harley benton pb50, can it really be as good as the reviews?

[Donnyboy]

Fail. Must try harder!

[jezzaboy]

Hey Donny. If you are fitting the Fender copy Wilkinson tuners, you might have to file the plates down a bit on a couple of them. I had to do this to the last 2 on mine.

[Donnyboy]

Thanks I'll bear that in mind. Just had a plonk with the band with it. It sounds just fine as it is.

[fishfry]

I got a hb jazz bass. It plays lovely but I took it out on a gig and found it almost useless.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 24, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[kodiakblair]

And why comment on a Jazz bass when the PB-50 is the topic ?

My two here, fretboard is starting to age on the left hand one, right hand has a lovely almost roast maple grain.
[attachment=238723:PB 50s (2).jpg]

[fishfry]

Um, other people have talked about different HB instruments on here, that's why. Even the OP was talking about a HB cab.


On the gig, the bass was completely lost in the mix.

Edited February 22, 2017 by fishfry

[kodiakblair]

Sorry to about that fishfry.I was out of order there.

You played a gig and nobody could hear you. I'd be pissed off too. What did the sound guy say was up ?

[Naetharu]

[quote name='ribbetingfrog' timestamp='1455963525' post='2983961']
I bought a harley benton guitar cab in January and am pleasantly surprised how good it is.
had a curious look at their basses on the off chance and found this:

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm?sid=016035ddb050f26c0494fe6c3d21f5e0Hought"]http://www.thomann.d...c3d21f5e0Hought[/url]

It seems to review really well, Wilkinson pickup, all for £86 delivered.

My first thought is it must be awful for that price but the reviews are full of people saying otherwise, and some basschatters seem to like Harley Benton stuff.

I play a Warwick Vampyre atm but fancy a backup that is a different style but not got a lot of cash to splash.

So, can it really be a half decent bass for £86?

opinions please!
[/quote]

I don't have the PB but I do have two Harley Benton basses.

One is a cheap six-string that to be honest I am not very impressed with. Poor quality hardware, scale too short to be playable and serious issues with the fret-work. However, the other is a Jazz Bass from the same line as the PB you mentioned above, and that one is rather nice.

There are some issues with it:
[list]
[*]The pick-guard is very cheap, made from a soft gummy plastic
[*]The pick-ups are very low output and lack brightness. Fine for vintage stuff but forget slapping etc.
[*]There are a few minor blemishes on the finish - nothing major.
[/list]
Of these, the only real issue I would say are the pick-ups. They're pretty nasty. I'd certainly not want to be playing in a band-situation with them as they are. They just sound very dull and quiet. And the pots are equally cheap and useless; they kind that are pretty much rotating on/off switches rather than a means of blending in different sounds.

However, the bass it self is very nice. The bridge and tuners seem to be decent, it holds tune and intonation fine and I was able to get a good action on it with no trouble. The fret-work is perfectly acceptable. Not perfect but no different to what you would expect on any guitar/bass that has not been hand-finished. It is a bit on the heavy side. I don't know the numbers, but it certainly weighs a lot more than my main bass. I guess the woods are cheaper cuts?

If you're just looking for an affordable bass for a bit of fun you could do a lot worse. If you're after something you'll gig/jam with you might want to think about aftermarket pick-ups and compare the price of the bass and them with something like a Squire?

[kodiakblair]

There's 2 Jazz basses. JB-20 at £80 with no-name pickups and hardware and the £120 JB-75 with the Wilkinson pickups.

JB-75's are heavy, 11-12lb is average but I know an older player who gigs his all the time. He swears by the fretless JB-40 too.

Wonder if you folks were playing the 20 ?

[fishfry]

JB-75. I'd agree with the description of the pots made in the previous post. Neck felt nice though, and neck pocket was tight. Frets were a bit sharp. I put my gig experience down to the weak pickups. I have to say though, as a bass to be played around the house, it was a fun buy for 40 quid.

[kodiakblair]

£40 ? £40 is the price of JB-75 dekos I.e " unplayable,for decoration only " and I'd take sharp frets as a given.

Far as taking one on a gig I'm saying nothing.

[Naetharu]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487777370' post='3242775']
There's 2 Jazz basses. JB-20 at £80 with no-name pickups and hardware and the £120 JB-75 with the Wilkinson pickups.

JB-75's are heavy, 11-12lb is average but I know an older player who gigs his all the time. He swears by the fretless JB-40 too.

Wonder if you folks were playing the 20 ?
[/quote]

Mine is a JB-75. You are right, the pick-ups are Wilkinson. I honestly didn't know that was a brand as such rather than just one of Thomman's own 'brands' like Harley Benton. Either way they're not very nice.

Just too low output and dull sounding for a jazz bass. There's no bite even with a new set of bright round-wounds on them. I don't mind it at all, but then I play my main bass with tape-wound nylons and so prefer a mellow sound. But do be warned that there is night and day between the Wilkinson's on the JB-75 and the sound of my old squire with the designed by Duncan pickups.

That really is the only issue I would have with the bass though; I'd certainty be changing them right away if I was wanting to gig with it, but aside from that it's a nice bass for the money.

[kodiakblair]

"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] the pick-ups are Wilkinson. I honestly didn't know that was a brand"[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]And there's poor Trev been designing guitar hardware for at least the last 35 year [/font][/color]

[Harryburke14]

the thing with the JB75s is that Andyjr1515 can do a magic trick with them and make them incredible.

