MDMR#7 : Harley Benton TE-20 SB - 88€ Telecaster - Review and Demo
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- Brand new guitar for 88€, or 74£, or 98 US$ appx. - the year of 2020.
SPECIAL SECTION: Comparison with an original US Fender Telecaster with sound examples.
Harley Benton TE-20 SB has a bolt-on maple neck with a "modern C" profile, according to the Thomann website specs .
The neck is a bit thicker but very playable, and the intonation and string action is good enough out of the box.
The neck has 22 frets and 25.5" scale lenght, just like the Strat.
For the price of Harley Benton TE-20 SB, the original Fender telecaster pickup set costs twice as much - just the pickups. The cheapest original Fender Telecaster guitar costs 10-15 times more, at least.
Of course that stock pickups on Harley Benton TE-20 SB are not the best, but honestly, for the guitar's price tag, these stock pickups are good enough, even though they sound a bit muddy for my taste.
Anyways, this is the best time to be a guitarist or to be more precise: a beginner guitarist or a poor and broke guitarist. Harley Benton TE-20 SB is perfect for music students who are playing the guitar for the first time.
Even if you decide you will never play Harley Benton TE-20 SB anymore, it could be a beautiful decoration for your living room, or to impress your friends :-)
For this price, you will most likely not find any brand new and functional instrument.
So I will do less talking, more playing this time, so that you can hear it yourself. I will switch between pickups frequently and play on a clean sound and of course, with the drive.
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Great review with really nice playing.
It was particularly interesting to have the comparison with the genuine Fender guitar.
Harley Benton are democratising music by providing such decent quality instruments at very affordable prices. It's wonderful!
Their higher priced instruments if anything are even better value.
Thanks for posting.
Thx for watching mate. I wish Harley Bentons were around when I started playing guitar many decades ago :-)
i bought a Harley Benton st-20 hss , just over 2 months ago..and for the money, you cant go wrong, its beautifully made, looks fantastic and i am loving it..i bought the £149 starter kit inc delivery, (guitar only is £79) which included the 20w amp, gig bag, strap etc..i didnt realise how loud a 20w amp could be! :D
I'm 53 yrs old and havent played a guitar in years ( previously acoustic) and wanted my first electric..i wasnt disappointed in anyway, high e string snapped within 10 mins, but thats no big deal, a set of Ernie Ball 'super slinkys' from local guitar shop and 40 mins later all is well :)
Since buying the HB, I drunkenly, after watching youtube vids bought a £459 Gretsch G5230T Electromatic JetTM FT Single-Cut with Bigsby..another brill guitar btw, but i still pick the HB up to play every day, put the electronic tuner on it and like the Gretch is stays in tune...for a £79 guitar it is good quality,well built and very well recommended!!
i just bought another Harley Benton st-junior starter kit for my grandson...happy days ahead :D
🔴Sounds great. Do you know how much it weighs, I mean the HB 20 SB guitar?🔴
As you say the HB pickups are a little muddy, but given a setup the whole guitar sounds almost there. For the price no-one should complain. It may be similar to a Tele but it isn't, HB don't say it's a copy. There will always be someone who is not prepared to take an instrument at face value and just play it! I say to all of them keep it real. A real pro player can pick up anything and make it sound great, they are at a level where they can afford to be choosy what they play.
Yes, I totally agree with you. For this price, it absolutely gives the best bang for the buck. I love it. Thank you for watching the video :-) cheers
i agree with you 100% :)
Obviously the Fender sounds better, but a modest upgrade on the HB pups would get it pretty close.
😉👍
I'm a beginner, I just bought a Harley Benton te20, I love it! To my un-trained ear I can notice a difference in tone with the Fender, but not £500 worth of difference.
