Harley Benton ST-62 VW Vintage Series Reviews

Amazing value for money

So I recently bought a harley benton st-90sa (the ash version of this model) and I was so impressed I just had to get another one. Because what's better than one strat? Two strats!

The guitar arrived and when I opened it I was a bit surprised. It looks a bit different from the pictures.

First of all: it has a satin finished neck. I prefer this over glossy, so that's nice! Secondly: it has a lighter fretboard. That I could have guessed since the specs say its pau ferro, which in general is a bit lighter than Rosewood. The box says st-62vw rw. Where the rw could stand for Rosewood, but I definitely think its pau ferro.

It needed a bit of a setup. So relief of the neck and it needed a shim in the pocket. The action out of the box was 2.1mm and it was buzzing. It had me worried for a minute, but after I added the shim and adjusted the relief all buzzing disappeared. It now has 2mm action low e and 1.5mm high e.

I applied lots of fretboard oil (crimson) because the board was rather dry. All good, for this price you should expect these kinds of things. Also I like fiddling with guitars so it's actually a bonus for me.

I removed the pickguard to see the electronics. Every looks neat. It has FULL SIZE POTS. Amazing at this price point. They appear to be alpha style pots. The tone pots are double capped with .47 capacitors. I need to replace this with one .22. Just personal preference.

It has a cheap switch (although it works fine) and that needs to be replaced with an oak grigsby.

The tremolo block is really thin. I've never seen one this bloody thin :D. So that needs to be replaced. There is a fender tremolo on the market for about 30 euro that should be a direct fit and has a full size (zinc) trem block.

The neck feels amazing, no sharp fret ends and a few high frets on the board, but as I mentioned it has fine action with no buzzing so it's not an issue. It plays very nice.

This guitar costs 120 euro. 120 euro. I can't understand how this is possible. I had a squier classic vibe stratocaster before and really the st-62 is finished just as nice. Sure, the fretboard radius is flatter and the contours of the strat body aren't exactly like fender but who really cares? If it feels great and it plays great it must be great!

My eFlat Strat

I wanted strat I could keep tuned down 1/2 step so I bought the HB ST-62 VW. I am happy with the purchase. I setup the trem to float (you tube directions) and it works well. I had to remove one of the springs but it does stay in tune with just two. I had to file around the back plastic cover for the trem springs as it look like a dull blade was used to cut it but that was no big deal at all. It has the look I wanted and plays great. No other adjustments were necessary on this one. I'll oil up the fretboard when I change the stings out and add some graphite to the pinch points but that's all that I need to do. The ST-62 VW can't be beat for the price for what you get. I would have no hesitation playing this one at a gig.

Great right out of the box!

Sounds just like a Strat should, looks fantastic too! Whoever set mine up did a great job, frets are dressed very well, needs new strings though. Very pleased with the quality.

good sound. But, As for this guitar, the noise measures in the cavity are not made.

What a beauty!

I have been playing guitar for years and have thought about electric but always stayed with accoustic . Have tried some in the past but found them awkward and heavy. My son bought one of these and recommended it saying I would get on really well with it. I borrowed his for a week and fell in love. Ordered mine which was the cream coloured one and it blew me away.

Straight out the box it was incredibly well set up. Lovely action and every screwed together really well. The neck is just right ( I have smallish hands) and it sits comfortable on my knee or with a strap. The price is fantastic...it should be a toy for what you pay, but instead you get a beauty of an instrument. If you are tempted and want to try one you can't go wrong for a little over £100.

great bang for you're buck

if u dont have much id say go for it great guitar harley bentons are amazing they dont feel like toys like other brand cheap entry lvls do but i do recommend to spend the 50 more to get a higher quality harley benton if u are a professional all u need is a nut swap string trtee swap and maybe a bridge pickup swap and for 100 extra u got a 200 euro guitar that plays feels and sounds like one that would be 400

Good strat like guitar

Guitar overall is pretty good for this price. Mine came with a tone knob that wasnt properly connected so i got a discount of 20 euro and didnt have to send back for fixing m apart from that and some rusty tuners that needs some oiling everything else is pretty awesome for this price , u get a very nice sounding instruments that if u change strings and perhaps pickups (they are too high sounding for me but very stratty i think ) u got a great guitar that in terms of playability and sound will be great !!

4TH HB guitar, but not the last

I love this guitare it has a great tone and feels good playing. the only thing I am disappointed in is the thickness of the tremelo block.

Crazy for the money

I have loved playing this since I got it. IMO this is as good as my USA fender strat in terms of playability.

The pickups sound bright with a typical strat sound as you expect. I can't really fault it. I don't know how they produce quality like this at the price.

Beautiful tone

The guitar looks absolutely stunning and plays really well, i had to get it set up because the 2nd fret was buzzing but other than that its a great guitar for its price

Incredible value

I can't describe how pleased I am with the guitar, really.

The finish is nice, the frets are perfect, the fretboard was a little dirty but a quick wipe solves that. Had to lower the action on the bridge and it's absurdly good guitar for this price. Love the pickups, tuners don't feel cheap and I don't have to tune the guitar up every day.

Excellent guitar for very affordable price!

First off, i have to admit that i ordered this guitar simply because i saw how cheap the price tag was.. And i loved the look of the vintage white colour.

