...'belters'...must be a Brit term....good I assume? LOL. My TE52 is heavy but an amazing find at 3x the price. Frets were among the best I've ever seen at any price....only exception would be perhaps my Eastmans.
@@frankcarter6427 Why have a pop at Gibson you arsewipe? Nothing to do with Gibson, this is a fender copy. Why not have a pop at Fender? Because you're just another bandwagoner clown. You don't have to dress up as one. You are one.
@@frankcarter6427 Why have a pop a Gibson? What have they got to do with a Telecaster copy? Why not have a pop at Fender and their ludicrously over-priced and overrated guitars? You're just another bandwagoner muppet with nothing original to say. Probably very much like your playing.
@@frankcarter6427Why have a cheap shot at Gibson? What has a review of a telecaster copy got to do with Gibson? Why not have a pop at Fender and their overrated and over-priced guitars? Because you're just another bandwagoner with nothing original to say. Probably very much like your playing.
I have noticed that, when a guitar ‘clicks’ with you, you play much more freely and really vibe with it. Todays’ mini performance was really enjoyable, I completely forgot that you were “testing” the guitar. Really great to listen to.
We have 4 hb guitars in our house, one thing hardly mentioned is that they have a lot of options for left handed people, my son has a 25th jazzy, a basic lp, a hb 35 hollowbody and a 75e acoustic, they all blow away anything else in the market that squier or anyone else in that space make. Great playing Colin
Agree 100% re left handed selection. I've got 3 Squiers and the new LH models of Fender Classics are sadly neglected. I've waited for years for an affordable LH Squier "Starcaster" to no avail. Therefore HB are now a budget manufacturer firmly on my radar - along with Vintage. Especially with Guitaristas positive/honest reviews. 😎 Although to be fair non of my LH Squier's were under £400 - so not really "budget."
I have the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Custom and this guitar really pulls off the look almost perfectly. My Fender has the proper tuners, rosewood fretboard, nitro finish, and slightly hotter neck pickup (about 7.8K), and the attention to detail is better, but it also cost about $2149 USD new before it was replaced by the American Vintage II line. The Fender has the proper high quality pots and switch as well. That being said, it is truly impressive that Harley Benton can produce a beautiful and nice playing and sounding guitar based on a Fender which was more than 10 times the price.
T and S styles aren't my favourites, but once I saw a Fender American Original 60s Tele Custom (pointlessly long name) I immediately knew that was my dream guitar... I LOVE the way it looks and can't wait to afford one. Still I do know they aren't for everyone so having cheaper knock-offs is awesome.
@@chain_havnis I love mine and I’m very glad I have it, but I also cannot deny there are affordable guitars that get you 90% of the way there for a lot less money.
Yes Sir, this is entertaining, you are such a delightful guy to watch. I think I've been following you almost since you started on TH-cam, and I have to say I follow lots of guitar channels, but yours is by far my favorite. I have recently been off of work for medical reasons, and I look forward too all your videos. Don't change a thing my friend, you're doing justice to your channel. Enjoy your adult week off. Lol
That is a very nice Tele from Harley Benton I must say Colin. Everything seems decent on it. The binding as well along with the color. Good Job HB and thank you for showing it.
I have a number of Harley Benton bass guitars. They all needed a bit of love and attention at the start, but now I gig with them with joy and confidence.
I got the TE-25th Anniversary in Firemist Gold. I was equally impressed and satisfied. The bag it came with was outstanding in quality also. Other appointments too like locking tuners, alder body, roasted maple neck, graphite nut, slanted pickup switch. Get one while you can.
Status Quo was the band that got me in to the T-style guitars in the mid seventies...and i bougt the same guitar a week ago....really greate axe...i have 21 Fenders,Squiers and HB guitars now....in theese days,budget guitars have really rased the quality...and i still buy them for testing and i agree on this..thumbs UP!
Great review 👏 😊 I bought a HB ST 62 a few weeks ago. It cost me 1600 Swedish crowns. Besides the tuners (they work), that guitar has a killer sound and with great quality. Now....1600 Skr that is what I paid for a completely unplayable crap guitar back in...1982 !? now consider inflation under 42 years !! that is crazy 😅 Another thing about the very affordable price. You don't need to pay for some company to import the guitar and some other to sell it in a shop....and that would probably double the price. Credit to Thomann. Concerning the relation between price - sound - quality, it is impossible to get anything better out there. We do live in the golden age of good affordable guitars....pity that didn't happen 😢 40 years ago.
@leer.2137 it was expensive but; in 1982 you paid 13 000 SKR for a Les Paul Standard....so it was cheap in comparison, and very expensive if you compare what you get for the "same" amount of money 40 years later.
Absolute beast of a guitar. I bought one of their cheapest TE-20 telecaster models on a whim a couple of years ago and I can’t fault it. Not even for the money, it’s a great guitar. Like I’ve always said, if you don’t want to spend thousands on throwing a guitar around, these can more than do the job and can take a beating.
I picked up my first Harley Benton a few months back, the MR Modern (Mosrite tribute w/ 2 point trem and humbuckers). Snagged it on Reverb from their American store for $280 shipped. Phenomenal guitar and quickly became my #1 player. Hard to beat at that price with (flawless) stainless frets, locking tuners, outstanding hardware tip to top. That T style is gorgeous!!
I was playing classical guitar for 10 years when i was younger until it outgrew me. I have forgotten everything, even the notes, since i haven't touched it for the past 13 years. Today i just ordered this guitar along with everything that i need to start learning electric guitar. It's gonna be frustrating in the beginning because 10 years of classical won't translate to it and it's been se long my fingers don't remember shit but i can't wait! Thanks for the review.
I live in NY, and I ordered the TELE-STYLE Harley Benton Fusion-T HH EB OCT (Ocean Turquoise w/Roswell humbuckers and WSC staggered locking die-cast machine heads) at 9am from the Thomann website..., it shipped from Germany 2 hours later and it's already here in New York at 8am the very next day, 23 hours later, marked "Out for Delivery" by UPS!! WOW! This will be my 5th HB. Ive had nothing but wonderful experiences with this company. (I own 8 Gibson's, btw... 3 LP standards and 5 SG standards) Im always looking forward to your reviews ;)
@@MAX96MENDES It arrived safely and straight out the box it tuned up nicely, stays in tune with tremolo use. No QC issues whatsoever. The tuners are quite nice and the color - Ocean Turquoise - is fantastic. Now I may be getting lucky, but this is my 5th HB and I've had zero complaints.
