Harley Benton ST-20 SB Standard Series

I'm a guitar teacher and professional musician. I've played hundreds of guitars owing to the fact that I also have a small shop selling vintage guitars. I bought this guitar as I needed a student instrument for people wanting to try guitar before finding and buying their own. This is superb value and here's why...

Thinking back to when I bought it my initial thoughts were how nice it looked; the grain of the body, the feel of the neck and the general finish. It's also quite weighty which feels reassuringly good. On a lot of cheaper guitars you can get sharp fret ends or cheap tuners. Also I felt the set up was pretty decent; it felt nice to play. Another big thing that I look at is tuners- the machine heads are very solid. This is so important for a beginner because tuning is initially difficult and out of tune guitars sound bad! I found that this held tune really well. A massive plus.

Looking at other instruments on the market, specifically the more famous manufacturer's budget models, I'd have to say it's a tie. But the really amazing thing is the price- it's just so cheap yet really decent quality for a starter guitar. I've since recommended this instrument to students who have bought it and found them to be consistent in what I've talked about above.

For this price point it would be a shame not to order one of these guitars. It's crazy to think that you can buy a guitar as affordable as this one and get more than you paid for. It's is very comparable to my Squer Affinity Strat.

Why should you buy this guitar?
- Affordable price
- Easy to play for a begginer
- No setup was needed out of the box, playable from the start
- Guitar looks great, no issues with the finish
- 3-ply scratchplate which some of the more expensive guitar don't have
- Leveled frets, nicely rounded
- Quality comparable to some other more established brands

Things you should be aware of before buying, but don't influence the playability much:
- Tuners are not the greatest, but they do the job
- Tremolo arm has a lot of play in it, but that can also be remedied
- Frets could be more polished. Lots of scratching when bending the strings.

Overall, great bang for the buck.

I was looking for this style guitar for some Floyd/Hendrix/etc. that I was recording. Didn't feel like spending a ton and was ordering another guitar, so added this on to minimize the impact of the US shipping.

I've been incredibly impressed with this guitar, and have been using it almost nonstop (about 3:1 versus the more expensive guitar I bought at the same time). The build quality is extremely impressive at this or any price range. Guitar just feels great to play, sounds great unplugged or plugged in, and looks great. I wish I could've gotten a guitar of this quality at this price when I first started playing.

The main downside is that it just will not stay in tune (the G/B strings primarily go out of tune within a few minutes of playing). Basically have to stop recording and retune every couple of bars. Will look to pick up some better tuners in future, but for the time being, cannot beat this guitar for the price. The only other downside is that the frets are a little low for my tastes, but getting used to working around that so I can get the sound I need.

Another great Harley Benton purchase and I'm sure I'll be back for another in the future!