TE-70 Black Paisley : Magic

I once bought myself a bright shiny red American Standard Tele - my most expensive electric guitar. Within a few years I sold it with few regrets - I just never played it for more than 10 minutes at a time.

So it was with some trepidation that I purchased this TE70. Reviews were good to excellent (as usual with Harley Benton), but if an original Tele hadn't worked for me, why would this?

Three months later and I haven't put it down.

The sounds it makes is probably the main reason. It seems to have a far far greater range than any of my other guitars and the tones are very satisfying. I spend very little time trying to tweak the sound - it's already there! A bit magical really, as is the feel of it when I'm playing. Everything seems much easier to play, and sounds more interesting. It looks good as well; a little more subdued than I expected but most people like it (including the wife!).

But the sound .......!!!

I won't be selling this one.

A month later edit:-

Two problems made themselves known after frequent use. The first was breaking strings! I'm a bit heavy handed I know, but to have two break within 2 weeks was disappointing. The problem was at the bridge where the strings are routed over brass "rollers" which don't have grooves for the strings to sit in. Swapped them over for a set with grooves - problem resolved. Tone still superb.

Second problem might be a bit more costly - the tuning is very unstable, so new tuners will probably be necessary. Oh well. Still my favourite guitar.