Harley Benton TE-80 NT Deluxe Series

I'd been thinking about getting one of these for some time, always been a bit of a Prince nut, and spurred on by the total lack of bad reviews I bit the bullet and ordered. I'm glad I did ... This is probably the best bang for your buck that I've ever seen, and just so you know, I'm a trained luthier. I did 3 years at MANchester College of Arts and Technology so I sort of know what I'm talking about.
I have to say that ideally I'd like to sit down with 10 of 20 of these and compare them. A bit of internet research seems to indicate that Harley Benton Guitars are made by Saein Guitars who market as Shine but I also have a Harley Benton MS-60 Mustang-ish copy and they don't feel like the same factory to me but really that's just a guess.
The body on this thing is great ... a bit on the heavy side but it is a solid Ash 2 piece with a maple veneer on the top with a Walnut centre stripe. The neck is more C than D. Maple with a skunk stripe but it is a 2 piece (separate fretboard) though this makes no difference at all to the tone or playability and from more than 2 feet away you couldn't tell. The frets are fairly level and even (I had a bit of a buzz on the top E string at the 10th fret but a single tap with my fretting hammer cured it completely.
The pickups are Wilkinson Strat type alnico V's which I've never used before, good output, really chimey and give a Stratty-ish quack with the selector switch in the centre position. I have to say at this point that if you want a traditional Tele sound then don't buy this guitar, it is what it is, and that's more of a Tele/Strat hybrid than a Tele.
The pots are little 16mm things and I can't see the impedance marked on them but I suspect 500k (I will measure the values when I restring it) and the cap is the cheapest green poly that money can buy. Cap makes no difference at all other than altering the rate of treble cut when the tone control is turned but I am going to try some full size 250k pots because I'm a bit analy retentive. No one will be able to hear the difference at the moment but in a years time they may be less crackly and a bit warmer sounding but unless you buy 2 guitars and set one up with 500k and one with 250k no one would be able to remember any difference.
I own a 59 Gretsch, a 62 Danelectro, an ex Jo Strummer/Kate Korris mid 70's SG, a late 50's Burns Vista sonic and a late 50's Framus Grand Star as well as assorted far eastern hacks .... and since I got this guitar it's the only one I've played.

I've been craving a T style guitar for a while but wanted something that sounds more akin to a strat than a traditional tele. Lo and behold I spied the TE-80. In person the guitar is even more gorgeous than the photos, the one I received has the wood grain matched really well on the front and back. The binding on the neck and body has a few blemishes and are the only part of the finish I have any issues with, but with a bit of tactful wearing in these areas they will be hidden over time. Out of the box the guitar played ok but not well enough for anyone with a feel for how a guitar should play herein lies the caveats to this guitar. I lowered the action myself as it was a bit high out of the box and this improved things but as expected with a guitar of this price it required a visit to my luthier to set up properly. The guitar required the following issues rectifying:
-Full fret levelling and removal of sharp fret ends some of the binding had got onto the ends too so this was filed off. Some of the frets weren't seated properly introducing buzz as well.
-Truss rod adjustment, the neck was concaved out of the box- expected
-Intonation was out but only slightly would have been done regardless as the truss rod adjustment was essential
-The nut fitted on the guitar was rubbish so I had this changed out too
-Electrics all cleaned properly
-Action set nice and low (personal preference)
All in this cost me around £100 extra but with these adjustments the guitar now plays like something triple the £266 I spent on it. It sounds amazing and I'm still experimenting with different tones with some fiddling I have got some nice punchy strat tones and you can get the twingy twangy tele sound with the selector switch on the bridge or middle position. Also really nice for funk sounds as expected for a prince copy. I'm using 0.8's on it again this is personal preference but they sound very nice. Finally as it has an ash body it is really heavy (almost 3x the weight of my epiphone les paul) I'm in my early 30's and have a couple of shoulder/back issues and it's right on the cusp of being too heavy for me for long periods so if you are playing on using a strap its worth considering.

After trying out various Harley Benton guitars (Sc custom II, Dc600IV, ST62DLX) I had to get a telecaster shape guitar. The Harley Benton TE-80 NT Deluxe Series is not the average Telescater you might expect. Personally I found out it sounds nothing to a traditional telecaster but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The sound is closer to a Stratocaster and the only time it sounds like a telecaster it’s when you play the pickups in the middle position.

What surprised me the most was the weight on this guitar. I think it easily weights around 4.5 kg but if you have a solid strap the weight gets distributed.

Tight out of the box the guitar presented itself spot on perfect. It’s actually a first for me, since all the previous Harley Bentons I bought required some work or at least a small upgrade.

