Harley Benton ST-80FR MN Lime Sparkle

Harley Benton ST-80FR MN Lime Sparkle review

The ST-80FR MN Lime Sparkle is a straightforward rock guitar with a feature set aimed at fast playing and heavy use of the vibrato. It has a basswood body, a roasted flamed maple neck, a roasted maple fingerboard and a single Tesla Plasma-X1b Alnico V humbucker. The 648 mm scale, 22 stainless steel frets and Floyd Rose 1000 bridge put it firmly in the superstrat and hard-rock lane.

At a listed price of 284, it offers a substantial set of playing features for the money. The finish and setup reports are encouraging, though owner experiences with individual instruments and the bridge are not uniform. That distinction matters: the guitar has an appealing specification, but quality control and setup should still be checked on the particular example you receive.

Build, finish and neck

The high-gloss Lime Sparkle finish is darker than the name might suggest. One owner expected a brighter, color-shifting lime green, but described the delivered guitar as nearly black with green sparkle. They liked the appearance despite the mismatch with their expectation. The body is listed as linden, also known as basswood, and there is no separate top.

Reports on fit and finish range from excellent to less consistent. Several owners praised the rounded fret ends and clean workmanship, with one describing the guitar as ready to play straight out of the box. Another found small finish flaws, including marks beneath the gloss and a short crack near the neck pocket. A separate buyer returned an instrument with scratches and a poorly cut bridge recess, then received a replacement. These are individual reports, not evidence that every guitar has the same problems, but inspecting the finish and bridge area is sensible.

The roasted flamed maple neck has an asymmetrical C profile, measuring 20.5 mm at the first fret and 23.5 mm at the 22nd. Its rounded fingerboard edges, dot inlays and fluorescent side markers give it a practical, modern layout. The compound fingerboard radius runs from 305 to 406 mm, or 12 to 16 inches. The neck joint is shaped for easier access to the upper frets, and an adjustment wheel at the heel gives access to the double-action truss rod.

Players who like a slim neck may find this profile fuller than expected. One owner specifically found it too thick for a guitar in this style, while another praised how comfortable it felt. Fretwork feedback is similarly positive overall, but not universal: one report noted a high fret that needed correction, while others found no sharp or uneven fret ends. The stainless steel frets are medium jumbo size, 2.9 mm wide, and have rounded edges.

Sound and controls

The control layout is deliberately simple: one volume knob and one bridge humbucker. The Tesla Plasma-X1b uses an Alnico V magnet. Owners describe its sound as thick, warm and suited to rock, hard rock and metal. One player found it bass-heavy and somewhat muddy, then replaced it with a different pickup. Another felt the stock pickup suited the guitar well. There is no neck pickup or tone control to broaden the available sounds, so players seeking clean, bright funk or jazz tones may prefer a different configuration.

With just one pickup and one volume control, the ST-80FR keeps adjustments uncomplicated. That suits its focused character, but leaves less room to shape the tone from the guitar itself. The factory strings are coated.010,.046 strings, a standard medium-light set for a 25.5-inch scale.

Floyd Rose performance and setup

The Floyd Rose 1000 is a central part of the design, and reports on tuning stability differ. Some owners said the bridge worked well and returned to pitch after use. Others found that pulling the pitch sharply upward could leave a string slightly sharp, or that the guitar did not reliably return to pitch. One player reported that the issue was most noticeable on the low E string. Another replaced the bridge and related hardware and was happier with the result.

Those experiences do not establish that every unit will behave the same way. A floating bridge is sensitive to setup, string condition and how it is used, so check tuning after both downward and upward pitch changes. Also test the guitar across the full fingerboard. One owner lowered the high E string to 1.2 mm at the 12th fret without buzz or choking during bends, while another reported that the low E string slipped off the edge of the fingerboard above the 12th fret. That makes an upper-fret play test worthwhile.

Verdict

The ST-80FR MN Lime Sparkle offers an unusually compelling playing specification at its listed price: roasted maple, a compound-radius fingerboard, rounded stainless steel frets and a Floyd Rose 1000. Owners who received well-finished examples describe a comfortable, stage-ready guitar with a confident rock voice. The main cautions are variation in finish and fret setup, a neck that may feel substantial, and mixed feedback on tuning stability. Check the specific instrument carefully, especially the upper frets and tremolo return, and the ST-80FR could be a strong value for a player after a focused hard-rock guitar.