|
Post by JAC on Jul 3, 2018 13:26:56 GMT
Nice
|
|
|
Post by nicholaspaul on Jul 17, 2018 22:23:39 GMT
Cor that is one classy looking bass. Good to hear an honest review too.
|
|
freeman
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
|
Post by freeman on Sept 28, 2018 8:50:24 GMT
UPDATE on the JB-20.
Last week I was invited to a studio session to do some backing vocals on a track. A bluesy modern track. When I got there, they hadn't finished the bass track because they couldn't find a decent sound. They had a 90's Fender Jazz Bass and a new Precision. They were trying D.I's, amps, pre-amps etc. So we rehearsed the backing vocals while they carried on...to no avail. They wanted a vintage sound. At some stage I told them they needed flat wounds. They didn't have any. I told them I've got this bass with flat wounds on it but it's at home. I didn't tell them what bass it was. So I drove home and came back with the JB-20. When I opened the case their faces dropped. The bass player: "Urggh, it's a Harley Benton! This isn't gonna work". I also brought my Acme Motown D.I. Even the bass player hadn't seen one before. Hooked the bass up via the D.I, stuck my dishwashing foam under the bridge, turned up the neck pickup and played the bassline for them. This is when the jaws dropped to the floor. Even I have to admit it sounded amazing. Needles to say, they used the JB-20. Everyone was happy, even the bass player. He'll be buying a JB-20 and an Acme Motown D.I. When they release the track I'll ask them if I can put up a sound sample here.
|
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Sept 28, 2018 12:55:23 GMT
People put faith in brands because they see the instrument as something they don't understand and attribute almost magical qualities to it. Something that has to be accepted as some gift of the gods. They will see pick-ups as something unique because they do not know they are just a form of signal processing.
Carol Kaye would say in interviews that Danelectros "were crap that had to be made playable". Then they were made playable and people made music with them. They changed bridges, pick-ups, tuners, whatever had to be improved. I would bet that present day Harley Benton are better than Danelectros from the 60s. I had to file a couple of frets on mine, fine. The rest was good enough.
Most people cannot think or experiment for themselves. Their opinions are not their own, they are a guess, borrowed from the herd on the simple assumption that what others think cannot be completely wrong.
|
|
|
Post by JAC on Sept 29, 2018 11:16:29 GMT
I would bet that present day Harley Benton are better than Danelectros from the 60s. I would bet that present day Harley Bentons are better than the majority of basses from the 60's
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Sept 29, 2018 12:01:19 GMT
I would bet that present day Harley Benton are better than Danelectros from the 60s. I would bet that present day Harley Bentons are better than the majority of basses from the 60's This is quite likely. I have been wondering about pick-up quality on the low price models but it seems people are happy with them and there have been raving reviews about the next range around 140€. I spent more money on mine because I wanted particular aesthetics together with active controls. The B-450 is a little bland looking, although I could have been happy with a white one.
|
|
|
Post by DerAlex on Feb 23, 2019 6:16:42 GMT
My 2 cents on the PB-50:
This is an awesome bass - especially for the money. Fretwork was impeccable, neck is satin and quite nice, hardware and bridge ok. I would´ve never imagined that it is possible to produce such an instrument for that price.
The neck is not too chunky IMHO.
The reason it is still going back to Thomann:
My main bass is a G&L L-2000 Tribute with two humbuckers.
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers.
With this little single coil of the PB-50 my thumb had no place to go (it felt like this to me at least).
This was the main reason to send it back. I have become some kind of gear snob (seems like it) and you can feel that this 109 EUR bass is made simpler than my G&L. Yet I prefer the feel of the upgraded hardware so I will buy a passive G&L now with PJ pickups which seem to be more aligned with my playing style and thumb position.
Still I recommend the PB-50 to everyone looking for a P-bass.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Feb 23, 2019 16:20:39 GMT
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers. Time for a 5-string
|
|
freeman
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
|
Post by freeman on Feb 23, 2019 16:44:52 GMT
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers. With this little single coil of the PB-50 my thumb had no place to go (it felt like this to me at least). This was the main reason to send it back. You can get a set of two thumb rests from Ebay for 1.70€ from China. They'll be in your letterbox within two weeks. It's a 109€ bass for gawds sake. Just drill two small holes and screw the thumb rest on...if you like the bass otherwise.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Feb 23, 2019 17:21:34 GMT
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers. With this little single coil of the PB-50 my thumb had no place to go (it felt like this to me at least). This was the main reason to send it back. You can get a set of two thumb rests from Ebay for 1.70€ from China. They'll be in your letterbox within two weeks. It's a 109€ bass for gawds sake. Just drill two small holes and screw the thumb rest on...if you like the bass otherwise. I'm sure anything with a strong sticker would do just fine.
|
|
|
Post by DerAlex on Feb 25, 2019 10:02:19 GMT
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers. Time for a 5-string Finally I get the reason to fill in the void GAS for a 5-string ...
|
|
|
Post by DerAlex on Feb 25, 2019 10:07:19 GMT
I was surprised on how much I rely on having a thumb rest with the humbucker covers. With this little single coil of the PB-50 my thumb had no place to go (it felt like this to me at least). This was the main reason to send it back. You can get a set of two thumb rests from Ebay for 1.70€ from China. They'll be in your letterbox within two weeks. It's a 109€ bass for gawds sake. Just drill two small holes and screw the thumb rest on...if you like the bass otherwise. I bought a G&L thumbrest instead. ;-) glguitars.com/product/sb-2-2/
|
|
|
|
Post by DerAlex on Feb 25, 2019 11:46:49 GMT
I always assumed that the G and the L stood for 'Gestating Lady'. Hence the headstock cutout. Wow, the Internet amazes me all the time what people are creating and putting their free time into. FWIW I always read how ugly that headstock is. But I noticed that while playing I am barely able to look at the headstock. So I am more interested in how the instrument feels - and my other G&L bass is fabulous - and I couldn´t care less about headstock shapes, switching knob plastic and other miniscule details.
|
|