Harley Benton - TERRIBLE FAIL | TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- HOW DARE THEY! Time for someone to be HONEST about Harley Benton and their Thinline Telecaster.
Get your Harley Benton TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted HERE: thmn.to/thoprod/517406?offid=...
This video contains paid promotion from Harley Benton
More details on how CSGuitars implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure
#harleybenton #telecaster #thinline
Timecodes:
00:00 - Introduction to the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
00:42 - Saying Negative Things = Honest?
01:39 - Cardboard Packaging
02:00 - Natural Transparent Finish
02:17 - How Hollow is it?
02:47 - Roasted Maple Neck
03:22 - Basic Fretwork
03:39 - Humbucker Deception
04:17 - Time for Some Honesty
05:33 - Sounds of the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
08:02 - The Truth About Sensationalism
08:29 - Final Thoughts on the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
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____________________________________________________________________
HOW DARE THEY! Time for someone to be HONEST about Harley Benton and their Thinline Telecaster.
Get your Harley Benton TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted HERE: thmn.to/thoprod/517406?offid=1&affid=367
This video contains paid promotion from Harley Benton
More details on how CSGuitars implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure
#harleybenton #telecaster #thinline
Timecodes:
00:00 - Introduction to the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
00:42 - Saying Negative Things = Honest?
01:39 - Cardboard Packaging
02:00 - Natural Transparent Finish
02:17 - How Hollow is it?
02:47 - Roasted Maple Neck
03:22 - Basic Fretwork
03:39 - Humbucker Deception
04:17 - Time for Some Honesty
05:33 - Sounds of the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
08:02 - The Truth About Sensationalism
08:29 - Final Thoughts on the TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted
More from CSGuitars:
Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars
Join CSGuitars Discord - discord.gg/csguitars
Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store
Website - www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact - colin@csguitars.co.uk
____________________________________________________________________
*Description contains affiliate links. Purchasing using one of these links will generate a small commission for CSGuitars at no additional cost to you.*
Just bought a T-Shirt... well done... oh.. . and... I think you've been hanging around with Glenn... way too much! 😲😎🎸🤘
If you ever get a TE-40, may I suggest putting Epiphone Firebird pickups on it? I'd love to hear what that combination would sound like.
It could also be a good opportunity for a technical deep dive on the construction of Firebird pickups.
10 days ago?!
@@BlakeSpohn there's this thing called scheduling which allows creators to upload videos on one date and publish them on another.
I had mixed experiences with Harley Benton. However only with newer models like their 335 copy. One of the horns was almost 1cm bowing upwards and so was the replacement guitar that I got. I think it was a faulty batch because every single one I bought used (I have 6) was just excellent as well as their Rickenbacker guitar copy which also is an excellent guitar for the money. Looking at the comments it just confirmed to me what you said. Most customers are really satisfied unlike with other budget guitar brands. It's just amazing what a few hundred dollars can buy you nowadays thanks to CNC machining.
I've seen a lot of comments claiming exactly what you said in this video. Everyone who likes HB is being bought by Thomann but that's not what you see when you compare the experiences in the forums.
Sarcastic Colin is Best Colin. The internet needs more guitar reviews like this 🤣
Agreed
Fully agree, i'm dyin here
ive laughed so hard at this 🤣 these are the real reviews we want 🤘
Theres already enough clickbait. Doing it ironically doesnt make it any less retarded
Aye!
I actually completely agree with demoing even cheap guitars through a good amp. You're showing what the guitar can sound like after all. Otherwise it's a bit like demoing a cheap 4k TV, but you only look at VHS tapes.
I personally think that it destroys the myth that you need a 2000 dollar guitar to sound good, more and more players are realizing that the things that actually affect your sound signifficantly aren't whether or not the wood in your instrument is top quality brazilian mahogany (which you will end up painting anyways so you wouldn't see nor feel the wood in the body) or having 35 dollar Teslas or 250 dollar Seymours, but rather the things that are actually physically moving the air and causing sound to be made around you... hell, I've seen people argue that nitro finishes change the sound of your guitar, you can't make this up🤣
This comment just made me wonder how you would even go about running a VHS player through a modern 4k TV... And also how hilariously awful that would look if you did get it to work.
