Harley Benton MV-4M Mustang-like bass. £198. Opinions?

[dieseldalziel]

On 04/03/2023 at 17:12, Osiris said:

I've had my HB Mustang for around a month now and around an hour ago my new bespoke scratch plate arrived from Scratch-It! I cannot recommend Tim and Scratch-It enough - first class service, excellent communication, most importantly a good sense of humour, plus prices that are a good chunk cheaper than the couple of places that quoted me for a bog standard plain black plate.

 

My original plan was to get a plain 3 ply black/white/black plate for it as I don't like tort, and the stock plate looked particularly hideous against the sea foam green finish, IMO. But for £40 delivered I have something totally unique and looks fantastic too!

 

Is the HB scratch plate an exact copy of the Fender or did you have to scan it to make a template?

[Osiris]

6 minutes ago, dieseldalziel said:

Is the HB scratch plate an exact copy of the Fender or did you have to scan it to make a template?

 

I don't know if it's identical to the Fender scratch plate, I did have a PJ Mustang for a few years but sold it last year so don't have it to hand for a direct comparison. But Scratch-It suggest that you send in your original plate so they can scan it to produce an identical copy of the shape, which is what I did and the fit was perfect. 

[dieseldalziel]

8 hours ago, Osiris said:

 

I don't know if it's identical to the Fender scratch plate, I did have a PJ Mustang for a few years but sold it last year so don't have it to hand for a direct comparison. But Scratch-It suggest that you send in your original plate so they can scan it to produce an identical copy of the shape, which is what I did and the fit was perfect. 

In that case they may well have added it to their dataBASS...

[Osiris]

3 hours ago, dieseldalziel said:

In that case they may well have added it to their dataBASS...

 

If not, drop them a line, Tim will get you sorted out in no time 👍

[ezbass]

@JwK94 One of these HBs might suit your girlfriend (you ), given your SS wanted post.

[ezbass]

Used the new bass in anger rehearsal last night. I can report that it was very much a success. The 60:40 neck:bridge or full on neck settings were perfect for everything in our set. Despite being the heaviest of all my basses (just), because the weight is predominantly in the body, balance on the strap was absolutely fine and comfortable. This has actually made my SS 'Ray somewhat surplus to requirement now and that may go in part ex for a P Bass .

[Chienmortbb]

Discontinued?

[ezbass]

29 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Discontinued?

Doesn’t look like it on the Thomann site, the actual Harley Benton site, however, has no trace of them as far as I can see just now. That being said, they were never under the right/logical heading on that site and it might be undergoing a restructuring. If it does prove to be that they’ve discontinued them (although, a cease and desist order notwithstanding, why would they?), I’ll consider myself fortunate in having got in under the wire. 

[Osiris]

16 hours ago, ezbass said:

Used the new bass in anger rehearsal last night. I can report that it was very much a success. The 60:40 neck:bridge or full on neck settings were perfect for everything in our set. Despite being the heaviest of all my basses (just), because the weight is predominantly in the body, balance on the strap was absolutely fine and comfortable. This has actually made my SS 'Ray somewhat surplus to requirement now and that may go in part ex for a P Bass .

 

Mine has seen a couple of rehearsals too and it will be making its gigging debut tomorrow night. I bought it as a stunt bass for the more rowdy venues and it's always a lively gig where we're playing! Likewise, I've adjusted the pickups in mine to roughly 60:40 neck:bridge to give a good balance of low end and clarity. It has performed excellently and sounded great at rehearsals using backline at sensible volume, our drummer isn't a really heavy hitter, but the gig will be on IEM's although I'm not expecting any nasty surprises in terms of how the bass will sound or perform on the night. It's a late finish too so I'll report back somewhat bleary eyed at some point on Sunday. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

11 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Discontinued?

 

11 hours ago, ezbass said:

Doesn’t look like it on the Thomann site, the actual Harley Benton site, however, has no trace of them as far as I can see just now. That being said, they were never under the right/logical heading on that site and it might be undergoing a restructuring. If it does prove to be that they’ve discontinued them (although, a cease and desist order notwithstanding, why would they?), I’ll consider myself fortunate in having got in under the wire. 

