Harley Benton TE-20HH SBK Standard Series

I've owned a guitar of some kind since the early 60's, and a few have been Telecasters.

Until the last few years, I've never had the cash, or the talent, to justify buying a 'quality' US-made Tele, so they've all been Squiers (some good, some bad, and one 1989 Korean made gem that I'll never part with).

Then, around two years ago, I discovered Thomann, and Harley Benton guitars.
I caught the bug.

Although I kept looking at the HB 'Tele-alike' instruments (and as always was amaazed at the prices), nothing jumped out at me.
I didn't bother looking at the the more expensive instruments because to me, a Telecaster (or non-Fender equivalent) means basic.
Very basic.
I've always loved the simplicity : Flat, slab body, decent neck, pickups that sound the way they should, simple hardware that keeps going - decade after decade (if you look after the instrument).
The basics - but done well.

Then one day something did jump out at me - and it was this HB TE-20 HH BLK.

I suspect it was the colour and finish I noticed first as my brother-in-law had recenty bought a Charvel LP-type guitar with the same colour and finish, and it looked (and sounded) superb.
However, he paid well over £500 for the Charvel (and it needed 'work'), but I was looking at something under a fifth of that price - and if the reviews were accurate (as the Thomann/HB reviews invariably are) - was just as versatile and playable.
It was easy to confirm that - his Charvel was sitting on my workbench after being properly set up and having a string change (amazing how many players don't know how to change strings properly).

We played both guitars through identical Mustang GT40's (he brought his around), avoiding the things that the Harley Benton couldn't do - all that digital stuff, and push-pull pot setting trickery.
We kept is simple, and after a few hours both agreed that the HB came out on top.
Perhaps the clincher was the pinch-harmonics test. With the HB it was so so simple, but we both struggled with the rival instrument.
I've tried the same 'test' with my other HH guitars, and the HB wins every time - by a country mile.
In fact you'll find harmonics all over that flawless black fingerboard ! I don't know if the Thomann folk are aware of this added bonus, but for those of us who struggle with pinch harmonics, or harmonics generally, if what I discovered is 'standard', it could be another selling point.
I tried it on the neck, bridge, and both pickups, tone pot high and low.
Same results every time.

Another bonus is that on a clean amp setting you can find those typical 1950's/60's iconic Telecaster sounds - and that 'twang'.

And at the other end of the scale this guitar almost becomes the heaviest of all heavy metal beasts.

Inbetween the 'twang' and the 'metal' there are more pleasant surprises.

For example, the same Mustang GT40, but using a downloaded 'Comfortably Numb - Main Solo' tone setting, and yes - you can sound almost like David Gilmour (the 'almost' is because only David Gilmour can play like David Gilmour).

So, gorgeous finish, very responsive volume and tone, significant and positive differences with the bridge/neck/both settings (as we all know,
with some guitars costing five or even ten times the price, those diferences can be minimal).

Since the Harley Benton arrived, between me/my brother-in-law, and a couple of guitar-playing/gigging friends, we've compared my TE 20 HH with a Gibson Midtown and Les Paul, three Fender Strats, that Charvel, my battered but much loved and played Gibson LP Jnr, my 1989 Korean Tele, and a few others.

We all agreed (sometimes reluctantly) that compared to the above, this Harley Benton is either as good as, or is sometimes even better - but at a fraction of the cost.
Someone actually called it a ''Swiss Army Guitar'' because it was just so versatile.

Other points : Frets are perfect, tuners are excellent (so far - I know tuners are something that can deteriorate fairly quickly), pickups are better than most (unbranded but suspect Roswell).
The finish looks fantastic but could wear quickly. However this is a purely cosmetic thing.

Would I change anything ? Well, perhaps if the hardware also had a black satin finish it might look even better, but if we want the keep it at a very affordable price, I'd change nothing.

Please note that my opinion - and those of the others who helped - was done in relation to an entry-level instrument.
Over many decades we've owned and played hundreds of guitars, from high end familiar names to the very worst of the worst (ugly, badly made, and effectively unplayable instruments) that cost the same as this Harley Benton.

We think that the Harley Benton TE-20 HH BLK is much closer to the former that it is to the latter, and would be welcome in the hands of any player, from novice to professional.

