Harley Benton TE-90QM HH Trans Blue

This is my 5th Harley Benton guitar, so I now consider myself a loyal Thomann customer as they have never delivered a bad guitar to me. The TE-90QM was ordered as a Christmas present to myself on the 12th December. After a few days I hadn?t had any progress confirmation and the money hadn?t been taken from my account, so I decided to cancel the order and reorder after the Christmas period as I didn?t want the guitar to be held up and knocking around a warehouse for a week or more over Christmas. Just after I sent the email, I got an email from Thomann that the guitar was actually going through quality control so I phoned Thomann and told them to ignore the cancellation email, (so full marks for the English speaking and helpful staff at Thomann!).

The guitar was received several days before Christmas and thank you Thomann for delivering at the busiest time of the year. My first impressions was of slight bewilderment as my guitar isn?t actually blue as shown on the web site but a deep sea green. You will have to believe me on this as I?m an artist and illustrator and work with colour all day! Although it is not what I expected, it is a very nice colour all the same. In fact I like it more than the blue and it is certainly more unique and it looks great.

First the bad points.
* On inspection there was a small amount, (and hardly noticeable), over-spray in one of the F holes which I removed by very carefully using the finest grade wet and dry paper I had.
* The fret ends were a little sharp so I let the guitar acclimatise for a few days and then lubricated the fretboard, which was a little dry, to help it to expand. That improved it a lot but a few days later I had to gently file some of the fret ends to take off the remaining sharp edges.
* Then I noticed the strings were not centred on the fret board and I originally thought the bridge had been positioned off-centre. However, after asking the question on the Harley Benton forum, it was suggested that the neck screws needed to be loosened and the neck held in position and the screws re-tightened, and a video showing that exact same problem was posted for me to view. So I followed the video and a few minutes later the neck was in perfect alignment. It was commented that this is a very common fault with bolt-on necks but this is the first time I have come across the problem, but you live and learn!
* The strings were a little tarnished with what looked like rust spots on a few areas. When I worked on the frets I loosened the strings and run some wire wool soaked with WD40 along them. Problem solved!

And now the good points.
* The general finish is excellent, allowing for the small imperfections stated above.
It has an amazing top and has nice quality binding around the body and inside the F holes, and is a great looking guitar.
* The strings at the 12th fret were perfectly set at 1.5mm for the high E and 2.00mm for the low E, and the intonation was spot-on for 4 strings, with the other 2 slightly off and easily rectified.
* The Wilkinson pickups are perfect for me, and they have a nice vintage tone, darker than a normal Telecaster but brighter than a Les Paul, and have enough individuality.
* The machine heads are cheapish but work fine and hold tune well but, if I do any modifications, the tuners would be the first thing to be changed.
* The neck is what I would call a shallow D and is very comfortable and has a light varnish. It is also a one piece neck.
* There was no buzzing on any frets at any part of the neck.
* I changed the nut to a bone nut, (as I had one laying around), but the original plastic nut was perfectly fine.
* The truss rod didn?t need any adjustment and the strings were correctly set at a fraction off the frets at the centre of the fret board when capoed on the first fret and the string was held down at the highest fret.
* The hardtail bridge is comfortable with its? rounded edges. And while the guitar is fitted with ?through the body? string ferrules, the bridge will also allow for the strings to be slotted through the bridge?s base if you so wish.
* The combination of the through body strings and the internal centre block gives this guitar quite some sustain.
* The control knobs work smoothly, but as the potentiometers are the small 16mm type, I might eventually change them.

The TE-90QM HH is a budget guitar that exceeds all expectations. For only £155 the build quality is excellent and in my opinion, far outstrips it?s competitors in this price bracket. The bad points I found were easily rectified, and not only would any experienced guitar owner be able to do the same, I know that top branded guitars also need adjustments when received, so this is almost to be expected, particularly at this price point. It would also be a nice guitar to modify!

In conclusion, the TE-90QM HH is well built and plays well. I?m very happy with this guitar and I know many others would be too.