@@fernandosilva6295 Follower of Glenn Fricker, I see
@@RedbeardMaximus I wonder what the max resolution output is on a VHS system and tape?
@@benfennell6842 Being analog and maximising the play time, VHS doesn't have precise pixels but it's approx equivalent to 320x240 pixels. 😀
I appreciate your attempts to teach folks about critical thinking. Maybe they'll get to try it out for themselves some day - I've heard it's even cheaper than a Harley-Benton!
Depends on your definition of cheap. A tiny number of people seem to be blessed with critical thinking skills almost from birth. Another small minority learn them early on from some combination of parents, teachers and experience. It is indeed possible to acquire them once you reach adulthood, but the investment in time, study and energy can in no way be considered cheap, though I firmly believe it's worth it. And I speak from experience, not having been one of those fortunate early learners.
@BUNFIGHT SPECIALIST I don't think greed and critical thinking skills are necessarily mutually exclusive, but I don't trust anything he says about his sponsors.
@BUNFIGHT SPECIALIST We know he's being paid to advertise, the video says as much, it's all over the place. It's not a secret.
So... What critical thinking do you think is involved in turning down a paycheque to show off a product? Maybe you're suggesting he actually thinks it's bad, but that's still not 'critical thinking', it's just regular lying.
Y'know, someone can say something's bad when it isn't for a monetary incentive too, and that's just regular lying too -- there's a video you could watch to help explain the concept.
@@patrickfitzgerald2861 For sure, and I think that's totally fair. If someone's paid to advertise, it makes sense not to take what they're saying on faith. But like the video says, the fact that he's got positive stuff to say doesn't mean he's any more or less honest than other review videos. Likewise, the fact that someone put out a video slamming a budget guitar doesn't mean they're not motivated by money. Negativity isn't honesty, but it sells real well.
@@SyrusRayne Be aware that he very quickly deleted an early comment I posted that had detailed, but negative, things to say about a Harley Benton guitar that I've owned for a couple of years. In my experience only fraudsters do that. Also, the folks at Thomann are almost certainly sending him hand picked and carefully prepared versions of the instruments he reviews. Bottom line? I don't trust him, and I don't trust Thomann.
That rant about not being able to please everyone really got me laughing my ass off.
Honestly, this has been my favorite channel for reviews and guitar tech education
Amen there. Just focuses on what matters. One of the most credible people on the platform.
"this tasteful and reserved finish simply won't convey how much i perceive society to have wronged me"
SHOT FIRED
For all the years I've watched you, telling the haters to shut up is the most agro I've seen. Fair play for keeping the lid on for so long, and for taking it off at the right time 😁
I felt that shut up deep in my soul, some people really do need to just do that and remember that the point of demos is to be a showcase of not only the guitar itself, but also how it can be used to it's best. Even if yes that does involve putting it through a couple pedals
Colin, is everything okay? :)
Truth be told, I would have killed for budget instruments to be this featured when I started playing 20 years ago.
Think you've hit the nail on the head there. So many people who slag off modern cheap guitars like Harley Benton are just stuck in that mindset from a couple of decades ago where cheap guitars usually were rubbish and refuse to accept that this isn't the case anymore.
30 yrs ago was even worse,I paid $500 plus Australian for a pretty awful Steve Vai copy status, these things are unbelievable for the money...or maybe more expensive ,`name' brand guitars are the unbelievably priced
Exactly. I've been playing for 23 years, and I remember my first guitar: Peavey Raptor (ST style). Now these budget guitars are much better. Of course, my actual Gibson Les Paul is better than a SC-550, but for the price, is a great buy.
I've also been playing a long time, and I would have killed for guitars like Harley Benton when I started out.
@Weybl people who have been playing for years, gear heads that have more of a guitar gear hobby than a playing hobby, and people who have shitty gear but go online to argue about the best gear who own none of it, sort of like sports cars, are the main people who engage in the comment sections in complaining and "debating" about the gear. For most people, bed room guitarists, shitty beer bands, new players, players who want a few different styles but don't want to go bankrupt.... these are perfect for. But it's not the people who interact in the comment section.
