NAMM 2025: Harley Benton, the Thomann-owned budget gear firm, has released an all-new twin humbucker S-style electric guitar that looks to take a leaf, or maybe two, out of Tom DeLonge’s signature guitar book.
Fender and the Blink-182 guitarist revived the highly sought-after Fender Tom DeLonge signature Stratocaster in 2023, which preceded another sterling signature in the Starcaster. Both have been roaring successes.
Noting that, and following the success of its sub $400 HHS Strats, which dropped last June, Harley Benton is reprising that formula with the brand new pickup configuration and some Blink-and-you-definitely-won’t-miss-it aesthetics.
DeLonge's signature Stratocaster famously features a distinctive single Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge, so Harley Benton's twin offering is a clear differentiator, but otherwise, the the looks is very similar, even if the price tag most certainly is not.
The write-up even offers a cheeky to nod towards DeLonge’s To The Stars initiative.
“By no means is the instrument a one-trick pony,” says Harley Benton. “The master volume and tone controls, along with the option to split the pickups makes the ST-Modern Plus HH not only a musically diverse guitar, but ‘otherworldly’!”
In the place of the Duncan, the guitar’s twin Tesla CROW-i6 ferrite pickups are primed for “brutal riffs,” but with the versatility to make them suitable musical weapons for genres beyond heaviness alone, with coil-splitting functionality and, unlike classic Strats, a singular Tone knob.
Tesla describes the humbuckers as packing a “bright, aggressive, and cutting tone,” hinging off a ceramic magnet design. Elsewhere, many of the premium features of its HSS sibling remain. There are 22 stainless steel frets, bolt-on Canadian flame maple necks, ergonomic body contours, and rounded edges aplenty.
American alder bodies, rather than their cheaper poplar alternatives, stand out from the spec sheet, as do its glow-in-the-dark side dots – a feature often rarely seen on affordable guitars.
The guitars are built with 12"-16" radius laurel fretboards, and hardware choices are seen out by a Babicz FCH Z fixed hardtail string-thru body bridge and locking tuners. Both get chrome finishes.
They also boast three-ply pearloid pickguards for extra DeLonge-isms. Five finishes, Silver Sparkle, Yellow, Black, Daphne Blue, Seafoam Green are available, with a left-handed model also offered in Seafoam Green.
At the time of writing, there is no price specified for the ST-Modern Plus HH Series, but with its HSS alternatives available for under $400, it would be safe to expect a similar price tag.
Visit Harley Benton for more.
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