Harley Benton ST-62BK Hot Rod

This is my first purchase from Thomann. I was intrigued by the good reviews and the attractive price. The presence of a humbacker in the bridge was a nice bonus. And so the deal took place. The guitar was delivered perfectly packed and undamaged.
First impressions: Out of the box, as a whole, you can play, but it's better to bring some things to condition.
Neck: The fingerboard was not black, but the color of a dusty brick. Neck, matt varnish (glossy varnish in the photo). Closer to the heel of the bar, the rounding ends too early and you land on a flat board. Not nice. The frets are good, hardly scratched, but the edges can be sanded a little. The neck is perfectly flat, the tuning is excellent in frets. The tuners hold well, tune well, smoothly. The bone is plastic, neat, but the grooves for the strings are a little sloppy and deep. Fitting the neck into the groove of the deck is ideal.
BODY: Painted and polished perfectly. The pickguard is installed precisely, covered with two layers of protective film. I didn’t like the fact that “sharp transitions” were felt on the smooth edges at the ends. But these are trifles.
SOUND: Similar to a Stratocaster, but not with a bridge pickup. This hot pepper "yells" like a victim! ;). The electronics work fine, crisp and smooth. But the noise is a little higher than we would like.
ELECTRONICS: I opened it and understood, I need to work. The wires are too long. Pickups: Neck 5.5k; Mid 5.96k; Bridge 22.5k. And that's bad. At 250K volume, the bridge sounds dull. It is better to connect the coils in parallel and this will be a great solution in 5.86k. I redid it, the result is excellent.
TREMOLO: Like a normal tremolo. ;) With all the flaws, the sharp edges of the screws in the saddles. "Keel" from silumin, steel lever will quickly ruin the thread.
And one more unpleasant moment for me. Having carefully studied the website and compared the two models ST-62 BK and ST-62 Hot Rod, I came to the conclusion that Thomann sent me a hybrid guitar. It is assembled from two: (ST-62ВК) on which a pickguard with pickups from ST-62BK Hot Rod was installed. This is indicated by the color and shape of the neck, the buttons for the belt, the back cover, like the ST-62BK. I lost the desire to buy something here ...
Perhaps that's all. Maybe someone will come in handy. Enjoy the shopping!

OK, first a little backstory.
A few years ago I bought the regular ST 62.
I was very disappointed due to the fact that the pick ups were misaligned, pickup selector was bent , it felt cheap and I had to let it go because quality was not standard.

However I decided to take another chance since I bought another Harley Benton guitar which was really great and a friend of mine has a few also which are very good indeed. So I ended up buying the same model only in a hot rod version. And let me tell you I am not disappointed at all. This time it is a Smash Hit.

The pick ups sound very decent for the price, the finish is outstanding, the tuners hold up and guitar stays in tune quite well, the plastic on the pick guard which often on cheaper is impossible to get off was very easy to remove.

It just looks great. It's very comfortable to play at least for the price taken into consideration. However my biggest surprise was the neck. On the website it looks like a glossy neck. But on this guitar it is more like a satin finish and, here is the real bonus, it almost looks like it's a roasted maple neck. It has a very distinct color and looks awesome. If Thomanns website had listed roasted maple neck under the featured section I would have believed it.

Another cool factor is the logo on the headstock. With a nice gold shine It reminds me of the logo on Ibanez prestige model.

It also comes with a cable, Allen wrench which is really neatly and nicely packed in a little pouch.

The only negative thing I can say is that the tremolo arm doesn't really work very well. But, a good luthier would probably be able to set it up. I am sure that is possible if you wanted to use it.
I paid 1200 Danish crowns in total including an extra set of strings but I want to put this in perspective for you guys in the states. It's an amazing bargain. Thats approximately $180!

Whether you are looking for your first guitar, a guitar to teach on, a guitar to mod further, or to use in live settings, you can't go wrong with this one if its in as old shape as the one I received .

Get it while supplies last .

Rock on Thomann! And Harley Benton .

The guitar is really hot and even much more interesting in some features compared with the expections. The pickups sound amazingly. The playability is much more comfort in comparison with standart HB series such as my ST20. Thus, the neck is a bit thicker, the tuners are quite good and maintain the tunning even when using the tremolo system actively, the trem system itself is very comfort and the arm can be fixed in any position. Concerning the exterior, the guitar is really beautiful and it looks much more beautiful than the pictures on the site show.

Lacks:
1) there is no push/pull: coil split as it is claimed by Thomann
2) the input nest is screwed with a gap between it and the body
Perhaps, there are more lacks but I hope there is no more because generally I am fond of this guitar! It is very versatile and can be used for a wide range of styles.

Raised in America, I have had ready access to Fender products my whole life. This guitar is almost as good as most American Strats. It is, without a doubt, better quality in workman ship and over all richer , fuller sound than any Fender Squire or Mexican made Strat I have ever heard or played. The humbucker/single coil splitter is a game changer. Even shipped from Europe, the guitar was setup and in tune. I would recommend this guitar to anyone.