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


ribbetingfrog
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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:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm?sid=016035ddb050f26c0494fe6c3d21f5e0Hought

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 bbasschatters 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!

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Yes - and if you don't like it you can send it back for a full refund. This will allow one of us to buy it as a deko for £20.

Seriously though, I bought a Harley Benton 5 string progressive Deko and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Can't comment on the pb50 but I really like the looks. Well worth a risk-free punt.

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Had mine a couple of years now and absolutely love it,so much so I got another 2.

1st one sports Status Hot Wire nylon,plays and sounds fantastic. 2nd went to a friend for his 40th,he went for Chromes. 3rd I fancied a Tele look but ended using a Peavey
ferrite instead. Another fella bought Thunderbird's one with a Duncan in it but after I sent him my spare Wilkinson he went with that,same tone as the SD but it's louder.

Plenty of basses here but that PB-50 probably sees more use than the others.Best £70 I spent in years :)

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Having never played an SX or Westfield I couldn't say but I have owned 10 Harley Bentons :) The basic PB-20 I preferred to the Squier Affiniity P-bass,it has a Poplar body
same as some of my Peaveys. Young lad at Stirling Uni uses it now on his symphonic metal recording tuned BEAD. BZ-4000-NT which is the top tier series was another good bass,
build quality and features were fantastic, JB-75 is a nice jazz bass,HB-60 performed like my last semi hollow.

Honestly I've yet to play a bad HB bass, no complaints on the RB-414 itself but the Ric inspired design wasn't for me.

The reason they're so affordable is not so much cost cutting but lower profit margins + high volumes of sales. Thomann buy direct so there's no middle man adding his costs,no sales reps or
advertising.

A friend of mine set up a Harley Benton forum,plenty satisfied owners there an I'm sure 1 or 2 will have had Westfields or SX's. Here's the link if you fancy checking it out.

http://theharleybentonclub.proboards.com/

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I'm very very tempted by the JB-75. I've been toying with getting a back up/2nd jazz or p bass and was looking at old Squiers. These HB's are cheaper...as for quality, from what I've seen and heard, the HB's seem very good indeed.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1456084696' post='2985274']
I've got one, easily the equal of a squier or similar. Proper chunky neck though.
[/quote]

I assume you mean from front to back rather than nut width. Is that on the JB-75 or the PB50?

Edited by Marvin
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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1456085424' post='2985284']
I'm very very tempted by the JB-75. I've been toying with getting a back up/2nd jazz or p bass and was looking at old Squiers. These HB's are cheaper...as for quality, from what I've seen and heard, the HB's seem very good indeed.



I assume you mean from front to back rather than nut width. Is that on the JB-75 or the PB50?
[/quote]

Front to back. It's a pb50.

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Havent got a PB 50 but have a PB 20 and a JB 20, both the standard series models. These are seriously good value for money basses - really nicely put together, nice finish on them and really good necks on my two. Perfect for upgrading on the standard series models but with the PB 50 you already have a decent Wilkinson pickup in so you are good to go straight out the box. You really cant go wrong for the money in my view.

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I just got my PB 50 today.

Only bad points:
It needed a set up, slight tweak to the truss rod and lowering the action.
The tone knob is slightly bent, but only slightly.
Had to unscrew the thumbrest to remove to protective coating from the pick guard.

Otherwise, awesome!

Perfect finish, great Wilkinson pickup with plenty of character.
The bridge is better than the MIM fender I used to own. More chunky.
Tuners can't be faulted.
Plays great.
The d'addario strings are fantastic. I love the bright sound, accentuates the attack when I play with a pick. Perfect for the rock covers I play in my band.

I'm looking forward to a beautiful relationship.

Crazy how good a guitar can be for £76!

Edited by ribbetingfrog
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Have to say it's crazy waiting on a deko,which could be knackered, when the full price with warranty is so affordable.

I did buy a deko one but that was just to rob the body,made an arse of a pickup rout on one. Only fault was a dodgy tooth on a tuner.
Gave it to a friend,my other 2 PB-50s see plenty of use.

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I got mine last Friday. Just had to lift the bridge a couple of turns and it was good to go. As above the tuners are fine but I`m not sure about the sound of the single coil pickup. I was going to replace it with a MM pickup I have but to get this done would cost as much as the bass so that is out the window the now.

The guitarist with the £3K Les Paul was impressed with the sound, especially when he found out the price!

I have since replaced the tuners, bridge, knobs and screws with all black hardware and it looks the biz. I changed the parts as I had them lying about not because the original hardware wasn`t up to the job.

Is it worth the money? Well I have owned several Squiers that cost 3 times as much and this is as good as them.

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Single coil and brand new strings combo sounded a bit bright for me so swapped strings for Hot Wire tapes,that solved it.

The Wilkinson itself is a decent pickup,friend in Kenya bought BC'er Thunderbird's PB-50 with a Duncan in it and after I sacked the idea of a 2nd 50 with a toaster,went with Peavey
Ferrite, I sent him the spare Wilkinson.He was a bit deflated when he A/B'd them as the Wilkinson sounded the same as the mighty SD he'd heard so much about,it was louder too :lol:

Interesting idea going with the MM jezzaboy,be great to hear your thoughts if you get around to it.

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[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1456777787' post='2992240'] I got mine last Friday. Just had to lift the bridge a couple of turns and it was good to go. As above the tuners are fine but I`m not sure about the sound of the single coil pickup. I was going to replace it with a MM pickup I have but to get this done would cost as much as the bass so that is out the window the now. The guitarist with the £3K Les Paul was impressed with the sound, especially when he found out the price! I have since replaced the tuners, bridge, knobs and screws with all black hardware and it looks the biz. I changed the parts as I had them lying about not because the original hardware wasn`t up to the job. Is it worth the money? Well I have owned several Squiers that cost 3 times as much and this is as good as them. [/quote]

Have you got a picture of it with the black hardware? I've got a PB-50 coming on order, black hardware is one my options for personalising it a bit, so would be great to see yours.

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Here is a few pics. I had to spray paint the control plate with enamel paint, stuck on the Motorhead sticker as there is a big gap and in the future, I will get a custom transfer for the headstock. Sorry about the quality of the photos.

Re the MM pickup, if I am flush at some point, I will get it done by someone who knows how to use a router :ph34r:


[attachment=213756:SAM_0882.JPG]

[attachment=213757:SAM_0883.JPG]

[attachment=213758:SAM_0885.JPG]

Edited by jezzaboy
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[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1456949292' post='2993985']
Here is a few pics. I had to spray paint the control plate with enamel paint, stuck on the Motorhead sticker as there is a big gap and in the future, I will get a custom transfer for the headstock. Sorry about the quality of the photos.

Re the MM pickup, if I am flush at some point, I will get it done by someone who knows how to use a router :ph34r:
[/quote]

Thanks for posting those pics, looks badass with the black hardware. Tempted to go for a similar look. I'm planning on reshaping the headstock tele style and taking the neck back to bare wood and refinishing in Tru OIl and wax - so it feels a little like my stingray. I have a SD SCPB2 to go in it as well, but will have to see how the original sounds first. I'll probably keep it stock for a little while to just to get the setup right.

Very tempted by that black hardware.

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[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1456955845' post='2994092']
With photos getting posted,might as well put mine up :)

On the left with the Peavey SF and right with the nylons.,it also has an aged look to the fretboard.

[attachment=213778:PB 50s (2).jpg]
[/quote]

Nice! It's that aged look natural?

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