Harley Benton ST-62 SB Vintage Series

Voor een beginner zoals ik, ga ik natuurlijk niet te veel betalen voor een instrument waar ik nog niet 100% aan toegewijd ben.
Harley Benton komt (met meerdere type producten) lovend uit veel reviews in veel talen, en ik moet zeggen dat ik niet echt iets kan vinden wat meteen op het oog niet in orde is, nu ik de gitaar binnen heb.
Als je het vergelijkt met instappers van bekendere merken, is deze gitaar net zo afgewerkt, terwijl hij veel minder kost.
Enige minpuntje dat ik kan vinden is dat de snaren rare knakken hadden tussen de nut en string trees. Waarschijnlijk tijdens het inpakken in de fabriek gebeurd. Dit doet er voor mij niet toe, omdat ik bij snaar instrumenten altijd nieuwe snaren mee bestel en die er op zet. Zelfs goede snaren zijn niet duur en dan weet je gewoon zeker dat je meteen goed spul er op hebt zitten.
Met de originele snaren kun je wel testen of alles naar behoren werkt, voordat je de nieuwe er op zet.
De enige reden dat ik voor deze ben gegaan in plaats van het nóg goedkopere model, is de kwaliteit van alle mechanische en elektronische delen. Je krijgt nét iets betere stemmechanieken, over de rest vind ik geen eenduidige antwoorden of het tussen deze twee modellen nu echt anders is. Het hout is precies hetzelfde.
Dus als je je eerste gitaar je eigen wilt maken door hem te 'customizen' met andere kleur hardware, of je wilt meteen al iets upgraden, dan zou je ook het goedkopere model kunnen overwegen, omdat je dan toch dingen gaat vervangen.

I have been playing for over 45 years. I started in my teens. I played professionally during my 20s mostly Country Rock and Southern Rock Music. I retired during my 30s once I started a family. I have owned many different brands and models of guitars over the years. Some very expensive ones. Now retired I play only for my own enjoyment and no longer need the expensive stuff. Which leads me to my review.
First off the guitar came well packaged, double boxed. It was obvious that customs inspected it as the box had been opened and re taped. When I opened the box I found this Amazing Strat-ish guitar (Harley Benton) This guitar upon inspection by me was Flawless. The finish on the guitar was perfect no blemishes or any other polish marks, swirls etc.
I plugged it into my practice amplifier to test the electronics and setup prior to installing new strings (something I do on all of my new guitars)
The electronics checked out wonderfully. All of the pots were smooth in functioning and input jack snug.
I got her all tuned up and the sound from the pickups were nothing short of perfect. They gave off a Clear Bell like tone when played lightly and when I put some Ooomf into them they responded in kind. Still clear but they reacted very nice to the change in playing dynamics.
The Setup is spot on. I checked the neck relief, right on at .010 and String Height and action set perfectly. Frets are easy to bend on and there were no high frets or bad spots. The fret ends were smooth as silk so they don't cut into my hand. Neck shape a very nice C shape and kinda meaty but not so much a smaller hand couldn't use it.
The pros are basically everything and I couldn't find any cons.
I kind of specialize in Country Rock, Southern Rock ala The Eagles, Skynrd, Allman Brothers, The Outlaws etc. These are my major influences
There are no need to go into the specs because they are already posted on the website.

A little further info about me.
Due to shipping time, I began purchasing some guitars on Amazon. I will not give any names, ok, I will give initials only FF and while good guitars at a cheap price point, I have found that the Harley Bentons and I now own 4 are far superior in quality and they are well worth the wait! I was notified by a member of the Harley Benton Group on Facebook that I can pay a little extra and have it shipped via UPS 3 day. I guess this will help when I get a hardon for a new guitar and can't wait the 9-10 day delivery to the States.
Thanks to Thomann and all of their employees and I hope you all have a happy holiday season!