Anybody tried one of these..? Harley Benton Tele Thing..Or similar Harley Benton..

KevS

https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_fusion_t_hh_ht_eb_bk.htm
If So....   Did you bang into any of the Controls..?  I move the Volume Control out of the way on a Strat..
                I don't bang into the controls on a Tele but these look closer..


Plus .....    I notice that the frets are stainless steel..Mention Stainless steel to most guitar techs and they say..
                 Stainless steel is harder on my tools..It will cost ye an arm ,a leg and both your buttocks extra..
                 How level are non B Stock Harley Benton frets..?

Also what type of fret height..  ? Medium Jumbo seems quite a broad description..  I find Classic Player height a bit low.. Narrow Tall great..Jumbo tall,,love them..

Ah Yes..    Any idea about weight.....?

  It looks sexy..But am I  expecting too much....?  I guess how things are to play is a personal thing..
One persons moreish is another person's left cold..Still interested though.. 

Please no condescending lectures. "What do you expect for the price" In a nasty manner .. etc.. It spoil the mood..
Then again,I discovered the Ignore function..Go for it..Let you obnoxious condescending self sprout forth like a Big Zit...  

I'm just asking a question about other people's experiences...

I guess there will be a lot of experienced folk when it comes to Harley Benton Fretwork..

BobHillman

I have three HB B-stock guitars (DC-Junior FAT, SC-550 II PAF, and TE-62CC) and they all played perfectly well when I received them.

I have put a set of Wilkinson compensating saddles on the TE, but this was a choice, not a necessity - and I may have raised the action slightly on them, but that is my preference, the fretting on all three is excellent.

AS you say, Stainless Steel frets are harder, but that means that once they are levelled and dressed, they will last a lot longer.

Why not order one to try? You can always send it back if you don't like it. :-)

KevS

BobHillman said:

I have three HB B-stock guitars (DC-Junior FAT, SC-550 II PAF, and TE-62CC) and they all played perfectly well when I received them.

I have put a set of Wilkinson compensating saddles on the TE, but this was a choice, not a necessity - and I may have raised the action slightly on them, but that is my preference, the fretting on all three is excellent.

AS you say, Stainless Steel frets are harder, but that means that once they are levelled and dressed, they will last a lot longer.

Why not order one to try? You can always send it back if you don't like it. :-)

I am not too mobile,so mailing it back can be a bit more difficult,,I don't have transport either..
I can't send my Home Help to the cash machine etc..

I don't need any more guitars either of course..lol...It looks well smart though..
Plus they look a bargain,,bargains are always tempting..

blueskunk

Not had a look at these models but the TE69 thinline is a genuinely astonishing guitar. I paid £120 second hand!! Best money I ever spent !

Henrytwang

As long as you’re happy with the twelve inch radius fingerboard on a Fender style guitar I think that it’s worth buying. The Harley Benton guitars I’ve bought recently have been excellent with perfect fretwork and finish.

markslade07

blueskunk said:

Not had a look at these models but the TE69 thinline is a genuinely astonishing guitar. I paid £120 second hand!! Best money I ever spent !

I was looking at these a few weeks back but availability has been saying ‘12-15 weeks’ now for a while

hollywoodrox

I’ve got two Vintage V59 icons & I think they have on sale at guitar guitar for about £219 . 

They usually need a setup but are great 

Tall_martin

I've had 3 Harley benton guitars

Deco- thomans version of spares/ repairs and priced accordingly- acoustics fretless bass. Needed a hump sanded out of the fretboard. It was £40 delivered from Germany.

PRS copy- nice, nicer after I learned to do fretwork

I still have a telecaster copy. £110 delivered from Germany. Had some fretwork but was fine before.

I bought the prs and telecaster expecting to do stuff to the frets and looking to learn how. I was not disappointed.

If you just want a cheap+ good guitar to play,  why not get a second hand one that's had a setup?

Dave_Mc

My sister has the roasted version. 

It's pretty nice. 

Frets a little scratchy- just playing helped a lot, or you could polish them. I haven't gone over it with a fine-toothed comb, but apart from that the frets seemed fine. I'm not super-fussy, though. (And I'm also no guitar tech!)

Weight was spot-on, under 8lb IIRC (I'm sure I wrote on here somewhere the exact weight soon after she got it, but I forget!). The roasting of the neck might drop the weight a bit, though (not sure).

Pickups are decent for cheap, but not amazing- actually the biggest problem is that they're supposedly a set! They don't work all that well together, the neck is very warm and middy compared to the bridge. Either pickup would be fine I think if combined with a different other pickup.

Pickup selector switch is a little noisy for some reason. I haven't got as far as squirting it with contact cleaner...

Obviously that's just the one example, though, I have no idea if she got lucky, unlucky, or about average luck...

BillDL

Good summary @Dave_Mc and extra points for "fine-toothed comb" as opposed to "fine toothcomb" that I saw being mentioned on here the other day.  I've never combed my teeth 

blueskunk

markslade07 said:

blueskunk said:

Not had a look at these models but the TE69 thinline is a genuinely astonishing guitar. I paid £120 second hand!! Best money I ever spent !

I was looking at these a few weeks back but availability has been saying ‘12-15 weeks’ now for a while

Keep an eye out for second hand bargains !

blueskunk

Gonna get a dc junior in White, single P90 style. 

