Part 2 is now live - th-cam.com/video/DiYB0ylHIko/w-d-xo.html It covers the FAQ’s from the comment section on this video and my thoughts after owning this guitar for a few weeks. My sincere thanks for all the comments and subscriptions 🙏
I like the fact that you play chords that emphasise the sound and we non talented people can understand, real easy to follow. You're not showing off and giving a 'performance', subscribed and ordered one, thanks!
Wow. Those pickups sound phenomenal. I mean the whole instrument does, but the clarity and jangle is absolutely Ace. Your playing is awesome too! Great blend of techniques to show off what the guitar is capable of
Daði Freyr was about to bring a Harley Benton jazz bass to Eurovision last year before it was cancelled. (Song: *Think About Things* ) And he probably would have won or at least top 3.
Nice sounding guitar. The more HB reviews I see, the more I tell myself I need one. Your 'guitar face' game was strong around 11:58 - 11:59. Great playing and enjoyable review. :)
I order one just like this after watching this video. The sound and jangle like others mentioned.. it just sings to me. When I received it, I was not disappointed. No setup required and was ready out of the box..
I have the TE-90 FLT in white / grey burst and it is simply my favourite guitar despite being around £600 less than my Fender Baja 50s Tele. I wouldn't even dream of changing the pickups - I think the Roswell's are superb. It cost me £166 from Thomann. Was in tune straight out of the box and well set up. What more can I say!
Maybe a few years ago it would have been more hit or miss but I think they have upped the QC. My TE-90 is definitely equal to my Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat.
Great Review and your playing in a word is stupendous!!! I own 7 Harley Benton guitars and after this review 8! I ordered the Orange Blast as well. I received it a few days ago and added 9-42 stings and lowered the action to 1.45 on the low E and 1.25 on the high E with zero fret buzz.
This is the high quality recording of this guitar, so I guess this is realistic picture of what it brings. I am really amazed by its sound. It easily reaches 3-4 times higher price range. I wouldn't be embarrassed standing on the stage with this one. It surely shows what the brand name products offer to players - 70% of brand name and 30% of guitar.
They even put stainless steel frets on £300 basses and guitars. I checked what the cheapest stainless steel fretted basses were before Harley Benton came along and it was Schecter and Ibanez tied at $1100. We've been fleeced for decades. I mean, they're made in the Cort factory and AFAIK Cort don't even make a stainless steel fretted bass of their own except maybe the Curbows but I wasn't able to verify that.
I ordered the Harley Benton copy of the Paul Reed Smith....I paid 250 for it and it is one NICE Guitar....! That guitar looks good, plays good and everyone that comes over and looks at it. thinks I paid over a 1000 for it...! It is one nice guitar....! I love it. Had it for over 8 months and it is Great...! Love it. I don't know how they can sell it for that price...!
Those guitars are so good. My friend has it. They have a chambered body which is amazing for the price. Any guitar that sounds acoustically good, is always going to be a winner. MY friend paid 149. It sounds superb. Perfect tuning and intonation. What a great quality sounding guitar. A bargain. Fender just released an anniversary model of that guitar which was $126,000 dollars. The DIAMOND CABRONITA TELECASTER. But fenders standard models of Cabronita start at about 360 pounds for (i think) i'ts a squire but it may not be........they go up from that price to be about $3000 each.} The reason the headstock is upside down is for licence reasons and Fender....also the switch at the top........otherwise it's identical to a Cabronita Telecaster.
Totally agree! I can’t speak for the overall QC of the Harley Benton’s as this is the only one I’ve ever played but this is above and beyond the price. I remember trying a Squier Cabronita and being quite disappointed. The neck finish was really thick poly and didn’t feel good at all. They’ve got this bang on! Thanks for watching 👍
@@DanLeggatt Yes Sir, i think it's one of the best examples of the levels of quality you can get from Harley Benton. Graphite nut, Baked fingerboard, Chambered body AT THAT PRICE? Kiesel will charge your $200 dollars JUST to bake a fingerboard or neck. In this example, the fingerboard has not been baked for aesthetic reasons, but more for sound reasons. Korean "WSC" hardware is very good........too
I just picked up a T90 FLT Deluxe used and I'm pretty impressed with it the tuners are actually pretty good they move smoothly and they tune good pick up sound pretty decent i keep her
I have one, in white, because it’s the only lefty option. I have no complaints, it’s a great guitar, not just for the money. I put a TV Jones Powertron Plus in the bridge for a little more oomph and changed the knobs. If you are on the fence about getting one, do yourself a favor, just click buy.
I have 2 Harley Benton guitars. The Harley Benton JB-75MN SB Vintage Series Jazz bass weighs a ton but other than that it is excellent, solid as a rock, plays a dream and the pick-ups are superb. Build quality A++. Much can be said for my Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst Gibson 335 copy. Sound is incredible. Fretboard needs some playing in and some lemon oil and then good to go. Incredible value guitars and no they aren't paying me. They owe me nothing. I owe them, I've got very near the real thing for a fraction of the price.
I just bought a t-90, also in orange blast, used from guitar center recently. It was previously owned by an employee, so it was set up well out the gate
I bought one of these two years ago and still think it's a great guitar. Word of advice: polish the frets before playing. Otherwise playing off the roughness of the frets will cause you to muck up the fretboard. Which is a shame and a bother to clean up.
Way ahead of you. The day after this was filmed I gave them a polish up and gave the guitar a setup. Definitely an improvement. Thanks for the heads up 👍
Hey Dan,, I purchased the Nashville Nylon classical guitar from HB,,, for the money a great instrument ,the action was a bit to high out of the box but i took the saddle bridge out and trimmed it down and the guitar plays awesome,,, worth keeping, good for working out your fingers,,,good job on your first unboxing,, thanks RJ. Bacha.
I have a Harley Benton TE-70 black paisley which is fantastic. Again Tuners are not great, but the guitar is amazing...especially for the money. The guitar does keep tune and the frets will wear themselves in. The guitar has become quite addictive. I find myself grabbing it over my other more expensive guitars quite often. I wanted a Tele guitar without the Tele price and it has delivered big time!
