New Harley Bentons - JJ Basses

[Greg Edwards69]

Just seen these come up in my Feedly newsfeed.  I'm quite liking the look of these. Decent price too  A modern design but still classic looking.  Not sure how comfortable they will be to play whilst seated however.

 

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2022/04/19/harley-benton-launches-jj-basses/

[Greg Edwards69]

And in contrast to one of my previous threads, I'm pleased to see 4 and 5 string versions are available in the same four finishes.

[PaulThePlug]

The Sunburst looks more Brownburst or Tobaccoburst... and all the better for it without the yellow n red.

 

Some similar JB Blah Blah...

 

[Woodinblack]

That is what we were discussing on that other thread. Available as JJ or JP

[Greg Edwards69]

8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

That is what we were discussing on that other thread. Available as JJ or JP

Aha,  I missed that.  That'll teach me for not using the search feature!

[Woodinblack]

46 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Aha,  I missed that.  That'll teach me for not using the search feature!

 

Ah no, that was my confusion, I thought you had already commented on that thread, but you commented on another thread that I had open!

But yes, impressive to get all the pickup options in all the finishes in both 4 and 5 strings, others could take note.

[ebenezer]

Look like the Aria basses.

[Bassassin]

11 hours ago, ebenezer said:

Look like the Aria basses.

It's the current Aria RSB with a different headstock:

 

Looks like they'll be a fair bit cheaper, too. Which is nice.

[Greg Edwards69]

And ironically, the original aria headstock is very similar to HB’s usual design. Perhaps they changed it to avoid a potential lawsuit. 
 

[Woodinblack]

Although I am not in the market for one of these as I need to be reducing numbers, not increasing. It is a bit of a shame that the P pickup white bass has to be lumbered with a tort pickguard when the JJ one gets a nice white one. I suppose it isn't much in the scheme of things to get another one but still!

[Greg Edwards69]

I wonder if an aria plate would fit without too much trouble?

 

still, as you say, there’s plenty of places now that will make a custom plate these days. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Greg Edwards69

[Kev]

They look quite nice.

 

Roasted Maple is a funny one, people were paying $$$ extra on high end basses for roasted maple not that long ago, now it seems to be used as standard on the cheapest of instruments.

[Bassassin]

2 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

And ironically, the original aria headstock is very similar to HB’s usual design. Perhaps they changed it to avoid a potential lawsuit. 
 

That is very close, now you mention it. TBH when Aria launched these I was a bit disappointed they didn't use the original Matsumoku-era design, very elegant shape.

 

 

The fact these new HBs are the same bass as the Aria RSBs is interesting & I think there has to be some sort of collaboration between Arai Co (Aria parent company) & HB/Thomann. On the other thread (which I hadn't read/noticed before this one was posted!) there's speculation that the design is the property of the manufacturing factory, probably in China, and therefore available to anyone who wants to use it - but the high-end versions of the RSB designs are, like many Aria designs, Japanese-made & with price tags to match:

 

 

Think we even had a pink one on here in Basses For Sale a couple of years back.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Bassassin
Repetititititition.

[AndyTravis]

Love that blue one in the aria pic.

 

played the white&gold aria - was a bit underwhelmed.

 

My mate loved it and bought one. 
 

🤷🏻‍♂️

[Bassassin]

The plot thickens when you notice that the HB JJ headstock is almost identical to the Aria IGB's, only reversed!

 

 

WHAT CAN IT MEAN???

[mcnach]

On 22/04/2022 at 11:54, Woodinblack said:

Although I am not in the market for one of these as I need to be reducing numbers, not increasing. It is a bit of a shame that the P pickup white bass has to be lumbered with a tort pickguard when the JJ one gets a nice white one. I suppose it isn't much in the scheme of things to get another one but still!

 

Not a nice white one, it's pearloid...  yuk (nice bass 'though)

[Vin Venal]

On 22/04/2022 at 13:43, Bassassin said:

That is very close, now you mention it. TBH when Aria launched these I was a bit disappointed they didn't use the original Matsumoku-era design, very elegant shape.

 

 

The fact these new HBs are the same bass as the Aria RSBs is interesting & I think there has to be some sort of collaboration between Arai Co (Aria parent company) & HB/Thomann. On the other thread (which I hadn't read/noticed before this one was posted!) there's speculation that the design is the property of the manufacturing factory, probably in China, and therefore available to anyone who wants to use it - but the high-end versions of the RSB designs are, like many Aria designs, Japanese-made & with price tags to match:

 

 

Think we even had a pink one on here in Basses For Sale a couple of years back.

That was me speculating to that effect.

 

It was pointed out that Aria use Samick in Indonesia, not China. But Harley Benton has some of its stuff manufactured in Indonesia too, and I wouldn't be surprised if they use Samick on their higher quality stuff.

 

I dunno who owns what, but I'm convinced this isn't just a copy of the design, it looks like the same bodies off the same production line. The routing for the controls, the hardware, the location of the pickguard screws - all look identical to the Aria.

 

Someone speculated above that the pickguard from the Aria might fit and I'd be surprised if it didn't.

