Harley Benton ST-20HSS CA Standard Series

An amateur such as I am can not estimate the quality of a Premium guitar, but it is easy to notice major defects in a cheap one. Having been satisfied with a Squier Bullet I took a chance with this half that price Harley Benton. The first thing I noticed was the excellent paint job : the Candy Apple Red is perfect, and there were nothing wrong with the body. Then I removed the paper around the strings. The dot marker is missing from the fifth fret - bugger ! I couldn`t find it anywhere. The fretboard had signs of temperature changes so that could have been the reason for the loosening of the dot. Then, the grooves in the nut were carved so deep that the strings were sitting on the first fret. And maybe they tried to fix it by adjusting the action super loose : the strings were about 5 mm above the last fret. Surprisingly, the machine heads feel good : they work well. I can`t give a valuation of the sound because I haven`t played it electrically yet. I looked inside the guitar and found the dot marker there. I was going to return the guitar to Thomann, but then thought - this HB is still worth the 79 ¤, because the body alone is worth that. I managed to put the dot back, and the neck feels good. If you are looking for a cheap but good guitar, I would recommend any Squier, but remember : Instruments tend to be individuals, no matter how they look on paper. Funny thing : it had a "QC Pass" sticker on the back of the neck.