I bought one of their ST-59s because I liked the color and it's a terrific guitar! It doesn't play as nice as my RG550, but honestly plays better than anything I've played from Epiphone in the 2000s and the 2010s. For like 170 bucks.
Just come off Reddit /guitars where everyone was telling some poor beginner that they needed to spend at least $1,000 to get a "good" guitar 💩 Seriously, you are so right - as is Colin - that guitars today are amazing value and quality for a damn lot less than $1k. I'm ancient and have been playing almost 50 years now, and since covid I started buying up loads of cheap second hand guitars to fix up for a local kids music project and wow... so many of them were astoundingly decent and even brilliant in some cases. Just wish I was a kid learning to play today as its a great time to learn guitar (if not a great time to make a living in a band lol).
If I got ANY Harley Benton as a teen, it would never leave my hands. They are all pretty stylish, in my opinion. Play pretty solidly!
I feel you man. I wish they existed 15 years ago when i first started to learn guitar.
@@mayatmaot Right!?
There are a lot of passions/hobbies in which people get hung up on having the absolute best of the best gear. The annoying thing about these people in the guitar world is that it seems like they forget the guitar is just a tool for making art. If you can't find your voice in a guitar because it has a blemish in the finish or doesn't have locking tuners or "OMG it doesn't have a FretWrap?!" ...you're better off building the perfect gaming PC; you'll waste less money and fewer peoples' time.
This video is absolutely spot on. Well done Colin. A lot of what you just said is not just applicable to guitar reviews…….unfortunately
100%!
A review is a big word, most people just did an overview and most of the times it’s just a demo
I bought a HB guitar used for $220, I upgraded the pickups to Fishman Fluence, and I paid a luthier to dress and polish the frets and I now have a really excellent guitar that is super versatile and I absolutely love to play it.
I swear to god I watched a review of a Harley Benton where the reviewer took off a control knob, and wearing a jewellers eyeglass, started to criticise the roughness of the internal moulding of the knob!
So this review is quite believable! ;-)
Lmao whether that review was sarcastic or not that gave me a good laugh 🤣
@@businessofrhythm2315
I wish I could link to it! It was some beefy asian guy.
He wasn't a horrible person or anything - just a bit 'over-zealous', as they say. I'm sure he thought he was doing his viewers a service.
I just thought how stupid it was for a *budget* guitar. ;-)
(Oh, it's still me - Zachariah Jones. This is a different account I have - only just noticed I'm not replying from the original account!)
“I don’t know what you people want anymore!” I love Colin more with each passing year.
I have a HB TE62 and it's just the same as you stated. It'll probably lack certain aspects that higher priced instruments have but It's a well built, good playable and good sounding instrument. Most important, it still inspires me to pick it up anytime i can and is a lot of fun to play
My favorite channel for learning the science behind my favorite instrument... now with 101% more point proving sarcasm... man, I Love the way Colin has been injecting more of his own personality into his videos, and I feel like this is the culmination of that. Love it man! ❤️
It's nice to see a fair analysis of a less expensive guitar. HB definitely does occasionally ship crap like everyone else, so people who have experienced this aren't liars or idiots. Their insistence that highly microphonic pickups aren't a mistake (KDH's recent video, I'm sure you know of it: this video seems a bit like a response) is a massive strike against the customer service of a company that generally makes very good less expensive (if often derivative) instruments.
You caught me with the title of this video! And I am glad you did. I was laughing my way through this, thoroughly enjoying your approach. I have just gotten back into guitar after a few decades away, and have been drawn to a LP at the local shop (I am a lefty so guitars can be tough to find). I thought maybe *this* video was going to be one talking about how bad HB guitars are, but nope! I just keep running into more and more of them talking about how these are solid guitars. As a newbie, who at this "mature" stage of life, will never be on stage, etc. and I just want a "good" guitar, which was tough to find in the 80's, for a decent price and left handed. Now here I am, going back to the HB site to see what shipping is to Canada. Thanks again!