 

Dunno who designed what, but clearly, whether its through some sort of licensing arrangement or whatever, whoever manufactures these for Aria is able to sell the same design to Thomann.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Vin Venal

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

Not a nice white one, it's pearloid...  yuk (nice bass 'though)

 

Nice, in "Something that isn't tort" !

[mcnach]

57 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Nice, in "Something that isn't tort" !

 

I'm with you on that one, then

 

Tort < pearloid types < anything else

 

I'll probably wrap mine in some black matt vinyl I've got.

[stewblack]

On 22/04/2022 at 11:54, Woodinblack said:

Although I am not in the market for one of these as I need to be reducing numbers, not increasing. It is a bit of a shame that the P pickup white bass has to be lumbered with a tort pickguard when the JJ one gets a nice white one. I suppose it isn't much in the scheme of things to get another one but still!

What?? I only went with the P pickup because of the beautiful tort pickguard.

The White is like not having a pickguard

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

What?? I only went with the P pickup because of the beautiful tort pickguard.

 

You are a sick man!

 

 

[stewblack]

7 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

You are a sick man!

 

 

Ha! I feel the same about you 😘

[Bassassin]

On 23/04/2022 at 13:55, Vin Venal said:

That was me speculating to that effect.

 

It was pointed out that Aria use Samick in Indonesia, not China. But Harley Benton has some of its stuff manufactured in Indonesia too, and I wouldn't be surprised if they use Samick on their higher quality stuff.

 

I dunno who owns what, but I'm convinced this isn't just a copy of the design, it looks like the same bodies off the same production line. The routing for the controls, the hardware, the location of the pickguard screws - all look identical to the Aria.

 

Someone speculated above that the pickguard from the Aria might fit and I'd be surprised if it didn't.

 

Dunno who designed what, but clearly, whether its through some sort of licensing arrangement or whatever, whoever manufactures these for Aria is able to sell the same design to Thomann.

 

It's plainly the same bass & I'm 100% sure parts will be completely interchangeable - my point was that a high-end Japanese-made Aria version pretty clearly implies that the design's the property of Shiro Arai Co, rather than whatever 3rd party manufacturer made them. So IMO there are 3 ways this has happened:

 

• Aria has a deal of some sort with HB.
• The copyright/exclusivity of the design has lapsed - looks like the Aria version's out of production so that's possible.
• HB have done a dodgy deal with the factory and are flogging their own 'version', hoping that changing the headstock will keep them out of court!

Never done a bulleted list on BC before! Anyway, maybe if it's point 3, we should all buy two (at least), lock them in a vault & wait for them to be worth a fortune after the LAWSUIT!

 

 

[NancyJohnson]

I don't mind those...although yes, the HB is clearly a copy of the Aria, it's nice to see something that isn't a clone of a Precision/Jazz/Stingray with a different headstock.

 

Maybe Thomann/HB just feel they're at the point where they feel they can start introducing different models - perhaps original designs - rather than leaning heavily on the saturated copy market; a business model that Ibanez adopted to their advantage following the *cough* lawsuit *cough* issues back in the 1970s.  Generally, before we've even heard a single note, we're all drawn to the actual shape of instruments initially, this being before we see it in our chosen colour/specifications.  

[Vin Venal]

5 hours ago, Bassassin said:

 

It's plainly the same bass & I'm 100% sure parts will be completely interchangeable - my point was that a high-end Japanese-made Aria version pretty clearly implies that the design's the property of Shiro Arai Co, rather than whatever 3rd party manufacturer made them. So IMO there are 3 ways this has happened:

 

• Aria has a deal of some sort with HB.
• The copyright/exclusivity of the design has lapsed - looks like the Aria version's out of production so that's possible.
• HB have done a dodgy deal with the factory and are flogging their own 'version', hoping that changing the headstock will keep them out of court!

Never done a bulleted list on BC before! Anyway, maybe if it's point 3, we should all buy two (at least), lock them in a vault & wait for them to be worth a fortune after the LAWSUIT!

 

 

 

If I were to put money on it, I'd guess a combination of the latter 2 - they probably had the production line running for Aria, until Aria stopped buying em, so they offered em to Thomann cheap.

 

4 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I don't mind those...although yes, the HB is clearly a copy of the Aria, it's nice to see something that isn't a clone of a Precision/Jazz/Stingray with a different headstock.

 

Maybe Thomann/HB just feel they're at the point where they feel they can start introducing different models - perhaps original designs - rather than leaning heavily on the saturated copy market; a business model that Ibanez adopted to their advantage following the *cough* lawsuit *cough* issues back in the 1970s.  Generally, before we've even heard a single note, we're all drawn to the actual shape of instruments initially, this being before we see it in our chosen colour/specifications.  

 

I don't think Harley Benton has capacity to produce any original designs though, beyond what their suppliers are offering. Harley Benton don't really exist as an instrument manufacturer in that sense.

 

Like, I don't believe there is a team of designers in Germany, who have stuff made overseas to their spec. Thomann just picks from the catalogue of their manufacturer, who brands accordingly.

 

It's the inherently unstable artificial division under late stage global capitalism into the centre (where the intellectual property and the technical expertise are maintained) and the periphery (where labour is exploited), being eroded before our very eyes, as it comes up against the intrinsic class based conflict which remains the driving force of change in the system even when you are able to geographically isolate the respective parties.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Vin Venal