Review of the Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red 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-90QM Trans Red 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.

  • Chambered body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Abalone dots
  • Ivory body binding
  • Nut: Bonoid
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell P90 S AlNiCo-5 vintage-style single coils
  • 3-Way switch
  • Controls: Master volume, master tone
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Hard tail bridge
  • DLX die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: Transparent red, high gloss

review harley-benton-te-90qm-trans-red

This guitar usually has a price around 194.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red watch these related videos to learn more.

Harley Benton TE-90QM - IN DEPTH Review

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

Comment:

You can look at all the pictures in the world of this guitar and see all sorts of YouTube videos, but you really don’t get an impact of how beautiful and well made this guitar is until you hold one in your hands.
If you’re looking for that twangy Telecaster sound, it’s there, but you have to work with your equipment a little to get it. The tone qualities of this guitar are wonderful but that’s why it was designed the way it was. It has some really strong qualities for blues, jazz or fusion and even some mild acoustic qualities. Will it work for rock or country? Absolutely, with a small amount of work. But lets get into the actual guitar for a minute.
Cons: I would have given this guitar 5 stars if it wasn’t for one minor issue. The fret ends are very sharp and protruding. I have a suspicion that the fretboard is very dry and needs some attention. So it’s time to do some minor work to get it and those frets back to where they belong. There’s some discrepancy as to the wood they used on the fretboard. Because they can’t use rosewood anymore, they’ve gone to an alternative wood. The information on this particular guitar is mixed. In one portion of the description they say they used an exotic wood called Amaranth, but in another portion of the same description they say they use Roseacer. It would be nice to know because Roseacer which is a roasted maple sometimes has tendency to develop small splits, even though it’s very rare. Amaranth, which goes under a number of different names depending on what part of the world you live in is a very hard exotic wood that is very stable and would be an excellent choice for a fretboard replacing Rosewood. Those are my only negatives about this gutar.
Pros: I have a number of high end guitars from Gibson, Fender, Martin, Schecter and a half dozen others. This guitar visually is absolutely stunning. When I first took it out of the box I was shocked at the finish of this instrument. The workmanship on the body and the neck is superb. The quilted maple finish may be just a veneer, but it is absolutely beautiful and beyond what I expected. When I first ordered the guitar I wasn’t sure about the finish on the neck. I don’t like neck finishes that are heavy on lacquer. The neck has a really nice satin finish that you can tell will age beautifully and only get better with time. Out of all of my guitars, no matter what the cost, this guitar has the best neck I have ever played.
Intonation, string height, fret leveling (other than fret ends) were perfect out of the box. All controls seem of good quality and work as they should.
The workmanship (other than the dark paint used inside the "F" holes) I have to say is superb.
If you’re on the fence and need a push, I hope this review helps with your decision. The service from Thomann was excellent and I can guarantee you that you will never find an instrument of this quality for the ridiculously low price they are selling it for. Have fun!

Comment:

Delivery to the UK in 3 days from order being placed.

Arrived in good condition.

For use in home studio/music room.

Inspection: serial number silk screened on back of headstock, made in Indonesia. No immediate problems noted, everything in good order. No sharp fret ends. However, the edges of the nut were a little rough/sharp, but easily smoothed over.

The book matching of the quilt top is a little off, about 3-5mm misaligned, but that’s being picky, only noted on close inspection.
The finishing inside looks good, no paint bald patches. The binding around the f-holes and the body is smooth, no rough edges.

Looking at the back of the body it appears to be a 2 piece, maybe more, but it is hard to tell, the matching is very good. and at a quick glance it looks like a one piece. The Mahogany grain shows through the finish nicely, very even.

Playability – very good. Action a little high but good enough. Intonation spot on. Both pickups function well, switch and pots all working, no looseness, no problems. The neck has a smooth satin finish, very comfortable for my hands.

I’ve lowered the action to ~3/64 ths / ~1.2 mm @ 17th fret. No fret buzz at all, no choking out. Very good indeed. The bridge has no protruding screws and is very smooth and comfortable when playing. The truss rod works exceptionally well and is very sensitive to adjustments, presumably this is a feature of a dual-action truss rod. The allen key supplied wasn’t the correct size, far too small, not sure what the correct size is, but I have many allen keys and the same one I use on my squiers and epiphone seems to work.

