Harley Benton TE-30 BE Standard Series

I always wanted a telecaster, but somehow never got one. Since I couldn't spend a whole heap of money on one, I kept trying out guitars that went somewhere around 250 euro, but I never found them likable, they never sounded like a tele should. So, after reading lots of good reviews, and having purchased a Harley Benton strat before, I thought I'd give it a shot, thinking that if it turned out to be lousy, it'd be a good modding base, but how wrong was I. This guitar is simply unbelievable, especially for a mere 89EU. Upon inspection, I could find no flaws in the overall finish of the guitar - the color looks great, lighter than in the pictures, creamy, very sweet, the neck is of a satin finish and is extremely comfortable, the tuners are alright, the spin ratio seems good enough, though I see why some would want to upgrade, though I would rather suggest trying rolling string trees first. But as of now, it stays in tune. The pickup switch feels cheapish, but it does it's job fine and it's not something that would bother me since an "upgrade" is very very cheap. Now, these things that I mentioned are absolute nitpicks, as the guitar looks and plays amazing.

Firstly, the neck - many that reviewed this commented on how fat or wide the neck is, ala the baseball bat neck. While it is surely subjective, I find the neck to be very comfortable as I dislike very thin, flat ones. It's similar to the HB ST-62 strat, but a tad slinkier, and feels much much faster. The satin finish is very nice and helps with slides. As this is my first guitar with a satin neck, I am absolutely loving it! The fret job is great, no sharp ends, everything is rounded off and such, really extremely impressive for this price! The only bit that was wonky was that the frets themselves weren't fully polished, but that went away after playing for a couple of hours. The leveling is astonishing, considering the price, no buzz, nothing. Also, the action was great right out of the box. I must be lucky or something.

Electronics - I have no quarrel with them. I quite enjoy the pickups, the middle position is very chimy and full, the bridge is biting, snaps right back at You, just as a proper tele should, and the neck is heavenly. I also should mention that it must be properly shielded because it doesn't buzz anywhere nearly as much as I expected, considering it's single coils.

Body - it's a two piece, and let me tell You, it's damn heavy. I don't mind it since I'm used to an LP that weighs a ton, but even so I was surprised since it weighs exactly as much as the full blown LP! I'm used to the weight and have a good back, but I can see how this could be an issue for some, so beware - it is darn heavy!

Playability - honestly, it's one of the best playing guitars I've ever played and I've been playing for over 15 years and played a whole lot of guitars. I bought this on the basis that my HB ST-62 strat was surprisingly okay, since I wanted something that would lay around the house, but Jesus is this nicer that the strat! The neck is miles away and overall it just feels good.

You may choose not to believe me, it might sound like a bought review but I absolutely swear that it is not so, it's just a very very good guitar. Maybe I lucked out and got the best one, I don't know, but once I've picked it up and plugged in I couldn't stop playing for a couple of hours! Very comfy, and startlingly versatile.

Overall - I honestly can't believe that I payed only 89 euro for this, it's comfortable, sound great, looks great too!
Would I recommend?

YES.

You'd be a fool not to get one of these.

