I own a 59 Gretsch, a 62 Danelectro, an ex Jo Strummer/Kate Korris mid 70's SG, a late 50's Burns Vista sonic and a late 50's Framus Grand Star as well as assorted far eastern hacks. No one will be able to hear the difference at the moment but in a years time they may be less crackly and a bit warmer sounding but unless you buy 2 guitars and set one up with 500k and one with 250k no one would be able to remember any difference. Cap makes no difference at all other than altering the rate of treble cut when the tone control is turned but I am going to try some full size 250k pots because I'm a bit analy retentive. The pots are little 16mm things and I can't see the impedance marked on them but I suspect 500k (I will measure the values when I restring it) and the cap is the cheapest green poly that money can buy. I have to say at this point that if you want a traditional Tele sound then don't buy this guitar, it is what it is, and that's more of a Tele/Strat hybrid than a Tele. The pickups are Wilkinson Strat type alnico V's which I've never used before, good output, really chimey and give a Stratty-ish quack with the selector switch in the centre position. The frets are fairly level and even (I had a bit of a buzz on the top E string at the 10th fret but a single tap with my fretting hammer cured it completely.
Maple with a skunk stripe but it is a 2 piece (separate fretboard) though this makes no difference at all to the tone or playability and from more than 2 feet away you couldn't tell. a bit on the heavy side but it is a solid Ash 2 piece with a maple veneer on the top with a Walnut centre stripe. A bit of internet research seems to indicate that Harley Benton Guitars are made by Saein Guitars who market as Shine but I also have a Harley Benton MS-60 Mustang-ish copy and they don't feel like the same factory to me but really that's just a guess. I have to say that ideally I'd like to sit down with 10 of 20 of these and compare them. I did 3 years at MANchester College of Arts and Technology so I sort of know what I'm talking about.
This is probably the best bang for your buck that I've ever seen, and just so you know, I'm a trained luthier. I'd been thinking about getting one of these for some time, always been a bit of a Prince nut, and spurred on by the total lack of bad reviews I bit the bullet and ordered.
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