and clamp a block of wood across the bottom (where the drill bit will exit). This will reduce the chance of tear out of the wood and flaking off the finish.
mb13972 great, thanx for this tip!
mb13972 great! Thanx for this nice tip!
If you're going to buy cheap you gotta know how to work on them, I have a few and don't plan to do much more then tuner and pick-up upgrades. Great tip tho
First thing that came to my mind too. Why didnt he use tape?
Geez man it’s a €90 guitar and it’s veneered....... your point is?
Just appreciate you can buy a reasonable guitar that sounds good and looks good for not a lot of money.
Hahaa exactly.
Rewind 15 years ago, cheap guitars > Absolute shitpile ...
Nowaydays the stamp on the neck is only a detail ...
A guitar can be made of plastic and still sound good as long as its made of Tone plastic .
Aged tone plastic gives more sustain of course, combined with warm vintage accents.
Great insight man, thanks for checking my video out.
Hello! can you pls tell me, are you good/satisfied with this guitar or is there any work to do? btw: im not sure by buying the squire tele or this one.. greetz from northern europe:-)
Great review! Unknown info about the photo flame was eye Opening ! Thanks again!
Yeah, a kind of a downer for me. What irritated me most was the cardboard (MDF) underneath. On the other hand: The bridge PU sound is absolutely Telly like and I like it.
This was really useful, thank you.
Making NO economic sense at all, I bought a "B-stock" TE-20 in black for about 120 USD (including shipping), thinking I would use it as a platform for modding a stock, inexpensive instrument. Don't know what kind of wood it is, but it weighs 8.1 lbs. (3.67 kilos). I replaced almost all the hardware: WIlkinson tuners, new volume and tone pots, new compensated brass saddles in original top-load bridge, and a pair of Seymour Duncan stacked single coil pickups that cost more than twice the price of the guitar. Wanted a new black pick guard, but couldn't find a non-custom one that fits. I still don't like the white pick guard, but it looks good otherwise, and sounds great! Frets themselves were level and smooth, but fret ends were sharp and jagged, so those needed work. No complaints - plays good, sounds good.
Good job, Pierre! I have a few Bentons myself. Subbed!
650Thunderbird, thank you so much!!!
Hi. I'm thinking of drilling holes in the body of my TE20 for through body strings. I've been wondering if the hole ought to be at 90 degrees to the body, or at 45 or what?
Thanks!!
Interesting video, by the way.
leif keane The holes have to be drilled 90 degrees to the body surface.
Thanks!!!!!
So, does the photo laminate take away from the aesthetics or the sound of the TE 20 Telecaster copy guitar? But that was certainly interesting to watch and learn from and does not take away from the beauty of the instrument, itself. Will definitely be catching more of your channel, as I am interested in learning more about modding, repair and eventually buying a kit to make my own instrument! Thank you
Thank YOU😊
I have one in blue and wanting to put a wilkinson bridge on it with brass saddles, I wanted to know if you had to enlarge the cavity of the bridge pickup and/or drill other holes for the 4 fixing screws.
Thank you for this interesting video.
The holes...maybe. Don't remeber so well. The cavity:no!
Thank you very much Pierre.
I'd like to think people are buying these with their eyes wide open. I doubt anyone is choosing these with resale value in mind. They want a decent guitar at a great price. Which, from all the research I've done, they seem to be. They seem to sound good, which is usually the most important thing. I think for the money people are willing to look the other way if there are some imperfections in the wood grain, lacquer, etc. I'm giving serious thought to getting one given that the prices are so good. That said, thanks for the video because people should know what they're getting.
1) isn't this just what's called veneer? 2) you take a very cheap guitar and 'reveal' it's not built like a guitar 6-7 times it's price? It's not so much the 'truth', but 'how do they do it'? You can already see in the comments the smell of disappointment and 'fake'. However, you got a nice guitar for 90 euro's. When I started to play nice guitars started at 700, for 200 you were lucky to have a playable used one, of an unknown or laughworthy 'brand'.
Hey Frits, your are absolutely right concerning quality and price. I agree. I also agree that there is a veneer on top. But the point is: I was irritated to see that there is a photoflame Veneer on a cradboard (MDF) wich holds pieces off cracked spare wood glued together. If you call it veneer or not, it's not mentioned in any discription!
