Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley Reviews

Best Sounding Strat Style Pickups

I have had 5 different Strat’s including a 1993 MIM that I bought new back then and still have. I put in a pair of Fender noiseless into that one, and still didn't like the sound. My Squier Vintage modified even though it came with Seymour Duncan designed pickups still didn't sound as good as this one. The tone in these Roswell’s are just right. I love having the humbucker in the bridge position with the split coil option. Strat’s are known to have a feeble bridge pickup, this one doesn’t yet maintains that clear tone when it split coil mode, and gives you that extra bark and bite in full humbucker when you really need it. The extra high gain in the humbucker really makes your pedals come to life.

This guitar stays in tune really well as long as you don't use the tremolo bar, unlike my CST-24T which appears to have the same bridge but gives you a perfect tuning even when using the trem.

Clapton is famous for putting a wooden block in the tremolo cavity because he wanted to maintain that unique sound a Strat style guitar has, while maintaining rock hard tuning stability. The springs in the tremolo really enhances the unique Strat tone.

When doing bends playing leads the guitar stays in tune, and does so especially well if you tighten the trem bar in the back all the way tight, and tighten the 6 screws holding the trem bar down on the guitar.

I was surprised to get a guitar with a fit and finish done so well for this kind of money. I put it on a stand, and it looks so good, I can't help but pick it up when I walk by and play it.

It took some setting up however. Unlike the CST-24T that came superbly setup right out of the box, this one took some tweaking to get it right which is usually standard fare with any new guitar.

The frets are smooth but using a fret rocker showed me that several of them were a tiny bit high next to the others. Consequently, I could only get the action with zero fret buzz very close to the 2/32" gap I prefer between the bottom of the string, and the top of the 12th fret. I mean it was only a hair over that. Of course, a fret leveling would perfect that because the fretboard itself was perfectly flat; that would make this guitar a rocket ship, and for the price you could afford to even have it done and still be way ahead of the game. Very few guitars come without at least one or two frets a tiny bit raised.

I love the design of the headstock. I like it even better than the ones on my OEM Strat’s. So overall, the fit and finish are superb, it plays wonderfully, and stays in tune really well, and that is saying something because I am checking it with a Peterson Stroboscopic tuner. I love being able to make full note bends for example on the E, B, and G strings and it comes back perfectly in tune.

Considering the price, this is a mind-blowing guitar. I have been playing it more than my CST-24T and I don’t know why. It's currently my pet go-to guitar out of my entire collection.

Far better than expected

Excellent guitar. Far far better than what I expected. The action was perfect. Came almost perfectly setup out of the box. The only issue I had is with the tuning pegs but they are just fine and does the job. Swapping them is a luxury. In my opinion the guitar was heavy and had a bit more darker tone to it when compared to standard Strat which I liked a lot. Awesome guitar. Undoubtedly excellent value for money. and most importantly, the Black Paisley finish is beautiful. Completely satisfied with the purchase.

Nice Guitar for my Studio

Just to have an additional tonal expression I got this Guitar. The Humbucker (switchable) in the bridge extends the classic sound of the Stratocaster design. De paisley design is a bit fade but still nice. The playability is quite good. I had some struggle to get the neck adjusted but now it plays well. The finish is nice and accurate. Overall I can recommend this guitar.

Great guitar

I play on this guitar about one month and very like it, awesome sound and design!

buy this

I bought this guitar as a whim of curiosity.

I am extremely impressed with it and recommend it to both novice and professional. The tuning heads could be upgraded but they do hold their tune but are a bit cheap feeling and there's a bit of play in the keys on a couple of them. The neck is well made, well dressed and the bridge and pickups are very nice. It's well worth the purchase.

Poor

Cannot adjust the neck to get a decent action , its either 5mm or fret buzz

Very Unique and awesome Axe!

