FYI, the guitar cost me US $360 total, delivered to Arizona, w/gig bag. About the same as a high end Fender Squier from Guitar Center - so inexpensive, but not cheap.
For starters, the guitar arrived essentially unplayable. All of the frets had needle sharp sprouts, and the neck was significantly up-bowed. The strings were D'Addarios, but they felt sticky and grimy, and the action was set very high. The fretboard was also dirty. The tuners were very cheaply made. Nowhere close to the quality on most Squiers. Finally, one corner of the pickguard was popping up.
So why 5 stars? First off, because I know how to fix these things myself. I sanded down the fret sprouts, cleaned and oiled the fretboard, adjusted the truss rod, mounted a set of Wilkinson/Jin-Ho locking tuners, screwed down the pickguard and put on fresh D'Addario strings.
I now have a rather amazing and unique guitar. The fit, finish and overall look is great. The short scale neck is slim and fast. The bridge is a little tricky to adjust, but it works well enough, and I actually like the little cover over it. I suspected the neck would be unstable, but I was wrong. After the major adjustment the truss rod has only required minor tweaks.
I've saved the best for last . . . this freakin' thing sounds amazing! No, no, no it does not sound like a Ric, but it sounds like nothing else I've ever played, and I definitely will NOT need to swap out the pickups. Oh, and the controls also perform well, giving me access to a range of tones that I really like, and that I wasn't expecting. Fantastic fun!
In conclusion, an excellent purchase if you understand what you're getting. I expect you would pay at least US $100 for the set up work if you don't do it yourself. Add another $50 or so for the tuners and strings. Beginners with no experience of these things will likely be disappointed. Oh, and this will be my last Harley Benton unless and until Thomann sets up distribution and return facilities here in the US. I hope some of you find this helpful!
