Harley Benton TE-20MN CA Standard Series

I was not looking for a tele, but after reading a lot of positive reviews I've decided to add this guitar to my cart to see how a really cheap tele could work.

I thought the worst case scenario is that I'll keep this and use as a base of a future project and will replace parts one by one... however when I unboxed and started to play on it I knew instantly that I do not need to modify anyting in a rush to make it better/playable , it just needs a proper setup.

First impression: Headstock, neck, body are really nice, I did not see any issue with the painting, color is stunning (images can't really add back but it's darker than on stock photos, and contrast between pickguard and body color is bigger); hardware are fine, it does not feel cheap , there is not any wibbly wobbly part, it feels solid and doing the job just fine.

Out of the box playability is OK, but I'm using 10 gauge strings so did the following setup: - removed factory strings ; - polished the frets (I used Nomad Frine); - installed new strings ; - lowered the action to 1.6mm ; - adjusted the truss rod as the heavier strings had a bigger pull on it; - set intonation. I missed to add lubricant to nut/bridge but the result of this small setup is still amazing and it was a huge imrpovement in playability. Setup was not difficult even if I don't have lot of experience on it. The most difficult part was probably set up the intonation as this vintage style bridge was not designed to make your life easier, but after you get into it and learn how it works you can adjust easily.

I have 4 guitars and I did not expect this but I started to play on this cheap tele the most because it's a great all-rounder work horse, can fit to different genres and after the proper setup it's really comfortable to play on it.

I could totally recommend this guitar to anyone, doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a pro because after a little care you can get yourself a great allrounder workhorse which does not cost you a fortune.

Oooookay,
so my Candy Apple Red and Metallic Blue TM20 arrived today. Outer cardboard box was slightly knackered, but inner boxes were okay, except for the styrofoam neck rests, who gave their structural integrity to protect the guitar inside.
No more plastic fillers, but only crushed paper, which I like. Try folded cardboard for the neck rests, you might get rid of those plastic pieces, too.
Have not received any goodies with the guitars, no stickers, no picks, nothing.
From the first looks, the guitars might even come from different factories. The metallic blue guitar is significantly heavier than the red guitar. Haven't had them on the scales - yet - but I'd say the difference is at least 1 kg.
Paintwork is more than acceptable. The blue is a tad lighter than expected, but the red one is that kind of deep "Oooh Yeah!" red that gives me an instant ... cough. Let's leave it there.
The blue one actually has a three ply scratchguard, so that's a pro. The chrome bridge looks better in reality than on the photos. I will check intonation and - yes, it's a Tele, you won't be able to intonate it properly - if it's okay, the chrome bridges may even stay.
Can't say anything about playability yet, as the guitars need to settle down a bit and adjust to the climate here, but so far I'm not disappointed.
Well, there are niggles, though. The neck for instance is cheap. Feels good, but it's not, what you would expect from a proper Tele neck. A maple fretboard Tele neck is hewn from one piece of maple, the truss is set in from the back, hence the prominent skunk stripe. With this neck, they just slapped a maple fretboard on. I know, it is possibly cheaper to use the same neck blanks for all of the HB Teles and then just use different fretboards, but, well, it's not THAT important, but I just noticed it.
Both guitars have a nice first feel. The neck is definitively NOT Tele,, it is wider and flatter than the usual Tele neck. Fret sprout is absent and the narrow thin frets are looking okay -n even though they are not polished. Switches and potentiometers feel solid. Tuners feel and look cheap, but they might do their job.
The red guitar has some issues with the strings not lining up properly, the strings are shifted about 2 mm to the bass side, but this might as well be dealt with by adjusting the bridge, there is enough travel there and then it might even align better with the pickups. The strings are not THAT far off, it's more a bit of a niggle.
Oh dear, the blue guitar REALLY is a heavy one. Don't want to wear that for a long gig ....
Both guitars fell off the production line and passed QC at the 15th of July 2019. Both were checked by Alan.
So, what is my verdict after just ogling over the new TE20 from Harley Benton?
Hardware is better than expected. Triple ply pickguards may stay. Chrome bridge is not too bad, but will be changed to a proper string-through-body part later. Not as soon as expected, but at a later stage.
Paintwork is as good as any Fender.Impressive.
I wish we had guitars of that quality at that price when I was younger. Now I'm in my mid 50's, but when I started guitars, we have had proper sh!t for ridiculous money, you have it good, you don't know how bad we've had it.
Am I happy? If the rest - playability, sound - is up to par, I could not be more happy. Buy the red one - the blue one is too heavy - help yourself to a 5-way super switch and some better pots, caps - without looking at those, they can't be good - and tuners, and you will have a modern Tele. Drop in some better pups if you have to and for way less than 200 €/£/$ you will have a fine, gigworthy instrument. If you ask me "Buy a TE20 HB, pimp it up and put the difference between that and a MiM into gear, lessons, beer?" my answer will always be "Fuck, yeah!"