Finally, my first Harley Benton! I eagerly awaited its arrival. The unboxing was exciting. It arrived here it the U.S.A. unblemished and amazingly fast- 3 days!
The blue quilted maple is stunning. Two friends were present when I unveiled this beauty. They were also impressed. The binding is smooth and flawlwss.
The neck is so smooth and comfortable. I have nearly 30 guitars- Fender American Strats, Martins, Gibsons, Ibanez, Epiphones, Washburns..this is now my favorite neck. No joke.
Setup was good. Marginally high for my liking but still very good. Neck in straight, no fret sprouts. Very slick. I will polish them a little though. I did change the strings and stretched them in. The tuners are holding well, no need to upgrade, but I might next winter when I'm bored. The volume and tone pots are good- gradual, even increases. Switch seems good.
The pickups are pretty good too. Not too bright. Not microphonic. Again, I might change them some winter when I'm bored, but no hurry. These are fine.
The bridge seems sturdy and well made.
I like the string thrugh design.
I'm going to enjoy showing this off to my friends and family. I've already ordered (and received) a small H-B travel sized acoustic for my young daughter. It is also amazing! I just ordered my 3rd and 4th Harley Benton guitars- both acoustics. Based on my experiences so far, I am excited to see these next 2 guitars. My wife thinks I should reduce my guitar collection. Ha Ha! She's so funny!
Thomann, we should talk about a franchise store in the United States. 🤠

This is a beautiful instrument. It is extremely handsome to look at, in a stunning shade of deep blue. The pair of ‘f’ holes give a lovely symmetrical look to the guitar. It’s unusual and a real head turner. The paintwork is finished to a very high standard and the binding really adds to the high quality appearance.

My favourite thing about this guitar is how beautifully balanced it feels to hold. It gives the impression of being as light as a feather, especially at the neck end. However, I was surprised to find it actually weighs in at 8 lbs (3.6 kilo) which is the exact weight of my Fender standard MIM telecaster. It is also precisely the same width, excluding the arched top section.

The action is amazingly low and comfortable for an instrument with this price tag. Right out of the box it feels ‘right’ and effortless to play. The frets look very slightly chunkier than on a standard telecaster but they are not at all cumbersome to the touch.

The sound is warm, full and rich, with a particular emphasis on the bass to mid tones. It sounds jazzy and yet has an edge and a growl when you want it to. There is nothing at all wishy-washy about the pick ups.

My criticisms are few and very minor. The back of the neck is very slightly rough feeling but this doesn’t pose a problem. The fret markets are very faint. The strings were a little greasy on arrival and one was kinked but that was easy to put right. My one disappointment is that the quilted maple effect is not as strongly defined as I had hoped. However, this is made up for by the elegant shade of the blue glossy finish.

All in all, this is a heck of a guitar for the money. I don’t know how Harley Benton have managed it but they have produced a top notch instrument that compares very favourably to guitars many times the price.

It is a total joy to own and play and everyone comments on its good looks. The TE-90QM HH is a unique and valued addition to my guitar collection and I feel lucky to have it. If you want a guitar that stands out from the crowd, look no further.

I purchased this guitar a few months ago, and it has become my main workhorse.

It did need some light work out of the box, but overall it was set up well. The neck is super comfortable, but I could feel a couple frets going up and down the neck. One would have to be paying attention for it, though--none of them were sharp. To fix that, I just taped up the neck and sanded the edges of the fretboard. I also shined up the frets with Frine fret polish, though the frets were totally inoffensive regarding that.
The fretboard itself was also super dry out of box, but it felt great after a few coats of boiled linseed oil. Keep in mind that I live in the States. So, not only was the guitar delivered in the heat of summer, but it also had a long way to go in that heat.
Finally, the action was to my liking, and it only needed a little bit of intonation work. Again, that probably got out of whack because of the delivery.

