“The same professional versatility and playability as its PLUS counterpart but without all the fancy aesthetics”: Harley Benton rolls out a hot-rodded S-style for under $200 with the all-new ST-Modern HSS

Harley Benton has trumped itself in rolling out an even more budget friendly version of its HSS S-style electric guitar, and yet even still, the all-new ST-Modern HSS is built for high-performance and manages to look as though there’s a bit of luxury about it.

That’s because there is. This is the “no frills” variant of the ST-Modern HSS PLUS and it offers plenty of change from 200 bucks. But we still have figured maple veneered options in Flame Bengal and Flame Blue Burst, which when combined with the pearloid pickguards, binding on the body’s top, makes for a very handsome looking instrument.

Not to mention Harley Benton has used roasted maple for the bolt-on necks, giving it that fresh out of the California hotrod shop vibe. Looks only take you so far in this life, however, and what we’re really focused on here is the performance. The ST-Modern HSS PLUS comes with a 12” to 16” compound radius fingerboard as standard, which will be comprised of roasted maple or laurel depending on which finish option you choose.

You will find roasted Canadian maple on the Shell Pink, Olympic White and Flame Bengal Burst models, with laurel on Seafoam Green, Lake Placid Blue, Black and Flame Blue Burst. Those finish options are bang on the money; there’s something for everyone here, Fender classicist and aspiring boutique guitar influencer alike.

Upper-fret access is enhanced by tidily sculpted neck heel – particularly on those flame maple veneered models – and a generously contoured lower cutaway that makes more space for your fretting hand.

At this price we don’t get a Floyd Rose licensed vibrato but then, for beginners, that’s probably a good thing; less time setting up the instrument and more time playing. This is a Harley Benton guitar that's designed for fuss-free playing.

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What we do have is a Sung-Il BS-213 synchronized deluxe tremolo to workshop your whammy bar technique, and a lot of different tones to play with, with the HSS (humbucker/single-coil/single-coil) electric guitar pickup configuration offering one of the most versatile playing experiences you will find.

You will find a HBZ Custom Wound VTH Alnico V humbucker at the bridge, and a pair of HBZ Custom Wound VT-M single-coils at the neck and middle positions, and there is a five-way blade switch to select them.

With these, and in the mixed positions between the two, you should find plenty of tones that’ll work for blues, pop, country, funk and different shades of rock ’n’ roll, while the full-fat humbucker at the bridge should have enough muscle for blues-rock, rock and metal.

But there’s more. A push-pull coil-split means that you can have that single-coil snappiness at the bridge position.

All share a similar poplar body build. Necks are bolted to the body and have a D profile. Sung-Il makes the tuners. And there are left-handed options available. Browse the range at Harley Benton and go buy one at Thomann or Reverb for USA orders.