Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style

After seeing videos on YouTube and varying quality (it appears the T-style kits are the best by far, which will be my next purchase), I was pleasantly surprised by the entire kit.

Firstly the body. Smooth and well cut, it could have been left as is but the sealant had to go so I could prime it for painting. Sanding by hand using 120, 400, and 600 grit sandpaper as I went, the sealant varied from very little along the back and front to seemingly truckloads along the belly cut. Still, when I couldn't get anymore out, it didn't look too different and I couldn't see any defects. Although the painting process would reveal some anyway (sanding and spraying over the two sections along the back resolved that).

The neck feels extremely smooth and shaping the headstock didn't take long (cutting by hand with a Japanese saw). The frets felt smooth enough out of the box that only an absolute perfectionist would be sanding and polishing them. More importantly, they're also level. Which happily saved me some work! :)

The pickups are decent ceramic ones without much in the way of breakup at the extreme ends. Functional and certainly on a par with guitars that use ceramic pickups from any brand that cost upwards of £200 (depending on how cheeky the brand is). If you want Alnico pickups, either buy a prebuilt Harley Benton (from £110+), a Kramer VS-211 (£109+), or buy a set of Alnico pickups either to immediately replace or later on down the line (set aside £20-£30).

The tuners are much the same as any inexpensive electric guitar. They work and, with the guitar setup properly, stay in tune. Although locking tuners would be advised at some point.

The same can be said for the strings, good enough for setup but I replaced them with a set of 9s I had laying around (budget Johnny Brook brand but they sound better to me).

The real joy though is having a guitar that you painted and put together without any need for soldering. Straight out of the box, you could have this all put together in about an hour or so - although if you're going to be painting this, obviously expect to add days to the build time to allow for adequate drying time as you build up the layers. Paint and lacquer (or clear coat if you go with that instead), expect to set aside around £15 or monetary equivalent for primer, main colour, and lacquer. Of course. if you have unused paint/varnish laying about...

Overall, I'd say if you're willing to budget about £50 extra to cover any tooling and materials you'll need, you'll have a perfectly playable guitar that will not look like any other and, provided you can play well enough, will impress all around you. Expect to tell the story of your kit build many times over! I built this for my sister for her to learn to play guitar on. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I get requests...

I give this kit 4/5 overall - but the enjoyment I derived from the entire project means it gets top marks 5/5 from me!

My 10 year old son saved up to buy this kit to learn to play guitar. Making it himself makes it far more valuable than any guitar he might buy off the shelf and also gave him an understanding of how it all works.

We were not disappointed with it at all. It arrived within a week of the order well packaged with clear instructions in several languages. Everything fitted absolutely perfectly first time, in fact the only modification we made was to re-cut the head into a ?Fenderish? shape but this is optional and it could be left as it came. The wooden parts were in very good shape as they came out of the box, the body and neck were given a super fine sanding before spraying, but I would always do this even if they looked 110%!

The neck needed no straightening at all and when completed, all we needed to do before he could play it was to set the intonation and action.

The pick-ups and strings are not of an expensive quality but when he plugged it in I couldn?t believe the quality of the sound, after all this is a guitar for well under 100 euros!!!

I would have loved this as my first guitar, I highly recommend the Thomann ST kit and I am now looking at getting myself the T kit!

Update 21/03/21: I was recently recording a track that required a single coil sound and my Tele pick-up stopped working the week before, so I thought I would give it a go with my son's kit Strat which still had the original 4 year old strings on it I might add. How shocked was I when the recording came out fantastic with only a small amount of added EQ. It sounded exactly as a decent Strat should. Another good point was it held tune incredibly well though I didn't use the tremolo at all. Just to be clear, everything on this guitar was original as it came out of the box, nothing was upgraded or changed. I was impressed with this kit 4 years ago, but even more so now!!! :)

Ok, 3 months since I assembled it, so I can finally give full review.
First of all, its not an IKEA shelve, you will need more that just a screwdriver. I had to shut down 1 hole that was screwed wrong and make a new one, and internal cavities on a body needed some care, as they were really rough and could damage wires. Really, it looked like cavities were done with dull tools. The rest of assembly was easy. Neck is really well-made, has satin finish that feels nice in hand and doesnt slow you down at all when playing. I would say its worth getting this kit just for a neck, if you need one for a project. Worth mentioning that when it came, fret sides were perfectly smooth, but after 2 weeks in a dry climate they started biting, so I had to sand them down a bit. So if your neck will come with frets sticking out a bit, don't blame the factory right away. Electronics are soldered well, but pickguard needed some adjustment to make space for neck and tremolo. Can't say anything about tremolo system itself, as I blocked it right away, Eric Clapton style, to increase sustain. Body surface needed just a bit of polishing, it has natural finish which I kinda like so I left it unpainted for now. To drop the string action I had to remove the nut and sand its bottom down, but it allowed me to get strings down to 1.2-1.5mm above 12th fret(from thinnest string to thickest). Overall it was a lot of fun to assemble, and I definitely bonded with my guitar after that. It makes me pick it up and practice more. It has nice glassy sound that strats should have. After 3 months still everything is fine, neck is straight, guitar holds tune well. That's all about my experience with that guitar kit, but be wary that all kits can't be exactly the same. Mine wasn't perfect, but good, and all problems were solveable, so I rated it 5/5 considering the price.

