Harley Benton TE-69TL Hot Rod NT Roasted

This is my first Harley Benton. I intended to buy the solid body at first, but then this beauty came out, and it didn't take time to decide to go with it. After receiving the guitar, I found out there was misinformation from HB's youtube video. First, the guitar is not light, it is like a Thinline version of TE-52, which is a notoriously heavy guitar that could be like 5kg. The Thinline version would still be about 3.8 kg, which is still on the heavy side even in the solid body tele category to me. Another misinformation is the bridge pickup, it is a stacked humbucker instead of a single coil, and there is a push/pull button at tone for you to switch from humbucker to single coil. I find out the single coil mode is a little bit too thin for my ear, but it is good for playing some funk when switching to the middle position with a single coil bridge. The build quality is really good on this guitar, I felt like it is as good as the Fender Player Tele I own. No fret issue, the finish has no flaws(my only complaint is the finish inside the f-hole is a bit rough), and the neck is comfortable to play on. Acoustically, this guitar sound loud due to its Thinline body, I think it still sounds different than the normal solid body, and it is definitely worth some boutique pickup upgrades which I plan to do in the future. I would still recommend this guitar to people who want a lighter version of TE-52, or want to try a Thinline with ash body but would not cost too much.

Well, I think the body is just a te-52 with just a hollow f-hole, half roasted neck & a thinline look. The weight in their video review says it’s manageable. It’s the proper word, manageable. Around 3.8 kg?

If you can manage that weight then this one might be for you. Saying all that, I still love it. The guitar I have is properly setup. Whether it’s intentional or not, Thank you Thomann!

Pickups are a bit weak but that’s one for us mod freaks can look up to, with others like fret polishing/levelling, nut & saddle adjustments.

But for now, i’m quite enjoying playing it & not on my work bench tweaking it. I’ve been a fan of Thomann for quite awhile now & patiently waiting for them to release a thinline version. I got my Rosita now & fairly satisfied.

I firstly purchased the HB te 52 as a backup guitar, the build quality amazed me for this price point, sound and playability far away than the cost,with some slight modifications it plays and sounds even better than my usa tele,but a bit of the heavy side,then went for the te 69tl who has the same feeling and similar sound but weights about 600 grams less while keeping the full sustainable sound but somewhat different character (more airy and open)though not completely semi hollow like the original thinline it seats somewhere in between, this is really unique and also the looks are mesmerizing, now just ordered the te 90 flt to complete my collection of these ash body teles,after all you get some really nice platforms with quality woods and excellent playability to mode and create your dream guitar without breaking the bang, thank you Thomman group for offering us this opportunity...

Guitar arrived promptly as usual well packed and in tact ,a little darker than I expected.
Straight out of the box nearly in tune no marks or blemishes a very nice looking instrument.
The neck is very nice and the fretwork is very well done.
The guitar is a lot heavier than I expected.
Seems to be a solid body with a routed f hole area only.
Plays and sound s great .
Would recommend this one but bear in mind the weight.
I may remove the scratch plate and try some weight relief at a later date.
The action was very high but adjusted without any further adjustments required.

After a string height and intonation adjustment ( low E was way off ) this guitar plays great. Love the option of the stacked single in the bridge position and the neck is wonderful. The fret corners at the ends are a bit rough but that's an easy fix.

For this price it's a no-brainer.
Looks cool even if it's not a real thinline construction.
The weakest point are the tuners, as with almost any guitar in this price range or even above.

This is my first HB guitar, first roasted neck guitar and my first Tele as I need a single coil guitar for studio work.
Since I got it, I play it alomost every day and really dig the sound, the look and the feel of the satin neck.

Disappointing at this price tag: small pots, sharp fret edges and no serial number. And I said at this price tag not comparing to other brands. Otherwise that will be ok. But I compared to other HB models that are cheaper and still have better electronics and better fret work.
However this is nothing I could not fix with a little money and one hour work.
Some will say: Excellent starter guitar! I do not think so. When a person start to play, a good instrument easy to play and no needed mods is required not to lose motivation and courage. Fret work as well as reliable tuners and electronics is much more important than look.
This guitar is fantastic if you are able to replace what is needed and make your own fret work and setup.
About the serial number, this is a detail HB & Thomann should take care of as from 200€ on in my honest opinion.
Pros: Beautiful, well put together, decent pickups, good setup, good finishing.
Neutral: The tuners make their job, but will need replacement eventually.
Cons: Weight above all. This guitar is heavy for a thinline model. The reason is that they did not remove enough wood. cavities could have been bigger. However this is not a big deal for me. I have heavier ones.

All in all I recommend it for an experience player in a budget. At the end, you get what you pay for and let's be completely honest, with Harley Benton, much more than what you paid for.

Very solid Thinline model. It would appear that I lucked out and got a one-pied ash body that is gorgeous! It is very heavy though so be aware of that. The neck is fabulous and love the caramelized maple fretboard! Had problems with the tone control ... was basically an all or nothing ... more like a switch. Very loose and you could not dial in your desired tone at all. Finally took it to my tech guy and he reported back that that it was wired incorrectly. Thomann covered the repair as a "credit" which I will suppose use down the road. While he was in there ... I paid to have him install new quality pots, a new Fender 3-way switch, input jack and Tex Mex pickups. So it's not a "stacked bucker in the bridge" any longer but the guitar is much more mechanically solid and sounds great! I also bought an after market pearloid guard which did not fit perfectly but we made it work. It's now a fave!