Harley Benton ST-90SA Swamp Ash DLX Series

i have maily pros about this guitar and a couple of cons i' start with the cons .... these rosswell pickups are very hot so i am having to readjust my playing when using the center pickup but i am going to ape up the pickup caveties ... another con is the 5 way swtch is ver cheap and will get replaced ... lastlly this guitar is heavy but since i don't gig anymore it's not that big of a deal plus i think the body fits with mine better than the sqire that i used to own
NOW FOR THE PROS
I WILL START WITH THE NECK I HAVE PLAY $1500 + GUITARS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN THIS COMFORTABLE WHEN I SAW THE PRICE I FIGURED THERE WOULD BE SOME FRET PROBLEMS BUT NOT ONE FRET SPOUT THE FRETS SEEM TO BE WELL POLLISHED, THE SATIN FINISH ON THE BACK OF THE NECK IS LIKE PLAYING ON SILK
THE OFF BRAND TUNERS ARENICE THE GUITAR ARRIVED IN TUNE ALSO THE ACTION IN WONDERFULI LITERALLY UNBOXED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN..... THE BODY IS BEAUTIFUL SWAMP ASH , I WILL MOST LIKELEY CHANGE THE PICKGUARD ,,,,, THE TRMELO BLOCK IS NEARLY THE SAME QUALITY AS A STRATOCASTER.... THE VOLUMN AND TREBLE KNOBS I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF POTS ARE BEING USED I EXPECT THE CHEAPER DIME POTS BUT THE KNOBS ARE JUST RIGHT AND FAR AS RESPONSE
I BOUGHT THIS GUITAR BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFUL I FULLY EXPECTED TO PUT ANOTHER 300 OR 400 DOLLARS INTO IT I MAY CHANGE THAT CENTER PICKUP AND THE PICKGUARD BUT OTHER THAN THAT I LOVE IT...I DO EXPECT THAT I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE 5 WAY SWITCH T SOME TIME
BUT THESE AREN'T REALLY COMPLAYS THIS GUITAR IS BEAUTIFUL ABD THE NECK IS AMAZING

I have always bought more expensive guitars in the past however i have read a few reviews of the Harley Benton ST-90 Swamp ash and needed a back up guitar for my main guitar so i thought i would give one a go.

From ordering to receiving the guitar was about 6 days and it arrived in a very large box which was good and sturdy, opening up the guitar it was well packaged and all the bits you need to be protected (switch tip etc) were. on inspecting the guitar the frets were really well dressed a couple of sharp ends but nothing to stop me from plugging it in, tuning it up and cranking up the amp.
the quality and finish of the guitar knocks socks off the competitors at three times the price! you will not be disappointed with owning one of these swamp ash Strats! the action was incredible and the Roswell pickups are amazing rivalling more expensive and heard of brands.

I am so happy with this guitar that i already have a TE -40 telecaster on the water winging its way to me.

Just because the Harley Benton brand is less expensive the fit and finish and playability of the you would think its 3-4 times more expensive.

Well done Harley Benton a Top quality instrument.

Considering how inexpensive it is, it is of decent quality and sounds pretty good. The frets needed a little bit of work out of the box as they weren't very smooth and had some sharp edges. Once I sanded the edges and used some steel wool on the frets, it played much better. The tuners felt a little cheap, but then again this is a very inexpensive guitar. I'd probably replace the tuners if anything, the rest of the hardware works fine and the pickups sound surprisingly good.

Overall, I would still recommend it as a backup guitar, or a guitar for beginners. It will still work well at the end of the day.

The original guitar was damaged in transit, not really Thomann's fault, but I do think they need to look at the packaging on the Harley Benton boxes. The little bits of foam stuck on the insides are just not up to it , most of the ones on mine had become detached. They need eeds bigger pieces of higher density foam.
No issue with getting a replacement, but it came without a trem bar. Again, this was quickly sorted by customer services.
As for the actual guitar, the satin finish is really nice, shows off the ash body well, and the neck is really comfortable. I had to lower the action a bit, and tweak the intonation as it was a bit sharp, but I'd expect that on guitars costing a lot more then this. Frets are a bit scratchy and could do with a polish, but other than than I'm happy.