Harley Benton TE-20MN BM Standard Series

I'm a bass player, but I need a guitar for practising and recording. This is great for that. Everything works as it should and it sounds great. Neck smooth and comfortable. Body a nice weight - solid enough but not too heavy. It played really well straight out of the box and just needed the action lowering for my playing. The only thing wrong with it as far as I can see is the grub screws on the bridge - far too long, so it hurts your hand when playing there - I have to rest my palm behind the bridge to play there. Feels weird at first, but I'm getting used to it.

It would b 5 stars but for the screws on the bridge. But I can't see anyone producing a better tele at this price.

I wanted a T-style guitar. €66.00 is a no brainer! (Something such as a decision that is very easy or obvious – Cambridge dictionary)
Although it was purchased as a curiosity I have really bonded with this guitar! So much that I am adding locking tuners and noiseless pickups to suit playing out - with the need to combat lights, hearing loops and the like. The only other thing I’ll do is reverse the control plate as I think it looks good that way!
So:
Tuners – no problems with mine (I have since changed them to HB locking tuners for their convenience and because it is a main guitar now.)
Neck – no problems at all. Fretting all okay.
Body – lovely, metallic blue finish has stunned most of my friends.
Intonation – no problems. I believe some YouTube reviewers are being overly “sensitive”, it is as good as any production guitar never mind a sub €100.00 guitar.
Pots – quiet, slightly stiff (new!) – To be honest that point wasn’t worth making, they are fine!
Pick-ups – three good sounds. Neck through a good Bassman is a real surprise, very warm. Bridge takes mild overdrive very well and I keep it in the middle position almost all the time. My one comment is that they are lower in output to all my other guitars but I am going to put some “named” hum cancelling pickups in the guitar as it is getting so much use I’m planning to gig it when things get back to normal!

First? The finish. Sparkly and all of the blue! Second? A bit of a hefty one, around 4kg, so you'll know it's there. Third? The pickups are more expressive than you might expect for a sub-£150 guitar. Yes, sub-£150 - not sub-£100. Whilst there were (and still are) other models that I was tempted by (I still want the TE-52, but the bank account can't allow for that) in the HB range that are objectively better, we have to look beyond the HB guitars and look at the branded ones. When we do, the virtues of the TE-20 become all that much more clear.

As I said at the beginning, the pickups are more expressive than you might think. Yes they're still no doubt the generic Chinese tele pickups in most budget teles, but these to my ears have more depth than those in other budget teles that I own or otherwise have tried. The neck pickup has more bass to it and the bridge pickup has more treble, so much so tele. Both pickups are well rounded enough that the mids are represented and neither sacrifice either end of the sound spectrum. The bridge pickup, for example, still has a very discernable - but not overwhelming and nor overly prominent - bass to it and vice-versa for the neck. Making both pickups immensely worth their while by themselves as well as together.

But don't get me wrong, these aren't the absolute bees knees best pickups in the world ever. What they do is punch above their weight and plugged into any decent amplifier and not telling anyone the price you paid for the guitar? They'll think the guitar is worth hundreds of pounds.

Before I go into the negatives, here are some more positives: the stock strings are quite good and are capable of being tuned into Open G with a capo on *without* the strings breaking. I've had the TE-20 since April 2020 and I'm still on the original strings.

The tuners are stable, the nut slots are cut just right, only some of the frets at the dusty end needed some fettling to remove the roughness but was playable. Add that when you plug in your cable, your cable is staying put. I like that.

Now here are things I don't like so much:-

I don't like not having a full ashtray bridge. Other budget brands are able to include one, but I suspect the real reason for not having one isn't so much the added few pence per guitar - it's because full ashtray bridges are a point of concern in reviews should they not be milled just right. Given how certain customers are, they might return it being the fickle beasts those customers tend to be. This is something I'll have to add in the future.

The nut isn't cut flush with the neck and I only mention this because I'm spoiled by the quality of other HB guitars I own.

In closing, what I don't like aren't deal breakers for me and shouldn't be for you. The primary aim for this guitar was to take to my community guitar group for practice to show what you can get for so little. Before the current situation, there was the possibility of gigging with it. Instead because of the current situation, I've played it at home most days. 4/5

This is my second te20, the first one was amazing, the 2nd one of as not far off the mark either, at first I thought about returning the 2nd one, not because anything was wrong with it but I’m fussy and the 2nd guitars neck wasn’t as nice to look as the first guitar but after half hour of playing it I changed my mind and decided to keep it.

Both of my guitars have stable necks, which feel great in the hand, good hardware and the pickups are better than guitars 3 times the price.

I gave the frets a nice polish up with metal polish but it wasn’t really needed as the frets were amazing.

I fully intend to customise my two te20 guitars with brass saddles, tusq nuts, locking tuners, new control plate prewired harness electronics and Hottail pickups, not because these guitars need it but because I play a certain style and like to modify my guitars to suit.

I’m going to buy a Harley Benton acoustic next and then maybe a strat type.

Great guitars, great prices. I’d happily recommend these guitars and thomann to friends and family with confidence.