Review of the Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series Electric guitar. Where to buy it?

I’ll tell you how this post is built. First I list the features of the Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series guitar. Then you have a video or two, purchase links and useful comments from other users and then you have one of the most useful parts; comparison tables with similar items so you can compare.

  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Top: Rosewood imitation veneer
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Cream body binding
  • Matched headstock
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell TEA Alnico-5 vintage TE-style single coils
  • 1 Volume knob and 1 tone knob
  • 3-Way toggle switch
  • Deluxe chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles and strings through the body
  • Deluxe die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046
  • Colour: Natural, high gloss

review harley-benton-te-70rw-deluxe-series

This guitar usually has a price around 144.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series watch these related videos to learn more.

Harley Benton TE-70 Rosewood Deluxe (Telecaster) - Full Demo

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Some comments from people who come to the forum about this model:

Comment:

Ok, another stunning review for a very inexpensive Harley Benton electric guitar… I am a hobby guitarist, drummer, pianist, and I do all my jamming at home in the basement man cave. I’ve read all the reviews like YOU have too, probably, because I just couldn’t believe all the great things said about the incredibly inexpensive Harley Benton line of guitars. I finally had to "Jump In The Fire" 😉 and I purchased this Tele copy, the TE-70RW Deluxe. I also bought a B stock Nashville Line Nylon solid body but that’s not the focus of this review.
The TE70-RW has the following traits, in my opinion:
Pros: super inexpensive, flawless fit/finish, arrived with ZERO damage from Germany to Kentucky, U.S.A. in 9 days, good setup on arrival, NOT microphonic, NOT high action, NOT a returned item re-sold to me, the guitar for the $ paid is an OUTSTANDING value. Out of the box & wiped down then plugged in it sounds great. sounds every bit as nice as my Made In Mexico Deluxe Roadhouse Stratocaster and sounds better than the Fender Baja Tele my friend brought over to have on hand for immediate comparison. The Roswell pickups are fine, nothing special but NOTHING at all wrong with them.

Cons: the guts of the guitar are obviously ‘cheap’ but by no means are they LOW quality, the strings and fret board was ‘dirty’ and I had to do an extensive wipe down on the guitar. I would love to have a little higher quality fret board wood but that would increase the price.

Bottom Line: You can not beat the quality for the price paid. The CONS that I listed have nothing to do with the guitar tone, playability, or ‘function’. I would not expect this guitar to be a ‘gigging’ axe for a professional but for the normal everyday guy/gal who just loves to play… it is A O.K.

If you are considering a Harley Benton guitar, any model, but are scared of the low LOW LOWWWWWW cost you are just like many Americans and other guitarists from countries outside the ‘immediate’ are of Thomann Music and that’s understandable. Unless you’ve already done business with Thomann you just don’t know if you can trust the reviews online and all that…. Well, there’s only ONE way to find out and that is to bite the bullet and give them a chance.

You will not be disappointed.
I had ordered a Ritchie Kotzen signature Telecaster just a couple of days before this purchase. It’s made in Japan and is at the top of Fender’s ‘non custom shop’ food chain. I cancelled the order for the Fender and bought 2 Harley Benton’s for 1/3 of the price I would’ve given for the Kotzen model Tele.

I’m extremely glad I did cancel that order. I have Tele sound, tone, feel, and more for a lot less money. Couldn’t be happier with Thomann and Harley Benton.

Comment:

So, this has caused me a problem or a dilemma at least. To be honest I bought this for one reason, to strip it for parts for my other Tele’s and so far it’s much, much better than expected, way too good to use as a donor guitar for parts. I now need to get parts in a different was as it’s erm,…..better than most of my other Tele’s.

The action is too high, way too high but I know that this is down to personal preference and entirely subjective yet needs adjustment. The tuners are ok, it depends on your perspective, they’re not amazing compared to a Schaller locking fender set yet for the money, I don’t get how they can do this, it’s surprising how good they are. The bridge tuner rattles too much at the moment but a setup may fix this.

Overall my neighbours were expecting to see something far from playable yet they didn’t believe that this was supposed to be a donor parts item. Me? I’m keeping this as is, I’ll change the bridge pickups as they rattle too much but overall, this is like modern magic. I wouldn’t expect anything playable at this budget but I am wrong , surprised, and actually really impressed.

Now I need to explain that I have a new guitar and no parts as expected, thanks Thomann, please send new tuners so I can avoid having to justify another guitar.

A quick update—-
The tuners turned out to be awful. Dead spots everywhere, slipping, too much dead movement, they rapidly became as bad as the set on my Affinity. So I’ve made a few mods. I added a set of HB locking tuners, added Göldo string trees, cleaned and lemon oiled the neck twice, graphited the nut slots, and then swapped the strings for a set of Ernie Ball 9’s. Now, it holds a note as well as my PRS.

