First, the pickups are excellent, they are a copy of the Duncan Distortion's with heavy bass and very high output that creates a little grit when regular pickups leave the tone too clean and bland. Metal is metal at high distortion levels.
Second, the bridge is very good, returns to pitch very well with stock strings and stock setup. However the knives needed some sharpening, and D'Addario strings improve the tone.
The most important components are lined up accurately, neck, pickups, and bridge, so no major rebuilding was needed. Only the string holder had to be moved 0.8mm to a side to center it. The fine E string was too close to the neck edge, and the palm of the hand would mute it, sometimes.
So I filled the screw holes with plugs and drilled new holes 0.8mm to the side. The jack retainer plate was held by small screws that I replaced with stronger ones. Pulling and pushing the jack stresses that part, so I like stronger attachments.
The neck joint is done very well, not a cigarette paper could be inserted there, no gap. The tuners seemed to have a little play but just tightening their screws solved that. The knobs have no play, no unevenness, no noise, they are true professional grade knobs. They are firm.
Same for the selector, it's the only selector in all my affordable guitars that makes no noise at all. One solder joint broke after two days so I reflowed it, and checked the other solder points, they're all good.
The bridge springs needed a bit of recentering, too, so, plugs, drilling, and voilà, screws and springs are square with the cutout in the wood, and with the bridge.
The truss rod moved silently and smoothly, no problem adjusting that. Tightening the string holder screws doesn't change the pitch much, no problem there. The trem arm seems thin to me, so I added three layers of heat-shrink tubing to make it fatter and more grippy, a totally reversible and easy mod.
The internal cutouts are made well, paint was not even but making it even was easy. The outside paint is applied very well, and doesn't scratch too easily, except I have seen harder (polyurethane) skins. But the Harley Benton has to be affordable, so the quality is adequate.
The neck finish is very good, undistinguishable from the finest Ibanez or Jackson axes. Only the frets need the usual polishing, nothing to blame here, they don't buzz at all from the factory, and their edges are smooth.
So five stars for the sound, five for the ergonomics, and four for the perfectible fit and finish. A bargain. Note that the guitar was totally usable, it's just that I do a systematic check on all my new axes, and improve what I can. For 200€ the overall factory quality was fine.
Most importantly, the main components, pickups, neck and Floyd Rose, are very good, and assembled right.
Edit of August 2025: the axe became unstable, even after some simple bends, so I recut the knives, but with a smaller, not rounded angle this time, and I didn't bother polishing them. Apparently just rubbing the metal with sandpaper that has a grain smaller than the file (diamond for a fast job) is enough. A rounded mirror polish seemed to allow the knives to move too far and get the bridge detuned. So I reassembled the axe with the same old strings, and it holds the tuning better than before.
Note that both the plate and stud steel is extremely resistant to wear, it barely made burrs at all in more than a year. The trem was also upgraded with all-steel Schaller saddles last year. Now I am happy to report than stability is better than it ever was; bends, deep dives or raised pitch, the trem returns to the exact note. Just be prepared to do some maintenance every now and then. It's such a relief seeing the tuner's needle returning to the accurate center each time.