As I said I came across this insight by accident and shared it in this vid. That I like the sound of the guitar is what I state many times during the vid. But anyway thanx for your emotional comment!
Pierre Disko As far as I can see the matter there is a layer of MDF between the veneer and the wood of the body. A good question would be why this (thin) layer is there. Has it a function beyond saving costs? I googled on veneer (I knew nothing about it) and found it also comes 'paperbacked' (sounds like cardboard), to create large sheet that make it easier to apply and prevents cracking of the veneer. So it might be just a way of saving on labour cost and add some durability of the guitar. Maybe you could do some research on it.
Hey just wanted to say I've only started looking at harley benton's and haven't even gotten my hands on one yet but I have purchased two which should be shipping soon. Remember that on their cheaper guitars they do state that it is basswood, which is a VERY UGLY plain and no characteristic wood so putting on the photo finish just makes it look more pleasing to the eye. There is not much in their descriptions as to how it is made or anything else just that it is basswood. I think for someone just starting out or can't afford an expensive guitar, having a nice sunburst looking guitar still beats having just a painted guitar.
The photo flame is really no different to a painted guitar. All good, and helping new players, or players like me, who don’t want to take expensive guitars to gigs
Thanks for the video!
I have a Harley Benton te 20 hh and want to upgrade it but cannot find much info on this model. I play hot blues ex. Albert Collins and want to change pickups and anything else make this a better guitar I love this guitar so the price is not an object but like keep it under $500 dollars if possible can you please give me advise.thanks
Hi Damon, the obvious candidates for upgrading are: Tuners, saddle, bridge and PUs. Depends on your taste🧘
Great video. Where you bought the guitar? Thanks
Roberto C Barbosa it's from Thomann.de in Germany. The biggest online store in europe. Harley Benton is their own brand.
Photoflame? OR is it a very thin veneer? I have built some kits here that have that veneer . I assembled myself and glued the veneer. I ask because when it chipped i had a very similar look or appearance like yours.(or at lease the video quality here is not clear enough to see cardboard) Anyway, for 75 bucks im a happy guy with whatever it is. It sounds and looks good.
Hi,
Does this neck pocket size is the same as fender ?
Thanks
Yes, absolutely!
Great video, thanks😎
My next vid will be a "real time" (no cuts) repair video of a Fender 94 Twin. Watching me unscrewing, soldering, searching....What do you guys think? Of interest? ....oh and sorry....it will be in german (maybe for the last time :-)
Man that Jingle at the end is awesome. Is that your Tune? Sounds great.
Plasmafuse thanks....and yes....it's me playing😁
Great Stuff man. As a Chickenpicker i loved it immediately.
Plasmafuse thanks so much. There are some vids on my channel just me and a groove jamming.....unfortunately no chickenpicking. Just i case you want to check them out😁
Thanks for this video. I was seriously going to buy one.. But I will get a SX from Rondo instead.
Nevertheless it's a good sounding guitar.
Mike got choice. I have 6 different SX guitars and they are great.
( good)
They say it's an ultra fine veneer - that is. Not sure if it's that important either way. People who buy these guitars probably aren't that much interested in these types of things. My concern would be the quality control of the frets. Even the tuning controls can be replaced. Oh, this is 2018. Well, anyway...
Good video!
11meterdx, thank you man!
You sure it's not a photo of a roseacer? (This is coming from a TE-20 metallic blue model owner, by the way. Love it.)
did the wilkinson bridge fit perfectly?
Yes Sir!
@@PierreDisko thank you!
If you look at the pickup routing the wood grain carries on from the top, this suggests that it is not a photo flame but genuine wood
unless they photo flamed the recess also!
Maybe you would like to watch minutes 2.00 and 5.29 of the video😉
yeah I commented prior to that part of the video
If ZZ Top can play photo printed guitars I guess I can too ...
Please consider subscribing to my channel: It's all about guitars, amps, fx, repair, mods and tips!
Try a Xaviere from Guitar Fetish. Solid ash or alder bodies. Usually 2 or 3 piece. I have an XV-830 beautiful wood.
