At first I was skeptical. How on earth could a quality instrument be sold for this price? When I began browsing Thomann online, I became increasingly hooked by all the candy on display.
I’m 59 years old, I was lucky enough to have an exciting music career in the 80’a thru 2000. Since then children including grandchildren had taken much of my attention and I loved every minute of it however the itch to get back on an axe was calling me back. I’ve always been a Gibson fan, owned several and still do however I’ve really never had much time on Strats and Tele’s.
A quick study on YouTube regarding the Harley Benton ST-62MN VW Vintage Series and I was hooked on finding out if this was all true because the price was hard to swallow as the truth so I took the plunge.
I’m not going to compare it to a Fender Strat however I can honestly vouch that this guitar with just a little tweaking has become a real instrument I would feel comfortable performing on stage with.
At first I was immediately impressed with the light weight basswood used. The finish was flawless, the frets were smooth and the neck and fretboard felt like it was going to be a nice experience. The neck has a smooth satin feel and easily warms up in your hand. The neck feels like a guitar hundreds of dollars more.
The tuning pegs, though not AAA chromed hardware is nevertheless not so bad to feel unreliable. The nut, will require replacing if you intend to use the tremolo bar. I suggest going to a luthier to get that done and perhaps upgrade the tremolo system.
The Roswell pickups, in my opinion offers a broad amount of sounds should you spend more time learning how your volume and tone pots are wired. Hint, don’t be afraid to back off from volume ten, that’s when this guitar comes to life with just a tad of warmth added to the distinctive single coil sound.
This axe surprised me beyond what I had expected. Sure i may upgrade parts in the future however presently I’m thrilled and love it just as is., I would highly recommend this guitar to novice or pro. There really is nothing wrong with it. At this price it’s foolish to not add a quality instrument to your collection for a fraction of the price of a genuine fender Stratocaster.
I love this guitar so much, I just ordered another vintage series in a ST-62 sunburst including the ST-62 Hot Rod.
Because it’s unfair to compare this directly against a Fender Stratocaster, I will say compared to it’s rivals in the price range the Harley Benton ST-62MN VW Vintage Series is a contender other manufacturers will have to compete with including longtime established manufacturers.
