Harley Benton ST-20HSS CA Standard Series Reviews

nice strat for the money

decent quality, sounds pretty good as well

Learning curve

When I received this instrument - it had a little fret sprout - so became my learning tool - I purchased the tools and dressed the frets - [ I think that's the terminology ] I upgraded a few bits and now have a guitar, that has personality - and is my 'go to' guitar, that I use more than any others

Decent guitar for the price

It sounds good, it's cheap so I could afford it BUT it has some slight fret buzzing problems. One of the strings seems to buzz no matter what I do, I tried adjusting the action on it but still did nothing.

If you want a cheap first guitar I think it's good, finish looks good, the pickguard is a little rough but I don't really care about that. Tone knobs don't really do a lot and the tremolo is a little stiff (probably needs some adjustment) the bar sits a little loose in it. Overall everything else is good, it sounds good. I like how it feels. Despite it's problems it doesn't bother me because I was just looking for something cheap that doesn't sound bad and this was perfect for me.

TL;DR - some fret buzz and not that good tremolo but overall a good cheap beginner guitar.

nice guitar for the price....

... but needs a lot of set up effort

Great Guitar for such a low, low price!

The guitar is beautiful and the quality is outstanding. The tuners are a little ify, meaning you turn and it sometimes don't move for awhile. But what do we expect from a low priced guitar. It meets and exceeds my expectations.

Great guitar for the money

For the price i don't think you could get anything better than this guitar. A great guitar for a beginner to start playing on that doesnt want to go all in just yet. The finish on the body looks really nice, the candy apple red looks amazing. as for playability the guitar stays in tune surprisingly well even when using the tremolo. the fret ends were slightly sharp but not unplayable, and an easy fix with some slight sanding. There were also 3 frets that were slightly higher than the rest causing some fret buzz. After having sanded those down as well you can lower the action to about 2mm-1.75mm and have a really nice playable guitar. The pickups aren't the best but for this price point they do the job better than expected. The tone knobs arent very high quality since they dont seem to do anything as far as i can hear. But for a beginner that doesnt mind having to adjust the guitar abit and isnt sure wherther they will stick to playing it's a great buy to test the waters without spending alot.

good first instrument

Better than Squier affinity!!!

Fantastic first guitar

Wanted to use this for a while before writing a review as one of the main issues with "budget" guitars is their reliability over time.

This is far from what you would expect from a "budget" guitar, in that, it is so much better.

This would make a fantastic first guitar.

More than meets the eye

I own some really good super inexpensive Strat copies. This Harley Benton offering is one of the best. If you play Hard Rock, Blues, or Metal this is a fun guitar to have around.

The construction is solid and came perfect to the US. No issues but being shipped in winter the frets did pop out but it was the environmental conditions that caused it. Few weeks in a humidor sorted that out. The tremolo was a little stiff but the sustain is really good. Intonation spot on.

Sounds better than my Fender MIM TexMex. Neck and Middle PUPS are warmer and tone controls responsive. The Bridge is hot, on a clean amp set up to the point of break up; switching to the Bridge from single coil gives you that gain and volume you need for soloing. No boost or OD pedal needed.

Overall for the price it is a excellent guitar and value for anyone regardless of skill level.

Unexpected value

For that kind of money I will take that guitar any day.

Everything nicely packed with no chance to get damaged with normal shipping. Guitar comes with 2 wrenches, cable and trem arm. Finish looks better than on photos with zero imperfections.

Neck feels a little sticky(semi satin) so I will propably sand it down just because I like the feel of barre wood but for many people it will not be an issue. Neck is skinny so playing is very fast and comfortable with no frets sticking out. Tunning keys are much better than on my TE-52, they have no sluck and they tune pretty good, but changing to some brand stuff will not hurt. Frets ale leveled, even with pretty low action i get fret buzz only on low strings just because the strings are 9 gauge and they vibrate to much, 10 gauge eliminate that issue.

Potentiometers and swith works pretty good. No need to change. Same with pickups, for that kind of money they are more than good. Neck body connection is pretty good but my recomedation is to remove this plastic plate underneath metal plate just because guitar wil have more sustain. Jack is pretty tight but it is still better than too loose.