These budget guitars get better and better. I had an Artist TC59 and it was amazing. At this price if you don't like something you can change it easily enough. Nice one Col.
Well done Colin. A lot of us know that HB can be good (despite variable QC. Very variable). Given that you review Teles that cost 8+ times as much and you still rate it speaks volumes.
The intros in your videos are very well done. Just enough of a teaser to get me thinking "this could be interesting" and before I know it, I've watched the whole thing.
Good evening, I bought 7 HB guitars from Thomann last year. This is exactly one of them. Incredibly good price, build quality, sound and color. From the point of view of an amateur guitarist, I did not notice any technical imperfections, but I repeat that I am a complete amateur. I bought 2 more models of Telecasters. I will only allow myself to state my personal recommendation for colleagues of my amateur type, and that is to focus generally on models that are on sale and in production for the shortest possible time. It's just a personal observation and note, it worked for me, even when I bought one of their classic long-produced models (also without problems). Thomann provides all information, including negative reviews, on its website. Fantastic phone support in my native language and free shipping even for a relatively small order. I can only recommend. Thank you for the video and greetings Pavel CZ.👍👍👍Status Quo?❤
Brilliant film as always Col! Got my nibbles and beverage ready whilst it was loading up. As someone who enjoys setting some loops down and jamming out at home, if you were looking for some more fresh content ideas, it would be good to get a talk on how you get your inspiration for your loops/jams. The play out this week was particularly good. Things like what keys/scales you use and songs you use for inspiration! Thanks again!
I swear by my Harley Benton JA-60. I also saw Andy Partridge of XTC a month or so ago playing a Harley Benton during an interview. :) I ALSO ADD That's been some of your best playing on this guitar!
Not to go Full Fan Boi, but I absolutely LOVE your channel and look forward to every new episode. It's like I'm watching the answer to the question "I wonder what Nigel Tufnel ended up doing after Spinal Tap finally broke up?!?" 😄
Thank you for a great video and review again Colin. I can tell you enjoyed the guitar, your playing this week told us. Affordable guitars of today are worlds away from the cheap and nasty ones of yesteryear, when cheap usually meant virtually unplayable. Today you can pick up a good playing guitar for not too much money, and have a choice of what you get. Looking forward to this series of reviews and comparisons.
Absolutely right...!!! When an instrument "HELPS" you play, while you are already "IN" the "ZONE" well that's always nice.... But on top of that, when the instrument "GETS" you in the zone...well then, you've got a keeper eh..?😉👍 Can't complain about the bang for the buck...At ALL...!!!😃 Nice looking to boot👍 The rolled fretboard edges are 😎👍👍 Thanks for this unveiling Colin...😎👍 Definitely an eye opener😁 😎✌👍❤🖖 Love Brother
Man Cole I loved the review and was impressed by the guitar . even as something to practice with working on but your play through was over the top today. Great background loop. Thanks as always. God‘s blessings to you:-)
Absolutely bang on when you said that they’re a force to be reckoned with Colin. Love the colour and the double binding, sounds sweet too. Great review as always, I’ve been looking at their basses for a while. Might have to see what they are all about and pull the trigger. Enjoy your weekend Colin. 🤘💙
They are serious instruments. The wood is good quality as well. I would not bother changing the pickups either. Only had one with a fault on it. I have 4.
I'm the proud owner of a Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series and it's the best sounding guitar I've ever played including Gibsons and Epiphones. Feels great too. Straight up. I have seven guitars here and the Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT is the one I go to first every evening. I could even sell the rest apart from my Jet strat. Cost of guitar with two superb P90s included on it -- 160 euros. Locking tuners and strap locks and a better selector switch took it just over the 200 euro to qualify for free delivery.
I've been eyeing this guitar for a while primarily for the high grade roasted and stiff maple neck. Impressed with your in depth approach to playability and video production quality in spite of their length. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and playing skill.
For another £40 or so you'd get a decent set of tuners and this guitar would be perfectly good still for under £200 I think the Harley Benton guitars are amazing for the money I got an EX84 modern with EMG's and a Fusion III HSH they are a little more expensive I think about £350 when I got them but they are amazing you should try one of the more expensive Harley Bentons stainless steel frets etc for much less than £400 is hard to beat spec wise 🤘Keep up the excellent work 👋👍🤘
Just found Col's channel and absolutely love his reviews. I've just turned 62 and decided to learn the guitar. Still struggling with my first few cords with my uncooperative fingers. Bit of a story how I came to want to do this. I have always been a keen model builder and have had for a few years a 3D printer. Last year I got a really good one and found a project to 3D print a guitar. So rather than printing bits of useless plastic crap thought I would give it a go. To be honest it's only the body that you print and you use a Harley Benton T-style kit for the neck, hardware and electronics. Well first mistake was not paying attention on the Thomann site and ordering a Strat style kit (Doh!). So after then ordering the correct kit put it all together and it worked. After a visit to a local guitar shop it as I needed strings and did not know what to get and he was very interested and asked me to take it over. He was really quite impressed with it. For those interested if you Google Prusacaster it should show you what I made. So apart from that I now also built the Strat kit as well and spray painted it with nitro paint but I'm not all that happy with the finish. Oh and as I thought I ought to have a ready made guitar I have an East Coast L1 in flamed blue which I love. Keep those vids coming Col and happy strumming everyone.
I was just listening to you and could tell instantly that you were able to find your groove. Can’t complain about a 135 quid guitar that can sound like that. Have a great week off.