Considering it was inexpensive, i wasn't expecting it to be all that great.

How wrong was I!

This guitar has a lovely maple neck with a pretty smooth rosewood slab board (not a cheaper thin veneer board!).

The neck shape is definitely not a slim or small neck. I'd say it's a medium to large C shape neck. Definitely a thicker and wider neck than my Charvel San Dimas guitars. Comfortable though! It's lacquered and shiny, but doesn't feel sticky.

Fret wire was all solid and level but a little dull looking upon arrival, but honestly.. at this price point i wasn't expecting them to be gleaming and shiny. I was totally fine with giving them a quick scrub using some 00000 grade wire wool, takes 5 mins and it did the job great!

The guitar is nice and lightweight, and it's actually very resonant. Harmonics fly out of this thing. Sustain is very impressive too!

The pickups sound very fat, i'd say they're probably overwound singlecoils. The in between positions (2 + 4) still get that glassy tone that we all know and love.

I can get some very convincing SRV and Hendrix tones using this guitar, but also it'll do the heavier sounds effortlessly. Yngwie and Blackmore tones are easy to cop with this guitar!

Hardware all seems solid, it has vintage Kluson style tuners which hold stable. Bridge seems pretty solid so far too.

Overall, i think this is an excellent guitar. Not just for the price, but generally! I own many other nice guitars from higher end brands, but I'll be using this guitar plenty for sure.

If you're not sure, i say just give it a shot and try one! For the price, it's really a no brainer!

Very good guitar for the money

The sound and feel of the guitar far excede the price. The only downside I see in this guitar are the frets that feel a little scrtachy and quite abrasive. But it certainly isn't a deal breaker.

The sound is very close to other strats I have played.

Certainly a great guitar to take out of the house as the low price will not have you worried at every given second that it might get scratched and beaten up.

strat sweetness

Beautiful guitar. Frets were level but needed some polishing time. Intonation was spot on, but action a touch higher than I like. One of my very favorite guitars now that I have it set up to my liking. The sound is really nice. I thought I would change out the Roswells, but they just sound too good to bother.

I may upgrade the tiny trem block later but for now I just have it decked.

Unbeatable quality at this price range

First of all, I must confess I was skeptical when buying this guitar because of its low price, however I decided that it was time to buy a Harley Benton after reading so many good reviews of other customers defending this brand for its quality. With that in mind, if you are also skeptical of buying a Harley Benton guitar I can assure you, by personal experience, that you have nothing to worry, you will have an amazing quality instrument for the money that you are paying.

The finish on this guitar is amazing. Neck feels really confortable and the blackwood fretboard was nicely treated, mine arrived in perfect condition with no need for oil. It was not dry at all. Pickups sounded warm, a little bit of high output but you can balance this by turning the tone pot for the high-end down a bit. My one complain, however, is with the tunners. They stay in perfect tune unless you use the tremolo system and if you abuse on the bends (it became an issue for me after a full step bend, the strings would go out of tune just a little). Other than that, just amazing overall.

Impressed with the sound for the price

I bought this guitar just to start learning the instrument and belive me, it is a steal for this price. Coming from keyboards, haven't had much experience with guitars, but the sound is pleasant, Roswell pickups are doing a great job and the guitar feels very comfy in the hands. A tad harsher sound than Fender Squier, but for some occasions it is a more desirable feature. Highly recommend for any begginer but even for advanced players also.

The best at this price range

This strat guitar's quality is very similar to a squier classic vibe.

I've been abusing it for over 2 months non-stop. I play everyday for about two hours plus rehearsals and had a small gig with it.

Roswells are OK not that good but they have that raspy strat sound just like any other strat.

Paint-job and finish are on point. Scratchplate is good but you have to do modifications if you're considering a replacement.

Mine has a small whole on the spring cavity, no big deal tho.

Tremolo holds up pretty good (and I sure use it a lot) but you HAVE to replace the strings they send you. I've been using the same strings it came with and they go out of tune pretty quickly.

Tuners also get the job done.

Now, the neck is really fat. I was used to an epiphone SG which has a slim tapper D neck and in comparison, this HB ST 62 has a really chunky neck profile. It's even thicker than an epiphone Les Paul Standard.

Also, fretboard is really flat, which for me is not a deal breaker but it's very far off the original strat.

It's a GREAT DEAL!

Nice Guitar

This is a great guitar even beyond the price point. It sounds great, the pickups are clear and produce a joyful noise. Construction on mine was very good, except for a couple of fills and 2 or 3 other places that could use a fill on the fretboard. These were not in areas where the fingers are during normal playing, so these are not fatal flaws.

My only other complaints are that I can't seem to find a pickguard that will line up without the need to drill new holes. Would be nice if it was more compatible with available aftermarket parts. The tuning machines are also not great, but they do the job.

Excellent guitar for the price

The guitar arrived carefully packed. It looks great, without any visual defects. Before the first playing it needed to be a little set up, but nothing terrible. Body of the guitar nicely resonates, neck is comfortable, the sound is in this price range surprisingly good. For that price I have no complaints.

This guitar needed some work

Looks great but I had to take it to my guitar tech to adjust the neck. Also the frets are a bit too uneven. Sounds very good though and l love the look. I wish it had the same neck as my Harley Benton T90 deluxe tele