Proceeding with the PRO’s and CON’s:

PRO’s:

- the guitar has a superb flame finish and no bangs or flaws are present. It really looks like a boutique instrument;

-The fretwork is nicely done and you can bend for days on it;

- the electronics are nicely done, nu hums or scratchy noises;

-the nut is just fine, but I might change it in the future;

- the tuning keys work okay, but you need to tighten with a screwdriver for better results when tuning, although they will most likely be changed with Kluson tuners;

- strap buttons are alright.

CON’s:

-I would like if Harley Benton would put the actually weight of their guitars in the description. Not that I have a problem with a guitar being heavy but it might help in the future.

- the guitar neck has the right size (personally I like chunky necks) so I can’t tell if the neck should be thinner, but I dislike the unfinished feeling. Feels like somebody rushed the process. The ST62 DLX has a much better finish on the neck.

- string trees are kinda flimsy and they look cheap;

-rather than putting just a simple single coil int he bridge Harley Benton should consider adding from t he factory humbucker single coil style pick-ups, I think more people would appreciate that.

- on the Thomann website when scrolling thru the The Harley Benton TE-80 NT Deluxe Series photos I noticed on the back of the headstock that is made in Indonesia, mine has MADE IN CHINA. I understand it’s all about production cost but please be HONEST WITH WHAT YOU SELL. Personally China or Indonesia makes no differences to me as long quality control does their job.

- this guitar passed QC on the 2020-12-26 LGQ. It takes them a while to get shipped.

All in all this guitar is cool and I will keep it as it looks fantastic! Harley Benton did a good job and for 185 euro's you get an instrument that puts to shame a lot of more expensive brands. Keep it up team Benton!

This one's got it all. Looks, Play-ability, Build Quality and more.
I've always liked Maple fretboards' but could never find one with binding on the neck. I ended up buying Gibson's & Epi.'s Just for the binding & shorter scale length. I started with a E Series American Standard Stratocaster back in the 80's, after 20 years I sold & stuck with set neck electric's only. Upon seeing the TE-80 w/a Tele appearance and Strat type pickups I was intrigued upon closer inspection of pix I noticed not only did the body top & back it had binding on the neck too. That was my WOW point. I Ordered. Upon receipt, the weather was not extreme so I anxiously did the Box reveille. DANG, this thing was almost perfectly in tune. Upon looking it over closely I could NOT find a thing that I didn't like. With 1 exception. The string tree's are basic. But Not bad enough to change right away. Love the matte finish on the neck back. The finish on the high gloss body was very impressive Nice Top and Back, the Walnut stripe going thru the middle of the body is a nice aesthetic plus & probably improves the sustain. All Electronic's work as they should. I've been mostly a humbucker guy but with the right settings on the amp & guitar's tone knob you can get some pretty Phat sounds especially with 3 way switch in middle and neck positions. The Bridge Pup has really got the Strat Twang but can be fattened up by boosting the Middle & Bass EQ on amp. I'm only 3 days into this one and am absolutely in Love. I'm Just a hobby player used to play in garage rock bands in the way back days. I must also note that I have had GAS syndrome for over 30 years and have owned at least 250 electric guitars. American's, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian & Chinese, probably more. Gibson, PRS's, Michael Kelly, Epi's, Ibanez, Dean. Fender USA & MIM, And More. I am currently at 7 electric guitar's, 1 Bass and 1 Acoustic. The way I'm feeling after getting this Harley Benton TE-70 NT I'm thinking all I need is 1 Bass, 2 electrics and 1 acoustic. I'll be selling off my collection with just a few exceptions. But My TE-80 NT is now my #1.

Been looking for a tele style guitar for a while but lacking the budget for a genuine article. Came across this guitars sister the TE-52 which was going to be purchased until it became out of stock so spent a bit more and got this joyous being.

Also the first time I’ve dealt with Thomann which I have to say was a delight. Package was well packed and everything I ordered arrived in perfect condition and in as reasonable a time as a delivery from Germany to Scotland.

First impressions out the box was wow. I paid £160 for this and it looks amazing. Finish was flawless, and could easily pass for something more expensive. Then I picked it up. Jeez this things heavy, I remember going from a squier Strat to a fender Strat and thinking it was a dramatic weight change but this thing weighs more than a child haha. Came set up ready to play out the box, action is medium to low but that’s how I like it. Playing through my Blues Deluxe reissue the sound it crisp and clean, not as chimey as I expected from a tele style guitar but still good for what it is. Pickups are decent and not too much hum associated with single coils. Played through a few styles from rock to blues to country and it took it all well. I’m very impressed for how much this guitar cost compared to what you’re getting for your money.