Edit: Update after a few weeks' play and assessment - it's an excellent instrument for the price, but it has needed some work to get it there. The pickups are surprisingly good on such a budget guitar, with three distinct but balanced voices. High output but typical tele in the middle which is why I bought it in the first place.
The neck/bridge/action has been a bit of a mission - when I bought it the action was too high with almost no scope left to lower the bridge saddles. So, I did what I've done to previous Harley Bentons and took the neck off, added a maple veneer shim and put the neck back on, raised the bridge saddles and it has transformed the guitar. Now, it holds its tune infinitely better, and the action is perfectly low enough now to enjoy it. I also wire wooled the fretboard and frets, which has made it feel more smooth.
I would highly recommend this guitar if you are willing to put a little work into it - but, like every other guitar I've had to tweak, it feels more like 'mine' now that I've got it set up right.

Arrived after 8 days, so lots of time on the road, but it doesn’t seem to have caused the guitar much stress.
It was well-packaged, and once opened it looks spotless on first glance (I’ll need to give it a more thorough scan over tomorrow in the light).
Action was crazy high and so I’ve adjusted it down - it could do with being able to go a little lower for my taste, but there’s a buzz introduced, so I’ve got it as low as I can from the bridge. Neck seems nice and straight.
I bought a Harley Benton s-type years ago and had to add a neck shim to it - it might be that this guitar needs one too, but I’ll let it settle and see how it goes.
I bought it for the middle pickup tone and I’m not disappointed. The neck is really warm, possibly too warm for me, but the blend of both pickups is really excellent (especially for this price).
First impressions excellent - think I’ll enjoy this one :)

I'd been looking for an affordable HH equipped guitar for recording and this Tele style jumped right out at me whilst browsing through the Harley Benton single cuts. I'd always liked the Tele's looks and simplicity, but wasn't really a fan of that "twang". This one, however, with humbuckers and that stealth bomber finish (not to mention the extremely reasonable price tag) had me pulling the trigger without much of a second thought.

Thomson delivered the instrument on time and in perfect condition - a good start. I'm glad to report that things proceeded in an equally positive manner.
I'm old enough to remember the bad old days of budget guitars; terrible build quality, often poor and sometimes dangerous electronics, abysmal sounding pick-ups - generally unplayable instruments. There has been such an improvement during the last twenty years or so that my expectations were rather higher than they would have been back in the day, but even so I was almost shocked at what a good quality guitar the TE-20 HH SBK Standard is. I could have paid 3 or 4 times the price for this thing and still been happy with it. The guitar is very well put together, the finish is flawless, the electronics are tidy and properly installed and it felt fine and sounded great straight out of the box.
Don't misunderstand me here, this is hardly what one would call a "high end" instrument. But what you get for your money (£88 at time of purchase) is oustanding. After a minimal tweak to the action height she was ready to go. I'm properly impressed. The hardware is not top end, but it's sturdy and does what it's supposed to do. The tuners, bridge etc are fine, the fret job (something that *always* used to suck on cheaper guitars) is excellent, not a sharp end of mis-measured fret in sight, the tone and volume pots are smooth, noiseless and have the full dynamic range they're supposed to and the pick-up selector is robust and quiet. The neck is comfortable, with a pleasing chunkiness that I really enjoy (some might not, but that's a personal taste thing) and plays like an old well loved favourite. What struck me most though, was the sound. You get three distinct, useful voices, from a smooth, warm tone at the neck, a good, solid chunky all rounder in the middle position, to a bright bridge tone that'll cut through a mix nicely (you can even just about dial in yourself a Tele "twang" if that's your thing). I've no idea who manufactures the pickups, but they're pretty darn good at this price. If your preferred tonal territory lies in the high gain zone, you really can't go wrong although, with a little amp tweaking, you can find some perfectly useable cleans too.