Strings are ok but my suggest is changing to at least 10 gauge cause 9 feels loose and they cut fingers pretty badly. And tone sounds just too thin.

Setup is mediocre at best, action is really high(you can propably play with slide) and intonation requires adjustment. Neck relief is fine.These things shouldn't take more than 10-20 minutes so it shouldn't be an issue since action is much more about personal preference. I suggest to other people to check if tunning machines screws are not too loose cause it is an issue with alot of guitars and it is like 2 minutes work.

Overall I am very satisfied. Components look cheap but they work great and craftsmanship is like on guitars 2-3 times the price. Strings sound weird and it's 9 gauge so they require replacement but that should be the first thing when you get new guitar.

Hi, I don't have this guitar anymore, my Daughter has it, i bought it as a beginners guitar, as far as i can remember it was a nice guitar to learn on but it did have sharp frets edges on it, but it was only a lot cost guitar, but not bad for the price...Yours Mr C. Wise

Excellent guitar

I bought this guitar over 12 months ago and it has been played on average 3-4 hours daily.

It stays in tune although I might add I tune my guitar before every session as the humidity in my room changes with the heating on a daily basis.

Very comfortable to use if you practise on your bed as I do a lot.

At this price point there is nothing out there that comes even close.

And I might add I've tried a few competitors.

At the price of £70.00 it is an absolute steal.

Buy one and you won't be disappointed.

Good for beginners or non-guitarists

I bought it for experimentation only since i'm not a guitarist at all. I found it with with a ground loop problem, i fixed it hanging a second TRS first isolating the tip and ring with a scotch tape then inserting it in the second ADC input and laying (fixing) the isolated side on a water pipe since pipes are a giant safe ground.

I Guess you can fix it with a D.I. box with a ground-lift switch or with a hum remover.

Let'talk about the sound: The picks are nothing exceptional, the second and 4th pickups are the more interesting and less noisy the other ones are good enough.

If your aim is experimentation or starting guitar studying, you want to take this.

Notwithstanding the cons i listed above, i'm quite satisfied with this guy. I don't need an incredible starting sound since i heavily process the sound.

another great deal

this guitar is great looks amazing... sounds great... feels great the price is really good for this guitar you.ll never beat it ...ive bought 6 harley benton guitars there all great value .if your learning or you have been playing for years you will love this guitar ...thanks again for your 5 star service and very fast delivery

Surprisingly good!

Sounds good, looks even better! Beautiful Candy Apple Red finish! As with most new guitars it took a little fiddling about to get it adjusted and in tune, but the pickups seems to be very nice sounding. Super value for the money!

A cheap wee gem of a guitar

I will admit - I bought this ST-20HSS for my young daughter on a whim, with low expectations given the cost. At this price point, it's usually a bonus if a guitar is tuneable, let alone playable...

My daughter was very specific, her first full-size guitar had to be red :). And on that front, this one delivers - the metallic Candy Apple Red finish is loud, sparkly and very well finished.

The neck is nicely made, with a satin finish that is easy for beginners to play. No flaws in the rosewood fretboard, no sharp ends on the frets. The truss rod also operates correctly. (That might seem an odd thing to mention, but I've seen cheap guitars in the past whose neck simply could not be made straight enough to be playable). To be honest, this neck is every bit as good as that on the "Deluxe Series" TE-70 I bought for myself.

In general, the hardware is OK quality - the tuners & bridge are nothing special, but work just fine, and the generic pickups actually sound pretty nice. The humbucker has more power and character than I expected, and the single coil & out-of-phase positions deliver the classic tones you'd expect.

The real surprise, however, is the playability. Following a full setup, this affordable little thing is buzz-free with nice low action (1.5mm/1.0mm @ 12th fret) and perfect intonation. It plays really nicely, holds its tuning, and sounds good. All in all, an excellent beginners instrument, and highly recommended - as long as you invest time or money in a proper setup when you receive it.

Harley Benton ST-20HSS CA Standard Series

i'm not a big fan of single coil pickups in the bridge position, but i do like the strat shape and sound form the middle and neck pickups, so i thought i'd give this a go and see how i get on, the color is really amazing and the neck feels brilliant, no problems whatsoever