Harley Benton TE 62 DB with Tonerider Vintage Plus pickup upgrade.

[@wildatlanticman128]

Thank you for this review - am thinking of getting one of these, Toneriders seem to do the job alright. Keep the vids coming....

[@SoloSi2024]

A nice natural, open traditional Tele tone, which is really what everyone wants. The Strymon sounds great too.

[@HansKarlsson1971]

Hi. Some time ago i watched this video and decided to go for the same Pickups for my HB TE 62DB. I also changed pots to MojoTone TE Style solderless and did shielding and as final touch changed strings to D'Addario 10-46 including adjusting string & pickup height, adjusting truss rod, and intonation. Some work, but it was fun and well worth it and now i can not let go of it! Thanks for the upload Matthew were i found these great pickups!

[@sneakerhead6184]

I have a Player Series Telecaster and you have convinced me on the Tonerider pickups! Thank you for the great review Sir!

[@standingbadger]

Nice playing and great to hear something that isn’t blues/rock-focussed for a change. I put some TR vintage plus p/ups in my frankentele eight years ago more as a temporary measure. I still can’t find a reason to replace them with something more bespoke. I did use high quality wiring, pots and capacitors and also a four-way switch to get both p/ups in series. They’re throatier-sounding than the usual twang monsters and that’s all the better for that middle position tone. Thank you for a great vid.

[@Nnmtes]

They sound great. I've used a few different Tone Rider pickups over the years. I like them, and they're not as expensive as Seymour Duncan's or some others. That's a nice Tele. I've had several Harley Benton guitars from Thomann's over the years. They've mostly been very good guitars, and brilliant guitars for the money. Well done on your choice and what you've turned it into, to suit you 👍 I hope you enjoy it.

[@robbiedingles]

Nice playing. The new pickups sound great in it!

[@murpsman]

Tonerider makes very excellent, very affordable pickups.

[@jorgetome7089]

i forgot the pickups review. thumbs up for your playing and felling sir.

[@matboy314]

Thank you very much. 🙂

[@davidmcneill5648]

I bought a Squire CV Custom 60's Tele and don't like the neck pu. I like the sound of the Tone Riders. Thanks for the demo, it helped me decide.

[@Ukedc259]

Lovely sound. Super playing. Lovely sonorities and tones you conjure up.

[@matboy314]

Thanks David, that is kind!

[@davidbarlow431]

Great review! Once you get used to a tele you won't be able to live without one. 😃

[@matboy314]

I'm beginning to realise that. Now I have two! ☺️

[@dancrowell2933]

Nice playing! The pickups sound excellent.

[@matboy314]

Thanks Dan. It really is amazing what you can do with a cheap guitar as long as the neck is decent.

[@OnTheFritz602]

Sounds great, seems like a fantastic bargain, even with the cost of new pick ups. The neck looks awesome!

[@221b-l3t]

It's a modern D. I like it. Frets where perfect on mine. Some scratches but I got B stock price. Its right now taken apart, cavities shielded, neck refinished a little waiting on Tonerider Hot Classics, pots and a 6 saddle bridge and locking tuners. Very excited :) I stained the fretboard a little darker because I may as well. Already got Tonerider in my Epiphone and they are fantastic (AC2). Accidentally snapped the headstock while drilling bigger holes so I fixed it and stained the entire neck darker. A little more toasted maple :) Refinished in super high gloss and gonna rough up the back of the neck for a satin feel. Already rounded the frerboard. It will play, look and feel like a million bucks. I'd change the nut but really stock is perfectly fine, I just love it so much I spent a months disposable income to make it amazing. Still 1/3 the price of a made in Mexico and they don't come with pickups or hardware that nice and definitely no 1959 Tele Custom in LPB with double binding. A double binding Tele is a fortune. I may buy 2-3 more just for different pickups and a candy apple red would look nice and one of the natural wood ones... and still all that will be cheaper than an entry level made in US Tele... If I go completely insane I will add a Nitro clearcoat for the 50s nitro feel... love the colour so much I'm doing my RG in LPB so I will have nitro anyway. Fender did it too. Nitro over poly. Except for the 6 saddle bridge and no fender logo it will be real close to the original.

[@Hal-fz1em]

I have this guitar. Love it. Stock is fine.

[@dawoud8013]

Same !

[@valjatriogina228]

I got an almost new one 2 days ago. polished frets, rolled fingerboard edges with a vodka glass and set up the Intonation and string height. for 120 a perfect guitar! the problem with harley benton guitars is, that they are so cheap, that I get tempted to buy more and more!

[@maxwellbowden9961]

Hey Matt awesome playing and tone mate. I have an Artist tele coming soon, and chances are i will replace the pickups with this set. I have also heard the alnico II blues toneriders set, which sounded great too. Thanks for the demo.

