Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series 4-stars Reviews

Great player for the price

I love the look of this thing and it honestly plays as good as similar styles that cast 2 to 3 times as much. After a quick setup this thing plays great and I have no complaints about the quality and electronics.

It looks amazing

Great look, it could pass for a much more expensive guitar.... But when I tried to lower the action, I didn't realise that so many frets would buzz.... So, it looks like I'm going to be practicing how to level a fretboard.... I watched a lot of reviews on YouTube, but none of them had a fretboard as bad as mine so maybe I just received a bad one...

It’s good I think I need to change the strings for it to make the sound I want it to because I’m not improving atm and I bought this bungle about 7 months ago. It’s really good love my guitar a lot

It's GREAT! (For the price)

It feels good, whammy bar needs some setup, and strings could be better, but it's good :)

For the price I'm impressed

So this is the first Harley Benton I've bought and I bought it for my son who took a liking to my Fender Strat. At this price point I wasn't sure what to expect. Out of the box I was immediately impressed by the feel and finish and the weight and balance, this doesn't look or feel like some of the budget strat copies I've seen and played in the past and actually felt and looks really good.

Clearly some effort has gone into the setup as the intonation was quite good and the action very playable out of the box, no fret sprout or sharp edges along the neck, fit and finish is very good.

So although on the whole very good I do note some small things that needed some attention. Unfortunately the first time we put a strap on the front strap button just came off the guitar and it almost was dropped as a result, it wasn't a case of just screwing it back in as the screw hole was way too large for the screw so it had to be plugged and glued and then the screw had something to bite into and it attached fine and now feels secure. The frets themselves were dull and a bit scratchy when bending strings so a fret polish would help solve this. The only other thing I noted was the tremolo bridge was hard against the guitar body along it's back edge and not "floating", again a quick and easy adjustment.

The pickups are surprisingly good for this price point and the output clear and crisp with no undue noise on high gain settings, all the controls and the 5 way switch felt good and again no nasty crackles or pops when switching positions.

So overall this is a lot of guitar for the price that was very playable out of the box, yes it needed a few tweaks and the strap button repairing but nothing that would be beyond the scope of most players. If you're looking for a budget guitar that’s actually pretty decent then look no further, I've seen much more expensive guitars not be close to as good as this is.

Could be better

I bought it after being positively surprised by the sound of an Harley Benton bass of a similar price, but this one is a little pitchy. I don't have a super trained ear, but I could hear something was wrong when playing on specific frets. I checked on a frequency spectrum and I was actually right. Maybe it's only my guitar, I don't know.

Good begginer guitar

If you are looking to learn and maybe play a couple gigs, this will do the job, the quality is good and setup was great from out the box, just needed to lower action from the bridge but the neck bow was perfect for a low action. You can get some variety of usable sounds but don't expect anything crazy, especially if you have paired this guitar with another HB cheap amp. Good enough for learning, good enough for gigging. This is the best cheap begginer guitar I would recommend if I had to.

The guitar in general is one of the best for its price, very cheap guitar and quite decent sound.

Stylish choice for $

Its honestly not bad guitar for its money, but of course you feel that its not something expensive, but at the same time there are much more guitars in this world that are much more expensive with the awful quality.

This guitar is perfect instrument for beginners.

Absolute banger

Great looking and even better value.

Great looking.

Good guitar for the money, not the best pickups or pots, and frets need work, but it is a great platform I will be up grading.

Great guitar for a beginner

Reasons to avoid: the action is a bit too high

tone knobs don't change much

strings broke after 2 months

But if you want to learn guitar definitely go for this one

amazing beginners guitar

this is my first electric guitar and its amazing, i would deff recommend this guitar !!

Good for the price

If you are searching for a guitar to start this is the one

Generally satisfied, but...

This is my first electric guitar. I have only played acoustic before. In general, very satisfied. Sounds great. The scale was immediately set up as it should. Only one serious problem for me, the springs that are located on the back of the guitar under the cover are rusty. A very unfortunate fact. I understand some possible roughness, unevenness (of which there are not so many), yet this is partly due to the low price. But here are rusty springs, this is a very unpleasant case. I understand that they will have to be changed immediately, since how long the tremolo will work like this is not known. I hope this is only a jamb of my copy, since in general I am satisfied with the guitar. To start playing the electric guitar - that's it.

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.

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.

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 !