I got a HB DC about six months ago.
It's my first HB, and being about $180 before shipping, I expected nothing. So I got the guitar, plugged it into my interface and played it through some Neural DSP plugins, and it sounds phenomenal! I did find some weird and hilarious things in the build quality, which were all cosmetic, so non of them affected the playability of the instrument.
It's honestly the level of quality you'd expect from anything in the $500-$700 price range, so the $180 price tag blew me away.
I've been watching Colin's channel for a long time, but just recently subscribed. He actually takes the time to know what he's talking about.
Well done, Colin!
Thank you so much for this video. You said things that need to be said. I get tired of of certain people on UA-cam shouting and cutting down their audience while claiming everything is a sham. "The secret guitar companies don't want you to know". Horseshit.
I was a bit worried when I saw the title 😂 but in the end I got what I come here for. Straight shooting straight up knowledge, delightful Scottish'ness, and occasionally sass from a talking fish
Great video! I've been a huge fan of Harley Benton guitars for a few years now and I find it hard to look elsewhere considering the value. I'll probably be buying a guitar from Shijie soon for $1500 (insane value for the specs) but I can't stop thinking about how I could just buy 5 or 6 Harley Benton guitars instead. Maybe I should do both... 😁
Thanks for the valuable review Mr. Scott. Review of budget instruments are very important so we can pick the right practice guitar to waste on non musical exercises. Eating away the frets and wearing out an expensive guitar is not a desirable thing for me. So thanks again a lot gained from your time and effort.
P.S. I usually don't like posting comments. But after watching this short video I see myself very luck to have mastered the art of IGNORING.
Perfection! The diminishing returns on guitars is massive these days. The gear to most avoid compromising on are the cab/speaker, followed by the amp.
With how good even the free amp sims have gotten, you can ditch the amp as well.
@@ErebosGR ...But you shouldn't because, while sounding great, amp sims offer no guarantee that they won't fuck up somehow half way through your set. And what if your laptop updates in the middle of a song?
Yeah. Not gonna be a great time, and I speak from experience.
Musicianship requires investment, and if you're investing into a digital rig just for it to have a margin of error that's pretty much out of your control and could come from out of nowhere, then personally I'd say that investment is better put into gear that's not over complicated with ASIOs and mandatory sound drivers you didn't even know existed.
I'd recommend an amp sim to a bedroom player or somebody who uses a home studio, but to professional musicians who actually gig and play shows I'd have to give digital rigs the cold shoulder. It's just more hassle and risk for the same exact setup, and I *guess* you get to brag about your Axe-FX III or Kemper after the show to a bunch of drunk college kids who don't know what you're talking about.
I'd rather lug a cabinet, head, pedal board and guitar up some steps one by one through the back entrance of the venue and be perfectly fine than tap dance onto the venue and my laptop updates or the battery dies and ruins the show.
@@razztastic Tube amps are more unreliable and, more importantly, inconsistent.
@@ErebosGR and sound better. Pros and cons. If you play where the amp actually needs to fill the room with sound (not the PA), you still can’t beat a tube amp. I regularly gig both (stomp into PA), and midsize combo amp, and the tube sounds better every single time.
@@jburdsinfuse In your case, it's the guitar speaker and cabinet that make the difference, not the tubes.
If deep learning neural networks can't tell the difference between a tube amp and a simulation, then neither can you.
You have no idea how right you are about the cost of guitars in the past decades. When I bought my first electric guitar in 1983, I spent $235 usd, about $750 in todays money. And the choices were very few. What you can get today for a pittance is incredible.
Brilliant review Colin.
I have never understood why there are so many Guitar related reviews that are based on bias and not simple reality.
Your comment about the quality of an affordable Guitar is so much better than in the past is spot on.
How do I know that, well I had a couple of cheap Guitars in the late 70's and they really were crap, and bear no comparison to the Squier Affinity Guitar I now have.
Cheers, keep them coming.
