Tone and Classic Looks - Harley Benton TE-69TL Hot Rod

I trust EytschPi42 more than I trust my bank lady. :D Harley Benton have single-handedly resurrected the hobbyist guitar scene for us in countries with little buying power, especially with the insane prices of b-stock models. Such bang for buck and it's objective. Yeah, some of them will need setup and maintenance, but the entire scene here is so DIY, setting a guitar up is nothing. 10-15 years ago when I started playing as a lad with little money, I could maybe only dream of having an affordable and decent eight string, seven string, or a baritone, or a friggin' TELE with a STACKED HB, or a doubleneck ffs. Even more awesome with the second-hand market. Danke, Henning und Thomann! I really mean it.

[@gvibes69]

The problem is ... With this cheap guitars is it and miss and for youtube big reviewrs and one that was paid (like he admits) they gonna send him a perfect setup guitar and even send him a one piece body !!! Dont expect this level off quality for you ( the normal folks ) !!! Thats why Elmo Karjalainen is one off the ferw guys i trust ,because he buys the guitars and dont acept review samples that will always be curated and setup before beeing send !! Why you people are so inocent and dumb amazes me !!! For me setup a guitar is not a problem , but imagine a begginer bi~uying is first guitar ,sees this video and goes buy the guitar and then he starts to play and the action is 4 mm and the neck is convex or concave and out off intonation !!! And im not gonna start with the Qc issues that thomman and Harley benton has having this last 2 years with cheap guitars !!! They have some models that they dont even ground the pickups properly puting not conductive paint under the bridge were the ground conector is??? thats dumb and evil!!!!!!!!!!

[@Gloomshimmer]

than you have the worst bank lady ever, because eytsch pi is paid by thomann to say all these things. Hes not honest. Hes paid.

[@jackymarc4801]

Hi from France Henning. Thank you for this test, it's simple, I bought it : it's really great. Thank you for the animals.

[@rylandhatesguitars]

I actually like the half humbucker tone with the gain.

[@firebald2915]

I remember years ago from an old guitar player who whipped out a wise practice concerning guitar purchase snobbery ..." You can't play the headstock. " Awesome instrument to make Music with. Ordering mine tomorrow.

[@PeteMOBie1]

Henning love your honest no bullshit reviews. The guitar may be 2 piece, using a 5mm Ash cap over an ash routed main body. Love the stacked single coil as that opens up a lot more sonic possibilities. Instead of Harley Benton sending you finished products to review, they should be inviting you to help at the prototype stage to turn a great guitar into a class leading guitar. Your experience as a player, tester and reviewer would be invaluable at earlier stages of Harley Benton's design process. Pity I'm left handed because I'd love a Harley Benton TE-69TL, but they have just released a left handed version of the TE-62CC SFG, so I've ordered one of those instead! Keep up the great work. Danke mein Herr

[@idiotburns]

Consistently amazed by the cost of some of these rock machines.

[@boiadedios]

If you want to be less amazed go to work where they produce those guitars with their salary

[@idiotburns]

@@boiadedios I bet.

[@pads-zr9ln]

@@boiadedios they probably have a better quality of life than you

[@boiadedios]

@@pads-zr9ln hahahaha i dont really think….I make very good money and i live in italy the most beautiful country in the world and I dont have a single HB among my Gibson fenders and prss

[@pads-zr9ln]

@@boiadedios gibson pay their staff fuck all, €17 per hour to live in nashville. Italy is no nice all the migrants say nah were good. I'm off to France, Germany or the UK

[@jlore6344]

Great honest review as usual. Thanks for sharing this with us. HB should probably pay Henning BEFORE they make a guitar instead of after though. They would have an even better lineup if they did.

[@douglaspate9314]

Great review. I think I'll buy one. Thanks

[@nickwooldridge3187]

Really enjoyed the video, your way of doing things is both informative and entertaining 👍👍

[@Gabriell0684]

I've got myself one a few days go. The first impression was very good, but the guitar was not perfect (what do you except for around 200 EUR?) First of all there was/is a crack in the lacker in the neck pocket area but it is not too bad and I've got a discount for that so fair play there. Thomann was ready to take it back but the neck has such a nice figuring that I decided to keep it anyway. Now what was not so good is the setup, or at least that is what I thought at first. The action was acceptable but higher than I prefer so I lowered the saddles but that made the instrument buzz quite a bit so I had to bring out my luthier tools. First I found that a few frets are high and that is exactly where the strings buzz so next step I have leveled and re-crowned them. This was not my first fret job so I had all the tools, but that is something you may run in to as well. Now after doing the frets I was able to set the action nice and low and now I am quite in love with the thing.