That's a lot of guitar for the money. I paid 450 US dollars for my Squire cv 60s thinline, incidentally I love it. Just saying, you really do pay for the name & I mean Squire was never the coolest thing in the world to be playing, but they've come along way. It's definitely a great time to be playing guitar, we didn't have stuff like this when I started. Great playing as always Collin. Can't wait for next week's show.
fine review Colin, I bought this same model in early january I changed the tuners straight away, for same reason, just put cheap guyker locking tuners, exact fit, no drilling perfect fit, even left original ferrules in, I needed to file nut a little & swapped the bridge for one with compensated brass saddles, I didn't like bridge pickup, seems opinion in reiews of them is split, a cheap fleorsingle coil did the trick for me, suits me fine now, thanks for the videos always entertaining
Hi Colin, first of all, let me say i love your channel. Really. I own this one on CAR finish (more magenta than red), and it's incredible..... I've also had to fight with this tuners...they have the hole but not as deep as needed, especially when it comes to the 1st string. No problem on the others with a little bit of practice.
I currently have 2 Harley Benton’s, the TE80 (Prince Madcat Tele) and their early 335 copy which is a much more accurate copy than the current model! Both have been upgraded with full size quality pots and Seymour Duncan pickups etc! For the money they are incredibly good guitars which after a few upgrades sound and play well beyond their price! What’s even better is that I managed to purchase them used so saved even more!
Split post tuners without a hole can be used just as normal tuners (winding one coil above to keep it all down, the others underneath) and still have the advantage of allowing a quick pull off and put back of the whole thing whenever one wants to temporarily remove the strings. They just don't keep the end of the string inside.
Very nice looking & sounding Tele, great HB, nicely played Colin as always mate, Have you tried/ tested the Jet S300, T300, L300, they all retail for under £150 each Colin & I've seen many good reviews on YT😊🎸
Nice to see someone genuinely enjoying playing a guitar there Col, keep it up my friend. Fine sounding guitar too. Sometimes it's hard to look beyond the label, but it's amazing (mostly) when you do.
Nice review! I have the shell pink version. I love the neck. It's very even, no taper. My tuners are allright, I can push the strings in. So it could be a weird batch on yours or they changed it for the worse 😂. Also, nice catch on the bridge saddles position! They are moved a bit more forward because the bridge placement itself is moved a bit backward. Probably because of copyright issues. I discovered this when trying to change the pickguard. A regular Fender tele pickguard won't fit nicely. There's a seller on ebay that makes custom te-62 pickguards. Great teles these te-62's. Ive owned a a few harley bentons but this te-62 is definitely a keeper!
To be honest this sounds incredible. And not with an "incredible for an instrument of this price" caveat. It just does... Loved the jam from about 24 mins in, super stuff!
I have one of these same color, bought it, just because it was so cheap to mod it. But after getting it, all I needed to do was a truss rod adjustment, it came with NY Xcel 942s on it. And it plays phenomenal. Sounds great. Stays in tune! And I’m not even gonna change the pick ups which I usually do and a lot of my Guitars even my fenders, Gibsons, And one of my PRS us. This is a very good guitar that you can gig with, and if it gets stolen, it’s not a biggie! It plays very well I’m quite happy with it.
Can’t beat Harley Benton on performance to cost ratio. I bought the DC junior in Pelham blue just out of intrigue. Now has a Monty’s 54 p90, cts pots, bumblebee cap, switchcraft jack, lightening bar bridge from mojoaxe. It’s honestly now my best sounding guitar out of the ten I own, from a Les Paul, strats, Ibanez etc. Keep up the great work Colin. Cheers
Very cool AND a very nice playing guitar. Your videos are always very interesting ! Thank you good friend. I bought 2 Harley Benton TE-62cc (in LPB-Blue and Dakota Red) just because I do not like seeing the double binding on the sides of this TE-62db version, or the rosewood-style neck. Everything on it is exactly as the version TE-62cc, even the blue paint color. The prices are unbelievably great, so I bought two , along with some Gotoh "in-tune" brass saddles to put on them. These are GREAT guitars to play right out of the box and a good instrument to do "modding" on them.
I have two and they're both great. Both were playable out of the box (well, one had a rattling tone knob, but that needed 30 seconds with a spanner). I'd happily play live with both of them. My main guitar's a Baja Telecaster with the chunky 50s neck. My only issue with the HB Teles is that I've heard they're heavy.
Great review Colin as usual, I’ve been looking forward to this video since the unboxing. I’ve had my eye on this exact guitar for a while and your review has convinced me to pull the trigger on one.
Do not forget, there are around 20 or so factories in Asia (Korea, Indonesia, China etc) that are constantly manufacturing guitars since the 1980s. The sheer number of bodies, necks, electronics etc is mind blowing. Companies such as Thomann/HB take advantage of that, no advertising and purchasing directly from them keep the prices super low. It is very hard to argue with a lot of their products. If you ask any experienced luthier in the world, what "brand" is best, they will all tell you that the name on the headstock is meaningless.
Brilliant review Colin. And I was feeling your playing..it inspired me ,so spot on! I have a HB super strat style and the quality is outstanding for the price. Also said I’d never gig it but in fact I did and it held its own! ❤️👍🤘
I love your reviews - they're a mix of art and science. And isn't that the truth about guitars and players, there's a bit of magic that happens when we pickup a guitar and it "feels" right. I also feel great playing a great guitar that is a value find. I get the same feeling playing a budget guitar like my Gretsch G2215-P90 as compared to a US made guitar. Love the review and knowing that HB continues to build quality guitars. Thanks for the awesome review. Cheers!
Great video, and a great jam. To your question about is it you or the guitar... I think the only real question is does the guitar get in the way of you being in the zone? Doesn't sound like it did. Cheers.
Good looking and sounding T, pretty nice overall except the tuners, which they should’ve put the kind that are on the Classic Vibe Squier, not gotohs, but the split pots have the holes like the originals. But it obviously got your mojo working as you got into it a lot more than some of the others, which was fun to watch! Great review Colin, as always.
Great review Colin,I bought this guitar around a month ago,as I felt I needed a single coil guitar in my armoury. It’s a great affordable guitar for its cost.I’ve not played it a lot yet,but the pickups are pretty good,build and fit and finish are great.Thank you very much for a great review of it too 👍
Got one on order thanks to your review- plus just got the Antiquity' Rosewood tele (George Harrison) that you featured which I LOVE already -so I expect this HB to be pretty decent alongside it. Great value and good looking, playable guitars. Great work Guitarista geezer 👏
Damn, you were cooking in this playing session! I stopped what i was doing to see what that noise was about. Bit like driving a cheap car you just thrash it and have alot of fun.
