I’d like to start by saying, I have been a PRO player my whole life and have owned quite a few high end guitars, I also have many Harley Benton guitars and I long awaited the release of the STModern Plus. However there were a few features that didn’t really appeal to me. So when the STModern was released at £150, I had to have one. This is an honest review, maybe slightly biased by my experience and preferences, but honest, nevertheless.
Firstly, the POSITIVES: The build quality is excellent. I couldn’t find any finish flaws anywhere. The neck is incredibly comfortable, the side dots are perfectly fitted, the trem is smooth and stays in tune and on first impressions, the pickups sound honky and very pleasant. (I’ve not tried them properly yet) The out of the box set-up was almost perfect. For the money I’d say it would be near impossible to find a better guitar.
Secondly, the NEGATIVES: The description boasts PREMIUM nickel silver frets. Now I have a TE62DB and ST62. Whist the fret work is excellent, and everything plays perfectly, the frets are possibly slightly on the small side for me. They look very similar to the TE62DB and ST62 but more difficult to grip, which suggest a slightly less tall fret. I like taller frets and my fusions, which all boast medium jumbo frets, my CE24, SC550, DC Jnr and my TE90 Blast, ALL have what I consider to be frets of a more professional and playable size. When I got the guitar it had 009 gauge strings fitted (difficult for me to assess playability as I prefer 010’s) and what appeared to be a faulty machine head. I waited until Thomann supplied a replacement before I put 010 gauge strings on. Thomann’s response was quick to solve the issue, however the new machine head was slightly different and didn’t fit, but refitting the old one seemed to solve the problem. So I fitted 010’s and decided to remove the protective coverings on the plastic parts. Whilst I like the guitar, I’m sadly not really connecting with it because of the frets. But it blows the ST62 out of the water on every other level.
It’s also really hard to change the strings as the backplate doesn’t line up and the block is painted black, making it hard to see the string holes, which are recessed half way up the back of the block.
The volume control is also a little far away for comfortable pinky violining.
Another point to note is, if you want to change the scratch plate, standard ‘Strat’ type plates will NOT fit. They are not even close, as while the STModern looks like a ‘Strat’ , it is nowhere near the same shape if you put it next to a ‘Strat’ and look closely. It is however a very nice looking guitar.
It is also quite heavy and robust feeling, so if you want a light guitar, this is not for you.
This would have been a 5 star review as it really is an excellent guitar, but frets are important, so I have to mark it down.
