“The ST-JAMster raises the bar on what a beginner guitar can do”: Harley Benton’s new entry-level electric is a stylish S-style with a $140 price tag and onboard effects

Harley Benton has unveiled a new beginner electric guitar with a difference. It’s an HSS S-style called the ST-JAMster, and it comes strapped with onboard effects.

That’s right, overdrive, distortion, reverb and delay are all available via the turn of a dial here, and it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack that allows you to plug in directly and practise your playing without needing a guitar amp. Or, you can do it the old-fashioned way and plug in and turn it up.

There are five core sounds: clean, clean with reverb, overdrive, distortion, and distortion with delay. No need for pedals here, and yet you have a lot of sounds to work with. Also, with that HSS electric guitar pickup configuration, there’s a lot of tone for budding players to acquaint themselves with.

These also look kind of high-end. There’s a whiff of the Hentor Sportscaster about them, with that Sparkle Candy Apple Red model in particular the sort of thing a young Alex Lifeson fan might want to pick up.

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As you would expect from a Harley Benton guitar, the price tag on these is ridiculously accessible. Expect to pay £109/$140. They are available now direct from Thomann.

You will also need some batteries. Those effects need power. That’s why, around the back of the instrument, there is a cavity that takes a trio of AAA batteries. You should get approximately 10 hours of playing time from fully charged batteries, and there is an LED display to alert you to their health.

There is an on/off switch for the active electronics, a five-way pickup selector switch, master tone and master volume controls, and another dial for selecting the aforementioned five core tones. Easy.

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Elsewhere, well, it’s electric guitar business as usual. We have a poplar body, a bolt-on maple neck, shaped into a Modern C. The fingerboard is roseacer, which looks a little like rosewood but is actually thermally treated maple, and it has a 12” radius, seating 22 frets.

Other key details include the 25.5” scale length, the 42mm nut width, and there’s a synchronised tremolo system too.

Harley Benton is offering the ST-JAMster in Sparkling Candy Apple Red and Metallic Deep Silver, both of which ship with black hardware and black pickguard. For more pics and details, head over to Harley Benton. You can grab one from Thomann.