Really enjoyed this one! Tempted to try a HB now (I can hardly play anything, but have an affordable guitar addiction now, thanks for that 😂). Looking forward to the next HB review. Cheers Col, enjoy your week off being a grown up!
HB are great quality at a budget price, I have a Jazz bass by them and it's great, fantastic playing today Colin, the HB Tele seemed to inspire you a bit !! 🎸😄
Another great one. You are boss. I've got a red version of this baby and unlike yours', the tuners DO have a hole in the split. Strange, eh? It's a miracle that you were able to string your blue jobber. Thanks as always mate. Love your channel.
I also noticed that the one you reviewed was “in stock” last night, but now, probably because of you! , it’s not available to ship. Haha! You’re an influencer, Colin.
Really hard to beat this Harley Benton tele for the money. Colin, you have such an ear for getting great sounds out of your equipment. Really a joy to watch your videos. By the way, that Fred Perry you are sporting looks very dapper!
I'm looking for a Tele, I am looking at a HB TE62, ...up pops your vid. Thank you for reviewing 😄👌. Did you look at the Eart Tele? Regardless, gratitudes from Ireland!
I love all the videos you make. I’m really enjoying the channel. I’m working my way through all of your videos. I’m looking at getting an SG. not sure which make or colour but I’m going to try a few. But keep the content coming 🤙🏻
Great thorough review as usual 🍻👍ordered the red one yesterday so thanks for the heads up on the tuners.Vanson Guitars on Ebay sell great kluson style locking tuners for around £30 so no biggy.
After the unboxing video, I drove over to Thomann and picked up a 299 Euro Strat. Harley Benton. It was very well crafted. I can make no complaint against the tuners, finish, etc...my problem was the neck pickup. It was also a Roswell but the magnets did not line up with the strings and there was no way to adjust the height of the pickup. The bridge was great. I took it back after two hours. It appeared that the pickup hole was not bored out in line with the neck. Playability was excellent. Smooth neck, no fret burrs and the sound I did get out of it was decent, but that blasted neck pickup ruined it for me. I would rate that strat at a solid eight even with the neck pickup faulty. WIth a better positioned pickup, I would definitely have kept it. Your review of the tellie is wonderful. I sounds great and looks great. Yep, new tuners and a pickup upgrade and that's a great guitar. Looking forward to your next review.
Nice review Colin. I have a HB SC Custom 2 and its wonderful. Really enjoyed your playing again. Take care. If HB did this in sunburst it would already be hanging at home.
Good to see you enjoying yourself Colin. I think that speaks volumes for the guitar. I’ve already got three Telecasters so I don’t need another one do I? On the other hand, £135…
Awsome review as always😊 I own 2 HBs and i love them. My fave is the BM 75. beautifal guitar and it realy rocks🎸 Thanks Colin look forward to the next one 😊👍🤗
I have a 25th Anniversary Harley Benton Tele, I did a bit of fret work, swapped the jack, saddles (I like a groove in compensated saddles) and nut then tweaked the stock pickups a bit. About $50 and two hours of work total and it is honestly my favorite Tele in the world right now. I've had a couple nice Fender Tele's, even the Mateus Asato Suhr T for a while and for real I'd put this Tele against most of those. Really kind of changed my whole perspective on vintage style guitars.
HB had their 25 year anniversary models a while ago. Hadn’t heard of them until few years ago. This ticks all tele boxes for me. Classic bridge, stringthrough (just for being fancy, nothing wrong with toploaded) binding. Fretboard could use a drop of oil. Nice guitar. Especially for that money. I have a jazzmaster style and a short scale bass. Neckfitment and frets were spot on. The bass was only 99 Euro.
As a guitar maker... Harley Benton is terrifying 😂 I've played 2 and after setting them up, (10 mins) they were both belters. Nice review as ever.
...'belters'...must be a Brit term....good I assume? LOL. My TE52 is heavy but an amazing find at 3x the price. Frets were among the best I've ever seen at any price....only exception would be perhaps my Eastmans.
You liked them?
Or not?
@@jasujokelainen5073 belters means really good. Loved the necks.
More appreciated evidence that a fella doesn't need to mortgage his entire life to buy a fun, playable instrument.
exactly - rather than buy a gibson , dress as a clown and throw 2 grand in the sea
@@frankcarter6427 Why have a pop at Gibson you arsewipe? Nothing to do with Gibson, this is a fender copy. Why not have a pop at Fender? Because you're just another bandwagoner clown. You don't have to dress up as one. You are one.
@@frankcarter6427 Why have a pop a Gibson? What have they got to do with a Telecaster copy? Why not have a pop at Fender and their ludicrously over-priced and overrated guitars? You're just another bandwagoner muppet with nothing original to say. Probably very much like your playing.
@@frankcarter6427Why have a cheap shot at Gibson? What has a review of a telecaster copy got to do with Gibson? Why not have a pop at Fender and their overrated and over-priced guitars? Because you're just another bandwagoner with nothing original to say. Probably very much like your playing.
@@frankcarter6427 Yawn. Don't be a clown all your life. No need for you to dress like one. You are one.
I have noticed that, when a guitar ‘clicks’ with you, you play much more freely and really vibe with it. Todays’ mini performance was really enjoyable, I completely forgot that you were “testing” the guitar. Really great to listen to.
The snippet of Quo at the end made my day!
Always a sucker for a lake placid blue guitar. That does look flipping brilliant.
Haven’t tried a Benton yet. But I did purchase a Jet guitar strat . I’ve been pleasantly surprised !
We have 4 hb guitars in our house, one thing hardly mentioned is that they have a lot of options for left handed people, my son has a 25th jazzy, a basic lp, a hb 35 hollowbody and a 75e acoustic, they all blow away anything else in the market that squier or anyone else in that space make. Great playing Colin
Agree 100% re left handed selection. I've got 3 Squiers and the new LH models of Fender Classics are sadly neglected. I've waited for years for an affordable LH Squier "Starcaster" to no avail. Therefore HB are now a budget manufacturer firmly on my radar - along with Vintage. Especially with Guitaristas positive/honest reviews. 😎 Although to be fair non of my LH Squier's were under £400 - so not really "budget."
