Harley Benton ST-20 WH Standard Series

I'm no luthier, but I am also no novice when it comes to assessing quality and setting up guitars. the first time I played this out of the box I thought I had wasted my money. I couldn't get the thing to stay in tune, the action was horrible, it was cutting my hands up and I was comtemplating sending it back.

Then I got drunk.

Then the fret file and screwdrivers came out. Here's how I turned this guitar from a potential error into my favourite guitar to play.

1: Take the strings off.
2: File the fret edges down to stop it from shredding your hands off.
3: Get some oil. I used fast fret. I went up and down the whole neck dabbing oil on. I also put plenty on the nut. This is important as it helps termendously with the tuning issues that came with using the trem. Then wipe off the excess.

3: I removed a spring from the trem. This made it float. If you dont want a floating trem then don't follow this step. If you want to be like Jeff Beck then absolutely do.

4: Put new strings on.

5: drunkenly send whatsapp messages to your brother and your guitarist friend declaring yourself to be some kind of guitar fixing god.

Seriously though, after I had done the above I was scarcely able to put it out of tune again even with diving the trem right to the body. The fretboard drank a fair bit of oil but looks and feels lovely now. I did have to file some of the frets down above the 12th as I was getting buzz when bending up but this was probably just luck of the draw and you may have 0 issues. A good guitar tech could have this thing playing beautifully for you with minimal effort if you dont fancy trying it yourself.

Soundwise it is beautiful. I can't hear much difference between this and a fender. The pickups are good, there's a lot of buzzing like you would expect from this configuration but I know this can also be remedied to a point with good shielding and some proper earthing.

If you want a good starter guitar, a project guitar or something to pad out your collection (I use this for recording) then I can't recommend this enough. Great guitar. Great price.

I have bought from Harley Benton in the past, about 2 or so years ago I ordered a Mustang style guitar which I was not satisfied with whatsoever, I decided not to purchase any of their products anymore.

Then I they improved A LOT. I decided to give it a shot, and order this HB Strat, and god how great of a decision that was! It sounds great, it feels great (better than a MiM I've owned in the past) and looks great. The only problem was a loose pickup selector cap which is easily fixable. I recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a classic strat sound. Can't go wrong with this price either.

At the price point, it's really hard to beat, you get what you pay for and then some. I would recommend a HSS version for even more tone options if you find yourself using the bridge a lot. A few things to note though... I've heard people complain about the pickups, as they are a bit on the weaker end, but that is to be expected at the price point. The rest of the guitar is really solid, but if I'm being really nitty gritty... The nut filing on the higher strings is a little wide, one securing screw on the bridge wasn't secured all the way, the stock strings are too soft for my preference, and the white body color doesn't quite match the pickguard, but that's about it. However you look at it, this guitar is a great choice for a beginner, and even greater choice for people looking to mod a cheap guitar with less worries about breaking something. Happy playing!