The Harley Benton TE-62DB CAR is a great deal at only 144 dollars plus shipping. I have not been able to find this model of a HB in their US store, so I ordered mine from Thomanns in Germany.

For some reason and I am grateful for it. Thomann’s somehow sold me the guitar without charging me the 90 dollars shipping. When they discovered their error, they informed me they would be honoring the deal.

The guitar sat in the box in my shop for the past six months. I have not done a full upgrade video on an inexpensive/affordable guitar in a long while, so I decided that I wanted to pretty much gut the guitar by removing the tuners, saddles, electronics, and pickups and replacing them with more expensive models.

Do I need to do this. Not really. The guitar out of the box is a pretty playable guitar and a lot of people just keep it as is. The alnico 5 pickups are pretty good. I would probably replace the saddles and tuners and leave the pickups and electronics alone until I needed to do repairs.

That however is not what I have done.

When I am done modding the Harley Benton I want to do something different. I am not going to compare the TE-62DB CAR against its premodded self. I am going to compare the sounds coming out of the TE-62DB CAR with my US Made Telecaster 60s Custom. I am kind of curious to see if I can get similar sound and tone out of the TE-62DB CAR after changing all that I am changing out.

Here is what I purchased to install in the TE-62DB CAR.

1. Wilkinson Brass Compensated saddles
2. Fender Pure Vintage 64 Telecaster pickups
3. Wilkinson vintage tuners
4. Electronics:

a. 2 CTS Split Shaft Pots
b. 1 .047 Orange Drop Capacitor
c. Switchcraft Output Jack
d. Oak Grigsby 3-way switch

Installing everything went uneventful except for all six of the string ferrules came out when I was removing the factory installed strings.

This used to kind of annoy me. Not as much now since I have had it happen with so many different manufacturers of guitars. Don’t get me wrong – I do not think it should be happening, but it is an easy fix. I put a dab of superglue inside the lip of each of the holes on the back of the guitar and then reinserted the ferrules.

For the tuners I left the original tuner ferrules installed and inserted the new tuners. I also used the original screws. I was not trying to upgrade the ferrules and screws. I wanted new and more solid tuning mechanisms.

Next, I started to reassemble the guitar by pulling and replacing the two HB pickups with the Fender pickups. Here is the marketing speak that I pulled from the Fender website describing these pickups.

Warm up your Telecaster tone with a set of vintage-accurate early '60s single-coil Telecaster pickups, which offer hotter, stronger Tele twang that's crystal clear and versatile enough for any musical application.

I purchased my set so just because I used marketing jargon, I am not a shill for the man. I am saying this because the other day I was watching a Philip McKnight video where someone asked him if all Guitar product YouTubers are not just shills for the companies they are presenting. He said that he did not know if this was true of everyone but a good way to tell is if the presenter uses the same repetitive marketing lingo that is supplied to them and other YouTubers. This is a good indicator they are contractually obligated to say specific things.

I regularly will pull language from product websites because I think it is helpful to hear what the producer of the product says their product is designed to do. I do however not get any of the products for free nor am I obligated to anyone to use the language.

For the wiring circuit I built a traditional telecaster circuit using good components. I used the HB control plate. I did however need to replace the knobs and pickup selector switch tip. I also left the output jack in place and chose for now not to replace it.

The fretboard was a little dry, so I added some lemon oil and hand rubbed it in.

Overall, I like the payability of the HB guitar. There is no rocking on the fretboard. The edges of the frets are what I would call in the middle. Not smooth but also not rip the flesh from my hand sharp as I run my hand up and down the sides.

The wood and finish they used in making the neck is very nice. I appreciate the satin finish. The neck is a 12-inch radius and not the 9.5 you find on the Fender I will be comparing this guitar to. The neck is described as a Vintage Caramel Maple with a Laurel fretboard.

The finish on the body is an off red with hints of pink. From a distance it appears as red. It is just not the red you find on the Fenders. It is a standard thick poly finish with crème binding.

I am really happy the overall weight of the guitar, weighing in at 7 lbs 12 ounces or 3.528 kilos.

Now for the comparison. I am comparing the Harley Benton TE-62DB CAR to my 2020 Fender American Original '60s Telecaster.