I got curious about the brand from several reviews I'd seen, and ordered the tele 70 dark Paisley, for 150 USD. Wasn't expecting much, and I was blown away by the quality. It's got all the playability of my American Custom Strat, and weighs as much as it does. The sound is indistinguishable to my ear, from a Fender Tele/ I don't understand how they sell these instruments at such a low price point. I'd advise anyone to plunk down $150 for one of these.
I got a Harley Benton CST-24HB last year, a PRS lookalike. For the money these guitars are ridiculously good value. The setup out the box was nearly spot on and the Roswell pickups are bright and loud. Tuning keys are pretty terrible, but and easy and cheap fix.
I have one of the ash models and i love it. The pups are low output so the height is key... yet altering the height is difficult. I needed to raise the neck just a bit with a spacer underneath. Tuners are the low point. A keeper though. I wish Thomann had this color when i got mine. The tone's are unique for my collection. I have 2 SC-550's, a CST-24T, SC-Custom, TE-70 Paisley, and the TE-90FLT. I will be keeping these a long time.
Great review, great playing! Not that usual „high gain constant noodling“! That you tested it without any amp at all in the beginning was very cool! Good job!
Thanks mate! Glad you liked the video. I always have a listen unplugged, in my experience the best guitars I’ve owned sound good before I even plug them in.
Now that’s what you call a great guitarist. Wow! Color me impressed. The guitar in this guys hands sounds great. Nice one ! Really good review as well.
Nice demo, man! Sounds amazing. This beast can easily compete with some custom shop tellys in terms of tone. The finger picking tones are just unbelievably good! I think that's exactly, what the designers had in mind when building this model. Seriously brilliant example for the expression 'hot rodded', indeed.
I got a Harley Benton Fusion-II HH FR EB FBB on the beggining of quarantine life. Great guitar for the price, with a proper floyd rose, option to split coils and pretty decent pickups. I'm already studying the best option for a pickup upgrade (Thinking of Suhr or Seymour Duncan) and considering buying a HB jazz bass too. Also got 2 pedals (a tubescreamer and a looper), and both sound and work flawlessly
I own the same model for the same period of time. I dig it and I even sold my other 2 guitars to keep this one. (some old Ibanez RG series) the neck is the same shape as the Ibanez. Very fast and nice. The Roswell pick ups that HBs are equipped with are more in the vintage/PAF sound. I love them for cleans and ambience but I'm not able to do a proper Dime Squeels on them. I might change the bridge humbucker one day with a Seymour Duncan Distortion. Great instrument nonetheless.
@@MrStusharratt Hi I'm looking at getting a HB-TE-20. I've been looking at other inexpensive teles but HB just sounds better, plus I like the fatter neck ! Thanks for the reply. Stay Safe Dave
I’ve had a HB copy of the LTD single cut Les Paul style 3 knob guitar. It was really nice, but the frets weren’t great. Grover tuners were good but the pickups weren’t to my liking. I changed them out and it sounded great with new pickups. This was about 5 or 6 years ago though and I reckon they’ve improved a lot since then.
This one definitely surprised me both in feel and sound. I’d be intrigued to try more but this was the last of my ‘fun money’ for a while 😂 need this virus to do one so I can get back out earning some cash!
I have the older blonde version and love it for slide. Great southern rock sound. The switch and pots on mine are not great, but work until I change them out.
I currently have 2, The Prince Telecaster, TE80 I think which has been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan Twang banger in the bridge and CTS 250k pots . I also have the older version of the HB35 which is a more authentic copy of the Gibson 335 before they caved in to pressure from Gibson. It has been upgraded with Kluson style tuners, a pair of Seymour Duncan 59’s and Alpha 500k pots! Hoping to add a Bigsby at some point! Both great guitars that play and sound way beyond their cost! As to others you should try, I’ve heard great things about their Les Paul Jr copies and the Fusion models! I’ve also played a friends ST62 vintage series Strat copy which I was impressed with. It was an older model with Wilkinson pickups which sounded great!
I have the hb35 plus in lemon drop. Absolutely love it . Was great right out of the box. Bought it because of the price ,and now am trying to decide a couple to sell to make room for more...lol
Jealous... I wanted that but back then they only had rosewood fretboard and it took ages for them to change it to be CITES compliant. Ended up going with something else :(
Got this guitar b4 it sold out and Man sure glad that I did- feels and plays (with a few minor exceptions) like my higher end guitars but with the sandblast finish, exotic fingerboard and filtertron type pick-ups (it checked many boxes for me) this guitar is a winner.
Totally agree, I do think an instrument in this price bracket will ever be perfect, but I have definitely played much worse guitars that cost a lot more money. A bit of a set up, a few tweaks and it's definitely a keeper for me.
Recently bought th HB Td-40 as a B stock for £99. All that was wrong with it was a bit of tarnashing on the gold tuners. Plays fantastic straight out of the box. I've got some more expensive guitars but this more or less holds its own.
I have sc-custom and so far i love it to no end. it's my current fav. I have a "Parts-Caster" (SSS-ST) a 97 RG570 and the sc-custom, I love all of them, but this one is just amazing. it had no problem, pretty much ready to play as soon as I took it out of the box (even tuning wise it wasn't bad, a few turns here and there and it was perfectly in tune, holds tune really well, intonation wise it was pretty much flawless. considering what I paid, I was more than amazed, and still love everything about it till today. I've gone through about 7 or 8 string changes (full sets of elixir nanoweb) and it still sounds amazing and I still love it
Hi Dan -- I recently had a similar experience. I bought a Harley Benton HB-335 and I am still amazed at the quality for a guitar for that price. Best setup out of the box I've ever experienced. Excellent video and hope you continue to enjoy it. That is one awesome guitar... and you are correct about the frets -- they will be great after a couple days of playing.
It's nice and played in now, the minor fret roughness has gone or at the very least improved since unboxing. There is one area that is still there but only very slight. I reckon a quick fret polish will take care of that. It was only very minor to start with. Thanks for watching!
I have a Harley Benton DC Custom. I got it about a month ago. I love it plays great and looks awesome. The tuners arent that great but that can be taken care of. I like to see the Amarok - 6 any color.
