I used to own a Squier Classic Vibe stratocaster and I sold it to be able to buy a nice acoustic (Eastman e1d).
After a few months I really started to miss a strat style guitar. I love modifying guitars so a cheap but good one is the way to go for me. I was on the fence on a couple of cheapos: SX SST62, Harley Benton ST-57, Harley Benton ST-62 and this one.
Based on the reviews on YouTube I decided to go for the Harley Benton st-90. It is a little bit higher specced than the ST-62 and it still is dirt cheap.
It got here last friday and Boy, am I pleasantly surprised!
The finish is flawless. Let me sum up my observations:
1) Fretwork. The frets were polished and no fret sprout! A few high frets here an there but nothing out of the ordinairy. I could set the action at 1.9/2mm at the low e without fret buzz.
2) Nut. I think it is plastic, don't know for sure, but it is cut beautifully. Will not touch it any time soon. Action at first fret is great as it is.
3) The specs say the fretboard is either Blackwood (a composite material) or Pau Ferro. It is definitely made of real wood. It is rather dark, so it could even be Rosewood. Not sure the guitar factories already use Rosewood again since the lifting of Cites, so let's assume it is Pau Ferro.
4) Hardware. As soon as it arrived, I opened it up to apply some shielding tape. To my surprise this guitar has full size Alpha pots! It uses 1 capacitor per tone pot @ .47. I will replace it later with one .22 because I like that better. The body routing is done very cleanly.
The tremolo is of very good quality. Nice thick plate and it was set up to float.
Now, I don't like floating tremolo's so I decked it by lowering the bridge poles (detune first) and tightening the spring claw. Now it is nice and resonant! Also it has a full size steel tremolo block. That is really amazing at this price point.
The tuners work fine, but a couple of them are really stiff. But this is a guitar of 169 euro, so it is acceptable.
The 5 way switch is the cheap square version and will be replaced by an Oak Grigsby 5 way switch.
4) Finish. Lovely matte finish on the neck and body. The body is a bit orangy/honey like. Love it. Scratch plate is real nice faux tortoise.
5) Tone. The Roswell alnico 5's sound very good. I say they are a bit on the hot side, they sure sound sweet and stratty. Was planning on swapping them for Toneriders, but currently I don't think it's necessary.
Since I used to own a Squier Classic Vibe, I can compare the two.
I say build quality is the same. Hardware on the Harley Benton is better, except for the tuners. I would even say it's on par with Mexico Fenders.
Also the feel is totally different. The Squier has a 9.5 radius finger board and a much skinnier neck. HB has a thick neck with 14 inch fretboard radius. So feel wise, these are totally different animals. Also, the HB is HEAVY. Mine weighs around 4.3kg. That is almost 1kg heavier than the Squier Classic Vibe, that weighted 3.4kg. The Squier is made out of Alder and this one is Ash, so I expected it to be heavier. The specs say it is Swamp Ash, but as that tonewood is usually also lightweight, I think it is regular northern Ash. I play guitar sitting down, so I don't mind, but keep this in mind when you are a gigging guitarist. You might want to have a look at another lighter weighing tonewood.
For a guy that loves to mod cheap guitars, I'm sort of dissapointed: it really doesn't need a lot of work! ;).
Maybe I will put on a 9.5 inch radius neck on it later, I measured the neck at 55.5mm, so It should fit Fender spec necks.
Also, I'm changing the capacitor to a .22, maybe put a push pull pot in it to get the 7 tones (gilmore mod). I ordered Ivory coloured pickup covers and knobs because I think that will look better. I will add two more springs on the tremolo to deck it more firmly. Also I will replace the 5 way switch. Other than that I don't think it needs more work.
I can't understand that it is possible to sell a guitar at 169 euro's with this insane amount of quality. It can measure up to a Classic Vibe which costs nearly 200 extra. I even say it is on par with a MIM Fender.
