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.
