Harley Benton TE-62CC SP Reviews

Amazing value

I bought this as a back up for my American tele. Bang for buck is unbelievable. Only had one small issue, the neck needed a light sanding near the neck pocket. Easy DIY fix. Pickups sound fking great. Great tele twang on middle position. Shell pink finish looks beautiful. Holds tuning well. Looking for a tele but don’t want to spend a fortune? The buy this bad boy.

very nice feel and nice to play pickups are a bit sensitive to noises

Very good guitar for it price, especially if you a beginner. (It may be even better than expensive guitar twice it price or more.)

The one minus is that I got pickguard all in scratches, but it is cheap to replace, so no problem at all.

Great Guitar

Purchased this just because I wanted a vintage style pink tele. It looks and feels amazing with nice Roswell pickups. I really liked the vintage tuners and the caramelized maple neck, a steal for the price. The contrast of the shell pink with the mint green pickguard is also beautiful. Absolutely no problems whatsoever aside from some minor fret buzz here and there that can be fixed by a luthier.

good cheap tele

I wanted a cheap single-coil guitar and ordered this as I read that some of the ash-bodied HB teles can be quite heavy.

This one is OK weight-wise, although it's a little more Barbie pink than shell pink to my eyes. Really nice guitar otherwise, sounds like I expected, and the neck is comfortable - the finish on the back is nice and non-sticky. I think it's a 12 inch radius, it feels less weird than some strats&teles with a smaller radius.

Better than my last F Tele

Great feel and build quality of this Tele. Neck is perfect for my hands. Pickups are good but high standard aftermarket could be an improvement.

Unbelievable

I've had this for nearly a year now and I love it. The quality the setup the sound everything is stock..I didn't even change the strings for 6 months. Plays better then my USA telecaster and is my go to at home and on stage.

A real Tele but be prepared for the finish to distress

When I opened up this guitar I thought it looked fantastic and had a lovely light weight to it (I liked light guitars). I care about tonewood and usually go for alder/ash/mahogany but the poplar body has some good properties: it's as articulate as basswood, as rounded as alder but has done if the brightness of ash. Anyway, the Roswell pickups are great for cheap units. The neck pickup in particular has some sweet top-end to it that stops it from being dull. I use it in a covers band and feel no need to upgrade anything.

The bad-ish side is that the pink finish is thin and not very resilient. Surface scratches develop quite easily and neck pocket cracks appeared within a month. I suppose this means that the guitar can resonate and is no issue unless you have mild OCD like me! There neck is a great mid C profile.

Overall, This is a real Tele and strictly reminds me of the Brad Paisley Mexican Fender for much less money and a less garish paint job.

My new favorite guitar

I'm a pretty inexperienced guitar player, so first impressions really mean a lot to me. I was a bit nervous buying my first Harley Benton because I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of quality or value, but I am absolutely blown away with this guitar. The neck feels great, there were no issues with the paint or any of the parts, it all around feels like a very solid guitar on the same level as some of the more well-known brands I've played. I will probably end up replacing the pickups and pickguard, but for about $200 USD I am more than happy with my purchase. I will definitely be getting another Harley Benton guitar in the future.

A Budget T-Style Guitar That Exceeded My Expectations

I'm an advanced guitarist but I don't believe in spending thousands on big-name brands as the marginal benefit is so low the higher up you go (I am also an economist). That being said I was looking at an affordable T-style guitar that gave me the most value that I could upgrade down the line and learn advanced luthier skills such as fret levelling, etc (And to play math rock) and this guitar intrigued me. I had really low expectations because of the price tag but was very impressed with what I received in comparison to similarly priced instruments from Squier.

Positives

- The fit and finish are amazing, I love the mint pickguard and pink finish! But the pickguard is a lot more mint than in the images. 0 defects that I can see. My only complaint is one of the screws for the control plate was a bit too close to the cavity but no functional issues there. If I was being really picky, the pickguard edges and the bottom of the vol/tone knobs are slightly rough.

- The neck looks and feels amazing, and the fretboard edges also feel slightly rolled which was a surprise.

- No sharp fret ends and scratchy frets! I was surprised that they were polished pretty decently, it's not perfect but it's way better than Squier's for sure.

- Great tone, obviously not identical to Fender tele pickups but I'd say they are 90% there, I don't think they are ceramic either so I probably won't be replacing these soon!

- Very lightweight, the body is poplar and seems to be a few millimetres thinner than an actual tele body which I'm all for if it decreases the weight!

- The nut is perfectly cut

- Tuners honestly are decent, I really liked them

- Switch is decent as well, a little flimsy but not too bad.

- No crackling with turning pots, no microphonic pickups, awesome!

Negatives

- It came terribly setup out of the box, the action was a mile high but the neck relief was ok, just gave it a quarter turn and lowered the saddles so it was playable

- The strings on it were old and sounded terrible, I immediately replaced them.

- There are a few high frets so there is some buzz with my preferred action setting, but no dead spots no choking on bends.

- Intonation isn't great on the low e but that's a tele problem

- It has mini pots, GuitarGeek did a review for it and the model he got had full-size pots, not a deal breaker but I do feel a bit misled.

- Tuning stability was poor initially, but I used a pencil to add graphite to the nut slots and it's alright now.

- I can't lower the high e-string saddle height anymore as I reached the limit, it's fine but I would like it slightly lower, maybe I'll shim the guitar.

- Saddle adjustment screws protrude after setup, I don't mind it as it doesn't hurt but yet another tele design problem.

- It was 21 frets, I prefer 22 but it is what it is.

