Harley Benton TE-30 BE Standard Series Reviews

Unbelievable Value & Quality

Being a long time Les Paul style player and fan, and owning a Strat already I got the itch for the Telecaster experience but didn't want to break the bank. At this price point, I honestly didn't expect too much but I am blown away with this guitar. Fit and finish are flawless, and the guitar was set up almost perfectly out of the box. I had seen some complaints of harsh fret ends but the fret ends on this guitar are rounded beautifully and are extremely comfortable to play. The pickups are a little dull although they do the job and some folks may not find a need to change them out depending on their own needs (i'm putting a hot rails in the bridge of this guitar but that is purely down to preference). I could find no dead frets / fret buzzing etc all the way down the neck. The frets are also very big (I was expecting thinner/medium frets more like a traditional Strat) but personally I prefer the bigger frets as they can give more expression and vibrato.

I've seen some reviews mention how enormous this neck is - I don't have the biggest hands in the world at all and I find this neck quite slim, certainly nothing most people couldn't navigate anyway. Hardware seems basic but again, does the job well and may not need to be changed out either.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this guitar especially for the money. It is perfect for someone just looking to get the Telecaster experience for very little expense, or possibly a more experienced player who would like to use this as a base for a project, its a solid guitar for all needs and you can't go wrong at the price point.

Very solid and worth the cost..

I was somewhat surprised when I got this guitar. For the money, I thought it would be a piece of crap but it is built well and plays nice. You can't go wrong on this.

good guitar for that price

for that money cant find better guitar

Noice!

Not too bad,for the price its a wowsy good guitar.especially since it's a telecaster.

Decent for the money

good points : looks great, has the typical tele sound

Not so good points: It is heavier than i expected and i expected it to be heavy, Nut slot was marked but not cut at all playing open chords made it way #sharp, normal tele nuts will not fit as the radius is so flat and do not match, tuners some good some very tight and notchy so do nothing then jump, saddles down as low as they go and action is still a mile high, neck is dead straight no relief even after adjusting the truss rod just stays straight, needs some work which i will do in time but in no hurry, over all not bad think is a coin toss some are great guitars from other peoples reviews and some not so

Amazing for the price

It's not the real deal and the sound it's just not good enough for more serious application, but wow! Amazing value and really fun as a first t-style guitar. It actually looks really great and the woods seem to be good quality. With a good set up and new pickups this guitar could really fly!

TLC will make this guitar melt your heart

After some slight fret sanding and new strings, this is my favorite guitar to play. Its HEAVY, but its incredible.

Excellent

Excellent guitar for the money. The only cons i can think of is that its heavier (in weight) than any other guitar i have.

Cheap and really good.

It's not a mex. fender or a squire, but it's 80¤ anyway. Sound is good enough, and the whole material is fine.

It's really heavy, more than 4,2 kg.

Very beautiful body

I really was very impressed by the beauty of this body, solid ash (3 or 4 pieces) and the finish is absolutely flawless.

The neck is very smooth, but as others have noted the frets lack polish. Mine seem to have tool marks as well. There were no sharp fret ends and I found only one or two high frets with a quick rocker check. Action is a little high before getting some fret buzz on the low E from about the 7th fret on down.

Pickups are cheap ceramics, and will be swapped out soon. I have already added compensated saddles and new super slinky strings. She plays beautifully.

A very good value, as just about everyone seems to state, 'for the money' ... I wish I had just spent a little more on a model with Alnico pickups, and better tuning machines from the outset.

nice purchase TOP

VERY NICE GUITAR FOR THE PRICE ! TOP

Unbelievable value. Really good instrument.

Great fit, finish, and playability. The build and playability of this TE-30 is every bit as good as the 80's Fender Telecaster I already own. The ash body is HEAVY (7 lbs) and that makes for a killer tone, provides a lot of sustain, and more of that classic tele twang and "spank" so that for these past several weeks that I've had it I find myself going to the Harley Benton first. This is quickly becoming my favorite guitar. The PU's are great and sound true to the classic tele sound, the hardware is fine, the wiring is solid, and tuners work as the guitar stays in tune even after I been bashing on it for several hours. The tuners could be a bit smoother, but for the money? ... NO complaints! I couldn't be happier and I'll be buying more Harley Bentons.

UPDATE: I finally figured out why I like the TE-30 over my Fender tele. It's not only that the TE-30 is everything that a good tele *should* be, but it has a larger radius than the standard tele. Fender teles have a 9.5" radius, and the TE-30 has a 12" inch radius which for someone with large hands makes for a better playing, better feeling instrument. With the flatter 12" fretboard of the TE-30 I don't experience hand fatigue, and bends are far easier to execute. I'm now thinking of selling my Fender (which has been sitting unused since) and using the money for more HB's!

