Harley Benton B550 anyone?

[Newfoundfreedom]

51 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

Cos I got it for 40 quid 2nd hand! Plus... what's the fun in that?!

Bargain! Can't go wrong at that. 

[WD1]

Well..this thread made me buy the 5 string lefty. The only physical default on mine is a wiggly plastic cover in the back. Does not sound bad too for 159€. Can’t complain.

[rasher80]

1 hour ago, WD1 said:

Well..this thread made me buy the 5 string lefty. The only physical default on mine is a wiggly plastic cover in the back. Does not sound bad too for 159€. Can’t complain.

+1 to this.

I got mine from here for not much money at all, reasoning if its a bit pants or I can't get used to the 5th string it hasn't cost me much more than a packet of decent strings. 

Lefty 5ers more than double in price (new) from this instrument upwards, so I didn't want to drop a load of money on a bass I can't get on with.

Glad to say after a few days with my local tech and a string change, it plays really nicely, has a really usable sound and it's dead good fun to play.

I can't compare it to any other 5 strings as it's the first one I've played but I absolutely can't fault it.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by rasher80

[stewblack]

On 23/03/2018 at 09:43, skidder652003 said:

anyone tried these yet?  £130 seems insanely low unless its utter pants, I've a Harley Tele and its great, Think they might be taking over the world!

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_550_white_progressive_series.htm?ref=search_prv_3

Never played the 5er but the 4 string is utterly faultless to my fingers and ears. 

[stewblack]

On 27/03/2020 at 09:55, rasher80 said:

I've read that the preamp can be a bit pants, if generally ok. That can easily be sorted though. Seems a lot of bass for the money 

I also read this. But cannot agree. Nothing wrong with it at all. However I am a passive bass kind of guy so if the preamp made it too hot or zingy I would have disliked it. 

Don't be fooled by talk if starter or back up basses. Harley Bentons are only cheap in one area. The price tag. 

[rasher80]

19 hours ago, stewblack said:

I also read this. But cannot agree. Nothing wrong with it at all. However I am a passive bass kind of guy so if the preamp made it too hot or zingy I would have disliked it. 

Don't be fooled by talk if starter or back up basses. Harley Bentons are only cheap in one area. The price tag. 

Couldn't agree with this more.

The preamp in my old G&L L2000 was super hot,  I found it hard to tame so just played the bass in passive mode.

The HB preamp is much more mellow and I actually enjoy it more. I was tempted to drop a Glockenklang in it but once it got here and played it there's really no need

[WD1]

On 16/06/2020 at 13:42, rasher80 said:

+1 to this.

I got mine from here for not much money at all, reasoning if its a bit pants or I can't get used to the 5th string it hasn't cost me much more than a packet of decent strings. 

Lefty 5ers more than double in price (new) from this instrument upwards, so I didn't want to drop a load of money on a bass I can't get on with.

Glad to say after a few days with my local tech and a string change, it plays really nicely, has a really usable sound and it's dead good fun to play.

I can't compare it to any other 5 strings as it's the first one I've played but I absolutely can't fault it.

 

Yeah. It’s my first 5 too. Just got to get used to the narrow neck. But I love it already

[WD1]

Battery Issues! So the battery is empty after 3 weeks, using it only once. Just remove the battery when not in use. I do it on my acoustic.2 years, same battery. I will be testing 1-3 hours use of preamp/day while removing it when at rest or send it back if the problem still occurs.

[rasher80]

37 minutes ago, WD1 said:

Battery Issues! So the battery is empty after 3 weeks, using it only once. Just remove the battery when not in use. I do it on my acoustic.2 years, same battery. I will be testing 1-3 hours use of preamp/day while removing it when at rest or send it back if the problem still occurs.

That's odd, although there have been reports of the battery discharging due to contact with something inside the bass?

I put a Duracell in mine when it arrived and it's fine almost 7 weeks later, which is as you'd expect I guess.

[stewblack]

37 minutes ago, WD1 said:

Battery Issues! So the battery is empty after 3 weeks, using it only once. Just remove the battery when not in use. I do it on my acoustic.2 years, same battery. I will be testing 1-3 hours use of preamp/day while removing it when at rest or send it back if the problem still occurs.

That's a pain. I had a Peavey used to eat batteries, and it took 2 of them 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

Have 2 active HBs don't have this issue, damned unfortunate. Maybe some sparky here can shed light on the possible causes

[songofthewind]

4 minutes ago, stewblack said:

That's a pain. I had a Peavey used to eat batteries, and it took 2 of them 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

Have 2 active HBs don't have this issue, damned unfortunate. Maybe some sparky here can shed light on the possible causes

A sparky shedding light? Stew, you are a card and no mistake!