I started learning the guitar about 18 months ago and had always wanted to build my own and as I already owned a Les Paul I thought I would go for the Stratocaster. I am so please I did and so please I came to Thomann. When my parcel arrived I was impressed on the way it was packaged, the product was well protected and the packaging was sturdy. I was not in when my kit arrived so was left with a neighbour so when I saw the massive dent in the box I was a little concerned about my purchase, however because of the packaging the product was in perfect condition.

Ok on to my actual review, I was pleasantly surprised when I began to open my purchase, the parts were of a very decent quality for the money, yes there is better out there, however for the money you pay for this item with Thomann there is no way you are going to get a better deal. The body of the guitar is already treated so take note that you HAVE to completely sand it down if you are colouring it, little tip for you I used cheap black ink and it worked an absolute treat. The pickups, tuners and strings etc are all very basic, however as previously said very decent for the money. The construction of the kit was as simple as simple could be, basically you bolt everything together and fit all the electrics, bridge, pickups etc. couldn't be more simple as all the electrics don't need any soldering as they are already done and all you have to do is clip them together and hey presto your guitar project is done.

One thing you will have to research on is the actual setup of a guitar because when I put my kit together the strings just laid flat on the guitar neck and could I get it right no I couldn't, well not until I went on the internet and researched about guitar setups. My action and general setup is now just fine, so don't worry if you come across the same issue, just go on the internet and research guitar setup for dummies and you will find all the info you need.

My kit made guitar is never going to be a Fender Strat it was a project for me that I am now very pleased with and you know what I can always look at it and say "I made that" Please ignore people who complain about pickups, strings or the quality of the wood on this kit, I seriously don't know what they want for this kind of money, a beginner / first timer will not be able to tell the difference, yes I can tell the difference now however this kit is well worth the money and was great fun doing it. If you ever fancied building a kit guitar I urge you to just go for it.

Test fitted it and it is a very decent kit. (EDITED COMMENT SEE BELOW)

Neck is very nice, though some fret sprout is evident. The edges of the fretboard are a bit sharp so I am rounding them off a bit. Neck is dead straight nice quality frets. Really great quality neck overall.

The body is a nice 3 piece one. I did need to sand inside the cavities as there was a lot of splintering of the edges of the pickup cavities so having some files is handy. (again this is not a complaint, the kit is 77 euro and mine was on sale for 60 so I really don't mind for the price, happy they payed more attention to the outside than the pickup cavities) . The important bit, the outside is very nicely done and seems to be completely ready for spraying. Nitro Daphne Blue...

The only thing I don't like and will adjust is the bridge drill holes.
I can visibly see that it is slightly off when bolted down.
After measuring I saw that there is 1-1.5 mm difference of one side of the bridge to the other causing the bridge to be slightly slanted. Due to the fact that I can't unsee this....I will fill 5 holes and redrill them. @Thomann, are there any measurements available for this guitar in order for me to double check it?
Overall nice kit, shame about the bridge though, but still recommended.
(EDIT: I contacted Thomann about some measurements for the fix and without me asking they are going to send me another kit, quite awesome customer service)

i bought this kit as a present to myself. i was a bit nervous about how it would work out, but the result is a great looking, customized guitar that i customized even more with fender custom 69 pick ups and a quite complicated wiring and push pull pots to connect the pickups in almost any thinkable way. maybe a bridge to far for an amateur guitar player like myself. but definitely fascinating to build and to play. sounds wonderful with my vox ac4tv.

i always liked Stratocaster guitars, but never really played guitar that well to buy one or vice versa. and i really disliked the red and sunburst colored ‘standard’ strats with their white scratch plates. at some point i started to dream of a stratocaster in walnut brown with black details, but there was nog really budget nor the need to buy a guitar.

at some point i was drooling at the Squier classic vibe 60 for it’s sound and affordability, at the Harley Benton ST 70 Black Paisly for it’s looks and absurd low pricing, and the USA strats for their legacy. while still being confronted with my empty wallet, i noticed the HB kit guitars and started to consider to buy one and make it mine, the way i wanted it to be.

after a bit of research online, i took the risk and ordered a kit with additional tuners and whammy block as upgrade (thank you thomann for advising that), a bunch of extra strings and many black replacement parts to replace the original white details. in the meanwhile i had found out walnut fender strats already existed and the idea that i was going to make such an expensive guitar on a tiny budget was quite motivating.

i spent days figuring out how to color and finish the guitar, get a good deal for used custom 69’s pick ups, and figure out how to wire them up in the most versatile way with push pull pots etc. i lost myself in the theory of wiring electronics, ordered some more parts and a soldering kit and soldered a totally new scratch plate with none of the electronics that were in the original kit. (the kit comes with a presoldered scratch plate loaded with all pick ups, pot meters, switches etc wired up). the result of my experiment was a guitar with a lot of possibilities in sound, but was not as easy to understand in it’s operation (and the pot meters seemed to turn the wrong way too) but after a while i found my way in it soundwise, even though i sometimes still think about simplifying the wiring scheme and removing the push pull pots.

