Harley Benton TE-62CC CF

Primeira HB e extremamente impressionado.

Prós:
-Acabamento excelente.
-Bastante leve e bem balanceada.
-Bom som. Para a gama de preço, difícil pedir melhor.
-Afinadores vintage que cumprem, após algumas horas de teste a afinação parece intocável.
-E a cereja no topo do bolo: um braço fantástico. Um caso de amor ao primeiro contacto. Inacreditável.

Contras (nada de grave para quem consegue fazer setup):
-Ação das cordas demasiado alta.
-Pickup da ponte também alto.
-Trastes bastante sujos. Mas depois de bem polidos ficaram óptimos.
-Excesso de película plástica, duas camadas para quê? E bocados desse plástico presos por baixo de parafusos que dificultaram a sua remoção.
-Alguma sujidade em redor da placa metálica da ponte, nada que um cotonete não tivesse resolvido rapidamente.

Depois de 1h a ajustá-la, só restou um outro problema sério: a dificuldade em largá-la. ;)

Como introdução ao mundo das "T-Style" difícil pedir melhor valor.

Under normal (or other) circumstances, I shouldn't have bought a TE-62, because I only got my TE-52 earlier this year. But the TE-52 is rather heavy to be the most versatile of my guitars, and when the TE-62 appeared, I was so tempted, I had to give in. Life is short, anyway, we might as well enjoy it.

Thanks to Thomann and UPS, the guitar arrived two days earlier than expected, amid the holiday season. No damages to the package or the guitar whatsoever.

As far as the appearance of the guitar is concerned, it is very well finished and I love the colour a lot, a very nice contrast between the dark metallic grey of the body, the mint green pickguard and the caramelised neck. Earlier on the day I took delivery, I visited my local big F dealer, to try out an amp and check out whatever T-style guitars they had. The TE 62 looks and feels much more expensive than some of the F models I saw that day, and I saw many of them.

The only thing that felt a little cheap was the tip of the tuners, somehow felt very plasticky, compared to other Harley Benton guitars I have tried (or indeed my TE-52). Tuners work well though (well, at least for as long as I have played the guitar). Nut is plastic but seems well cut. I replaced the strings immediately because they were corroded but I would do that anyway to any new guitar. Neck relief was spot on, so I just had to lower the saddles a bit to get my desired low action, I had the TE-52 as a benchmark for my measurements, so it was a piece of cake.

As for playability, the neck feels great, not too thin, not to chunky, slightly slimmer than the TE-52 - I have gotten used to both so no concerns, even for my not so big hands.

Pickups sound slightly different from those on the TE-52 (they are supposed to be different models). I am happy with them (nothing very exciting but they are good, no plans on changing them anytime soon) and the blend in the middle position is one of the best I have heard from a T style guitar. Perhaps I need to do some fiddling with the pickup height or my amp to get the best out of them. They are good though, no worries, and they sound better than any ceramic out there (my personal taste, of course).

So, in summary, for me this is the best HB traditional T-style guitar on offer, because it is addressing those very few drawbacks of the TE-52 (mostly the weight). And with the choice in available colours, I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes one of Thomann's best selling models. It is certainly on the same level as the classic vibe series of another manufacturer, as well as some F T-style models.

Do get this as a gift to yourself, you deserve it.