Harley Benton TE-20 SB Standard Series Reviews

Great value for money!!

Bought this as a gift for a friend, ...absolutely brilliant for the money ....it feels like a real tele, neck comfortable, action can be set low, sound is ok for a house guitar (doubt if the pups would be fit for high vol scene) and it looks the part. Perfect starter or spare guitar ....no risk!

Better than most !

Well made and finished, comfortable neck, hardware all okay. Sounds like a

Telecaster, albeit a bit thin. For this money simply unbeatable ! Upgrade the

p/ups and put on some decent strings and it will sing ! At minimal cost too.

These are tremendous value instruments, and worth every cent.

Excellent value

Good build quality. No sharp edges on frets and no fret buzz. Nice finish on neck and body, no cosmetic faults. Pickups are quite decent imho. Really like this guitar. Was expecting to have to do some work on it, but this one is quite playable right out of the box. The only remark I have is that the edges on the pickguard are cut quite rough (i.e. not a smooth gradient). Would definitely buy one again.

you get what you pay for!

you get what you pay for....

great guitar for the price just needs frets edges rubbed a little easy to up grade pickups if you want to //// 5 star all round service im going to order the other great deal hollow body tele red one looks amazing ..... alex

Well this was just what i expected, a cheap modding platform.

+Finish was beautiful.

+It is built like a tank.

+Nice resonant body

-High action (needed adjustment.)

-buzzing frets(fixed with a hammer)

-Sharp fret edges(Filed them)

-pickups needed adjusting

-Strap buttons were quite insecure.(Changed them to a pair of used ones.)

Overall, considering the price this is your basic cheap, non body trough stringed basswood tele.

Sunburst TE-20 SB

Packaging was very very good. The finish was excellent. The hardware was excellent. I was able to lower the action right down without string buzz. The sign of a straight neck well positioned in the body. The price was unbeatable. The only thing I didnt like was the flicks of crescent shaped dark wood in the light coloured neck maple. These spoilt an otherwise perfect guitar. At the price of less than 60 quid delivered, for a very nice looking playable instrument, who can moan. Good stuff, I would not buy from anywhere else.

Value for money

I was very wary of buying something I considered an unknown quantity but for the price I thought I would risk it and I am glad I did. Excellent quality, value and looks wise it's a very pretty instrument. Sounds great, playability wise very good.

Good Value.

For the price, this guitar is absolutely great. It definitely needs some set up out of the box, but otherwise it is not bad at all.

Amazing value

I bought this guitar as a back up to me main one and was blown away by the quality. Once I'd change the strings and set it up the tuning was rock solid and the action was really nice to play. Classic tele sound but was able to get quite crunchy when pushed. An absolute bargain!

TELECASTER

Good Guitar for Good mI didnt expect any great sound..But I was wrong..Sound on My Randall amp is good.Fretboard could be little bit better made.But anyway,If u start playing,that guitar is for You!!

It does what you expect from this type of guitar, at an unexpected price

These days, a low price doesn't necessarily mean low quality. The Harley Benton TE 20, has the famous "T" type look, and comes with a pretty fair tribute to the "T" sound. When I try out a guitar that has a "budget" or "entry level" price tag, I have a bit if a ritual - maybe not very scientific, but it works for me:

First, I hold the guitar, and if it's a reasonable weight, not too heavy, but heavy enough, it gives me confidence that here is a solid, robust body. It suggests (again, not scientific) a nice density of wood in the body, unlike some cheaper guitars I've played, that are so light, if you attached some string to them you could use them as a kite! I'm not obsessive about tone woods, but I have found, from my experience, that a nice, heavy but comfortable body, usually bodes well for the overall quality of the instrument. The TE 20 passes this test!

Second, I run my hand up and down the neck. If, after this my hands are raw and bleeding, I know the frets are badly fitted, sharp, or sticking out at the sides. Again, the TE 20, no problem - smooth all the way - not a hint of discomfort, let alone a laceration!

Third, machine heads-obviously I don't expect Grovers, but it's another good sign of a quality budget guitar if the tuners turn smoothly and there is not too much "play" or "wobbliness" in them. Another tick for the TE 20.

