If this guitar doesn't make you feel something nothing will. It literally checks every box... Sexy figured ash, chambered body, contoured tele body, filtertron style pickups, reverse headstock... Literally everything I have ever wanted in a guitar.
From what I've seen on RUclips (including this and your unboxing livestream), this is one of the best-sounding Harley Benton guitars. Great playing too, Shane!
The neck on this guitar is special IMO, smooth, fast and rounded. I favor this over my Fender's. If someone is looking for some unique tones, these PUP's will add to their library nicely. Humbuckers with somewhat reduced output. A nice tonal difference between the bridge and neck as well. The body is beautiful and solid, even with the weight relief. Pick guard is the only weakness. A one ply that takes it down a notch. Easily remedied. Thank's Shane.
Shane, you sold me on this guit. I'm in the USA, and just yesterday, the package cleared US customs. Can't wait to see how those Gretsch style mini humbers bite and chime in my home studio.
Contrary to some other brands HB model names are pretty straightforward. FLT stands for Filtertron (this type of pickup) and VW stands for Vintage White (although it's more like natural to me).
I’ve always dug this guitar just for its looks alone!!!! Being a lefty who plays right handed Strats upside down (it’s just what I got used to), I don’t mind having a reverse headstock. It just looks cool to me!!😎😎 A Tele style guitar is the one that I’m lacking and this guitar would fill that need!!! Thanks for the smooth performance and great review!!! Cheers Mate!!!!!🎸🎸🎸🎸🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾
I play the same way. I have my guitar guy swap all my lefties strung right handed. I can't really do anything with a slanted stop bar since he said the intonation cannot be set correctly, so I have to go with plain fixed bridge, so no Gibson's for me except an SG, or a V, I can just flip over. Do you have this same problem? I mean I have found no shortage of guitars. I own 15. Only two right handed. A V, and a double cutaway 1980 Scavenger Washburn bass from when I was 16. I'm 55. I really want a lefty SG, but until I find an alternative bridge I bought a low end Epiphone SG special, and rebuilt it from Tuners all the way to the bridge. Nut, Pups, pots, switch, bridge. It only has two pots so playing upside down my arm wont hit the knobs. That's the problem with a Gibson SG. Too many knobs for my arm to hit. I may just invest in a used one, remove the slanted bridge, fill the holes, and add a tone pros fixed bridge like a tele style. Do you run into similar problems? If it has a trem it's not an issue, but you never see SG's with trems besides a Bigsby. That would be cool except you still have that slanted bridge in the way.
I've had one of these for 16 months now and I love it. One of my favourite necks. Only issues I have is the grub screws on the saddles stick out too high and feel rough when I rest my picking hand on the bridge. Also when hitting the pickguard when strumming unplugged makes an obvious sound as it is completely hollow behind it. This of course is not a problem when amped up. Besides those minor issues, definitely a great guitar that is super fun to play.
I had the same problem with grub screws on another guitar being to high and being uncomfortable. You can get shorter grub screws online. Ebay sellers do them. I changed the complete set on the guitar I had an issue with and now it feels great. They cost next to nothing and is an easy swap out.
Yeah, thought about swapping them out or just grinding down the ones that are there, but it's not so much of a problem that I have motivated my lazy arse into gear and fix it yet 😁
DUDE ! excellent into track - they keep gettn better. this guitar looks reeel good. especially like the volume tone pot angles. someone really put thought into the look/placement. AND Shane - your production values are rapidly improving to world class. thanks
I've heard Rob Chapman say that having the tuners at the bottom is more natural than the traditional top tuners. I had a Cap 10 awhile back and the reverse headstock didn't really pose any real problems tuning or restringing for me. Anywho, thanks for sharing. Your playing is getting better every time I hear you. And that's saying something. Cheers!
Great review showing the excellent tones you can get out of this guitar. These are amazing guitars for the money. The body really is light weight ash, with a grain figure that looks great under a nicely applied blond finish. The body is in two pieces, off centre joined and the weight relief cavities are a 'smugglers route' under the pick guard and an oversized control cavity. The only really disappointing thing is the horrible mess they made of cutting the pick guard. The strange thing is that early demos of this guitar (probably made by a different factory) show a proper Cabronita shaped guard. I would have preferred a right way up headstock, the upside down thing I find a little more difficult to access the buttons for tuning. The bridge is a bit wacky, as well as through body stringing, it allows for top loading by having a tall back bend, having the strings load under the intonation screws and come up through the centre of the saddles. The Roswell pickups sound great, I have absolutely no reason to 'upgrade' them. The only odd thing is the rather huge protruding screws used to mount them. Like most guitars under perhaps £1,000 the TE-90FLT really benefits from a careful set up and a few modifications. Mine (I bought a B stock guitar) had sharp fret ends and a high action. I replaced the tuners with some Vanson locking tuners, replaced the pick guard with a more carefully shaped Cabronita style guard (a bit tricky - I had to glue a couple of wood blocks into the under guard cavity to provide support for the new pick guard screws), replaced the chrome domed knobs with two transparent Gibson style speed knobs, replaced the 6 cast zinc alloy saddles with cast brass saddles and replaced the pots and the output jack. The original pots were nominally 500K 16mm diameter. The volume was a linear! and the tone a log. All six string ferrules on my guitar were loose and fell out of the back of the guitar when I replaced the strings, so I glued the ferrules in.