Having played sitting down for 2 hours it was comfortable, the weight could be a factor if standing playing but a good comfy strap would help this. My biggest issue with the guitar is the fact that the plastic wrap that covers the pick ups extends down under the pick guard so makes it annoying to remove, which is nothing against the guitar itself haha.

Overall I would highly recommend this and would highly consider purchasing another Harley Benton guitar in the future.

To be honest I got a little bored and needed a project again and decided that this time around It would be the HB TE-80.
When I finally received the guitar I was impressed with the overall looks and pretty good finishing. I cleaned the guitar, did smooth all the frets and spend a couple of hours adjusting the saddles and neck as action was way too high. All in all a very usable guitar taking the price into consideration.
However, after a couple of days I knew the list of items I felt needed to be changed.
Here my list of changes:
1) Bridge saddles as I could not find a bridge with same measures. So I kept the base plate but just changed the saddles with the Highwood Guitar Parts HG-10,50 Vintage Saddles (Thomann).
2) Replaced the nut by a Graph Tech TUSQ XL F-Style Slotted Nut (Thomann)
3) Due to dead spots in the tuners I replaced those by the Harley Benton Parts Locking Tuners 6L Chrome (Thomann)
4) all electronics got replaced by Fender 250K Control Solid Shaft pots, Fender 3-way switch, Fender Control plate Tele, Fender Tele / Precision Bass knobs, Allparts Switchcraft 1/4" Mono Jack (all from Thomann) and an Emerson Custom paper in oil capacitor 0.047 UF.
5) For the pickups I opted for a custom order from Heartbreaker Guitar Pickups in Belgium.
6) Replaced the pick guard, bridge plate and jack plate by the MAD CAT PLATE set created by Tim from Scratch-IT! GIG.INK. Was a perfect fit and looks a million dollars. Web link: in all I am pretty happy with the results, but did spend a fair amount of money on the upgrades.
Things a have to get use to compared to my other way more expensive guitars are the neck and weight.

I love this guitar. I have a G&L Asat Classic and this is built just as well. I'm not going to write a 23 paragraph opus but I will say that sure, you could upgrade the tuners and pots... heck you could upgrade all of the hardware if you really wanted to and even the pickups if you were so driven. In the end you would have a top flight tele that looks like nothing Fender or G&L has ever produced for a fraction of the price.

As it sits the only thing I might upgrade is the tuners. Maybe. I've already recorded with it as is and it sounds amazing. Warm when its supposed to be, bright and big when its supposed to be. I will never understand people who want to rip out pickups and put in their favorite high dollar brands in every guitar they buy. Do that and they will all end up sounding alike. These Roswells sound just fine to me; great actually.

The wood is gorgeous, the neck has no fret issues at all. Anyone who complains about intonation/action/pickup heights on a new guitar is wasting your time. You have to set your guitar the way you like it ANY time you get a new guitar. I had NO issues with how this guitar came to me. It was intonated and played like a gem out of the box. And if I want it 100% my way I'll make that happen, as I do with all of my guitars. I absolutely recommend this guitar!

Wow, where do I begin, this was my second HB guitar purchase, and once again I wasn’t disappointed. A long time Prince fan, and admirer of his infamous “Mad Cat” tele style guitar, when I first heard of these I just had to get one.

Straight out of the box, its action was nice and low, the neck is silky smooth with no fret sprouts present. It is a weighty beast, not a negative for me..I prefer a heavier guitar. The finish was as I expected, with the pickguard complimentary to the flamed top. As for sound, I have no need nor desire to swap the pickup’s they are great, nice and clean but with bite when turned up.

A fantastic guitar, yet again! So good I’ve just ordered my 3rd!!!

I'm surprised at how well this guitar is put together. Everything about it is of a much higher quality than anything I've bought from any other major guitar manufacturer that cost less than $1000. The neck pickup is everything I'd want from a t-style neck pickup. My only quibble at all (and it is minor) is that the bridge pickup doesn't have quite as much chime as I'd like. That said, I haven't adjusted the pickup height yet. One thing is for sure: both pickups take gain REALLY well. Lots of bass without being boomy, and plenty of midrange definition. One more thing: the fretwork is exquisite; I cannot stress this enough. Just perfect.

Many folks like to compare this to the Squier Classic Vibe Tele. To me, there's no contest, as this is a better guitar all around without even factoring cost into the comparison.

I will buy more HB guitars.