Harley Benton has revealed its autumn 2026 collection, and it is a typically bountiful mega-drop that skews both vintage and modern – and as per the brand’s USP, these electric guitars offer quite a lot of spec for the price.
It is is hard to think of a better-value instrument than the ST-Modern Plus. Harley Benton’s hotrodded S-style guitar comes in a variety of guises but has been refreshed here with a reverse headstock, metallic finishes and a floating VT1 Ultratrem from VegaTrem, and you’ll be getting change from 500 bucks (these are listed on Thomann for £383/$422).
And the hardtail version, the ST-Modern Plus HH, is now offered in Radiant Red, Desert, Root Beer, Tangerine, and Purple. You can get a left-handed version of the latter.
Elsewhere, Harley Benton is referencing more golden era semi-hollow electric guitar designs with the unveiling of its HB-35Plus Rotary and Tribute Series HB-35TL – a guitar whose angular f-holes immediately calls to mind Gibson’s Trini Lopez and Dave Grohl signature guitars – it even has the six-in-line headstock – but has a measly £297/$328 price tag.
Maybe we should start there. Once upon a time, you just did not find beginner-priced electric guitars like this. It’s both a testimony to how Grohl has popularised the model with Foo Fighter fans, and how ambitious Harley Benton has become when populating its range of cheap electric guitars with some more hitherto obscure or cult designs.
You can get this HB-35TL in Pelham Blue (there are leftie versions in this finish), Burgundy, and Golden Mist. It is fitted with a pair of Tesla VR-60 Alnico V humbuckers, with push/pull coil-taps on the controls, and belying the price tag, we actually have a rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges FTW, and diamond inlays to match those soundholes. Sweet.
But what about something more conventionally semi-hollow? The HB-35Plus Rotary could be that. This shares the solid centre block of okoume that you’ll find in the HB-35TL, a level of insurance against unwanted feedback, but also has an okoume body finished with a figured maple veneer, and a glued-in mahogany neck.
The HB-35TL has a maple body, with a glued-in maple neck, but both neck profiles share a relatively full C profile that measures 22mm at the 1st fret, 23.5mm at the 12th.
The big talking point is this rotary switch which behaves much like the Varitone you will find on old Gibson semi-hollows. It’s a six-position, deal, with position 1 a bypass, then positions 2 to 6 dialling out mid-range frequencies.
Furthermore, like HB-35TL, the HB-35Plus Rotary has coil-taps. Finish options include Transparent Black Gloss, Transparent Cherry Gloss, and Vintage Sunburst Gloss.
The price on these is £255/$281, which is remarkable when you consider that, yes, that fingerboard with the handsome split-block inlay is rosewood.
Lastly, the ST-Modern Plus HH – with or without the VegaTrem – remains a very respectable build.
There’s the solid alder body, tactically sculpted for high-performance styles (these look like shred machines for grown-ups but with a price tag for beginners).
We have the ever-fashionable roasted Canadian flame maple bolt-on neck, topped with a maple fingerboard with the 12” to 16” compound radius.
Both hardtail and VegaTrem versions feature a pair of Tesla CROW-85 humbuckers with three-way switching, volume and tone controls, with coil-taps on the tone pot.
We got excited about the VegaTrem, and rightfully so – it’s a premium piece of hardware – but then so is the Babicz hardtail on the regular ST-Modern Plus, a guitar that is available now on Thomann for £339/$375.
For more details, head over to Harley Benton, or to Thomann, where these are all on sale now.