Fourth: I actually play the guitar. With a budget price I won't complain at tone that doesn't exactly replicate the more well known expensive version, but I do like to hear variation in tone. I've tried lower priced guitars that sound the same, whichever pickup position is selected. The TE 20 sounds bright at the bridge, warmer at the neck pickup, and sort of "strummy" in the middle position. That's all I ask for and again the TE 20 does the trick.

The finish, in this case sunburst, is excellent, and I can find nothing to complain about as far as workmanship and construction.

Nice work, Harley Benton, I look forward to writing about the "S" shape model!

Awesome

great quality, great sound it took a while to set up but that is the only negative thing I can say and if I was to be picky I would say it is a tad heavy but all in all fantastic value and quality this Harley Benton stuff is great :)

Great Tele guitar

This telecaster is great, not just for the money but also for its features and specs. I bought this tele for a custom project but I ended up keeping all its parts. I am not a big fan of single coils but this tele sounds hot and it's got a modern tone that could handle overdrive well enough.

The quality is really good. The setup was a bit off but I set this guitar up with a fresh set of HB 0,09" strings and it's really singing!

Totally recommended!

Also check out the TE-40 bk model if you're into tele-shaped guitars.

Cheers, GD

guitar-dreamer.blogspot.com

You don't get less than you paid for

This is a very modest but honest guitar. I believe it stays at the same level as, say, a low end squier that costs twice more and have the words 'squier' and 'fender' in the headstock. I would recomend this guitar to anyone who wants to buy their first guitar, or for someone who want to have an inexpensive modded guitar.

The reason for that is: the construction is good! All the measures were ok. The woods are solid and the finishes were flawless. The hardware isn't great, as obvious, but should be enough for anyone who is starting. An experienced player may have the guitar constantly out of tuning, if they do a lot of bend. The potentiometers seemed kind of fragile, but they worked without noises. The pickups have no great personality nor dynamics but will do the job.

Now, if you're an advanced player, you should do some upgrades like a set of good tuners, pots, a graphtec nut and maybe a good cheap pickups like an entwitstle or an iron gear. With this you'll have a very respectable guitar for less than $150. It's a catch.

Spot on

For the price this is a great little guitar. It plays well enough and looks fabulous. It was a present for my grandson and he just loves it.

Review for the Harley Benton TE - 20 SB Standard .

This is a cheap guitar at €69:00 BUT in fairness " you get what you pay for !!

Its never going to be a Fender , But for €69 its a cracking little guitar ! ..

I would go as far as to say this is a better guitar than the Squier Bellet Telecaster or the Squier Affinity Telecaster .

Fit and Finish ...

looks amazing for a €69 guitar :-0 ! Honestly . I was stunned when I took it out of the box !! Ive paid 1000s for guitars and the finish to the body wasent as good as this guitar :-)

The set up was 80% " Over all ok " Just had to do a little tweeking and in no time it was all good.

The Good ... Everything ... remember this is a €69 telecaster !!!!! How could you complain about anything on a €69 guitar :-) .

The Guitar does have its flaws .

I changed the machine heads/Tuners for a 18/1 ratio to get more stable tuning " at a cost of around €40 , so total it cost €104 for a cracking little guitar !

I used the guitar for some home recording and it done the job very very well ,

The above guitar would suit any one and even if its a gift and the person never picks the guitar up " Its no the end of the world as it only cost €69 :-) , the guitar would just look great sitting in the corner of the room :-) .

As always I would recommend a very cheap mod to everyone buying a guitar , " Get a set of strap locks . this will extend the life of your guitar .

to finish ,,

The above guitar is not a Fender and can not be compared with a €1200 Fender telecaster USA ... BUT for €69 you really can not go wrong .

A friend of mine bought the same guitar after seeing my Harley Benton Tele , he changer out the machine heads/Tuners and put a set of good pickups in the guitar and uses it to gig with and the guitar NEVER gave him one moments trouble !!

I honestly think that most people buying guitars get caught up in the name /brand of a guitar , You could buy the above guitar and hate it or you could love it . Its NOT about the name/brand or where it was made , Its how happy the guitar makes you when you play it ..

Hope the above is of some help .

Beginner

Decent little guitar for beginners. Have put heavier strings on for slide and drop tunings and it holds it tuning well.