Harley Benton ST-80FR ESB

Harley Benton ST-80FR ESB review

The Harley Benton ST-80FR ESB is a solid-body electric guitar with a single bridge humbucker and a Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo. Its listed price is 275, and the supplied specifications give a clear picture of its materials and hardware. There are no customer reviews available, so this assessment is limited to those specifications. It does not make claims about tone, tuning stability, setup quality, or how the guitar feels in use.

The body is American basswood, finished in Emerald Sparkle Burst with a high-gloss surface. Harley Benton describes the body shape as ergonomic, but the available information does not give its dimensions or provide further details about its contours. There is no separate top layer. Black nickel-plated hardware provides a consistent dark finish against the sparkle color.

Neck and fingerboard

The bolt-on neck is made from roasted Canadian flamed maple. Its asymmetric C profile is specified at 20.5 mm thick at the first fret and 23.5 mm at the 22nd fret. These measurements describe a neck that becomes thicker toward the body, though they do not establish whether that profile will suit a particular player. A double-action truss rod, adjusted with a wheel, is included.

The rosewood fingerboard has rolled edges and a compound radius that changes from 305 mm (12 inches) near the nut to 406 mm (16 inches) farther along the neck. The specification also mentions right-angled, rounded fingerboard edges, a detail that appears alongside the rolled-edge description. Dot inlays mark the fret positions, while glow-in-the-dark side markers are intended to remain visible in low light. Their visibility in actual playing conditions cannot be confirmed from the listed data.

The guitar has 22 stainless-steel medium-jumbo frets, each listed as 2.9 mm wide, with rolled edges. Stainless steel identifies the fret material, but there is no information about fret height, fretwork tolerances, or the condition of an individual instrument. The 42 mm nut width and 648 mm (25.5-inch) scale place the neck dimensions in familiar territory for many electric-guitar players.

Pickup, controls, and bridge

A Tesla Plasma-X1b Alnico V humbucker sits in the bridge position. The specifications identify one pickup, one volume control, and no additional tone control or pickup selector. That makes the control layout straightforward on paper. The single-pickup design also means the listed configuration does not offer the neck-pickup options found on many two-pickup guitars. The data does not include output measurements, wiring details, or sound samples, so tonal descriptions would be speculation.

The bridge is a Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo. This is a locking-style tremolo system, but the listing does not specify the nut hardware, setup, or included tools. Players considering a floating tremolo should account for the setup and string-changing process that can come with this type of bridge. The installed strings are Elixir coated strings in a.010 to.046 set, giving a useful reference for the supplied gauge, but not a guarantee of how the guitar will be set up when received.

Jinho J-02 tuning machines have a 15:1 ratio and an HB logo. The listed hardware finish is black nickel. No locking-tuner feature is specified, so it should not be assumed. The combination of these tuners and the Floyd Rose bridge is part of the hardware package, while the actual tuning behavior depends on setup and condition.

What the specifications tell you

The ST-80FR ESB emphasizes a roasted flamed maple neck, stainless-steel frets, a compound-radius fingerboard, and a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge. These are concrete equipment details, not proof of a particular playing feel or level of performance. The ergonomic body description is also manufacturer-provided, with no supporting measurements in the supplied information.

At the listed price of 275, the specification sheet makes this a feature-focused option for shoppers seeking a single-humbucker guitar with a locking tremolo. Before buying, confirm the current price, availability, and setup details with the retailer. The product information lists availability beginning in March 2026 and identifies the item as number 594806. It is sold as one guitar, with neither a bag nor a case included.

Bottom line: The Harley Benton ST-80FR ESB has a clearly defined hardware package and distinctive Emerald Sparkle Burst finish. Its listed features can help narrow a buying decision, but there is no customer feedback here to verify playability or reliability. Buyers should treat the specifications as a starting point and check setup, accessories, and return terms before placing an order.