I have the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Custom and this guitar really pulls off the look almost perfectly. My Fender has the proper tuners, rosewood fretboard, nitro finish, and slightly hotter neck pickup (about 7.8K), and the attention to detail is better, but it also cost about $2149 USD new before it was replaced by the American Vintage II line. The Fender has the proper high quality pots and switch as well. That being said, it is truly impressive that Harley Benton can produce a beautiful and nice playing and sounding guitar based on a Fender which was more than 10 times the price.
T and S styles aren't my favourites, but once I saw a Fender American Original 60s Tele Custom (pointlessly long name) I immediately knew that was my dream guitar... I LOVE the way it looks and can't wait to afford one. Still I do know they aren't for everyone so having cheaper knock-offs is awesome.
@@chain_havnis I love mine and I’m very glad I have it, but I also cannot deny there are affordable guitars that get you 90% of the way there for a lot less money.
Guitar playing is the joy and the disappointment of not meeting the expectation I'd rather not add to it by the expense of the instrument.
Yes Sir, this is entertaining, you are such a delightful guy to watch. I think I've been following you almost since you started on TH-cam, and I have to say I follow lots of guitar channels, but yours is by far my favorite. I have recently been off of work for medical reasons, and I look forward too all your videos. Don't change a thing my friend, you're doing justice to your channel. Enjoy your adult week off. Lol
Cheers Terry that's appreciated! 😁👍
That is a very nice Tele from Harley Benton I must say Colin. Everything seems decent on it. The binding as well along with the color. Good Job HB and thank you for showing it.
You really got into that playing Colin and Down down at the end. Perfect
Great to see you enjoying the jam! That bridge PU sounds awesome.
I have a number of Harley Benton bass guitars. They all needed a bit of love and attention at the start, but now I gig with them with joy and confidence.
Sometimes you come across a guitar where you just think this is so good and such great value that everybody should have one.
Bought a HB a couple of years back just to see what the fuss was about. I have five of them now, great modding platforms.
I got the TE-25th Anniversary in Firemist Gold. I was equally impressed and satisfied. The bag it came with was outstanding in quality also. Other appointments too like locking tuners, alder body, roasted maple neck, graphite nut, slanted pickup switch. Get one while you can.
Same here. I love it
@@willlodge5386 Oh, how could I forget to mention compensated brass saddles?
I absolutely love double-bound telecasters! That is a beautiful guitar. And outstanding jams sir Colin 👍
Status Quo was the band that got me in to the T-style guitars in the mid seventies...and i bougt the same guitar a week ago....really greate axe...i have 21 Fenders,Squiers and HB guitars now....in theese days,budget guitars have really rased the quality...and i still buy them for testing and i agree on this..thumbs UP!
Great review 👏 😊
I bought a HB ST 62 a few weeks ago. It cost me 1600 Swedish crowns. Besides the tuners (they work), that guitar has a killer sound and with great quality. Now....1600 Skr that is what I paid for a completely unplayable crap guitar back in...1982 !? now consider inflation under 42 years !! that is crazy 😅
Another thing about the very affordable price. You don't need to pay for some company to import the guitar and some other to sell it in a shop....and that would probably double the price. Credit to Thomann. Concerning the relation between price - sound - quality, it is impossible to get anything better out there. We do live in the golden age of good affordable guitars....pity that didn't happen 😢 40 years ago.
The wonders of CNC and cheap labor.
Sixteen hundred Swedish Crowns ~ sounds expensive ! 🤔
@leer.2137 it was expensive but; in 1982 you paid 13 000 SKR for a Les Paul Standard....so it was cheap in comparison, and very expensive if you compare what you get for the "same" amount of money 40 years later.
Absolute beast of a guitar. I bought one of their cheapest TE-20 telecaster models on a whim a couple of years ago and I can’t fault it. Not even for the money, it’s a great guitar.
Like I’ve always said, if you don’t want to spend thousands on throwing a guitar around, these can more than do the job and can take a beating.
I picked up my first Harley Benton a few months back, the MR Modern (Mosrite tribute w/ 2 point trem and humbuckers). Snagged it on Reverb from their American store for $280 shipped. Phenomenal guitar and quickly became my #1 player. Hard to beat at that price with (flawless) stainless frets, locking tuners, outstanding hardware tip to top. That T style is gorgeous!!
I was playing classical guitar for 10 years when i was younger until it outgrew me. I have forgotten everything, even the notes, since i haven't touched it for the past 13 years. Today i just ordered this guitar along with everything that i need to start learning electric guitar. It's gonna be frustrating in the beginning because 10 years of classical won't translate to it and it's been se long my fingers don't remember shit but i can't wait! Thanks for the review.
You’ll be fine… it’s like riding a bike the basic skills are still in there somewhere! 😁👍
I live in NY, and I ordered the TELE-STYLE Harley Benton Fusion-T HH EB OCT (Ocean Turquoise w/Roswell humbuckers and WSC staggered locking die-cast machine heads) at 9am from the Thomann website..., it shipped from Germany 2 hours later and it's already here in New York at 8am the very next day, 23 hours later, marked "Out for Delivery" by UPS!! WOW! This will be my 5th HB. Ive had nothing but wonderful experiences with this company. (I own 8 Gibson's, btw... 3 LP standards and 5 SG standards) Im always looking forward to your reviews ;)
That´s Great! That Fusion Tele is already on my list to buy next from Thomann. I hope you enjoy it
@@MAX96MENDES It arrived safely and straight out the box it tuned up nicely, stays in tune with tremolo use. No QC issues whatsoever. The tuners are quite nice and the color - Ocean Turquoise - is fantastic. Now I may be getting lucky, but this is my 5th HB and I've had zero complaints.
The biggest problem with Harley Benton is having a house big enough to fit them all in.
These budget guitars get better and better. I had an Artist TC59 and it was amazing. At this price if you don't like something you can change it easily enough. Nice one Col.
Love your reviews, no hype, you tell it like it is and great playing. You're an inspiration.