Nice guitar and funny review. I use stacked/noiseless single coil sized humbuckers in my Strat. They can be raised closer to the strings than one might expect, and get brighter tones if desired. YMMV
Nice job. I'm imagining the initial reaction of the HB "suit" looking at the thumbnail and it gives me a warm glow of joy. Thanks Colin.
Colin, could you do a TATA on pedal power supplies. The differences in voltage requirements and center negative, center positive, etc. I don't know enough about them to know what questions to ask. Thanks.
Yep. Misunderstood all the time. I sold a Hardwire DL8 to a girl on Facebook years ago, and she received it, and immediately sent a video of it daisy chained with several other super hungry pedals including a large format EHX reverb pedal, all off one wallwart. It was glitching out like crazy. I tried to explain that it was her power supply situation, and she insisted on sending it back. I refunded her, got it back and it was working perfectly. Some people don't listen. She wouldn't even try it on it's own with no other pedals. Man. Some wallwarts are only capable of 1000mA, and she had several big digital pedals demanding over 500mA in a chain all interfering with each other.
Sir Collins Im Alexis the one that you treat me a redhorse beer here at 19 east bar thanks for the treat and i forgot to the thanks to you and im so very grateful to meet you and i hope you visit here again sir keep safe safe sir 😊
Your title worked too well Colin, I avoided this video for a while because it made me sad to think Harley Benton would go to shit after such a good stride. Glad to see it's a facade, hope to try one of these guitars sometime.
Read his pinned comment. He's _paid_ by Harley Benton.
Hahaha this was highly entertaining! Thanks Colin! 🎉 And thank you for your normal in depth vids and insights
Spot on Colin! You really hit the nail on the head. Having played guitars at both ends of the price spectrum Harley Benton’s punch well above their weight. I am proud to own two, a single cut Junior & a 7 string. They were perfect guitars for me to buy considerably at the time I wasn’t sure if I would get along with the particular style of guitar. Are they perfect, NO! Are they insane value value for the money, ABSOLUTELY! I very much enjoy playing them. What more could you want for such a small investment. 👍
Loved this. A little dose of reality on the world today, especially the online world. The comment at the end was chef’s kiss. Keep doing what you do, Colin.
When I saw the title between my subscriptions I nearly ignored it... But There were not that many videos today, thus I clicked it as the last video for today. I am glad I did, it was good fun.
My god you remind me of my Grandfather! He and my grandmother settled here in the US in their 30's. He was from Largs originally but worked for a distillery in his youth can't remember which at the moment. He was one of my greatest influences growing up. I spent so much time with him as a child that when I started speaking it was with an impressive brogue. I'm 48 now and just started playing the guitar a year ago. Thank you for the honest reviews and the incredible memory jogging! Cheers!
That looks a fantastic Tele, thinking a tortoise shell Pickguard would look good on there
I put stacked pickups on my Squier tele. No looking back. Interesting, it specifically said in the documentation “do not split”. Wonder what’s different with this one.
I worked at my Grandfathers Music Store in the 80"s and there was never anything of this quality for this price for sure. Great Video lol I dont know what prompted it but I loved it.
I have a Boogie Fillmore but play Squier guitars. I think the single coil tap on that bridge sounds pretty good. Is that a 3-way pickup switch? Probably all you would need on that since you've got a humbucker and no need to put them in series.
With that title I thought you messed up a guitar upgrade ! I clicked thinking I could learn a bit from your experience ! Great video :)
Great video man, just discovered you channel. Loved the sarcastic bit haha.
Question though, would stacked singles mean higher output too (same as a HB)? or does it mean noiseless only? or does it mean both?
Depends how you wind them, you could design a pickup to be either.
Good job! Nice review. I'm not a brand name snob, for me, it doesn't have to say Gibson or Fender, it just has to play and sound good. I have 2 HB. I change the pickups and tuners and get a setup and I'm good to go. With the money I save, I go on a trip to Thailand.
I wish you had the amount of subscribers you deserve! Thanks Colin.
