A question for the members.
What do you think of this guitar? Iāve been reading some reviews, listening to some (some sponsored by Thomann, some independant) and for that price, it seems pretty good.
Take in account that youāll most likely will have to replace the tuners, the nut and the pickups.
Would it be worth it, or would it be better to take a look at a telecaster mim, for instance?
If youāve seen reviews and concluded it needs all those things then no, thereās hundreds of Tele copies out there that wonāt need anything doing to them. I canāt see from the website what the nut is made from, but if itās plastic Iād walk away. Plastic nuts generally arenāt durable is my understanding (maybe someone will correct me). All of a sudden a cheap guitar isnāt a cheap guitar if it needs a load of little jobs doing
That said thereās a lot of nonsense talked online. The chances are you wonāt HAVE to change those things. Changing pick-ups for example will likely make a tiny difference.
From what iāve heard/read, the nut is made of plastic. So thatās the first thing i think would have to be replaced.
Thanks for your input!
Hi Grytpipe,
Harley Benton It is the house brand of Thomann and is highly appreciated by many forum members, I certainly wouldnāt worry about that plastic nut, there is also one here on my PRS for 2000+ euros, by the time it is broken you can still get it replace (I am not a real expert and only repeats others and a little from his own experience)
Replacing parts is often not necessary at all, I would give it a try first and as I said, many are very happy with it without any adjustments. 
Greetings
Edit:After reading Richardās comments, I see that times have changed quickly again within 2 years 
Most of the story about Harley Bentons is they were immense value for money (no middleman to bump up the price) when first introduced but they have suffered from deteriorating quality control and the need for post-purchase tech work (rough frets, poor finish, cheap components etc). The T-type models have a reputation as being heavy also. They are still popular and can eventually become a good budget guitar. I regularly see 2nd hand models advertised for sub Ā£100 locally so buying new would not be my choice if I wanted one.
The plastic nut isnāt a showstopper for me.
I wouldnāt underestimate this guitar. It might need some minor work and/or tweaks but atthis price, you can try some stuff yourself without the fear of messing up an expensive guitar.
If you would already consider replacing pickups before buying it, youāll be spending almost as much on pickups as on the guitar itself.
Unless, you give them a decent chance firstā¦
If you consider buying it as a platform is the general style and feel of the guitar suits you, why not?!I still regret selling me cheapo āLondon Cityā Tele which, after a decent setup, played very well.
Youāll never know; since we are merely 3-dimensional beings that cnāt tell the future 
I would say >90% of the guitars out there have a plastic nut of some sort. Thereās nothing inherently wrong with plastic nuts or anything that makes them less durable than alternatives.
But it depends what the plastic is because thereās several options ranging from ABS to plastic composites like Tusq.
Even at the cheaper end, an ABS nut is unlikely to wear quickly unless you are physically abusing it; you would probably get many years of use from it.
Are they the best nut material in the world? Not at all, but they work and itās highly unlikely to break. And, if they do, replacing them is very easy.
The more important factor is how the nut is cut. If itās cut wrong, then the action will be too high, or the strings could be sticking, etc.
Thatās normally a job for a guitar tech who will check this as part of a setup. And I would recommended a setup for any new guitar.
So, IMO, thereās nothing at all wrong with a plastic nut, and nothing at all wrong the the HBs. They have a reputation for being excellent guitars for the money, and very playable.
Cheers,
Keith
@Richard_close2u Yep, iāve heard that too. Poor quality control on some, others are ok. More like a lottery, it seems. The weight is also something to consider indeed.
@roger_holland it surprised me to read that your +2000ā¬ prs has a plastic nut. Didnāt know, expect that one.
@LievenDV True, you donāt know untill you try. Iām not in the market right now, as i have another guitar to work on, or rather, if i find a luthier, let him do the work, but i was surprised by the cost of this guitar.
And after looking / reading the reviews, i just had to ask the community about this.
A question about this: doesnāt the action of a guitar depend on the nut and the bridge? And maybe the neck too?
The action - and the correct intonation of ffretted notes when pressed - at the all important fret 1-3 area for open position cowboy chords is hugely dependent on the nut slot depths.
Factories tend to leave them a little high because some height can always be filed down. You can take it off but you canāt put it back on.