I bought an te90 flt in sunburst with the chambered Ash body because I love Daughter. Other than a couple of scratchy frets on the high strings it's utterly spectacular. I ended up selling my gretsch 125th anniversary Pro jet because I liked the hb more. Also I once traded an amp with you for a genz Benz El Diablo, you asked if I'd be fine on the half kilometre walk to the station with it and I foolishly said it'd be fine. I threw my shoulder out getting it home haha
I have the one with a natural finish. I don't know what you did, but the pick ups you have on your guitar sound infinitely better than the ones on mine. I always thought Roswell pickups were very mediocre but everyone insist that they are good, and your video certainly proves that. I agree with the tuners being below average but not entirely terrible. I tried to raise the pick up height but the pickups become really unstable and loose so i put them back where they originally were. If my Harley Benton sounded as good as yours, I'd give it a glowing review but it is now, I'd say it's pretty good guitar for the price. I've had so much worse more money. Excellent playing btw. Amazing tone.
Cheers! I have been really impressed with the pickups truth be told. I think the neck pickup could probably have a little more clarity for my taste but overall great. You could try raising the pole pieces with a screwdriver rather than the whole pickup possibly? I've raised one row of poles on my neck pickup to try and get a little more bite out of it.
Got the Cst 24HB, SC Custom and the TE 90 FLT in VW, already Indonesian made, and lvve them all. Qualitywise the TE 90 is an amazing guitar! Compared to the former chinese production the Indonesian ones are huge step up! This orange blast looks really like an old whisky barrel like you mentioned in your video. I'm totally confused and tempted to order this (G.A.S. on) knowing that I already have this type. I'll wait a little bit because of the sungkai wood which I haven't heard before as a tonewood. Watching other reviews and customer comments on Thomann's website to get more informations about it. Lookwise it is an absolute stunning axe!!!
Nice review. Haven't seen much reviews of particularly this model and it was nice to see and hear these pickups. I have 3 Harley Benton guitars. The first one I purchased was the ST-20HSS, because it was cheap and I was really surprised to see and hear the quality of this guitar. Yesterday I unpacked the CST-24T Paradise Flame and the ST-Acoustic, so I need to play those now and the first impression is nice. I would love to see you review the Harley Benton ST-57DG, because I haven't seen one of that particular guitar, and since it's an tribute to Gilmore's Blackie of Pink Floyd. It's an Strat with 3 Singlecoils and an TUSQ XL nut, it will probably hold tuning well and sound awesome as well. 😉
I do have the same model in sunburst but with those same Roswell "Filtertron" pickup clones. They are simply amazing. I bought it a year ago, used but almost unplayed for 90EUR.
@@DanLeggatt True. I got me complete collection of HBs SG, Les Paul, 2 Strats, and a Jazzmaster all for cheap. Used but like new, from people who didnt appreciate them or tried playing for 2 months or so. All were a bargain and I have pimped some with exclusive pickups like fender noiseless and such. You can hear some recordings of me with them on my page if you like.
Dan, you make this low-cost guitar sound fantastic - very good tone and feel to your licks, brother! I have the Harley Benton SC550-II PAF and the DC DLX-Gotoh. Both are way better instruments than their price would suggest. You couldn't go wrong reviewing either (or both) of them for another great video. Thanks!
I own 3 Harley Bentons, besides no other guitars...my only "complaint" is that all of them came with high action, especially towards the bridge. As I am not a tech, although I have managed to better tweak the action to something more manageable, I will probably have to get them professionally set up at some point just so they become the best they can be (without swapping out ppickups or upgrading the hardware). Anyways, I play them almost every day and absolutely love them...with a good amp like the Katana 50 MKII that I have they sound great, as well as with good guitar sims like Guitar rig 6 which just came out, so really they are fantastic especially for the money. My first was the SC-Custom in Vintage Black which I got in August 2019, then I got the ST-20 HSS (strat style,which albeit the cheapest it is my favorite) for the past 10 months and a couple of months ago I got the TE-70 RW deluxe (tele copy) which is also fantastic. I personally am very happy with them and rock out every day with them. On the strat I did install locking tuners and roller string trees, as well as a new nut later on, and it is very tuning stable now. The others are all stock. Nice video, that Te-90 is a great guitar! I might have to add it ti the collection one day, but first I'm thinking of getting a CST-24 with P-90s, to see what the P90 experience is all about.
Waste no money on a "professional" setup. It's easy to learn and well documented. See Fender's own guide: support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/212774806-How-do-I-set-up-my-Fender-guitar-properly-
I've never seen your videos before Dan, but you are quite good at Youtubing! There are a lot of people trying this kind of content now, and I don't know how long you've been doing it, but I reckon if you stick with it you could go pretty far! More importantly, nice playing and great tone as well. ;)
@@DanLeggatt I really love mine. The frets needed a little work when I got it, but it plays beautifully now. I'll definitely gig with it. I LOVE the simplicity of 1 pickup and 2 knobs.
I don't feel like you can go wrong for the money to be honest. It'll never be the most incredible guitar in the world but it punches well above it's weight. I think I may possibly look at upgrading the neck pickup at some point just for a little more clarity but other than that it's pretty kicking right out of the box.
I own the Harley Benton sg double neck with Wilkinson hardware and a te90 one of the early ones, for the money with a bit of tweeking you cant find better guitars in my opinion and I own some high end fender, gibson and gretch guitars. They are very much a add to guitar to customise for yourself.
I got the TE-70 paisley. Great guitar for under £140. Gritty frets were the only issue. I hear most HBs have this issue. 10 minute polish and sorted 👍 HBs are the best value guitars out there. The pups sound great 😊
Me, too! I just put custom knobs & control panel plate on mine tonight! Etched designs to match the paisley. Can't stop playing that thing. And I own several Fenders, and other name brand axes.
got myself a Harley Benton SC-1000 Progressive Line. I am enjoying it so far as a guitar beginner. It's something that keeps me wanting to pick up the thing and learn with it, even though it's not an ESP/LTD EC-100, but it's as close as it gets as one of my dream guitars. It's perfectly set up just the way I like it, the frets are smooth... but the gripe I have with this thing is that it doesn't really stay in tune that well, so I'll consider swapping the nut and tuners first.
