Harley Benton TE-52 Telecaster (SUPER Affordable)
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Harley Benton TE-52 Telecaster (It's Super Affordable)
So it's really cheap, but is it the business? I've tried a few Harley Bentons on the channel, some I've liked, some not so. Where does this one come in at? It's your typical Tele (this is the NA Vintage Series guitar) as far as specs go. But it's really heavy. If it's heavy it must be good. Right? Let's find out what kind of a guitar Harley Benton have cooked up for us this time.
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It is absolutely normal to set up a guitar when it arrives at you, even on much more expensive instruments
As an aspiring guitar god in 1974' I saved all my pennies and sweated to buy a USA telecaster (Roy Buchanan to blame) I gigged that guitar for three years until I was wise enough to know it was a howler. CBS period for sure.
Fast forward to my sixties and I bought this Tele with my pension. Only about ten times better than the canoe paddle back in the day.
Great video.
Thanks!
I got mine 3 or 4 years ago and I really like it. I've changed almost everything and learned quite a bit about setting up a guitar. That was my goal. Not that it was a bad guitar to begin with by any means. Except for two slightly high frets that were noticeable with a stupid low action, that I don't like anyway, I didn't get any major flaw. And the first signs of fret sprout appeared only few months ago. Downsides for me: they tend to be pretty heavy guitars and they have a pretty thick plasticky coat
I bought one of those about 4 yrs ago, excellent fit and finish, sounds great and plays outstanding. It is Ash and maple, so it weighs a ton, but super nice
Hi Elmo
You are videos are always very interesting and well made.
We are very lucky to have you on UA-cam because you buy the material you test.
Thanks to you, my equipment is much better now.
Sincerity will win👍
Glad you like them!
As you already know (you mentioned it), the quality range and even some features over time in the same models can vary with Harley Benton guitars. I have the look to live 30 minutes away from the Thomann store. So it is actually quite easy to drive there, try a model and if there are issues with it try another. I bought the TE-52 within the Covid-19 lockdown time in Germany and could not drive to Thomann this time... so I ordered it. I had luck with the first one! It had absolutely no issues and also the frets were good and the setup was absolutely ok. It did lower the string action a bit - just to my taste but it was perfectly playable out of the box. It actually IS really heavy though! The pickups have quite low output and there certainly are better ones, but they work good enough that you don't necessarily have to change them. I originally wanted to use it as a modding platform but didn't start that. Mine was really fun to play. One thing it has beyond the Fender Squier Bullet... the TE-52 is actually available as a left hand model. So this is an affordable and quite well built budget model for players who play left.
Great review.
It has been my experience that most if not all sub $200 guitars require something.
I enjoy your honest reviews and dry humor Elmo.
Same experience here. It is mostly some minor fret levelling. Out of 6 Harley Benton below 300€, I had to do it on 5 of them. Nuts were all fine, tuners serviceable (not great but doing the job). Roswell pick-ups are fine.
@@Leo_ofRedKeep Yeah, once the simple playability issues are resolved you end up with a pretty nice guitar for the money.
Much of it boils down to expectations and lack of experience.
I bought my son a secondhand HB Mustang style guitar. Apparently the seller from Scotland a music teacher bought three HB guitars was gonna return them as the quality wasn’t great he decided to send them to his luthier. I purchased one of these guitars from him although secondhand cost about the same as a brand new one. Although the guitar is left handed my son is a lefty player and I’m right handed player, when I got the guitar although I couldn’t play it it felt great, wonderful neck very tidy finish. My son was very pleased with it
I said to myself when i started out 5 months ago that i'll never like a telecaster.
Guess you can never be sure. It's now my favorite type of guitar
I like the fact that you're honest, keep these coming, I'd love to see a review for a Fusion II model, a Charvel Pro Mod, or an Ibanez AZ, these are getting pretty popular lately!
