Harley Benton TE-90FLT Blue Blast

31

Electric Guitar

  • Deluxe series
  • Body: Sungkai
  • Bolt-on neck: Canadian maple
  • Fretboard: Baked Sungkai
  • Black dot fretboard inlays
  • Neck profile: Modern C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Scale length: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Graph Tech Tusq nut
  • 22 Medium jumbo frets
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell FLT-B FilterTron Style humbuckers
  • Volume and tone controls
  • 3-Way switch
  • Single-ply black pickguard
  • WSC BG2002D bridge with string guide through the body
  • WSC DieCast Kluson Style machine heads
  • Chrome hardware
  • Strings: .010 - .046
  • Colour: Blue Blast
  • Made in Indonesia
Available since October 2020
Item number 489988
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Colour Blue
Pickups HH
Fretboard Sungkai
Tremolo None
Body Sungkai
Top None
Neck Maple
Frets 22
Scale 648 mm
Incl. Case No
Incl. Bag No
$169
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TE-style powerhouse

For a long time now, Harley Benton instruments have been known for their high quality and extremely affordable prices. The TE-90FLT Blue Blast is no exception: Tt combines a classic design with exotic woods and a set of FilterTron-style humbuckers, resulting in its powerfully rocking sound. With its Blue Blast finish, the guitar is also a real eye-catcher both on stage and in the living room. In addition, its slim Canadian maple neck allows for comfortable playability, while solid Kluson-style machine heads and a Graph Tech nut ensure optimum tuning and intonation along the entire length of the roasted sungkai fingerboard.

Resonant chambered body

The exotic tonewood ("sungkai") used for the body of the TE-90FLT is an interesting alternative to the woods usually chosen for TE-style guitars. The vibrational behaviour of the wood is supported by the chambers in the body, which on the one hand reduce weight and on the other hand enhance sustain and resonance. The fingerboard with 22 frets, which is also made of sungkai, is set on a neck made of Canadian maple. The heat treatment not only makes it look attractive, but also has a positive effect on the instrument's robustness and tonal behaviour. The two vintage-style FilterTron pickups are also great for rocking the house: Thanks to their ample headroom, they offer a rich sound ranging from silky smooth to rough.

A rocking TE-style guitar at an affordable price

Thanks to the affordable price typical for Harley Benton, the TE-90FLT can be a real catch for all fans of the TE design, who can now get their hands on this classic single-cut instrument while keeping an eye on their budget. Something to note, however, is that instead of the famous "twang" for which this type of electric guitar is perhaps best known, the two Roswell FilterTron humbuckers result in a genuine Rock guitar that covers genres like Blues all the way to Hard Rock. At the same time, the TE-90FLT makes a convincing case with its comfortable playability, enhanced even further by its astonishingly light weight thanks to the chambered body, which will make for downright effortless performances and a lot of pleasure.

About Harley Benton

Since 1998, the Harley Benton brand has been catering for the needs of numerous guitarists and bassists. In addition to an extensive range of stringed instruments, Thomann's house brand also offers a wide choice of amplifiers, speakers, effect pedals, and other accessories. In total, the range includes over 1,500 products. Built by established names in the industry, all Harley Benton products combine quality and reliability at attractive and affordable prices. The continuous expansion of the range ensures that Harley Benton always provides new, exciting, and innovative products that keep players perfectly in tune with the musical world, day after day.

FilterTron-style for great sound diversity

If you're looking for a TE-style guitar for tame Country and Western, you'd better consider another instrument. With its Blast finish and reversed headstock in a matched design, it's evident at first glance that the Harley Benton TE-90FLT is firmly at home in Rock genres. Its sound matches its appearance in every way: Here, all tonal facets from crunch to high-gain, are catered for. The two Roswell FilterTron-style pickups deliver a punchy and at the same time precisely defined sound, while the slim C-profile of the maple neck provides the best basis for easy playability, especially for beginners.

31 Customer ratings

4.6 / 5

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28 Reviews

m
Can't buy better for the money
mropeel 16.10.2020
I recently purchased this guitar, primarily because I've never had a guitar with filter tron pickups. I do have another 3 Harley Benton guitars however, a Fusion 1, a Fusion 2 and a DC Junior. Whilst my Fusions have been modified with GK3 synth pickups, primarily for LIVE use , this was a purchase specifically intended for use in the studio.

None of my HBs have had any fret issues. All totally level and tall enough to get a good grip of the strings. This guitar is no different. Probably the straightest neck I have seen on a 200€ guitar. Yes it's contour is very flat but that's good for low actions, string bending and I like that. The neck is 'fast' and feels quality and comfortable in the hand. The nut is also perfectly cut , as it was on my other HBs ..... and sound wise it has a nice smooth chime to it. Not overly bright but with more 'jangle' than a standard humbucker. Very useable.

It is however quite heavy even although it is chambered under the scratchplate and has an overly massive control cavity. I personally would have liked the body finish to match the headstock as the colours on the body aren't as vivid as the headstock. I understand that the headstock is a veneer and probably difficult to match up. I can live with it. It's close. I would have liked the option of a trem, but again I can live with a fixed bridge for the studio.

