Harley Benton ST-Modern Plus MN HSS SP

I missed the first run, and by the time I placed my order the lead time telescoped out to 6 months. I thought about cancelling at various points, but I'm glad I didn't. This is the nicest playing instrument I've ever owned. There's no comparison between this and the similarly priced Squier Classic Vibe 50's strat. The classic vibe had terrible tuning stability and intonation, and the neck finish had to be sanded to be playable - all areas where the modern plus really shines. As a side note, one benefit of missing the first run is the string trees have been upgraded to the roller type instead of vintage style. In fact the modern plus is nicer in every meaningful way than my USA made Highway 1 strat. The only thing I preferred about the Highway 1 is the nitro finish.

I anticipated swapping the pickups, but after testing, I like the Tesla's that came in it and I will probably leave them. I don't really like having the brand name on the pickups, but I can always change the covers if it continues to bother me.

On the Babicz trem - some reviews I saw online highlighted it as uncomfortable for resting your strumming hand, but I find no problem with it, plus I love the fact it is floating.

The finish and frets are flawless and the pots and switches seem fine. I haven't taken anything apart to see what the electrics are like under the hood, but going back to the Squier Classic Vibe, the 5 way switch on that guitar was crackly from the moment I got it and needed contact cleaner sprayed into regularly. No such issue with the modern plus so far. The modern plus has just one tone control, but I don't miss the 2nd tone.

The coil split is fine, but I don't think I'll use it so I might re-wire it as a phase switch instead, or as a way to use the bridge and neck pickups together. I think those are both more useful options.

This is my first experience with locking tuners, and these seem good. I don't know how they compare to others, but they are certainly an upgrade on vintage style tuners.

All in all, I highly recommend this guitar, but I can see it's already out of stock again with long lead times. That should tell you something.

Got mine two weeks ago and I like it a lot, but there were some quality issues that made me disappointed. The bridge wasn’t installed properly, luckily it was an easy fix, but it seems like pivot screws are not inserted properly inside the body, they are a little bit loose and can be easily pulled up. The fret buzz is also a thing on my guitar but I guess it could be fixed with proper set up. Overall I really like this guitar, it plays wonderfully, but there’s a room for improvement quality wise.

I own a 88 Fender strat, I've defended it for 36 yrs being the best player I have ever played. I've played guitar for 53 yrs now. This is my 4th HB but first St model. I purchased the one with all the bells n whistles. The set up is superb, quality is spot on. It is as comfortable if not more so than my strat. It sounds awesome clean and dirty. The Tesla pups are outstanding. Fender would charge triple for this quality.