Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red Reviews

Awesome thinline Tele

It's beautiful and sounds great. My only possible complaint is that it has a relatively thick neck, but for the price, it can't be beat.

Great guitar punches well above its price point

Arrived safely, no damaged. Fantastic sound. Once setup to my preference it was a joy to play. I tend to find you need to spend a good few hours playing a new guitar, get familiar with it. I made some adjustments to the pickup height and the poles,.I prefer to try get the most out of the stock hardware if possible and rarely see the need to change.

In love from day one

What is there not to love?

Price

Quality

Sound

Shape

All of it is perfect

Almost perfect, but…

Beautiful guitar. Neck great. Frets a little gritty, but an easy fix. Electronics sloppily installed. Jack was loose, but worse was the fact there was no sound . Was able to find wiring shorted to the tone pot and repair it, but the average person would not be able to figure it out and fix it. Oversight that QC inspection should have found.

Awesome for any price

Don’t let the headstock fool you, this plays as well as any fender/Gibson on the market. If you’re a tinkerer at all don’t waste your money on the big name brands. This like buying a house with a good foundation, it sounds great stock but I’m always fiddling with guitars anyway so I’m not buying these for sound alone. I took of one star for quality and it really should only be a quarter of a star down, the fret ends we’re a little sharp up top but some steel wool took care of everything. Truly an awesome guitar and awesome company.

A Beauty more than skin deep.

P90, Semi-hollow, comfortable and easy to play.

Detail and construction was perfect - no flaws at all. This model has been around for a while and they have got it down to a T.

The P90s have enough growl and are not harsh at all when driven.

The nearest guitar I can compare it to was the Mex Fender 72 Thinline Tele I used to have. In constructional detail the HB is superior. Both sound good. The Tele had a very rounded neck profile which I did not like. The HB is flatter and better for lead play.

A different type of guitar well worth trying.

Good semi hollow guitar

Good finish and playable guitar.

Often used as a couch guitar unplugged where it really shines.

All frets and hardware well finished and functional.

Would recommend as a value semi hollow guitar.

Amazing guitar

I couldn’t believe how good this guitar would be.

Harley Benton, you did it again, and again, and again.

Thank you.

Crazy good for the price.

The P90's on the TE-90QM are superb. That's always a challenge on guitars, especially ones at mind blowing prices. Well the P90's on this one really deliver. I have a 1966 Fender Telecaster that my Dad had bought for me brand new back then, and I still have. I took a P90 off of a Gibson 1961-63 SG Les paul neck position, and put it center position on my Tele. The P90 on this TE sounds every bit as good.

It has a good feel to it, and the quilted maple on the top is not lacking an any way. I did have one problem with it, in that the toggle switch must have had some dust in it, because the bridge pickup didn't always connect. Some DeOxit without the oil is the cure.

So, overall, this guitar sounds good, looks good, and besides the cleaning of the toggle switch, everything functions beautifully. Highly recommended.

Looks fantastic !!

What a looker for price ...used on gigs ..p90s got a little squeely at volume and neck was a little bit unfinished .....but for price still a great guitar for a 1st/2nd guitar or a second guitar on stage ....good build quality ....i moved on to Fusion T and the fab fusion lll that ive used on all gigs since i got it

great guitar

nice sound, looking good,, well done. the finish is just amazing

Doesn’t get much better

For an entry level telecaster you really can’t get any better at this price point. Beautiful styling and finish. The only thing I wasn’t fussy about is the pickups but those can be changed.

Disappointed

The instrument will be in tune on say a G chord, but when you switch for for example an A chord, it is out of tune. It is primarily the G string. I took it to my tech for set up, and he advise me the fret where not laid correctly. Also, the tuning gear are very cheap. They are not accurate and slip very easily. Even after set up, the same problems exists. I am very disappointed. I wish it played as good as it looks.

What a beautiful guitar

The build and finish is excellent, really stunning. The sound from the P90s is great, from bright to warm and I cannot fault the tone or volume controls. There is an intermittent fault switching to the neck pickup which looses a star but the neck is a joy, quite a surprise at this price.

Cool

it's just a great guitar

WOW !!!

This guitar has become one of my favorites in my collection. The P90's have a wonderful tone. Playability and construction are excellent.

I call her "Ruby". What a great value !

Great guitar, but some shortcuts

First up, I really like this guitar. It's light, the neck feels great, and I love the color and vibe. I've gigged with it several times and gotten nothing but compliments.

That being said, there are a few issues with this guitar. The string ferrules on the back were installed by Mr. Magoo, as they're not in a straight line. Not a huge deal, but it's obvious it was done by eye (and not well). Also, the fretboard material has a rosewood color, but they stained the front of the fretboard black and left the sides natural. It's odd to see a black fingerboard but brown sides. Why not just leave the fingerboard natural? It would look better, in my opinion. But the black does make the MOP inlays pop, which I'm sure is the point.

Cosmetic issues aside, I replaced the tuners with locking Gotohs and leveled and dressed the frets. She plays awesome, so with some TLC this guitar is a winner overall.

So many good things

This guitar has a lot of good features. The sounds from the P-90 pickups are very useful. The guitar is very playable, the satin neck has a nice feel. There were only two drawbacks. The tuners were of a lower quality and should be upgraded. Also, the figuring in the pictures wasn't nearly as clear on my guitar. It was more of a nearly opaque red with just a tiny bit of grain showing through. But other than that it is a great playing and sounding guitar.

Fantastic Guitar

This is my favorite guitar, the quality of the build, the components, and the light weight are major factors. As an older player I need a light guitar and this one is my favorite so far from Harley Benton.

Hard to beat for the price

I own many guitars, from inexpensive to 4000€+ of value and top of the line series, and I must admit that for the price it is a really nice guitar.

I really wish I could have had such a nice guitar for that price when I started.

Pros:

- Slim satin finish neck

- Fret work is good, no cutting edges

- Decent nut

- Nice two piece top

- Decent wood

- Pearl inlays

- Large potentiometers

- Good strings

- Good stable tuners

- Setup was OK out of the box, but there was room to get the action lower and the intonation had to be perfected.

The bad:

- The "F" holes binding is really poorly done on the guitar I got

- The finish had small scratches here and there and fingerprints/grease

- While they sound nice, these P90 Pickups are microphonic...

They have to be replaced if you intend to play on stage or with a decent volume.

- The potentiometer shafts are too short for a hollow body!!!

This causes the inappropriate volume and tone knobs to mark and cut into the finish. Very bad. You will have to raise the knobs, change them, or change the pots to use them.

Some other thing to note, the guitar was sent without tension on the strings? Neck had to be adjusted

Conclusion, if you are a beginner, you cannot go wrong for the price.

Buy it, go to a luthier to do a basic setup, then learn to adjust according to your preferences.

I plan to use this guitar during shows and have no fear of breaking it or getting it stolen.

Would definitely buy again!

Harley Benton should make a more expensive model (400 to 500€) with better finish, roasted neck, better pickups, and other colors as well as bridge/tremolo options.