Thanks sneifert, I'll check this out. Good info!
Oooh, that looks interesting....but on the whole website no busines adress as far as I see:-( Are they located in the US or UK?
My fault: It's under contact us:-) US!
Yes they are out of Massachusetts, USA. I think they import from China and set them up in the US
Ein neuer Kanal, den abboniere ich mal gleich. Hoffentlich kommen mehr Videos.
Meiner Meinung nach ganz gutes Englisch für nen Deutschen. Schön. Gefällt mir !!!!
Dann sieh Dir doch auch meinen deutschsprachigen Videos an....ich spreche auch ganz gutes Deutsch :-)
A veneer top is not uncommon with electric guitars.
Well... That's a bummer. I was on the verge of buying a HB guitar, but after this I think I'll save my money for something else later on. Do you know wether the Cort G 260 is legit or not?
dGladiator, after what Jörg Petermann wrote maybe TE-30 would be nice...allthough...no string through:-( As far as I know the Cort is a real fine Strat copy (a collegue of mine owns one) and for sure in a whole other ballpark then the HB.
That's exactly what I needed to hear, altrhough I don't see myself buying a HB in the future after seeing this video. I think I'll only buy the high end LP model , which is still quite cheap, but at least it's painted.
Check out the te30 and 52 they are great solid guitars, Dont worry about this string thru blah blah even Fenders from the 50s on have models without thru body stringing.
Malcolm Hardwick The thing is, knowing the veneer is cardboard is much of a turn off. I know, I'm a frivolous guy, but can I do.
Fender even used wallpaper on some guitars ! But yeah if i saw that what I was to believe was a piece of honset wood and it turned out to be a piece of material like cardboard of all things. Then I would also be a bit miffed ( english translation Miffed ( slang) - to be disheartened)
What I forgot: The original bridge pu sounded great to my ears but squeled / produced feedback at rehearsal volume allready.
If you have the patience and a vacuum pump, you can melt wax and parafine and pot it yourself
Just be glad the entire body isn’t MDF.
I bought a little electric strat looking guitar for my 5 year old off of Amazon and I had to do a bunch of work on it to get it to play right and the whole thing is MDF. Which is fine, it’s a student or kids guitar and the paint job is flawless but it’s not real wood. Cheap stuff coming from China is sneaky sneaky!
My te30 is made from 2 bits of solid ash. Cost 89 euro whole guitar. Cant even buy an ash body for that price. If the sunburst is made like this then the black one wouldnt have this foto finish
Thanks. How do you know that your te30 is made from 2 bits of solid ash? It's just to decide wich model buy. Thank you!
@@juansalvo2374 See through white ash was easy to see the joint especially on the side of the body.
There’s always a catch !🤭
Right, that's the way it is🤣
Man your camera made my eyes hurt after five minutes. Stop with the autofocus.
cortarelva good that you mention this.....otherwise I would not have noticed😂😂😂
Xaviere Guitars seem hard to get in europe. Any idea anyone? Or any other brand sugestions in the Harley Benton ballpark?
The best are the CST 24, SC 450 and SC 550, actually they are all good, exept for the lowest priced acoustic and especially the Ovation model is crap. Take a look at the channel of CORY MURA and EytschPi42 for Harley Benton reviews. Cheers.
also you might check the bigger numbers TE-52 and TE-70 as they are much better quality than the TE-20, and the st-62 and st-70 from the bastard strat family
Gabriel Cornea yepp, I probably gonna buy a Te 52.
Bruno Condor as you may have noticed I'm going the really "deep into it" route. Showing the hidden details😁
Do you dare with a Squier? Epiphone?
My Te30 from some month ago is of pretty good wood. No cardboard.
Hey Jörg, good news! Maybe that's because of the all see through paint of the Harley Benton TE-30 contrary to the sunburst finish on the TE-20. But again, nice to hear.
I have a TE 30 and i'm a woodworker.. the TE 30 is a three piece ASH body.
Hi Bruno, great to hear! How much does your Harley Benton TE30 weight? Maybe a good starting point for a project?