[@matboy314]

@@maxwellbowden9961 Thank you Maxwell. I think the pickups make the biggest improvement to tone.

[@pepeguitarshop]

I really love the way you make it sound. To me, in your hands, sounds very much like an acustic guitar, and even like a clavichord sometimes... I've got that very same guitar and really love it. Thanks for this video, and Greetings from Chile.

[@matboy314]

That is very kind, thank you.

[@Cheguebuddha]

How is that Laurel fretboard ? I have the TE-62CC and love it. I modded it with 51 Nocaster pickups. Now looking at this DB one to mod with CS Texas Special pups but not sure about that Laurel material.

[@matboy314]

Hi Che, I really like the fretboard, it is textured, rich and natural under the fingers. Bear in mind though that I like acoustic style fingerboards, and can’t seem to bond with maple style necks.

[@221b-l3t]

It's fine. Mine had light patches so I stained it with some walnut stain and now it's real close to a dark rosewood.

[@steveburrows101]

Thanks for that Matthew. Toneriders seem a bit darker to my ears, maybe more mids. FWIW I've just put EB Nickel strings on my TE-52 yesterday, yet to decide whether I prefer them, but they have definitely taken some bite out of the wound strings - to a greater extent than I expected - giving a smoother, fuller bottom end than the D'addarios which the guitar came with.

[@matboy314]

That sounds about right Steve, they definitely seem more gritty/punchy, and that would explain it. I use D’addario XL115W strings. 11-49 with a wound 3d.

[@jamesjaviermd]

Hello, sir. I'm in the process of building a low-budget Kotzen-style Telecaster. I already have the Chopper T pickup, and now I'm considering between the Tonerider Vintage Plus and Hot Classic pickups. Which one of these options would you say is closer in sound to the Twang King pickup? I'm aiming for the best Twang King alternative while keeping costs down. Thank you, and more power to you, sir.

[@matboy314]

Thank you for your question. I'm afraid I don't know any of these pickups except the ones I put in the HB Tele. I'm really sorry to have nothing useful to add for you. 😕

[@bassmana2z686]

Thanks for the great content.

[@peterludlow9847]

Hi Mathew do you still have this guitar. I have just ordered one never had a telecaster and looking for a clean sound and wondered if these pickups gave you a great clean tone. Most folk seem to put Seymour Duncan quarter pounders in there telecasters, but not checked them out about clean tone yet . Did you ever put brass saddles on and change pots and electrics, wondered if it made much difference. Many thanks Peter

[@matboy314]

Sorry Peter, I sold it to prevent my small house becoming over-run by guitars. The Toneriders gave a great clean tone. I didn't play with the saddles.

[@svenrendulic6442]

How is it regarding playability? Is it hard to play like one od those cheap old begginer guitars or is it actually comfy?

[@matboy314]

With some basic setup it was as slick to play as my Fender. The neck was really slick and satin.

[@jamescoughlan8193]

I would have liked to hear before and after the pick up change. Nice sounds

[@matboy314]

Thanks James. Just look a few videos back on my channel and there is a quick review with the original Roswells.

[@jamescoughlan8193]

@@matboy314 ah right ty

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

They sound great!

[@HansKarlsson1971]

Based on your good video i purchased the very same for my HB TE62 DB

[@matboy314]

I look forward to hearing how they work for you?

[@edatkinson322]

Did the tonerider pickups fit without any alterations to the bridge plate or scratch plate? I’m thinking to put these in my Harley Benton TE70 Black Paisley

[@matboy314]

No alterations required ed.

[@edatkinson322]

@@matboy314 thanks

[@HansKarlsson1971]

Hi. Having my TE62 for some days one thing stands out and that is output volume is low... comparing to my other guitars with same settings at my amp i have to increase gain and volume a lot. This is with the stock pickups. Do you Matthew notice any difference with the new pickups? ( i am still waiting for them to arrive same as yours)

[@matboy314]

I didn't find the output low with the stock pickups. If anything I thought they were too "hot" to get a truly chimey clean tone. The new ones were clearer toned, but truthfully I never did an A/B volume comparison. I wonder if your HB Tele has a wiring fault, or pickups from their most basic Tele model?

[@cdelcollado]

Hi Matthew. Do you remember how is routed the body of this guitar?

[@matboy314]

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you want to know. It was neatly routed and I don't think a humbucker would fit for what it's worth.

[@cdelcollado]

@@matboy314 this was exactly what I am asking. Thanks for answering, Matthew.

[@Shadowman-1960]

I wonder why when people change the pickups on a Harley Benton Telecaster most of them seem to be picking Tonerider pickups, instead of one of the many other choices.

[@matboy314]

@@Shadowman-1960 Are they seeking affordable upgrades rather than putting Lollars or similar on a guitar that will never have real intrinsic value I wonder?