Clearly this is a guitar aimed at the beginner but, and I realise I'm drifting dangerously toward what some might take as hyperbole here, it really incapable of holding it's own with more professional gear. Once again; I'm genuinely shocked at receiving what I had assumed would be a "project" instrument that could hopefully be turned into a useable studio guitar, only to find that it's unnecessary for me to change much at all (a replacement nut is the only upgrade I feel it needs currently). Certainly any beginner will find this an ideal first axe, but with a few little tweaks and maybe the odd upgrade, the TE-20 HH SBK is a good enough instrument at it's core to serve in a more accomplished players arsenal, as a mission specific recording guitar (as mine will) or back up for the stage. I haven't put it down since it arrived.

Drawn to this guitar like everyone else. Price and potential, for what you are paying for you are getting a good not great platform to swap out pickups replace tuning keys and have an entry level to intermediate guitar.
The good.
Looks great, the finish on the guitar is very nice and I was surprised that it really isn't a finger print magnet. Good weight, the tone knobs and position switch have a Very good feel. Shipped fast, and in good shape with tracking everything was handled in a professional manner.
The bad.
The pickups are not good, they make sound and you can make a nice sound with them but should be replaced whenever possible.
The tuning keys are not good, miles ahead of where we were on budget off brand guitars of the 90's these are squishy feeling and unstable and should be replaced whenever possible. The neck, this could be a case specific thing so fair warning. Fret ends were pretty sharp but a file cleans that up. What is interesting is that the fretboard ends are round, where there may be a binding on other guitars I notices its rolled over pretty hard almost like the ends are scalloped, It does not affect the playability but as far as fit and finish goes it looks cheap and feels cheap in the hand.
The gripe.
The instrument that I received was NOT a thru body as shown in the images. Very disappointing, deal breaker? I don't think so just buyer beware you may not get a string thru body. Over time I can see this causing scratches in the finish of the body.
Final thoughts,
You are buying a cheap guitar. As cheap guitars go this isn't a bad one. I would compare it to a bad Fender bullet. With the cosmetic flaws of the guitar I received the best I can hope for is a guitar that I can upgrade to sound better, not the sleeper guitar I was hoping to build that looked amazing and sounds great. If I drop in $300 dollars in upgrades to the tuning keys and pickups I will have a entry to mid level guitar that has some cosmetic issues, add in the shipping and cost I would say if your plan is to get a steal of a guitar that is ready to rip right out of the box, skip this one. Find something that you can hold and see first hand, $500 state side will get you a better guitar. If you plan on changing out pickups and upgrade as you go....I'd still say skip this one. I may have received a poorly QC'd instrument and your experience may differ but I can not recommend this one and sleep at night. I took a gamble on this one and lost, I will take the time and effort to make it sound better but I wont be dropping much on upgrades here. You guys got me with they hype, well played. If you are buying this as a beginner guitar and don't want to go too deep in the pocket, then sure this would work but so would the Bullet from fender or even a dinky the market is saturated with close enough $150 dollar guitars.

I was missing a Tele shaped guitar in my guitar rack, and was REALLY interested in how good or bad HB's are, and I play mostly metal. So, I didn't expect much considering the price, and thought it would be a good backup guitar for when I don't wanna drop my other guitars too low or whatever.

Boy was I wrong. First of all, the guitar looks amazing. My band was amazed by the looks as well, for a guitar that cheap. I paid almost double for re-fretting my '88.-'89. Squier with stainless steel frets than I paid for this whole guitar.
Now for the playability. After playing the guitar for some time with the original HB strings on, I took it to a repair guy with a pack of .12 D'Addario strings and said "I wanna play Parkway Drive on this thing". The guitar was very playable right out of the box, but when he set it up with those strings and they loosened up a bit, I was like WHOA this thing ROCKS. I have 4 other guitars (Ibanez RG1451 Premium, LTD EC-1000 Deluxe, etc.) and still play this one as much as the others.

As for the bad things about the guitar, and I'm not saying this in a bad way, the tuners are rubbish, and if you plan on doing some serious playing, I would recommend swapping them out. The other thing is the pickups, same thing applies. But I use it with my Focusrite Scarlett Solo and BIAS FX II and it sounds amazing with what ever pickups you have, so I recommend it all the way. That's why I'm giving this a 5 star review. Not because it's perfect, because it's not, but I think they saved money on in the right places and you can easily switch the stuff out if you need to. The rest of it is great.

