Harley Benton JB-62

[Paolo85]

While these were mentioned in the "Thoman tease" thread, that was mostly about the "Gotoh" basses and I think these deserve their own thread. Despite all the hype around the Gotoh basses, which came out pretty much at the same time, I see that the cheaper JB-62 are doing rather well in terms of sales.

The picture is Thoman's ranking of their best selling J basses. If I read this correctly, the sunburst "Gotoh" is the only one in the top 20. It is followed by a JB-62, and there are another three JB-62 in the list.

Are any of the JB-62 owners on Basschat? How do you find them?

There's an online review on Youtube (in Polish, with translation) and the guy says it is less than 4kg - thanks I would gess to the poplar body. Same wood used in much more expensive basses such as some Squier CV or Sterling Ray4.

I feel that the JB-62 has on paper much more potential to revolutionise the low-end market. At ~£150, one can live with cheap tuners. And replacing them is not too hard or expensive if needed, with total costs remaning below or close to a Squier Affinity. The Roswell pickups are good. I do not have an opinion on tone wood yet but I do know for sure that some poplar basses can be very good, and poplar can be a good trade off if the HB's alder Js easily go over 5kg.

But then, this is all on paper. Are they built to the same quality of the JB-75? With that lighter body, are they massive neck divers? Any other issues?

 

 

 

[lksmks792]

I just got one last week, in shell pink. 

Build quality etc bang on, nothing to complain about. Tuners do feel a bit cheap though less so than on my other HB (5string PJ). Set up pretty good as well, with low action out of the box. Intonation seems to be in need of some tweaking. 

I only rehearsed with it once for about half an hour but I wasn't disappointed. Great, classic JB tones for very little money. 

[PaulThePlug]

@lksmks792 Tuners...

prolly have'nt been round n round...

pop the strings out, apply a dab of coppa slip to the worms and go round n round, forward and back... to clear any plating flashing, then wipe and go again with a dab of vaseline... If no coppa slip then just go with the vaseline, smoothed out and improved the feel of a few a sets of cheap tuners.

Easy and may improve enough to stop thinking of the outlay for new tuners that are half the price of the bass....

Edited February 15, 2023 by PaulThePlug

[Paolo85]

50 minutes ago, lksmks792 said:

I just got one last week, in shell pink. 

Build quality etc bang on, nothing to complain about. Tuners do feel a bit cheap though less so than on my other HB (5string PJ). Set up pretty good as well, with low action out of the box. Intonation seems to be in need of some tweaking. 

I only rehearsed with it once for about half an hour but I wasn't disappointed. Great, classic JB tones for very little money. 

Great! How is it in terms of weigh and balance?

[lksmks792]

Definitely not too heavy (don't have exact figures though) and balances pretty well. No neck dive to speak of. Again much better than my 5er PJ, which is very neck heavy.

[stewblack]

No surprise to see me in this thread. However.....I may surprise you by saying I haven't bought one of these.

 

 

 

 

Yet.

[uk_lefty]

I expect this uses the same hardware as the Harley Benton jaco-alike fretless, within a week of getting one I both rehearsed and gigged it. Meaning I used this for a whole gig, under lights and hammering away at the strings with my fingers and pick, drop D tuning it a few times... There's nothing wrong with the tuners. It needs new strings, but the tuners are fine. There are lighter tuners, more expensive tuners, ones that feel nicer. But be under no illusion, these work: you can use them to tune the strings and they stay in tune as good as most. 

[verb]

I received one yesterday. Weight wise it is 4kg on two different sets of scales. It balances fine on my 4" wide strap, no neck dive at all. The tuners are smooth in operation and have kept the bass in tune. I also have a PB50 and a JB20, the tuners on the 62 are the best of the three. Fit and finish all looks good. Set up wise, I just had to tune it.

[Bobo_08]

I have just pulled the trigger on a shell pink one this evening. 😁

[iconic]

On 15/02/2023 at 10:17, lksmks792 said:

I just got one last week, in shell pink. 