[@Shadowman-1960]

@@matboy314 Possibly but I was thinking there would be multiple options at every price level, and real intrinsic value would depend on what each individual person felt was intrinsic to them, like superior tone or value for their money etc.

[@michaelmarchei8539]

I loved this till ga pulled out John Mayer. Sick playing and tone

[@racheltaylor6578]

I put these in a telecaster.I thought they were excellent .

[@martinsmall8221]

Hi, nice guitar, did you have to pay much import duty to get the guitar into the uk?

[@matboy314]

Oddly no, none at all. I think Thomann keep some UK stock, but you have to go through their UK website.

[@martinsmall8221]

@@matboy314 oh okay, thanks.

[@farmduck2762]

A fan of the Monte Montgomery version of Little Wing?

[@matboy314]

I'll have to look that up Farmduck.

[@farmduck2762]

@@matboy314 It was just some of the riffs sounded a bit reminiscent.

[@HektorBandimar]

They sound great! .....Did the Tonerider pickups fit right out of the box without any mods, and did you upgrade the pots too?

[@matboy314]

They did fit without any bother. I didn't upgrade the pots because I like the sound of the new pickups so much I didn't feel like rushing into an other upgrade. :-)

[@HektorBandimar]

@@matboy314 Thank you.

[@IbanezChild-pn8yz]

Love your channel! Go on Scotland!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@johntchb]

First change l plan on making is some Chinese brass compensated saddles,then maybe the string trees.poss nut,l like bending and getting some pings.awaitin nut sauce.great guitar.

[@jmdyt3626]

Yeah looking to get this guitar in pink got like £100 for upgrades, so think I’ll get some locking tuners, brass saddles and then over time look for some pickups

[@paulbush8881]

I paid €100 for my toneriders ..Oh well .. super review just a bit too much reverb , I´m waiting for HB to manufacture the same guitar with a double bound sunburst finish I `d happily pay the the difference

[@NoNameNo.5]

Change the cheap metal barrels out for some compensated brass saddles, then get a tusk nut and ur set

[@adrian_V99]

Lovely video , Matthew. I'm considering ordering Tonerider Hot Classics (alnico III), but after hearing your demo you've given me something to think about re the alnico V's. Any special reason you chose that model of Toneriders? Sláinte!

[@matboy314]

I suppose I always believe that dirt is easy in guitars, clean tones are the basis of all good sounds. Reviews online show that the Tonerider vintage pickups have bell like, sparkling cleans. They are also very affordable compared to some boutique options. I have them in my Harley Benton Tele copy and kit Stratocaster and they sound great.

[@artyrogatti]

На 9.00 мин , подскажите пожалуйста что это за прекрасная мелодия?

[@Kevin.Hearty]

The small pots and cheap switch make no difference at all sonically. Give them 10 years and they'll probably start to fail which is when you replace them with CTS pots and a better quality switch. That's what happened with my Squier anyway.

[@matboy314]

I replaced the pickups in my Harley Benton strat kit with Tonerider vintage style as well. I played those for a while, then upgraded the pots and electronics with a fairly expensive prewired loom. Truth is I can't hear any significant difference. As you suggest though Kevin, I'm sure it has been made more reliable for what that's worth.

[@650thunderbird]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@Andreas_Straub]

This video does not work, as the actual guitar tone is hidden in all that reverb you used .... In addition it would make a lot of sense to hear a direct before/after comparison using short repeatable sequences.

[@VanjaSpirin]

Sound is great. Next time, please, just compare the sounds, don't play ten minutes. This is useless. Or you just wanted to show us that you can play guitar?

[@krijnkrijn]

Be nice

[@aliceverheij]

Relax man.

[@matthewjdouglas6471]

Wow, dude. This is a great video. The guitar is sounding sweet. And his playing is tasteful. Enjoy the video. Did you want some greeday or something

[@VoxMax1200]

@VanjaSpirin... well said 😂😂

[@Ukedc259]

Rude. It’s not a request show. Scroll on til you find what you want. That’s how this eclectic thing called the internet works. You are not the commissioner of a KZbinr’s services. You don’t set the brief. You just enjoy it or you don’t. If you don’t, keep looking until you find something that rings your bell.

[@munkuukle5665]

waste of money! also you ruined that stock soldering now its a mess under that plate! oh and that stock roswell alnico5 sounded decent haha oboy you modding fools out there. Live and learn the hard way haha

[@matboy314]

I don't disagree with you. 😂

[@jacekczak9276]

Witam . Założyłem do mojego Harley benton tex mex i też jest super !! duży przeskok oczywiście na plus ! Do drugiego tele po oglądnięciu filmu będą tonerider dzięki za super recenzje 👍🙂

[@munkuukle5665]

@@jacekczak9276 kirjoita et itsekkin ymmärrät

[@bohmao]

@@matboy314 There's always one. 🙂