Man, that opening jam sounds so much like Joe Walsh’s work in The James Gang, it gave me goose bumps. Joe used a Tele frequently back then, especially in the studio. This is an excellent working mans guitar. Simple, all business appointments with no frills and those excellent Gretsch / TV Jones pickups! Great demo!
Hi Shane, over the last three years I followed you as a Lumix shooter (like me), recently I discovered you are a lefty guitar player too (like me)! You cover all my passions! But unlike me, you are a great player, I hope to listen to your music more in the future even without reviewing guitars. Wish you all the best!
Thanks so much, mate. There seems to be quite a lot of crossover from music to camera gear. I love the Lumix stuff, it's the most fun to use and the results are great. Rock on! :)
Great sounding pickups on this one - and perhaps the chambering helps with the resonance. Volume pot tends to muffle the sound here. Perhaps could use a treble bleed.
I love 'reverse' headstocks. It's a little different. I doubt there are any sonic differences. After 5 minutes of changing strings you'll be used to it :)
Love the intro and love the guitar ! I built a Cabronita thinline body with P-90's very similar to this one but, now I want one with Filtertron style pups like this ,I think I'm going to give HB a try ! Great demo as always mate ! :-)
Love the new intro; very catchy! I've already stolen part of it lol. Really like the fact that this guitar has the belly cut, all teles need this! Not liking the reverse headstock though. 👍
Cool guitar. But I dont like the volume and tone control location. Having a knob that close the bridge pickup makes me nervous about hitting it. Thats why I don't play traditional Strats. But I like the access panels on the back. Reverse headstock is a nice touch too!
Nice intro, Shane. 👍 That's a rockin' little Tele too - I really like those TV Jones/Cabronita style Pups. Some thoughts: - I really like the selector switch up in the "humbucker" location. I'd add a poker chip, because why not? - That Canadian maple neck looks sick! (That's good sick) - Nice overall finish on the body. - I'd have the pickguard extend to under the strings. Still looks killer with the blackguard style.
Nice Vid Shane! I’ve had my Eye on this Model for quite a while now! I Love the Gretsch Style Humbucker Pickups and thought they sounded good in all positions. (especially in your hands!). Please keep up the Good Work! Cheers Mate!
I JUST GOT THAT GUITAR SHANE !! I LIKE THE SOUND BUT IT PLAY'S CHEAPER THAN ALL MY OTHER HARLEY BENTONS !! STILL VERY COOL GUITAR !! I LEFT YOU LIKE NUMBER FORTY FIVE !
Thanks for all the in depth reviews! Every guitar I search you’ve got a video and they are great. Good commentary and awesome playing. And a lefty too!
Nice review! It's my No.1 guitar these days. I got a prototyp somehow 😎 for 100€. Wonderful 1 piece body and no belly cut. I invested some time and money. Had to fix the neck routing at first and then shimmed the neck to an optimized angle. Did a fret job and added a Zero Fret. Sanded the body to a satin shine. Made a custom pickguard in orangish/black tiger and did the headstock in matching color and mounted Kluson backlock tuners. Back cavity covers match the pickguard. Shielded all the cavities. Bridge PU is now a vintage Filtertron. Keept the Roswell neck PU. Those Roswells are great. Mounted a Wilkinson short tele bridge with compensated saddles and added a Bigsby B5 with an aluminum bar. Swapped all electronics to CTS stuff and added a DIY 6-Step Variotone, switched On/Off by a push/push pot. Over all i took away all the shinyness so it looks vintage but not real reliced. Now it's a one of a kind killer guitar wich asks for being played again and again. It's the most sustaining guitar i own.
I have had a love hate relationship with teles. Love the look and feel, but just can’t get useable tones out of one, at least for me. I have tried, Fender, Squier, SX, Raven West with no mods or major mods, to no avail. Until I got one of these. The setup was a tad high for me, but otherwise flawless out of the box. The pickups are actually good, tuning is stable, neck is not overly finished, and weight is just right. That checks all the boxes for me. Get one.👍🏼👍🏼
With the reverse headstock, and the hardware it's a bit Chapman-esque. I think the logic behind the reversed headstock is it puts more tension on the thicker strings rather than the thinner strings as with it the conventional way round. Not saying that's gospel but I'm sure I read it somewhere. I do prefer t style guitars with humbuckers compared to the traditional way.
Funky Monkey1886 My guess is it has a reverse headstock because it’s cheaper to make. It’s a right handed neck with a left handed nut. I actually prefer it.