[@kennethc2466]

I just hope instruments like this bring Fender's prices back to reality. I saw a $400 Squier, that had no business existing at that price.

[@marvintimke3978]

Probably a Classic Vibe, or Contemporary?

[@kennethc2466]

@@marvintimke3978 Can't remember, but it was a standard looking Strat. Was going to buy one for my nephew, but ended up with a Mexican built Strat, as it was 10 times the guitar, at less than twice the price. Player Strat or something like that, and it felt and played like my American built ones.

[@nonegone7170]

@@kennethc2466 Meh, those Squiers have their place too.

[@jjadriottt9073]

Vielen Dank für das tolle Video und die fachkündige Analyse! 👏👏👏 👍

[@dragan4658]

Hb has a winner here! Similar to the Squier Classic Vibe but less coin than the Squier and more features such as the caramelized (really means roasted) neck! I actually like the caramel colour! Thanks for sharing Henning! Merry Christmas!

[@dominiqueguegandomsongs5014]

Hi this song life in America I❤ it ! Where can we get it ?

[@EytschPi42]

The band is called STAGE DOLLS

[@dominiqueguegandomsongs5014]

Thank you

[@MisioNalle]

Hi ...for me its sounds lovely ...but If you had to choose between a Harley Benton TE-69TL Hot Rod and a G&L Tribute ASAT classic, which would you choose? Thank you for the answer!

[@BeauregardHall]

Usually on the semi-hollow teles, the humbucker is usually in the NECK position. And also - hey - WHY are HB teles so heavy? Is that a thing the original ones are known for?

[@parfausto]

Hello hello. Wich is the better Telcaster for you, HB TE-69, HB TE-52 or HB TE-53? Thanks. Keep the good work.

[@redlespaul8139]

This helped a lot, I was debating getting this as an airy semi hollow sound type guitar. I will check out other options now. Cheers Henning 👌🏻

[@Sorefol]

Might wanna check out the other TE-90 series of HB. Namely Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red and Harley Benton TE-90QM HH Trans Blue Difference beeing P90 and Humbucker PUs. But they are actually semi-hollow bodies

[@zvirb]

Volves at the end!

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

It's got a 'TONE HOLE" ...OMG!!! Love it Henning! 😎🎸🤘

[@PooNinja]

Wholey hole bat mang

[@andrewmorgan1640]

We all have tone holes Laz

[@KimmeU]

Finally some Stage Dolls. One of Norways finest rockbands from the '90s... You also have T.N.T and DumDum Boys....

[@ravenslaves]

The Thinline was always a chambered body, for weight relief. Players discovered that the tones were generally less twangy as a result. But the cool (groovy) ones were finished in... paper.

[@greg6509]

What model Is the blue one with p90s?

[@linusheeda]

A beautiful and great sounding guitar 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😍

[@julesdiakogiannis]

Imho you cannot beat this and the TE 52 from H.B in the lower price range.

[@dragan4658]

Valid point however the te52 is way too heavy!

[@schaffelaer1902]

Still waiting for JM with trem and Tele dlx inspired versions by HB...

[@andrewmorgan1640]

They keep getting better. Would prefer more hollow cause lighter. A bit depressing they are getting so good for the money. I feel like I will be the only one left paying too much for guitars. But seriously Henning, that one looks great.

[@ColinHouston-Luke]

Was waiting specifically for you to review this - I've got a squier 50s classic vibe tele - cost me 500$ CAD a year ago.. when I saw this come out with the stacked humbucker and half the price, I figured this may be a great replacement for the squier. Thanks for the great review as always. Could you do a video on what you think are the best HBs you've played?

[@abergreg]

Love the f-hole, its just correct, love the colour, i would change the pull push to give out of phase (quack) middle position, I think its a great looking guitar.

[@correiafausto]

I´m very curious abot the answer, wich is better Telecaster? The HB TE-69, HB TE-52 or HB TE-53? I'm about to buy one of these but choose one yet! Thank you for your help.