Well done Colin. A lot of us know that HB can be good (despite variable QC. Very variable). Given that you review Teles that cost 8+ times as much and you still rate it speaks volumes.
The intros in your videos are very well done. Just enough of a teaser to get me thinking "this could be interesting" and before I know it, I've watched the whole thing.
Good evening, I bought 7 HB guitars from Thomann last year. This is exactly one of them. Incredibly good price, build quality, sound and color. From the point of view of an amateur guitarist, I did not notice any technical imperfections, but I repeat that I am a complete amateur. I bought 2 more models of Telecasters. I will only allow myself to state my personal recommendation for colleagues of my amateur type, and that is to focus generally on models that are on sale and in production for the shortest possible time. It's just a personal observation and note, it worked for me, even when I bought one of their classic long-produced models (also without problems). Thomann provides all information, including negative reviews, on its website. Fantastic phone support in my native language and free shipping even for a relatively small order. I can only recommend. Thank you for the video and greetings Pavel CZ.👍👍👍Status Quo?❤
I actually enjoy your relaxed waffling because it’s relaxed and genuine
There’s no bs
Brilliant film as always Col! Got my nibbles and beverage ready whilst it was loading up.
As someone who enjoys setting some loops down and jamming out at home, if you were looking for some more fresh content ideas, it would be good to get a talk on how you get your inspiration for your loops/jams. The play out this week was particularly good. Things like what keys/scales you use and songs you use for inspiration!
Thanks again!
@@yetanotherflippinusername5174 I wasn't actually, will give it a listen now!
I swear by my Harley Benton JA-60. I also saw Andy Partridge of XTC a month or so ago playing a Harley Benton during an interview. :)
I ALSO ADD
That's been some of your best playing on this guitar!
Not to go Full Fan Boi, but I absolutely LOVE your channel and look forward to every new episode. It's like I'm watching the answer to the question "I wonder what Nigel Tufnel ended up doing after Spinal Tap finally broke up?!?" 😄
Guitaristas therapy
Thank you for a great video and review again Colin. I can tell you enjoyed the guitar, your playing this week told us.
Affordable guitars of today are worlds away from the cheap and nasty ones of yesteryear, when cheap usually meant virtually unplayable. Today you can pick up a good playing guitar for not too much money, and have a choice of what you get.
Looking forward to this series of reviews and comparisons.
Killer looking and sounding guitar.
Absolutely right...!!!
When an instrument "HELPS" you play, while you are already "IN" the "ZONE" well that's always nice....
But on top of that, when the instrument "GETS" you in the zone...well then, you've got a keeper eh..?😉👍
Can't complain about the bang for the buck...At ALL...!!!😃
Nice looking to boot👍
The rolled fretboard edges are 😎👍👍
Thanks for this unveiling Colin...😎👍
Definitely an eye opener😁
😎✌👍❤🖖
Love Brother
You could do with doing a session/tutorial on your noodling....LLLLLove it
😊🙏
Man Cole I loved the review and was impressed by the guitar . even as something to practice with working on but your play through was over the top today. Great background loop. Thanks as always. God‘s blessings to you:-)
Absolutely bang on when you said that they’re a force to be reckoned with Colin. Love the colour and the double binding, sounds sweet too. Great review as always, I’ve been looking at their basses for a while. Might have to see what they are all about and pull the trigger. Enjoy your weekend Colin. 🤘💙
They are serious instruments. The wood is good quality as well. I would not bother changing the pickups either. Only had one with a fault on it. I have 4.
I'm the proud owner of a Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT Classic Series and it's the best sounding guitar I've ever played including Gibsons and Epiphones. Feels great too. Straight up. I have seven guitars here and the Harley Benton SC-450 P90 GT is the one I go to first every evening. I could even sell the rest apart from my Jet strat.
Cost of guitar with two superb P90s included on it -- 160 euros. Locking tuners and strap locks and a better selector switch took it just over the 200 euro to qualify for free delivery.
The Harley Benton HB-35Plus is nice too with the split humbuckers.
You rocked it this week Colin. Might have to get myself one of these. I'd change a few things but what a solid base to work from.
I've been eyeing this guitar for a while primarily for the high grade roasted and stiff maple neck. Impressed with your in depth approach to playability and video production quality in spite of their length. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and playing skill.
For another £40 or so you'd get a decent set of tuners and this guitar would be perfectly good still for under £200 I think the Harley Benton guitars are amazing for the money I got an EX84 modern with EMG's and a Fusion III HSH they are a little more expensive I think about £350 when I got them but they are amazing you should try one of the more expensive Harley Bentons stainless steel frets etc for much less than £400 is hard to beat spec wise 🤘Keep up the excellent work 👋👍🤘
Just found Col's channel and absolutely love his reviews. I've just turned 62 and decided to learn the guitar. Still struggling with my first few cords with my uncooperative fingers.
Bit of a story how I came to want to do this. I have always been a keen model builder and have had for a few years a 3D printer. Last year I got a really good one and found a project to 3D print a guitar. So rather than printing bits of useless plastic crap thought I would give it a go. To be honest it's only the body that you print and you use a Harley Benton T-style kit for the neck, hardware and electronics. Well first mistake was not paying attention on the Thomann site and ordering a Strat style kit (Doh!). So after then ordering the correct kit put it all together and it worked. After a visit to a local guitar shop it as I needed strings and did not know what to get and he was very interested and asked me to take it over. He was really quite impressed with it.
For those interested if you Google Prusacaster it should show you what I made.
So apart from that I now also built the Strat kit as well and spray painted it with nitro paint but I'm not all that happy with the finish.
Oh and as I thought I ought to have a ready made guitar I have an East Coast L1 in flamed blue which I love.
Keep those vids coming Col and happy strumming everyone.
Cheers man glad you found us! 😁👍
Thank you. Just what we have waiting for. A proper review!
So which do you prefer for the money? The HB TE62 or the Squier Sonic Mustang
Sunday morning coffee, thanks for putting in the time. Look forward to the next.
Friday...Colin...guitars...Cup of tea and a few biscuits = HEAVEN 😊
I was just listening to you and could tell instantly that you were able to find your groove. Can’t complain about a 135 quid guitar that can sound like that. Have a great week off.
I keep coming back to this, the guitar and your playing are stunning ❤.