This guitar is awesome. I just bought mine this year and I love it! I researched it as much as I could before buying it. The neck is glossy so if you like satin you’ll have to deal with that, but I just love the skunk stripe. It is thin with a C shape profile which can fill your hand a lil, but the board is rather flat (12 inches) compared to the small radius of a vintage Strat, but very, very, quick for chords and soloing. The tuners are nothing special but they do hold a tune especially if you tighten the screw in the center of the knobs. However, that’s the first mod I would/will make with probably some locking tuners from Grover. The neck is amazing in terms of the fretboard (not rosewood, much darker looking, almost ebony, and looks dry out of the box, but that’s just the type wood it is) and the frets, although they didn’t come shining, were perfectly cut along with the nut which is perfect in terms of height and cut. Frets will need some polish! The nut may need some graphite here and there as it is plastic I believe. Eventually I might change it down the road but it’s not a big deal. The bridge is absolutely beautiful with a slight hint of gold brush on the saddles (very slight). I have it floating and it is just great for a good tremolo sound when you need it. No dive bombing though, but the block on the trem is one of the thickest I’ve seen. Note: the trem bar has a little tiny screw behind the bridge that you will need to tighten to keep the bar from falling out of its hole (took me a minute to figure that one out bc it doesn’t screw in like most trem bars... lol). There’s a tiny Alan screw provided with the guitar to adjust that. I want so bad to change the pickguard to either a light translucent green or a milky metallic cream white or gold to enhance the colors in the beautiful paisley finish. Any type of gold accents on this guitar would really enhance it! And believe me it really is beautiful! The paisley pattern is truly amazing and one of a kind that doesn’t really look like anything else to me that I’ve seen. In terms of overall color though it has more black on the body than I anticipated. Headstock is nice. The guitar feels very solid, a little heavy though at maybe about 8lbs - you will notice that if you like light guitars. But this guitar is not fragile at all to me. It will last for sure! Comparing this to other guitars from about $500.00 to $1,000 at my local guitar center, it truly shines imho. Just as good if not better than any Strat, Schecter, Gibson, Squire, or PRS in that price range in terms of quality and sound. You never feel like you’re holding a cheap guitar in your hands. I would not change the pickups either! To me they’re perfect for this axe. They have that glassy Alnico V pickup, Strat-like tone, but at the same time there’s something unique about it’s tone that I haven’t found in any other Strat-like guitar. It’s really subtle, but you can hear it when someone else plays it! There doesn’t seem to be any shielding which is really a bummer because there is truly a 60 cycle hum to these PUs, so get ready for that. That’s my next mod along with the tuners is the shielding! That’s about all I can think of right now. I wish I could have found a review like this about it before I bought it, but I’m very very happy with it! Overall this is a great guitar and I love my purchase. Still making up a name for her. Lol. If you like fender Strats, you will love this axe, trust me!

Stop Nit Picking Guys

We All Know that Pickups, Strings Machine Heads Knobs ETC. Can be improved so Go And Spend 3 Grand Then. and there will be something you don't like on that one as well. Trust me I know , That's the way Guitars are, we are all different people with different Tastes in things. some people like low action others High, some people like a chunky neck, others don't, All im saying is for the money guys you cant beat it. If you have a few skills in setting a guitar up then theres no problem ive been playing guitar for 40 years. I Bought this for Home use Only In My Studio and was very impressed. Straight out of the box the Action was very good, But I did tweak it a little as I like really Low Action. Id like to see a Smaller Neck some Day on these Guitars about a 40mm Nut with a Softer C Shape profile ( That's just my preference ) The Quality of the build of the guitar was Insanely Fantastic Overall for me Just Fantastic value for the money Coil Taps As Well

N-icy

very happy with this guitar plays well sounds pretty amazing to and is well made no blemishes or marks fret edges were perfect, (some reviews of HB guitars do mention the fretedges being sharp).

The only gripe i truely have is puttin g the coil tap switch on the volume pot, makes it difficult to switch it on or off without accidentally adjustting the volume as you have to pull it n push it, it moves, there is a reason other manufactures place the coil tapping in the tone pot.

Perfect guitar for daily use.

I've been playing this guitar every day since I got it a couple weeks ago. I keep it right next to my desk, ready to pick up.