I would recommend HB to anyone as long as they're aware of the things I mentioned above. Also, it's highly likely that this won't be my only HB guitar. Maybe the headless one will be next :)
5/5 HB, would buy again!

Like most guitarists, I have a robust collection of axes. I've spent the past several years building my own - buying the parts (body, neck, pickups, plates, pickguards, etc.) and doing the assembling, wiring, finish, etc. myself. Recently, my son turned me on the HB's and this one caught my eye. When it arrived, I was immediately impressed. All in all, this is a great bargain with a few caveats to consider.

First, the good (and some exceptional).

1) After 70 years, you still can't beat the tele design, and aside from the fact that this is an HH, this guitar is faithful to the original.

2) The guitar is super light thanks to the basswood body and maple neck combination. it can be around your neck all night and you won't even notice it.

3) The satin finish and the overall aesthetic is great. It's better than great. It's outstanding for an axe in this price range.

4) The satin neck is very playable and looks and feels great.

5) The pickups are not bad. I'll replace them eventually, but for stock pickups in a bargain guitar, they're definitely better than most. They take well to gain and saturated distortion without losing any of the overall articulation.

6) The electronics were done well. No cold solder joints and very clean, which was unexpected (I've seen lousy wiring even in expensive guitars). As I expect in a guitar in this price range they installed mini-pots instead of standard sized ones, but they do the job and I'll end up replacing them anyway.

7) It was shipped and arrived in the United States very quickly. (Kudos to Thomann Music for that one!)

Now, the caveats (and some are bad).

1) The fretwork on the one I received is TERRIBLE. The fret ends are so bad that they're actually dangerous. I've cut my index finger on the sharp edges twice. It's so bad that I'm taking it in to my luthier and not even trying to do it myself. I've done a lot of basic fret dressing on my guitars, but this requires a professional to clean it up and get it right. Depending on what he says, I fear that I may have to replace the frets entirely.

2) While the choice of pickguard looks good on the black satin finish (even better than the pictures), I wanted to replace it only to find out that it's not a standard Fender Tele pickguard. Even the screw holes don't match. I'm either going to have to cut my own, get a standard one and modify it, or paint the one that came with it. For now I'm leaving it alone, but eventually I'm going to have to make a choice.

3) The tuning machines are horrible. They range from usable, to extremely stiff (can hardly turn them), to unusably sloppy and loose. I've got replacements on order. The good news is that they appear to be standard 10mm's, and according to the forums, the 6-inline Gotoh tuners will drop right in. I'll find out in a couple of days. To be fair, this is a common issue on bargain guitars and I expected to replace them when I decided to order the guitar, so it's not like it's as bad as the issue with the frets.

So here's my overall impression:

If you're looking for a great rock/metal/punk tele that looks great and sounds good for a ridiculously low price, you're not going to do better than this. The overall value is outstanding. If you're looking for an inexpensive platform that you can customize to make your own tele flamethrower, I can't think of a better way to go.

Would I recommend this guitar? Yes.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely.
Should you expect the quality of one of the bigger brands? Of course not!

In conclusion, this is a great bargain. I'm glad I bought it, and I'm looking forward to dialing it in and putting it into rotation.

Just took delivery of this guitar and all I can say really is 'wow!'. Its very nice, well put together, sounds great, no sharp fret edges, nothing out of place, machine-heads all in a neat row, pots nice and firm - also the vol pot is not an 'on-off' type found on many guitars, cheap or otherwise, it actually brings the volume down nice and steady, tone pot is also quite usable.

I think the only negative I've sort of found so far would be to note that the body thickness is around 38-mm which is rather slim, however, given the price and indeed the pup configuration this is not a great issue tonally and I will not mark it against in my conclusion.

The neck feels great btw. Oh, and strung through the back... I wish they would do that with the TE 30 model, which I also own and rate as the nicest guitar I possess, only let down in a small way by having no through-body stringing.

The PUP's have some growl - this is not your standard 'tele' but that's obvious by the pup; this is a rock guitar through and through - the all-black finish screams 'rock' and so the the tones.

Finally the guitar has arrived pretty well set-up, I've lowered the saddles a tad and not a buzz to be heard anywhere!