TE-52 was my first HB. I bought it in March, 2019. I played it for a year without any modifications, and was quite happy with it. Later I replaced some of the crucial components, and hereās what I did: I liked the stock Roswell pickups, so not out of necessity, but more out of curiosity I replaced them with a set of excellent and inexpensive Tone Riders (I must admit the difference in the sound quality was noticeable, but not critical).
The tuners were OK in terms of the tuning stability; I didnāt like the way they worked (not too smooth, to say the least), so I put on a set of Guyker locking tuners (very affordable, a lot better), but, like I said, I could have lived with the stock ones.
Finally, the most significant mod (and highly recommended, IMO) involved replacing the bridge saddles with Wilkinson compensated brass saddles that proved to be a lot better in terms of the intonation.
Another HB tele-style guitar I now own and love is a Fusion-T equipped in LAF CR Roswell humbuckers, graphite nut, stainless steel frets, locking tuners and Wilkinson two-point trem bridge. Nothing is going to be changed on this guitar. The sound and playability are just phenomenal, not only for the price range which is, of course, way above the TE-52.
Yeah i know. Isnāt this community the best?
Love it hereā¦ 
Gibson Murphy lab Les Paul (RRP can get over 10k Euro) has a nylon nut.
Iāve never owned a HB, but Iāve owned a number of very affordable guitars (Squire, Eastcoast etc) and found the components to be perfectly fine - never felt the need to āupgradeā. I expect HB to be the same from what I have heard.
I got a guitar from Thomann some time ago, however not a Harley Benton. Just a general comment regarding Thomann:
First, they offer you a 30 day money back guarantee, so that you can try out the guitar and also check if you are happy with its components and the sound.
Second, you can ask them to do a full inspection and setup. They donāt have that on their official pricelist or website, and their staff may not proactively offer it to you. You have to ask them for that. It is called āGuitar QS Serviceā. It includes hardware- and electronics checks and adjustments, fretboard rounding and other improvements of the playability. It did cost me 45ā¬ more than a year ago. The only disadvantage, if you decide to return the guitar you wonāt get that money back.
I often watch a guitar review You Tube channel called The Guitaristas because he isnāt sponsored and does completely independent reviews. Not too long ago he did a comparison of about 5 cheap T style guitars, including the right hand version of that HB, and also the cheapest Squire, and the own brand of Andersonās and PMTV (not sure if thatās the correct name?). Anyway, the HB came out very well and the guy who does the reviews knows guitars well.
That review was not that long ago and so it means he was comparing recently bought guitars. I mention that because some one mentioned that HB were good when they came out but now have QC issues. It might be a bit of luck whether you get a good one.
Like someone else said, thereās very little risk buying from Thomman because they have a 30 day free return policy. You could always return it.
I also wouldnāt pay too much attention to the reviews that say you āabsolutely have to change the pickups, tuners etcā. I have seen very favourable non sponsored reviews of that guitar that say the pickups are fine. When I bought my Squier affinity tele, I read all those things too. However, the neck on that low price guitar is excellent and tuning stability is also excellent, so no need to change the tuners, despite what you might hear in the reviews. I did change the pickups, but also for a very cheap set. I prefer the new pickups but there wasnāt anything wrong with the old ones - just personal preferences.
Hereās the tele Iād recommend https://www.gak.co.uk/en/jet-guitars-jt300-blonde/944174?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_lAC_C7YCqkJrygTCkTdoAPs72L&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwOe8BhCCARIsAGKeD54FqLDU99Gxd1hXMvbddGJBLtilStYh7A1_tbr9u-3Ln_Omz1AsWDEaAiReEALw_wcB
Similar price but what a guitar, i play this guitar every day and I would say at least 90% of the time despite having other guitars at 10 times the cost. I bought it and loved the feel of it straight away. I recently bought a second for my tutor to give away to one of his younger students, i hope it inspires him or her to dig in. Brilliant guitars in my view.
Love the colour of that one!!!
Buy it!
I think some folk recommending buying second hand or other specific models may not have seen that you need a lefty version. Youāll look long and hard to get a bargain tele lefty in good nick 
I bought a HB Fusion II a couple of years ago and the quality of the neck/frets/tuners was superb!
I admit, after reading recommendations to swap out the Roswell pups, I did ask the local luthier how much it would cost to swap them out for something else. He just looked at me and asked Why? Theyāre fine. He was right of course and it would have been wasted money on me. A couple of twiddles on my fx pedal changes the sound completely anywayā¦
Hey, if you donāt like it, send it back and if you really want to modify it down the line, you can do that tooā¦
