isteen Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 (edited) Anyone Got one of those cheap HB basses? Thinking of getting a really cheap (half price of the Squier) Harley Benton fretless jazz bass, and replicerer tuners and perhaps pickups. Any first hand experience with them? Edited March 11, 2017 by isteen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Do a forum search - people talk about them a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Ive worked on a couple of their P basses, once set up properly they played very well. For a budget instrument frets were good and all the hardware worked. The wiring and pots would be my first upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harryburke14 Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I have a HB Jazz bass that at first was quite heavy but Andy sorted it out. There's a thread under build diaries about it. I agree. First upgrade would be the electronics. I put a Ki0gon loom in mine and never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I agree with Harry. The ones I've bought or worked on have been superb value for money and perfect for selective modding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimryan Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 [quote name='isteen' timestamp='1489272507' post='3255717'] Anyone Got one of those cheap HB basses? Thinking of getting a really cheap (half price of the Squier) Harley Benton fretless jazz bass, and replicerer tuners and perhaps pickups. Any first hand experience with them? [/quote] Like a few mentions before, I've got one and modding it in a build diaries thread. Great basses for the money. I grabbed a 5 string deluxe P. First move was strings and hardware. Just waiting on one of the pickups to arrive in the post. They're great project basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Ive got one of the HB fanfrets and its a cracking bass, couple of minor issues with it when it first arrived (sharp fret ends and cheap tuners) but once sorted its a really good player, its also one of the first single cuts I actually like the shape of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomed Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Excellent vfm, I put Wilkinson tuners on mine and a cts, switchcraft wiring upgrade (left the std. pickups in) and it's equally as good as my Squier VM jazz. Heavy though due to the ash body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) I have two different HB bases. The Jazz bass with the Wilkinson bridge is fine. I'm not a massive fan of the pick-ups but let's put that down to taste rather than a real problem of any kind. The 'Progressive' bass however is a bit more problematic. Some very rough edges, electronics that are a bit nasal sounding and the bridge is poorly made so that the saddles don't fit in the slots properly, making them very very difficult to intonate properly. I guess the lesson here is go with the slightly more expensive version with the Wilkinson hardware rather than HB's own stuff. Edited March 14, 2017 by Naetharu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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