Build quality etc bang on, nothing to complain about. Tuners do feel a bit cheap though less so than on my other HB (5string PJ). Set up pretty good as well, with low action out of the box. Intonation seems to be in need of some tweaking. 

I only rehearsed with it once for about half an hour but I wasn't disappointed. Great, classic JB tones for very little money. 

Just the merest lick of silicon grease makes them feel much smoother 😎

[Bobo_08]

On 15/02/2023 at 15:13, stewblack said:

No surprise to see me in this thread. However.....I may surprise you by saying I haven't bought one of these.

 

 

 

 

Yet.

.... Has this changed yet? ☺️

[stewblack]

14 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

.... Has this changed yet? ☺️

I have made a firm decision. Based on common sense rather than any moral ground.

I live in an overcrowded, damp, cold room. I took a bass out the other day having not used it for a while. The pots crackled, there was rust on the pick ups, the strings were dead.

I simply cannot in all conscience bring another instrument into this room. Apart from anything else I'm falling over the ones I already have!

[Bobo_08]

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

I have made a firm decision. Based on common sense rather than any moral ground.

I live in an overcrowded, damp, cold room. I took a bass out the other day having not used it for a while. The pots crackled, there was rust on the pick ups, the strings were dead.

I simply cannot in all conscience bring another instrument into this room. Apart from anything else I'm falling over the ones I already have!

A dehumidifier and then a new bass then mate! How are you getting on with that Matt Black PB20?

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

How are you getting on with that Matt Black PB20?

i love it!

A dehumidifier and  a new bass I also love! Not that5 I have anywhere to put either

 

 

 

[uk_lefty]

15 hours ago, stewblack said:

Not that5 I have anywhere to put either

Any space on the ceiling?

[stewblack]

3 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Any space on the ceiling?

You're not helping 

[bassybill]

I have a couple of Harley Benton Jazz basses and the quality is just out of this world for the money. The only issue I have with them - and it’s a real shame as they are in every other way excellent - is that they are both back breakingly heavy. 

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, bassybill said:

I have a couple of Harley Benton Jazz basses and the quality is just out of this world for the money. The only issue I have with them - and it’s a real shame as they are in every other way excellent - is that they are both back breakingly heavy. 

Yes the jazz is a heavy one. None of the others are remotely as heavy. However I have find they balance so well I can use them comfortably for two three hours, and I'm old and quite broken!

[neil___lien]

But are you guys talking specifically about the JB-62CC? The body is made of poplar.. isn't that supposed to be lighter?

[Bobo_08]

On 30/03/2023 at 18:28, bassybill said:

I have a couple of Harley Benton Jazz basses and the quality is just out of this world for the money. The only issue I have with them - and it’s a real shame as they are in every other way excellent - is that they are both back breakingly heavy. 

 

I've just received my JB 62 this afternoon and I really like it, it's a very reasonable weight. I will report back exactly how heavy it is once I've found the luggage scales.

 

I have a PB20 which is really quite heavy and not very comfortable during 2 to 3hr practice session

[Bobo_08]

22 hours ago, neil___lien said:

But are you guys talking specifically about the JB-62CC? The body is made of poplar.. isn't that supposed to be lighter?

It is, I just got mine.. will advise on weight when I find those pesky luggage scales. 

[neil___lien]

Aaah great! Thanks! Glad to hear U like it!

I ordered a JP-45OP today in the end, so a JB62 will have to wait for now.. 

[Bobo_08]

HB PB20 4.35kg

HB JB62 4.22kg

[neil___lien]

And i believe my Harley Benton MV-4MSB is 4.1kg IIRC

[Bobo_08]

4 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

HB PB20 4.35kg

HB JB62 4.22kg

I was actually surprised how close these two basses weighed because my perception was that the PB20 was considerably heavier, I was wrong. 

 

As a comparison my Yamaha TRBX304 is Mahogany and weighs in at 3.9kg. 

I think a decent quality strap is paramount.. I remember now that I practised for 2hours with that PB20 with just a seatbelt nylon strap... Zero padding... It wasn't a pleasant experience. Lol.