After watching many reviews, I purchased my TE-30 as one of a batch of three guitars. (shipping to Canada is expensive but is one price for up to three guitars, so...) a SC 450 Gold Top; a TE-52 and this TE-30. The latter two are telecaster style guitars both with Ash body and Maple neck. Of interest to me was that, while the TE-30 is significantly less expensive than the TE-52, the basic construction and materials are the same. These are both quite heavy coming in at just shy of nine pounds each but I like the weight (for the balance) and the tele style, and so took a chance on the two. I was not disappointed. The TE-30 is a beautiful guitar. I checked first for shipping rash or other damage and there was none. (well done Thomann, CBSA, and shippers!) After a careful visual inspection and a quick tune, I verified the switching, volume, and tone pots. I found all functions on the TE 30 respond exactly like those on the TE-52. The electronics on both are smooth, predictable, and effective. The pickups are the same on both guitars and sound very good even against a traditional telecaster. I also found the volume level between the bridge and neck pickups to be well balanced with neither louder than the other at the same setting. So, the pickup resistances must be close which suggests to me a reasonable level of quality control at the manufacturer (which is a good thing). So, what are the differences that cause the TE-30 to be significantly less expensive than the TE-52? I have not yet had the pick guards off and so cannot speak to some possible difference in the switches or pots used but I can say both guitars respond in very much the same way and so probably have the same guts. There is, however, a very significant difference in the tuning keys. The TE-52 has very nice Kluson style tuners while those on the TE-30 are less interesting. While neither are top of the line tuners, (they cannot be at this price point) those on the TE-30 are just not as precise. They have a small but noticeable dead spot between tightening and loosening. Oddly, on mine at least, this is the almost exactly the same across all six tuners which suggests to me it is a design issue and not some random thing. To the positive, once tuned they do hold well. (I will probably change them out at some point though) The only other 'issues' I've come across so far are probably best described as routine maintenance. I put a quarter turn on the truss rod to address some unnecessary relief. The quarter turn did the trick so I know the truss rod is good. And, as with the TE-52, I set the intonation and lowered the strings to where I like them. Pretty routine stuff.

I find my TE-30 and the other two HB's I bought to be a truly excellent value. It will be interesting to see how well they endure over time. For anyone who may be wondering... Yes, if this guitar is ever stolen from me, I will absolutely buy another TE-30!

I've been a Les Paul user for years and recently wanted to diverge into the world of telecasters. They're known to be versatile guitars so why not give them a try. I didn't fancy splashing out big money in case I didn't like it so based on the reviews the TE-30 seemed like it would be worth a shot seeing as it costs less than ¤90! Here are my thoughts:

Service from Thomann:
The guitar was dispatched the next day after my order was placed. The delivery was took 2 weeks which is longer than I have experienced before, the package seemed to be stuck in the export centre for a few days but obviously Thomann isn't at fault for this. The guitar arrived very well packaged and protected.

Finish:
The first thing I noticed was the weight of the guitar. It's very heavy compared to other teles I've held. This isn't a problem though as I'm used to the weight of Les Pauls and it makes the TE-30 feels very solid and sturdy. The paint job is very decent quality. The colour is more creamy than the pictures depict with a nice, even coating of high gloss lacquer. The grain of the ash is visible through the finish which looks very well. The only issue is there seems to be a small pen/pencil mark on the wood that is slightly visible through the finish, but it's not in a noticeable area so it doesn't bother me. The pickguard is well made, fits perfect and not cheap looking at all. However it is not quite to my taste so I replaced it with a black one. Just to note aftermarket pickguards aren't a direct fit so a little trimming and re-drilling is needed. The neck and headstock are finished in a light coat of lacquer, this keeps the original colour of the raw maple and doesn't have a shiny tacky finish which I really like.

Hardware:
Firstly the pickups, they are a lot better than I expected and sound as a Telecaster should. The neck sounds fantastic both clean and distorted. The bridge is good too and works well with the neck pup in the middle position, but it's missing some clarity and definition, it's usable but I replaced it anyway. The bridge causes no issues and is totally usable but for accurate intonation adjustments it might be worthwhile to swap the saddles out which I plan to do eventually. The tuners are one area where cost-cutting is evident. These should be the first thing to change, I had to tune the guitar every time I picked it up, and they didn't turn particularly well either. Some of the screws on both the tuners and string trees were only screwed in half way which led to a lot of rattle, I tried to screw them in the rest of the way but they wouldn't turn and eventually the top of one rounded off.

Playability:
First off the frets were not good, at all. The strings grated off them when performing bends. A fret level and re-crown sorted this and it now plays very well. The neck is very comfortable to play and the guitar is well balanced both on a strap and sitting down.

Overall this guitar is fantastic value for money. The body and neck are excellent quality so it makes it an ideal base for building a superb instrument on. Obviously at ¤89 there have been some corners cut with the hardware but after upgrading the tuners, strings, bridge pickup, a set up and some other mods of my own preference I now have a guitar that plays as well as one 10 times more expensive! I highly recommend the TE-30 if you are willing to put a small bit of more work into it to unleash it's full potential.