The guitar resonates great, and the pickups are pretty standard. I wish they had a blue one with P90s, but that's just me being picky. The hardware and tuners are just fine, though I did switch the tuners out for HB's locking tuners for the sake of it.

Overall, I am so thankful and happy I got this guitar. I fell in love with music again because of my time with it. Go Harley Benton! Please keep it up!

My first Harley Benton guitar, what a pleasing sight, so stunned to feel the quality in the kneck and the qm top is nothing but so beautiful. In use it sounds really damn fine, the pups are tremendous really, the faults are few.
I had a little over paint from the stain into the lower horn at the front and I have a nylon bushing on one tuner that is cracked, apart from that nothing else is wrong, I have indicated that I would like a replacement tuner sent out and hope that will be the case, so I can swap it myself.
I have no doubt that all will be resolved admirably in time.
I truly believe apart from the very minor faults, this is just stunning value considering the appearance, playability and overall quality of the materials and construction- just so pleased!!

I urge you to cast aside any doubts and pick up what is a real bargain, this is just such a fine player, and with the looks of a very much more expensive guitar, what's not to like?
Go for it, get one of these beauty's and enjoy her!

I just got this guitar and I have to say that I am very impressed with the overall quality. The fit and finish is great. It came with the fairly common issue of a slightly high action, but that was easily sorted. I made a small adjustment to the truss rod, and lowered the bridge saddles. The action is now very low - but without any string buzz. The frets are level, but as can be expected at this price point, they need polishing. No sharp fret ends. The frets have been set well, and the neck is also very nice. It feels more like a 'D' shape than a 'C' shape to me, but is very comfortable and easy to play. I like that it has a satin finish, and is nice and smooth.

The tuners seem to be of good quality and are nice to use. The guitar holds tune well - once I had stretched out the new strings a bit first. I'm not sure what the nut is made of, but it seems to work fine and has been cut well. The fretboard is nice and smooth, but as is often the case, could do with some lemon oil to condition it. I will take the strings off at some stage, polish the frets and oil the fretboard.

A couple of minor issues with the guitar when I got it:
The three way switch was back to front, so when moving it forward to select the neck pickup, it was selecting the bridge pickup. That was an easy fix of loosening the retaining nut, turning the switch around - as there was enough slack in the wiring to turn the switch 180 degrees. Then it was a simple matter of re-tightening the locking nut, and the issue was sorted.
I also found that the bridge pickup was quite a lot louder than the neck, so made adjustments to the height of both pickups, and easily got them in balance.

They were just minor issues as far as I was concerned, and very easily fixed. At this price you can't expect perfection, and I think it's reasonably common for people to find they need to do some very minor adjustments to these guitars to get them playing exactly how they like them.

I've been playing for just over 50 years, and have owned many top brand, mid range brand, and cheaper brand guitars over that time. All guitars need to be set up to how you like them in my experience. The fact that HB guitars need adjusting is quite acceptable in my view. My Gibson's, Fender's and others have all required adjustments.

What impresses me about Harley Benton guitars is that you get a very good and usable guitar - for very little outlay. If you want to do them up by replacing various parts - if you feel you need too, you will have a pretty good base to start with to modify.

In saying that, there isn't anything that really cries out for replacement with this guitar. The pickups are quite acceptable. The tuners seem fine. The nut is ok. The bridge is a good one. The neck is very nice. The controls work well enough. All really good - especially for the price.

However replacing both pickups and the wiring and pots - while doing it, would make this a fantastic guitar, and still at an excellent price. It is what I will probably do, as I think the guitar is certainly really worth doing up to how I like it. I often do this with my guitars, regardless of make and model - not just 'cheapies'.

All in all, I would happily recommend this guitar to any player. I like it so much that I will probably order the red version with P90's in it. I'm a big P90 fan and think that this guitar style will work very well with Wilkinson P90's in it.

Thanks Thomann for a very rapid delivery. It took 5 x days from the shipment date to arrival in New Zealand. It was delivered by courier to my door two days later. That is a record for any items I have bought over the years from Thomann. Much appreciated !!!