KevS

I'm meanwhile looking at the Fender Professional 2 Humbucker Tele..I'm not quite sure about the pickups..Are they Cunife of are they Alnico V,,the info seems to vary..The price varies too..The ones that don't tell you the weight seem to be cheaper..It's a conspiracy I tell you...I jest..It's just how things turn out..

I've realised that people can come to your house to buy things on Facebook Marketplace..
I may flog some stuff that way..No boxes or taxis to Post Offices involved..
I think I may have mentioned,,problems with mobility..

I had a Vintage Brand double cut LP Junior,I could almost swear the headstock was heavier than the body..
OK slight exaggeration,,but it just wasn't usable standing up,,with a very grippy strap shoulder problems started..
Maybe mine was a one off..It looked really cool though..

I also had a Vintage brand Black Les Paul Standard..The bridge at it's lowest was still slide action..

I bet there are really good examples of Vintage brand guitars out there,,I've just had bad luck..
That cherry double cut Junior looked so cool.. 

I've nodded up Epiphones in the past and ultimately remained unsatisfied because other problems have surfaced..
I've even had them refretted and the frets were mega levelled but rattle was going on..Of course bridge rattle with the retainer wire etc..It all drives me metal..I have a refretted Sheraton with new Electrics..I spent a lot doing it up..All other Epiphones I've not had great luck with..Again that is me though..While we are on Epiphone..Most uneven frets I have saw on new guitars..This was a few years ago..Less than 10 years ago though...

The Fender and Squier products vary greatly..My favourite ever Squier was a Korean Plywood one I bought new in 1990..

I'm kind of saying that if it works from new and also has standardised sizes..That is a pretty big thing..

I did get the little Ricky 12 String Harley Benton..After a fret level,,it was a nice guitar for a budget guitar..
I dwarfed it though...So gave it to my Wee Cousin,,I got an Aqua Danelectro 12,,but rarely play it...

The Harley Benton 12 was a decent guitar though after a bit of fettling...

I also acknowledge that Fender guitars can arrive with uneven frets too...

Fiftyshadesofjay

I have the roasted version of this guitar. It’s okay. great neck and the frets are well done. 

Biggest gripe is the hardware, after a couple of years the pickup selector is almost dead and the volume pot needs replacing. 

Also the Wilkinson trem sucks, the top E screw keeps working its way out of the back of the saddle when I’m playing. 

Overall punches above its weight but not brilliant. 

Dave_Mc

BillDL said:

Good summary @Dave_Mc and extra points for "fine-toothed comb" as opposed to "fine toothcomb" that I saw being mentioned on here the other day.  I've never combed my teeth 

LOL 

They're called tines, aren't they? The Fretboard- come for the guitars, stay for the combs...

 

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

I have the roasted version of this guitar. It’s okay. great neck and the frets are well done. 

Biggest gripe is the hardware, after a couple of years the pickup selector is almost dead and the volume pot needs replacing. 

Also the Wilkinson trem sucks, the top E screw keeps working its way out of the back of the saddle when I’m playing. 

Overall punches above its weight but not brilliant. 

Sorry to hear that. I should probably have clarified that my sister's one is the hardtail model. Also IIRC the electronics components were all Alphas. I would say though that they would also benefit from a squirt of contact cleaner... not sure why. Occasionally when you buy Alpha pots at retail you get one like that in my limited experience, but Harley Benton seem to have got them all like that! Or most, anyway. Not sure if they're getting cheaper B-stock ones, or they're being assembled in a dusty place, or something else...

skullfunkerry

I have a Fusion III, the superstrat one with EMGs. I literally can't play a Strat because of the volume pot position, but no trouble with the HB.

As others have mentioned, the frets were a little scratchy, but that's gone away with playing. The pickup selector might need replacing at some point, but mine was a b-stock and I think it's been dropped on its front at some point, as the tone pot is very loose (which doesn't bother me, as I never use it).

All in all I really like mine and I think you'll enjoy it if you get one.

KevS

skullfunkerry said:

I have a Fusion III, the superstrat one with EMGs. I literally can't play a Strat because of the volume pot position, but no trouble with the HB.

As others have mentioned, the frets were a little scratchy, but that's gone away with playing. The pickup selector might need replacing at some point, but mine was a b-stock and I think it's been dropped on its front at some point, as the tone pot is very loose (which doesn't bother me, as I never use it).

All in all I really like mine and I think you'll enjoy it if you get one.

I have the exact same problem with the Strat Volume control..

My Strats are master tone and master volume with a blank space where the volume control is..

Dave_Mc

I don't mind the Strat volume knob position so I can't help there! 

carlos

Dave_Mc said:

I don't mind the Strat volume knob position so I can't help there! 

Yes, because you have good technique, not wandering hands which swing waaaaaaaaay outside where they should be.

Dave_Mc

carlos said:

Dave_Mc said:

I don't mind the Strat volume knob position so I can't help there! 

Yes, because you have good technique, not wandering hands which swing waaaaaaaaay outside where they should be.

Well that can't be it, I have terrible technique! 

KevS

Dave_Mc said:

carlos said:

Dave_Mc said:

I don't mind the Strat volume knob position so I can't help there! 

Yes, because you have good technique, not wandering hands which swing waaaaaaaaay outside where they should be.

Well that can't be it, I have terrible technique! 

Nuno Bettencourt and Jake E Lee have much better technique than me,and they move the volume control out of the way..
If we all had the same technique I think guitar would be way less interesting..
If it doesn't cause you pain,to me it's fine..We are all physically different..