Stays in tune well. Machine heads/tuning pegs are smooth in use, no backlash.

In circuit measurement of pickups gave DCR Bridge PU ~10.2K, Neck PU ~7K which tallies well with Roswell specs for these pickups.

The bridge PU has a lot of push, and growls, very mid focused, perfect for a te style guitar, can twang very nicely too. Backing off the pots allows it’s more nuanced balanced tones to come through. They’re quite bright at full tone rotation, but that’s better than being too dull. I would guess that the pots are 500K. Looking into the F-holes the pots appear to be larger than 16mm, possibly 20mm.

The Neck PU is warm and lush, perfect for smooth jazz, but has some twang when needed. There’s a good balance between the two, so no adjustments needed to the pickup heights.

Acoustically it is only a little louder than a solid body. Good enough for some quiet practice.

***** for the setup and quality of this guitar. Truly amazing.

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red vs Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame

The guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Redis usually 17 € cheaper than Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red

Harley Benton CST-24T Black Flame
  • Chambered body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Abalone dots
  • Ivory body binding
  • Nut: Bonoid
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell P90 S AlNiCo-5 vintage-style single coils
  • 3-Way switch
  • Controls: Master volume, master tone
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Hard tail bridge
  • DLX die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: Transparent red, 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-90QM Trans Red vs Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley

The guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red is usually 39 € more expensive 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-90QM Trans Red

Harley Benton ST-70 Black Paisley
  • Chambered body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Abalone dots
  • Ivory body binding
  • Nut: Bonoid
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell P90 S AlNiCo-5 vintage-style single coils
  • 3-Way switch
  • Controls: Master volume, master tone
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Hard tail bridge
  • DLX die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: Transparent red, 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

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red vs Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute

The guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red is usually 35 € more expensive than Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red

Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute
  • Chambered body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Abalone dots
  • Ivory body binding
  • Nut: Bonoid
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell P90 S AlNiCo-5 vintage-style single coils
  • 3-Way switch
  • Controls: Master volume, master tone
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Hard tail bridge
  • DLX die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: Transparent red, high gloss
  • Body: Alder
  • Bolt-on neck: Canadian maple with stained nyatoh skunk stripe
  • Fretboard: Maple
  • Neck profile: C
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm (TUSQ XL)
  • 21 Frets
  • Pickups: 3 Roswell SK52 True Vintage Staggered Alnico 5 single coils
  • 1 Volume control and 2 tone controls
  • 5-Way toggle switch
  • Single-ply pickguard
  • Synchronised tremolo system
  • Kluson style machine heads
  • Chrome-plated hardware
  • Ex-factory stringing: D’Addario .010 – .046 (article no. 104555)
  • Colour: Black high gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton ST-57DG Black Tribute review

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red vs Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame

The guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Redis usually 17 € cheaper than Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Below have a look to the video of this guitar

Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red

Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame
  • Chambered body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Bolt-on neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Amaranth
  • Fretboard inlays: Abalone dots
  • Ivory body binding
  • Nut: Bonoid
  • 22 Frets
  • Scale: 648 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Fretboard radius: 350 mm
  • Pickup: 2 Roswell P90 S AlNiCo-5 vintage-style single coils
  • 3-Way switch
  • Controls: Master volume, master tone
  • DLX chrome hardware
  • Hard tail bridge
  • DLX die-cast machine heads
  • Ex-factory stringing: .010 – .046
  • Colour: Transparent red, high gloss
  • Deluxe Series
  • Body: Mahogany
  • Top: Flamed maple
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Neck attachment: Set-in
  • Fretboard: Roasted jatoba
  • Fretboard inlays: Dots
  • Neck profile: C
  • Radius: 350 mm
  • 24 Frets
  • Scale: 635 mm
  • Nut width: 42 mm
  • Pickups: 2 Roswell P90 Soapbar single coils
  • Controls: Volume & Tone
  • 3-Way switch
  • Hardware: Chrome
  • Nut: Graphite
  • Tremolo: Wilkinson WVPC
  • Machine heads: DLX diecast
  • Colour: Ocean Flame High-gloss

Below have a look to the video of this guitar Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame

Harley Benton CST 24 P90 Ocean Flame Demo and Review

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton CST-24T P90 Ocean Flame review

Where to buy the guitar Harley Benton TE-90QM Trans Red

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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