Harley Benton TE-62DB BK

Těžko bych spočítal kolik HB kytar už jsem koupil a prodal. Byly ruzné kvality, ale většinou spokojenost. Tahle kytara je hodně, ale fakt hodně dobrá. Tělo z topolu je hodně lehké, samotná kytara ma 3kg. Rezonance kytary je neskutečná, zvoní jako chrám sv. Víta. Lak bez chyb, krk je velice pěkný díky karamelové barvě. Pražce zapracované, neřežou. Mechaniky celkem kvalitní, kytara se nerozlaďuje ani při větším tahání strun. Nečekal jsem nic extra od snímačů, ale znovu příjemné překvapení. Snímače mají říz a pořád si zachovávají tu pravou ''tele'' čistotu tónu. Krk rovný, pouze jsem snížil na kobylce struny. I při velice nízkém dohmatu nic nedrnčí. Hratelnost krku je výborná, padne krásně do ruky. Hmatník je z krásně tmavého odstínu dřeva, po naolejování k nerozeznání od palisandru. Intonačně v oktávách seřízeno skoro dokonale. Na kytaře jsem nenašel nic špatného, pouze samá příjemna překvapení. Neskutečná hodnota za to co platíte. Vážně přemýšlím nad tím zakoupit ještě jednu v červené barvě a osadit minihumbuckery. Dobrá prace Mr. Thomann, servis taky dobrý! Zdravím vás chlapci rybolovci. :)

Kytara dorazila bez problémů, bez kosmetických vad. Krk rovný, pražce zabroušené, vše funguje. Nečekaně kobylka Wilkinson skvěle ladí, jen jsem trochu doladil oktávy. Vyměnil jsem struny.
Kytara je trochu zahuhlaná na tlustých strůnách, ale žádná katastrofa, spíš potřebuje hodně vyhrát. Snímač u krku se mi zdá slabší. Jsem hráč na Les Pauly, takže úplně neznám výkon single snímačů.
Každopádně kytara je za tuto cenu parádní.

Tried to source a surprise birthday gift for a colleague on a pooled limited budget. I started looking at what I could get, and after scouring Thomann's website and checking some YT reviews I decided to go for the HB TE-62 DB 62. The guitar arrived super fast from Germany to Sweden in 48hrs. The guitar itself is very light weight but well screwed together. The Poplar body is seriously light and is slightly thinner than a standard big ''F'' tele body modern or vintage. The double binding is very well applied and the paint black and glossy with no obvious blemishes. The biggest surprise I did get was from the neck. It is very nice indeed with a lovely mid size profile and flat radius fingerboard. The caramelised maple neck is comfortable and feels great. The medium frets are fine and could do with a little finishing on the edges and a polish but were acceptable. The neck pocket fit is extremely well executed. Downsides, well you get what you pay for don't you? Tuning pegs are little cheap feeling when turned, the 3 way selector switch is flimsy and the scratchplate could be finished better, however, these are all things that are easily fixed with an inexpensive upgrade or two. Sound wise the bridge pickup is tele twangy, the neck pick up is a bit wooly, both thin sounding but ok, overall acceptable but again easily upgradable. If you are in the market for your first T style guitar or lookin for a tele upgrade project to mess with, then you could do a lot worse than this guitar. The neck alone is worth the money imho.

This beautiful black double bound T style guitar arrived in pristine condition all I had to do was lower the action, tune up and play.
Nut has been cut really well and the guitar rings like a bell.
Frets were all level and polished with no fret buzz.
The laurel fingerboard has a nice dark grain not too dry but I will condition the fretboard once it needs a string change.
The comfortable caramelized satin neck is smoother and very similar in feel to my Classic Vibe Jaguar….not too chunky not too thin…very nice indeed.
The vintage style split shaft tuners work smoothly and hold tune great also the string hole depth on this particular guitar is fine.
Guitar came equipped with compensated brass saddles instead of the chrome barrels on the older models and intonation is very good.
The Roswell alnico pick ups on mine measure 6.8k on bridge and 5.9k on neck and I get great tele tones on all positions, very similar in tone/output to the Tonerider vintage plus set in my other tele. The Toneriders have slightly more clarity clean but not much. The Harley bridge pick up has a bit more bite than the Tonerider bridge but backing off the tone knob a little had them sounding very close. The neck pick up has a punchy clear round tone and doesn’t have the wooly tone that some tele neck pick ups suffer from. Both pick ups handle clean and driven tones admirably and after adjusting both pick ups to balance the sound I feel no need to change them.
3 way switch and volume/tone knobs work fine no buzzing or crackling when in use.
The fit and finish on the guitar I received was near perfect, the binding and gloss black finish is beautiful. At this price point I expect some small imperfections to be present however the workmanship on the one I received is faultless.
My only plans are to swap out the saddle screws for shallower ones and try and source a cream pick guard that matches closer with the cream binding.
The sustain on this guitar is impressive even when picking/strumming unplugged it rings loud and clear….this one is a keeper.
Over 40 years playing guitar I’ve seen quite a few come and go in my collection and honestly past caring about the name on a headstock. In my opinion this low priced Harley Benton competes very favorably with the classic vibe Squier range.
Overall a great T style guitar and an absolute steal at this price ….Thanks Thomann.