Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series Reviews

Great guitar

Excellent guitar for first time users sounds great for just £88, shipping was great very well updated on delivery status 100% would recommend.

Black Beauty on a budget

I have imported four of these guitars to practice my set-up skills and know a fair bit about them now. Overall they are great starter instruments for beginners as well as great looking foundations for upgrading and modding for more experienced players. Would I go on stage with one, YES. Of course, at a 20 series price point there have to be compromises and you find them in the pots and guts of the guitar. Everything is absolutely functional but you can improve on the parts as and when you wish IF you wish. As a budget guitar it has budget elements but these are only one piece of the pie. The finish, the fretwork and the pickups are better than some 500-1000 dollar instruments, mentioning no names. You can't go wrong with these ST-20s. If you read anything negative about these guitars online then I strongly suggest ignoring what you see because simply put a 120 dollar guitar that looks and plays like this does is simply brilliant. It should not exist at this price.

Perfect for a complete beginner like me

I have never had an electric guitar so it took some time and research to find out what the knobs and switch could do. I found no defects or scratches on the construction and hardware. I like the matt black color very much. I tune it about every other day after clanging away on it for 20 minutes a day. The only thing I didn't like was the weight. It seemed heavier than I expected and wouldn't rest comfortably on one knee. So I crossed my legs and felt much more stable with the guitar resting on the upper leg. Some guitarists say that you shouldn't cross your legs but since my favorite guitarist Sophie Lloyd crosses her legs I felt safe enough. A firm recommendation.

Nothing to complain for the money

Frets need to be polished, neck is much thicker than I expected, but looks and plays very well.

Good guitar for it's price. It costs each euro you pay for it.

For sure it is not lixuary product. but it is made very acurately.

Good choice for begginers and home guitarists like me

My 5th Harley Benton

Clean bright sound

Quality was great few turns to truss rod plays like a champ beautiful finish worth more than the price with shipping !!

Just buy it.

Looks: AWESOME.

Sound: Sounds pretty good to me, dude.

Quality: If you work the tremolo a bit after some YT videos, it stays pretty much in tune!

The electronics I was told by a tech that are low quality, haven't seen/heard anything wrong though yet! And certainly not enough to give it less than 5/5.

This is a must buy guitar if you want a guitar with a tremolo, like me who only had a Les Paul.

Very good for the price but needed work

For $85.00 US, I don’t think you will find a better guitar.

I went to place an order for an HB35 Lemon Semi Hollow and happened to see this HB ST-20HSS SBK. I am not, nor have I ever been, a Strat player but I thought this 20HSS was really cool looking. I figured for the price, even if it was junk, I could hang it on a wall as art so I added it to my order. Well, this thing really surprised me.

When I took the guitar out of the box I was taken by it’s appearance. The red and black pick guard really went well with the matte black finish on the body, with just enough red so as not to be gaudy. The hardware, pickups, etc. all blended nicely giving what I consider to be a kind of a mean, “metal/shredder” vibe. Cosmetically, it was very nice, no major flaws that I could find. Of course you usually don’t buy a guitar for looks only so on to the mechanics and playability.

After a quick tune, it became obvious that more work would be needed to make this an acceptable and playable instrument. I had no illusions that an $85 guitar would be perfect or even close to really good so I expected to find things wrong.

The first thing was a rattle from the bridge. One of the intonation screws had backed out and was loose. No problem, I was planning on putting in a roller bridge anyway. Second, the nut was plastic and I knew that would get upgraded at some point, but upon inspecting it, I found the string slots were cut way too deep and the nut length was too short for the neck width. The plastic nut itself was 42mm long as stated in the specs but the width of the neck at the nut slot was 43+mm so the nut really looked like it was the wrong one for the guitar. Third, the frets were not even close to being finished. Unpolished and gritty feeling. Fourth, super dry fret board. This seems to be a common issue especially with budget guitars so it was expected. Fifth, the strings were so bad my fingers were black after a few minutes of playing. Again, not a big deal, I was planning on changing them anyway.

Okay, most of the “problems” were easily corrected except for the nut. I replaced the stock saddles with roller saddles. Rattle gone. The frets were all pretty level and there was no fret sprouting even though the fret board was dry. I cleaned and polished the frets and oiled the fret board. The neck was actually very good, no twists and straight with a slight relief. No truss adjustment needed. The tuners were pretty good, no backlash or slippage, and the pickups and controls were fine for me so I left them all alone.