Exactly Pierre, that's why i buy them all the time. To do projects with it. I craft also my own guitars. Trie to buy an ash body online for 88 €.. considering here you have a whole guitar with well made neck that sounds nice to. I should say, good luck to find a ready made body for that price and quality. The weight is between 3,5 to 4 kg with neck, depending on the wood. Take a look at the TE 52 model, also ash, altough a TELE. Cheers.
Bruno Condor And the Thomann TE52 is allready string through😁
Interesting video but I'm not very surprised about that. As they say... " you get what you pay for". I'm looking just for a strat finished body and it cost much more than 200$ on "warmoth".com. I could get 2 harley benton telecaster with that price
The TE-30 body is made of ash, and the TE-20 body is made of basswood, they do write this on their website!
Hi Kim, it's about the body construction. Not so much the core wood.
Okay my friend!
They can write anything on their site. It doesn't mean it is true, lol.
Mister Knight Owl lol
It's a 100 euro guitar :)
a) Lacquer chip - same thing happend on my Ibanez RGA72QM - set in neck, titanium reinforced neck… fairly expensive guitar. Mod was done a professional luthier, so things can happen.
b) Isn’t that veneer? Veneer, even reconstituted, is still real wood and this construction is not uncomonnon in the industry. Has no effect on sound. My other Ibanez RGA was mahogany with mahogany veneer.
c) Rosewood is pretty much illegal - enter anything else. Who cares, though, doesn’t affect the sound.
All of this is not my point here.....my english seems to be to bad😁
That hair!!! Lol
Thruth about? Its a basswood body guitar whit a very nice veneer on top for what is it 77€ who gives a shit ass long its not plywood all over? And the hardware and pickups is just as good and even better for what you could expect for the price so be happy play it and enjoy life man...
CHEAPOCASTER CHEAPOCASTER EXACTLY😁
Na, bei Photofinish müsste jede Gitarre exakt gleich aussehen.
Kommt daruf an wie groß der Papierbogen mit dem Foto ist.
man.....the joints in the body are the joining of blocks of wood....that is how all cheap guitars are made.....maybe 3 blocks.....maybe 4......or more
man.....do you see the cracks also? That's not the way........man.....
You keep saying 'cardboard'. That's not cardboard, that's a veneer (a thin sheet of wood). And that's not 'flame', that's just wood grain. It's ash.
Sorry, but it's NOT veneer, it's photoflame (paper) on cardboard....no wodd grain in sight😁
@@PierreDisko I feel like we're talking about different guitars here. That top does not have flame figuring. That's just ordinary wood grain... Most likely ash (ash is a wood traditionally used by Fender for Teles and Strats). Flame figuring is much different. If I could post a photo, I would show you what flame figuring (usually maple) looks like. Just do a Google image search for "flame maple" and you'll see. I also see about a 1/8" veneer on top of the body when you have the pickups removed. Sorry, but cardboard is a wholly unsuitable material for a guitar top...
Face it as it is: Photo print on paper glued on CARDBOARD (MDF in german) to cover the wood pieces the body is made of.
cant watch this video.
This guitar sells for $81 get real...
This piece of junk is absolutely not a base for modding or upgrading. I really would recommend to start with an unfinished body, and paint it yourself.
That glue doesn't mean shit it's how it sounds. You bought a hundred dollar guitar, now you become a guitar snob all the sudden, Justify your thinking!
Justify your impolite commenting. Btw. yiur comment is exactely what stated several times in the vid......you obviously missed it😂
Basically a piece of junk
However for the price it’s ok
At $81 you're not buying a collectors edition but it can play well after you learn how to dress the frets yourself and learn all the other setup techniques from YT videos. You can replace any parts for some Wilkinson models and it won't cost very much. You can learn how to properly drill through the body for a string through at the cost of the ferrels ( $6 ) and have a Tele that can string either way . You can learn how to change a nut to a better quality one and how to properly cut the string slots. All this experience you can apply on guitars down the road so it's more of an opportunity to learn without worrying about ruining a more expensive one. Did you know there are YT videos on how to build your own luthier tools for very very cheap and other videos on how to due a "tuneup" on the neck and the entire guitar ? You can turn an imperfect cheap guitar into a very playable one.