Baloney Balderdash

I'm still impressed with the quality of the Harley Benton GuitarBass I bought a few months ago, love this instrument. But in an attempt to upgrade the middle pickup, which is what I use exclusively, for a quieter stacked hum free pickup I bought an EMG S3, passive pickup with Alnico 5 pole pieces, like the stock one (I am fully aware that there are much much more factors in play when it comes to the tone a pickup produce), but only had it installed for a couple of days before switching back to the stock pickup, which I by the way loved the tone of all along, was just hoping I could get that or even better, but hum free. The EMG just wasn't as articulate and as sensitive and responding to picking dynamics as the stock one, and overall just not sounding as great as the cheap stock pickup, though I realize that might just be how it is with stacked coils hum free "single coil" pickups in general, but point being the stock pickups do actually sound really great, and I've kind of given up on attempting to upgrade it, as said I do love the tone of it, and I honestly have a hard time imagining how it could possibly sound any better, apart from maybe being quieter, though again that might just be the deal with single coil pickups. I did swap out the stock pickup wires with a shielded wire while I had the chance anyway, but there isn't really a noticeable change in the noise levels, so guess I will have to shield the cavities if I want it any quieter, though I do also realize that even then a single coil pickup in it's nature will never become completely noiseless. Most recent, completely fresh, shot of my Harley Benton GuitarBass (with a bit of creative artistic PhotoShop shenanigans going on in the background) :

I ended up uninstalling the new EMG S3 hum free stacked coil pickup and reinstall the old stock single coil middle pickup, but replacing the stock pickups wires with a shielded wire and hook it up via the solder free pickup harness that came with the EMG, just using the 250kOhm EMG volume pot, so that the resistance match the stock 500kOhm parallel volume and tone pot (and since I don't use the tone pot anyway). The stock pickup is considerably more noisy than the EMG, but in any other aspect it sounds better, more articulate, much more dynamically responsive to my picking, and just all together reproduce a tone that match my personal preferences much closer. The cheap stock pickups on this cheap budget instrument are killer. The EMG pickup in this case was waste of money and waste of time, and except for it being less noisy in every other aspect a downgrade (I should add though that I am extremely satisfied with the upgrade to an EMG Geezer Butler P in my Ibanez Mikro Bass though, huge improvement, but then again I never liked the cheap stock P pickup in this bass, which in my opinion is pretty underwhelming).

So I bought a passive EMG S3 stacked coil hum free Strat pickup with the purpose of swapping out the stock middle single coil pickup in my Harley Benton GuitarBass (a take on the Fender Bass VI concept), as the middle pickup soloed is all I care for tone wise on this instrument. Not entirely sure what to think about it though, the magnets used are Alnico 5 pole piece slugs like the original, and it definitely is a lot quieter than the stock one, which was the main reason I swapped it, as I actually loved how the stock pickup sounded otherwise. It's actually not a night an day different, but non the less I'd claim rather essential. First of all the EMG is for sure quieter, and higher output as well, it is also a bit more punchy sounding than the stock one, which are all aspects of it I like and consider an improvement over the stock pickup, however I am not sure about how I like it also being a bit more compressed and hi-fi sounding, and as consequence in a way not quite as dynamic and sensitive as the stock pickup, which, while not sounding as clean and clear, did produce a somewhat more complex tone, did respond extremely well to my picking dynamics, like slightly changing both volume and tone according to how I picked in a very effortless and natural way, while the EMG, while it actually does respond just fine volume wise to my picking dynamics, tone wise just sounds more or less the same regardless of how hard I pick. So yeah, the EMG is a bit more punchy, more compressed, cleaner/clearer and somewhat more hi-fi sounding, but also somewhat less complex sounding, and not quite as effortlessly and naturally responding to my picking dynamics, overall just seeming less sensitive and dynamic. Not sure weather I am willing to sacrifice tonal complexity and dynamic response and sensitivity for a bit more punch, improved note separation and clarity when doing chord work, and being quieter when not touching any metal parts (as in grounding the pickup). So am pondering weather to let the EMG S3 stay in the GuitarBass or if I should go through the trouble and re-installing the old stock pickup. I read a lot of praise for this pickup, but also a lot of comments about the EMG pickups (including their passive pickups, like this one) in general being somewhat sterile sounding and lacking character, and I guess the latter is exactly my problem with this pickup. I wonder though if this is indeed mainly a case of how EMG tends to voice their pickups, as suggested in the above paragraph, or I would likely encounter similar issues with any stacked coil, single coil Strat pickup format, pickup (compared to true single coil pickups)?

Maybe I really ought to let it stay a secret, but I feel obliged to inform my huge fan base, for the sake of the global awareness in general, that it in fact is cut out from the very unique cardboard (it is actually a quite unique kind of cardboard with kind of a somewhat slightly velvet, actually very suede like, feel that seems to fit the open pore matte black finish of this bass particularly well) that makes up the flat box in which D'Addario NYXL strings come, then cut out to fit the cavity so that it is being folded on each side the width of the cavity once the depth of the cavity.

That's how I'd put it, though one can argue for the preamp last in the chain instead as well.

