Harley Benton TE-62CC SP

Overall, this is a great guitar and a phenomenal value for money. The fit and finish is good, caramelized maple neck feels good (although slightly chunky) and sounds good. The guitar is super light and I can play it for hours. However, mine did arrive with various issues (small neck pocket crack, very loose and slightly bent switch as well as a crooked tone pot. Thomann customer service is great as always and sent me replacement pots and switch for free.

Overall, the guitar is great but I was unluckly to receive a lemon. For the price, you can't go wrong and I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a Tele style.

I'm an advanced guitarist but I don't believe in spending thousands on big-name brands as the marginal benefit is so low the higher up you go (I am also an economist). That being said I was looking at an affordable T-style guitar that gave me the most value that I could upgrade down the line and learn advanced luthier skills such as fret levelling, etc (And to play math rock) and this guitar intrigued me. I had really low expectations because of the price tag but was very impressed with what I received in comparison to similarly priced instruments from Squier.

Positives
- The fit and finish are amazing, I love the mint pickguard and pink finish! But the pickguard is a lot more mint than in the images. 0 defects that I can see. My only complaint is one of the screws for the control plate was a bit too close to the cavity but no functional issues there. If I was being really picky, the pickguard edges and the bottom of the vol/tone knobs are slightly rough.
- The neck looks and feels amazing, and the fretboard edges also feel slightly rolled which was a surprise.
- No sharp fret ends and scratchy frets! I was surprised that they were polished pretty decently, it's not perfect but it's way better than Squier's for sure.
- Great tone, obviously not identical to Fender tele pickups but I'd say they are 90% there, I don't think they are ceramic either so I probably won't be replacing these soon!
- Very lightweight, the body is poplar and seems to be a few millimetres thinner than an actual tele body which I'm all for if it decreases the weight!
- The nut is perfectly cut
- Tuners honestly are decent, I really liked them
- Switch is decent as well, a little flimsy but not too bad.
- No crackling with turning pots, no microphonic pickups, awesome!

Negatives
- It came terribly setup out of the box, the action was a mile high but the neck relief was ok, just gave it a quarter turn and lowered the saddles so it was playable
- The strings on it were old and sounded terrible, I immediately replaced them.
- There are a few high frets so there is some buzz with my preferred action setting, but no dead spots no choking on bends.
- Intonation isn't great on the low e but that's a tele problem
- It has mini pots, GuitarGeek did a review for it and the model he got had full-size pots, not a deal breaker but I do feel a bit misled.
- Tuning stability was poor initially, but I used a pencil to add graphite to the nut slots and it's alright now.
- I can't lower the high e-string saddle height anymore as I reached the limit, it's fine but I would like it slightly lower, maybe I'll shim the guitar.
- Saddle adjustment screws protrude after setup, I don't mind it as it doesn't hurt but yet another tele design problem.
- It was 21 frets, I prefer 22 but it is what it is.

Overall a great guitar and for the price you can't go wrong but it NEEDS a setup, IMO all guitarists should know how to do a basic setup and if you're scared of doing it with your expensive axe, practice on a cheaper one! I'm pretty happy with it now but I'm planning to change the saddles to compensated brass saddles, get a tusq nut and level the frets. Maybe down the line, I'll replace the electronics. Giving 4 stars as I might've gotten lucky and your mileage may vary with cheap guitars so keep your expectations low!

For the cost, it’s a great guitar. But it’s important to have realistic expectations… I think I got carried away reading all the five star reviews and so was a little disappointed when it didn’t quite deliver.

The first I received had terrible buzz on the lowest two strings. After some discussion with Thomann, trying to adjust the action etc, I returned it. Had I taken it for a pro setup, I imagine they could have cured this, but I didn’t want to pay money to take the risk that it might require more work.

The replacement guitar was better. Some fret buzz, but I think mostly unnoticeable through an amp. Cosmetically, it’s not perfect, some of the fret ends were sharp or rough. The jack plate has not been put on centrally, so a little of the hole is visible at the edge of the plate. But that doesn’t bother me, not at the price I paid.

As a novice I had a pro setup done, and the guitar sounds and feels great. Even factoring in this cost, you’re still getting a really lovely guitar at a very cheap price. And I imagine someone with a moderate amount of experience could file the fret ends and adjust the action themselves with no trouble. But hey, when the guitar is that cheap, why not push the boat out and get it done properly… keep your local luthier happy.

Update, two months in: fret buzz annoys me, even after setup. Also a look under the pickguard revealed a 15mm split where the body meets the neck. Thomann have assured me this is superficial. So, to conclude, not perfect, but it’s dead cheap.

Update four months in: finally looking into the fret buzz, using a rocker, it seems nine of the frets are high. I was hoping it would just be one or two…

For the price, it is hard to believe how good this guitar is.

I couldn't find any blemishes on the guitar, the body is painted beautifully without any scratches or dents.

The neck is smooth with no sharp frets, and the roasted maple looks stunning. A neck like this usually comes with a much higher price tag. The satin finish makes it a pleasant experience, but it is a bit chunky if that's not your thing. It was set up well aside from the action which was high.

The weakest part of this guitar are the pickups, especially the neck pickup sounds a bit muddy. However, they are perfectly fine, especially at this price, and tinkering with the height could clear up this issue.

Overall, this is an incredible guitar for anyone looking for a T-style, from beginners buying their first guitar to experienced players looking for something inexpensive to gig with.

I am sure everyone has researched on the pros already. I agree it is a fine fine instrument. But since HBs are often reviewed as hit or miss, I think jotting down the cons would be more relevant for future buyers. I have done diy luthier work to the best of my abilities before this review.
1. Frets are not level by a mile. Since these aren't jumbo sized, levelling will be a problem for people like me who prefer some height.
2. Included allen key is unusable as it is an incorrect size. Plus there was no small version for adjusting bridge height.
3. Neck pickup is perfectly fine but the bridge one is quite bad. Low sustain, harsh, flat (i have adjusted pickup heights as best as I could).
4. Biggest problem is that mine came with one of the tuning peg screws broken INSIDE its hole. I see no ther option but to drill the hole bigger. Later maybe...
5. Outstation buyers beware. Regarding my problem #4, the only solution offered by thomann is a replacement. Now, I paid upwards of 50% duty in India so a replacement is not an economically viable option (packing and postage for return being another problem.)
All other shortcomings that the guitar has were already considered before my purchase so I won't go there. Overall it is still a fine instrument.

When I opened up this guitar I thought it looked fantastic and had a lovely light weight to it (I liked light guitars). I care about tonewood and usually go for alder/ash/mahogany but the poplar body has some good properties: it's as articulate as basswood, as rounded as alder but has done if the brightness of ash. Anyway, the Roswell pickups are great for cheap units. The neck pickup in particular has some sweet top-end to it that stops it from being dull. I use it in a covers band and feel no need to upgrade anything.

The bad-ish side is that the pink finish is thin and not very resilient. Surface scratches develop quite easily and neck pocket cracks appeared within a month. I suppose this means that the guitar can resonate and is no issue unless you have mild OCD like me! There neck is a great mid C profile.
Overall, This is a real Tele and strictly reminds me of the Brad Paisley Mexican Fender for much less money and a less garish paint job.