Harley Benton Fusion-T HH HT EB OCT

I wanted a tele style guitar, so I found that Harley Benton was doing several afordable models, but the price always made me kinda sceptic about the actual value of these instruments, but after acquiring this one, I can say that I don't understand how they do it, at least on this specific one: locking tunners, stainless steel medium jumbo frets, hardtail Hipshot bridge, amazingly comfortable unfinished neck, and this beautiful ocean turquoise colored top. I preferred the fixed bridge version, because I rarely use a trem bar when playing, and I like the simplicity.

When it arrived, it needed some intonation, especially after downtuning half a step, like I normally play, but was very easy and straightforward to setup, with the Included truss rod adjusting bar (to use next to the neck pickup), and alan key for the bridge saddles.

The guitar is very comfortable and easy to play, feels good and looks good. There are very minor finishing issues on the neck that don't bother me at all, but might bother some one else, like the fretboard not being perfectly parallel with the body top on the neck joint, and a very small chip imperfection on one side of the fretboard, which is not noticeable on the touch, but these don't ultimately weigh on the overal experience you get with this instrument, the fret edges are very smooth and well finished, and there are no aparent finishing problems on the body itself.

If there's really anything that is a lesser part which lowers a star on my overall rating, it's the pickups. They're not bad, but they're not great either, at least comparing with Seymour Duncans on another guitar I have (JB on the bridge, Jazz on the neck), but I guess that's a taste thing, I'm very much a SD guy, so in comparison these seem less capable, but some might like it depending on the usage. They have the split coil functionality, which adds a great layer of versatility, but they don't "open" as much as some SDs on higher strings, and don't have the same clarity and have weaker output. Ultimately, I'll upgrade the pickups, and expect to make of it a great instrument to gig with.

Overall, I am very satisfied with purchasing this guitar. It shipped to me in the USA within 3 days and Thomann was very responsive to my emails. Below are my positive and negative impressions.

Positive thoughts:
- Tuning machines are good

- Guitar was almost completely in tune out-of-the-box except for one string

- Fretwork was good; no tool-marks or sharp or protruding frets

- No blemishes in the finish at all

- I did not know I would be getting a satin finish on the neck and I was pleasantly surprised that it came with one.

- I've heard many people say the neck is chunkier on Harley Benton guitars (for better or worse), but I really have to disagree. It's certainly not ibanez-thin but I do not feel it is "chunky". I have small hands and the neck feels very comfortable.

- I thought the pickups were completely serviceable, as was the split-pull function. I'm sure there's better pickups out there but i thought these were good enough.

Negatives:
- The tone knob was notably "looser" than the volume knob

- The height adjustment screws of my bridge pickup fell out of the box when I opened it up and the bridge pickup was sunk into the guitar. Thomann advised me to try and leverage the pickup up, so I used a combination of debit cards, tweezers, and a small allen key to shunt the pickup up high enough to thread the screws back in. I was successful after many attempts, but caused minor surface scratches to the pickup cover. Didn't bother me that much.

I think you get an incredible value in this guitar. While I had issues with the bridge pickup, I was able to fix them myself per Thomann's advice. I am overall highly pleased with the purchase and customer service I received.

It works great as a second guitar. I bought it to upgrade from my first guitar, a really cheap strat, and this has been a great improvement. I enjoy having the two humbuckers but the option of coil splitting is a welcome addition. The grooves cut into the body make for very comfortable playing with a highlight for me being the slight angle to the area where the neck joins the body which allows for easier access to the upper frets. Some very minor defects in construction are to be expected but I personally haven't encountered anything more than a slight bit of dried glue near the top of the neck.

Ive contemplated over this guitar for many months ,id bought the TE-90 QM and was impressed (tho the neck could do with a shave off the bulk.
Recieved last week and luckily my band managed to host our jam nite again (strict lockdown rules of course) and plugged into my Blackstar HT-60 and bang what a sound ,not over fizzy pick ups ,the neck is prob a little fatter than my retired RGs but once you play off the brilliantly finished stainless steel frets it plays a dream.
Only thing i had to do was tune and a quick set up ..lots of lemon oil and Dr Duck to polish up neck & fingerboard .......So looking forward to this sunday jam ..unless our fumbling British government think up some more ridiculous rules for the weekend
Keep Rocking ..!!!

This guitar looks great, plays well, and is made up of great components. The nut looks good, well cut. The frets are great! They needed a polish but that's to be expected. No sharp fret ends. I love the ebony fret board. The guitar holds tune pretty well.

The pickups sounded soft/fuzzy/fizzy. Not very good. I replaced them. The pots were very scratchy even after using compressed air.

The main issue with this guitar is the bridge. The bridge was mounted at a slight angle causing all of the saddles to pull to the side. The low E is making contact with the against the bridge plate. They probably mounted it this way because the holes for the string through were drilled incorrectly. This issue was very disappointing but Thomann did refund some money back. Not sure if its fixable.

The only other issue, which is fixable, is the massive headstock dive. Using this guitar for a live show might be annoying without addressing the headstock dive.