Harley Benton TE-70 Black Paisley

My son was eying this up for ages, and finally, with the help of a birthday contribution, got me to get it for him. The reviews were all very positive, and for the price - what can you say?!

He loves it. It sits next to him. His previous guitar is now neglected and forlorn.

The good:
It looks lovely. Maple neck, skunk stripe. Nice hardware - Wilkinson bridge and pickups, and sealed tuners. Nice paisley finish, if that's your thing. Sounds like a tele - authentic sounding bridge pickup.

It came nicely set up. Needed a twist of the truss rod, and was good to go, good low action, no buzz, good strings. Fret ends not perfect, but good.

The not so good:
The finish, to me, is a little meh. Not the deep gloss I was expecting, and that it needs to really bring up the paisley. But only one minor paint flaw, barely visible. Neither a big deal. But the rave reviews perhaps unreasonably raise your expectations.

Tuning stability hasn't been great. Still sorting that - nut lubrication for starters; lots of winds on the tuning pegs for high strings (the main culprits). Lubricated the nut, its a bit better. May need restringing. We'll see.

The bridge pickup is very microphonic. That's a feature of many teles, some Fenders included, and possibly gives it the authentic character to the sound, but on high gain every click and clunk is picked up. But the main problem is the feedback, which kicks in unpleasantly and uncontrollably past a certain volume.

Investigating that, if you press on the neck end of the bridge plate it suppresses the squeal. The bridge screws are confined to the lower end, (and were actually quite loose, though tightening didn't help), and it may be the headstock end of the bridge plate is not making contact with the body. The internet has many such examples.

So it may mean modifying the bridge with two screws at the headstock edge, but not after I've tried some wax, or thin foam, or something similar to suppress vibration at that edge. But he won't let me near it - yet...

Again, the internet suggests this is a common problem with this model.

Conclusion? Sounds great, pity about the microphonic squeal, which may be fixable. Not perfectly finished, but for the price very good indeed. A satisfied son, a satisfied dad.

Had this guitar a few weeks and have been playing it constantly. There is a lot to be said about this little axe.
Firstly the cons. There are a couple, The frets aren't particularly well finished and they are a little scratchy. I had seen this in previous reviews and had already expected it to be the case. Also there was a ding on the head stock. I'm not overly concerned as I tend to knock bits off my guitars but I would have preferred a non damaged guitar. The tuners are serviceable. Keeps reasonable tune but I was always going to replace these anyway. There is a slight bit of router burn on the neck. Not particularly noticeable and does not effect playing but I want to be honest with a review.
Ok so the pros. This guitar looks great. The paisley effect and finish is really nice. Well balanced and not heavy at all. It came pretty much set up and mostly in tune which was nice. Pickups are perfectly fine I may or may not swap them out. Neck is really comfortable and well finished. Not too sticky gloss which is good.
Overall this is a great guitar for the price. Having read reviews of Harley Benton I thought I would take a punt on this and I'm very happy with it. I think with a few extra £s spent on upgrading some of the hard ware it will play like a guitar twice it's value.

I gigged for years with a tele and I do repairs and mods for people. I got this based on the specs and reviews. Good hardware, good finish, nice thick neck like a Fender. Not too heavy.
It arrived and it needed some work, the nut slots in particular. It also needed a thicker neck shim and a fret dressing as they were pretty rough. The stock strings were dull too...a new set made a huge difference
Now it's gone from a guitar that a buyer might have returned to what I consider a very good telecaster I could easily gig with...with an awesome paisley design.
I realise that it takes time to really finish off a guitar and make it playable and that this was an outrageously low cost for a decent guitar already, so I'm not criticising. I'm just sharing my experience. I'm very glad I bought it, but I'm also aware that someone who isn't able to do the work I've done might not be as pleased.
But I'd still recommend getting one, even if you have to take it to someone for a setup.

