Two years ago I had no interest in bass at all. Then I discovered Mr L.E. Lobster. I am now a bass player. I struggled to decide between a Harley Music Man homage and their PJ Gotoh in Burgundy Mist. The answer was so obvious - I bought them both! I hold Mr Lobster totally responsible for this predicament. My lawyer will be in touch ... he's looking to upgrade his Precision.
Totally understand... I bought a H. B. JJ 45 OP in blue due to Lobsters reviews.. I couldn't be happier with the quality, sounds and looks of the bass. I also have a Harley Benton fretless acoustic which is also awesome
I have the TMB30, as I commented in an earlier video. The way you have both set up, I do agree that the HB sounds slightly better, but, the TMB30 can be more selective. In other words, I can use both pups, or one or the other, whereas you have to use both pups together on the HB. Now, when I just select the neck pup, and add on the fact that I have changed the strings to flats, I feel in all honesty, my TMB30 sounds a bit better than the HB. But, that's my opinion. Bottom line, the TMB30 has a broader tone range than the HB. Now there is one thing that I do agree on, I think I would prefer the neck on the HB over the TMB30. As much as I love the TMB30, the neck is a bit more chunky. Because of my shorter fingers, the playability on the HB would be better for me. I have to say, that I love the idea of doing side side-by-side comparisons like this. Or as a friend I had years ago from way out in Newfoundland, Canada, would say, side-by-each. He was such a great guy with an enormous sense of humor. Great video, Lobster. Please do more side-by-each comparison videos.
I still prefer the Ibanez. I don't hear the harshness, by the contrary, it has more mids and you can hear the notes clearly as opposed to the harley benton.
I purchased a Sterling Stingray SS-4 and was thoroughly impressed with the: fit, finish, sound & playability. Combined with my Fender Rumble 100 Amp - sounds phenomenal.
Nice composition. I have a TMB30 and really like mine. After a couple years I've had no issues. For short scale basses i like a chunkier neck and the Ibanez delivers. And the bass stays in tune. Not that i put a lot of emphasis on resale value on sub $500 instruments, but the Ibanez will hold value better. Harley Benton is good but not as known as Ibanez in the US.
Although they sound different, I doubt it would be of any consequence to audience members or even band mates. I lean toward the Talman but that may well be because I own one and I am used to the tone. Interestingly, my tone knob works fine, but my bass was purchased back in 2021 so maybe they are using a different tone pot now. When I play my Talman I rely on the P pickup, and typically vary the J pickup between off and maybe 25% or so to add some "color". Love the videos and looking forward to any mods you might do to either of these basses! Given all the stuff that can happen at gigs, I enjoy the peace-of-mind that comes with using cheap basses, and I'm very interested in how they can be improved without spending a ton of money.
I prefer the HB on all accounts. Ergonomics seem better, I love the fatter tone and it looks gorgeous. I just wish they would add a second volume knob or PU-switch.
By your description of the sound I feel like you got the basses mixed up. I thought the HB sounded harsh on the high end where the Ibanez sounded punchy and more rounded. Maybe it's just not translating in the video. Hmmmm...
Great channel lobster. In 50 yrs. of playing here`s my rules of thumb. Play a bass that feels good to you and just as important is string choice and amp settings. It`s the whole package that matters.
Hey Lobster. Thanks for the vid. How would you describe the quality of the fretwork on both basses? Are they properly finished, even and smooth or not? Any fret sprout that you can notice on either? Which would you choose based on the care of the fret finish? Thanks
Check out the full reviews of both basses for more detailed info. TBH, both are fine if not pretty great for the price point. YMMV of course as with all budget instruments
The Harley-Benton seems like it would be more comfortable to play, but if I had to use one of them to play a gig tonight with my rock band, I'd go for the Ibanez. It has a much bigger sound with fatter mids. I'm not hearing too much of the harshness you're talking about. I seems as though it's got a lot of the kind of tone that sounds cranky solo, but great when the rest of the band comes in. I get the sense that it would have some presence that the HB lacks. That said, the control configuration of the HB and the ergonomics of the Ibanez both seem like deal breakers to me.
Hey Butch here, I like the tone, the body and neck better on the Harley Benton, but it really needs another volume pot to get the full range. I wonder if the tone pot is wired wrong on the Talman. Thanks!
In this demo I liked the HB...but the Ibby is more versatile since you can solo the P pup and get the full range of tones w the Ibby instead of just 100% or 0" with the HB.
Salutations, crustacean! I followed with great interest the customization of your own Harley Benton MV4. So here's a deeply existential question for you, prince of the low tides 🦞: which one do you prefer between your own fully custom HB and the Sire U5? And, an easy one, which one suffers less from neck diving and right arm playing discomfort, a question surely being asked by those, like me, who followed the reviews of these two petite axes? I'd like to know, because I have to settle on a desert island with only two things: a bass guitar and... Sophia Vergara🤪. And I still want to keep some interest in music. BTW, we have the same taste in bottoms: I’ve got the same blue Pierre Cardin pajama pants, Sophia's favorite. 🤣
Currently I have the Short-scale Fender Player Series PJ Mustang. I'm hoping to get the Fender Japan Short-scale Junior Collection Jazz Bass, later this year. It will be interesting to compare them.