Cheers!
same here for 1.5 years and had fret buzz on delivery due to several popped frets. some re-seated, some have not. As for the sound - it's surprisingly good and punchy. Finish is amazing
10:03 - 10:12 When you play a Gibson Les Paul for the first time, after playing an Epiphone for years, thinking there's going to be a big step up.
Lmao so accurate 😄
@Arthur G. Of recent editions, i wouldn't consider it a $1,000 step, more like $300. It certainly isn't like going from (equivalent comparison?) a Squire to a USA Strat, which is a huge step.
I had a 74’ Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. After buying the Epiphone Les Paul 1960 Tribute Plus the first year they came out I realized a huge step up with the Epiphone! The top Epi’s are tops!
I ordered one came in a week my 5 other guitars are parked till further notice my fav guitar at the moment!
dude you effortlessly shred. I find it funny you couldn't land that country lick. now I know how this guitar will sound if I get good someday
I bought one around half a year. I was very impressed with what I got. Especially since they're normally made with 3 pieces for the body (not 2 billion scraps of wood glued together).
The main issues with mine are that the frets were corroded a bit, doesn't stay in tune and most importantly that the side dots are not crisp - that drives me crazy.
That said, I probably would buy again, solely because it looks so nice for the price.
May 2021. I got one last week. Stunned with how good it is.
In terms of appearance, it's a very nice guitar.
Yes, it is heavy but the price performance is really good. There are a lot of comparable guitars, all at least 50-100 euros more expensive, which are no better.
Not to forget that there is a renowned company behind this (Thomann) in Germany with the appropriate service and guarantee for 3 years.
Greetings Robby
I could tell you weren't into the HB TE52 Tele, the same as you weren't into the Blackstar HT5R mkll combo. I have both of these items and I really like them. I was going to buy a Fender Blues Jr and a Fender Player Tele but I bought The HB Tube 15 and HB TE52 Tele instead($450 vs $1600). If I was as good or Malmstein like as you I wouldn't want to shred on that gear either, so I understand. I play more classic rock and rock and play mostly at home so that gear suits me fine until I get better. If I outgrow my current gear, that would be a good thing and would gladly upgrade. I like your videos and attempts at humor, but I like your knowledge of the gear best. Thanks, JAM ON !!!
Cheers!
I've had the same fret issues with my Harley Benton tele kit, they didnt use fret glue and for some reason they use trimmed tangs even though there's no binding. This means that the fret ends have nothing beneath to grip the wood with, hence they sprout easy! By the sounds of things this must be happening on alot of their models!
I got one this winter as my first tele - it was perfect in every aspect except the weight (it's quite heavy). Soon I ordered a TE-62CC model in seafoam green as a replacement and was stupid enough to sell my TE-52 while waiting.
Boy did that new one have quality issues all over the place.. also it doesn't sound as good for me as the old TE-52
I sold an almost perfect guitar and I regret it... Classic?
The kits are like 180 bucks so even if it's a bit thin you can always modify it
"HB, keeping luthiers working." - new tagline Might actually be a good idea in some manner. This is like a kit that has been preassembled ...
Haha :D
Maybe true in general, but I was lucky and got a TE-20 which was absolutely flawless ! Far better fret job than on my Fender Am Pro (which has better fret wire, BTX), and even rolled fretboard edges!
Generally, these guitars are unbeatable for the price..not because it's 'all there' when you get it but because its a great base if you want a quality body and neck cheap..the other stuff on it is ok...although the tuners were awful on mine..i went online and got some second-hand mini grovers from a guy down the road..i bought a wilkinson bridge with brass and some decent knobs and fitted a tusq nut. These things have improved it..however, in writing this I have realised that the additional costs..including some second-hand fender pickups from a 90's highway tele I plan to fit and it will require new potis and wiring...with that totalled up I am already well into the kind of money for a cv squire at least. But.. with the mods it is better than that now but its only worth the money for the body and neck really..I also had the fret problem you mentioned Elmo but that's normal...and I can do work pretty well without lutjiers and so on so if you want a good basis for builing your own tele then this is good for the money. I think a beginner would be better off with something else perhaps
Nice one Elmo!