I own the ice blue headless and a fusion 2 roasted maple neck. I have owned several guitars throughout my career, including a custom shop endorsement with my ex band. Sure they're not as premium as a 3000 euros custom axe, but that's to be expected. What they do compete with, is the high-mid tier offerings of more known brands. Honestly, it's just absurd amounts of value for money, especially the fusion. Well built, high end features, exceptional neck -> 400 euros. If you don't care for roasted maple, the fusions with the regular maple neck are 299 euro, which is an absolute steal. When you look for those features in other brands, you'll easily find yourself in the 800-1300 range. I'm not looking back :D
I have the same guitar and I really love it. Unfortunately mine has another bridge and I keep on breaking strings. Thomann offered to do a set-up but that probably isn't going to work. I'll exchange the bridge but not in a hurry.
I have the earlier version of this guitar with an Ash body, out of the box it needed a fair bit of work to get the best out of it, the tuners were useless at keeping it in tune. After replacing the tuners, nut, pots and switch and a fret dress and full set up, it now plays well. The only other HB that i own is an XT22, this i bought used, and luckily the original owner had upgraded all the bad parts. My opinion of HB's are that provided you get a good sample that is free of cosmetic issues, and you can rebuild it with better hardware, they are good value, but the prices are now increasing to a point where you might be better saving for a better guitar.
Tuners are rarely a problem. They might be unpleasant and a chore to use, but think about what it is; unless the gear slips, it will hold tune, as well as the finest most expensive tuner. The single most common issue of tuning stability, with non-locking tuners, is too many winds around the post.
I like everything about that guitar, except the reverse headstock. I guess that sidesteps the copyright issues, but yech. I have a HB35, and it came just about in tune, but a half-step flat.
I have an SC-Custom(passive) an ST-70, TE-70 Paisley, DC-Junior and a CST24T and I love them allI'm getting one of the Fusions with a baked maple neck series with the Sapele body next. This is the first time I have seen your channel +1 subs!
Great video...may actually get one based on that clean tone... really surprised how good that sounded. And also a great price...new tuners and a set up... should be a very usable guitar
beautifull demo and guitar, i've just got one, waiting to rceive it soon.... especially to taste the filtertons sound, LOL, previously i got a HB Junior DCS (TV yellow) and i'm very glad with it!
I have a harley benton ST-20 HSS which i made into a single humbucker frankenstrat. its great. I also used to have a SC-450 CB, but i had to sell it to make space. (it was a great guitar.)
Great playing & also tasteful to demonstrate the guitar and not just show off, like people do on here👍 Good honest review with thoughtful comments & opinions, keep up the great work 😊👍
Part 2 is now live - th-cam.com/video/DiYB0ylHIko/w-d-xo.html
It covers the FAQ’s from the comment section on this video and my thoughts after owning this guitar for a few weeks. My sincere thanks for all the comments and subscriptions 🙏
I like the fact that you play chords that emphasise the sound and we non talented people can understand, real easy to follow. You're not showing off and giving a 'performance', subscribed and ordered one, thanks!
Cheers! I tried my best to think of what people may want to hear. You can’t please everyone all of the time but I’m glad it’s working for most 👍
Yeahh, some people GRAB this ´´ subject ´´ to show the world how well they play.
Wow. Those pickups sound phenomenal. I mean the whole instrument does, but the clarity and jangle is absolutely Ace. Your playing is awesome too! Great blend of techniques to show off what the guitar is capable of
All Harley Benton needs is 1 major player endorsement and those bargain prices will be history.
...which is why I just ordered one and plan on ordering 3 more soon.
Yeah exactly
Daði Freyr was about to bring a Harley Benton jazz bass to Eurovision last year before it was cancelled. (Song: *Think About Things* ) And he probably would have won or at least top 3.
Ah yikes
@@vanthdreadstar8788 I just ordered two.
Nice sounding guitar. The more HB reviews I see, the more I tell myself I need one. Your 'guitar face' game was strong around 11:58 - 11:59. Great playing and enjoyable review. :)
😂 Unfortunately the face is automatic. If you think this is bad you should see it when the wah comes out 😂
Yeah...That is a review! Enjoyed your playing ability and testing what it can do. Amazing at the price!
man, can't believe how good this guitar sounds considering it's really affordable. Your playing is superb too!!
I'm gonna get one for christmas
Thanks man 👍 Agreed, if I’m honest I was prepared to be disappointed but ended up quite the opposite.
There are a few more colours to choose now
Just spotted them! I like the red and blue.
@@DanLeggatt I think those are my favourites too! I may buy one for christmas!
Yes, totally. To own and play a guitar, should be a right. And not a privilege for rich people.
Didn't expect it to be that dark of colour it looks amazing ! Also your playing is great af
I order one just like this after watching this video. The sound and jangle like others mentioned.. it just sings to me. When I received it, I was not disappointed. No setup required and was ready out of the box..
I have the TE-90 FLT in white / grey burst and it is simply my favourite guitar despite being around £600 less than my Fender Baja 50s Tele. I wouldn't even dream of changing the pickups - I think the Roswell's are superb. It cost me £166 from Thomann. Was in tune straight out of the box and well set up. What more can I say!
I’m really glad the reviews of the Harley Benton’s seem to be really good. I was concerned I’d just got lucky!
Maybe a few years ago it would have been more hit or miss but I think they have upped the QC. My TE-90 is definitely equal to my Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat.
Great Review and your playing in a word is stupendous!!! I own 7 Harley Benton guitars and after this review 8! I ordered the Orange Blast as well. I received it a few days ago and added 9-42 stings and lowered the action to 1.45 on the low E and 1.25 on the high E with zero fret buzz.
One of the videos which convinced me to get one. Really cool stuff!!
Just came across your channel - couldn’t have been more blessed to have to. A true Guitar god and your reviews are impeccable - cheers!
This is the high quality recording of this guitar, so I guess this is realistic picture of what it brings. I am really amazed by its sound. It easily reaches 3-4 times higher price range. I wouldn't be embarrassed standing on the stage with this one. It surely shows what the brand name products offer to players - 70% of brand name and 30% of guitar.
They even put stainless steel frets on £300 basses and guitars. I checked what the cheapest stainless steel fretted basses were before Harley Benton came along and it was Schecter and Ibanez tied at $1100. We've been fleeced for decades. I mean, they're made in the Cort factory and AFAIK Cort don't even make a stainless steel fretted bass of their own except maybe the Curbows but I wasn't able to verify that.
First time channel was recommended to me, I’m a Harley Benton fan, and a te-80 nt owner, subscribed hoping to see you opening some more.
