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Post by JAC on Feb 10, 2015 18:05:33 GMT
Here are the latest two additions to my collection that I have made this year... They are a Harley Benton B-30 and a B-35.
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Post by JAC on Feb 10, 2015 18:11:05 GMT
This is the review on the B-30 I posted, when I first recieved it, in the "I own a Harley Benton Club" thread on talkbass. The Talkbass Harley Benton Club is here: www.talkbass.com/threads/i-own-a-harley-benton-club.1123735/" So, I have played around with my HBB 30BK for a couple of hours, and here are my conclusions so far...
As kodiakblair said, the only "defect" on this bass is that the sticker inside the soundhole says "5 string Fretless", which it obviously isn´t. Other than that, I can't find anything else wrong with the bass.
Before giving my impressions on the bass, let me just point out that this isn't the first Harley Benton ABG that I have tried, also other models such as Ibanez, Fender, Takamine, Jack & Danny, Tanglewood etc. Up to now, I have either returned them all, or left the store without buying them. None of them clicked with me as being "the one". The closest I came to keeping/buying one was the Tanglewood which I tried on various occasions in Holland. The sound of the Tanglewood was what I wanted in an ABG, the neck was very nice, it was loud... but it was huge!! I made the trip to buy it on 3 separate occasions, and left without it every time, I just couldn't convince myself I wanted to spend 400€ on it.
So, with that out of the way, I feel I am being honest when I say that I am not easily impressed by "budget" ABGs, the Harley Benton is no exception.
The finish of the instrument is decent, without any noticeable flaws. The body is large, but nowhere near as big as the Tanglewood, I would say it is about the same size as the Takamine and the Jack&Danny (if my memory serves me correctly), sort of mid way between an Ibanez and a Dean.
Whilst on the subject of finish, I must say that I hate necks that have a painted/gloss finish. Although this neck is nowhere near as bad as some of the other painted/glossy necks I have tried (such as my first HB, or Epiphones etc.), I still think that I may end up sanding the neck. First I will try the steel wool trick, and if not, then I will sand an oil. Which obviously brings the question "Why did you get black and not natural?", it was because it was only available in black (the naturals were 5ers or lefties). Black also looks cool!
As far as the body goes, it is not uncomfortable, but as with all ABGs, it takes some getting used to.
The hardware seems to be as good (or better) than other Harley Bentons I have. The tuners hold tune (at least for a few hours) and are smooth and fairly accurate. The bridge was a nice surprise, I expected pins (I didn't take any notice when I ordered it), but it is string through which I prefer.
The setup out of the box is acceptable. The action is fairly low (I may try to lower it a little more) and there is no fret buzz.
I have only plugged it in briefly, through the B3 on bypass into a GK combo, and I think the pickup/preamp leaves a lot to be desired. At louder volumes it is fairly noisy, but I haven't attempted to EQ it yet, so it may be a case of tweaking. I was surprised at how much boost and cut the onboard pre offers, I don't know if this is good or bad yet (until I start tweaking), but it is far more exaggerated than the pre on my ESP 5 string. The built in tuner works, but seems to have a lot more tolerance than other digital tuners (such as the B3 tuner).
So for anybody who doesn't know why I bought and am keeping this bass, it is because it cost me 55€ brand new! By no means is this the best ABG I have played, although I have played a lot worse (IMO), but for 55€ (I just have to repeat it) I think this is an excellent buy and will cure my GAS for an ABG to noodle on.
I will make further comments when I have played and tweaked some more. "
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Post by JAC on Feb 10, 2015 18:13:46 GMT
And here is a vdieo from Youtube user "intwernet" giving some sound samples of the B-30.
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302 posts
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Post by TitaniumRX on Feb 10, 2015 23:11:50 GMT
And here is a vdieo from Youtube user "intwernet" giving some sound samples of the B-30. I just see my comments on that video,when i was waiting for the black mine. This video convince me to buy it back then.
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