So far I'm still impressed with the quality. The fret ends are smooth, no sharp edges. The finish on the neck and body are great, no flaws. The tuners hold tune but they aren't the most responsive. You can turn a couple mm before the actually engage but they are a lot better than on the cheaper Epiphones like the express and junior series.

The sound from the pickups is good enough. I prefer my humbuckers a bit hotter but they're ok. Especially at this price. A loaded 'brand' pickguard costs the double of the entire guitar.

Setup was decent out of the box but I had some small tweaks done to get it just right. The D-string however keeps generating a buzz, even after adjusting the thruss rod.

Overall I'm impressed with this Harley Benton. So much I bought a 2nd HB ST today. In my opinion they're are on the same level as my MIM Fender which costs 5 times more.

Great 'bang for the buck' instrument

First Impression:

Solid feel, nice build quality and finish (that Paisley decal...), no cheap feeling whatsoever. Neck is lacquered but isn't sticky.

Setup:

Action on the nut is a bit high but acceptable. String action at the 17th fret was on the high side (~3mm+ for low E). Was able to bring down to ~2.2mm for low E and ~1.75 for high E, anything lower will unfortunately require a fret level on my sample (to be done in the near future) as it starts buzzing quite a lot for GDAE strings. Frets also required some polishing. In the end I guess fretboard state is a bit of a lottery and considering the price I'm OK with it. Tried couple of more expensive Squiers that were not much better in that department.

HW:

Trem looks nice with proper block (not a light thin stuff you may find in this price range) and holds the tuning quite well. Stock tuners did the job just fine, but I replaced them with HB Locking Tuners (same 10mm bore, no need for re-drilling). Tone/Vol knobs are smooth but aren't the lightest to turn.

Sound:

Sound is better than I expected and, at least for me, better than pricier mid-range Squiers, but YMMV.

Summary:

Quite an impressive instrument for the price which I'm happy to recommend (especially if you get one of the better samples) and

with some TLC+DIY (if you're up to it) can become 'a killer' one.

Nice guitar

Nice guitar to play, but the tuners need to be replaced, unfortunately the quality is not good.

But for the money, it gives you good sustain, good tuners (Rosswell) and beautifully made.

Pro : good sustain, very good sound, nice with the push/pull selection

Cons : tuners are not good

Good value and a few problems

Good guitar, straty sound an good looking.

Mine got a few problems. The nut is craked in the border of the low E, the tuners are not very good and the frets are very rought. I will solve those problems but the nut usue is not aceptable as the frets.

In gereal is very good

Dig the Paisley, man !!

The first thing i check out on this guitar was THE PAISLEY PATTERN..Classy. The next was the bridge Humbucker. Powerful, but not over-powering and "splitable" A nice addition to the usual "Strat" tone, which are well reproduced by the Roswell's. The Ovangkol fretboard was new to me, and had a couple of dark patches, which looked like grease marks, but i think that's in the wood. It gave it a worn-in look, which is fine. This a very comfortable instrument, with a lot of tonal variety, wonderful Paisley Artwork, and is a joy to own.

Pretty axe!

Much have been written already but my 2 cents....

Craftsmanship flawless, neck, body - perfect.

Strings can be set really low with no buzz.

Tremolo and tuners are...well OK for this price.

Roswell pickups are IMO the weakest part. Humbucker sounds great but single pups are low Q sounding.

Thinking about replacing the whole pickguard for EMG SRO ST11-B.

Buy one, you wont be disapointed.

great!

Update: 1 year later, still a great guitar, but the pickups sound terrible, they are Wilkinsons though, so newer Roswells may be better.

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I got 2 Harley Bentons about a month ago.

This strat was in great condition/build quality out of the box, but required serious setup, the action was super low, with lots of fret buzz. The setup was a little tricky, due to the bridge/tremolo system being a bit crappy. Had to have the action quite high in the end to avoid buzz, but still a great guitar and plays fine. I do like the fact you can coil split the humbucker. The tuners are a little on the cheap side, but nothing terrible. No sharp frets or any imperfections besides tiny aesthetic ones, eg a tiny dot in the finish.