Very high brightness and super readability are needed for solo performance. The bass should work in its frequencies. But I like this bass. (I'm sorry. Machine translation from my language)
Thanks for the great comparison. I borrowed a friend's Talman 30 for a recording session recently. It sounded great, but the thing that irked me most was the fat neck. It's a much fatter profile than my standard length go-to Squier Jaguar Bass, it just seems like a very odd design choice on a short scale. Also the body shape is kinda clunky, whereas the Harley nails the Mustang vibe with it's slightly slimmer and more elegant approach. the Talman is… bulgy!
@@deaddoll1361 I'm just not sure how they signed off on the TMB30 body shape. If the body had more of the flow of the headstock it'd be great, but… blob.
Off topic, but I got my G&L CLF Research L1000 yesterday after your recommendation and I'm so happy with it 🥰 Sounds great, very versatile, looks amazing (I got the blue). Thanks Lobster! 🦞
Ibanez sounds much brighter on my end. But neck dive and wide neck seems like they world be issues for me. I am considering the HB and adding EMG geezers
My complaint with anything coming from Thomann now days is the shipping cost. Back in the "good old days" a buyer could ship 3 guitars to the USA on DHL for under $40.00. Now one sent to the USA runs $85.00. That was a actual cart check out pricing I did one day ago. For the sake of research I added another guitar to the cart and went to do the checkout test and 2 would ship for $81.00. Now that sounds better but it adds the obvious question.. "How dey do dat" ? I may try that again and see how many you have to buy to get shipping to ZERO.. :) Yes I am doubtful that can happen but adding one was a lower price.. Must be German Engineering.. Thomann also prices USA Gibson cheaper than the price in the USA but can not ship back to the USA die to the dealer agreement. I found that out when they listed a basic model Gibson V for $800.00. OOO I tried to buy that! I have not tired that in a couple of years but I expect it is still true. The site may not let you even add USA products to the cart if you are logged in with a USA address. I have not tried it since 2020 when I was pretty much knocked out of buying from Thomann due to the shipping problem when DHL lost access to airlines and went to ocean containers.
Shipping to the UK is free over £149. So, with you being at least 5 times further away it seems only right that you should pay 5 times as much for shipping. So, that would be 5 x £0 = £0. I'm sure you'll agree that's only fair.
@@crystalwaveable You should try it in Australia where there is no Thomann. I looked at their Mustang with a Jaguar tremelo and it was like buying two guitars when shipping was added.
Hey Lobster, I always enjoy your videos. But I thought you made an odd choice in this one... that is, to not compare the tone of the Talman using the neck pickup only "because the Harley Benton always uses both pickups"(!) Why "penalise" the TMB due to a constraint of the Harley Benton...? I use the neck pickup only on my TMB35 specifically to achieve the darker tone that you seemed to prefer on the Harley Benton. So it's kind of misleading to conclude that the TMB35 has (paraphrasing) "too-bright a tone" when it has an extra control that enables it to deliver a darker tone, and that this also ability to blend pickups also provides a broader palette of tonal options. The HB does have some things in its favour ... I love the white binding around the neck, the lightweight tuners are a boon, there are more colour options, and the more stgandard styling will be preferred by many. On the other hand, the TMB is the only one that comes in a 5-string version, there's the forementioned ability to use combinations of pickups, an extra fret, and I actually prefer its retro style and slightly chunkier neck. The TMB is much cheaper, too - or around the same price as the Harley Benton if you replace its stock tuners with Hipshot or Gotoh lightweight tuners. Anyway: keep Lobstering.
By the end of this video, I was literally screaming at the screen. PLEASE drop the arbitrary restrictions for future shootouts: The obvious question is “what kind of tones can you pull out of the Talman and the Harley Benton, given their respective strengths and weaknesses?” Failing to check out the Talman’s neck pickup-only tone was a grotesque oversight. What’s next? Comparing an EB-1 to an EB-3, and leaving the bridge pickup off for “fairness”?
My thoughts? You criticised the appearance of the Talman body and head stock in its review, but are seemingly fine with Harley Benton's shameless rip off of a Fender Mustang. The lack of a pickup switch is also not an obstacle on the bass you judged the "winner", yet you'd earlier modified one by changing virtually everything. Personally I think you exaggerated the neck dive on the Ibanez too. I can't play my Mustang guitar sitting on my knee without the neck diving.
