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Harley Benton PB20 mini review


hooky_lowdown
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Wanted a cheap precision to mess about with at home, and read lots of good things about HB basses, so pulled the trigger on the cheapest full size P bass money can buy. And the reviews are not wrong, so thought I would share my thoughts on my new PB20.

Overall its a really nice bass. It came nicely set up out of the box, D and G strings perfectly intonated, only needed slight tweaks to E and A saddles. Frets are all good, though nut is a bit rough, and needs a light sanding to smooth off. Neck has a slight bit of relief as it should, feels good and is nice to play, I fitted a new set of Fender flatwounds - 9050M (0.55 -.105) as a change to my normal go to strings of D'Addario flats. I had planned on changing the pickups, but when testing it out, I raised the pickup height slightly closer to the strings, and it sounds really good stock, lots of thump, full and round tone, so will keep them as they are. Added a thumb rest for aesthetic reasons and it's done.

I've owned many MIM Fender P basses over the years and this sounds and plays as good, if not slightly better than all of them. For the money, its an amazing bass. I don't intend to gig with it, but if I was, then the only upgrades I would make would be the bridge and tuners, both feel and look cheap, especially the tuners, but for my needs they are fine.

For just over £100, including flatwounds and thumb rest, it's a good precision bass. It won't compete with high end P basses, but is as good as anything I've played sub £400.


[attachment=246963:Harley-Benton-PB20.jpg]

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  • 3 weeks later...

[quote name='hooky_lowdown' timestamp='1498478329' post='3324836']
Where did you get the tort pickguard from, is it a direct fit?
[/quote]

It is this Harley Benton one: [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_cc_pb_tt_pickguard_pstyle.htm"]https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_cc_pb_tt_pickguard_pstyle.htm[/url]

One screw hole doesn't line up at all. The rest were close enough.

The pickup cut-out was slightly too tight for the pickup to fit through, so I had to widen it a bit with a file.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

UPDATE: I decided to change the pickguard (purely aesthetic reasons) on my HB pb20 and it strangely improved the sound.

I brought a cheap aftermarket 3 ply pickguard on ebay, just $10 (£8.32) inc delivery from china (no less). I wasn't expecting the pickguard to be very good quality, however I was surprised when it arrived (took a week), as it was excellent quality. The pickup holes where a little small, had to file them a bit, using the original pickguard as a template. When I fitted the pickguard back onto the bass I had to force the pickups through the holes as they were a fraction of a millimeter too small, so the pickups are pressed tight against the pickguard. After I had tuned the strings I noticed the bass had much more sustain. Then when I plugged it into my small practice amp the bass sound bigger and "bassier" - is that a word? Also slightly darker as well. Not a bad thing, as it still sounds full and warm, just like a P bass should.

Who knew, cheap (stock) pickups and a cheap pickguard sounded so good.

Sidenote: I had to put a lock washer under the pickguard on both tone and volume pots, as both pots have little metal "ears" on one side only. Which fitted into little grooves in the original pickguard, but not on any replacement pickguards (must be a HB thing).



[quote name='hooky_lowdown' timestamp='1497000824' post='3315175']
Wanted a cheap precision to mess about with at home, and read lots of good things about HB basses, so pulled the trigger on the cheapest full size P bass money can buy. And the reviews are not wrong, so thought I would share my thoughts on my new PB20.

Overall its a really nice bass. It came nicely set up out of the box, D and G strings perfectly intonated, only needed slight tweaks to E and A saddles. Frets are all good, though nut is a bit rough, and needs a light sanding to smooth off. Neck has a slight bit of relief as it should, feels good and is nice to play, I fitted a new set of Fender flatwounds - 9050M (0.55 -.105) as a change to my normal go to strings of D'Addario flats. I had planned on changing the pickups, but when testing it out, I raised the pickup height slightly closer to the strings, and it sounds really good stock, lots of thump, full and round tone, so will keep them as they are. Added a thumb rest for aesthetic reasons and it's done.

I've owned many MIM Fender P basses over the years and this sounds and plays as good, if not slightly better than all of them. For the money, its an amazing bass. I don't intend to gig with it, but if I was, then the only upgrades I would make would be the bridge and tuners, both feel and look cheap, especially the tuners, but for my needs they are fine.

For just over £100, including flatwounds and thumb rest, it's a good precision bass. It won't compete with high end P basses, but is as good as anything I've played sub £400.


[attachment=246963:Harley-Benton-PB20.jpg]
[/quote]

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  • 4 weeks later...

Still enjoying this bass. Made a few tweaks since my original review - brown tortoise shell pickguard, gave it a light road worn look (thanks to my garden wall and the handle of a screwdriver), added white pearl inlay stickers (imported from Japan), filed down the nut by 1mm on all strings and lowered the saddles to 1mm high. Now has super low action, no fretbuzz, and plays a dream.

Edited by hooky_lowdown
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