It would be interesting to see you compare a harley benton to an eastcost guitar. Theres a lot of hype around those two brands at the moment
Great review! I bought one because I really wanted to telecaster, and don’t really need an expensive one. I have enough electric guitars around here that I can’t throw a rock in my house without hitting one.
I bought one of these, swapped out the pick ups and installed a four-way switch. I am as happy as could possibly be with my $200-300 now…telecaster. I will not be buying another Tele, because I think this will do the trick forever. IMO, Great quality guitars!
Big fan of Harley Bentons. They are pretty consistent with QC and you absolutely can't beat them for the price. They are more than good enough to play shows with and I get to keep the pricey rigs at home.
I had bad luck unfortunately. Monday morning model lol
You do the guitar community a great service master Colin. I thank you. Videos are looking super minty BTW 👌🏾
Loved this Colin... I like Fuckin cheap but well made guitars that repay a little love & attention (modding) to make them sing..!!!
it's a challenge and it's rewarding when it happens and Harley Bentons largely do just that.
I've had 6 so far and I've only sent one of the buggers back, but the other 5 have been absolutely perfect and two of them have been quite astonishingly good ( at least as good as the American originals they're copies of ) and for a 5'th of the cost or more..!!!
OK, I usually replace the pickups, pots & wiring, it's worth it (if the guitar has good bones and feels good) , but I did that on my Fender Nashville Tele and I had to dress the frets, roll the fretboard and replace the pick guard which warped after 6 months.
Oh yeah... I play them through some good amps as well, because it gets the best out of them ( Why wouldn't I ???)
Hmmm... I feel another Thinline purchase coming on..!!!
Yeah broke ass guitar players like me can rejoice!
You were lucky, mine arrived today with a chunk out of the neck . The box looked like it was stabbed multiple times in transit. The neck angle is horrible and the turners are poor . The body finish is excellent and it sounds very good for 144 dollars plus 80 shipping . Still a good deal with a few issues
id like to see a video of you up grading this guitar . i reckon a series /parallel switch for the humbucker instead of a coil split might be interesting
Hey man, great review! Tell me what pick are you using in the video, at 6:56? Is that like a thumbpick? Thank you for posting this.
By far your best video, and I have an extreme bias for the ibanez xiphos videos you've done lol
Thank you for your review ... I have one on those now, and I am really satisfied how it is and plays ... The sounds are what I looked for ... now.. Good Tele sounds ... No it is not a vintage - 69 thin-line... I think the first year Fender introduced this model.... But try and find one you can afford ... But it will serve me well .... I have the TE-52 NT as well - and I am not sure witch I like the best.. the 52 is a little darker sounding and I like that .. I have changed to good compensated saddles on both, something I really can recommend....
Great review! So satisfying hearing you rant about negative comments!
I was looking for a funk machine when I bought this. And, boy did I get one. It also has me rediscover my amp. As a bonus, you definitely can get close to the "tele-jazz" sound. I just wish I had one of these when I started playing decades ago. My only complaint would be the tuners. They do the job, but they're not as accurate as I'd like.
Absolutely refreshment of a guitar review video. Well done mate. Well done 💯
Subbed 🙏
Your channel and ArnoldPlaysGuitar are the ones I actually have come to trust. You bring the logic and science behind it all which I find endlessly useful, and ArnoldPlaysGuitar brings the feelings into it, and both are necessary for the instrument and reviewing things honestly.
But I guess sensationalism sells though.
The most deliciously sarcastic and cynical video you've ever made. Taking the piss without the gag overstaying its welcome, absolutely fantastic watch.
I got the TE-52 and I love it so much. The finish and neck is so lovely.
I'm really liking the content. I genuinely hope you're not driving yourself nuts producing it.
I usually like your videos man... But I loved this one!
Great job, as usual. Nice guitar too.
Big love from Spain.
Good to see you back on the net again!
Hey Collin I have a TATA for you. Can I run an Orange Micro Terror into a 16 ohm speaker? If I can safely then how many watts would I be using? I know Class D gets attenuated the higher the ohms go but what about class AB?
Honestly, this was hilarious. You're encouraging folks to keep badgering you if it produces content this entertaining.
