Harley Benton TE-52 NA Vintage Series Reviews

Great Tele

I didn't have Tele in my collection, but I was never a really fan of it, didn't want to spend a lot to Fender, so got this one. I liked it a lot. The guitar is heavy. Really heavy. About 3,95 kg. It's not a bad thing, depends on the usage, but it should be noted.

The sound is classic telesound, frets neede polishing, tuners are not the best but ok. Neck is thick, but not chunky.

Great deal!

I never had a Tele and this is very comfortable to play, sound good, a little heavy, but great guitar!

The best guitar for this price

I really love this guitar. Sound so clear and bright, have a long sustain. And assembly is very neat. I'm really like it.

Great guitar punches well above its price point

Arrived safely, no damaged. Fantastic sound. Once setup to my preference it was a joy to play. I tend to find you need to spend a good few hours playing a new guitar, get familiar with it. I made some adjustments to the pickup height and the poles,.I prefer to try get the most out of the stock hardware if possible and rarely see the need to change.

heavy, but solid

The key thing here for me is the neck, which is really nice. Slightly thicker than a typical modern fender 'c' shape, it's got a nice satin finish to the back, the frets are level and dressed not bad, they don't catch you at all, and the nut is cut well. It looks really good, too. Pickups (electronics in general, really) could stand to be replaced, but once you do you have something really very comparable to high-end name brand guitars of this style at a fraction of the price.

Awesome for the money.

I was totally amazed at the build quality of this guitar. Flamed maple 22 fret neck, flawless finish to the body and acceptable hardware. The neck pick up is superb, but the bridge is a little too bright for my taste. Overall a fantastic guitar.

Ok guitar

The finish is great. Playability needs a hell of adjustment to make it normal. Action is extremely high, and when set to normal starts fret buzzaing. Had to trim the frets. For sound i dont know, since i replaced the pickups instantly with dimarzio twang kings.

If the urge for a butterscotch tele brought you here, you're in the right place

Like many people, I was caught by the trend of this type of guitar, but for me at a time in which I had not planned to budget for a guitar purchase, but could just about justify a one off purchase of under €150.

Features - It's got all the things a telecaster has - more than just physical. It's ability to stay in tune is almost uncanny, just like I would expect from a Telecaster. The electronics are still quite after 15 months, and the turning action of the pots is nice and heavy. I do like a heavy knob.

Sound - This guitar's sound for sure carries traits of my idea of a telecaster sound. In your bedroom, you can get that twangy sound, right up to the quacky sound. With it's stock electronics though it's not useful in a live situation, where it sounds weedly. I give it 4 stars though because I had no higher expectations, and with a bit of investment, this guitar will turn out to be a fantastic platform for modification.

Quality - Again, I think 4 stars is fair because the parts that matter, the permanent parts/ traits are decent quality. The things that can be replaced easily are not so high quality, but I again, I had no other expectation. I think if I were to replace the pickups, and the nut, I would have a decent guitar. And the intonation screws heads are completly stripped - I adjust them with pincers. I'd probably invest in a new bridge entirely at that point.

And maybe new Tuners.

Here you can see me demonstrate it with my band! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qQW2Z10s2c

Buy one!

Purchased this to have as a kind of “parlour “ guitar! One that sits out permanently on a stand next to my amps, easily accessible without having to fear if it gets knocked over! It will be used as intended but I am simply blown away by the quality, finish and sound of this little guitar - how do they do this at this price point? There are many reviews out there about this one and some raise concerns about certain features, I’ll try to address some of them. Firstly the weight? yes it’s heavy but really not a major issue for me. It actually adds to the quality feel of the guitar. Secondly the pick ups? Really, unless you are a pick up “affectionado” these are perfectly acceptable for 90% of normal players use. In fact they are close to original vintage ‘52 specs, which is exactly what this model tries to emulate.

Thirdly, the machine heads? Obviously not the most expensive ones but they work well and are well suited to this guitar. Finally the Nut and Fretboard radius? The Nut does it’s job well and the larger 350mm radius, for me, is actually better that that of my Fender Stratocaster and Fender Telecaster. I guess both these last points are totally subjective ! I would definitely recommend this little guitar and I now fully understand what all the hype is about. If your contemplating getting one, do it. You will not be disappointed.

Awesome Guitar!

I got this guitar after doing some research and discovering Harley Benton. I was in the market for a Tele and didn’t have that large of a budget. I didn’t expect much but it delivered so much more than I had anticipated. It looks and sounds great for the price point. And feels great too, albeit a little heavier than my other guitars.

This one's a keeper!

I've been playing for over 30 years and worked at a major guitar manufacturer's Custom Shop in Nashville for 10 years. The TE-52 is a beautiful guitar. Aside from having to polish the frets, and setting it up to my liking, it was great right out of the box.