Delighted with my Harley Benton TE-20 SB, I chose to try my luck again and get myself another “beater”. Just as I had promised in my TE-20 SB review, I went with Harley Benton again! This has given me a unique opportunity to compare my older TE-20 with my brand-new TE-30. Build quality wise, they seem to be on the same level, so mainly, what your extra 20 Euros get you (pricing at the time of writing) is an ash (as opposed to poplar) body wood, a vintage-style bridge (as opposed to a more modern one), a pearloid pickguard (although it is made of PVC, so it will not offgas like the celluloid ones), and a cheap cable (my TE-20 did not come with one). Some more minor differences are as follows: the TE-30 is noticably heavier, and its knobs are easier to turn than on my trusty TE-20. Now, you might ask, “How heavy is ‘heavy’?” Unfortunately, I do not own a scale, but I would guess that it is probably in the average Gibson Les Paul weight class. I have not taken my TE-30 apart yet, so I cannot speak about the type or size of potentiometers, the wiring, or the pickups. If I do take it apart, I will try to remember to update this review. Here, the comparisons end, and in the following paragraphs, I will focus solely on the TE-30.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that the color was not like pictured here (at the time of writing the review). And it is definitely not my monitor because I am judging the color in contrast with the pickguard. Here, the body of the guitar is quite noticably darker than the stark-white pearloid pickguard. It reminds me of the so-called Mary Kaye Strats, which were also made of ash, and whose finish was also called Blonde. My TE-30, on the other hand, is almost as white as the pickguard! To my fellow color nerds, the color of the guitar I received is not even like Olympic White (an ever so slightly aged white). It is closer to Arctic White (the whitest Fender color)! Yes, you can still see the wood grain through it, but it does not give off a “vintage” esthetic like these photographs do. It looks more modern.

As to the quality, the only components that let this otherwise great guitar down are the tuning machines. While they hold tuning just fine, I can feel that the machining of the gears inside is not the greatest, and because of the ratio, it takes some finesse to hone in on the pitch. I believe, if Harley Benton upgraded them, this guitar would rival instruments costing a few times more. Everything else is perfectly fine: the nut is cut better than on some Fenders and Gibsons I have owned; there are no fret ends sticking out; the neck pocket is, again, tighter than on some Fenders I have seen; the potentiometers turn without any “scratchy” noise; the pickup selector feels solid; the output jack spring grips the plug firmly; the pickups sound exactly like you expect a guitar that looks like this to sound, etc. There are only a few relatively minor cosmetic defects, such as tiny scratches in the finish (which, in most lighting conditions, are all but imperceptible thanks to the white color), a few tuning machines being fitted slightly askew, and some of the holes for the screws having been drilled at an angle (which is something I have also encountered on Fenders). Even the setup is superb! Usually, cheap guitars feel as if they had been set up for playing slide, but on this one, the action was even a little too low for me. I can only imagine that for “shredders”, it would probably feel like heaven. Understandably, the frets are not polished, but they do not feel “scratchy” either. The neck is highly subjective, of course. I have large hands, and I could play this TE-30 just fine. I wish it had a slightly thicker neck, but then it would not fit most people. Maybe it is just me, but it feels slightly fatter than the neck on my TE-20. But it may just be variation due to them being sanded by hand.

An interesting detail: even though the bridge on my TE-30 is, as it is usually referred to, top-loading (meaning that the string ends are anchored at the bridge instead of being threaded through the body), there are holes in the baseplate of the bridge, and they are drilled into the body as well, just not all the way through! I guess, it is to make the conversion to string-though-the-body design a little easier.

All things considered, it is a great guitar and an incredible value for money. I would especially like to commend Harley Benton for not skimping on the setup! Yes, the looks, and especially the sounds, are really important, and impressive specifications can win over many a guitarist, but Harley Benton understand that most of these budget guitars are purchased by beginners who do not yet possess the skills necessary for setting up a guitar, and not all of those beginners have the money to pay a professional luthier. This is why they do their best to make even their least expensive models ready to be played comfortably (and intonated) right out of the box. Because of this, whenever someone asks me what is the best budget guitar for a beginner, my response is always Harley Benton.