[Naetharu]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487854681' post='3243544']
"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] the pick-ups are Wilkinson. I honestly didn't know that was a brand"[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]And there's poor Trev been designing guitar hardware for at least the last 35 year [/font][/color]
[/quote]

Well I'm not really a gear person to be honest - I learnt a bit when I was in the market for basses but now I have what I want and need I tend to re-purpose that part of my memory

Alas, branded or not I am not impressed with the Wilkinson pickups. They just are very low output and sound dull compared to all three other basses I have owned (one with Delano active pick-ups, one with the Squire 'Duncan Designed' p-bass and one with the Ibanez own brand soap-bars).

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 28, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[kodiakblair]

Naetharu

If you're not impressed well then you're not impressed. These lads seem to be impressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVL9TzEFiyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C60_fdAX_N8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUtP0P0ZWP4

Bit more relevant. Here's my pal Claudio A/Bing his PB-50 with the Wilkinson and then Seymour Duncan.

https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/wilkinson-pickup
https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/seymour-duncan-pickup

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='fishfry' timestamp='1487698744' post='3241969']
I got a hb jazz bass. It plays lovely but I took it out on a gig and found it almost useless.
[/quote]

I have that problem with all Jazz basses, never found one I like in a mix yet (except my mate's CMI, and he's not selling)

[Naetharu]

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1487941669' post='3244387']
Naetharu

If you're not impressed well then you're not impressed. These lads seem to be impressed.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVL9TzEFiyE"]https://www.youtube....h?v=aVL9TzEFiyE[/url]
[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C60_fdAX_N8"]https://www.youtube....h?v=C60_fdAX_N8[/url]
[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUtP0P0ZWP4"]https://www.youtube....h?v=NUtP0P0ZWP4[/url]

Bit more relevant. Here's my pal Claudio A/Bing his PB-50 with the Wilkinson and then Seymour Duncan.

[url="https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/wilkinson-pickup"]https://soundcloud.c...ilkinson-pickup[/url]
[url="https://soundcloud.com/subdude67/seymour-duncan-pickup"]https://soundcloud.c...r-duncan-pickup[/url]
[/quote]

I'm wondering now if the issue lies with the pots/other electronics rather than the pick-ups themselves. There is no doubt that the pots are very cheap, and I would imagine that nasty or incorrect impedance pots could ruin the sound...

I may just have a look into that this weekend - perhaps I'll make a quick before/after post if it works out...

[kodiakblair]

Pickup heights will have a lot to do with it too.

Too high they'll choke the strings but too low and they lose signal.

Why's nothing ever simple

[BrunoBass]

I’ve just ordered one of these tonight. I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while. I’ve sold some minor bits and bobs on eBay recently so I had a few quid sloshing around my PayPal account and thought ‘let’s do it’.

I’ve never played a Harley Benton, but I’m continually amazed by how good my J&D ‘70s Jazz Bass is for a shade over a ton, so my expectations for the HB are high.

I’ve a few minor modifications in mind, but I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like. 

[Freud_Chicken123]

I have just bought one, I can safely say YES!!!! Here's a short demo of mine: 

 

Incredible sound, honestly I can't tell it apart from a Fender 51 reissue P (10x the price). Mine came in great shape, no sticking out frets, neck pocket is WAY tighter than my American Vintage 62 P. Neck is nice, quite thick front to back but nothing ridiculous. No fret problems whatsoever. Truss rod works great. Tuners are fine, nice and tight which I like. Keeps its tuning as well as any bass i've owned. Tone and volume controls work great with great smooth range, no 'On or Off' feeling like with many cheaper basses and no crackling. Pickup sounds great, nice and clean. Only tiny thing was the A string lacked punch because of a shallow break angle, but installing a string retainer for like £3 totally fixed that. Bridge works fine, i would prefer threaded saddles to fiddle with string position but the bridge has been perfectly installed so i wouldnt want to move the strings from where they are anyway. 

I bought it as a bass to bring to jams, mates houses, festivals etc. but i am honestly preferring the sound to my American Vintage. 100% recommended

 

[stewblack]

1 hour ago, Freud_Chicken123 said:

I have just bought one, I can safely say YES!!!! Here's a short demo of mine: 

 

Incredible sound, honestly I can't tell it apart from a Fender 51 reissue P (10x the price). Mine came in great shape, no sticking out frets, neck pocket is WAY tighter than my American Vintage 62 P. Neck is nice, quite thick front to back but nothing ridiculous. No fret problems whatsoever. Truss rod works great. Tuners are fine, nice and tight which I like. Keeps its tuning as well as any bass i've owned. Tone and volume controls work great with great smooth range, no 'On or Off' feeling like with many cheaper basses and no crackling. Pickup sounds great, nice and clean. Only tiny thing was the A string lacked punch because of a shallow break angle, but installing a string retainer for like £3 totally fixed that. Bridge works fine, i would prefer threaded saddles to fiddle with string position but the bridge has been perfectly installed so i wouldnt want to move the strings from where they are anyway. 

I bought it as a bass to bring to jams, mates houses, festivals etc. but i am honestly preferring the sound to my American Vintage. 100% recommended

 

Good to hear. I would not hesitate to gig and record with any if my HB basses. They're not good basses 'for the price' they're just good basses. 

[stewblack]

Oh and @Freud_Chicken123,  lovely bass playing too.