 

Given how recently these basses were introduced and how popular they seem to already be and the really positive reception they have had in general it would be extremely strange and I'd say highly unlikely if they were already discontinued.

 

My guess is, that is if there is actually something to this, it likely would be to reintroduce them slightly reworked, addressing the fact that there is no pickup blend control or switch, by adding one of those solutions to the new reworked edition.

 

However they are still both on Thomann's and Harley Benton's own homepage when I just checked now: https://harleybenton.com/product/mv-4msb-gotoh-bk/

 

Under "Basses", "Deluxe Series", in the menu on Harley Benton's homepage.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[ezbass]

16 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

 

Under "Basses", "Deluxe Series", in the menu on Harley Benton's homepage.

 

I knew it was tucked away somewhere, I just couldn’t find it this time. I think I found it under ‘new’ last time. Why it isn’t also listed under ‘offset’ is a mystery.

[Osiris]

Just got in from gigging and it was the first official gig outing for my sea foam green HB Gotoh Mustang whatever the model number is. I have to admit that even though it's still in the honeymoon phase that bass exceeded expectations in terms of tone and performance. I'll try and keep it brief-ish as I need to go to bed but I'm still wired!

 

It's still pretty much stock other than having been copper shielded and a new scratch plate (my Homer Simpson design to replace the naff tort plate that came with it). The strings are still the stock ones, no idea what they are but they're lower tension that I usually use and were comfortable to play and sounded great. It's not unnecessarily heavy, a complaint made against a few other HB models and it was comfortable to play over a 2 hour+ set with a wide strap. Balance was spot on, no neck dive. The neck is slim and comfortable to play, the couple of slightly rough fret edges having been dealt with weeks ago. The frets are jumbo sized which are chunkier than I'm used to but took no time to adjust to. The biggest gripe leveled at this model is the lack of a pickup blend option but not only did I not miss it, it never even crossed my mind that I needed it playing a set that ranges from country rock to 80's cock-rock to synth pop to contemporary dance numbers. It just sounded great whatever we played. I'd sunk the bridge pickup down a touch and raised the P up a bit to give a sound that is biased towards the neck pickup but it still had a chunk of that hollow-both-pickups-on sound but with a bit more low mid thanks to the extra dose of the P pickup. I left the tone wide open all night and it was clear and defined without getting abrasive in the top end. 

 

For me, the best thing about the bass is the pickups. They're not just good for the price, they're fantastic pickups full stop, IMO. Deep, clear lows that don't get bloated, plenty of mid range detail without getting muddy and sweet top end that is clean and clear but not shrill or overly bright. The gig was on in ear monitors, no backline. Through the PA at sound check the bass sound was excellent, big and punchy and defined but not overpowering, and the sound sat with the guitar and keys perfectly. Giving the pickups a gentle squeeze of compression enhanced the punch and overall sound in a way that left a big grin on my face all night. They also sang nicely with a touch of low gain saturation from my drive pedal which added an extra dimension to the tone. My preamp pedal had minimal tonal adjustments for the room but the bass doesn't need any extreme EQ settings to make it fit in, it just worked as it is. 

 

My main gigging basses cost several times what I paid for the HB but the cheap and cheerful little thing held its won against them. I only really bought it as a 'stunt bass' for more rowdy gigs but I can see it becoming a regular gigging machine. It's a ridiculously good bass for a pitiful asking price and the pickups might well be my new favorites ever regardless of price. 

[ezbass]

A small update. After playing it quite a bit at home, in rehearsal and live, as much as the ability to blend in some bridge pickup is nice, I'm not sure that anyone would really notice it in the mix and that neck pickup is so nice on its own and way more pokey than the bridge, that the blend is somehow less. To this end, today, I disconnected the bridge pickup completely and have left the blend pot in as a volume control (it's a better quality pot than the original I think and the same value). It is instantly less noisy when you're not earthing it with your hands and I can just enjoy playing the neck pickup, which, unsurprisingly, roars like any P bass, but in a smaller, more quirky package. 

