Harley Benton JP/JJ Series

[danbowskill]

Looks like a Roasted maple board in that pic with rolled edges like a sire P5 maybe ? 👍

Edited April 12, 2022 by danbowskill

[Len_derby]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

Hmm. Beginning to wonder if maybe others don't share my love of these Harley Benton basses

Me too. My HB short-scale P bass gets a lot of use. 

[MichaelDean]

Looks like they arrived quietly on the Thomann website... 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jp_55op_white.htm

In JJ, PJ and 4/5 string in various colours. 

[stewblack]

Oooooh. So the only decision now us which colour..

[stewblack]

Ok , had a look at the four string versions, I like the white, something odd about the blue body with that fretboard, but the sunburst wins.

 

[danbowskill]

The natural 4 looks quite cool.... Even if you spent another £150 upgrading hardware that is a stupidly cheap price.

[stewblack]

9 minutes ago, danbowskill said:

The natural 4 looks quite cool.... Even if you spent another £150 upgrading hardware that is a stupidly cheap price.

I don't know about other people but I've never needed to change the hardware on my Harleys. Not saying I haven't done it, I put  @KiOgon switched tone pots in two of mine because they look cool and it was fun to do. I also put black strings on my two matt black ones, not because the HB strings are poor - far from it - again just cosmetic tinkering.

I'm glad these basses have arrived, I've a few low priced items in my basket waiting for something to get me into free postage territory. Included in this are some of the new higher quality HB strings (including a set of flats) which I'm excited to try

[danbowskill]

15 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I don't know about other people but I've never needed to change the hardware on my Harleys. Not saying I haven't done it, I put  @KiOgon switched tone pots in two of mine because they look cool and it was fun to do. I also put black strings on my two matt black ones, not because the HB strings are poor - far from it - again just cosmetic tinkering.

I'm glad these basses have arrived, I've a few low priced items in my basket waiting for something to get me into free postage territory. Included in this are some of the new higher quality HB strings (including a set of flats) which I'm excited to try

At that price range bridges, tuners etc are definitely where the costs will be cut. Id impulsively upgrade if just for feel only

[stewblack]

Just now, danbowskill said:

At that price range bridges, tuners etc are definitely where the costs will be cut. Id impulsively upgrade if just for feel only

No argument from me - each to his own of course. I'm just saying I've got basses cost literally 10 times as much (which I also love) so I can compare, and I've still never felt the hardware let's the Harley Benton range down. 

But if others feel differently that's cool too.

[Pea Turgh]

That neck looks very touchable.  I’d take the 4 string PJ in natural.

[stewblack]

2 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

That neck looks very touchable.  I’d take the 4 string PJ in natural.

Do it!

[Aidan63]

The white 4 string JP looks awesome, 1/4 sawn roasted maple neck on that example pictured, £181 wow

Edited April 15, 2022 by Aidan63
clarity added

[Newfoundfreedom]

17 minutes ago, danbowskill said:

At that price range bridges, tuners etc are definitely where the costs will be cut. Id impulsively upgrade if just for feel only

 

The hardware looks to be Wilkinson. Absolutely bullet proof and no need to upgrade. 

[mcnach]

8 hours ago, stewblack said:

I don't know about other people but I've never needed to change the hardware on my Harleys. Not saying I haven't done it, I put  @KiOgon switched tone pots in two of mine because they look cool and it was fun to do. I also put black strings on my two matt black ones, not because the HB strings are poor - far from it - again just cosmetic tinkering.

I'm glad these basses have arrived, I've a few low priced items in my basket waiting for something to get me into free postage territory. Included in this are some of the new higher quality HB strings (including a set of flats) which I'm excited to try

 

I've had mixed results (although on the whole I'm a fan).

 

Precision style one in stealth black... I went to replace teh strings and one of the tuners just sheared. It appears to be made of some very soft metal that reminded me of the horrible horrible pickup screws on a Maruszczyk Jake I used to have. But pretty happy with the stock electronics.

 

MB5, again in stealth black. This one is still stock. The pickup sounds just like I hoped it would and I don't feel I need to replace anything. It's the same kind of metal as teh other one but at least this one is working ok, for now. I am still using the stock HB strings because to my surprise they feel and sound just right. I had to fiddle with the nut slots and a few sharp fret ends, which took all of just-a-few-minutes... that's all.

 

 

[mcnach]

Hmmm, the 5 string natural JJ looks very attractive, and it's got a nice and wide string spacing at the bridge it seems. 

If they weigh less than a small planet I can see one in my life in the near future.

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by mcnach
change path to picture

[mcnach]

I'm so impressionable... I just went and ordered the JJ550P above. 😂

[ezbass]

£206 inc shipping! Strewth! 

[mcnach]

15 minutes ago, ezbass said:

£206 inc shipping! Strewth! 

 

£181 for the JJ550P... all included. I just had to.

[ezbass]

14 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

£181 for the JJ550P... all included. I just had to.

I saw that too, crazy pricing.

[stewblack]

Gone for this sunburst 4, p j.

Now to find some money to replenish my poor bank account.

Edited April 15, 2022 by stewblack

[Marvin]

Nice looking basses. The split coil neck pick up looks quite some way from the bridge. I wonder how p bassy it'll sound.

[Bassfinger]

Ash body. Of course there's ash and there's ash, so the weight could range from svelte to boat anchor...

 

Not that bothers me, but some of our less muscular contributors get hung up on it so let us know how it feels in the hands (and the new bass).

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by Bassfinger

[stewblack]

I think HB got a reputation for heavy basses which can still apply, but only in very few cases. In fact only one of my HB collection is really lumpy.

[Bassfinger]

The only one I thought was a bit of a garden gate was my friends JB-75, but boy did it make up for it with the sound.  All mine have been light to middling.

[Gothic]

On 15/04/2022 at 21:31, mcnach said:

 

I've had mixed results (although on the whole I'm a fan).

 

Precision style one in stealth black... I went to replace teh strings and one of the tuners just sheared. It appears to be made of some very soft metal that reminded me of the horrible horrible pickup screws on a Maruszczyk Jake I used to have. But pretty happy with the stock electronics.

 

MB5, again in stealth black. This one is still stock. The pickup sounds just like I hoped it would and I don't feel I need to replace anything. It's the same kind of metal as teh other one but at least this one is working ok, for now. I am still using the stock HB strings because to my surprise they feel and sound just right. I had to fiddle with the nut slots and a few sharp fret ends, which took all of just-a-few-minutes... that's all.

 

 

 

The tuners on most basses under ~500 of whatever your currency is are pretty much the same. I needed a new tuner for a Talman TMB100 and the item's code was the same they use on everything from Ibanez and Jackson to Harley Benton and classic vibe Squiers. Most of them are indeed soft metal and the teeth on the gear can get really mangled if there's the slightest misalignment from the factory (there usually is) but they are serviceable and a touch of grease and some care can definitely help. Never changed them out on any of my basses (other than the one that was literally mangled) and haven't had any issues with tuning stability. But then again, my perspective is that stability comes from a properly cut and lubricated nut and bridge. Oh well.

 

As for the weight, cheap ash (not swamp ash) is usually on the heavier side and at those prices, you're not getting swamp ash. I'm gonna bet those are heavy. Perhaps not as heavy as the Enhanced series or the JB-75 due to the slightly smaller body but still, heavy.

 

Apart from that, can't say that I like the body shape very much. They're obviously Aria bodies, copies of F bass bodies (as discussed in other places as well) but they're just unappealing to me.