Harley Benton ST-62MN BK Vintage Series

I needed a Strat style guitar for some serious modding. Plan was to make me self a Super Tweakable Strat. I got me self a G&L passive treble and bass harness with a 7 way switch option (neck-bridge, neck-middle-bridge).

This guitar did not come without flaws and will immediatelly name them:
there is a transparent patch on the black body. The faactory simply applied too little paint on that spot and it passed QC. No big issue for me but sure will complain about this to Thomann as this should be sold as B-stock.
The frets are very rough! They were leveled and crowned by the factory but no one though of polishing them. I will have to add few hours to fix this.
Some one chipped into the paint at the back of the guitar several times. One can clearly see it was done on purpose. Not sure why but I can live with it since it is at the back (also complained to Thomann about this expecting B-stock price)

These were the bad points, and now the positive :D

The neck feels great! The frets leveled nicely (only need good polishing), no buzzing no sharp edges! Nut well cut (plastic probably). Tuners work well.
The bridge is well placed and is in line with the neck (this was an issue on 2 Harley Benton guitar I bought in the past). I am still to test the tremolo, for now its locked in.

Pickups sound fine but I decided to swap them for Ironstone Silver pickups instead.

The white pickguard looks cheap and I have swapped it for a 4 ply brown tort PG and now it looks awesome :D Maple fretboard, black body, brown tort PG and ivory pickup covers, silver tone/volume knobs! Looks and sounds like a 1000 Eur guitar now!!!

Just received my ST 62 and must admit I am very happy with it. It's 6th e guitar from HB and after selling my previous 4 (only for a change as they were also great guitars and not losing too much ££) I decided on the ST 62 to mod to set up as a Gilmour "black stratacaster". Change pickups to Fender fat 50s, 69 & Seymour Duncan ssl5 incl fitting a micro toggle switch to bring in the neck with the bridge, fit a black s/plate, 4 1/4" whammy and v-t knobs with green lettering' all for under £300, wow a saving of almost 2k!!!!! Also the neck colour is almost identical, so properly set up with a bone nut change and GHS Boomers I'd actually say that's a fab buy.

The overall quality and pickup sound is a an absolute pinch at less than £90, so if your reading this do not hesitate to buy, why spend daft money on anything else. Even if not a Gilmour fan you have a guitar you could mod to your desire fore little money, or simply leave as is. I'm just doing this for modding experience, now I'm actually considering another maybe in vintage white.
Admittedly you may have to set your action, change the nut and sort out the intonation, but hey, not a big deal.

Before this I bought a Dean Zelinsky Private Label at just under £300, looked fab must admit had rusty frets and just didn't feel right (only my personal opinion). I returned it same week and got this and a HB TE40 TBX Deluxe (lovely guitar) with accessories for £250...... best £250 I've spent.

Only bad point,,,,,, looking for a couple more now and my understanding wife isn't impressed.

Advice- Just buy it, thanks.

Ps, I think I have the gilmour pickups correct without checking my buy list.

As a firs impression after observing and playing it out of the box: this is an awesome low budget instrument. No question it needs a setup before playing it regularly but I expected it after watching some videos about the series and I think it's absolutely acceptable for the price. Anyway, this guitar is beautiful, it has a superb neck (though it's question of taste of course) it's very playable and it sounds great. It is fine as it is and at the same time, I think it can be a good basis for future upgrades too.
I had some minor quality issues but they were not about the construction itself and the very helpful customer service solved the problem immediately.

I have purchased 6 Harley Benton guitars in the last few months (not all for me!) and whilst this was not the most expensive, it's definitely my favourite.
It arrived double boxed and in excellent condition. Almost in tune, well intonated and with a great action. The fret ends were all smooth and comfortable. I'd recently sold a Squier Affinity Stratocaster as it just didn't feel right and anyway it allowed me to try out the ST-62. This is a much better guitar. I was initially disappointed because the neck was satin, rather than gloss (my preference) but having played it for a couple of weeks, I absolutely love the feel of it. I am also happy with the vintage tint of the neck. The pickups are bright and clear. The single pickups are significantly louder than the 2nd and 4th "humbucking" positions but all are quite different, usable sounds. Sweet sounding! There is a bit of buzz from the single coils (I might look at shielding the cavities).
Back in the '70's, it seems that everyone played a black strat with a maple neck. Chuffed to bits with this one. Looking forward to getting together with a bass player and a drummer!
Oh, and thanks, again to Thomann for their excellent service as usual. Buy one you'll be pleased as Punch!

I just got my guitar today. I wasn't really expecting much. The box looked like it had been treated pretty harsh. Once I opened the inner box all was well. Out came a truly nice instrument.
I might be one lucky son of a gun, but it was nearly perfect. No blemishes on the body or neck. Switch and knobs were fine. Tuners, nut and strings all checked out. There was nothing to complain about. Nothing! How can this be? Surely the truss rod needed adjustment? Nope. The action was in the stratosphere? Nope, actually quite low. Well then the neck must be seated poorly? Tight as can be. Plugged her in and she sang a tune. A pretty one at that after a quick tuning.
I'm dumbfounded how this is possible. I love the neck on this guitar especially. Fits like a glove. How else can I say this. Take a chance. Buy it!

I like the Thomann guitars because they allow me to try different types without the risk in terms of cost. If they are not to my taste I havn't lost much. In the case of the ST62MN BK it is all good. I have several ST guitars including American Standards, Mexicans and Japanese Fenders. I also had a real 60's strat years ago. This has as close to a "proper" ST 60's type neck in terms of feel as I have encountered apart from the profile which is flatter but still good. Most ST copies and modern Fender originals have necks that are too slim for me. Yes the frets are a bit scratchy but at least they are not soft like American Standards. I fret too hard and grind away the frets under the wound strings on 'Standards. If I wan't I can always run some brass cleaner wool over these but frankly I shall just play the hell out of it and smooth them that way. The pick ups are fine. It sounds and feels like a Real One and looks pretty close too. Ideal for hard practice without wearing out your Sunday Best guitars and good enough for live use too. I'm not saying don't buy a Fender just buy one of these as well!