Harley Benton TE-52 NA Vintage Series 5-stars Reviews

NIce one

This is a totally good guitar for its worth.

Overall rating

I just received the guitar, and my first impression was in awe, it looked beautiful and I would have no problem using it on stage.I tuned it and played it immediately, I was very impressed with the tone. I'm a weekend giger and play mostly jazzy blues, but we do play a few rocky tunes, I normally play a Nashville Gretech, so adding the te-52 to my tool box I feel that I've added a new and exciting sound to our band , thx Mann you guys are making a very good name for yourselves, keep uo the good work.

Impressive

I wasn't expecting much, when I ordered this, just wanted a T-shape guitar. It's now one of my main guitars and I love every bit of it, thanks!

It great guitar love it one it a little on the heavy side that side give it great tone also

BLOWN AWAY!

Read good reviews & I heard good reviews on youtube but you never know really until you have one in hand. I am blown away by the TE-52

Let's start with the BAD! Just the tuners, everything else was good, fixable/setup issues, or great!

GOOD

3 piece ASH body

Pickups surprisingly sound great! Those youtube reviews changed them in many cases, but I don't believe you need to. They sound exactly as a TELE should, not as loud as my G&L & not as articulate as my American Fender Tele with Broadcaster and Twisted pair but sounds more like a TELE than both

NECK

Frets were polished but not as well as an Am Fender, Fret ends were filed nicely, better than an American Tele but Fender puts glue/varnish on theirs that make their necks smoother. Neck was almost straight but it still had high action and then buzz if I lowered it. So I straightened the neck STRAIGHT and adjusted the height and it's perfect now

BRIDGE

Great! but I will eventually replace saddles with comp brass saddles but I like this tone so if it changes that I will change them back

I always heard Wilkinson made decent pickups but I had never played them before. I'd say these are VERY GOOD, as I said maybe not comparable in some aspects to G&L or Fender pickups but where they surpass this pickup in some aspects, this pickup also beats them in others.

Will be ordering 2 more of these very soon, they are "that" nice. I'd say this is comparable to a Fender Baja Strat or the other MIM Fender Ash strat, both of which I have played before. I also bought (2) TE-30 as project guitars and they are not as nice. Their sound is just a tad warmer with less bite, in other words, it doesn't stand out. The TE-30 neck is also a bit unfinished, but about 2 or 3 weeks of playing will get it close to the TE-52's neck with the exception of the filed edges. You will have to do that yourself, although I have played Fenders with worse necks than the TE-30. Also the TE-30 has a thicker bridge, but it's not an ashtray type, and it does not have string through body. It also does not have a skunk stripe or truss rod rosewood like insert so it looks like a plain neck. The TE-30 has a beautiful ASH body still though, I got lucky and got a ONE piece and the other was a 2 piece also centered. If you are wondering which is better, the TE-52 is better than the TE-30 in every aspect. If you want a guitar to upgrade, the TE-30 once fret ends have been filed and string through holes drilled, and pickups replaced would be as nice as the TE-52. It's ASH body and paint job is just as nice.

TE-52 NA Vintage

everything is fine only very hard

Great guitar

Great guitar. Period. Not great for the money, just great.

I couldn't stop playing it after I got it. It's got a nice chunky neck, but still feels very "fender" with the C profile. Frets are alright and my only tiny nitpick would be that they sanded the edges of the fretboard & frets in a way that left a clear line along the edges that is not even and stands out against the lacquer. This is to be expected with such a low cost instrument.

It's superb !

I cannot believe how good this guitar is when you consider the price. Mine was perfect straight out of the box, no sharp frets, no marks / scruffs etc, the intonation was spot on as was the action for me personally. iIt plays so well and the tones are amazing.

I honestly can say I have not found any of the faults that some have mentioned in other reviews.

All I can do is to say if you are in two minds about buying one ... don't be just do it and I am convinced you will be so pleased you did. Oh forgot to mention mine took less than a week to arrive from Germany and that's fast !

The best Tele for the money

Played great out of the box! The fret ends were a bit sharp for my taste buy an easy fix. Other the that small fix (happens with all brands) I love it. Fie Stars all around.

A GREAT guitar for a budget price.

Overall this guitar is great for the price, the finish on neck and body are really good colour with nice wood grain, the neck shape is good even for my small hands.. The Hardware is good for the price, Tuners stay in tune, the controls function adequately, the Pickups are good for the money It did require a couple of tweaks, action lowering, nut slotting, fret polish, Still an amazing guitar for the money.