Great surprise

Being new to Harley Benton guitars I truly did not know what to expect. The TE-52 NA guitar arrived earlier than expected and was flawless. The set up was good only needing minor adjustments for personal preference. The overall quality is very good, great value for the money, and the sound is outstanding. I am really impressed with this guitar, so much so that I've already placed an order for additional Harley Benton products.

Awesome!

The guitar came set well out of the box. Strings needed some tuning and it was ready to play. The action wasn't very low, but perfect for comfortable playing.

The sound given by the pickups is incredible for a guitar of 140 EUR, surprising all professionals listening to it. It has a 100% Telecaster voice.

The tuners hold the tune well and don't need replacement, unless someone prefers other types.

The body seems a little bit heavy, but comfortable and the natural grain gives a special feeling and connection with the wood/instrument.

The neck is slightly on the thicker side, although not too thick and is quite easy to play.

Overall this is a guitar which will satisfy any Telecaster lover as well as guitar players of any level.

Solid Purchase great value

If you want a Tele this is a great guitar to start with. Its real quality for very little money. No obvious corners cut. The neck is a vintage profile and I am not fussed about that. I like the solid feel and the weight of the guitar.

I have a Squire Tele and it was a disappointment until I changed the pickups. By contrast The pickups are OK on this but if you want a stonking Guitar this is where I would at least change something. However I have not investigated yet but my Squire had 500K pots not 250K and this lifts the treble. I also fitted a new neck pickup and a treble bleed mod and now I got that deep Tele scoop sound which I love. That Pickup was £13! and transformed the guitar. The std pickups are better than the Squire pickups so unless your wanting to make this into something up market therte is no need. I have kept it standard for now as it gives me a slightly darker Tele sound and that has different creative influences. This like every Harley Benton I have purchased became my go to guitar. So I would say for a beginner or somene who wants a Telecaster this is the best all round value on the market.

Good guitar!

Very good tool. Good quality! A little heavy, but I really like it.

I did not think that a tool of this class could be so cheap!

With it you can make small improvements to turn it into a professional tool! That's cool!

Very impressed

This is my third Harley Benton and once again I am very impressed with the overall quality.

I like to put my own mark on my guitars and all the mods I’ve done didn’t really need it, it’s just my own personal touches.

Setting up needed a bit of work, truss rod needed a tweak, and I’ve cut the nut slots a bit deeper as the gap on the first fret was a bit high. Might replace the nut at some time.

Fitted Kluson tuners as the ones fitted had some issues.

Fitted Bare Knuckle Bootcamp pickups, with CTS pots, switchcraft jack, CRL three way, orange drop cap and a Wilkinson bridge with compensated brass saddles.

To fit the CTS pots, you’ll need to drill out the holes in the control plate and the CRL screw holes need a bit of a tweak.

Body and neck are great, it feels quality. Heavy guitars don’t bother me so the fact this one is north of 9lbs is fine.

Frets we’re a bit scratchy but after half an hour of playing they are fine now.

With all the mods I’m in to the TE52 for around £360 including purchase price. That wouldn’t even get me a Squire Tele which would still have cheap components that would need to be upgraded anyway.

In my opinion, these are great guitars and I’m more than happy to gig with any of my HB guitars. If you want a Tele to complete your collection, I think the TE 52 is definitely the way to go.

Just wow

This came perfectly setup no issues sounds amazing she is heavy but I love that and pickguard came with light scratches but it's a pickguard lol but this guitar is same as a made in Mexico tele new main axe for sure

HB TE52

Whole lot of machine for the money.

Plays well out of the box

excelent for the price

Bought this T-style guitar, so I would have two completely different guitars with different tuning and pickups. I haven't played any other telecasters or T-style guitars, so this is new for me, and it's hard to compare to anything.

Overall you get, what you pay for, and even more. It's a good quality guitar with good sound and feel right out of the box. Frets didn't have any sharp edges, and feel quite good. Probably some extra fret polish would be preferable, as well as intonation adjustments, but overall it's good to go.

About the looks - the neck and head looks just fantastic! Such a beautiful piece of wood and silky smooth. I wish I could say the same about the body. I'm not a snob about dents and scratches, because instruments have to be played, not held in glass container, so I don't mind a small crack in the finish, and few dents in the wood underneath the finish. They are barely visible, and, probably, after a while, there will be more from wear and tear. However, I have mixed feelings about the finish on the body. It looks really thick and depending on lightning in the room, change the overall look.

It's a budget guitar for beginners, but it has potential. Really heavy though.

In conclusion - 5 stars for the price and overall quality

It's Ok

For the price it's ok, it plays well and looks cool, nothing really wrong with it. It's quite heavy and a nice round neck profile. It just didn't sing for me, I was looking for a snappy country sound, but it just didn't "snap" or chicken pick the way I felt a Tele should, I could have changed the pickups but i felt the body just wasn't resonant enough to get the results I wanted from it.