The TE70 is a great base to make some basic changes, adding less than €100 in parts for such good results is worth it. It’s still only cost around the same price as my affinity Tele but the results are much better. Next time I buy another HB I will make the same changes out of the box.

Finally, if a female can do all this work in a few hours, surely a chap can do it quicker 😉

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series vs Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series

The guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series is usually 59 € more expensive than Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series.

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series

Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Top: Rosewood imitation veneer
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Cream body binding
  • Matched headstock
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell TEA Alnico-5 vintage TE-style single coils
  • 1 Volume knob and 1 tone knob
  • 3-Way toggle switch
  • Deluxe chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles and strings through the body
  • Deluxe die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046
  • Colour: Natural, high gloss
  • Body: Basswood
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: Modern C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Double action truss rod
  • 22 Frets
  • Pickup: 1 Humbucker (bridge) and 2 single coils (middle and neck)
  • 1 Volume control and 2 tone controls
  • 5-Way pickup switch
  • Synchronised tremolo
  • Die-cast machine heads
  • Black hardware
  • Ex-factory stringing: .009″ – .042″
  • Colour: Black, matte

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series

Harley Benton ST 20HSS SBK Standard Series

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton ST-20HSS SBK Standard Series review

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series vs Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame

The guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Seriesis usually 67 € cheaper than Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame.

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series

Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Top: Rosewood imitation veneer
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Cream body binding
  • Matched headstock
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell TEA Alnico-5 vintage TE-style single coils
  • 1 Volume knob and 1 tone knob
  • 3-Way toggle switch
  • Deluxe chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles and strings through the body
  • Deluxe die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046
  • Colour: Natural, high gloss
  • Deluxe Series
  • Mahogany body
  • Flamed maple arched top
  • Set-in mahogany neck
  • Roasted jatoba fretboard
  • “C” Neck profile
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • 24 Frets
  • Pearloid dots fretboard inlays
  • Neck and body binding
  • Scale: 635 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Graphite nut
  • 2 Roswell HAF AlNiCo-5 open coil humbucker pickups
  • 3-Way switch
  • 1 Volume- and 1 tone control with push/pull function for coil split
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson WVPC tremolo
  • DLX machine heads
  • Colour: Black Flame

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My-sIpvnx2I

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame review

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series vs Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style

The guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series is usually 78 € more expensive than Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style.

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series

Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Top: Rosewood imitation veneer
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Cream body binding
  • Matched headstock
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell TEA Alnico-5 vintage TE-style single coils
  • 1 Volume knob and 1 tone knob
  • 3-Way toggle switch
  • Deluxe chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles and strings through the body
  • Deluxe die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046
  • Colour: Natural, high gloss
  • Complete DIY (do it yourself) kit
  • Bolt-on neck attachment
  • Rengas body (wood colour may vary)
  • Maple neck
  • Double action truss rod
  • Amaranth fretboard
  • Dots fretboard inlays
  • Radius: 350 mm
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Truss rod
  • 3 Ceramic single coil pickups
  • Electronics: 1 Volume, 2 Tone, 5-Way switch
  • Chrome hardware
  • Diecast machine heads
  • Tremolo
  • .009 – .042 Strings
  • Colour: Natural

Note: The body and neck have been primed with pore filler, making them suitable for the direct application of lacquer finishes. Before the application of stains or other surface treatments, the primer must be first removed via sanding.

Note: A certain degree of skill in handiwork is required for successful assembly of the guitar.

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style

Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style - Unboxing, Assembling, and Sound Demo (no talking)

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton Electric Guitar Kit ST-Style review

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series vs Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley

The guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Seriesis usually 11 € cheaper than Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series

Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Top: Rosewood imitation veneer
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 21 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Cream body binding
  • Matched headstock
  • Dual action truss rod
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell TEA Alnico-5 vintage TE-style single coils
  • 1 Volume knob and 1 tone knob
  • 3-Way toggle switch
  • Deluxe chrome hardware
  • Wilkinson bridge with brass saddles and strings through the body
  • Deluxe die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046
  • Colour: Natural, high gloss
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Basswood
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • 21 Medium jumbo frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 43 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell STA Alnico-5 vintage ST-Style single coils and 1 Roswell HAF Alnico-5 humbucker
  • 2 Tone controls and 1 volume control with volume push/pull function coil split
  • 5-Way toggle switch
  • Hardware: Chrome
  • Wilkinson tremolo
  • Stringing: D’Addario EXL110 .010 – .046 (article no. 104555)
  • Colour: Black Paisley

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley

Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley Unboxing & Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley review

Where to buy the guitar Harley Benton TE-70RW Deluxe Series

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
  • Sometimes better price.
  • He’s got worse stock than Thomann.

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Jaime Echagüe

Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

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