Pros - great guitar irrespective of the price... take the price into account and really...!?
Cons - None. I've paid 5 x times the money for less satisfaction on many occasions. If HB keep up this level of product they will soon either cause certain other budget brands to seriously up-their-game, or just give up.

This is a budget guitar with budget quality - which shouldn't really be a surprise.

Bad bits: Control cavity routing goes too far back, so that the screw holding the control plate down misses the wood and splits out into the cavity, meaning the screw can't be tightened fully... leaving the control plate slightly loose. (I have also seen this pointed out on other reviews on YouTube so it must be a systematic issue with the position of the routing)

Machine head screws on back of headstock not tightened down leaving play in the heads. The screw head for the low E stuck up by about 3mm and when I tried to tighten it, just fell clean off - I guess it was forced in by the factory which stressed the screw head.

Significant fret sprout and the fret ends are literally like razors (have a cut on fingertip as evidence!) Fret sprout has also blown a spot of finish off at the fret tang on one fret.

Frets are pretty low profile and very roughly finished so string bending is not the most comfortable.

Some screws holding the pick guard down do not bite into the soft basswood properly so do not seat down fully.

Pickguard is poorly made with some wobbly bits and one spot showing some delamination of the top layer.

Machine heads are poor quality both in terms of visuals due to rough spots from casting and function due to flat spots and play.

Good bits:
Looks cool from a few feet away :-)

Through body stringing is a bonus at this price point.

The satin finish is very nice to hold on the neck and easy to slide your hand around.

The neck carve is very comfortable - maybe slightly thicker than a Fender Player series tele but not by much.

The body is nicely done and the routing is crisp and clean.

If you are a beginner I would say stay away and go for a Squier Bullet which is a lot better finished for a similar price.

If you are looking for a donor body and neck to use as a project I'd say this is ideal and would make a great basis for a custom build... but be aware of the following points: You will need to modify an aftermarket pick guard as the control plate is slightly larger than standard. You will need to drill out the control plate holes if you want to fit full size pots.
You will need to replace/modify the pick guard and bridge plate if you want to use covered pickups as they won't fit.

In summary - if you don't mind putting in a bit of work and expect to deal with some issues then this is a good purchase. If you are expecting something that will not need any improvements/setup out of the box, you will most likely be disappointed.

I would recommend it as a first guitar, but only IF*** whoever gets it takes it to a guitar tech before, as the setups on these are really hit or miss. Don't expect to get a 300 euro guitar for under 100 euros, cause you are not. It can become it, though :)

Problems mine had that needed fixing were:
- the plastic nut was awful, it snagged the strings quite a bit. swapped it to a Tusq nut as soon as I received the guitar.
- the frets were very scratchy and 2 frets were too high. - my tech polished them and fixed the height issue. At least there was no fret sprout out of the box, and none that developed in the last 2 years of owning it.
- the fretboard at the 22nd fret was damaged, like the neck was smashed into something before it was installed on the guitar. Luckily my tech was able to sand it a bit and make it smooth. No playability issue though.
- the fretboard itself needed a wash with soap and water, as it would leave black residue on your fingers after a bit of playing. I guess roasting any type of wood (Roseacer is thermally treated maple) would leave soot on it. Surprised they didn't clean it at the factory.

Other mods I did that really transformed the guitar, in my opinion:
- the pickups were fine, just too bright for my taste, so I swapped them with probuckers I had lying around. IT SOUNDS MASSIVE NOW.
- the pickup cut-out on the DLX TE bridge was not big enough to install other pickups, especially ones with an enclosure. my tech had to use a file and get a bit of material out before installing the new pickups. Which is fine, a high quality Babicz bridge costs as much as this guitar costs.
- the DLX Diecast tuners are fine, just too vague and not very accurate. you need to go up and down when tuning till you get it close enough. These will be swapped out at some point.
- the string trees were kind of cheap and snagged the strings, so I changed them to roller string trees instead. this and the tusq nut helped out immensely.
- the website says you get 10-46 strings, but mine showed up with 9-42. easy fix, I always swap string on a new guitar anyway.

I will continue to buy HB guitars, as I think they can be exceptional with a bit of TLC and some upgrades, for a fraction of the cost of other guitar brands.