I have had two HB guitars in the past ; decent for the price but both ended up being sold.
Funny you mention that Squier Bullet Telecaster standing out to you , as one of my student's has one in Lake Placid Blue (my favorite guitar colour) and it is fantastic!
My 3k US Fender J bass was way better after a setup. That included a fair bit of fret work. Out of about 5-6 instruments the only one that came back with 'this is perfect' was my Sadowsky RV5.
Elmo you should add a high end tele to your arsenal so you can rock jazz tunes and Danny Gatton licks. You made this one sound good so a more expensive high end tele will sound great.
Planning on doing that, but probably won't happen for a while (unless I happen to find one that's great).
Not a huge tele fan personally, but for a starter guitar it's probably ok. Better than K started with back when the dinasours were roaming the night. 🤣
Hope all is well sir! Good here.
Ash is gorgeous, in the 70s I had my kitchen cupboards all in White Ash. My buddy's 70s Fender Strat is White Ash, looks great, but weighs as much as a Norlan era Les Paul. Many Ash species are now endangered in the US, even Fender doesn't use ash anymore, let alone Squier. So I'm left wondering what HB uses for their "American Ash", it doesn't look like your typical ash grain.
Have read a lot of reviews that mention these guitars being a boat anchor in terms of weight. You can swap the hardware, do a set up or fret work but you wont make it lighter.
Thank you for your work. It look's amazing. I went for a Vintage 59 Icon distressed Sunburst. But the one you have there is better value for the money I would say.
Sounds like a Tele should. I personaly would change the pickups but its fine like that.
Dat riff @6.40
Smells like Duck.
Nice vid, I've been looking at this guitar for playing Sir Smash-a-lot gigs, you know the ones that end with a broken headstock.
I really want to see someone do one of these reviews on a cheap guitar with a cheap amp. Let's be real if someone is going to buy this guitar they probably won't have a great amp
You’ll always sound bad with a cheap amp, define cheap please because I like to use the word affordable. Cuz if you have 400 dollars for just an acoustic or an electric and an amp that’s a good chunk if you know what you’re looking for
Your guitar will only ever sound as good as your amp. Put a PRS through a crap amp and it will sound like crap, so showing any guitar through a bad amp is a poor representation of the guitar.
In fact, I'd argue that it's usually better to cheap out and buy a guitar like this HB to spend a bit more and get a good amp from the go.
@@EversonBernardes I agree with you because you can upgrade the guitar, the only thing you need to watch for is the guitar neck and how it feels! But other than that everything can be replaced because you can have a good feeling guitar without paying thousands of dollars
I’m gonna take your word for it! Have a Great Day & Keep on Rockin’ 🤟🏻👍🏻😎🎸🎶☮️❤️
Thanks! You too!
Kids, unless you are Elmo Karjalainen , do not try this at home! Nonetheless, a good Tele at any price. Too bad about its weight though. Wouldn't want to do a 4 -hour gig.
It sounds good. 👍
Definitely NOT a Fender Tele Tone....like some knock off...Yet, Elmo makes it sound good....That's really cool!
I put Seymore Duncan quarter pound telecaster pickups on it. Wow, it improved! Now Ima put them on a Squire Bullet Telecaster. Pickups are important!
3:10 this made my day, thank You Elmo :DDD
:)
Nice looking wood they used on that body thou!
That guitar is good. You criticized that Tele a lot. I have one and it just needs to be played. Everything is completely ok. 👍🎼🎶😎
It´s a nice guitar. Not only for that price. But I have the same "fret problem" as you had...
Very cool. I like it for an El Cheapo guitar. Great playing as usual Elmo🤘😎👍🏁
Thanks a lot!
