Harley Benton ST-Modern HSS SFG

This guitar is unreal for the price. The closest thing I have played in terms of feel as a modern Strat is a Fender Player Plus, which is a nicer guitar but not much nicer.
This feels closer to a Classic vibe which of course has a more vintage feel but similar quality.
Sound is subjective but I like the pickups, will not be changing them.
Guitar came ready to play out of the box!!!! For a 179 euro!
This was NOT the case with my 900 euro Epiphone!
Biggest problem? It makes the ST62 obsolete. ST62 needs a revamp, 9.5 radius, skunk stripe and more colors. Skip the roasted neck, keep the rolled edges, take the pickups from this instead of Roswell. Call it ST Vintage or something...

I'd seen some reviews so I thought I'd give this a go as it was so cheap. I did have to wait for about 4 months for it to come back into stock but it was worth the wait. It is incredibly playable, the neck is a joy. It arrived with an almost perfect set up so all I needed to do was tune it up. Locking tuners and a two pivot trem bridge for £150? Almost defies belief. The pickups sound really nice, especially the humbucker. The coil tap doesn't really bring anything to the party but who cares? Electronics are quiet and the build quality is spot on. It also looks lovely. My younger self is very jealous that budget guitars were nowhere this good back in the old days. Buy one, even if you are a brand snob, just buy one.

I can compare this guitar to the only other one I own, a classic vibe 50s Squier tele. Although they are very different in characteristics and specs, this Harley Benton feels, sounds and looks just as good (while being much cheaper). Everything on it is great and I don't think any upgrades are necessary. Overall I'm thrilled to have an s-type guitar that in no way will be a limit to my playing (beginner/intermediate) for such an accessible price.

The only negative i can find is a very tiny crack in the finish of the neck pocket that was there when I got the guitar (according to the internet this seems to be common even on Fender strats) and should be of no concern.

I did a lot of research before I finally dropped some cash on this guitar. It's amazing, I love it! I'd noodled around unseriously on an acoustic uke for a little while, then spent 5 months going fairly hard on an electric uke, now I've spent 5 months with this guy.

It's a fantastic guitar! As a newcomer, it took me a little while to figure out the locking tuners, and that I could permanently attach the whammy bar. I got a decent multi fx amp for it, and now I can jam a little bit on this thing. I freaking love it.

It took a month for it to arrive (while they made it, I guess) , and it arrived perfect, no defects. I blast this thing like an hour 4/7 days. I'm into music production now too. 10/10 do not regret.