Im no expert so I couldnt tell you how they compare to an expensive Fender version, but for me, for the price, they are incredible. I do love the paisley look.

pros

coil split humbucker

cons

tuners, tremolo, bridge all a little cheap.

1 of the tuners is slightly misaligned, purely cosmetic.

TLDR: for the price, im more than happy.

A HB ST-70 Black Paisley Beauty

I live in the central US... I ordered this guitar for a buddy of mine. From Germany, it took 2 weeks to get here...which is pretty much the average time of all my orders, which is good. I must add, this was during the Christmas season also... They arrived in great condition.

Right out of the box, we tuned it up and started jamming. While I think it is a little more for country than rock, it's a good guitar. The weight is lighter than expected, likely because it's basswood. The pickups aren't the best, but they aren't bad. If they aren't your thing, you can change/upgrade them quite easily.

The only issue I can think of is that the intonation wasn't very good. Both it, and the neck, needed a little adjustment...which, many guitars are like that when first ordered. A lot of the time weather conditions can play all sorts of havoc on a guitar, so if you order one, and it seems to be having issues staying in tune...check that out before passing judgement. Once both were adjusted, it played excellent.

If you really like the looks of this guitar, it's worth getting. If the tone isn't your thing, it's an easy fix. I have a video on youtube where we play it right out of the box. You can see it close up, and hear out it sounds. This may be your thing! Thanks!

Love it!!

After watching Nick in the States (YouTube channel to see what an inexpensive guitar was like. This one is more than twice the price of the most inexpensive HB ST but you get the Wilkinson pickups and trem plus a very beautiful Paisley finish. It's a fun guitar and it has that ST sound with some extra punch from the humbucker. The frets are nicely finished and the tuning pegs feel good as well.

So what's the difference between this and a guitar that costs five times more? Well I only have two other guitars, but both were pretty expensive when I bought them 35 years ago ('79 Takamine Acoustic and '82 Ibanez AR 105). First thing I noticed is that when looking carefully at the finish it has some texture, unlike my Ibanez which looks like glass. At this price point I doubt there is enough clear coat to buff. The next thing I noticed is that the nut can catch your finger. It needs to be shaped a bit near the high E string. As others have mentioned, it looks like they don't condition the fret board so a little "Wax and Feed" will be applied. The volume and tone knobs seem stiff compared to my old Ibanez, but they are functional. The pick guard and pickups are protected by a plastic sheet and it seems that you have to remove the mounting screws to get it all off. Lastly the action is a bit high.

I've only spent a few hours playing it and I can't speak to how well the trem system keeps tune, but like I said at the beginning, it's fun to play. I didn't have a thousand bucks laying around but I wanted that Strat sound and I'm not disappointed. I don't know if they let us amend these comments, but I'm confident that after a proper setup this thing will be pure joy. And it really is pretty in person. They changed that cover shown in white here on the site to black which is much nicer. It's early to tell but I'm sure there will be more HB guitars in my future. If you can do without the Paisley and want to mod something, you may want to buy an even more inexpensive HB, but I had to have the Paisley and luckily I really like the sound so I won't even bother swapping out the pickups.

Amazing Guitar

What can I say , looks amazing. plays great, thought this would feel so cheap but , was I surprised, Like all the bentons I've purchased, all I've done is oil the fret board as they seem so dry.

Only slight issue and I mean slight, The pick up haven't got quite the punch as the fender Texas hot pick ups on my previous Fender, but hey it doesn't carry the price tag either, Very very happy with this guitar.

The Guitar is very beautiful I got today, still not yet played which I will do later and lets everyone knows of what was my findings about the sound and other issues. Quality for this price point is top notch. For my experience the finishing on the paint is quite good, of course the fretboard needs to be oil and polish to remove the factory dust etc. I am going to replace the string tree with Graph Tech PT-7004-00 String Tree.