I would not underestimate a fender, there is much more quality than meets the eyes. I have both a Harley Benton, Squier and Fender of similar models, and the attention to detail and quality are that 500 $ difference indeed, and I love my Harley Benton and squier for sure, but whenever I take my Fender again, it reminds me what great tone, playabality, looks and durability really mean. And that's something to consider as a musician who likes a certain level of audio quality and playability dynamics, when an instrument is masterfully set-up. And it can even get better than that. For instance, I once played with a 60s reissue Gibson SG that waa worth around 4000 $. That was for my standards a whole lot of money, and I deeply regret I didn't even consider buying it, now that it is gone. It was literally the best guitar I have ever played in my whole life, and it had for my ears the perfect sound conceivable. The neck and fret work were out of this world and the set-up, weight, colour, tone and volume knobs were super responsive. Yet the cream of the cake were the custom pickups. The harmonics, the buttery precision of all those elements combined together. I thought I was hallucinating when I was playing this axe, it was like it made me play so much better than I ever had in my whole life. The irony was, that I actually owned an SG myself from 2006, a faded cherry one... My SG was nice, but in no way could it ever compare to the reissue. Retrospectively, if I had known better, I probably would have sold a lot of gear and worked extra hard to get that one. I think 4000 $ is a lot of money and it sure is quite expensive, but in the end, I realize that hard work takes time, and the more attention you give to a craft, the deeper the intention, the more magic you get for what you pay. I am saying all that, because luthiers' work can be taken a little bit for granted, as well as other components made with ver durable and responsive heavy sourced material. As much as I love my Harley Bentons, which I should really use as a platform now to mod, I still think they are more inferior in quality. I would consider though, to go and try guitars in different guitar shops or even go to a respected luthier or collector and gently ask to try out different guitars, just to get a feel. Of course playing a guitar is the wisest thing to get the best tones out, but I would not underestimate a greatly crafted guitar... Cheers
Enjoyed this demo. I was planning to buy a Harley Benton tele and saw your post. Awesome!!!!
Thx for watching the video mate. Cheers. \m/
@@ddomusic my pleasure!!!
The t 20 is bullet proof at that price its just good anyway really
yup, I agree. You ain't gonna find anything cheaper than this with the same quality, for sure ;-)
A lot of fun for 88 euros !
,
Who's gonna find m&d&xx
I have a very valuable 1969 Telecaster I am thinking of buying another one! It will be Harley Benton! It will sound good in my hands.
Distorted at the end, sound very similar... But clean I like the bright of the fender. Also the playbility
Thank you for watching the video. Cheers \m/
I watched many reviews. But it's much more authoritative for me to hear the guitar along with the band. Many guitars only then show their true value. In the band.
The ONLY people whom will notice any difference in 'tone' won't really matter, the audience at your gig certainly won't. 😎😊 They both sound great to me but, this guy could make a rubber band stretched between his fingers sound fantastic 👍
It kind of depends. Some cheap guitars don't handle high volume as well as the high-end guitars do. So this difference might be not apparent in living room situations, but become fairly obvious at a gig. Then again, at 88 euros it's hard to complain too hard. Especially when you see people add some better pickups and a few upgrades here and there doubling the cost (under 200 euros), but getting sound quality much closer to that of a Fender Classic Vibe (around 450 to 500 euros). At the other side of things, a beginner player will get insane value out of this 88 euros guitar honestly.
I agree. It also depends who is in the audience too :-) I call this people "music police" - once in a blues session, the dude asked me why I use no amp ( I've used Fractal Audio Axe 8). I told him something similar what you have said "average listener do not hear any difference if I play on Fractal unit or if I drag my Marshall combo on the stage :-) It makes no drastic difference to me, and saves me an effort to drag Marshall in a public transportation ;-)
@@PHeMoX.... don't handle high volume.....😂😂😂
@@ddomusic great response 😎
Better beginner guitar than an entry level squire for sure. If your kid sticks at it for year, you can upgrade to a classic vibe and you will have had your moneys worth from the HB.
I agree. Much better than a Squire one if you ask me :-) Great for any beginner for sure. Thx for watching the video mate. Cheers.
The pickups are muddy, but for jazz that clean neck tone is preferable on the HB. I may pick one up just for jazz.
I agree with you: for jazz it fits the purpose. Thank you for watching the video.
Daddo Oreskovich would this be ok for a beginner who wants to do blues
The pickups on the Fender sounded more 'open' and not so restricted/ muddy. That being said, it's an easy change to make at a FRACTION of the price as you stated. I'm planning on buying one and replace the pickups with some AlNiCo 5's. Thinking about changing the wiring to 500k pots a well. Curious to hear what that would sound like! Awesome review!!
Thanks to you, excellent demonstration👍👍👍
Thank you for watching \m/
Obviously, the Fender sounds better, but the HB passes with honours! Excellent review and demo, btw
Definitely.