[Osiris]

53 minutes ago, ezbass said:

A small update. After playing it quite a bit at home, in rehearsal and live, as much as the ability to blend in some bridge pickup is nice, I'm not sure that anyone would really notice it in the mix and that neck pickup is so nice on its own and way more pokey than the bridge, that the blend is somehow less. To this end, today, I disconnected the bridge pickup completely and have left the blend pot in as a volume control (it's a better quality pot than the original I think and the same value). It is instantly less noisy when you're not earthing it with your hands and I can just enjoy playing the neck pickup, which, unsurprisingly, roars like any P bass, but in a smaller, more quirky package. 

 

That's good to know, cheers corporal (I believe you've recently been promoted). It's a mod that I had initially considered, but my two main gigging basses are P pickup only configuration, albeit they're very different in terms of tone. So I really enjoy the tonal variation of the PJ pickups in the HB even though you can't blend between them. I just treat mine as having its own unique voice, but one that works with many different styles of music as it is. As you say, in the mix nobody is going to notice, which is also my conclusion based on lots of hours of use with my bands. 

[WilliamOfCrot]

I received mine 1 week ago. Very impressed by the quality and the sound, compared to more expensive ones I've ever seen and heard 

I use it with a Warwick BC 20 watts, which is loud enough to play in my bedroom.

Unfortunately, after 5 days of intense use (2 to 3 hours a day) the sound suddenly started to vanish depending on the position of the 6.5 jack and suddenly totally stopped.
I sent it back to Thomann and waiting the new one to arrive.
I asked Thomann's customer service what was the problem but had no answer yet.

Any issue on yours ? 

The new one will be delivered this friday 🤩
Thanks

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

4 hours ago, WilliamOfCrot said:

Unfortunately, after 5 days of intense use (2 to 3 hours a day) the sound suddenly started to vanish depending on the position of the 6.5 jack and suddenly totally stopped.

To prevent that occuring in the new one, get someone who owns a soldering iron to replace the output socket with either a switchcraft or puretone one - my favourite is the puretone but either should last a lifetime. The output jack is one of the areas on cheaper basses & guitars where manufacturers often cheap out to save a few pennies at the cost of reliability.

[WilliamOfCrot]

20 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

To prevent that occuring in the new one, get someone who owns a soldering iron to replace the output socket with either a switchcraft or puretone one - my favourite is the puretone but either should last a lifetime. The output jack is one of the areas on cheaper basses & guitars where manufacturers often cheap out to save a few pennies at the cost of reliability.

 
That’s exactly what I told my son this morning ;-). I saw videos of Lobster on YT of the output and it looks definitely cheap with a little contact with the wires. On my bass it was rolling after a few days 
I m gonna order a new one with the brands you recommend, Thanks 🤗

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

To prevent that occuring in the new one, get someone who owns a soldering iron to replace the output socket with either a switchcraft or puretone one - my favourite is the puretone but either should last a lifetime. The output jack is one of the areas on cheaper basses & guitars where manufacturers often cheap out to save a few pennies at the cost of reliability.

Yes to the Puretone, also look at the Artec one. It is very good.

[dieseldalziel]

My son has just finished a week's run of School of Rock the Musical in a youth theatre group, he was playing the bass player in the kids band..sounded great and looks great..a little promo clip

..https://fb.watch/mfzZk7i_kd/

👍

Edited August 6, 2023 by dieseldalziel
Added link

[Pea Turgh]

I can’t find these on Thomann any longer.  Maybe they have now actually been discontinued.

[lksmks792]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7JxIT-Mqf0/?igsh=MWQ0YXU0N3ZjY3pyYg==

 

Looks like they're bringing them back!

[Pea Turgh]

10 minutes ago, lksmks792 said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7JxIT-Mqf0/?igsh=MWQ0YXU0N3ZjY3pyYg==

 

Looks like they're bringing them back!

I saw that.  Great news!

[ezbass]

Hadn’t played mine for a while, got it out and was impressed with the playability all over again. I’m really tempted to fit a set of EMG GZRs, with a new side jack.

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Hadn’t played mine for a while, got it out and was impressed with the playability all over again. I’m really tempted to fit a set of EMG GZRs, with a new side jack.

 

It looked incredible with the Dimarzio chrome covered pickups in here:

 

[Jonesy]

Looks like they're just a regular P this time......

 

Although, are those HBZ pickups normally in active basses? 

 

Edited May 21 by Jonesy