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Harley Benton – Marquess 5: Quick Review This bass is good and at its price point it’s excellent value. Sound & electronics You immediately notice that the pups have considerable punch and that’s without being particularly close to the strings. Each pup has a separate volume control to allow you to use them individually or blend them to taste. Both pups deliver a very nice touch of growl. The neck pup is warm and full; the bridge more gnarly as expected and blended together they deliver a sweeter, slightly mid-scooped, tone. 2 band EQ. Bass set to ‘neutral’, or a very slight cut to tighten up the low end, is good; you certainly don’t want/need to be boosting the bass. The treble has a good range from vintage when rolled off to bright when maxed to deliver a slap ‘zing’, should it be required. Very slight high pitched whine from my rig when the treble is boosted - similar to what I get on some of my other basses e.g. Spector Euro 5LX, but completely disappears when set to ‘neutral’ or cut. It has no problems in belting out a meaty low B - entirely consistent with being a 35" scale bass. Comfort, design and playability The first thing I did was to weigh the Marquess because some HB 5ers have been known to weigh more than some minor planets, which would be a deal breaker for me. I had a good feeling about this one as it didn’t feel too heavy in the box and that was confirmed when it weighed in at just 4.2kg (9.2 lbs). Yaaay! The strings are 17mm spaced at the bridge which I’m very used to as it sits between my Ibby SR Premium at 16.5mm and Yamaha BB at 18mm and is, in fact, actually the same as my Spector Euro LX – but I appreciate that 17mm may be too narrow for some folk who prefer a 19mm spacing. The bass is comfortable to wear, but has a fair bit of neck dive which can sometimes be a feature, particularly of 5 string basses where the neck : body weight ratio is higher than on a 4 string due to the broader necks on a 5er. But when compared to my recently acquired BB 2005, which is a little heavier at 9.9lbs but which has almost zero neck dive, this is probably the Achilles heel of the HB for me. The bass was well set up straight out of the box with a very comfortable action and no noticeable fret buzz. The dusty end of the fretboard going up to the 24th fret is very accessible. Comparison This new bass reminds me of my Spector Legend Custom with its similar 2 band EQ set-up. I liked the Legend a lot and it gave me the confidence to upgrade to a Euro 5LX that I absolutely love. Except I prefer the Marquess to my former Spector Legend (which was a little too heavy for me and I ended up moving it on). The HB is both lighter and has punchier electronics; the Legend Custom’s EMGs always felt slightly anaemic, certainly in comparison to the pups on the HB Marquess. IMO, other than the neck dive issue on the 5 string, HB have delivered a very decent product particularly at the price point.

Project 1 completed: For me, only the 1000ma/3000ma have that sexy a_ss😄

Work out the average age of your target audience. For the sake of argument let's say it's 35. When would they have been 20? That would be 15 years ago = 2006 Go to one of the singles chart websites and look up the chart hits for a couple of years either side of 2006, so 2004-2008. Make a note of the big hits that fit the description 'female fronted / guitars'. There's your candidate song list.

This was my rig for tonight’s gig Tuner > big muff > q strip, into 2 x QSC k12.2s Amazing tone and volume

Aww, it's home at last! The screwholes even line up. Well - close enough for rock 'n roll.

Is the “b” button on your keyboard broke? 😬

So here's the finished bass! Need to order some card to use as a background and do a proper photoshoot with it at some point, but you get the idea! Took it to my wedding gigs at the weekend and it sounded lovely, cut through the mix properly, settings were all useful too- the bridge pickup is as Jaydee-like as the one in my Vox Standard bass, the neck pickup has the growl of a Fender P, but put it in parallel for the sound of a Mustang, and put the bridge in parallel for a Jazz bass approximation, together in series they're a growly as heck, etc etc... but then I would say it sounded good wouldn't I..? 🤣 (the XLR is actually wired in now, though I don't think I'll ever need it) Overall though I'm pleased that it looks like it's from the era I based it on; even with my ukulele shape I think it carries the vibe of those mad old Matsumoku gems. The oil finish helps- as it's not even and has a bit of an open-pore thing going on it feels like an old bass already, which isn't bad considering I finished it last Thursday! Neck is very skinny and combined with the short scale it's very easy to shred all over it. Looking forward to getting some proper photos and demos sorted! Meantime here's a couple of clips I threw together for instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTFmS9jjmCo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CTDREcND4gb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Thanks for reading! -Steve

Just bought an HB bass off Thomann (above the £135 limit that Alan mentions above). A couple of my BC mates have asked me whether there were any hidden costs in importing from Thomann? My experience is that they really seem to have got their shit sorted! I simply paid the all-in price quoted on their website and they dealt with all aspects of importation with no further costs e.g. customs handling charges etc. They used DHL to courier, who gave me a 1 hour delivery slot on the agreed day of delivery and arrived within the first 15 mins of that slot. Couldn't have been more straightforward.