I ordered the Harley Benton copy of the Paul Reed Smith....I paid 250 for it and it is one NICE Guitar....! That guitar looks good, plays good and everyone that comes over and looks at it. thinks I paid over a 1000 for it...! It is one nice guitar....! I love it. Had it for over 8 months and it is Great...! Love it. I don't know how they can sell it for that price...!
I have this exact guitar in my cart. Thank you for this review 🙏
Those guitars are so good. My friend has it. They have a chambered body which is amazing for the price.
Any guitar that sounds acoustically good, is always going to be a winner. MY friend paid 149.
It sounds superb. Perfect tuning and intonation.
What a great quality sounding guitar. A bargain.
Fender just released an anniversary model of that guitar which was $126,000 dollars. The
DIAMOND CABRONITA TELECASTER.
But fenders standard models of Cabronita start at about 360 pounds for (i think) i'ts a squire but it may not be........they go up from that price to be about $3000 each.}
The reason the headstock is upside down is for licence reasons and Fender....also the switch at the top........otherwise it's identical to a Cabronita Telecaster.
Totally agree! I can’t speak for the overall QC of the Harley Benton’s as this is the only one I’ve ever played but this is above and beyond the price. I remember trying a Squier Cabronita and being quite disappointed. The neck finish was really thick poly and didn’t feel good at all. They’ve got this bang on! Thanks for watching 👍
@@DanLeggatt Yes Sir, i think it's one of the best examples of the levels of quality you can get from Harley Benton.
Graphite nut, Baked fingerboard, Chambered body AT THAT PRICE?
Kiesel will charge your $200 dollars JUST to bake a fingerboard or neck.
In this example, the fingerboard has not been baked for aesthetic reasons, but more for sound reasons.
Korean "WSC" hardware is very good........too
My Mrs bought be a blue S620 for Christmas, i absolutely love it!
A T Style is definitely on the cards soon.
I just picked up a T90 FLT Deluxe used and I'm pretty impressed with it the tuners are actually pretty good they move smoothly and they tune good pick up sound pretty decent i keep her
This is THE BEST TE90FLT demo on youtube! By Far!!!
Most kind. Cheers 👍
I have one, in white, because it’s the only lefty option. I have no complaints, it’s a great guitar, not just for the money. I put a TV Jones Powertron Plus in the bridge for a little more oomph and changed the knobs. If you are on the fence about getting one, do yourself a favor, just click buy.
How much of an improvement was the TV Jones? I'm considering a new neck pickup for this one for a little more clarity.
Dan Leggatt it is really nice. Breaks up a little earlier, more bottom end, but still has that filtertron character. It’s a monster with a Big Muff!
I have 2 Harley Benton guitars. The Harley Benton JB-75MN SB Vintage Series Jazz bass weighs a ton but other than that it is excellent, solid as a rock, plays a dream and the pick-ups are superb. Build quality A++. Much can be said for my Harley Benton HB-35Plus Vintage Burst Gibson 335 copy. Sound is incredible. Fretboard needs some playing in and some lemon oil and then good to go. Incredible value guitars and no they aren't paying me. They owe me nothing. I owe them, I've got very near the real thing for a fraction of the price.
Awesome man! Really good to hear the reviews of the HB’s are overwhelmingly good.
I just bought a t-90, also in orange blast, used from guitar center recently. It was previously owned by an employee, so it was set up well out the gate
I just got a Ex 76 and I love it. I had to get it set up to fix the intonation a bit but that’s common I hear.
I've just started playing guitar at 64! Looking for an electric. I'm ordering one of those! Looks and sounds great.
Lovely review. Thank you.
I bought one of these two years ago and still think it's a great guitar. Word of advice: polish the frets before playing. Otherwise playing off the roughness of the frets will cause you to muck up the fretboard. Which is a shame and a bother to clean up.
Way ahead of you. The day after this was filmed I gave them a polish up and gave the guitar a setup. Definitely an improvement. Thanks for the heads up 👍
Hey Dan,, I purchased the Nashville Nylon classical guitar from HB,,, for the money a great instrument ,the action was a bit to high out of the box but i took the saddle bridge out and trimmed it down and the guitar plays awesome,,, worth keeping, good for working out your fingers,,,good job on your first unboxing,, thanks RJ. Bacha.
Thanks for watching Ronald!
Mine arrived today. I love this guitar! You’re review is spot on.
Awesome! Thanks for watching 👍
dude... that lick at 11:40 is stupid good!!! made me laugh it's so good! hell yesssss! Good player man! Here's to you from the USA!!!!
😂😂 Thank you man, most kind 🙏
I have a Harley Benton TE-70 black paisley which is fantastic. Again Tuners are not great, but the guitar is amazing...especially for the money.
The guitar does keep tune and the frets will wear themselves in. The guitar has become quite addictive. I find myself grabbing it over my other more expensive guitars quite often. I wanted a Tele guitar without the Tele price and it has delivered big time!
I got curious about the brand from several reviews I'd seen, and ordered the tele 70 dark Paisley, for 150 USD. Wasn't expecting much, and I was blown away by the quality. It's got all the playability of my American Custom Strat, and weighs as much as it does. The sound is indistinguishable to my ear, from a Fender Tele/ I don't understand how they sell these instruments at such a low price point. I'd advise anyone to plunk down $150 for one of these.
Excellent review & demo, showcasing the wide range of tasty tones. I just put it on my shortlist, thanks to seeing your video.
Cheers! Thanks for watching 👍
Great review, clear, concise and to the point. Great playing also. Best i've seen keep em coming
This was such an straightforward review. Great playing!
Cheers 👍
I have a TE20 and I am amazed at how much I like it.
I own 4 harley bentons, a s-620, victory flames, warlock, and sc custom active, love them all
I got a Harley Benton CST-24HB last year, a PRS lookalike. For the money these guitars are ridiculously good value. The setup out the box was nearly spot on and the Roswell pickups are bright and loud. Tuning keys are pretty terrible, but and easy and cheap fix.
I have one of the ash models and i love it. The pups are low output so the height is key... yet altering the height is difficult. I needed to raise the neck just a bit with a spacer underneath. Tuners are the low point. A keeper though. I wish Thomann had this color when i got mine. The tone's are unique for my collection. I have 2 SC-550's, a CST-24T, SC-Custom, TE-70 Paisley, and the TE-90FLT. I will be keeping these a long time.
