Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T Review

Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T Review

Welcome to my review of the Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T electric guitar.   The new 25th anniversary T is the best sub $500 electric guitar I have ever played.  I will cover everything you need to know about this high-quality guitar and talk about how it compares to more expensive alternatives.  Thanks to Thomann for shipping this out for my video review.

First Impressions

The moment I opened the package of the 25th-anniversary Fusion T, I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality.  The neck and frets felt amazing in the hands, and the new Firemist finish looks fantastic.  The Harley Benton Fusion T weighs only 3.3 kg, making it great for gigging musicians or those who like to stand up and play. 

The stainless steel fret edges are great, and the attention to detail was spot on.  I have reviewed many Harley Benton guitars over the years, which has set a new standard.

Body, Neck Size, and Feel

The new Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T is a pleasure to play.  The contoured body design makes it comfortable to play seated or standing.  This guitar is your familiar “Telecaster-Style” body, but it’s a modern interpretation. 

The finish on the body is a massive upgrade for Harley Benton, putting this guitar in a much higher quality bracket.  One of the downsides of some Harley Benton guitars has been their finish, but not on this one.  The Firemist color is very impressive; its closest comparison is copper.

Guitar Pickups

This Harley Benton guitar is loaded with a great-sounding set of pickups from Tesla (probably not Elon’s company).  These Tesla pickups are made using Alino 5 magnets, giving them much output leaning more toward a modern tone.  While hotter than PAF-style pickups, they have loads of top-end frequency, making them perfect for blues to hard rock.

These pickups can also operate in single-coil mode, allowing the guitar to sound like a standard Telecaster.  Usually, I would give the sing-coil/split-coil thing a miss, but they nailed the tones on this guitar.  You can turn the single-coil mode on by pulling the tone control “up.”

Value for Money

Out of all of the guitars I have played in recent memory, the Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T is perhaps the best value.  Coming in under $500, not many guitars provide this sort of feature set, playability, and quality under $1500.  The quality of the neck and frets, paired with the quality bridge, TUSQ nut, and Telsa pickups, makes this an exceptional value. 

Best Deals Online and Coupon Codes

To get the best deal on this Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T electric guitar, shop at Thomann

Included Accessories

This Fusion T comes complete with a 25th-anniversary Gig bag and Lanyard.  I didn’t receive either on my sample unit, but a gig bag is always a welcome addition for storage and transportation.  The gig bag that Harley Benton provides is of decent quality, with there being no major complaints on zip strength or construction. 

Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T Review Video

I posted a full review on YouTube showcasing the clean and dirty tones this guitar is capable of.  Check it out below.  Yes, the photo on the thumbnail has saturation boosted on the guitar to make it pop online. 

Buy it anywhere in the world on Thomann

Hardware

This new Harley Benton Fusion T is loaded with quality parts.  There would be no reason to upgrade anything on this guitar unless you prefer a particular brand.  All the components are high quality and will stand the test of time with high use.

I love that Harley Benton added a set of quality Locking Tuners.  Unlike other, more expensive brands, this is such a great addition.  The locking tuners help keep the strings in tune and make for a faster string change when required. 

Furthermore, the TUSQ nut is cut perfectly and improves tuning stability.  Most less expensive brands won’t feature a quality nut, or sometimes they aren’t even cut correctly.  This guitar was almost in tune out of the box from Germany (or Indonesia) to Australia.  

Harley Benton Better vs. Squier Classic Vibe

There are a lot of sub $500 guitars on the market from Squier, Yamaha, SX, Ibanez, and many more.  Your choice to find a quality guitar at this price is very wide as of 2023.  While visually, guitars will vary, I am mostly concerned with playability, quality, and longevity.  The Squier Classic Vibe series would be the closest in quality to the Harley Benton Fusion T, but they fall short in a few ways. 

The Harley Benton has a superior neck, frets, and tonal selection over the Squier counterpart.  Sure, it’s not a “Fender” brand, but if that doesn’t bother you, the Harley Benton is the way to go.

If you want more guitar reviews, check out my electric guitar reviews.

This guitar is, without question, the best in the price range I have ever tried!

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I am a big fan of Squier Classic Vibe guitars, but this is better considering the premium upgrades mentioned throughout this review article.  It comes down to personal choice, so buy the guitar that best suits your needs. 

Who is this Guitar For?

This Harley Benton Fusion T is for anyone wanting a modern Telecaster-style guitar.  The pickups, frets, and neck are a huge selling point.  If those things appeal to you, then this is a great choice.

Depending on where you live, this guitar will also save you money compared to brands like Fender, Squier, Yamaha, or Reverend.  Even though this is less expensive than those brands, the playing experience is just as good or better.

Pickup Squeal

The pickups can handle a lot of gain before feedback.  I could stack on three overdrive pedals with an amplifier at gig volume before it started to feedback.  These humbuckers are very capable with higher gain tones. 

This guitar should be avoided if you are a metal player.  Fans of Metal will most likely look elsewhere for something more in line with their style of music.  There is nothing wrong with liking a Tele-style guitar for that music.  Most folks who buy a Telecaster guitar are into blues, country, and classic rock. 

The only reason this isn’t suited for really heavy music is the pickups will only handle so much gain before feedback.  In closing, anywhere up to heavy 70s or 80s rock should be fine on this instrument. 

Final Thoughts

Guitarists looking for a high-quality guitar that won’t break the bank must look no further than this Fusion T 25th Anniversary.  Harley Benton also makes a range of guitars in this series, so if a Telecaster isn’t for you, check out their other offerings at Thomann.  This Harley Benton 25th Anniversary Fusion T is in my annual best of 2023 list, which I put together every December.  Again, this is an exceptional guitar that exceeded my expectations. 

Official Specifications

• 25th Anniversary Model with matching Deluxe gig bag and lanyard tag
• Body: Nyatoh
• Bolt-on neck: roasted Canadian maple
• Fingerboard: roasted maple
• Black dot fretboard inlays
• Glow side dots
• Black binding
• Neck profile: Modern C
• Scale: 648 mm (25.5″)
• Fretboard radius: 305 mm (12″)
• Nut width: 42 mm (1.65″)
• Graph Tech TUSQ nut
• 22 Medium Jumbo Blacksmith stainless steel frets
• Pickups: Tesla VR-3B AlNiCo-5 (bridge) and Tesla VR-3N AlNiCo-5 (neck) humbuckers
• Master volume control
• Master tone control with push/pull function for single coil/humbucker switching
• 3-Way switch
• Wilkinson 50IIK 2-point tremolo
• Jinho JN-07 staggered locking die-cast tuners
• Chrome hardware
• Factory strings: D’Addarío EXL-110 .010 – .046
• Color: Firemist Satin