I wasn't satisfied with the sound of my Fender Stratocaster, it was not very powerful, and the bridge pickup wasn't very interesting to me. Too piercing, not enough body. This guitar from Harley Benton was supposed to be an improvement, and it definitely was! The neck is very playable, the balance with the offset body and the neck was perfect for sitting and standing (no neck dive) and the sound is fantastic! The neck pickup is warm and present, and the bridge pickup is powerful while maintaining the single-coil aesthetic. It's got a slightly different tone than the Strat because of the pickup design (Jazzmaster style) and the body shape, but it's also wound significantly hotter (14k ohms resistance) and sounds very present. It also sounds great with distortion. I rated the sound 4 stars instead of 5 because I felt the sound could be a little snappier with a little more treble. I replaced the volume and tone pots with 500K tone pots rather than the 250K that came with it, which gave both pickups a little more bite, but this was a personal taste, and many people would be very happy with the sound of the guitar as it came from the factory.
The build quality on these guitars is similar to that of Epiphones or other guitars in the $500 range. Very well made for the price! Good quality tuners, nice finish, and well-finished neck and frets. Playable, good looking, good sounding, and fun!