I bought this guitar because I wanted a paisley guitar, it was cheap, so I felt fine taking a chance to modify it. It came and I was very pleasantly surprised. It plays WAY WAY above its pay-grade. It is also the heaviest guitar I own. I still own it. The bridge pick up does not sound good on mine, might just be a bad luck fluke. The neck is as good as any 2000 dollar guitar. Fantastic. smooth. intonation is great, Neck pick up after adjusting is all out great. In that position it sounds like a 70's telecaster being played by Eric Clapton, back in his Blind Faith days with the right amp or modulation. I let everyone try it, first thing every time "that's not basswood, too heavy" second, "Are you kidding me, WOW" It really is a value. This is a great first guitar, as good as many much more expense guitars. Dads: you cant go wrong getting this as a 1st guitar for your child. Honestly I could sand off the name, and no one would question me if I said I had it made for me, after I replace the weak bridge pick up that is. Really really recommend at this price point. IF you cant afford a tele, this will fill the void in neck position. I mean that. 40 years playing, and I own lots of good guitars and have lots of experience.

I was so impressed with the first 2 HB ( SC-450 plus vintage and the ST-62MN SB) that I decided to end the year with one more. I ordered the TE-70 Paisley to round out my small collection, and while I like the guitar I was disappointed in a few things . First off (and the biggest issue for me) the switch knob fell off in my hands and would not stay on so had to fix that, the pick guard had scratches on it, even though it was covered in that plastic stuff and the strings were very dirty. Not the end of the world , it's not like I just spent 3000.00 or anything , it's black your going see stuff it's the nature of the beast, but if I did spend the 3000.00 on the real deal it would be totally unacceptable, you almost think it was used and returned,...anyway moving on. The paisley finish wasn't as nice as I thought it would be, looks like it's a poorly focused pic printed on paper then lacquered over top, which is probably exactly what it is, it just makes the guitar look cheap unlike the others. The weight is nice which is one of the reasons along with the bridge that I went with this one over the TE-52, which now I feel like I should of picked instead just for cosmetic reasons. Other that that some tuning and cleaning and its a nice guitar, sounds good and the fat neck doesn't bother me. The set up is good didn't need to adjust the action. Overall a good guitar just not great like the other two.

I'll admit that I was originally persuaded to buy this purely based on the finish. Some people would call that shallow, but I was after a cheap Tele copy and why not get a pretty one?

When it arrived, I was struck by the following:

Pro: the finish was flawless
Pro: it's no lightweight - it feels solid and hefty, and ready to put up with the rigours of life

Neutral: it has a very hefty neck. My main guitar is a Fender Strat Plus, and the TE-70's neck is nowhere near as slim. It's a lot more vintage spec than that. It's also finished in a very pale colour - I think a more vintage tint might suit it more?

Con: mine arrived with the nut cut incredibly high. The 1st fret action was higher than the 7th fret action when I capo-ed at the 1st fret, and it was glued in far too firmly for me to remove it and sand down the underside, so I had to get a set of nut files and do each string's slot individually.
Con: the pickups don't seem that well matched. The bridge was far too bright for me to get a balanced sound that worked for bridge and neck. I've swapped them out for a Fender Yosemite set now and it's so much better.

Now the issues have been resolved, I've got a guitar that sounds great, looks great and plays great.

Been playing 20 odd years & owned plenty of bad and good guitars - This is a great high quality budget guitar. It's not equal to a £1000 fender as some would have you believe but easily worth twice the price.
Pros
Great look, plays great, comfortable weight, neck is thick, tuners do the job well,plenty of twang in the bridge and neck is warm. Well set up out the box. Beautiful cleans and bluesy grit. Nut cut well although plastic.
Cons
Frets needed a very light polish. Pick ups are noisy under high gain, I play stoner rock so I quite like this and won't be changing pups. Slight scratch on fret board across first fret...you have to look to notice though (otherwise flawless).

If you want a guitar that's fun and comfortable to play without breaking the bank then go for it. As a beginner guitar it's amazing...if you want to mod guitars or practice luthier skills it's a great purchase.