Harley Benton TE-62 CAR
The Harley Benton TE-62 CAR has a lot to offer, especially for its price range. It delivers a surprisingly musical experience, but—as expected with budget instruments—there are a few compromises along the way. Here’s my breakdown after spending time with it.
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Cons
• Vintage Kluson-style tuners
These tuners look great but aren’t the most practical. Stringing them is not as straightforward as with modern locking tuners, and they’re not perfectly stable at first. After stretching the strings properly, though, they do hold tuning decently.
• The nut
The stock nut is fine, but upgrading to a graphite nut would noticeably improve comfort during bends and help with tuning stability.
• Setup required
Out of the box, the guitar needs some work. The action must be dialed in by balancing the truss rod and adjusting the individual saddles. If you skip this step, the guitar can sound a bit thin and limited.
• Color
The “Candy Apple Red” isn’t truly candy apple. It leans more toward a soft, pinkish, 1950s Cadillac-style red. If you expect a deep or dark red, this may be a slight disappointment.
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Pros
• Solid neck feel
The neck contour feels like a blend between a U-shape and a D-shape—chunky enough to feel vintage, but still comfortable. Fretwork is generally fine, especially considering the price.
• Resonant body
The body resonates nicely with the neck. The guitar isn’t heavy—more of a medium weight—and feels balanced.
• Electronics that get the job done
The pickups are better than you’d expect for the price. If you tweak your tone (EQ, pedals, plugins, or amp settings), you can get surprisingly close to the sound of far more expensive guitars. Pots, switch, and wiring work well. You could upgrade to 500k pots, but it’s not necessary.
• Upgradable platform
This guitar is a perfect modding base. The tuners, nut, bridge, saddles, electonics, and pickups can all be replaced if you want a more modern, comfortable, or premium experience. But you can also keep everything stock, learn how to work with its limitations, and still get a great tone.
• I use Elixir 10–46.
They can feel a bit stiff, but they bring out the guitar’s tone and improve playability once properly stretched and settled.
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Overall Experience
For the budget, the Harley Benton TE-62 CAR is absolutely worth it. It rewards players who like to adjust, tweak, and “work with” their instruments. If you’re used to high-end guitars with ultra-modern necks and perfect factory setups, this guitar might feel a little challenging at first—but that’s part of the charm. Once dialed in, it becomes surprisingly musical.
You can turn this guitar into something “expensive-sounding” with the right setup and technique. Or you can mod it into a fully upgraded, stage-ready beast. Either way, it’s a strong instrument that holds its own both in the bedroom and on stage.
I recommend it 100% to anyone who enjoys experimenting, improving their gear, and pushing a budget guitar to its full potential. The more I play it, the more I appreciate what it offers for the price.