An excellent option for a '52 style tele

My main goal when purchasing this was to downgrade my current model telecaster as it wasn't getting used very often. This more than did the job. I was expecting something reasonably playable which looked like a tele and was in the same general ballpark tone.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the instrument I received. The quality is certainly high enough to warrant gigging the guitar (I did, less than a week after it arrived) and tonally, it does exactly what a telecaster should. Sure, there are a few finishing issues here and there but nothing noticeable when you're playing (maybe the frets could be polished a little more, but that'll sort itself out with playing). She's got it where it counts, kid!

Held tuning fine, sounded great, neck was incredibly comfortable, and yet cost less than 10% of my previous model. Also, an honourable mention to the new HB logo. A big improvement over the last one and adds a touch more authority to the instrument.

Much more than I was expecting. Well done HB!

Best price / value ratio.

Mine came fully setup, and I was quite surprised when I realized, that the frets were leveled correctly.

Cons: tuners. But hey, this guitar cost a dinner.

There is no other match for the price! Fantastic finish, clean, crisp sound and nice setup from the factory.

This is the guitar to get

A couple of decades ago I treated myself to a Fender American Stratocaster and a couple of days ago I received my latest acquisition, a Harley Benton TE-52. So how do these two guitars compare? Apart from price they both appear to be in the same league.

Quality is very similar. The Fender has better tuners and is constructed from 2 symmetrical pieces of alder while the TE-52 is constructed from 3 non-symmetrical pieces of ash disguised as a single piece from the front of the guitar. Playability, the TE-52 is better. Tone wise, they both sound good but different.

A while back I replaced my strat pickups with something more to my liking but the TE-52 pickups sound pretty good so they will be staying. Both guitars arrived intonated and ready to play. Both had good necks and required no fret work. I replaced the TE-52 saddles with brass compensated ones that I now realize weren't necessary. However, it does look more like a 50's tele. As for cost, the TE-52 is more than 5 times cheaper than what I paid for my strat 2 decades ago.

Bottom line, even if you can afford to pay more why bother. This is the guitar to get. Why pay >X5 for the name on the headstock!

Excellent little guitar.

I find this to be a beautiful looking guitar, even nicer than the pictures on the website. It has a nice bright t.style sound and if this is what you are looking for you will not be disappointed.. The details and features are equall to many more expensive guitars and I would certainly rate this as the best value for money guitar of its type. I am more than pleased with my purchase and would highly recommend this to anyone interested in or thinking about buying one. I can not find any faults with this guitar, it's perfect. So all that's left to say to any potential buyers is Go for it.

Amazed!!

Out to box this guitar was amazing. The set up was perfect for me. I've paid a lot more for guitars that can't touch this one. The sound and feel are great. I can't put it down.

Solid, I would gig with this for a lifetime.

This guitar is my first tele style and I am pleased to say the least. Action is good ,play ability is stellar. I am amazed...It is also great looking!!

Head shaker

When you get this you will do a lot of what the title says.

It's unfair to compare these against their mega-bucks counterparts, so we shouldn't do it. Harley Benton guitars deserve to be judged on their own merits. At £120 your value for money is obvious, at £2. 500 value for money is not very clear. This telecaster is an excellent guitar, the price tag is a big bonus. I have 30 guitars, most have had expensive upgrades, even when not required. my wallet says it's time i altered my strategy. As with all low cost guitars, the weakest point is the electronics, cheap moving components will fail sooner or later, and with that in mind i will upgrade the switch, pots, capacitor, jack and wiring, everything else is good enough to keep, it will still be a great guitar. The changes are not vital, just advisory. Only nit-picking but the timber suppliers seem to be cutting the wood differently as the grain seems to be side on now rather than on the top, but still nice.

Give this Guitar a shot before you spend even 199.99 on a Fender!

im a hobbist as far as guitar player. I ordered a road worn fender and was disappointed with it and returned it. I saw this guitar in youtube and it seemed to have quite a few good reviews so i figured what the heck! I was impressed with the fact that it came from germany in about 10 days. The guitar is really well made. Out of the box it was only 1/2 step out of tune. Fit and finish was good. Neck is a tad thick but after you play it for awhile you will never notice. I found myself really looking to find faults, but for around 145.00 shipped i couldn't. Dont expect a American Fender and you will be pleasantly surprise.

Love this guitar

This guitar feels great, I?ve had it for over 12 months now and it is wearing nicely, I seem to pick this guitar over the others I own. I would highly recommend this instrument no matter your standard.