Overall a great guitar and for the price you can't go wrong but it NEEDS a setup, IMO all guitarists should know how to do a basic setup and if you're scared of doing it with your expensive axe, practice on a cheaper one! I'm pretty happy with it now but I'm planning to change the saddles to compensated brass saddles, get a tusq nut and level the frets. Maybe down the line, I'll replace the electronics. Giving 4 stars as I might've gotten lucky and your mileage may vary with cheap guitars so keep your expectations low!

Amazing tele

This guitar is amazing! Arrived perfectly set up. No sharp frets and flawless finish. The poplar body is very lightweight and resonant. I am a full time musician/producer. I grew tired of the poor quality and high price from the big brands. Then I found Harley Benton... am I glad I did!

This guitar is perfectly usable as is. I spent about another $250 Canadian to re wire, change pickups and change the bridge to brass. The stock pickups are just fine though! Wonderfully vintage voiced. I am changing for my own preference. The stock wiring and bridge are also a ok. I just don't like pcb switches as they are not as durable as their traditional counterparts. I play, at minimum 8 hours 6 days a week.... that's why I changed to more high end wiring.

This tele in my opinion sounds better and plays better than its US made variants, STOCK and unmodified. The price point makes it a fantastic modding guitar. I highly recommend!

Beautiful guitare for the price

looks really nice and sounds good out of the box

Blown away by this guitar

I ordered one of these, with a healthy degree of scepticism. If seen the reviews online (mostly good) and thought I'd take the plunge. I got sent one, which was lovely, sounded great and felt good. However it weighed a hefty 4.8kg. I decided I couldn't gig with that on my shoulder so I sent it back and ordered another one, since wood can have a natural fluctuation in density. I got a second one (this one) and it sounded great, felt good and weighed in at 3.4kg. Happy days!!

The fingerboard could do with a better finish, but the neck itself is fast. The pickups are outstanding at this price point. The switch and controls and good and responsive. The tuners hold well (better than a squier imo). Great strings. If I had a niggle, it would be for a wider fingerboard, I run out of space when bending. But it plays well. The nut and saddles are functional. Probably will upgrade these at some point. The electronics and soldering look tidy. The finish is flawless. The weight balance seems optimum. Honestly, I feel like I owe someone some money, what a steal!!

The most naturally resonant guitar I own

I bought this TE-62cc shell pink tele expecting a starter guitar for my Daughter. I thought based on the cost that if she didn’t like it or something happened to it, no big loss. I completely changed my mind after a simple set up and protect and love this guitar as much as everyone of my other guitars more expensive guitars. It sounds and plays better than my other single coil Teles and became my go to guitar when I want to mess with peoples minds because of the resonance and pick up strength and clarity. I have found that this is more versatile and bold sounding than I was even prepared for. I break it out as my sleeper guitar and let my friends play it all the time. They can’t believe the roasted maple neck, that there are no sharp fret ends, the tuners work well, the fit and finish is superb, and the body feels balanced in the hands.

This can be a starter guitar because of the price, but it surpasses that category by far. I encourage everyone to try it.

90% of the T tones at 10% of the price.

I cannot find a single fault. Its astonishing. On par with 500 quid guitars

Very recomended

Good build and soundng guitar

Bargain price for the guitar

So much better than expected!

Honestly, I was blown away by this guitar. It needs a new set of strings and a setup, but nothing outrageous - I did it all myself in about 15 minutes. One of the best guitars I've bought in years. Took it into my office and nobody could put it down!

The roasted maple neck is a highlight - worth it for the £140 alone. I guess if you wanted, you could change pickups/hardware etc. but I haven't felt the need in the last year. It stands up on its own.

Get one - just to have one. That's what I did and I haven't looked back.

Te-62 as a beginner

Beautiful finish and looks, but for me as a beginner impossible to get in tune. High action and after some adjustments i had a terrible fret buzz. Takes me to much time, going to send it back. I have a second hand Guild starfire setup and bought from a luthier. So problem is I’m comparing it to that perfectly tuned guitar.

Nice lil thing

Looks - it's amazing. The work on this is very well done and it looks stunning. No corners cut there and the craftsmanship is of what you would expect from a more expensive guitar. The only thing is the pick guard - it will not be white but lime green (you can always replace it so it's a minor thing). I ordered it for the color alone for my collection and I am happy with it.

Feel - there's some fret sprouting, action needs adjustment so while it's playable out of the box, needs some additional work to make it better.

Pickups - I would change them, although they do their work, it's not something I personally would drive as there's some quality loss in middle/neck pickups for sure. Bridge is quite okay.

Tuners hold up fine, stays in tune quite well and no issues here. Same is with the neck and bridge, look to be decent. But I will be looking down the line to replace them too (not a priority, pickups and fretwork are more important here).

Overall I would say it's worth the price (and even more so), I will be modifying and doing proper setup with luthier, as I see that this could be one of my main guitars given the good feel of the neck. It's just the pickups and minor fretwork that needs to be done. Oh, and for sure, please change the strings, oil the fret board as well and make necessary adjustments - this guitar is worth the additional investment to make it as good as 4-5 times more expensive guitars. No brainer, ideal guitar for backup or why not for even one of the mains if you are willing to adjust it to your specifics a bit!

Does everything a T-Style guitar should do

For the price, it is hard to believe how good this guitar is.

I couldn't find any blemishes on the guitar, the body is painted beautifully without any scratches or dents.

The neck is smooth with no sharp frets, and the roasted maple looks stunning. A neck like this usually comes with a much higher price tag. The satin finish makes it a pleasant experience, but it is a bit chunky if that's not your thing. It was set up well aside from the action which was high.

The weakest part of this guitar are the pickups, especially the neck pickup sounds a bit muddy. However, they are perfectly fine, especially at this price, and tinkering with the height could clear up this issue.

Overall, this is an incredible guitar for anyone looking for a T-style, from beginners buying their first guitar to experienced players looking for something inexpensive to gig with.