Harley Benton TE-62CC SFG

Overall 5 *. Some very minor visual flaws, but nothing to worry about. I'm no expert, have owned various HB guitars

Looks- colour matches the website, looks great. The slightly toasted neck looks great

Neck-feels really nice to play. Slimmer than the the TE-52

Fretwork is really good, no pokey or sharp frets. No scratchiness when bending, so the frets seem to be polished well.

Tone and volume knobs are a little stiff, hopefully will loosen with use.

Tuners work, they're not very precise but hold tune and do the job

Sounds- I have owned the TE-70 and TE-52, so the roswells sound the same. Better ears than mine may hear the difference because of the wood and weight vs the TE-52, but I don't have high end amps to notice the subtleties and I'm a hobby guitar player so, nothing majorly different in the sounds to the aforementioned models.

So, to review, a really nice playing and looking T guitar for very little money. Down the line I may replace bridge/saddles, tuners and put in some slightly better pickups (tonerider or similar), but I am absolutely happy with the guitar for the money, and for even slightly more money

Just got this today, arrived in less than a week after ordering (EU area) which was impressive given it was over Easter. Nicely packaged, so there was little risk it being damaged in transit.

Out of the box it felt really great, once the strings were tuned up I was playing away quite happily. Intonation was pretty much spot on, only the G is a little out but I'm talking a miniscule amount, to the point where I probably won't even adjust it. Action set up was perfect too, no fret buzz and clear notes when playing up the fretboard.

Fretboard itself is satin finish so if you're used to a gloss finished you may find it a bit dry. I've yet to play it for a few hours so will see what it feels like after that. It may need a little oil. No sharp edges on the frets, and they all seem the right height. Tuners feel solid too and so far are holding the tuning.

Plugged in and run through pedals and an amp, it sounds great. I compared it to my G&L Bluesboy and it's very similar on the bridge pick up, in fact a little brighter, with a fair bit of bite. It doesn't have the beefiness of the G&L on the middle or neck setting, as the G&L has a humbucker in that position, but even still the Harley Benton holds up when using fuzz and distortion. I'm looking forward to getting in the room with my band to see how it sounds.

Looks-wise, it is perfect - the colour is fantastic and the lime green pickguard really shines. The neck is a dark roasted maple which is really set off nicely by the colour. No imperfections as far as I can see, paint work is perfect, and the whole thing is solid and feels good.

Only negative aspect so far is the plastic used to cover the neck pickup, controls, and pick guard - I had to take the pots off to fully remove the plastic, and even at that there's still a bit stuck under that I can't get rid of. I've had that problem with other guitar brands so it's not particular to Harley Benton.

In total, for the price it's a no-brainer. I've owned Fender and Squire telecasters, as well as G&L, and so far this stands up to them in terms of initial feeling and sound. Be a perfect guitar for travelling, or throwing in the back of the van when touring without having to worry too much about it. Definitely suitable for beginners, but I would also encourage experienced guitarists to try this brand - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This is an edited review, I include the original post below, and include a brief review of the replacement guitar issued by Thomann.
I have bought over 10 HB guitars over the past few years, mostly great, some not so great, but this one was a bit of a lemon. Where to start?
1. Two sizeable cracks on either side of the neck pocket. 1.5cm on the upper joint. Not acceptable really, not sure if it had a fall, as the cartons were apparently undamaged.
2. The neck felt rough, completely unfinished all the way along the neck, horrible QC, the top of the headstock was atrociously finished.
3. The switch is horrible, it wiggles and waggles all over the place and feels broken.
4. The machine heads are awful.

All in all, a poor example of a guitar that others are (understandably) raving about.
On a positive note, it's *unbelievably* resonant, in fact, it reminds me of an 80s MIJ Tele Custom I once owned.
The pickups are really quite decent.
So, some bad, but not all bad.


Thomann offered to replace the original guitar, I had to wait a while until back in stock, but it arrived a few weeks later.
*This* guitar, hand on heart, was flawless, every thing wrong with the 1st was perfectly executed here. I'm gobsmacked at this quality, at this price. I was afraid the replacement wouldn't have the same resonance as the 1st, but I was wrong. Acoustically, this guitar SINGS! which as you should know, is a great thing in an electric guitar. The colour is gorgeous, the neck is stunning, and ridiculously stable.
All in all, a sweet playing experience, that puts an affordable, quality instrument in your hands.
First class customer service must also be mentioned. Thanks Thomann!

I now am the proud owner of 4 Harley Bentons, an SC Special, a CST 24T Deluxe, a TE-52 Natural finish with 22 frets and now this amazing TE-62 SFG.

Each one had some minor set up requirements but the TE-62 was amazing straight out of the box, Slight tweak on the truss rod, lowered the action to required taste and that was it. Intonation spot on, frets are really nice, no sharp ends or high frets, tuners work really well and electronics all work as expected. Can't complain at all.

Also, I'm really pleased with the Surf Green it looks fantastic. HB really knocked it out of the park with this one.

Highly recommended, 5 stars all the way. *****