Yes the pups rest on just a piece of thin rubber foam. I put in a thicker layer of rubber foam wich gave more flexibility to rise/lower the pups.
Great review, great playing! Not that usual „high gain constant noodling“! That you tested it without any amp at all in the beginning was very cool! Good job!
Thanks mate! Glad you liked the video. I always have a listen unplugged, in my experience the best guitars I’ve owned sound good before I even plug them in.
Now that’s what you call a great guitarist. Wow! Color me impressed. The guitar in this guys hands sounds great. Nice one !
Really good review as well.
Thank you so much for the kind words! Really means a lot. Thanks for watching.
Nice demo, man!
Sounds amazing. This beast can easily compete with some custom shop tellys in terms of tone. The finger picking tones are just unbelievably good! I think that's exactly, what the designers had in mind when building this model. Seriously brilliant example for the expression 'hot rodded', indeed.
Cheers for watching 👍 It’s huge value for money!
Awesome review, fantastic playing
I got a Harley Benton Fusion-II HH FR EB FBB on the beggining of quarantine life.
Great guitar for the price, with a proper floyd rose, option to split coils and pretty decent pickups.
I'm already studying the best option for a pickup upgrade (Thinking of Suhr or Seymour Duncan) and considering buying a HB jazz bass too. Also got 2 pedals (a tubescreamer and a looper), and both sound and work flawlessly
How do you find the neck on the fusion? Quite chunky or thin?
@@DanLeggatt actually quite thin and smooth, trying to be as close as possible to a Suhr. Feels better than my old Mexican Strat
I own the same model for the same period of time. I dig it and I even sold my other 2 guitars to keep this one. (some old Ibanez RG series) the neck is the same shape as the Ibanez. Very fast and nice. The Roswell pick ups that HBs are equipped with are more in the vintage/PAF sound. I love them for cleans and ambience but I'm not able to do a proper Dime Squeels on them. I might change the bridge humbucker one day with a Seymour Duncan Distortion. Great instrument nonetheless.
I thoroughly recommend the te30. It's 99 quid and is perfect for whacking a hot rails in.
I have a Harley Benton ST-62 Strat copy. It cost $126.00 plus shipping. I love it !!! Sounds great & plays great. What more do you want ?
I've got a g&l fullerton deluxe s500 cost me 1600£ and I prefer the hb st-62😬
@@MrStusharratt Hi I'm looking at getting a HB-TE-20. I've been looking at other inexpensive teles but HB just sounds better, plus I like the fatter neck ! Thanks for the reply. Stay Safe Dave
You are no doubt the best ever to review this guitar
Most kind. Thank you!
I’ve had a HB copy of the LTD single cut Les Paul style 3 knob guitar. It was really nice, but the frets weren’t great. Grover tuners were good but the pickups weren’t to my liking. I changed them out and it sounded great with new pickups. This was about 5 or 6 years ago though and I reckon they’ve improved a lot since then.
This one definitely surprised me both in feel and sound. I’d be intrigued to try more but this was the last of my ‘fun money’ for a while 😂 need this virus to do one so I can get back out earning some cash!
I have the older blonde version and love it for slide. Great southern rock sound. The switch and pots on mine are not great, but work until I change them out.
Great playing and review mate. I recently got the DC Junior and it is amazing, the stock Roswell P90 is great, beautiful little rock machine.
Thanks for watching man! The DC Jr looks great. I've just seen them advertising a TV yellow 2 pickup LP Special type guitar, looks really tasty!
I currently have 2, The Prince Telecaster, TE80 I think which has been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan Twang banger in the bridge and CTS 250k pots .
I also have the older version of the HB35 which is a more authentic copy of the Gibson 335 before they caved in to pressure from Gibson.
It has been upgraded with Kluson style tuners, a pair of Seymour Duncan 59’s and Alpha 500k pots!
Hoping to add a Bigsby at some point!
Both great guitars that play and sound way beyond their cost!
As to others you should try, I’ve heard great things about their Les Paul Jr copies and the Fusion models!
I’ve also played a friends ST62 vintage series Strat copy which I was impressed with. It was an older model with Wilkinson pickups which sounded great!
I have the Harley Benton "prince" tele
And LOVE it !
I never play it though....it went straight into a display case where it still resides
It does look really cool!
I have the hb35 plus in lemon drop. Absolutely love it . Was great right out of the box. Bought it because of the price ,and now am trying to decide a couple to sell to make room for more...lol
Jealous... I wanted that but back then they only had rosewood fretboard and it took ages for them to change it to be CITES compliant. Ended up going with something else :(
Got this guitar b4 it sold out and Man sure glad that I did- feels and plays (with a few minor exceptions) like my higher end guitars but with the sandblast finish, exotic fingerboard and filtertron type pick-ups (it checked many boxes for me) this guitar is a winner.
Totally agree, I do think an instrument in this price bracket will ever be perfect, but I have definitely played much worse guitars that cost a lot more money. A bit of a set up, a few tweaks and it's definitely a keeper for me.
Recently bought th HB Td-40 as a B stock for £99.
All that was wrong with it was a bit of tarnashing on the gold tuners.
Plays fantastic straight out of the box.
I've got some more expensive guitars but this more or less holds its own.
Sounds great and looks cool. Those pickups have incredible chime and sparkle. Great playing. Thanks for the awesome demo/review.
I have a Harley Benton Rosewood Tele. Build quality is excellent. Will change out the Bridge pickup some day in the near future.
I have sc-custom and so far i love it to no end. it's my current fav. I have a "Parts-Caster" (SSS-ST) a 97 RG570 and the sc-custom, I love all of them, but this one is just amazing. it had no problem, pretty much ready to play as soon as I took it out of the box (even tuning wise it wasn't bad, a few turns here and there and it was perfectly in tune, holds tune really well, intonation wise it was pretty much flawless. considering what I paid, I was more than amazed, and still love everything about it till today. I've gone through about 7 or 8 string changes (full sets of elixir nanoweb) and it still sounds amazing and I still love it
Nice one man!
Hi Dan -- I recently had a similar experience. I bought a Harley Benton HB-335 and I am still amazed at the quality for a guitar for that price. Best setup out of the box I've ever experienced. Excellent video and hope you continue to enjoy it. That is one awesome guitar... and you are correct about the frets -- they will be great after a couple days of playing.