I have this and its a great git but it did need fret work 😬
I got te-20 bought from luthier guy who set it up. It isnt perfect. But for the price and after set up it is perfect for me as a beginner :) I think that there is lottery with HB but you can always return it if it is new :)
Yep :)
Your video made me question a recent action. I bought my first Strat. It is being shipped. It's a kit guitar. With shipping, it was about the same price as the yellow Telecaster in your video. Oh well. Good video as always.
Thanks! Let's hope it's good.
@@MrPolevaulter Thanks - I began sanding it and noticed - no string tree. Oh well.
Hi im living in country that the guitars are so much expensive. So which guitar you can suggest to buy around 150-250 dolar?
I'm having trouble on trying to find the right pickup size for my TE-52!
Please, Any recommendations?
better than some CVs even Fenders 😃
First comment here, i'll take this chance to thank you for these honest reviews.
I'm still struggling to find the perfect high gain/ small/ valve/ not to expensive combo amp but im kinda losing my hope
Marshall DSL 5
I agree with the dsl suggestion. Cant beat it in the price range.
If you have the money, I'd go for one of the orange rockerverbs, if on a budget try the Blackstar studio series or HT, they're pretty good.
@@tracypartin7408 thank you so much for the suggestion! I will check it out
@@riverrhodes7394 Great thanks! the blackstar is something i'm considering indeed :)
how about a video of you teaching us how to play those fast runs up & down the neck ?!! - :)
I have all sorts of lessons here on UA-cam, plus waaay more in my Guitar Academy.
Artist guitars make the TC59 which has the same body but better hardware. Twin split coil humbuckers though, so more like a les pauelecaster
I'm all about Harley Benton. Just a neck from warmth cost twice as much as the whole guitar.
Sounds good
Swap the pickups? It seems this guitar loves you.
It's kind of... "Meh" to "Yeah"... :)) My favourite part of the video!
Glad you liked it!
Nice Review. One of the best about TE-52.
Nice vid. Thanks :)
Glad you liked it!
Most excellent amplifier
Okay guitar
Guitar player could use some guitar lessons
The Squier Bullet Tele is not a better guitar lol , only thing i would say is better about the Bullet is the pickups are better , anyway i have found a guitar for £99 that beats both this and the Squier , its from a company called Gear 4 Music they do their own brand guitars and they have a Tele style guitar called the Knoxville which has the sameAsh body and specs as the Harley Benton but way better pickups and better Fret Quality but costs like £59 less , A friend of mine he let me try it the other day and for £99 i was like how can they even be making a profit on these ? , So please do try one if you can Elmo thanks.
Hi there, Elmo! Great review as usual! Could you please tell me if there's a big difference between 52 and 62? Besides the weight.
The 62 is much lighter.
Great guitar, but so heavy!!!
Easy for you to say I mean play !
:D
02:30 Let's hear how it looks like:-7
Hey bro! How would you compare this one to the te62? As far as I can see the main difference is the finish and neck profiles. 62 is a modern d, 52 is a c. Just wondering because I’m gonna get one of them to mod, just not sure which yet. I think the 62 you demo’d also had a rosewood board- was it better?
I liked the TE-62 more. Main things were that this one weighs a ton, and I just didn't like it somehow. The TE-62 was great imo for the money.
@@MrPolevaulter cheers mate!
Starting at 3:07. I’m crying. 🤣.
:)
had mine about 3 years it's a good guitar but it's heavy in weight ..
One's of these is for sale near me for £70 i should buy it really at that cost?
The problem is with the pickup.
It sounds 'dried out'.
It's for beginners.
Sounds fine
I was gonna buy one and the shipping fee was $85 - not so inexpensive anymore
Yeah.
Steve Cropper jos nyt oikein muistan soittaa aina telen mikkivalitsin keskiasennossa?
Mitäpä sitä turhaan kääntelee jos soundi miellyttää...
Niinpä :)
You could toss all the other stuff and make a bonafide Fender Tele out of it. Ash body? Hell yes!
Is it comparable with squier classic vibe or with vintage icon?
