madshadows Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 My Harley Benton JB-75 Natural Vintage Series Jazz Bass was delivered at about 2pm today and it's fantastic It was well packaged with an outer box with loads of packing material inside protecting the box with the bass in. The bass looks great and is an absolute beauty to my eyes It plays very nicely and easily in my novice hands!, intonation was spot on, action is low (what a difference from the borrowed Encore P-Bass I've been using!! ), no fret buzz at all. it came with a lead, two allen keys and was fitted with D'Addario nickel wound XL strings, lots of different tone compared to the P-Bass and a whole lot louder with the Wilkinson pups. All in all I love it, sitting here and beaming [url="http://s129.photobucket.com/user/madshadows1/media/IMGP1182_zps8d24361b.jpg.html?sort=9&o=0"]http://s129.photobucket.com/user/madshadows1/media/IMGP1182_zps8d24361b.jpg.html?sort=9&o=0[/url] Highly recommended, great service from Thomann who apparently check and service all guitars before they are sent out, I would uses them again Off to have more playtime John Quote
Annoying Twit Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Congratulations. What an utter bargain! Quote
madshadows Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 [quote name='MikanHannille' timestamp='1390411510' post='2345182'] Looks lovely! [/quote] Thanks, It is, I might sleep with it tonight and kick the wife into the spare room John Quote
madshadows Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1390412595' post='2345205'] Congratulations. What an utter bargain! [/quote] For about £107 including delivery it's an amazing bargain John Quote
badboy1984 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 I've never try their basses, but interest on their 6 string and fretless ..... Quote
Annoying Twit Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Looking forward to hearing more comments on your HB after you've had it for a while. [quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1390479520' post='2345817'] I've never try their basses, but interest on their 6 string and fretless ..... [/quote] Which 6 string bass of theirs? The old model, or the new model? Quote
badboy1984 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 The newer ones, i've forgot what the old one looks like. Quote
Annoying Twit Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1390487666' post='2345947'] The newer ones, i've forgot what the old one looks like. [/quote] They are still selling the old ones: http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb600tbk_6string_ebass.htm Quote
madshadows Posted January 23, 2014 Author Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1390484574' post='2345902'] Looking forward to hearing more comments on your HB after you've had it for a while. [/quote] Played it for about 3 and a half hours today, the HB JB75 just lovely to play, the neck is so smooth and with the low action it's a lot easier to play, when I get totally used to it I'll try and post a video of me playing which should be worth a laugh!! John Quote
afroblue Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 What do you make of the neck pickup? I'd like it for slap and fingerstyle funk with roundwounds to begin with until I can afford a good MIA/MIJ jazz, then revert to flats and get a good reggae tone. Or am I asking far too much for a £100 bass? looking forward to the video.... Quote
madshadows Posted January 28, 2014 Author Posted January 28, 2014 [quote name='afroblue' timestamp='1390934868' post='2351520'] What do you make of the neck pickup? I'd like it for slap and fingerstyle funk with roundwounds to begin with until I can afford a good MIA/MIJ jazz, then revert to flats and get a good reggae tone. Or am I asking far too much for a £100 bass? looking forward to the video.... [/quote] The pups are great, I've been mostly playing with both pick-ups on full volume with tone set about halfway, I had to turn down my little Stagg practice combo because the pups are so loud compared the Encore P-Bass I had been using! Today I experimented with the pups a bit and the sound awesome with just one on full and the other totally rolled off, going to experiment a bit more tomorrow to see what different sounds I can a get< I'll try and do a vid as well now I have got used to the bass a a bit. Still think it's an absolute bargain for just over £100, looks great, easy to play with it's low action and sounds amazing John Quote
rushbo Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Lots of love for Harley Benton and Thomann here - briefly, I had a lovely HB "Beat Bass", which I purchased from Ebay for the princely sum of £50. It was ace. The snob in me triumphed however, and it got traded in for an actual Hofner, but with very little discernible difference in tone. Enjoy your new love -but don't neglect the Mrs! Quote
biro Posted September 15, 2014 Posted September 15, 2014 Ok, I am going to chime in to give the community some news about my most recent purchase. Today I received a Harley Benton JB-75 too, the sunburst version with a rosewood fingerboard and fancy blocks and binding. What can I say? I was genuinely surprised a bass so cheap could play that well. I am, unfortunately, still unable to record it because I am temporarily sans audio interface, but I am quite sure I am not going to have surprises -- I am familiar with the pups, as I had installed them on a SX jazz bass I had. The PUs might not be your thing if what you're after is supervintage tone -- I am after a decent sounding Jazz Bass, which is the epitome of the concept of "good enough" in bass world. Sounds good in a crappy built in input, so I guess it works well enough. Speaking of which, I must say that I found the build quite better compared to the SX. Except for the pickguard, which truly is astonishingly ugly (and will, in due course, nay, immediately, replaced with a black one), the bass is reasonably well made. The sunburst looks more or less the same as the SX. The body is, I think, two pieces, reasonably well matched. The neck has a satin finish, unlike the SX, which may or may not entice you. It does feel excellent. The neck is, perhaps, a bit bulkier than a regular J, but then again, I like it this way (I'd very much have