@@jray5363 Maybe but they do other LH models with a non reverse headstock, Shane's got a couple of them. So I think it's more cosmetic than anything else. With the bridge, the pickups and the reverse headstock it does look a bit like a Chapman.
The righthanded versions are made with reverse headstocks and were released way before they offered this as a lefty, so I don't think they are just using righthanded necks.
Seems it's the other way round? Reverse headstock means stiffer thin strings and looser low strings. I've just read it in the Gitarre & Bass review on Thomann's website ("Zu einem Reversed Headstock, gehört das etwas steife Spielverhalten der dünneren Saiten vor allem in den oberen Lagen, dafür aber ein leichteres Greifen und Ziehen der dickeren Saiten"). Not sure if that "feature" is anything I would desire.
Hi Shane. Gary from Tasmania. I think you should review the Harley Benton Fusion 2 HSH guitar. I personally think it's a great value for money buy. Please consider this suggestion. I love your channel and watch all youyr reviews. Thank you.
Mod #1 - split the coils and get some single coil sounds as well ? The body rivals a Fender Custom Shop at 1/10th the cost and the sound is hot. Quite a bargain.
I got mine yesterday. 1st of all mine looks white with some BLUE parts. guitar looks totally different I must say. And it is the normal version offered on thomann. Further, it weights 4.6 Kilo (same as any Les Paul). That is surprising to me since it is chambered. it is. I have checked...Material is ash as they say on the website...pretty surprised. Maby I got some kind of NEW Model. So be aware. You wont get what is in this video.
Apparently a reverse headstock means stiffer thin strings and looser low strings. I've just read it in the Gitarre & Bass review on Thomann's website ("Zu einem Reversed Headstock, gehört das etwas steife Spielverhalten der dünneren Saiten vor allem in den oberen Lagen, dafür aber ein leichteres Greifen und Ziehen der dickeren Saiten"). Not sure if that "feature" is anything I would desire.
Nice one Tele sounds decent man, was just looking the the Artist TC59 today would love to see a demo and hear your thoughts on it also. Comparison with the Harley Benton would be awesome
So the big question: Harley Benton TE-90FLT VW Harley benton te-90flt VW, harley benton te-52 or Yamaha Pacifica 112 for a complete left hand beginner for classic rock, rhythm blues and why not something little more punched? Thank you.
What????? And I just checked, current price, brand spanking new, is only £177, delivered....including the ferocious tax element [OK, there's no stock on that EXACT one] but that's just a smurggin over the 2nd hand price I paid for my Epiphone.... Jaw hanging open
Hey Shane you want a nice sunburst or some other trans color on that thing? Pull the neck and ship it to me. I;ll put whatever color you want on it. Did you get the comment about my Junior purchase? Based on your recommendation, I went ahead and bought a junior last week from Thomann. I nearly bought the BFG by Gibson until the new 2019's were coming out. I really wanted a P90 loaded guitar, hence the BFG consideration... Yesterday morning, that Junior showed up. I spent most of the day playing the heck out of that thing. The tone knob makes all the difference in the world!!!! Wow what a versatile little guitar. When you did the review on it, you said you didn't REALLY need one, but I guarantee you would get more use out of it than you might think. Just spend a few hours with tone knob in hand and different amp settings. My primary music is blues and what we call "Classic Rock" (I feel so old...), and the Jr. excels at both, but it will even do Jazz on a clean amp, and metal on a dirty amp. With one very old school pup in the bridge. It just doesn't make sense, but glad it is able to pull it off!! With all the different guitars in the stable, this little beast is easily in the top 5 for versatility and the musicality of the pup. Not just because it is new, but because it is that good!! I have the new Epiphone DC Pro with the Burstbucker Pro 2N and 3B pups, coil tapping, phase reversal and on and on. Stunning looking guitar with it's Mohave Fade finish etc. With all it's features, it should be in the top 5, it doesnt even rate top 15. It just sits in the case. Junior though, wow! What else can I say? except Shane! You were wrong, you DO actually need one!! Bob in Germany
I have one too and I love it. My only problem is that the bridge is just a little off center. It sounds good it's just enough that I noticed it after a few hours of looking at it and now I can't not see it
I have this guitar and I wish it sounded as good as it did here. Those roswell FLT' pickups don't really sound like filtertrons on my guitar. They sound more closer to a regular humbucker rather than the pickups you see in Gretsch guitars or a Telecaster Cabronita. Mine doesn't have that initial transient that you'd expect from these type of pickups. The closest I've been able to get it to sound like a filtertron is by disconnecting the tone pot, which sounds decent if not unbalanced. All in all i was really looking forward to this guitar but once I had it, I just felt a little disappointed. It's good for the money but that's all it is. It's probably my fault for expecting a Telecaster Cabronita. It's a good inexpensive guitar.