On the kay/cort theme, the very kind mr Bassassin sent me the proper truss rod cover, which looks so cool, I’ve just got to get a few small brass screws from work, here’s a quick pic 🙂

That picture definitely makes it look like the head is twisted clockwise to the body, but it could equally just be the picture. [Cheesey American radio host voice] In other news on KBRC (Kay bass restoration channel), I've scraped out the pickup routes on mine. Luckily the glue and paint is so old it just broke up with scraping with a sharp chisel. I was going to run a router around them but they're clean enough now not to worry really. Just need to give the whole thing a good sand down and lacquer it. Though about oiling it but I do like a nice shiny bass. Still considering dyeing the wings red or dark brown before lacquering.

With black curtains near the station 🤯😁

Quick update- We've got our own Track And Trace QR code. Although none of us have got any obligation to use it, I would very much encourage and reccomend it. If we can prove to the venue that we can be responsible with covid precautions- it might bode well for the future. This year may well turn out as a smaller event than last time (no guest speakers, fewer commercial exhibitors, etc) but the venue is cheap and there is still a pandemic on. Gear-sharing and clothes remain optional and down to individuals. Oh, and bring cake.

Me with some stupid warbling idiot,err I mean our vocalist

Just been having another look at the pics of this one - might be the angle but that does look like the neck might have a pretty serious twist. As it happens, mine had a mild twist, not enough to affect playability, but this looks like it could be quite severe. Would recommend anyone considering bidding on this should try & get a look at it first. Unless it stays at £25, of course.

At our saturday gig, it was a pub that isn't often that busy but it was heaving. I commented on it and she said, "You could be the sh*test band in the world and people would still come, we are so desparate for music" so I said, "Excelent, we are your band!". They seemed to love it anyway!

This weekend I played my last two public gigs with the soul band (work and family life pressures mean that the gigging has to stop for a bit ☹️) Sunday the five piece played the New Inn, Amesbury and that was a fun gig. Bit strange being put into a cubby hole corner of the pub but it was probably the best place to set up in the bar. The band played great as usual 😎, seems a shame to leave when we're so slick right now. Early on some young drunk wanted to play drums (is there always a drunk drummer or singer at pub gigs?) Monday night we played the Bridge Inn, Upper Woodford (not far from Sting's lil' country mansion). This was their inaugural weekend of live music in the beautiful setting of the green opposite the pub. This is a rural location next to the river and just tractors, pick up trucks and 4x4s driving past the pub! For this gig we had the horns so there was 8 of us and the band sounds effing awesome once you add brass (plus they are so funny, horn humour!). The night was great, the sound on stage was superb, the crowd were fantastic (we always get people up dancing). I could hear my little Barefaced cab stack so clearly so when my fingers were feeling sore I could reign it in a bit. I'm a player who ' digs in' but with 36 soul and funk tunes to play, that's gonna hurt! One more gig to go but this one was quite emotional for me, last with the horns and Chris on guitar (he's the new bass player but can't play the next gig)... I kept it together well, got a big hug from Dave the drummer, we've been locked together tight on stage since he joined, the perfect drummer for me. Sorry for the long, rambling post but I'm gonna miss playing the best basslines ever with the bestest bunch of musicians I've ever played with 😭

Well, some feedback on the mesa - its awesome! Arrived friday and had a baptism of fire yesterday at a local festival Glaston-bury where all the pubs in Bury town centre have a rolling roster of bands. We were told last week a bass cab would be supplied but i needed to bring a head as such i thought best leaving the SVT at home, probability suggested it would be an 8ohm cab. Got to the venue yesterday and my heart sank a little, the cab was an old Ashdown MAG 2x10 lay on its side for vertical speakers - i do love ashdown heads but never got on with their cabs. To add further frustration teh sound guy DI'd our keys, mic'd the kit and the two other guitars and was going ''to rely on brute strength'' for the bass - what a sound! It obviously sounded bass heavy on stage but there was a huge rumbly growl to the sound without ever being uncontrollable or boomy. A real FAT gutsy growl with my flats loaded P bass. Got huge compliments from punters and seeing videos back the sound out front was great (if not a little keys heavy). Miles lighter than an SVT without being class D, great valvey growl and plenty of headroom and volume to spare. Im definitely in love!