Now, the nut. I don’t want to get into an overly long diatribe about this but if you decide to change the nut yourself you might want to know what you’re getting into. Removing the nut was no picnic. It was heavily glued in and removing it was a little unnerving especially for an amateur like me. I could have had this done at the guitar shop near me but I wanted to learn to do it myself. I got the nut out after spending about an hour on it (and trying very hard not to damage the neck) and found that the glue that was used had melted the plastic nut almost the entire length of the nut and that melted plastic was really stuck and embedded into the nut slot. After spending a lot of time, I got the plastic cleaned out, being very careful not to widen or deepen the slot itself. I purchased a Tusq XL nut which was well over 43mm long (remember, the original 42mm one was too short) and was also little taller than the original nut. A little fine sanding where needed and I got it to fit like a glove. I installed the strings and checked the string height at the first fret. Right on the money. Removed the nut, put one drop of glue in the middle of the slot, reinstall the nut and strings and done. Full disclosure, I did make myself a drink after that.

After making the final adjustments to the saddle and final tuning, this thing plays and sounds great. Stays in tune even after using the whammy bar heavily.

In the end, the price of the guitar (not including shipping cost) and the cost of upgrade materials came to around $140.00 US. With a little work, this guitar turned out to be a really nice, comfortably playing instrument. Definitely not getting hung on a wall anymore!

Great guitar

I was pleasantly surprised by everything I'm this guitar and I do not regret buying this one. Only cons are: when you unscrew the tremolo arm, small pieces of wood and sawdust come out with it, and the bridge pickup can be moved around a little. Everything else is just perfect for me.

You pay for what you get but its worth it

When I got this I had a few chips on the headstock thanks to good old UPS shipping. I noticed a few odd spots with the finishing job on the body and the neck but wasn't too upset about it. I was completely blown away at how very playable this thing is out of the box, but it's not perfect. The action was a little high for my liking, but the neck is really smooth and comfy, the fret work is pretty nice and doesn't feel like I'm sliding my hands across a grinder. Tuning stability is great and stays more in tune compared to my 900$ Epiphone Les Paul custom. I like the texture detail on the pickups nobs and switches don't feel cheap. The overall tone is pretty great. I would really recommend this if you're just starting out or even if you're looking for a decent strat without breaking the bank. Totally worth it.

best first guitar for beginner

this is my first guitar and its great! everything is well done!

Excellent for the price !

I have bought it for my son, it is very nice and smooth, the quality of material is quite ok, considering the price.

It has a pro aspect and is perfect compatible with HB 20R.

The only con is that the humbucker`s springs are not very tensioned, if I press on the coil, it balances towards the bridge and remains that position, does not come to center position. It does not seem to a functionality problem, is only visible.

Strings should be upgraded, the E low and A sometimes vibrate very annoying.

Overall, for a beginner it is excellent and for this price is best offer !

simply makes a better player

playing much better and smoother on these new models

Great deal

Bought it as an intermediate player. I was really impressed with the sound variety and the delivered quality.

So far, this is a must have guitar for everyone.

Completely blown away by this strat copy and the value. So much better than I was expecting for this price. Very beautiful and plays well

Entry level

Absolute steal for the money. Good base for upgrades

Great value

Beautiful design can't go wrong for the price

Great guitar for a great price!

Good time, everyone)

I have been using the guitar for more than six months, every day. Very satisfied, the guitar beats its price by 200+%

Pros:

* The sound of the guitar is good, singles can be clear and even overdriven, the humbucker in clean sounds very sharp, I personally don’t like the clean sound, but on distortion it works out for all the money, you can even wind up something in the metal genre, the sensors work out and don't choke

* Assembly quality, maybe there are differences from the release, but it came perfectly for me, without chips, without swims, the coating came out even, everything fit and without gaps.

*5 position switch works in all 5 positions

Cons: (relatively)

* I don't really like the matte surface because the hand does not catch on the deck for the first half hour of the game.

* Frets scratched hands a little, but after polishing and sharpening for 6 months they hold perfectly.

This guitar is a great option for the price, especially for beginners who want to learn how to play the guitar, it sounds good, is well made and can compete with $200+ guitars, I was very surprised by the quality of this guitar.

very good guitar for a beginner

I just started playing guitar, and this is my first guitar, it sounds very good with and without an amp.

5 stars!

Appearance is just great.

Appearance is just great.

After unboxing, they have minor scratches, the factory strings of the 9th are too thin for me personally, The guitar came with unprotected wrapping on the strings, completely out of tune, the 6th string is very difficult to tune, the pegs do not hold tension well. Small improvements will help because all the dachas are not critical. The body and paintwork is great, the neck is flat, the fingerboard looks good.

Sound Will