Your description of the sound is dead on. Has great Tele character on the bridge pup, some Joe Walsh in there, with just a bit of Gibson harmonics w both pups on, and some Gretsch style articulation you don't get with a Gibson. This cheapy has become my favorite of my some 20 electric guitars. Great tone, looks, playable neck and versatility for players who like tones from chime/clean to low to moderate OD for blues and classic rock. Would prefer a non-reverse headstock (I'm a lefty who has had it with prior years of playing an up side down righty), but the reverse one provides some extra quirkiness/character, so I'm learning to love it. Harley Benton hit this one out of the park!
There's no skunk stripe, yet I can't see a separate slab of wood for the fingerboard. Is that my eyes decieving me, or do they have a special way of getting the truss rod in???
I bought a Harley Benton direct from Germany. They export nearly everywhere! To the US, my LP Harley Benton cost $35 to ship, iirc. Go to the Thomann site.
Hi Shane, do you teach the Intro in Blues Lesson??? with Tabs and PDF. Also the Blues starting at 5:22 . I hope you do That. Best Greetings from Germay
At the beginning I read bridge pickup. Then both pickup and at the end of playing, bridge pickup again. Is It a mistake and one of two is neck pickup? 🤔
Well I hope you don't have to return one. They just sent me 2 of the exact same guitar. I informed them right away and now there telling me I have to take it to the Customs office and show them the receipt and get authorization basically to ship it back and I have to pay for the return shipping fee. I paid 66 bucks for 2 day shipping and it took 5 days. This is my 3rd time ordering from them, needless to say never again. Never
I suddenly wondered: what's the effect of the reverse headstock on bending? The total length of the high e and b strings are significantly shorter, so the bending has to happen with less excess. Is it harder or maybe easier?
I don`t think it matters compare it to a 3+3 headstock not a big difference to a 6 in line one. After all you bend the string between the bidge and the nut - not the tuner.
Hi. I've got this exact guitar, a strat and a Les Paul and I don't find any difference when I bend the strings in any of them. I guess that all the differences finish where the nut starts as all the tension of the strings rest in that particular piece, which is common in all of the guitars
Hope you like the new intro track! 😄 What do you think of this Tele? Links in the description.
I want one... without the reverse.
Your tone sounds excellent and the reverse headstock looks cool. Where is this guitar made?
Intro track is absolutely awesome!
@@bstrickland4 Thanks a lot, Brian! :)
@@thBrilliantFool I will double check in the morning but I think it was Indonesia.
If this guitar doesn't make you feel something nothing will. It literally checks every box... Sexy figured ash, chambered body, contoured tele body, filtertron style pickups, reverse headstock... Literally everything I have ever wanted in a guitar.
I can't get why people are so opposite to reverse headstock. Basically any 3+3 has half of tuners "reversed" and nobody seems complaining about that.
Joyo profiled into a Kemper...... Priceless!! Great opening track.
Thanks, a lot VibroSteve :-)
My sentiments exactly!
From what I've seen on RUclips (including this and your unboxing livestream), this is one of the best-sounding Harley Benton guitars. Great playing too, Shane!
That’s not a reverse headstock, it’s the right way round. You’ve got a reverse body on that guitar!
Headstock and body are all right.
You just got a reverse sticker !
The guitar is alright, but in Australia there is everything upside down.
Rockn rolly, Hans!
Its left handed
Yes it's reverse
The neck on this guitar is special IMO, smooth, fast and rounded. I favor this over my Fender's. If someone is looking for some unique tones, these PUP's will add to their library nicely. Humbuckers with somewhat reduced output. A nice tonal difference between the bridge and neck as well. The body is beautiful and solid, even with the weight relief. Pick guard is the only weakness. A one ply that takes it down a notch. Easily remedied. Thank's Shane.
Shane, you sold me on this guit. I'm in the USA, and just yesterday, the package cleared US customs. Can't wait to see how those Gretsch style mini humbers bite and chime in my home studio.
Contrary to some other brands HB model names are pretty straightforward. FLT stands for Filtertron (this type of pickup) and VW stands for Vintage White (although it's more like natural to me).
I love how he says ' let's see how it sounds , you know you are in for a treat ☺
I’ve always dug this guitar just for its looks alone!!!! Being a lefty who plays right handed Strats upside down (it’s just what I got used to), I don’t mind having a reverse headstock. It just looks cool to me!!😎😎 A Tele style guitar is the one that I’m lacking and this guitar would fill that need!!! Thanks for the smooth performance and great review!!! Cheers Mate!!!!!🎸🎸🎸🎸🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾
I play the same way. I have my guitar guy swap all my lefties strung right handed. I can't really do anything with a slanted stop bar since he said the intonation cannot be set correctly, so I have to go with plain fixed bridge, so no Gibson's for me except an SG, or a V, I can just flip over. Do you have this same problem? I mean I have found no shortage of guitars. I own 15. Only two right handed. A V, and a double cutaway 1980 Scavenger Washburn bass from when I was 16. I'm 55. I really want a lefty SG, but until I find an alternative bridge I bought a low end Epiphone SG special, and rebuilt it from Tuners all the way to the bridge. Nut, Pups, pots, switch, bridge. It only has two pots so playing upside down my arm wont hit the knobs. That's the problem with a Gibson SG. Too many knobs for my arm to hit. I may just invest in a used one, remove the slanted bridge, fill the holes, and add a tone pros fixed bridge like a tele style. Do you run into similar problems? If it has a trem it's not an issue, but you never see SG's with trems besides a Bigsby. That would be cool except you still have that slanted bridge in the way.