So, out of the box, the action was a little high but after a quick adjustment, it now plays like a dream. I absolutely love it. Even if you are not a big Telecaster style player, this is a great addition to your sound arsenal. When you realise that the closest alternative available from the big American guitar company is around 1600€ , this is a bargain.
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TF
Not your average Tele style guitar! Very microphonic pickups. Great value.
TE-90 FLT 07.08.2023
I recently started playing guitar again after a long hiatus due to having kids. I've never been too interested in tele styles before, but after a lot of research and finding out about Harley Benton guitars, this one really caught my eye for a few reasons:

1. The Filtertron style pickups
2. The cool looking blast finish
3. The reverse headstock makes this look even more unique and not like just another tele clone
4. The price!

In the past I've had an HH Ibanez, an SSS Kramer, and I currently own a Washburn HSS. I wanted something different and was really intrigued by the Filtertron style, plus a lot of my musical heros play teles, so why not?

My guitar arrived in good condition and was already fairly well set-up and almost in tune; amazing since it came to me in the US all the way from Germany!

There is a little fret buzz, but it isn't really audible when amped up, so that's fine. There are a few minor imperfections in the finish (which looks awesome), some weird gouges/scratches on the end of the guitar near where the rear strap knob is, and a couple rough areas on the neck near the 22nd fret. The frets them selves are a tiny bit scratchy on the sides, but not terrible and well within what I'd consider to be acceptable for the price. The slot where the nut sits looked a little off-kilter, but I think it's due to how the finish on the headstock is sort of angled on my guitar as I haven't noticed any issues with playability or staying in tune. The neck feels very nice, although there does seem to be a couple small spots that are a little rough. All this being said, it is very playable and I've been enjoying it a lot.

The guitar stays in tune VERY well. The tuners are a little stiff and the ratio doesn't seem the best, but honestly, for the PRICE of this guitar, it's definitely well within reason. It stays in tune better than my Washburn WR150.

The knobs on my guitar seem to have been installed at a slight angle and not quite flush with the body, but they still work fine.

I can get some really nice tones out of this guitar, and to me it feels especially heavy on the low end. It's definitely taking me more time to fine tune the tone on this guitar compared to my Washburn, but once dialed in they sound great; this is likely more on me not being used to these types of pickups than on the guitar/pickups themselves.

The only thing that I would caution some folks on with this guitar is that it can have very microphonic pickups. This really only comes into play if you have very high gain and volume settings; otherwise it isn't noticeable. I tend to play rock and use a fair amount of distortion and it isn't normally an issue for me, but if you're playing crazy high gain or at very high volumes then you're probably better off with a different guitar. Apparently this is a known thing with these pickups, and I think it's likely how they get their vintage-esque, lively sound.

I've had such a good experience with this guitar (my first HB) that I've just ordered an SC-550 II Gotoh (the Slash Tribute) because I've always wanted an LP style. That model is a bit more expensive than this one, so I'm hoping it is even higher quality than the TE-90 FLT, which was already a great bargain for me.

To summarize:
- The guitar overall feels very solid and punches well above it's weight in terms of price to value. The hardware isn't anything special, but gets the job done and doesn't feel cheap.
- The pickups sound really great clean, and are very lively. The downside is that at very high gain and volume levels, they become microphonic, which may or may not be a con if you either don't play that style of music or don't mind it (some folks even WANT microphonic pickups). You could always take them out and wax pot them, but that will change the tone somewhat.
- There are some minor cosmetic blemishes, scratches, etc, but they don't take away from the playability and are really only noticeable close up; otherwise this guitar looks super cool and unlike anything else.
- If you've always been curious about a Tele style guitar or Filtertron style pickups, this guitar is an absolute bargain and a great way to try them out.
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Harley Benton TE-90FLT Blue Blast
TrashPanda 27.10.2020
First thing to note is one of the screws that keeps the tuner in place was loose, when I tried to tighten it - it broke on the spot so the tuning machine is holding up with prayers only now.

Another thing to note is the finish looks painted-on and not actual wood, which you may be tricked into believing by your eyes.

And the last con i can find is the weight, while still lighter than an LP, it's pretty heavy and most of the weight is in the body, keeping it from neckdiving for sure.

When it comes to good things. The fretboard seems legit, the frets aren't sticking out much, the bridge seems solid. The sound is great, especially for this price range.

Overall if you're looking for a cheap guitar (add price of changing tuners to something else cause they're awful) it's a great choice.
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My first HB, instant love!
Blippo 01.08.2021
This guitar is my go to for doing ambient. I even have a heavily modified Epiphone Les Paul Standard with splittable Seymour Duncan's that sounds amazing, but the handling of this guitar and the good sounding low output humbuckers, rounded but not dark, makes me always prefer it to my "more expensive" guitar. I bought it along with a Sterling Albert Lee, and I ended up returning the Sterling and keeping the HB. If I could swap a thing from the Sterling, was the 9,5" radius roasted maple neck, that was a breeze to play. Hey Harley Benton! Please do some more rounded fretboards please!!!
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