It's nice and played in now, the minor fret roughness has gone or at the very least improved since unboxing. There is one area that is still there but only very slight. I reckon a quick fret polish will take care of that. It was only very minor to start with. Thanks for watching!
Love your style and talent. Harley Benton It sounds cool.
Thank you 🙏
Great video! Ive never seen your channel before, you defo deserve more subs! great content, playing and that bridge pickup...amazing!!
Thanks so much man! Sorry for the delay in replying
I have two HBs.. And will be acquiring more. I HIGHLY recommend checking out their hollow and semi-hollow models!
I have a Harley Benton DC Custom. I got it about a month ago. I love it plays great and looks awesome. The tuners arent that great but that can be taken care of. I like to see the Amarok - 6 any color.
The Amarok is definitely on my list. I’ve had a few requests for it now. The DC looks super cool too!
I bought an te90 flt in sunburst with the chambered Ash body because I love Daughter. Other than a couple of scratchy frets on the high strings it's utterly spectacular. I ended up selling my gretsch 125th anniversary Pro jet because I liked the hb more. Also I once traded an amp with you for a genz Benz El Diablo, you asked if I'd be fine on the half kilometre walk to the station with it and I foolishly said it'd be fine. I threw my shoulder out getting it home haha
😂😂 How’s it going man? I’ve still got the Laney! Did you keep hold of the Genz?
Because you love Daughter?? What does that mean?
lmao...hope your shoulder is ok now :D
nice review and a cracking guitar if you could check out their gison lespaul styles or the SG nice playing too
S620 in Trans red - B stock. budget all purpose shredder. great guitar that only now a year later is feeling like it needs new pickups
I have the one with a natural finish. I don't know what you did, but the pick ups you have on your guitar sound infinitely better than the ones on mine. I always thought Roswell pickups were very mediocre but everyone insist that they are good, and your video certainly proves that.
I agree with the tuners being below average but not entirely terrible.
I tried to raise the pick up height but the pickups become really unstable and loose so i put them back where they originally were.
If my Harley Benton sounded as good as yours, I'd give it a glowing review but it is now, I'd say it's pretty good guitar for the price. I've had so much worse more money.
Excellent playing btw. Amazing tone.
Cheers! I have been really impressed with the pickups truth be told. I think the neck pickup could probably have a little more clarity for my taste but overall great. You could try raising the pole pieces with a screwdriver rather than the whole pickup possibly? I've raised one row of poles on my neck pickup to try and get a little more bite out of it.
The sound also depends on the amp (settings). I have the ash body version and it sounds different on all my amps
Ive been listening to all the teles and this is probably my favourite. Its gonna be this one i think 😊
Dan..I'm getting a HB TE Orange Blast locally here in Baltimore Md..USA Dig your playing man...Very versatile..thx for the video info...
Got the Cst 24HB, SC Custom and the TE 90 FLT in VW, already Indonesian made, and lvve them all. Qualitywise the TE 90 is an amazing guitar! Compared to the former chinese production the Indonesian ones are huge step up! This orange blast looks really like an old whisky barrel like you mentioned in your video. I'm totally confused and tempted to order this (G.A.S. on) knowing that I already have this type. I'll wait a little bit because of the sungkai wood which I haven't heard before as a tonewood. Watching other reviews and customer comments on Thomann's website to get more informations about it. Lookwise it is an absolute stunning axe!!!
I think i fell in love with the black one!
They’ve done a really great job with this series
Nice review. Haven't seen much reviews of particularly this model and it was nice to see and hear these pickups.
I have 3 Harley Benton guitars. The first one I purchased was the ST-20HSS, because it was cheap and I was really surprised to see and hear the quality of this guitar.
Yesterday I unpacked the CST-24T Paradise Flame and the ST-Acoustic, so I need to play those now and the first impression is nice.
I would love to see you review the Harley Benton ST-57DG, because I haven't seen one of that particular guitar, and since it's an tribute to Gilmore's Blackie of Pink Floyd.
It's an Strat with 3 Singlecoils and an TUSQ XL nut, it will probably hold tuning well and sound awesome as well. 😉
Nice collection! Just checked out the DG, looks very cool. I'll see what I can do in the future!
John Robson did a video on his channel reviewing the ST-57 DG, you might want to look it up on TH-cam
I do have the same model in sunburst but with those same Roswell "Filtertron" pickup clones.
They are simply amazing. I bought it a year ago, used but almost unplayed for 90EUR.
That’s a steal!
@@DanLeggatt True. I got me complete collection of HBs SG, Les Paul, 2 Strats, and a Jazzmaster all for cheap. Used but like new, from people who didnt appreciate them or tried playing for 2 months or so.
All were a bargain and I have pimped some with exclusive pickups like fender noiseless and such. You can hear some recordings of me with them on my page if you like.
Dan, you make this low-cost guitar sound fantastic - very good tone and feel to your licks, brother! I have the Harley Benton SC550-II PAF and the DC DLX-Gotoh. Both are way better instruments than their price would suggest. You couldn't go wrong reviewing either (or both) of them for another great video. Thanks!
I dont own an HB, but looking at this that will change soon.
Because off this demo,,i just needed,,i couldnt resist it,,i bouth the red blast
My apologies to your bank account 😂 Enjoy!
I love a reverse headstock on a tele. Or a big Strat headstock. Makes it look more balanced.
I own 3 Harley Bentons, besides no other guitars...my only "complaint" is that all of them came with high action, especially towards the bridge. As I am not a tech, although I have managed to better tweak the action to something more manageable, I will probably have to get them professionally set up at some point just so they become the best they can be (without swapping out ppickups or upgrading the hardware). Anyways, I play them almost every day and absolutely love them...with a good amp like the Katana 50 MKII that I have they sound great, as well as with good guitar sims like Guitar rig 6 which just came out, so really they are fantastic especially for the money. My first was the SC-Custom in Vintage Black which I got in August 2019, then I got the ST-20 HSS (strat style,which albeit the cheapest it is my favorite) for the past 10 months and a couple of months ago I got the TE-70 RW deluxe (tele copy) which is also fantastic. I personally am very happy with them and rock out every day with them. On the strat I did install locking tuners and roller string trees, as well as a new nut later on, and it is very tuning stable now. The others are all stock.