[@backandfour]

Te-62 😂

[@StevesSlideandJazz]

I love mine. No modifications required! 😁👍🏻

[@kadiray2651]

i counted 4 pieces of wood from the front. am i wrong?

[@raytorvalds3699]

Holy camera work/quality.

[@EytschPi42]

thanks!

[@juls7724]

Great video and a very nice Tele....the only thing that takes me away is the weight and the fact that it's not a real hollow body...For me it's just a Te-52 less heavy ( which is good), but having other options from harley bentonin the 3 kg range....(i don't mind if it's basswood) for me it's a no brainer

[@chancemiller9340]

The fretboard radius is one of the first things that I check. For excellent guitar players, like you, it doesn’t matter, but for novice guitar players, having a curved fretboard radius makes it easier to strum the correct chords. 305mm = 12” The flatter the board, the worse the thing is for beginners and most entry level fretboards from Harley Benton are 350mm = 13.7” (aka 14”). This is less than ideal for the level of player that the entry level guitars target. Entry level players don’t care if it is a one piece, two piece, or three piece body. They are concerned with scale length and fretboard radius. UPDATE: And nut width.

[@backandfour]

I started playing guitar in classical and electric and I never get used to my 7.5 radius Fender but I am happy with flatter radius... So some beginners might find flatter radius more confortable.

[@SensitivityIsland]

More to it than that ...

[@chancemiller9340]

@@backandfour- The picking is easier on a flatter radius, in my opinion. Strumming chords is easier when there is a curve in the strings and you have a bigger margin of error to hit the bottom 4 strings (D major), or the bottom 5 (C major, A major, A minor...) Starting on classical, you may not have been simply strumming chords. Also, the 7.25" is one end of the spectrum rather than 9.5" to 12". But yes, not all beginners are the same.

[@Anthemika]

Great review!

[@EytschPi42]

Thanks

[@repoman5581]

This one has an acquired sound taste.. plays beautifully but I could not find tones that I liked so sending it back. I like the sound of the JA 60 but the tele feels much nicer in hand

[@ntdetdo8080]

Could I get this as my first electric?

[@EytschPi42]

sure

[@larseikind666]

Now I'm curious abt how you know Stage Dolls. It's never been the biggest export band from Norway...

[@smeagol37]

I‘m waiting for a Harley Benton Strat with a roasted neck! Does anybody know about Harley Benton’s plans? Is there something in the making? My wish would be a HB ST with HSS, roasted maple neck, 2-Point-Trem and I would pay about 300,- 😉

[@rudigerk]

Fusion III HSS

[@smeagol37]

@@rudigerkThank you but I don’t want a Fusion. I have better Ibanez‘s. I want a Strat with those specs.

[@TedTheTree]

I guess it's as good as a Squier Tele Thinline 70's Classic Vibe, or is it better for £100 less than the Squier?

[@EytschPi42]

never played the Squier, so I don't know

[@kristfur]

The one thing that keeps me from getting a Harley Benton is their weight. Was hopping this could make me happy, but that's still too heavy.

[@michielroom]

Nice guitar. They should have put on brass saddles and raise the price with €5.

[@christiantgolden]

These aren't really hollowbody, and chambered Les Pauls aren't really solidbody. I suppose neither technically fit the semi-hollowbody category either. Perhaps these are best categorized as semi-thinline?

[@SilentNightBodomNight]

At this point all that they’re missing is the BBW in the product title lol.

[@stephane406]

Really beautiful guitar, but I think it lacks personnality, especially for a tele. It's the case with clean sounds, even more with distortion, would need a pick up change. And I really don't like these vintage saddles, prefer individual ones.

[@dugbert5]

Thanks, I wanted one until you said the weight.

[@gearViewmirror]

I got one before i knew.....wanted to get rid of it again....but, like, the neck...omg and it sounds and plays great....it has grown on me...😁 Installed brass saddles and rollerstringtrees, it is a keeper🎸🤘🎸 btw: mine is 3.93 kgs....🤷‍♂️

[@kzm4275]

I don't care much about the weight now. Because when I got it in my hands, I expected something lighter, which this thing isn't. But it sounds and feels so great, that it's the number 1 guitar I reach out to play each and every time. Also the whole in the front makes the guitar sound loud even when not connected. Lovely resonance. Try one before you stop wanting it

[@lance134679]

I'm guessing you get a hand-selected guitar to try out, so there's no way to know if the fit and finish is actually good on these guitars by this video, only the general specs and sounds.

