Harley Benton TE-62CC LPB

I purchased three of these TE 622CC guitars in three different colors. LPB, SP, and IS. They arrived to the US in only a few days. During UPS shipping a large hole was cut in the side of the box and the corner was torn open. The SP, LPB were fine but the IS was damaged and returned. UPS denied the damage claim but Thomann sent me another one which had a neck pocket crack as well but no shipping damage. Great customer service by Thomann!

The negative first:
The LPB is nowhere near the blue in the images nor Fender's LPB.
The mint green pickguard clashes with this blue and looks pretty bad.
***Big Negative*** pickguards that fit T-Style Fender/Squier/MIM/USA/Vintage Do NOT fit these guitars. They cannot be modified to fit. You have to have a custom cut guard made for ~$50 or more. That is really too much for a $139 guitar. Come on Thomann! Offer more choices (black or white) or offer them separately for $20 to ship with the guitar please!!!
The neck pickup is VERY lackluster compared to the very nice bridge pickup. I know it's a "bottom end guitar" but it really doesn't belong on an otherwise nice guitar.

The Positive:
The LPB guitar was right straight out of the box! I stretched out the strings which are supposed to be 10-46 but I believe they are 9-42 on this guitar and the SP. The tuning gears were smooth and far superior to others on ≤$150 guitars I have played. The bridge pickup really sings on this model even with some gain thrown at it, but not on the SP or IS which indicates your mileage may vary. Full sized unbranded pots, a solid output jack, a properly cut nut, a heavy bridge plate and decent saddles make this a big step up from many junker guitars. The selector switch is quiet but seems flimsy. However, the barrel knob did NOT immediately fall off so obviously they are not using Fender switches! The fretwork seems good. Smooth edges, no dead spots and the intonation was right without compensated saddles. The guitar was heavier than I prefer but not bad. The color, while not as advertised was nicely applied and was clean and free of spots.

I really feel that I could have taken this guitar to a rehearsal out of the box and kept up with my Fender guitars. Before I would consider playing a show with it, I would put in some CTS pots, a Mallory capacitor, a switchcraft output Jack, a quality 3 or 4 way switch, and a new neck pickup. If I keep this guitar I will probably put a set of pickups in, as well as Gotoh vintage style locking tuners that drop right in, and InTune saddles. The platform of body/neck is really nice. If you could guarantee that they would all come out of the box just like this needing no fret work or set up it would be a no brainer for a beginner or someone moving up from a junker beginner guitar. However, I can tell by ordering three of these at the same time that is not the case. For this price I think it's probably worth the the chance. You can always take it to a local shop and have some set up work done and have a brand new quality guitar that's been set up by a shop that plays and sounds good for less than $240.

Unless you want to tolerate an ugly mint green pickguard that clashes with your finish colors then go ahead and expect to pay $50 plus for a proper guard.

I read a lot of the reviews before i bought this one and the TE-62CAR DB which is cardinal red not candy apple red as the description suggests, but i like it. I pretty much agree with the general consensus that they are quality well built guitars that sound good and play good pretty much out of the box. Unlike the double bound laurel fingerboard necks which are slim taper and really nice to play, these roasted maple f/board necks are thick, chunky and wide and did not suit my personal taste. I like rosewood, but locating a decent neck to fit the neck pocket was very difficult as it's 56.5mm width. What i opted for in the end was to buy a Jim Deacon stratocaster neck on e-bay, which i knew from experience to be great quality necks with genuine rosewood and around 56mm heel width, cost me £26 and i just cut and shaped the headstock to a telecaster style, a tele neck of similar quality would have cost around £70. To complete the look i was after would require a black 3-ply pickguard, but like others who have tried to swap them, the several i tried would not fit. I did some comparison and measurement checks to find out why this was. What i found was that the bridge was fitted 10mm lower than it should be which puts it out of sync with the control plate also, i can only assume that the CNC machine is not set up correctly for routing, then they have to re-cut the pickguards to compensate, i wanted my black guard so i bought a blank sheet and cut it to fit. The guitar looks awesome and sounds great with a Broadcaster bridge pickup and a 52 RI in the neck an Oak 3-way and a Wilkinson bridge sets it all off. The original parts were not wasted as they went on a Wilko Johnson tribute telecaster, the original neck was sold. Apart from the neck, there was no need to change anything, but the voices told me to.

Here's a shocker: it's the first time I've opened a big Harley Benton box and actually been disappointed.

I've not written a review before despite having several HB guitars because other people have already eloquently expressed the great quality of them. And this T style is no exception: I love the feel of the neck, it sounds really useably Tele-like, and the finish is immaculate. But the finish is the problem.

It's a different blue to the one in the photos, and it's a REALLY different blue from the one in HB's feature video, which - given the pretty normal colour cast of the background and skin tones around it - I'd assumed would be closer. And I really, really wanted it to be that colour. It's a gorgeous greeny, turquoisey blue, the colour of the sea around my part of the world in summer.

The guitar I've received is not - it's a pretty straight blue, what I'd think of as close to a royal blue, darker than the video and with not a hint of green/turquoise in it. And I've got to say, I'm disappointed.

Which is an issue when ordering a guitar online from another country - the only reference point we have are the photos and videos HB provide; it's not like we're going into a shop and looking at it.

So I'm not sure what to do now - do I take a hit and sell it on, or do I take it apart and get my local luthier to respray the body the colour I'd hoped for?

Years ago I ordered a Harley Benton (LP style) but returned it, because It came broken. Forgot about the brand. Then I read all the reviews about this one and ordered as a joke, expecting a broken guitar again. Not this time. Not a single cosmetic fault, gorgeous neck, even pickups are ok. But it needed some basic work. Cleaned up the nut, dressed two frets, action, intonation, pickup height... Like on any other guitar. It plays like a dream. I would say it's basically on par with Fender Squier Classic vibe. If you consider the price, it's a clear 5 stars! How do they do it?

Pros: Nice color, good neck, feel, price
Cons: selector switch a little wobbly, frets needed some polishing