This is one of my favorite UA-cam videos ever, regardless of subject matter 😂😂😂
Absolutely Hilarious video. A few actual bona fide LOL moments. Fast becoming my favourite guitar channel.
LOL awesome review and brilliant demo, thanks :D we need more honesty, honestly!
Just bought a Harley Benton SC 550 2 and it is epic. I have three now and love them all (not all 550s)
Love it. I have recently gotten a Harley Benton JA60, partly because of your honest review, after being away from guitar for almost 20 years. There is absolutely NOTHING from my previous time in guitar that could come close for the price and I’d have been spending $700 to get close. Douchebags will overlook QA problems on a $2000 guitar but the second a $200 guitar is not absolutely perfect they lose their mind. Imagine if Gibson had QA as good as HB.
I had mixed experiences with Harley Benton. However only with newer models like their 335 copy. One of the horns was almost 1cm bowing upwards and so was the replacement guitar that I got. However every single one I bought used (I have 6) was just excellent as well as their Rickenbacker guitar copy which also is an excellent guitar for the money. Looking at the comments it just confirmed to me what you said. Most customers are really satisfied unlike with other budget guitar brands. It's just amazing what a few hundred dollars can buy you nowadays thanks to CNC machining.
I've seen a lot of comments claiming exactly what you said in this video. Everyone who likes HB is being bought by Thomann but that's not what you see when you compare the experiences in the forums.
i love Harley Benton i don't care if they have issues or are perfect, mine have wear on the neck from jammin,. Thank you for listening to my ted talk.
I was hoping this would be a bit more hollow as my te52 weighs 11lbs, it's a lovely guitar so won't be upgrading any time soon
Colin, thanks so much for your SAVAGE honesty in addressing the sickness in world today!
You should run some demos through something like the boss katana 50. Great amp that would be in budget for the majority of people, plus it would be interesting if you shared the presets
I’ve always wondered one thing, though. Why are the semi hollowed/chambered Teles always thin lined? I’m wondering because aren’t they already lighter from the chambering?
Been thinking about getting a Tele for a while. I really play mostly hard rock, but there is something about the single coil bridge pickup in a Tele that nothing else quite sounds like, clean or dirty. You would think a Strat would, and they are similar, but there is some mojo going on with mounting it to the bridge instead of a pickguard, etc. I've narrowed it down to a Harley Benton T-62, an AIO T4, which has the 12" radius (better for shredding), and a Fender OxBlood Player Tele with a gorgeous Ebony fretboard. The Fender Player is MIM as you know,and would cost me almost as much as my American Standard Strat that I bought in 2013 after tax. Part of me wants to buy the HB and slowly mod it, mostly just want the option to have both pickups in Series. I could also swap a pickup set since the guitar is $200 or less depending on the color. I have tried the Squires and Vinteras, I feel like they have very thick necks, although to be honest I haven't tried a ton of newer Squires. Any help is appreciated, I'm in the rabbit hole as we speak!
I think nowadays, there's not a whole lot of excuses for a mass-produced guitar to genuinely be bad, as in having construction issues. Gone are the days of guitars arriving with warped necks, hardware that straight up doesn't work properly, or fretwork that rivals the unplayable guitar Colin re-fretted 2 years ago.
Nowadays, most of the money goes towards the nice-to-haves - detail-work, a good setup right out of the factory, and features you don't strictly *need* to play the guitar (Locking tuners, fancier bridge materials, stainless steel fretwork).
Would you consider this as a good project guitar for modifications?
😂
Truly great review.
The only thing missing would be playing the first chords of Start Me Up and it would have been perfect.
Excellent review!! I wholeheartedly agree, Harley Benton instruments are great values for the money. I have four of them, and they are all gig worthy instruments.
Came here with a "so what is going on here?" frown.
Was not disappointed. Thank you for being so blunt.
Calm down, it'll all be ok. It's just very tiring being so perfect. I like the idea of the stacked bridge pickup,if only for the fact it would be relatively easily swapped out.