TE-30

The TE-30 was my first telecaster. I received the package when I was at my office and I got quite surprised when I open it; the guitar looked so beautiful and flawless and I just wanted to go home to try it out. Later on, after playing a while I decided to change the strings I could see some scratches on the neck (which also doesn't look like very well finished); they probably came from the production process. Despite, the guitar is great, it plays well and sounds good but be aware that it will probably not be perfect (which is reasonable for this price).

Cheap tele

Didn't expect a lot from a $97 dollar guitar .... tuners are crappy , bridge pick up is crappy neck is ok .... guitar needs a set up ( fret buzzing) Build quality was decent ... only a few imperfections Neck seems a bit thicker than most teles but all and all it's a decent guitar for the money after some new tuners and some tone rider pick ups this guitar will be a definite daily player

great guitar. action was too high but that was the only problem

TE-30 Standard series

Seen many good reviews of Hartley Benton guitars decided to purchase the TE-30, also having previously purchased a Hartley Benton acoustic.

Pros:

Excellent construction and finish

Neck is satin finish/Natural and wider in comparison to my Fender strat. Assuming this is typical for a Telecaster design style for Country/Blues/Rock, and slightly higher string setup, perhaps for playing slide.

Electronics; Both Tone/Volume knobs work well - tone and volume change is clearly notably, Switch works well, Pick-ups; Sound very good, give typical telecaster country plucking sound/ Bluesy Led Zepp. Perhaps a more experienced telecaster player may prefer to change pickups

Play ability; Yes, the strings seems to be little higher. However no problem playing notes right up to the 22 fret, no buzzing when bending or plucking. Comparing to America Fender stratocaster.

Cons:

Advised to replace stock strings

Machine heads are ok, top E is a little lose not the best.

Tone/Volume knob do not turn level, when looking from side. This does not effect their function.

Heavy guitar with quality Ash body - this may effect some people - using a hardwood body comes with the advantage of chip resistant in comparison to Bass wood, Popular or Lime wood which is much softer

Conclusion:

Advise machine head upgrade, otherwise very good quality guitar.

If you are picky the pickup can be upgraded. Feel that the sound quality should be judged for it own and not how much it sounds similar to the original. Every guitar has its own individual sound.

Thumbs up.

Great guitar really happy with it really nice fretboard and all tuned up when I open it nice touch thank you harley benton the te-30 looks awesome and well worth the money I paid would recommend you to my friends. The case I got has lost of space to but my thinks in and a key too keep my too kids from opening it up

my best guitar deal ever

Simply said, this is the best guitar deal I ever made.

When I received this guitar and saw its one-piece massive body, I couldn't believe it.

Then the sound. This guitar has a sound which is brilliant and incredibly balanced for my tastes.

It sounds less costly than the wonderful TE-52, but, unpredictably, it has become my guitar of choice among the ones I own, for its voice plain and true.

How is this under 100 dollars??

I received my Shipment surprising quickly. It was a national holiday in the States and I ordered it the Saturday before the Holiday. My shipment arrived right around 13 days later. I opened the box and inside was a flawlessly finished Telecaster style guitar. The body was unblemished and the neck was straight. The frets needed the ends polished, but in this price range I've seen much much worse. Took about 15 minutes of work and now its smoooooth. Nice tones from the pickups,with good switches and pots. I purchased this as a base to mod from .. but I've found nothing that needs to be changed to have a very usable and great sounding guitar. I have plans to replace the pickups with higher output units, and locking tuners because I have locking tuners on all my guitars. I have no negatives other than its Heavy.. meaning Rockhard, dense Ash.. If you want lighter .. then choose a different model.. one with Alder or some other tone wood. I am enjoying this guitar as I wait for the replacement parts to come in. Oh did I mention.. This is a great color.. not one you commonly see from other vendors. Great Buy!!

The body was made of three well matched pieces. he finish was quite good except for a small blob of solid white paint beneath the clear coat. I bought the guitar to strip and stain, so it did not bother me. The body by itself weighs about 3 kg. The neck pocket fit was quite good. The pickguard is nice.

The hardware is extremely basic, as is to be expected for the price, but everything works as it should. It has a box type switch and 250 k mini pots, CTS pots wont fit unless the holes in the control plate are widened.

The intonation was spot on but the neck had a couple of high frets and the action at the nut was too high. I was planning on dressing the frets and replacing the nut with a bone nut from the beginning, so again, it did not bother me much.

The guitar is quite loud unplugged and sustains well, which is a good sign. The pickups do their job. ,There is no buzz even though the guitar is not shielded.

So, what is the verdict? Judging by other comments these guitars seems to be a bit hit and miss in regards to fit and finish from the box, but as a modding project, it is probably hard to beat. I would probably go for the more expensive HB models if my intention was not to mod it.