Back on my Ibanez GSRM20 neck + GSRM20B body Mikro Bass, which I named "Dud Bottomfeeder", and which I just added a Jack Skellington (from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas") skull sticker to, and swapped the regular D'Addario XL nickle plated roundwound steel core strings, which was gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .034, to accommodate the G standard tuning I use for this bass, that is 3 half steps above regular 4 string E standard tuning, for a set of Elixir Nanoweb nickle plated roundwound steel core guitar strings, gauge .080 - .062 - .046 - .036 (using cut off ball ends from old bass strings to thread the strings through in order for them to be able to mount in the bridge holes and not slip through) : Oh, and by the way, as you can see the J pickup has been uninstalled, and instead replaced for a folded piece of matte black cardboard, the P pickup replaced for an EMG Geezer Butler P pickup, wired directly to the output jack socket, which has been moved and replaced from a side mounted barrel type one to a front mounted regular jack socket, installed in one of the redundant pot holes, the remaining 2 knobs being there exclusively for visual decoration, further decorated with green electrical tape (also known as insulating tape), the P pickup also having been decorated with red electrical tape.

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - "China Pig" :

Puscifer - "Green Valley" from their album "Conditions of My Parole"

Linda Perhacs - "Chimacum Rain"

Who would have known that Slayer, and metal in general, is really just surf rock with distortion :

Everything that has to do with setup I don't even consider a flaw, I would expect to have to do a setup anyway on all new guitars and basses, regardless of price. It's not a matter of a flaw on the actual physical bass, it's exclusively a matter of adjusting stuff that is fully intended to be fully and easily adjustable, without any modifications needed whatsoever, for a reason. You might as well complain about the stock strings not being your preferred type, brand and gauge. It's kind of like complaining about the lit of the ashtray not being closed, or perhaps an even more fitting analogy, the adjustable air condition blades, meant to adjust the direction of the air flow, not being adjusted exactly according to your height and personal preferences, in a brand new car, or something very similar, and adding that as a negative point in your review of it, while really having absolutely nothing to do with the actual car. I never got why people complain about stock strings or anything that is entirely a matter of a proper setup in reviews, it is not useful knowledge, and it tells absolutely nothing about the actual quality of an instrument, in fact rather such a review might distort the impression you get of a bass unrealistically. As for nut slots, they were cut dead on perfect, exactly as low as they could go without becoming an issue, and not one nano mm more or less, on the Harley Benton GuitarBass (Bass VI concept) that I bought recently, my very first Harley Benton instrument, though I realize that was exclusively a matter of pure luck. On topic: Congratulations on the bass Stewblack, it looks amazing.

I used to for the longest time, just 1 bass and 1 guitar, now I got more, but I am very much still a one bass kind of guy, I prefer to stick mainly to 1 number one instrument at a time, which usually will remain my number one for a long time going forward. Though I do appreciate the option for picking up another bass or guitar should I feel more like it, and it is kind of quite essential when producing my own music, as I do. At the moment this is my #1 instrument of choice, a recent acquired Harley Benton GuitarBass (Bass VI), tuned to G standard tuning, as in 3 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning, or 9 half steps bellow regular guitar E standard tuning : Really feels like I finally found the ultimate instrument for me, kind of like I felt when discovering bass after a couple of years initially having started on guitar. This seems like the ultimate hybrid of those two instruments, in a way feeling like coming full perfect circle for me. All the best aspects of a bass combined with all the best aspects of a guitar, and I am not only talking physically or design wise, but in fact rather in the sense of the playing style it conveys/compels you to play and stuff it allows you to play. Still being it's very own unique instruments, at least as I see it ultimately different from both regular electric guitar and bass, a case of 1 + 1 = 3. Like it has all the melodic capabilities of a guitar, but at the same time allowing for playing much more rhythmically and with a much greater dynamic range as a bass would, in those aspects having some similarities to a piano really, which just opens up so much more options playing wise, like adding a whole new dimension and depth to melodic work, and of course also giving you the option for doing more complex chordal based work as a guitar would as well.

I had read and heard through the internet that Harley Benton was supposed to be unheard of value for the money, still I was surprised and astonished by just how amazing the quality was compared to the money paid of my Harley Benton GuitarBass (Harley Benton's take on the Bass VI concept) that I recently bought, my first Harley Benton ever, that I bought recently. Mind it wasn't flawless, but it was still outstanding quality for the money paid, and apart from a few relatively easy fixable flaws, it felt like a really solid instrument, worth much more money, and the fretwork, apart from a few a bit sharp frets (nothing that really should bother anyone unless they insist on focusing on it), in terms of being leveled was dead on perfect, making really low action, with minimal, almost dead flat neck, relief, without any fretbuzz whatsoever, possible. Here's link to the thread I dedicated to it, along with a review a few posts further down: And here's an artistic rendition of a picture I shot of it: Now I seriously GAS for their dead cheap, but, if the audio clips on Thomann's website is anything to go by (also compared to other sound clips on their side of considerably more expensive basses), amazing sounding short scale P Bass, as well as their fretless Beatbass, Harley Benton's fretless take on a Violin/Beatles bass, which judging from this YouTube demo I watched featuring it also sounds no short of amazing, like listen to this, and take into account that the first half of the video is even straight DI'ed with no additional editing done to the signal whatsoever:

Not short scale either. But doesn't Reverend have a short scale bass that, while not exactly looking like a Talmand, looks a bit like it? Or am I remembering all wrong here? In any case basses in that price class are actually really great instruments at this point, that is at least if you get one of the good ones, quality control still seems to be pretty lacking and there's a relatively big variation of the quality level between individual units, but update one of the good ones with a quality set of pickups and you'll have a genuinely great bass.