I've been playing guitar as a hobby for over 35 years but somehow Telecasters were never on my radar- I don't know why but they didn't really appeal to me. My opinion changed a few months ago when I played a Tele for the first time and quickly realised that I had to have one.

Given that I already own several guitars, I didn't want to spend a fortune. My instinct was to go for a Squier Affinity, however I kept reading good things about Harley Benton so I decided to give this a try.

I'm so glad I did, because in my opinion this is actually better. It feels a bit more substantial (especially at the neck), and it has the classic 3 saddle bridge (with Squier you only get this on the top of the range Classic Vibe models). It's also a lot cheaper!

The metallic red finish looks really good, and I love the maple fretboard. It feels good to play and there are no rough edges. In terms of sound, it performs well. The neck pick-up has a nice warm tone while the bridge pickup has a lot of bite and produces some great 'crunch' sounds.

The guitar was received surprisingly well set-up: the intonation was perfect, the action reasonably low (most cheaper guitars have very high & badly cut nuts, but this looked really good) and there was no need for truss rod adjustments.

Tuning stability was great for the first few weeks. Now it needs daily tweaking but I suspect that this might be due to the ageing stock strings which feel very flimsy indeed.

The only issue I had was that the pickup selector stopped working on first use. Removing the control panel, I noticed that the rear of the switch was covered in a powder-like substance. Blowing this away solved the problem.

For the price I'd say this is a very good buy indeed. Obviously it's not in the same league as a Fender, but for an amateur like myself with multiple guitars it's an excellent choice.

fit & finish:
everything fits tightly, nothing is crooked or uneven. the neck has a nice smooth satin finish. the red finish of the body is a lot duller in real life than the promotional pictures suggest. a warm, almost torino red with a hint of very fine glitter rather than the deep, sparkly metallic finish. the laquer itself is fine, no streaks or runs.

playability & feel:
the neck is set up properly, almost straight with a very slight concave bend, as it should be. the bridge needs some adjustments both for string action (too high) and intonation (too short). the frets are okay, a bit sharp on the thumb side. the neck profile is advertised as a "Modern C", but it feels more like a soft V.
the strings the guitar comes with are complete trash. the High E broke the second I tried to tune it just for a test strum, so that's at least 5 bucks you will have to spend extra. the tuners are alright so far. the plastic nut needs some lubrication (some pencil graphite).
the bridge is a modern Tele Style, so no annoying "ash tray" getting in the way. still uses the three bridge pieces instead of six, so intonation adjustment isn't perfect.
the strap buttons are of the vintage convex type - the ones where the strap easily slips off when you don't want it to. I do not understand why these are still in use. I swapt them for some HB secure locks. that's another 5 bucks.

sound:
it's a Tele. sharp, twangy, spanky. Neck pickup sounds great clean, the bridge comes alive with a bit of dirt, but you have to be careful, it's very "bitey" at the top end. it can do high gain within certain limitations, if you have something that thins out the bottom end a bit, otherwise it might get a bit muddy. but that is exactly that you would expect from this pickup combination.

conclusion:
after some work, it's a solid instrument, perfect for those who normally don't play Telecaster or Fenders in general and just want it as a side instrument for certain occasions, or those who need a backup Tele.
not really a guitar I would recommend for beginners, since it not only required a proper setup to be playable but it is also not the most versatile instrument. an HSS strat will definitely give you more range, unless all you wanna play is country/blues or crunchy garage rock.