The best of Harley Benton Guitars... 💪
I put this second to the CST-24T for its versatility, but it could be first as well.
@@thehound2161 I wonder if these pickups can be coil split. If so, it'll be just as versatile.
I've had one of these for 16 months now and I love it. One of my favourite necks. Only issues I have is the grub screws on the saddles stick out too high and feel rough when I rest my picking hand on the bridge. Also when hitting the pickguard when strumming unplugged makes an obvious sound as it is completely hollow behind it. This of course is not a problem when amped up. Besides those minor issues, definitely a great guitar that is super fun to play.
I had the same problem with grub screws on another guitar being to high and being uncomfortable. You can get shorter grub screws online. Ebay sellers do them. I changed the complete set on the guitar I had an issue with and now it feels great. They cost next to nothing and is an easy swap out.
Yeah, thought about swapping them out or just grinding down the ones that are there, but it's not so much of a problem that I have motivated my lazy arse into gear and fix it yet 😁
I just ordered this from Thoman tonight... the latest model has a different bridge. Cheers.
DUDE ! excellent into track - they keep gettn better. this guitar looks reeel good. especially like the volume tone pot angles. someone really put thought into the look/placement. AND Shane - your production values are rapidly improving to world class. thanks
Thanks so much, RIKARDO! :-)
Sounds great.... Great Demo... helped me make my decision... I just purchased this guitar today... can't wait to get it... thanks for the post!
I've heard Rob Chapman say that having the tuners at the bottom is more natural than the traditional top tuners.
I had a Cap 10 awhile back and the reverse headstock didn't really pose any real problems tuning or restringing for me.
Anywho, thanks for sharing. Your playing is getting better every time I hear you. And that's saying something.
Cheers!
One of the best sounding Harley Benton guitars. Thanks Shane.
Great review showing the excellent tones you can get out of this guitar. These are amazing guitars for the money. The body really is light weight ash, with a grain figure that looks great under a nicely applied blond finish. The body is in two pieces, off centre joined and the weight relief cavities are a 'smugglers route' under the pick guard and an oversized control cavity. The only really disappointing thing is the horrible mess they made of cutting the pick guard. The strange thing is that early demos of this guitar (probably made by a different factory) show a proper Cabronita shaped guard. I would have preferred a right way up headstock, the upside down thing I find a little more difficult to access the buttons for tuning. The bridge is a bit wacky, as well as through body stringing, it allows for top loading by having a tall back bend, having the strings load under the intonation screws and come up through the centre of the saddles. The Roswell pickups sound great, I have absolutely no reason to 'upgrade' them. The only odd thing is the rather huge protruding screws used to mount them.
Like most guitars under perhaps £1,000 the TE-90FLT really benefits from a careful set up and a few modifications. Mine (I bought a B stock guitar) had sharp fret ends and a high action. I replaced the tuners with some Vanson locking tuners, replaced the pick guard with a more carefully shaped Cabronita style guard (a bit tricky - I had to glue a couple of wood blocks into the under guard cavity to provide support for the new pick guard screws), replaced the chrome domed knobs with two transparent Gibson style speed knobs, replaced the 6 cast zinc alloy saddles with cast brass saddles and replaced the pots and the output jack. The original pots were nominally 500K 16mm diameter. The volume was a linear! and the tone a log.
All six string ferrules on my guitar were loose and fell out of the back of the guitar when I replaced the strings, so I glued the ferrules in.
Terry Relph-Knight thanks - helpful
Man, that opening jam sounds so much like Joe Walsh’s work in The James Gang, it gave me goose bumps. Joe used a Tele frequently back then, especially in the studio. This is an excellent working mans guitar. Simple, all business appointments with no frills and those excellent Gretsch / TV Jones pickups! Great demo!
You can’t beat the value of these, beautiful instrument! If you don’t like the reverse headstock, you could buy a lefty and a standard and swap necks!
I've watched a couple of other videos on this guitar. In every one it sounded great and the reviewer really seemed to like it. Cheers from So. Cal.!
A Joyo into a Kemper, I'd never have thought of that, sounded great! Good new intro, I liked it.
Hi Shane, over the last three years I followed you as a Lumix shooter (like me), recently I discovered you are a lefty guitar player too (like me)! You cover all my passions! But unlike me, you are a great player, I hope to listen to your music more in the future even without reviewing guitars. Wish you all the best!