The New Folk Implosion - "Creature of Salt"

Where Is My Mind? - Pixies

I actually really like the design of the Harley Benton headstock on my GuitarBass (Bass VI), looks much better than the Fender one in my opinion. . And the logo actually looks pretty nice too, though I taped it over, not because I am hiding the fact that it's a budget instrument, I do this with all brand logos on my instruments and amps/cabs. This picture was shot before I taped the Harley Benton logo over, for reference:

My Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic, which was my first bass ever, and which remained my main bass about 10 years or so going forward, before I converted to almost exclusively playing short scale basses, one of the last models produced on the Matsumoku factory in Japan, before Aria Pro moved their production to Korea, amazing bass, and the only 34" scale bass that I own :

My Harley Benton GuitarBass (Bass VI) :

Definitely looks interesting, and with a nice set of controls/features too. Not that I am in a market for a compressor though, but if I was it would definitely be one of the top pedals on my list of potential candidates. -[[ !!!DISCLAIMER!!! : Following is a long, somewhat off topic, ramble, about my personal relation to compressors in general, if you can't be bothered to read it just jump to the concluding 2 final paragraphs of this post. ]]- In fact I just ditched my, until quite recently, front of signal chain TC Electronic SpectraComp, that I otherwise meticulous had dialed in, using the Toneprint editor to suit my needs and preferences, and instead now only use the "160 Comp" model, emulation of the legendary DBX 160A rack compressor, in my Zoom MS-70CDR digital multi stomp box, placed towards the end of my signal chain, dialed in to deliver a very subtle compression, with a just 2.5:1 compression ratio, just tightening up my tone ever so slightly and adding a slight bit of extra punch, snap and bite to it, but while practically otherwise practically leaving my basic tone and picking dynamics intact (believe me Zoom really nailed it with this emulation, it sounds genuinely great, and it works exceptionally well with bass). And beside the very subtle additional compression from the Mosky XP Booster, amazing Xotic EP Booster V1 clone, at the very front of my signal chain, and the tubes in the 2 tube preamps that concludes the signal chain of my "amp-less" setup, this is all the compression that I currently use. Never been much of a compressor guy, and even when I used the SpectraComp it had been dialed in fairly subtly and utilizing parallel compression (that is parallel uncompressed clean blend), sure compression can be nice for tightening up your tone and for emphasizing the attack, adding extra punch, snap and bite, but unless dialed in very carefully and rather subtle I feel like it very easily and quickly starts to affect my playing dynamics and tone negatively, like loosing dynamic range (which I am aware is exactly what a lot of people primarily use compression for) and ruining the natural frequency balance of my tone and making it less complex and somewhat more one dimensional sounding (though I guess this too is what some people might like about compression, making your signal sound more uniform). Though I am kind of really curious about, and kind of has a minor case of GAS for, the Markbass Compressore, which is a genuine tube compressor with an impressive amount of control over the compression, as I love how the demo audio clips and videos featuring I have heard/watched sounds, but I got a feeling it still wouldn't work for me personally. Sorry about the wall of text, and largely going off topic, I guess my main point really just is that I am not much of a compressor kind of person, and when I do use it, for other than post production mixing and mastering when recording/producing music that is, I tend to use it in a somewhat less traditional fashion (primarily for a slight emphasis of the attack, adding extra punch, snap and bite, rather than to tame dynamics), and that I feel I already got all the compression, which is not really all that much, that I need. I still might end up getting this new Joyo compressor, as it, as said, does look interesting, and has a nice set of features, simply out of curiosity, but if I do so I still very much doubt I will actually end up using it for anything.

Turbo RAT is the way to go for bass, as it'll retain low end considerably better than a standard RAT. The dirt cheap, but non the less genuinely great, Mosky Black Rat, RAT clone, features both a Vintage, classic, silicon diode clipping, RAT mode and a Turbo, LED diode clipping, RAT mode, and it is a bit darker voiced and retains low end a bit better than most other RAT clones on the market. I am extremely satisfied with my Mosky Black Rat, and as said Turbo RAT mode is the way to go for bass. When that is said you might want to consider either getting a RAT clone with a clean signal blend, or get something like the Boss LS-2 (or the smaller, and, unlike the Boss LS-2, including a phase switch, but more expensive, and, unlike the Boss LS-2, beside the phase switch, with no additional features/functionality, One Control Mosquito Blender Trail), which will allow you to blend in parallel clean signal with any pedal, and for certain help you retain the bottom end of your bass, as well as improved articulation and definition.