i sanded down the body and neck to make the body brown with water based stains in a mix of a few woody colors and black. the sanding took some time, but the staining went well. it quite easily turned out as i wished, which was a bit of a surprise as i expected a long road to find the perfect color with a lot of hard-to-repair mistakes. it was almost disappointing that it was so easy. i used gunstock oil as finish. the result was great.

after i finished the woodwork, i replaced all the white details (scratch plate, knobs, pot meters etc) by black ones and there it was. my strat style guitar in the looks that i dreamt of with the pickups that i wanted and a nice sound that was still a bit to complicated to navigate, because of the advanced options that i did not really oversee when i was designing the wiring. ;-) but i liked the result.

funny thing was that it took a while to get used to this guitar and that i preferred my epiphone dot for quite a while. only after i bought a second hand vox ac4tv amp and connected it to my ST style guitar i got really hooked by it’s beautiful tone.

all together i can say it was a great journey to ’build’ this guitar. i made it a bit more complicated by replacing all the electronics and using stain and oil instead of lacquer. but in it’s essence it is an easy to assemble kit that you can turn into quite a nice guitar while having a lot of fun. definitely a recommendation for anyone who wants to make a guitar to his/her own liking and anyone who would like to understand (better) how a guitar works. it is great!

I was pleasantly pleased when I opened the box, didn't know what to expect at the price point of this item, I have built many kits over the last few years but this was the cheapest I dared to buy. The quality and precise workmanship, especially the neck pocket was absolutely superb everything fitted perfectly, etc bridge scale length, neck alignment, all the important stuff! I leved and dressed the fretts, but there was very little to do, I have leved every single neck I have had(as a kit guitar). Neck was very nice comfortable and nice to play, I have had so many complements on this guitar, don't know if I just got lucky or they are all this good, but I'll mlet you know, I'm just about to order a telly kit, I would also like to say how brilliant all the team are at thomann I can highly recommend them!

I really like the Statocaster body shape but did not want to build a Stratocaster! I carefully looked over the body to see what could be done. Mine came in 3 pieces of basswood, light yet resonant. Two parts had good grain match, the last piece was not- a solid finish it had to be. I sanded the cut contours to a deeper finish (forearm arm and rib-cage contours) and routed the pick up cavities to accept any pick up. I then decided to mount all the pu's at an angle, like the bridge pu.
I then designed a 3-piece mounting pick guard without the typically Fender jack socket plate to be a simple flat surface mount and rearranged the switch and control knob positions.
The headstock shape was next. After many drawings and a look on the net to see if I'd by accident copied any other design, I cut the profile. Also rounded the neck to headstock profile. Finished with amber tint cellulose it turned out very well. The maple even had some birdseye figuring! Frets polished and rosewood board oiled.
Now the hard and expensive part - how to finish the body? I went for midnight blue boat enamel thinned down and using a good brush...allright from a foot or more. Cellulose lacquer is expensive with additional postage charges and hard to get. It is also soft and on basswood will dent and scratch very easily.
The tremello bridge and tuners passed my 'fit for purpose' inspection and went on the guitar...stays in tune alright but both feel seem a little stiff when operating. Live with it. Pick ups are ceramic flat plate types under non magnetic polepieces and sound like an electric guitar! I am not a "tone" obsessive person. A magnetic field is just a magnetic field! In fact your strings are more important for a good tone. The magnets simply impart a weak magnetism within steel/nickel strings and then the strings vibrate...the moving field intersects the coil windings and that, folks, is the induced signal sent to the amp!
To conclude - I built the kit to look as different as a Strat could possibly be from parts that pass muster. The best thing is that the neck fitted the pocket nice and tight and the resulting combination resonates nicely with reasonable sustain and " twangy-ness"! Pleased by the result...

Bought it to make a relic project. Really well made for it's price. Specially the neck. It's straight, frets are not popping out, wood looks solid... Body is well cut and nicely shaped.

Cons:

- Hardware and electronics looks and feels cheap. Pickups sound ok, but not great. Will replace all of them anyway;

- Body material is very soft, so be careful with it!

- Most holes for the pickguard screws were drilled wrong, they don't match the pickguard provided. Again, not a problem for me, since I'm buying new parts anyway;

- The holes for the neck were inclined, making the neck plate look weird;

My suggestions for Thomann is to provide an undrilled and completely unfinished body+neck, so it's easier to build it with a more personal customisation.

Not just playing, but building up this guitar its a very great and relaxing experience that you are going to love it and do it again.. and again ... and then you are going to wish all the DIY kits that they have. And talking about the quality of the guitar, I am sure that you are not going to buy better guitar for this price and have fun as you would have with this one.. no matter is it a t-style or st-style or whatever else, they are all very good and everyone have its originality. So try it, make your ideas and dreams true or have a nice time building it with your friends...... btw every part on this guitar its from excellent quality (pot's, magnets, frets, wood, etc etc ....You have to try it :)