[@stephenjones9153]

I got a TE62DR today and so far it's absolutely brilliant 😊, the roasted Maple neck is lovely and smooth and the Red paint finish on the body is as good as any other more expensive Guitars 🎸 I've seen. How they manage to make them for the price is incredible 👏.

[@EytschPi42]

I actually don’t get any hand selected guitars. I have had guitars sent to me with flaws and sharp screws… and I say that in the videos… that wouldn’t happen if they preselect them.

[@lance134679]

@@EytschPi42 Well, that clears that up. Thanks.

[@alexsausl]

I can´t understand why would anyone want that classic bridge - six saddle bridge would be much better for intonation.

[@EytschPi42]

there are physics in the tele bridge that make it sound like a tele!

[@motooilermotooiler9597]

nothing wrong with this bridge intonation wise

[@jancabri8291]

F...-wholes and not shittin' me for this price? Mwahaha!!!

[@99bigjim]

the pickups sound like junk, so add 50.00 to upgrade that as soon as you open the box

[@Simon-gh6nz]

it looks like it has a one piece body with a 2 piece top dayum………. TIME TO SELL SOME GUITARS

[@PooNinja]

So it’s got an ash hole and a skunk stripe, sounds like a country crooner if’n ya ashk me.

[@PooNinja]

AATE 🐺 those podcasts ever coming back? Maybe I should ask chedda?

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

POOOOOOOOOOOO

[@apoll0n]

Ich finde, du solltest weniger Zeit und Energie aufwenden, dich dafür zu erklären/ entschuldigen, dass du gesponserte Videos machst. Wenn auf dem Thomann-eigenen Kanal die eigenen Produkte angepriesen werden, ist das was ganz anderes, als wenn jemand Externer sie testet. Zumal mit solchem Aufwand über X Amps wie du. Wer trotzdem meint, dass das Resultat gekauft sei, soll sich halt anderswo umhören. Ich hab jedenfalls diese Gitarre seit dieser Woche im Haus, und der Hals, die Optik und die Hardware sind in der Tat irre hochwertig. Aber Roswell-Tonabnehmer sind m.E. immer unnötig charakterlos... hast du einen Tipp bzgl eines anderen staggered HB für den Steg?

[@Gloomshimmer]

cherrypicked for one of thomanns marketing instruments "put a thousand bucks on it, i would say ok!"......bruh. No. Simply no. A silver sky SE is a thousand bucks. And its shielded. This one here not. And you can use the bridge single coil, here not because its a roswell and they dont know how to make singlecoils.....or other pus. But theyre cheap. And if i buy a tele, i want that bridge sc sound. thats why i buy it. But hey, at least thomann gave you good instructions what to say. You should tone down some things. Say "350 bucks". Not 1000. Maybe then someone will believe that bullcrap.

[@EytschPi42]

nobody tells me what to say and if you knew ANYTHING about me you'd be ashamed that you wrote that. But you don't

[@Gloomshimmer]

@@EytschPi42 Brudi. You get a paid vacation on a island by thomann, you got a own signature by thomann, you get this gear for free. Sure....youre not biased an neutral, because you wont loose all that when you would be really honest. And honesty is all you have on youtube. Youre creditability. People believe you, and then they get the reality in a box by thomann. No AAA Veneer like you, more ikea lookalike, the fretsprout real, the action high, several dings and dongs. And just refresh my memory....you said "Roswell dont know how to build singlecoils". And i think that were the same SC's like here. Why are they good now? You call a unshielded JA60 "ridiculously good" and then the beginner gets it, and dont know how to fix the several problems. You dont test or review gear. You promote it. And i guess there are several numbers in your bank account which would prove that. Sorry, maybe younger people believe that youre not biased, but cmon.... And the thing is: You use exact the same connotations and syntax like other, thomann sponsored, influencers. Like 60cycle, guitar geek, that british guy with the black beard, agufish. And oh wonder, most of them where on the marketing island with you. Random incident i guess. 99% of "honest reviews" on youtube, instagram or tiktok are paid by a company. And youre one of them, and thats ok, but you tell the people you arent, and that pisses me off. Und ich schreib das auf englisch damits alle verstehen.

[@StevesSlideandJazz]

Its called a “tone chamber”.