I have been playing the guitar for 64 years, electric guitar for a few years, a little later in a band, I became interested in the classical guitar. I graduated as a guitar teacher and soloist, I had a career as a full-time guitar teacher during 44 years. The past five years I have been playing electric guitar, blues classics and improvisation.
In these five years I bought several guitars and tried out many different guitars. For a few years I owned a Squier CV 60s Telecaster, a Fender Player Stratocaster and a Fender Player Telecaster and others, also three Harley Bentons.
The HB Harley Benton ST-62 VW Vintage Series: I think I am able to make a good comparison between the Fender player and this guitar. Three years ago I bought a HB ST59 HM Stratocaster, I still have it, it's a good guitar but not completely convincing, certainly not in comparison with the ST62. This ST-62 is simply incredibly good!
The finish: is very good, I couldn't find any defects and I'm picky, the guitar looks really nice!
The neck: nice caramelized Canadian Maple, the wood grain is somewhat wide, hopefully this will not affect the stability of the neck in the long term. The C profile feels a bit different than the Fenders, I think the Fender player feels a bit better in the hand but the HB certainly doesn't feel unpleasant, the adjustment was very quick. The fingerboard is much darker than the photo on the website and fits perfectly with the guitar. The bone nut is well cut, this could perhaps be a little better. The action was perfectly adjusted for my liking, the same as the Fender factory standard 1.6 mm on the 12th fret, a little higher on the 6th string. The 12" fretboard radius is a pleasure to play on, I didn't like the 9.5" radius on my Fenders, that's why I sold them. Only when I played a made in Japan guitar with a 9.5" radius I did really enjoy it.
The playing experience: for the past three weeks I have played about two hours every day on the ST-62. With advanced blues solos one quickly knows if there are manufacturing problems, there are none. I checked every fret with a fret rocker and the job is almost perfect, and no sharp fret edges.
The hardware: the bridge and the saddles are basic, but they do the job well, the tremolo block is very thin and light, I don't mind because I don't use the tremolo. The tuners are often not too good, in this case even with frequent bends they have proven to be very stable, hopefully it stays that way. The Jack plug just does what it's supposed to do. The five-position switch is working well for the time being, with the HB ST59 HM I had to replace it after six months of light use. Just to be sure, I ordered one from Fender.
The volume control does a good job, the tone controls aren't that sensitive. All these things are easy to replace over time without excessive costs, this is also normal with budget guitars.
The pickups: they are surprisingly good, much better than I expected! All five stands are very usable and produce a traditionally recognizable Stratocaster sound. Next to those of my Fender Player, these pickups can certainly hold their own.
Pickups are a very subjective matter, not only quality and taste play a role here. My experience has taught me that especially the quality of the amplifier and the effects you use, will ultimately determine whether you like the sound or not!
I owned several tube amps and transistor amps, now I use a UAFX Dream 65 pedal with a Fender Tonemaster FR10 and a Line 6 One simple delay and the sound is great for almost clean blues. I can't judge how the pickups will sound with a more crunchy sound or distortion because I do not use it!
Finally: this guitar is a success story. I do realize that one always need a dose of luck when buying a guitar online because not all guitars can be equally good. After all, not every individual that is working on this instruments has the same craftsmanship.
To sum this up: I can say that this guitar offers incredible value for money!
Thomann is a great online music store with a fantastic service, once more many thanks to the Thomann team.
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