Harley Benton ST-20 SB Standard Series 3-stars Reviews

Bought to try Roseacer fretboard

I had great experiences with the ST-62MN and its variants but was eyeing this out due to the roseacer fretboard. I have seen this used as a skunk stripe and its should be like baked maple so it should be good right? however the build of the guitar is more like coming from the same factory as the ST 90 judging by the online photos so i decide to get one and yes it is the same finish style/logo placement as the ST90 but with cheaper hardware, the same thick and a tad hazy clear coat on the body. for the stock pickups they work. Only thing i didnt like was the tuners were installed slanted. For the Roseacer fretboard. it looks like Ebony, very dark but i would not recommend oiling this board at all. i would recommend cleaning it with naptha or something not oily. tonally roseacer is dull sounding. Overall its an ok guitar but if you want something better than this the ST62 Harley Benton is 2x better.

It is what is worth.

In terms of finish it looks great, sounds ok, but:

cons

- Does not hold in tune very well ( don't even think using the trem system);

- It was necessary a full setup including fret levelling;

Pros

- nothing beats the price;

- after the setup it is actually a good guitar to practice;

great for a beginner guitar

Could be very good value

Unpacking the guitar I was pleasantly surprised by how good the finish appeared and generally how well made the guitar appeared to be - particularly at this low price point. I bought the guitar to modify and have removed the sunburst finish - this was very hard work and it should survive minor knocks quite well.

The neck and fretboard are comfortable and the frets are reasonably well finished although would benefit from levelling and polishing, but this is often true of guitars at many times the price.

Acoustically the guitar was pleasingly resonant and appeared easy to tune. The tremolo is fitted with 3 springs and in this case it is flat on the body rather than floating (press down only, no room to lift). Given that the tremolo is of a very light construction this may contribute to the tuning stability.

The pickups and controls work adequately but are fairly low powered and a little thin sounding when plugged in.

Unfortunately when I came to level and polish the frets I discovered a spiral twist in the neck, only a few degrees but enough to make a truly good set up impossible. This is probably a rare fault rather than a general issue.

Overall, a good beginners guitar at the price point and had I not had the issue with the neck I would have given it an extra star