About 2 years back I purchased the TE-52 NA which is basically the non thinline version of this guitar. When it arrived there was barely a box left. It was so bad the courier first thing was like are you wanting to accept the shipment in this state? Paying barely 100 bucks and after waiting 3 months for it I accepted the shipment. The guitar surprisingly wasn't damaged physically, it plays pretty well and the only issues I found was some sharp frets (which for the price point is to be expected), the only thing I would say was out of the norm that missed its QA check would be on the neck pup the g string made literally no noise like the pole for that string was somehow demagnetized. It wasn't too terrible tho as I happen to have a spare Tele neck pup lying around and swapped it in. If you set your expectations they're not bad guitars but you're better off just spending a bit more for a squire affinity as they are higher quality.
Well that's not the usual experience of you look into the guitar forums. Sharp fret ends happen but are rare. That's why HB got so big because the quality was way above anything else at that price point. If there was no box left that wasn't the fault of Thomann but definitely DHL here in Germany or one of the people in the US delivering the box. It's absolutely horrifying how some of these guys treat packages that clearly contain sensitive stuff.
@@EbonyPope Wasn't debating usual experience just stating how mine went. I purely look at it from a quality standpoint. If I'm recommending a guitar to a student of mine right now in the states the TE52 sells for 50 bucks less than a squire affinity which QA is some of the best I've seen in student guitars. I can also walk in, try and buy a squire off the rack at virtually any guitar store vs waiting months to import. HB very well could have improved over the years and if they did more power to them bc some of they're higher end stuff I've been eyeing and hoping to try for a while.
@@chrispoints4554 Yes I understand. But when did you make these experiences with HB? How many years ago? The thing is HB gives you some features at that price that neither Squier but any other brand can like splittable coils or stainless steel frets. That's why people are raving about them.
I'll be honest you sound like a PR chat bot doing damage control
Colin I’m scared my internal dialogue sounded like your review
Do I need help or a Te69 ?
Roasted nuts or not 🤣
Sounds bloody good to me
Thank you
Great and funny video Colin. It's nearly impossible to please everyone. I gave that up 50 years ago. I still like the Scottish Flying V guitar you built.
THAT was a totally cool video...I love what you did there. i was considering buying a Harley Benton Telecaster.....or. an es 335. not sure yet. i like em both. nice job on your video...i watch you a lot.
5:20 honest question: looking at the bridge, can you only change intonation in pairs of strings?
It looks like there are only 3 adjustable pieces that each hold two strings, which would make proper intonation improbable and non fixable.
I am watching on a tiny screen late at night though, so could be on me.
Yes, you are correct: there are 3 saddles, 2 strings per saddle, intonation is adjusted in pairs. This is how Telecaster bridges have been since their introduction in 1950.
Compensated Telecaster saddles are a common modification to allow greater intonation accuracy while staying close to the original look and sound.
came for the clickbait, stayed for the humor. keep up the good work :)
As always, great Job Colin! And hilarious!
Loved your vid. I would like to ask if you would consider also putting the usd price as well?
You're a big boy, I'm sure you can manage to work out the currency conversion for yourself.
The guitar is mind blowing for 200 wtf ? Very nice review btw :D
I build guitars at my house and I can't even buy the lumber and parts for 200$. I would have loved to have these options as a kid, but as an adult, I realize this is accomplished through mass production techniques and slave labor. I'm kinda torn about this...
It's not slave labor. It's CNC and much cheaper prices for components in Indonesia where these guitars are built. You underestimate how much cheaper it is to automate most processes. If there are almost no workers but machines it's hardly slave labor isn't it?
@@EbonyPope You may not be aware of how many people it takes to do the work after CNC.
@@steventsunami9506 The main work which costs a lot can be done by fewer people though. You don't need a qualified person for every guitar. He even said in the this video that thanks to CNC a lot of products got dirt cheap to produce.
30 years ago, the only thing you could find at this price was Starter Packs.
Goodness knows that is where I started.
5:56 I legit almost died. My lawyers will be in touch
This has by far been the best and funniest review I've seen in a long time. Love your videos Colin, sarcasm is definitely a practiced art