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, songofthewind said:

A sparky shedding light? Stew, you are a card and no mistake!

God, even when I'm not trying. Quick get the London Palladium on the phone 

[Dad3353]

The guitar lead jack is supposed to make the contact to turn the battery on, with its barrel. It is probable that the guitar jack socket has a short-circuit such that the contact is permanently on. If this is the case, it could probably be fixed by changing the jack socket. That's easy on some guitars, less so on others.
Hope this helps.

[WD1]

On 02/07/2020 at 21:55, Dad3353 said:

The guitar lead jack is supposed to make the contact to turn the battery on, with its barrel. It is probable that the guitar jack socket has a short-circuit such that the contact is permanently on. If this is the case, it could probably be fixed by changing the jack socket. That's easy on some guitars, less so on others.
Hope this 

On 02/07/2020 at 12:54, WD1 said:

Battery Issues! So the battery is empty after 3 weeks, using it only once. Just remove the battery when not in use. I do it on my acoustic.2 years, same battery. I will be testing 1-3 hours use of preamp/day while removing it when at rest or send it back if the problem still occurs.

I think I just might had a bad battery. I left the jock on the bass 2 days and it is still running. Scrap this issue. The HB B550 lefty is ok. 

[rasher80]

Still loving mine. I'm starting to eye up other 5 strings but I wonder if I'll like them as much?

[Delberthot]

I've sold my EBMM Stingray and Fender Player Precision in favour of 2 HB Jazzes. I just fancied doing a bit of simple modding plus I enjoy trying different things.

My £140 JB75 has £400 of EMGs and preamp and £150 of HIpshot Ultralite tuners plus a Fender High Mass Bridge. My £88 JB20 has a set of Tonerider pickups, £50 Sixstringsupplies solderless wiring harness and Hipshot  Licenced ultralites.

The basses are solid and a good basis for doing stuff to them. I'm in the process of working out what to do next. Those BZ-6000 NT basses look like incredible quality

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bz_6000_nt.htm

 

[pfretrock]

On 23/03/2018 at 10:23, Geek99 said:

reminds me strongly of an ibanez srx590 that I owned briefly

I got the 4 string progressive Deko (£37) , liked it so much I then got two Ibanez SR's which are slightly lighter. Only bad point was the individual 4 part bridge with hard to get at intonation screws. I replaced it with a single part Gotoh copy. Still have it, it owes me nothing, plays well.

[Barking Spiders]

I'm looking for a 5-stringer. Never had one before but this looks a peach, and for the princely sum of £315. Have to wait a few weeks till it's in stock though. Anyone here got one?

Edited July 11, 2020 by Barking Spiders

[Guest]

I quite like the Rick-O-Like they do.  Not quite a clone, but still a nice variation.

[ribbetingfrog]

I had a deco one for £45 ish.

really decent bass for the normal price, everything was fine, just a bit lacking in character.

 

A nice bass but not on I could love.

 

if anyone wants to keep an eye open for the deco guitars it’s on Thomann website under accessories/decorative instruments.

 

there haven’t been many on For a while but they usually have a few every day.

 

ive bought a few deco guitars, always been  in perfect condition or with easily sortable issues like needing a new tuner. 

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by ribbetingfrog

[Oopsdabassist]

A question for anyone who has a Rick-o-like, can you remove the bridge PU cover?  I'm tempted by one of these, but that lump is a dealbreaker

[miles'tone]

Re HB-550... If you pull up the Vol knob it then goes passive incase anyone doesn't know. I prefer mine in passive so no battery probs. I use it as a kill switch instead.

[WD1]

On 11/07/2020 at 21:31, miles'tone said:

Re HB-550... If you pull up the Vol knob it then goes passive incase anyone doesn't know. I prefer mine in passive so no battery probs. I use it as a kill switch instead.

Yeah. With a pedal, the volume shoots up anyway. 😊

[rasher80]

@WD1 how are you getting on with it now?

[WD1]

On 14/07/2020 at 19:58, rasher80 said:

@WD1 how are you getting on with it now?

2 or 3 years with the same battery. The light colored fretboard got darker with lemon oil. The tuners still hold. And during The Lockdown, it got played 2-4 hours/day. But still no problems or repairs needed! The strings I put on it already exceeded it’s price. 
It is a good practice bass and good enough for gigs(a very good amp will help). The Harley Benton bh550 is a good bass guitar.