Tone wise I found the HB inoffensive at its price. In fact it stood up reasonably well against the Fender. So the question probably should be “which of the two were most playable” and perhaps “which made inspired you to play”. I’d like to know to be honest. May well invest in one for those times when you go somewhere where an expensive plank could be in peril.
My money's on the Harley Benton , I own both the Fender cost five times more than the Harley Benton , but in terms of the quality , playability and fidelity I prefer the Harley Benton .
Great compare.good review.Fender pick ups a tiny tad brighter , but for the price difference?!?! I'm onto a HB .ta
For less that $100, nothing sounds better than my HB 20!!!
(However, you sound exceptionally good on the Fender.)
🙄
Of course Fender Telecaster is better but for this price, for starting education play on guitar Harley Benton best choice. For me Harley Benton is better than Squier!
Good point. I agree with you. For this price, HB delivers a lot. All my beginner students are now HB players, and nobody complained yet.
😎My recent experience of new Squiers has been awful they seem to be dropping the ball and, that's coming from a Squier diehard.
I just bought a second hand Harley Benton ST20 the cheapest strat they do and the quality is simply stunning, incredibly low action and flawless finish......I'm still scratching my head as to how they can pump these out for the money🤔. I've owned Fenders and Musicmans that had worse finish I promise you.
Sweet playing there, and it looks like the fretboard has been oiled. Looks great for a budget guitar.
For this price and features, I absolutely have no complains :-) Thx for watching the video \m/
Great demo, great sound mate!
Glad you enjoyed it
I have USA Tele. Next up will be the Harley Benton Tele!! Great guitar, indeed!
For this price, I really have no complains :-)
Great video Mr. D , Keep up the good work. it's all in the fingers, but copy will always be copy . Greetings from Bihać. Cheers
Thank you for watching the video :-) It is all in the fingers. In my opinion, the better guitar, the easier to play. Cheers :-)
Thank you! Very very beautiful video!!!
Thank you for watching mate. Cheers \m/
Fender and Gibson must be spitting blood 🩸
I tracked down the pickups of the te 20, and they are coming from the same factory in Twain as the fender pickups....no difference. I believe it's Mattel corporation. I bought the TE20, I really like it. I bought a hard shell case off of Glarry in California for 68.00 and a leather strap with my name on it for 30.00....I guess I'll name him, "Fake Merle".
You play well! The Fender sounds better. But the HB holds its own. I think I want one!
Thx for watching the video. \m/
I believe it depends on your hands and a great setup , if sounds very good , I would use it just for clean and country , but I don't like the flat neck ...
In my own humble opinion, I believe 50% are the hands, and 50% gear. for this price range, this guitar offers great value for the beginners. The neck is not that flat (it has some radius), if you compare it with a classical guitar neck for example, which is 100% feet. Thx for watching the video mate. Cheers \m/
Given the obvious difference in tone between a maple and rosewood-type fingerboard, the HB stands up well (as always:-) What I can say, owning both Fender and Harley Benton guitars, is that the more expensive, the bettter it gets in the details. Choice of wood, quality of the tuners, overall 'feel'. The great thing about HB is that you can get totally playable and gigable guitars for what some people pay for a pair of jeans...
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I would prefer the Fender if it was for 88€ but I have a TE-20. Nice comparison👍.
... the aTele sound a little more full/heavy
that's due to the pickups - right??
Have decided, going for the TE-52 NA Vintage Series 😎
Fender is a bit brighter, but that’s absolutely nothing a little amp tweaking won’t compensate for. Other than that, very close sounding, not enough to justify 4 or 5 x the price. For me, the HB is a no brainer.
I hear a little difference both sound good.👍👍🎸😎
Thx for watching \m/
The TE-20 sounds a little muted but only slightly. The Tele sounds smother but it doesn't sound 10 times better.
Great playing man!
Thx mate. Cheers \m/
Very good guitare for a little price
I think in clean country mode the Fender has more Tele twang and although the sound has spank it isn`t tinny ,but with crunch they sound about the same ,maybe a country player would reject the HB because of this but if you gig your Fender and break a string you could use the HB to save the day ,maybe we need people to find out how the HB would cope with feedback etc in a gigging situation?.