Thanks so much, mate. There seems to be quite a lot of crossover from music to camera gear. I love the Lumix stuff, it's the most fun to use and the results are great. Rock on! :)
Great looking guitar ...pickups give it a cool tone ..sweet
AW MAN! You got my guitar! I waited six months for that guitar and thomann couldn’t deliver. Finally cancelled the order. Now I know where it went! 😕
lol mate you would have got priority over me! They were out of stock for ages it took since December I think! 😎
Great sounding pickups on this one - and perhaps the chambering helps with the resonance. Volume pot tends to muffle the sound here. Perhaps could use a treble bleed.
I love 'reverse' headstocks. It's a little different. I doubt there are any sonic differences. After 5 minutes of changing strings you'll be used to it :)
Love the intro and love the guitar ! I built a Cabronita thinline body with P-90's very similar to this one but, now I want one with Filtertron style pups like this ,I think I'm going to give HB a try ! Great demo as always mate ! :-)
Sounds really good for Beatles-style pop with a hint of blues, country and rock ‘n roll
Have one on the way! Father’s Day present. Can’t wait.
I dislike reverse head stocks with a passion, but the guitar sounds really good. Good job!
Great sounding pickups on this one - and perhaps the chambering helps with the resonance.
Love the new intro; very catchy! I've already stolen part of it lol. Really like the fact that this guitar has the belly cut, all teles need this! Not liking the reverse headstock though. 👍
Cool guitar. But I dont like the volume and tone control location. Having a knob that close the bridge pickup makes me nervous about hitting it. Thats why I don't play traditional Strats. But I like the access panels on the back. Reverse headstock is a nice touch too!
Nice intro, Shane. 👍 That's a rockin' little Tele too - I really like those TV Jones/Cabronita style Pups. Some thoughts:
- I really like the selector switch up in the "humbucker" location. I'd add a poker chip, because why not?
- That Canadian maple neck looks sick! (That's good sick)
- Nice overall finish on the body.
- I'd have the pickguard extend to under the strings. Still looks killer with the blackguard style.
Gretsch.
Cool intro track, Shane and great demo of a great guitar. Cheers!
Nice Vid Shane! I’ve had my Eye on this Model for quite a while now! I Love the Gretsch Style Humbucker Pickups and thought they sounded good in all positions. (especially in your hands!). Please keep up the Good Work! Cheers Mate!
I JUST GOT THAT GUITAR SHANE !! I LIKE THE SOUND BUT IT PLAY'S CHEAPER THAN ALL MY OTHER HARLEY BENTONS !! STILL VERY COOL GUITAR !! I LEFT YOU LIKE NUMBER FORTY FIVE !
Thanks for all the in depth reviews! Every guitar I search you’ve got a video and they are great. Good commentary and awesome playing. And a lefty too!
Nice review!
It's my No.1 guitar these days.
I got a prototyp somehow 😎 for 100€.
Wonderful 1 piece body and no belly cut.
I invested some time and money.
Had to fix the neck routing at first and then shimmed the neck to an optimized angle. Did a fret job and added a Zero Fret. Sanded the body to a satin shine.
Made a custom pickguard in orangish/black tiger and did the headstock in matching color and mounted Kluson backlock tuners. Back cavity covers match the pickguard.
Shielded all the cavities. Bridge PU is now a vintage Filtertron. Keept the Roswell neck PU. Those Roswells are great.
Mounted a Wilkinson short tele bridge with compensated saddles and added a Bigsby B5 with an aluminum bar.
Swapped all electronics to CTS stuff and added a DIY 6-Step Variotone, switched On/Off by a push/push pot.
Over all i took away all the shinyness so it looks vintage but not real reliced.
Now it's a one of a kind killer guitar wich asks for being played again and again.
It's the most sustaining guitar i own.
Sounds great Shane, a real vibey guitar! Tempted to get one for the studio!
Nice job as usual Shane. Love your reviews!
Thanks Rob!
I have had a love hate relationship with teles. Love the look and feel, but just can’t get useable tones out of one, at least for me. I have tried, Fender, Squier, SX, Raven West with no mods or major mods, to no avail.
Until I got one of these. The setup was a tad high for me, but otherwise flawless out of the box. The pickups are actually good, tuning is stable, neck is not overly finished, and weight is just right. That checks all the boxes for me. Get one.👍🏼👍🏼
Sweet guitar. Even better playing. Great video Shane. As usual.
Just got something similar(identical but P90 pick ups and unbranded).
1 piece body for this money is Wow!
With the reverse headstock, and the hardware it's a bit Chapman-esque. I think the logic behind the reversed headstock is it puts more tension on the thicker strings rather than the thinner strings as with it the conventional way round. Not saying that's gospel but I'm sure I read it somewhere. I do prefer t style guitars with humbuckers compared to the traditional way.
Funky Monkey1886 My guess is it has a reverse headstock because it’s cheaper to make. It’s a right handed neck with a left handed nut. I actually prefer it.
