Really cheap basses

[krazy_olie]

I'm sort of tempted to go for a cheap fretless or 6 string, maybe even a fretless 6. Anyone had experience of these, either the "Harley Benton" stuff or those expensive looking imports on ebay.

Olie

[7string]

There's a great Yamaha fretless 6 on eBay, the sellers name looks awfully familiar

I heard varied reviews on those Mazeti etc. Some very good, some very bad. I'be heard good stuff about Harley Benton bring good for the price. Have to say though, that I have no [i]personal[/i] experience of either...

Edited May 20, 2007 by 7string

[wildman]

[quote name='7string' post='3167' date='May 20 2007, 10:44 PM']There's a great Yamaha fretless 6 on eBay, the sellers name looks awfully familiar

I heard varied reviews on those Mazeti etc. Some very good, some very bad. I'be heard good stuff about Harley Benton bring good for the price. Have to say though, that I have no [i]personal[/i] experience of either...[/quote]


Harley Benton is very good value for the price. I bought a fretless 5, think I paid around £130. After about 18 months I did outgrow it but not before I had a pretty good feel for both fretless and 5 strings - exactly why I bought it.

I did a couple of gigs with it and got complements on the looks and the sound.

Anyway I now have a more expensive fretless 4 and a fretted 5 - that is the only downside, it'll fuel your GAS.

Check out Harmony Central for the Harley Benton reviews. I did a review myself for one of the old sites and if you PM me your email I'll send it to you.

Cheers, John

[Toasted]

I don't have a beater. I'd really like one... hrm. Maybe I could get a MIM fender.

[krazy_olie]

After reading the reviews the Harley Benton basses do seem rather appealing, I wouldn't expect something good for under £150 but as they appear to be at least playable could be a good way to get used to playing 5 string or fretless. Shame the fretless isn't lined though that could be a good thing.

They used to sell some Peavey lookalikes but I can't seem to find them anymore. But i might take the plunge and just order one in the summer, I have my eye on the 5 string acoustic fretless [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb35ntfl_5string_akustikbass_fretless.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb...ss_fretless.htm[/url] .

Edited May 21, 2007 by krazy_olie

[EdwardHimself]

harley benton are good. i had one as my first bass.

[Rich]

I had one of those expensive looking Wolf/Mazeti 6-string fretless basses for a while. It played really well (when sitting down, anyway) and sounded superb. Terrible neck-dive though, very very neck heavy.

[stewblack]

Can't vouch for HB specifically but I bought a J&D 5 string fretless from Music Store Cologne last year for under £130 and it's fine. Just needed a really good set up by someone who knows. The machines they're made on can chuck out perfectly good parts. I found it was the way they were put together let them down.

[jwbassman]

Hi Olie

If it's a lined fretless you're after, I've got a Squire Fretless 4 on eBay at the moment, only got about 30 hours to run... reserve £170 - this includes a full on ritter gig bag and the bass comes with a padded air stap (for comfort) and strap locks, not to mention it's in great condition and looking for a good home...

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170112494983&rd=1&rd=1"]eBay listing[/url]

Where abouts are you? It says collection only, but I'll ship at cost but canot except liability as only in a soft case, will pack well.

Drop me a PM if you're interested

[kevbass]

There is a nice cheap vester fretless up on the bay at the moment, they show up on there from time to time, one went on there not so long ago for about £150, they look smart and the build looks like a quality job, maybe worth putting in a bid? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vester-custom-shop-fretless-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ130116069013QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vester-custom-shop-f...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

[id-dis]

I picked up a (barley) used harley benton 5 string fretless for £70 on ebay and was very surprised how good the bass is. The pickups sounded nice and the tuners are decent enough. Yes roundwound strings will mark the fretboard slightly but they sound great. The neck itself was sleek and easy to play on and while they do have a lack of fret markers i would suggest you want to forget fret markers on a fretless and feel the quarter tones. its more fun really when you get to squeeze the notes out. I have included a link to a video i played it on (though the video wrongly states a different bassist) so you can get a listen.

[url="http://youtu.be/-_G8ltdGF6k"]http://youtu.be/-_G8ltdGF6k[/url]

[terocious]

I've had heard good reviews of SX basses but I haven't tried any of them myself. I'm tempted though. 6 stingers starts at $169. Take a look at www.rondomusic.com.

[geoffbyrne]

Not bad for a 7 year old thread......



G.

[neepheid]

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!

[hamfist]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1394616905' post='2393274']
BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!
[/quote]

Thunderbirds are GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!

Edited March 12, 2014 by hamfist

[bassix]

SX basses are great. I upgraded the pickups and bridge on my jazz and its killed my GAS for a new bass dead.. for now.. I guess its back to the quest for a lightweight cab!

[Delberthot]

Where's me washboard? Have you seen it?