Very nice! If some1 doesn't like it, just tell them 'jebo ti'! \m/
:-) thank you for watching the video. Cheers \m/
I think if you dumbed some money into a better set of pickups for the HB you could get it sounding pretty close
What a great sounding guitar! Just SUBBED! I have a Candy Apple Red!
Thanks a bunch mate. Cheers \m/
Wowww very close comparison, The Fender has a slight bit more presence but that's about it...
Stick the same pickups in both and you wouldn't know the difference!
Harley Benton by a country mile. Never heard of the other one. Nice colour though.
🔴Sounds great. Thanks for te video! Do you know how much it weighs?🔴
Good guitar ...we want your hands on opinion ..feed us ...feed us ! 😂🐸🦅
Does someone know the pull of the strings?
The sound difference is mostly like alnico vs ceramic.
That neck is fantastic, that wood grain.......
Yes - the neck looks nice indeed. The craftsmanship for this price range is very surprising (in a good way).
Obviously fender sounds better, but I am surprised by HB...Can you tell me if it's simple making changes in HB? For example, if I would replace the bridge (with the saddles), should It be an easy job or screw holes don't match...?
Pickups size Is standard? Thank you.
That benton seems muddy against fender but not that bad for the price... I suppose after changing pickups it will sing really similar, for still MUCH less than fender.
Ummmm....its definitely stage worthy. Sure, there are better guitars. The hb st 20(strat) is a good strat, but needs a few mods, as most budget guitars do to be labeled "stage worthy" , but the te 20 is right out of the box. Killer deal
Hi If you were to change the pickups what would you change then too?
The only problem with videos is that you can't feel how low the action is.
Were you able to get the action as low on the HB as you could on the Fender?
The action was surprisingly good out of the box.
I was surprised that TE-20 sounded that good ... well not really .. in the hands of an accomplished player like yourself you can make any guitar sing - the neck pickup sounds muddy but an upgrade would be normal for many guitarists who paid only $100 for the guitar. What would be a good pickup in the $50 range ?
A combined upgrade of neck + bridge will set you back at least $85 to $100 in order to improve it substantially and basically make it worth the upgrade. And as far as high end stuff goes... the sky is the limit. Keep in mind there are a _lot_ of cheap replacement pickups that do virtually nothing to improve the sound. (Yes, this means anything under $50, but realistically anything under $150 in my humble opinion) Another problem is, some people will like very specific pickups over other pickups (more crunchy vs a rounder more 'telecaster like' sound etc.), regardless of cost. So it's pretty much impossible to give good advice on what to get. There might be some 'before modding, after modding' videos on UA-cam though, so you can hear what different pickups _might_ do. But there's also an annoying trade-off between how at a certain modding cost, you're just better off buying something like the Fender Squier Affinity or save up the money and get a Fender Classic Vibe instead (I mean the ones in the 400-500 range, not the thousands of bucks ones). It all depends on budget and sound preferences, building skills (doing a proper setup on even the cheapest guitar can make quite a difference in how it plays). You may want to check out something like the Fender Pure Vintage Reissue Telecaster pickups (usually around $85 or so). If you got money to burn and like the stock body and neck enough, you could consider getting a Fender Custom Shop '51 Nocaster pickup set (around $190). It's among the pickups some people choose to upgrade their Fender Squier 50s Classic Vibe with. Again though, the sound change will be pretty specific. It may not be what you like.
What strings gauge R U using? 9th or 10th I guess... ;)
Greetings from Poland :) :)
Hi. Honestly I don't remember. I think the set of 10s :-)
The neck pu is surprisingly Sweeet
Nothing wrong with them pickups nor are they muddy its all in your fingers use them volum/tone knobs and your amp settings! still muddy? well maybe piano is more your thing?
what song is it at 5:33?
Just an improvisation :-)
Telecaster Won.
Since you said its good for a beginner....can you play Sweet Child of Mine on it? ;)
i have the lefty version black that is best tele for the bucks i can tell cause i also have te52 and this te20 i play much more often,its ready for chicken picken,rock n roll as is stock any changes such as swap the pickups to something "better" is just pure waste of money.
Kein grosser Unterschied.
The F word makes no difference. Buying new pick ups and a decent set-up is worth while. Puritans and snobby gits will pretend the F is better. For the price, are you fucking kidding.