Screenshot
Disclaimer: Harley Benton provided me this kit to assemble, and I (obviously) got to keep it after the video was released. However, all the opinions I express in this post are my own.
Note: The body and neck have been primed with pore filler and are therefore suitable for direct painting. For staining or other finishes, the primer may need to be sanded off again.
Note: A certain degree of craftsmanship is required for successful assembly.
To kick things off—and add a bit of friendly competition—two friends and I gathered on a livestream to assemble our kits simultaneously. Things got crazy pretty fast, and you can check the whole thing out here: Livestream Video.
Assembling the guitar was quite simple, and it didn’t take us more than 40 minutes to have a playable instrument in our hands. You don’t have to solder anything either, which makes everything much easier. If you’ve never done any maintenance beyond swapping your guitar strings, take your time and don’t rush it—you don’t want to break anything. Once the guitar was assembled, I put on the strings it came with and tuned it up. After a few rounds of tuning each string, the guitar started to hold its tune. I had a playable instrument in my hands.
I’d be lying if I said the guitar was ready to go right away. It was playable but quite rough. Some of the frets needed polishing, so I used fret polishing rubber in different grits to smooth them out. I basically taped off the fretboard and went through every fret with the rubber. After that, the frets felt better but were still a bit rough. A second round of polishing made a noticeable improvement.
Since we were competing on our livestream to see who could assemble our guitars the fastest, I decided to check all the hardware again, just in case. After the checkup, I put on a fresh set of strings and gave the guitar a proper setup.
This is where I noticed that the bridge was slightly crooked and the high E string struggled to stay above the fretboard. You could compensate for this by loosening the neck screws and giving the neck a slight push while tightening them—but this wasn’t something I was aware of during the assembly process. I also noticed that the nut was a bit too high, which is an easy fix.
Even with its flaws, the guitar was now in a playable condition, so it was time to take it for a spin.
There’s no finish on this guitar, which makes it pleasantly resonant in my lap. To my surprise, the sounds I’m getting through the amp (Uraltone Jr.) are good! These pickups pack a decent punch, and overall the electronics are better than expected. I kick in an Orange Getaway Driver, and suddenly I’m in full rock territory. While the intonation and overall setup need some work, the guitar sounds impressive.
As a final test, I compared the T-Style kit against my self-made Telecaster—just because I can. Give the video above a listen and let me know which one you prefer.
If you’ve been itching to learn more about guitar assembly and maintenance, this kit is a great way to get started. You’ll get a good-sounding, playable instrument that you can modify further—and even go completely crazy with finishes.
If you’re interested in getting your own Harley Benton guitar kit, you can use [https://www.thomann.de/intl/thlpg_cq3g0p7wzj.html]. Using it won’t cost you anything extra, but I earn a small commission from every purchase to help keep things running here in the blogosphere.
Hassle-free tone creation at your fingertips
Meet your new center of your pedalboard.
No Budget Friendly Guitar Is Perfect
An Amp for Every Gig
A powerful solution for troubadour or duet gigs at a reasonable price.