ST-62DLX VW Vintage Series : A great Stratocaster copy that doesn't break the wallet

The Harley Benton ST-62DLX VW Vintage Series, as the name implies "deluxe" there are features on this guitar that are quite better than the other cheaper Harley Benton St models. The guitar arrived very well packed and was playable right out of the box, of course only after tuning it. Despite the inexpensive price of 177 Euro, this guitar can compete with more expensive guitars from other brands without any problems. Of course there are Pro’s and as well as Con’s that I will list.

Pros:

- Flawless finish, the guitar tends to be a yellowish cream and the gold plate is just a superb feature, it really makes the guitar shine from a distance;

- Amazing Neck (at least for me), I know that some people might say the neck is rather chunky, but I think it feels amazing , especially if you enjoy playing guitars like Lp’s. The neck is my favorite feature of this guitar;

- Great Frets- previous experience with An Sc custom II and a DC 600 IV have let me a bit disappointed because of the frets that required extra work, but not on this one. The Harley Benton ST-62DLX VW Vintage Series comes with medium jumbo frets and are great for bending!

- Overall balanced feeling in relation with guitar body and neck;

Cons:

- The bridge is not my favorite part of this guitar, I would have rather preferred a 2 pivot style floating tremolo. I would also like to add that the guitar came with “fixed bridge setting, and using the tremolo arm was only possible after tweaking the springs”.

- Pickups, this is debatable because I have only played humbucker style guitars until I got this, but I think the pickups on this Harley Benton ST-62DLX VW Vintage Series could be better.

- Hardware , since the guitar is labeled as a deluxe I think they should put more attention into the hardware department, things like better bridge and good tuning keys. I will most likely change the tuners and the nut ion the following week to come.

The nut is alright, but I already bought a Graph Tech Nut for St-Style to exchange it, new Gotoh SD91-05M Tuners 6L , and Göldo Roller String Tree. I will keep the bridge as long as I can but I will be looking forward to upgrade to a Wilkinson or some sorts.

That being said my verdict is this, IT IS A GOOD GUITAR OUT OF THE BOX! If you are somebody that plays only at home than you might not need all this upgrades, but I tend to use it an extensive manner and maybe to record parts with it. I would suggest Harley Benton takes into consideration my observation and upgrades to a 2 point bridge, better tuning keys, and of course pickups. I would gladly pay more just to have this features on this guitar right out of the box.