a P neck on every four stringer). The nut is low and the fret job is excellent. I am playing with basically no relief and my action on the G string is a hair less than 1.5 mm at the 20th fret, perhaps 2 on the E string. I have a reasonably light touch, but I must say that of all the basses I had only my Peavey TL-Six could handle something like it. My Status S-1 just couldn't, to name a classic name. I don't know what they do to these new guitars, but when I think to my first crappy bass around the year 2000, I am just baffled. The bass arrived well packed, in tune and was definitely playable out of the box (I only set it up because I need something to tinker with, and I prefer a lower action). Finally, I don't know if anyone noticed yet, but the saddles on the bridge are look like brass. It reminds me of the Squier Classic Vibe series bridge. The bass does have a lot of sustain, albeit with the usual dead spot at the 5th fret of the G string -- not worse than that on much more expensive counterparts. Bottom line, I would use it in serious live or recording situations, no doubts on that. I will, however, have to replace the pickguard, or better yet cover it with something. Hope this helps! Quote
Lucien Posted September 15, 2014 Posted September 15, 2014 (edited) Hey mate, I have one of those too, but I notice a few differences about the woods, in mine, the body is of a lighter shade, and the wood veins are much more dense, it's also very heavy (14Kg), the maple neck is a bit weird as the wood kind of looks like a burl, and the fretboard is flamed. I absolutely love it, it isn't my main bass, that one is another Harley Benton, the PB-50, but the JB-75 nat is a peach! I got it as a "deko" item, payed 45€ at the time, I think, and it has no faults except a scratch in the G string tuning key. I just have one advice, you should redo the ground and shielding, I also changed the pots and jack in mine, but the overall difference wasn't that notorius. Oh and the pickups, last month I swaped them in a trade for a pair of J's that came in an American Standard Fender Jazz, a deal which I regret as I think the Wilks sounded better, at least they were more balanced, this set has a very poor mid and high ranges, I'll swap them for a set of Malagoli Custom 60 when I can. Great buy, congratulations! Edited September 15, 2014 by Lucien Quote
madshadows Posted September 16, 2014 Author Posted September 16, 2014 Congrats on the new HB bass Biro, have fun with it, I know I do on mine John Quote
biro Posted September 16, 2014 Posted September 16, 2014 [quote name='Lucien' timestamp='1410821280' post='2553667'] it's also very heavy (14Kg). [/quote] Did you get the uraniumburst version? Quote
biro Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 I have recorded a short sample of the bass: neck pick up, tone fully open, pick and some foam at the bridge to mute the strings (à la Carol Kaye). Straight into my Focusrite interface and Logic, just a tad of compression and some highs rolled off. https://soundcloud.com/ballpointmusic/harley-benton-jb-75sb-vintage-series Apologies for the truly embarrassing keyboard sections. Quote
biro Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Just a quick note to let you guys know that I took a couple of minutes to measure - in a very sloppy fashion - the neck pocket, and if I am not mistaken, a fender/fender replacement neck should fit nicely in it. Quote
madshadows Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='biro' timestamp='1414433868' post='2589247'] Just a quick note to let you guys know that I took a couple of minutes to measure - in a very sloppy fashion - the neck pocket, and if I am not mistaken, a fender/fender replacement neck should fit nicely in it. [/quote] That's great, that would be a cool thing to do, wonder how much a Fender neck is ! John Quote
yorks5stringer Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 [quote name='madshadows' timestamp='1414435410' post='2589260'] That's great, that would be a cool thing to do, wonder how much a Fender neck is ! John [/quote] Quite a bit more than the HB Bass! Quote
Lucien Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 [quote name='biro' timestamp='1410868653' post='2554023'] Did you get the uraniumburst version? [/quote] It is heavy! Now I can play it smoothly , but when I first got it I couldn't get used to the thickness of the sound, it's so embodied due to the high mass of the body itself, but I also replaced the Wilks with a set of Fender ones that came out of a Jazz Bass Walnut, as it was a direct trade I didn't even think, but now I kind of regret it, the Wilks were much more expressive. Quote
Lee Carter Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 I played mine for a full gig for the first time on Saturday, completely stock (apart from the strings). I'm so impressed with this bass, it didn't miss a beat. When I think that it cost a fraction of the bass I usually use, I may get another (always take a spare) and retire the expensive toys for special occasions. Quote
mcnach Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 [quote name='Lucien' timestamp='1410821280' post='2553667'] Hey mate, I have one of those too, but I notice a few differences about the woods, in mine, the body is of a lighter shade, and the wood veins are much more dense, it's also very heavy (14Kg), the maple neck is a bit weird as the wood kind of looks like a burl, and the fretboard is flamed. I absolutely love it, it isn't my main bass, that one is another Harley Benton, the PB-50, but the JB-75 nat is a peach! I got it as a "deko" item, payed 45€ at the time, I think, and it has no faults except a scratch in the G string tuning key. I just have one advice, you should redo the ground and shielding, I also changed the pots and jack in mine, but the overall difference wasn't that notorius. Oh and the pickups, last month I swaped them in a trade for a pair of J's that came in an American Standard Fender Jazz, a deal which I regret as I think the Wilks sounded better, at least they were more balanced, this set has a very poor mid and high ranges, I'll swap them for a set of Malagoli Custom 60 when I can. Great buy, congratulations! [/quote] 14 [color=#ff0000][b]kg[/b][/color]??? you sure??? Quote
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