@@jray5363 Maybe but they do other LH models with a non reverse headstock, Shane's got a couple of them. So I think it's more cosmetic than anything else. With the bridge, the pickups and the reverse headstock it does look a bit like a Chapman.
The righthanded versions are made with reverse headstocks and were released way before they offered this as a lefty, so I don't think they are just using righthanded necks.
Seems it's the other way round? Reverse headstock means stiffer thin strings and looser low strings. I've just read it in the Gitarre & Bass review on Thomann's website ("Zu einem Reversed Headstock, gehört das etwas steife Spielverhalten der dünneren Saiten vor allem in den oberen Lagen, dafür aber ein leichteres Greifen und Ziehen der dickeren Saiten"). Not sure if that "feature" is anything I would desire.
Man that looks and sounds great!
Hi Shane. Gary from Tasmania. I think you should review the Harley Benton Fusion 2 HSH guitar. I personally think it's a great value for money buy. Please consider this suggestion. I love your channel and watch all youyr reviews. Thank you.
That’s the one man. Holy Smokes!
Shane I know you’re primarily a blues man, but you’d also kill it in a classic rock combo playing some Zeppelin, James Gang and Free. Awesome playing.
Mod #1 - split the coils and get some single coil sounds as well ? The body rivals a Fender Custom Shop at 1/10th the cost and the sound is hot. Quite a bargain.
Beautiful guitar 👍 Sounded fantastic and as always great played from you.
Great playing Shane.
great playing . and guitar sounded good too .
I got mine yesterday. 1st of all mine looks white with some BLUE parts. guitar looks totally different I must say. And it is the normal version offered on thomann. Further, it weights 4.6 Kilo (same as any Les Paul). That is surprising to me since it is chambered. it is. I have checked...Material is ash as they say on the website...pretty surprised. Maby I got some kind of NEW Model. So be aware. You wont get what is in this video.
Guuuuuuuh. I want one of these so bad, but wish they’d make one in seafoam green.
Apparently a reverse headstock means stiffer thin strings and looser low strings. I've just read it in the Gitarre & Bass review on Thomann's website ("Zu einem Reversed Headstock, gehört das etwas steife Spielverhalten der dünneren Saiten vor allem in den oberen Lagen, dafür aber ein leichteres Greifen und Ziehen der dickeren Saiten"). Not sure if that "feature" is anything I would desire.
Nice job as always shane & sounds great !! :)
Nice one Tele sounds decent man, was just looking the the Artist TC59 today would love to see a demo and hear your thoughts on it also. Comparison with the Harley Benton would be awesome
another great review,,,,nice licks bro,,cheers
Love the finish. Almost looks like an aged Mary Kaye.
Good review. Cheers
It sure has that old time blues sound we🖒
Just ordered my lefty one. Good review
One of the few cheap tele's I like without any needed mods.
It's beautiful and sounds ace. What more can you want?
These guitar sounds really good! 👌🔥
So the big question: Harley Benton TE-90FLT VW
Harley benton te-90flt VW, harley benton te-52 or Yamaha Pacifica 112 for a complete left hand beginner for classic rock, rhythm blues and why not something little more punched?
Thank you.
For a beginner I'd strongly recommend a Yamaha Pacifica. Great guitars.
What????? And I just checked, current price, brand spanking new, is only £177, delivered....including the ferocious tax element [OK, there's no stock on that EXACT one] but that's just a smurggin over the 2nd hand price I paid for my Epiphone.... Jaw hanging open
Hey Shane you want a nice sunburst or some other trans color on that thing? Pull the neck and ship it to me. I;ll put whatever color you want on it. Did you get the comment about my Junior purchase? Based on your recommendation, I went ahead and bought a junior last week from Thomann. I nearly bought the BFG by Gibson until the new 2019's were coming out. I really wanted a P90 loaded guitar, hence the BFG consideration... Yesterday morning, that Junior showed up. I spent most of the day playing the heck out of that thing. The tone knob makes all the difference in the world!!!! Wow what a versatile little guitar. When you did the review on it, you said you didn't REALLY need one, but I guarantee you would get more use out of it than you might think. Just spend a few hours with tone knob in hand and different amp settings. My primary music is blues and what we call "Classic Rock" (I feel so old...), and the Jr. excels at both, but it will even do Jazz on a clean amp, and metal on a dirty amp. With one very old school pup in the bridge. It just doesn't make sense, but glad it is able to pull it off!! With all the different guitars in the stable, this little beast is easily in the top 5 for versatility and the musicality of the pup. Not just because it is new, but because it is that good!! I have the new Epiphone DC Pro with the Burstbucker Pro 2N and 3B pups, coil tapping, phase reversal and on and on. Stunning looking guitar with it's Mohave Fade finish etc. With all it's features, it should be in the top 5, it doesnt even rate top 15. It just sits in the case. Junior though, wow! What else can I say? except Shane! You were wrong, you DO actually need one!! Bob in Germany
I built the left-handed strat with humpback and pick ups with a reverse head stock. It’s OK.
