Harley Benton TE-20 - Best Bang For Buck Guitar

In today's video, Paul and James from The Studio Rats are checking out the fantastic Harley Benton TE-20. This £75 tele style guitar has got to be one of the best bang for buck guitars out there!
Last week Paul Drew and James Ivey decided to take a trip to the largest music store in the world THOMANN. Whilst there we decided to try to find the best bang for buck guitar rig, the Harley Benton TE-20 and the Boss Katana. For a beginner to intermediate, this is a fantastic guitar rig that would grace bedroom to the stage!

To check out the Harley Benton TE-20 click the link below

To See The Entire TE Range of Guitars

Boss Katana GEN 3 Range

Here is what Harley Benton says about the TE-20
There are certain iconic guitar designs that have become ubiquitous on music stages all over the world - for good reason. With its cool Sunburst finish, our TE-20 SB presents beginners the chance to play an instrument which does more than just look great. With tried and tested ingredients like a basswood body, a bolt-on maple neck with a dark roseacer fretboard (648 mm scale, 22 frets) and, of course, single coil pickups in the bridge and neck positions, this single-cut guitar sounds magnificent. Never has starting to play electric guitar felt more authentic!

* Bolt-on neck
* Body: Poplar
* Maple neck with modern C-shape
* Maple fretboard
* Fretboard radius: 350 mm
* Dot-inlays
* 22 Frets
* Scale: 648 mm
* Nut width: 42 mm
* Dual action truss rod
* 2x TE-style single coil pickups
* Electronics: 1 Volume knob, 1 Tone knob, 3-way switch
* Chrome hardware
* Die-cast machine heads
* 010-046 Strings
* Finish: Blue Metallic high gloss

The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.

#harleybenton #thomann

[Amelie]

when you can play, every guitar sounds good ! the player make the sound !

[mattchurchill]

Totally blown away by how good that rig sounded😮

[heinz-peterjaitner]

I bought a HB TE 20 three years ago during the pandemic in cany apple red (body). This indeed is a killer guitar for just 89 Euros. After that, I bought three more HB Tellies, two for 159 Euros one with maple fretbooard, roasted maple neck in green, one with rosewood fretboard and roasted neck in candy apple red, they sound very good too. And one for 269 Euro, the 25th Telecaster from HB in firemist with a killer roasted maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and locking tuners. All are great guitars and totally giggable.

[hollywoodactress]

What a great trip to do.

Btw that tele and katana sounded ace.
Shows all gear these days are good enough.
All down to our imagination and practice.
Practice makes progress!!!!

[Dodzee.]

hi guys Does it stay in tune
also would you if you could go for a slightly higher priced tele by Carley B ?👍

[TenPester]

Paul could make a string on a broomstick sound good.

[sassafras]

A katana 50 is a brilliant clean amp and I’ve used it in place of my Mesa Boogie often. However, I find it difficult to get a drive sound that I like and would probably put an OD pedal in front if needed.

[MehdiS-music]

HB/Thomann jacked up the prices of these entry level instruments, yet the quality is still a hit or miss. Not sure they are competitive anymore. I agree on the Katana, i have two of them a Mk1 50W and a Mk2 100W and they are amazing, haven't been in the market for an amp in years...!

[MarekSmajsl]

guitars from HB are of course not great, but the combination of price and quality is simply excellent, I have many guitars from HB at home, approx. 13 pcs of all types, priced from 100 to 500 Euro and simply great... Greetings from the Czech Republic

[johnoakleymusic]

Paul if you’re still there could you try a Harley Benton Les Paul junior and or special and let me know what you think? Is it as good as the epiphone and or anywhere near the Gibson? Know it’s a crazy question but they are crazy good value. Would be really interested in your thoughts on one of those too please 🙏🏻

[timothy]

😂 Good morning guys. Funny, I have a HB TE30 and after I did the fret ends and a fret polish, I can say it is a great guitar. It lives propped up in my Family room next to my Yamaha THR10(original). I can’t say anything bad about it, I don’t feel it even needs a pickup swap. The tuners are a bit sloppy when tuning, but if you properly tune up to pitch, the thing stays in tune great. Let’s compare a 90$ guitar from the 70’s 🤦‍♂️😂.

[simoningham]

Hi, bought a new TE20 for £75, and a second hand Blackstar id15tvp also for £75. They're both brilliant for a beginner.

[tiptizlode]

Great combination guys, thank you. What mike was used to record this clip, and was there any processing post production, or was is jusst the amp sound please? Thank you.

[JuddLofthouse]

Another Great video I’ve always looked at H B but to be honest am a snob there I said it 😂it’s what a lot of guitarists think but I suppose if it’s good it’s good sounds great .80k subs won’t but long now for the plaque big question who gets it ? I vote for lee 😂😂👍

[andrewbecker]

When Thomann started selling some stuff from a distribution hub here in the States. I was tempted to get 2-3 of the basic HB models, for mod projects. But they've adjusted all the prices to include the shipping fees that you'd normally incur. If you bought each item separately from Germany. This defeats the purpose of buying multiple guitars at once to save on shipping costs.
In other words, your still better off ordering direct from Thomann in Germany. And buying 2 or 3 guitars at once, so they can be shipped together in one box. There's no advantage to buying from the distribution hub. And in many cases you'll actually end up paying more, once shipping costs are calculated in. Granted, the average person isn't gonna pinch every last penny like me. But it's actually a substantial cost savings when ordering 3 guitars at once.

[TeresitaTwo]

How about an Ox, Two Notes, Boss T.A.E. comparison? Which do you prefer and use most often and why? Thanks in advance!

[onefatstratcat]

It's amazing the quality of instrument you can buy these days for very little dough... you don't need Fender or Gibson on the headstock unless all that matters to you is to brag about how much you paid for your guitar

[GerryBlue]

Nice reviews but links appear to be broken

[jaunianise]

I don't know about you, but the B string had too strong an attack, which was annoying. I changed the pickup for one with an adjustable screw. I lowered the B string screw to get something more normal. This guitar is amazing for the price! What's more, it arrived with no need for adjustment, which is quite rare, even for big-brand guitars that cost ten times as much!

[janolesen]

My first guitar cost 500 euros in 1988 🙉 I still have it and it still sounds like shit 😃 thankfully I got other guitars 😊