Harley Benton ST-62CC MN Shell Pink

So I had pretty low expectations coming from a boutique strat worth over 3000$, so naturally I expected I will have to replace everything everywhere.
Even though the guitar has some negative points, I still gave it 5 starts and you'll understand why.
First impression was "wow". Nothing loose, nothing broken, decent action, fret ends were not as sharp as some people say, definitely didn't bother me at all. The frets were a bit scratchy when bending and doing vibrato, but I eventually leveled and polished them. As for leveling, yeah it had some small bumps, but I've seen popular brand guitars worth 10 times more that had a worse leveling job. Nut action was decent, but I replaced the nut with a tusq because the string radius at the original nut wasn't following the fretboard - middle strings were a bit lower than outer strings. Again, I could've left it as it was, no big deal here, I'm just very picky with certain measurements, but it was perfectly fine. I also replaced the string trees which I would always do because most standard string trees become very scratchy after a while. To my surprise, the pots, switch and jack are all very tight and work perfectly. The tuners are very solid, the only downside is they're vintage spec - the ones with a hole on top - and changing strings can be very challenging to say the least... But the tuners themselves are tight and reliable - won't change them very soon hopefully. The bridge saddles are a bit weird positioned, not sure exactly why and how, but the whole bridge does the job just fine. Springs in the back were tightened all the way which was very amusing, someone clearly had no idea what they were doing. I lowered the tension so that I could pull the G up a half step with the whammy. Stays in tune no matter what - actually this is insane, I've tried popular brands over the 1k$ mark that actually had issues when using the tremolo or even when bending - so for this alone I'd give it 5 stars. The trem screws in the back are a bit odd positioned, not really centered as with most guitars, but doesn't seem to influence anything. So yeah, I won't be changing the tremolo either as there's no need whatsoever. Now, the juicy part - the pickups. Oh man I've been reading reviews and commends of people saying they'll change them straight away or whatever. Well, I'm not changing these either. First thing I did was took a 3.5k $ boutique guitar with CS pickups and this "cheap" strat right here and I did some short recordings of each. I sent them to a few musician/producer friends without telling them which is which and the feedback was actually in favour of the Harley Benton strat - even I myself prefer it over the boutique!! Now you must be thinking I'm crazy or something, but I want you to think if you're actually listening to and feeling an instrument, rather than putting it all on the price tag and brand - I know I didn't and all I did was chase price tags for quite a while. And when you really give it all up and just listen - let's just say things cost whatever people are willing to pay. This will probably be the first guitar I'll never sell, it just works, looks great, feels great, sounds great. Now I have it at 1mm action at high E and no dead notes, no fretting out, tuning is incredibly solid, pickups are great - I'm happy! Also, truss rod works fine :) I'm planning on buying a few more guitars and basses from HB. My only advice would be make sure to check everything properly when you receive the guitar. Quality control is probably pretty bad, so you might get a guitar with some unfixable traits, so make sure to check and get it replaced in time if needed. And again, use your ears people, not price tags and other nonsense (tonewood, sustain, "vintage", bla bla bla).

This is my first strat. Just bought it to have some fun and man, I'm sure having it!
Not the best finishing but for the price is not something that would have me worried.
The sound is everything I expected sinceI've tried another Harley Benton ST before and was immediately baffled by the sound and even more when I knew the price.
Just have some small details to point out like the pickguard, that is not exactly the colour as in the picture. The one I reacieved had a pickguard a little more cream/ivory white and not so alpine white as in the pic.
But actually, I prefer it like I got it!
To sum up, great guitar for having fun and very cool if you are now starting.

Playing in bands on and off since 1965 I've been around the block a few times and I've had more of the "Big Name" brands that I can remember. Something I can remember however, is that NONE of those coveted, super expensive instruments could be played comfortably after a simple "new guitar" adjustment and set-up. They all needed fret levelling, some needed fret-end finishing as well and this was a constant disappointment to me.

Not so with ST62 Harley Benton! This guitar is impeccably finished and is the first guitar I've ever bought that after a basic set-up is ready to use live. I can't believe I'm actually saying this given the cost involved. Another HUGE surprise is the Roswell pickup set that is fitted as standard. These aren't your weak, tinkly "Place holder" pickups normally found at this price point, these are solid, properly designed and made quality Strat. pickups that equal just about anything I've ever used.