I prefer the CV. Haven't tried the Vintage.
Very picky guy, it's ok. Thanks for the honesty. "Hear thou, hear thou (?) right here in the cold icy waters of the baltic, in the deep forest of our Karelian ancestry we created (among other things such as the cell phone) that ole saying: Liar, liar pants on fire. In exactly the way you think we did..."
If you were going to swap the pick ups out what would yoh recommend
I would probably put in Joe Bardens (I think that's what they're called). The ones Danny Gatton used.
Has this guitar twang and percussive sound for country music?
Yep.
I've been wondering...what model is that Orange one in the background?
It's something that's custom built. Not exactly sure, as it isn't mine. I'm just storing it.
what is a cheaper alternative for the marshall 1959 hw? Its 1999 Euros atm :( Trying to learn guitar and bought this guitar but i am unsure about the amp.
I use the Marshall 1987x. Smaller, cheaper, and it has a loop. That or the SV20, which is even smaller.
@@MrPolevaulter thx sir, you are super talented :) Getting into playing guitar now and trust your guitar advices :)
Quick one, how affordable is this telecaster?
0:10 I dont appreciate that man
Hello brother, I am about to buy this or the Harley Benton Te-62, which one do you recommend?
62.
@@MrPolevaulter Thanks! 😉
This HB or Squier Classic Vibe Tele ?
This was just way too heavy, and the CV had a terrible nut, so neither. The Bullet was quite good. But that was only out of the individual guitars I tried.
Have one a very heavy guitar
Off top question) Elmo, I have an opportunity to get DOD YJM308 overdrive for less than 100$. How do you think would this pedal be affordable to use with Marshall
Origin 50 and JCM900? This two amps I always play. I am afraid that pedal has to much treble and presence.
Not sure about the JCM900, but it worked fine with the Origin when I tried it (well, it was the Fender Yngwie Overdrive, but they're much the same in terms of sound).
@@MrPolevaulter many thanks, Elmo! Happy to find your channel on UA-cam. There are huge amount of great information here, really usefull. You helped a lot.
What is "way better"? HB or Squier?
Sorry?
@@MrPolevaulter in your review (above) you have mentioned that you had checked Tele Squier Bullet shortly before, and that one of these two guitars "is a way better" (a quote of your words). Which one did you mean exactly? Thanks.
I’m curious about this too
Anyone know the fret size on there ? Jumbo or medium etc,??
Can't remember. Check the Thomann site.
You began to rise the price!!! First you said 149€, than 150€. Now we are at 169€🫵😡😂
Terve Elmo!
Asutjo nyt on Suomessa?
Etsin musikot.
Iso kiitos.
Asun.
@@MrPolevaulter Anterksi, se on vanha vastaus. Ok,voitko kirjotan on sähöposti? Minulla on Grunge-Slowcore uusi suomen kieltä projekti ja etsin suomalaiset muusikot. Kiitos,Päivä.
This guitar quality for such a low price is ridiculous.
No "Twang eh?"
Good axe and cheap, but too heavy though.
Indeed!
6:18 dude...
Hi Elmo. I would like to hear a short experiment from you because of your Yngwie-like nimbleness. I would love to hear you play a complete song, EXCEPT...your guitar is completely out of tune. No real reason for it. I just think it would be fun to hear and warped-sounding stuff makes me laugh like a maniac. I'd do it myself but I am NOWHERE near your skill. Cheers and have a great day, mang!
Haha :D That would probably sound horrible :D
This or st62? Cheers
Not sure.
Looks like a old "Telli" lol
I want to see some Malmstien country shredding out of you with this one.
It's a Roy Buchanan guitar,,, listen to , Godzilla walking through the park, by roy,,, and , green unions,
You did not disappoint :)
Cheers!
To heavy
I do not get the point of all the shredding. There is not a single clean chord that rings longer than a millisecond. Yeah, good idea to review it like that. Beating the tone to death