Harley Benton ST-20 WH Standard Series

I'm no luthier, but I am also no novice when it comes to assessing quality and setting up guitars. the first time I played this out of the box I thought I had wasted my money. I couldn't get the thing to stay in tune, the action was horrible, it was cutting my hands up and I was comtemplating sending it back.

Then I got drunk.

Then the fret file and screwdrivers came out. Here's how I turned this guitar from a potential error into my favourite guitar to play.

1: Take the strings off.
2: File the fret edges down to stop it from shredding your hands off.
3: Get some oil. I used fast fret. I went up and down the whole neck dabbing oil on. I also put plenty on the nut. This is important as it helps termendously with the tuning issues that came with using the trem. Then wipe off the excess.

3: I removed a spring from the trem. This made it float. If you dont want a floating trem then don't follow this step. If you want to be like Jeff Beck then absolutely do.

4: Put new strings on.

5: drunkenly send whatsapp messages to your brother and your guitarist friend declaring yourself to be some kind of guitar fixing god.

Seriously though, after I had done the above I was scarcely able to put it out of tune again even with diving the trem right to the body. The fretboard drank a fair bit of oil but looks and feels lovely now. I did have to file some of the frets down above the 12th as I was getting buzz when bending up but this was probably just luck of the draw and you may have 0 issues. A good guitar tech could have this thing playing beautifully for you with minimal effort if you dont fancy trying it yourself.

Soundwise it is beautiful. I can't hear much difference between this and a fender. The pickups are good, there's a lot of buzzing like you would expect from this configuration but I know this can also be remedied to a point with good shielding and some proper earthing.

If you want a good starter guitar, a project guitar or something to pad out your collection (I use this for recording) then I can't recommend this enough. Great guitar. Great price.

Hi all! I have been looking for a glass sound for a long time! After watching some YouTube videos, I decided to order this particular guitar for myself.

And I ordered to the city of Astana, this is in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Delivery was very long, the track code was not tracked. I paid on February 10, 2023 and, taking into account the delays, I planned to receive it before March 8! But I received them only on the 44th day, although the site states that delivery to Kazakhstan will take 12-19 days. In Kazakhstan, Nauryz is celebrated from March 21 to 23 and all institutions are closed, I didn’t receive it for these holidays either ... After the holidays, I started searching.
I went to the Kazakhstan branch of DHL, they did not find it there according to the specified Turk code. I went to Kazpost, where they could determine the location of my order using my passport, the track code was also not determined. I went to the branch where the order was and picked it up on my own transport. According to the terms of delivery, they should have brought me to the apartment, all my data are correct (address, phone number). I was upset. I lost a lot of time, incurred additional costs for the search, shipment and transportation of my order ...

I came home, eagerly unpacked, set up, connected, heard the sound that I had been looking for for several years !!! I forgot all the negatives!!! Yes, the quality needs improvement, there are nuances, but this magical sound... crosses out all the nuances!!! And look at all this for what money! If you dreamed of buying a Fender Stratocaster and saved up money, then spend all the money! You only need to leave $80 and don't hesitate to buy this particular guitar! Same shapes, same sizes! She's worth a lot more! I am in love with this sound and I have found my old love! I want you to find your sound!

P.S. I specified that all the inconveniences in delivery were caused by EMC Kazpost.