Nice video, that Te-90 is a great guitar! I might have to add it ti the collection one day, but first I'm thinking of getting a CST-24 with P-90s, to see what the P90 experience is all about.
Quite a collection man! Hope to check out more Harley Benton’s in future. Cheers 👊
Waste no money on a "professional" setup. It's easy to learn and well documented.
See Fender's own guide: support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/212774806-How-do-I-set-up-my-Fender-guitar-properly-
I've never seen your videos before Dan, but you are quite good at Youtubing! There are a lot of people trying this kind of content now, and I don't know how long you've been doing it, but I reckon if you stick with it you could go pretty far! More importantly, nice playing and great tone as well. ;)
Some great sounds coming out of that guitar !
Cheers!
I'd strongly recommend the DC Jr. Fat. It's a fun machine. Awesome playing by the way. Too many guys doing demos can't do that very well.
Thanks so much Mike. The Jr looks lovely! Got my eye on the new DC special too!
@@DanLeggatt I really love mine. The frets needed a little work when I got it, but it plays beautifully now. I'll definitely gig with it. I LOVE the simplicity of 1 pickup and 2 knobs.
Nice demo Dan, made me want to buy one
I don't feel like you can go wrong for the money to be honest. It'll never be the most incredible guitar in the world but it punches well above it's weight. I think I may possibly look at upgrading the neck pickup at some point just for a little more clarity but other than that it's pretty kicking right out of the box.
@@DanLeggatt That's brilliant. I've been looking for a cheaper telecaster style guitar and this might be the one. Thanks
I own the Harley Benton sg double neck with Wilkinson hardware and a te90 one of the early ones, for the money with a bit of tweeking you cant find better guitars in my opinion and I own some high end fender, gibson and gretch guitars. They are very much a add to guitar to customise for yourself.
I got the TE-70 paisley. Great guitar for under £140. Gritty frets were the only issue. I hear most HBs have this issue. 10 minute polish and sorted 👍 HBs are the best value guitars out there. The pups sound great 😊
Me, too! I just put custom knobs & control panel plate on mine tonight! Etched designs to match the paisley. Can't stop playing that thing. And I own several Fenders, and other name brand axes.
I have the red burst. Mine was B stock but I really love it. But the guitar play’s brilliantly. I lowered the action on mine. Personal preference.
I've got an ST-90 Swamp Ash. Action was a bit high on it, and the frets were pretty scratchy. Tuners are adequate.
The action was pretty reasonable on this and only took 2 minutes to lower it but there is little spots with scratchy frets but nothing major.
got myself a Harley Benton SC-1000 Progressive Line. I am enjoying it so far as a guitar beginner. It's something that keeps me wanting to pick up the thing and learn with it, even though it's not an ESP/LTD EC-100, but it's as close as it gets as one of my dream guitars. It's perfectly set up just the way I like it, the frets are smooth... but the gripe I have with this thing is that it doesn't really stay in tune that well, so I'll consider swapping the nut and tuners first.
I own the ice blue headless and a fusion 2 roasted maple neck. I have owned several guitars throughout my career, including a custom shop endorsement with my ex band.
Sure they're not as premium as a 3000 euros custom axe, but that's to be expected. What they do compete with, is the high-mid tier offerings of more known brands.
Honestly, it's just absurd amounts of value for money, especially the fusion. Well built, high end features, exceptional neck -> 400 euros.
If you don't care for roasted maple, the fusions with the regular maple neck are 299 euro, which is an absolute steal.
When you look for those features in other brands, you'll easily find yourself in the 800-1300 range.
I'm not looking back :D
That being said. Great review. This guitar sounds great, might be a worthwhile addition :D
Interesting, I haven’t even looked at their headless options to be honest. I’ll check them out! Thanks for the info and thanks for watching 👍
I have the same guitar and I really love it. Unfortunately mine has another bridge and I keep on breaking strings. Thomann offered to do a set-up but that probably isn't going to work. I'll exchange the bridge but not in a hurry.
I have the earlier version of this guitar with an Ash body, out of the box it needed a fair bit of work to get the best out of it, the tuners were useless at keeping it in tune.
After replacing the tuners, nut, pots and switch and a fret dress and full set up, it now plays well.
The only other HB that i own is an XT22, this i bought used, and luckily the original owner had upgraded all the bad parts.
My opinion of HB's are that provided you get a good sample that is free of cosmetic issues, and you can rebuild it with better hardware, they are good value, but the prices are now increasing to a point where you might be better saving for a better guitar.
Tuners are rarely a problem. They might be unpleasant and a chore to use, but think about what it is; unless the gear slips, it will hold tune, as well as the finest most expensive tuner. The single most common issue of tuning stability, with non-locking tuners, is too many winds around the post.
I like everything about that guitar, except the reverse headstock. I guess that sidesteps the copyright issues, but yech. I have a HB35, and it came just about in tune, but a half-step flat.
I got the harley benton sc custom ii P90s and its a fantastic guitar !!!!Love P90s!!!!
I got this guitar on Friday. My first Harley Benton guitar so far enjoying it. Thinking about another maybe in Green 😄
I've got one of these and I really like it TE 90 tele deluxe in orange blast 😁
I have an SC-Custom(passive) an ST-70, TE-70 Paisley, DC-Junior and a CST24T and I love them allI'm getting one of the Fusions with a baked maple neck series with the Sapele body next.
This is the first time I have seen your channel +1 subs!
Really appreciate the sub! Liking the look of their juniors very much. Hopefully be able to get hold of one to try at some point.
Great video...may actually get one based on that clean tone... really surprised how good that sounded. And also a great price...new tuners and a set up... should be a very usable guitar
I do own a Fusion II HSH pro and really love it out of the box
beautifull demo and guitar, i've just got one, waiting to rceive it soon.... especially to taste the filtertons sound, LOL, previously i got a HB Junior DCS (TV yellow) and i'm very glad with it!
I have a harley benton ST-20 HSS which i made into a single humbucker frankenstrat. its great. I also used to have a SC-450 CB, but i had to sell it to make space. (it was a great guitar.)
Great playing & also tasteful to demonstrate the guitar and not just show off, like people do on here👍
Good honest review with thoughtful comments & opinions, keep up the great work 😊👍
Thank you very much.