That's a lot of guitar for the money. I paid 450 US dollars for my Squire cv 60s thinline, incidentally I love it. Just saying, you really do pay for the name & I mean Squire was never the coolest thing in the world to be playing, but they've come along way. It's definitely a great time to be playing guitar, we didn't have stuff like this when I started. Great playing as always Collin. Can't wait for next week's show.
Yea I'm a lefty so we suffer more than most. Thanks to HB there's more choice.
I had the same experience with the tuners with my JA 60. Terrible system with the fake holes. I was going to switch them anyway for some Gotoh
fine review Colin, I bought this same model in early january I changed the tuners straight away, for same reason, just put cheap guyker locking tuners, exact fit, no drilling perfect fit, even left original ferrules in, I needed to file nut a little & swapped the bridge for one with compensated brass saddles, I didn't like bridge pickup, seems opinion in reiews of them is split, a cheap fleorsingle coil did the trick for me, suits me fine now, thanks for the videos always entertaining
Hi Colin, first of all, let me say i love your channel. Really.
I own this one on CAR finish (more magenta than red), and it's incredible.....
I've also had to fight with this tuners...they have the hole but not as deep as needed, especially when it comes to the 1st string. No problem on the others with a little bit of practice.
Colin great review and I liked the homage to Quo at the end, especially as the Rossi name is famous in Southend, be it for ice cream🍦
I currently have 2 Harley Benton’s, the TE80 (Prince Madcat Tele) and their early 335 copy which is a much more accurate copy than the current model!
Both have been upgraded with full size quality pots and Seymour Duncan pickups etc!
For the money they are incredibly good guitars which after a few upgrades sound and play well beyond their price!
What’s even better is that I managed to purchase them used so saved even more!
Split post tuners without a hole can be used just as normal tuners (winding one coil above to keep it all down, the others underneath) and still have the advantage of allowing a quick pull off and put back of the whole thing whenever one wants to temporarily remove the strings. They just don't keep the end of the string inside.
I found them to be awful. No need.
Very nice looking & sounding Tele, great HB, nicely played Colin as always mate, Have you tried/ tested the Jet S300, T300, L300, they all retail for under £150 each Colin & I've seen many good reviews on YT😊🎸
Nice to see someone genuinely enjoying playing a guitar there Col, keep it up my friend. Fine sounding guitar too. Sometimes it's hard to look beyond the label, but it's amazing (mostly) when you do.
Nice review! I have the shell pink version. I love the neck. It's very even, no taper. My tuners are allright, I can push the strings in. So it could be a weird batch on yours or they changed it for the worse 😂.
Also, nice catch on the bridge saddles position! They are moved a bit more forward because the bridge placement itself is moved a bit backward. Probably because of copyright issues. I discovered this when trying to change the pickguard. A regular Fender tele pickguard won't fit nicely. There's a seller on ebay that makes custom te-62 pickguards.
Great teles these te-62's. Ive owned a a few harley bentons but this te-62 is definitely a keeper!
Gonna be a great series this! Lookin’ forward to the rest tremendously so
Always wanted to get one of those in for my show. (hey Thomann, are you listening? Lol)
I hope so... fingers crossed for you Jonny! 😆🤞🎸🧷
To be honest this sounds incredible. And not with an "incredible for an instrument of this price" caveat. It just does... Loved the jam from about 24 mins in, super stuff!
I have one of these same color, bought it, just because it was so cheap to mod it. But after getting it, all I needed to do was a truss rod adjustment, it came with NY Xcel 942s on it. And it plays phenomenal. Sounds great. Stays in tune! And I’m not even gonna change the pick ups which I usually do and a lot of my Guitars even my fenders, Gibsons, And one of my PRS us. This is a very good guitar that you can gig with, and if it gets stolen, it’s not a biggie! It plays very well I’m quite happy with it.
Can’t beat Harley Benton on performance to cost ratio. I bought the DC junior in Pelham blue just out of intrigue. Now has a Monty’s 54 p90, cts pots, bumblebee cap, switchcraft jack, lightening bar bridge from mojoaxe. It’s honestly now my best sounding guitar out of the ten I own, from a Les Paul, strats, Ibanez etc.
Keep up the great work Colin. Cheers
Another good in-depth review. Great job as always.
Another top line video and awesome playing!
Very cool AND a very nice playing guitar. Your videos are always very interesting ! Thank you good friend.
I bought 2 Harley Benton TE-62cc (in LPB-Blue and Dakota Red) just because I do not like seeing the double binding on the sides of
this TE-62db version, or the rosewood-style neck. Everything on it is exactly as the version TE-62cc, even the blue paint color.
The prices are unbelievably great, so I bought two , along with some Gotoh "in-tune" brass saddles to put on them.
These are GREAT guitars to play right out of the box and a good instrument to do "modding" on them.
I have two and they're both great. Both were playable out of the box (well, one had a rattling tone knob, but that needed 30 seconds with a spanner).
I'd happily play live with both of them.
My main guitar's a Baja Telecaster with the chunky 50s neck. My only issue with the HB Teles is that I've heard they're heavy.
I can't speak for all them, obviously, but I had the ash TE-52. It was a freakin' boat anchor.
Great review Colin as usual, I’ve been looking forward to this video since the unboxing. I’ve had my eye on this exact guitar for a while and your review has convinced me to pull the trigger on one.
Do not forget, there are around 20 or so factories in Asia (Korea, Indonesia, China etc) that are constantly manufacturing guitars since the 1980s. The sheer number of bodies, necks, electronics etc is mind blowing. Companies such as Thomann/HB take advantage of that, no advertising and purchasing directly from them keep the prices super low. It is very hard to argue with a lot of their products. If you ask any experienced luthier in the world, what "brand" is best, they will all tell you that the name on the headstock is meaningless.
Brilliant review Colin. And I was feeling your playing..it inspired me ,so spot on! I have a HB super strat style and the quality is outstanding for the price. Also said I’d never gig it but in fact I did and it held its own! ❤️👍🤘
I love your reviews - they're a mix of art and science. And isn't that the truth about guitars and players, there's a bit of magic that happens when we pickup a guitar and it "feels" right. I also feel great playing a great guitar that is a value find. I get the same feeling playing a budget guitar like my Gretsch G2215-P90 as compared to a US made guitar. Love the review and knowing that HB continues to build quality guitars. Thanks for the awesome review. Cheers!