Walrus Audio Slarp inserted into the board pre gain! A idea that sounds great! Verb into gain into verb sounds really cool can’t wait to try it with the band!

Still planning on being there unless my new job throws a spanner in the works Valenti Jazz, Fender Dimension Dlx HH, G&L L-1000 reissue, TC RH450 with BC208 cabs

These are my "creative" pedal boards for home use: And I just take this one pedal off to give me everything I need for live work! 😄

Had a busy week, last week, with 3 festivals & an outdoor theatre gig. The highlight once again was playing to 30,000 people at Carfest South on the Friday..

So I was recording an episode of my podcast with Dutch bass legend Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring, and I'd heard about him having a shortscale Rickenbacker 4001, of which many people *know* doesn't exist. So I asked him about it, he smiled and said "oh yeah that thing. I was in Chicago and a guy came up to me and said 'hey, you play those cheapo Danelectro basses, shouldn't you play a Rickenbacker?' I didn't really like Rics so I said 'nah the Danelectros are great, and by the way, who are you?' The guy said 'I'm a Ric representative'. So to be sure to get rid of the guy I said 'sorry man I'm a shortscale guy'. The Ric rep said 'oh but we have a shortscale, actually we have two! One was built for this country music guy, so if you tell me at which hotel you're staying I'll have it delivered to you'. So the next day there was a guy with a guitar case and there it was. One of two shortscale Rickenbacker 4001 basses ever built." And here it is. Mapleglo, walnut headstock wings, and it feels...weird. It feels like Ric but...different. Shorter, of course, but also...special. It is of course absolutely unique. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'm not a big Rickenbacker guy but this is quite something.

I managed to get hold of the Holy Grail of Acoustic rigs. Same as Jaco, JPJ and Bobby Vega, an Acoustic 360/361. it came without the top grill so I’ve made one and bought Some aluminium angle to make the surround with. I need to find someone to aluminium weld the corners but the grills finished. I put new cloth on the old one so they both match. gave the tolex a good clean yesterday too but it needs going over again with a nail brush to get into the contours properly. ill glue down all the tears and edges but I’m not going to re tolex this one, it’s a 1968 vintage and as they say, it’s only original once.

Can't help on banjo tech, but I do like banjos quite a lot. Recently found banjo Ben on YT (brilliant character and player), and it's about now I get to post a link to Sheila Kay Adams (never thought I'd get to say that, certainly not here !):

Maybe it's a Tolkien Gollum Signature Precioussss Bass

The logo reminds of

1978 nice

It should be visible on a stage 🙂

I like it but not old or (probably not) Japanese enough for my mental encyclopaedia of useless info. First impressions suggest a luthier build, maybe '90s or '00s. Leaning towards '90s, as the bridge is an obsolete Gotoh model used on some 90s Ibanez. The 'TR' logo looks sort of familiar but not ringing any specific bells, not yet at least. And that's all I got.

Sanded neck n body from 400 to 3000 Still a bit of cutter burn and the Danish Oil dirtyed up the end grain... After oiling gave body n neck some Warwick Finishing Wax... End result is a little warmer finish but still natural rather than a tint or stain, and less anemic looking than when unfinished. Next... Decal 'n String Tree and Machine Heads... Pickups 'n Electrics... Then Neck On, (bit of a 'Neck Screw' issue...) Bridge On (Left the strings in the bridge...)

Just make sure you didn’t make the same dumb mistake I made… I had the whole thing tuned an octave down. After years of bass playing I didn’t realise it went so high.

Something like that. I’ve seen the same bass on eBay before. Just checked those two brands and it’s neither. but something not Yamaha

Have you seen my rate of progress as a luthier.........................

Can it be, if there are two of them?

For my money, that accolade goes to the first of the Brian Bromberg basses, the Peavey B Quad 4. That thing was properly bonkers compared to everything that was around at the time. I'd love one.

Hammer Smashed Face by Cannibal Corpse will always get the grannies up for a dance

You mean the information we need is at the start of the thread, so everyone can easily find it? What is this new fangled madness?? Thanks both, see you there 😁

There's cost, Stingray are a pricey instrument and above many starting punks financial means. Later when upgrading, the path from your starting squier to a mex/jap fender to a US one is keeping to what you know and love. MusicMan and later Ernie Ball didn't get to market until after the first and around the middle of the second wave of punk. So younger punk players won't have seen their idols playing one. I have seen quite a few being used by newer bands in the last 10-15 years, they're great punchy instruments fit for fast paced music. I'll leave you with this distraction:

I have an Concord 1 that I've owned from 1982. It's been through the wars as you can see but it still plays really well. Solid as a rock, really punchy sound.