Ireally liked the 'dirty' sound with just the neck pick-up on. For me a happy marriage between clear and just enough rough.
I have one too and I love it. My only problem is that the bridge is just a little off center. It sounds good it's just enough that I noticed it after a few hours of looking at it and now I can't not see it
that one with a reverse banana headstock, floyd, and minus the weight relief of course ;)
I have this guitar and I wish it sounded as good as it did here. Those roswell FLT' pickups don't really sound like filtertrons on my guitar. They sound more closer to a regular humbucker rather than the pickups you see in Gretsch guitars or a Telecaster Cabronita. Mine doesn't have that initial transient that you'd expect from these type of pickups. The closest I've been able to get it to sound like a filtertron is by disconnecting the tone pot, which sounds decent if not unbalanced. All in all i was really looking forward to this guitar but once I had it, I just felt a little disappointed. It's good for the money but that's all it is. It's probably my fault for expecting a Telecaster Cabronita. It's a good inexpensive guitar.
Where was this model made? China, Indonesia, other?
Lovely sounding guitar but unfortunately I hate reverse headstocks with a passion!
I tried maybe 5 or 6 asian made guitars and only 1 didn't had tilted nut. I guess that for the review they made sure you'll get straight one.
The headstock also has that hook thing alot like my Swampcaster.
it's weird that it still sounds like a tele, just whih more balls and no hum! dig these sliding licks 0:50
Your description of the sound is dead on. Has great Tele character on the bridge pup, some Joe Walsh in there, with just a bit of Gibson harmonics w both pups on, and some Gretsch style articulation you don't get with a Gibson. This cheapy has become my favorite of my some 20 electric guitars. Great tone, looks, playable neck and versatility for players who like tones from chime/clean to low to moderate OD for blues and classic rock. Would prefer a non-reverse headstock (I'm a lefty who has had it with prior years of playing an up side down righty), but the reverse one provides some extra quirkiness/character, so I'm learning to love it. Harley Benton hit this one out of the park!
There's no skunk stripe, yet I can't see a separate slab of wood for the fingerboard. Is that my eyes decieving me, or do they have a special way of getting the truss rod in???
Nice tele , sounds pretty good.
Do they have any U.S. dealers / music stores. That HB work's with.
That you know of.
I bought a Harley Benton direct from Germany. They export nearly everywhere!
To the US, my LP Harley Benton cost $35 to ship, iirc. Go to the Thomann site.
Hi Shane, do you teach the Intro in Blues Lesson??? with Tabs and PDF. Also the Blues starting at 5:22 . I hope you do That.
Best Greetings from Germay
Chabronita!rockn rolly,Shane! My'n have no bellycut,its a great guitschn
For that rockn rolly,Blues that we love!a big rockn rolly,from vienna!
Hi Shane, great playing! Is the guitar neck heavy on a strap?
I don’t have a lefty with those pickups or a telecaster with p 90s or an offset only three guitars I don’t have I don’t need them I want them
i was gonna buy one. we can swap necks bro. i hate the reverse
swap with u . im a righty
Yo shane! If you had to choose between this tele Harley B or the squire affinity tele that I love?
At the beginning I read bridge pickup. Then both pickup and at the end of playing, bridge pickup again. Is It a mistake and one of two is neck pickup? 🤔
A reverse headstock on a lefty guitar... Wait my brain hurts...
Me like!
If I was to put locking tuners on one of these would I get 'right hand' or right side tuners? I am so confused lol
Is that Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 Movie poster @ 7:30 ?
Yup 😀
Hi, is that a solid wood or laminate(plywood) body? Thanks.
Well I hope you don't have to return one. They just sent me 2 of the exact same guitar. I informed them right away and now there telling me I have to take it to the Customs office and show them the receipt and get authorization basically to ship it back and I have to pay for the return shipping fee. I paid 66 bucks for 2 day shipping and it took 5 days. This is my 3rd time ordering from them, needless to say never again. Never
sir which is better. that tele or the harley benton te-52? .. thankyou
Where do you get them in Australia?!
I suddenly wondered: what's the effect of the reverse headstock on bending? The total length of the high e and b strings are significantly shorter, so the bending has to happen with less excess. Is it harder or maybe easier?
I don`t think it matters compare it to a 3+3 headstock not a big difference to a 6 in line one. After all you bend the string between the bidge and the nut - not the tuner.
The longer 6th string give more twang...a bit like a baritone guitar. The shorter 1st and 2nd strings have a mellower tone...my 2 cents worth!
Hi. I've got this exact guitar, a strat and a Les Paul and I don't find any difference when I bend the strings in any of them. I guess that all the differences finish where the nut starts as all the tension of the strings rest in that particular piece, which is common in all of the guitars
Why the processed sound?
Which do you like better that or the TE-52?
Find a right hand version and swap necks, then you have the curiosity of a upside down logo.