Great video, and a great jam. To your question about is it you or the guitar... I think the only real question is does the guitar get in the way of you being in the zone? Doesn't sound like it did. Cheers.
Good looking and sounding T, pretty nice overall except the tuners, which they should’ve put the kind that are on the Classic Vibe Squier, not gotohs, but the split pots have the holes like the originals. But it obviously got your mojo working as you got into it a lot more than some of the others, which was fun to watch! Great review Colin, as always.
I love this guitar, and I love Harley Bentons. I've had great luck with them. This guitar is beautiful. Love that. Cool vid!
Great review Colin,I bought this guitar around a month ago,as I felt I needed a single coil guitar in my armoury.
It’s a great affordable guitar for its cost.I’ve not played it a lot yet,but the pickups are pretty good,build and fit and finish are great.Thank you very much for a great review of it too 👍
Got one on order thanks to your review- plus just got the Antiquity' Rosewood tele (George Harrison) that you featured which I LOVE already -so I expect this HB to be pretty decent alongside it. Great value and good looking, playable guitars. Great work Guitarista geezer 👏
Damn, you were cooking in this playing session! I stopped what i was doing to see what that noise was about. Bit like driving a cheap car you just thrash it and have alot of fun.
Colin, I re-subscribed to your channel. My acoustic only days didn’t last long. Haha! Nice to see you.
Welcome back! 😆👍
@@theguitaristas Thank you.
Really enjoyed this one!
Tempted to try a HB now (I can hardly play anything, but have an affordable guitar addiction now, thanks for that 😂).
Looking forward to the next HB review.
Cheers Col, enjoy your week off being a grown up!
HB are great quality at a budget price, I have a Jazz bass by them and it's great, fantastic playing today Colin, the HB Tele seemed to inspire you a bit !! 🎸😄
Another great one. You are boss. I've got a red version of this baby and unlike yours', the tuners DO have a hole in the split. Strange, eh? It's a miracle that you were able to string your blue jobber. Thanks as always mate. Love your channel.
I also noticed that the one you reviewed was “in stock” last night, but now, probably because of you! , it’s not available to ship. Haha! You’re an influencer, Colin.
Really hard to beat this Harley Benton tele for the money. Colin, you have such an ear for getting great sounds out of your equipment. Really a joy to watch your videos. By the way, that Fred Perry you are sporting looks very dapper!
Cheers Mike, me looking dapper?... that's a laugh! 🤣👍
I'm looking for a Tele, I am looking at a HB TE62, ...up pops your vid. Thank you for reviewing 😄👌. Did you look at the Eart Tele? Regardless, gratitudes from Ireland!
Great video Colin, I gig my HB 62 firemist every weekend for the past year, does the job well.
I love all the videos you make. I’m really enjoying the channel. I’m working my way through all of your videos. I’m looking at getting an SG. not sure which make or colour but I’m going to try a few. But keep the content coming 🤙🏻
Great thorough review as usual 🍻👍ordered the red one yesterday so thanks for the heads up on the tuners.Vanson Guitars on Ebay sell great kluson style locking tuners for around £30 so no biggy.
Great sounding guitar. I taught myself Down Down last year and its a great pleasure to play it on a Tele
After the unboxing video, I drove over to Thomann and picked up a 299 Euro Strat. Harley Benton. It was very well crafted. I can make no complaint against the tuners, finish, etc...my problem was the neck pickup. It was also a Roswell but the magnets did not line up with the strings and there was no way to adjust the height of the pickup. The bridge was great. I took it back after two hours. It appeared that the pickup hole was not bored out in line with the neck. Playability was excellent. Smooth neck, no fret burrs and the sound I did get out of it was decent, but that blasted neck pickup ruined it for me. I would rate that strat at a solid eight even with the neck pickup faulty. WIth a better positioned pickup, I would definitely have kept it. Your review of the tellie is wonderful. I sounds great and looks great. Yep, new tuners and a pickup upgrade and that's a great guitar. Looking forward to your next review.
I've had the TE-52 for a few months and its a wonderful guitar for the same price too, a little heavy but it is Ash. great value
Nice review Colin. I have a HB SC Custom 2 and its wonderful. Really enjoyed your playing again. Take care. If HB did this in sunburst it would already be hanging at home.
4 harley bentons later, I love them just need a bit of a fiddle to get them playing 100%
one could argue a maple neck that has been baked is carmalized, as maple holds a lot of sugars within the wood.
Good to see you enjoying yourself Colin. I think that speaks volumes for the guitar. I’ve already got three Telecasters so I don’t need another one do I? On the other hand, £135…
To be fair the prices of fender, Gibson, and even Epiphone now I think these guitars are bang for your buck. Great shirt too Colin! 👏👍🏻
Awsome review as always😊 I own 2 HBs and i love them. My fave is the BM 75. beautifal guitar and it realy rocks🎸 Thanks Colin look forward to the next one 😊👍🤗
I have a 25th Anniversary Harley Benton Tele, I did a bit of fret work, swapped the jack, saddles (I like a groove in compensated saddles) and nut then tweaked the stock pickups a bit. About $50 and two hours of work total and it is honestly my favorite Tele in the world right now. I've had a couple nice Fender Tele's, even the Mateus Asato Suhr T for a while and for real I'd put this Tele against most of those. Really kind of changed my whole perspective on vintage style guitars.
HB had their 25 year anniversary models a while ago.
Hadn’t heard of them until few years ago.
This ticks all tele boxes for me. Classic bridge, stringthrough (just for being fancy, nothing wrong with toploaded) binding.
Fretboard could use a drop of oil. Nice guitar. Especially for that money.
I have a jazzmaster style and a short scale bass.
Neckfitment and frets were spot on.
The bass was only 99 Euro.
Very nice playing this week Col - I really enjoyed it!
33:40 "I'll summarize: they're crap." 🤣 Love your honesty, and love your videos!
Man, great video! I'm proper impressed with the finish and how good the pickups sounded