Harley Benton TE-90FLT Blue Blast

I recently purchased this guitar, primarily because I've never had a guitar with filter tron pickups. I do have another 3 Harley Benton guitars however, a Fusion 1, a Fusion 2 and a DC Junior. Whilst my Fusions have been modified with GK3 synth pickups, primarily for LIVE use , this was a purchase specifically intended for use in the studio.

None of my HBs have had any fret issues. All totally level and tall enough to get a good grip of the strings. This guitar is no different. Probably the straightest neck I have seen on a 200€ guitar. Yes it's contour is very flat but that's good for low actions, string bending and I like that. The neck is 'fast' and feels quality and comfortable in the hand. The nut is also perfectly cut , as it was on my other HBs ..... and sound wise it has a nice smooth chime to it. Not overly bright but with more 'jangle' than a standard humbucker. Very useable.

It is however quite heavy even although it is chambered under the scratchplate and has an overly massive control cavity. I personally would have liked the body finish to match the headstock as the colours on the body aren't as vivid as the headstock. I understand that the headstock is a veneer and probably difficult to match up. I can live with it. It's close. I would have liked the option of a trem, but again I can live with a fixed bridge for the studio.

So, out of the box, the action was a little high but after a quick adjustment, it now plays like a dream. I absolutely love it. Even if you are not a big Telecaster style player, this is a great addition to your sound arsenal. When you realise that the closest alternative available from the big American guitar company is around 1600€ , this is a bargain.

I recently started playing guitar again after a long hiatus due to having kids. I've never been too interested in tele styles before, but after a lot of research and finding out about Harley Benton guitars, this one really caught my eye for a few reasons:

1. The Filtertron style pickups
2. The cool looking blast finish
3. The reverse headstock makes this look even more unique and not like just another tele clone
4. The price!

In the past I've had an HH Ibanez, an SSS Kramer, and I currently own a Washburn HSS. I wanted something different and was really intrigued by the Filtertron style, plus a lot of my musical heros play teles, so why not?

My guitar arrived in good condition and was already fairly well set-up and almost in tune; amazing since it came to me in the US all the way from Germany!

There is a little fret buzz, but it isn't really audible when amped up, so that's fine. There are a few minor imperfections in the finish (which looks awesome), some weird gouges/scratches on the end of the guitar near where the rear strap knob is, and a couple rough areas on the neck near the 22nd fret. The frets them selves are a tiny bit scratchy on the sides, but not terrible and well within what I'd consider to be acceptable for the price. The slot where the nut sits looked a little off-kilter, but I think it's due to how the finish on the headstock is sort of angled on my guitar as I haven't noticed any issues with playability or staying in tune. The neck feels very nice, although there does seem to be a couple small spots that are a little rough. All this being said, it is very playable and I've been enjoying it a lot.

The guitar stays in tune VERY well. The tuners are a little stiff and the ratio doesn't seem the best, but honestly, for the PRICE of this guitar, it's definitely well within reason. It stays in tune better than my Washburn WR150.

The knobs on my guitar seem to have been installed at a slight angle and not quite flush with the body, but they still work fine.

I can get some really nice tones out of this guitar, and to me it feels especially heavy on the low end. It's definitely taking me more time to fine tune the tone on this guitar compared to my Washburn, but once dialed in they sound great; this is likely more on me not being used to these types of pickups than on the guitar/pickups themselves.

The only thing that I would caution some folks on with this guitar is that it can have very microphonic pickups. This really only comes into play if you have very high gain and volume settings; otherwise it isn't noticeable. I tend to play rock and use a fair amount of distortion and it isn't normally an issue for me, but if you're playing crazy high gain or at very high volumes then you're probably better off with a different guitar. Apparently this is a known thing with these pickups, and I think it's likely how they get their vintage-esque, lively sound.

I've had such a good experience with this guitar (my first HB) that I've just ordered an SC-550 II Gotoh (the Slash Tribute) because I've always wanted an LP style. That model is a bit more expensive than this one, so I'm hoping it is even higher quality than the TE-90 FLT, which was already a great bargain for me.

To summarize:
- The guitar overall feels very solid and punches well above it's weight in terms of price to value. The hardware isn't anything special, but gets the job done and doesn't feel cheap.
- The pickups sound really great clean, and are very lively. The downside is that at very high gain and volume levels, they become microphonic, which may or may not be a con if you either don't play that style of music or don't mind it (some folks even WANT microphonic pickups). You could always take them out and wax pot them, but that will change the tone somewhat.
- There are some minor cosmetic blemishes, scratches, etc, but they don't take away from the playability and are really only noticeable close up; otherwise this guitar looks super cool and unlike anything else.
- If you've always been curious about a Tele style guitar or Filtertron style pickups, this guitar is an absolute bargain and a great way to try them out.

First thing to note is one of the screws that keeps the tuner in place was loose, when I tried to tighten it - it broke on the spot so the tuning machine is holding up with prayers only now.

Another thing to note is the finish looks painted-on and not actual wood, which you may be tricked into believing by your eyes.

And the last con i can find is the weight, while still lighter than an LP, it's pretty heavy and most of the weight is in the body, keeping it from neckdiving for sure.

When it comes to good things. The fretboard seems legit, the frets aren't sticking out much, the bridge seems solid. The sound is great, especially for this price range.

Overall if you're looking for a cheap guitar (add price of changing tuners to something else cause they're awful) it's a great choice.

This guitar is my go to for doing ambient. I even have a heavily modified Epiphone Les Paul Standard with splittable Seymour Duncan's that sounds amazing, but the handling of this guitar and the good sounding low output humbuckers, rounded but not dark, makes me always prefer it to my "more expensive" guitar. I bought it along with a Sterling Albert Lee, and I ended up returning the Sterling and keeping the HB. If I could swap a thing from the Sterling, was the 9,5" radius roasted maple neck, that was a breeze to play. Hey Harley Benton! Please do some more rounded fretboards please!!!