The talman has better aesthetics. Just like a cheap Japanese copy from the '60s the Harley Benton pickup configuration setting is simply just unheard of. The Talman stands on its own ground aesthetically but the Harley Benton looks like a cheap copy of fenders cheapest most worthless bass...the "Bronco/Mustang?"
Very high brightness and super readability are needed for solo performance. The bass should work in its frequencies. But I like this bass. (I'm sorry. Machine translation from my language)
Two years ago I had no interest in bass at all. Then I discovered Mr L.E. Lobster. I am now a bass player. I struggled to decide between a Harley Music Man homage and their PJ Gotoh in Burgundy Mist. The answer was so obvious - I bought them both! I hold Mr Lobster totally responsible for this predicament. My lawyer will be in touch ... he's looking to upgrade his Precision.
Totally understand... I bought a H. B. JJ 45 OP in blue due to Lobsters reviews.. I couldn't be happier with the quality, sounds and looks of the bass. I also have a Harley Benton fretless acoustic which is also awesome
when do you know you a bassist ?
Short-scale Basses are great for those of us who have chronic pain issues.
Sometimes, I just don't feel up to playing a full-scale Bass.
Sometimes you want it comfortable 😊
Couldn't agree more, I have mild scoliosis in my neck and back and its led to a lot of shoulder issues so short scales are a life saver!🙏
The Harley Benton would be an awesome candidate for a stacked concentric volume pot. That way each pickup would have its own volume.
I have the TMB30, as I commented in an earlier video. The way you have both set up, I do agree that the HB sounds slightly better, but, the TMB30 can be more selective. In other words, I can use both pups, or one or the other, whereas you have to use both pups together on the HB. Now, when I just select the neck pup, and add on the fact that I have changed the strings to flats, I feel in all honesty, my TMB30 sounds a bit better than the HB. But, that's my opinion. Bottom line, the TMB30 has a broader tone range than the HB. Now there is one thing that I do agree on, I think I would prefer the neck on the HB over the TMB30. As much as I love the TMB30, the neck is a bit more chunky. Because of my shorter fingers, the playability on the HB would be better for me. I have to say, that I love the idea of doing side side-by-side comparisons like this. Or as a friend I had years ago from way out in Newfoundland, Canada, would say, side-by-each. He was such a great guy with an enormous sense of humor. Great video, Lobster. Please do more side-by-each comparison videos.
i tried a tmb30 yesterday i loved it i will probably get one in the future
I still prefer the Ibanez. I don't hear the harshness, by the contrary, it has more mids and you can hear the notes clearly as opposed to the harley benton.
I purchased a Sterling Stingray SS-4 and was thoroughly impressed with the: fit, finish, sound & playability. Combined with my Fender Rumble 100 Amp - sounds phenomenal.
For this review. I prefer the Talman. Thanks for posting.
That talman is the winner in my book. It has a nice brightness to it that I don’t hear in the Harley Benton
Nice composition. I have a TMB30 and really like mine. After a couple years I've had no issues. For short scale basses i like a chunkier neck and the Ibanez delivers. And the bass stays in tune.
Not that i put a lot of emphasis on resale value on sub $500 instruments, but the Ibanez will hold value better. Harley Benton is good but not as known as Ibanez in the US.
Although they sound different, I doubt it would be of any consequence to audience members or even band mates. I lean toward the Talman but that may well be because I own one and I am used to the tone. Interestingly, my tone knob works fine, but my bass was purchased back in 2021 so maybe they are using a different tone pot now. When I play my Talman I rely on the P pickup, and typically vary the J pickup between off and maybe 25% or so to add some "color". Love the videos and looking forward to any mods you might do to either of these basses! Given all the stuff that can happen at gigs, I enjoy the peace-of-mind that comes with using cheap basses, and I'm very interested in how they can be improved without spending a ton of money.
So weird with the HB the inability to dial between the P or J pickup. Isn’t that kind of the point of a PJ?
Thanks once again for your review. Cheers
Nice comparison! Did make think about how cool that Harley Benton would be in a Vintage White
I prefer the HB on all accounts. Ergonomics seem better, I love the fatter tone and it looks gorgeous. I just wish they would add a second volume knob or PU-switch.
By your description of the sound I feel like you got the basses mixed up. I thought the HB sounded harsh on the high end where the Ibanez sounded punchy and more rounded. Maybe it's just not translating in the video. Hmmmm...
Ibanez is best.
Brilliant analysis! Any actual reason why?
@@senacht I'm really happy with my Ibanez TMB35, but it's all just an opinion. I e.g. like that it has a large neck
Thank you for this review! I have been interested in the short scales. Lot's of great info in this vid. Great timing.
Great channel lobster. In 50 yrs. of playing here`s my rules of thumb. Play a bass that feels good to you and just as important is string choice and amp settings. It`s the whole package that matters.
The Ibby sounds 2 or 3 pay grades higher. Rich tone with more distinct notes.
Hey Lobster. Thanks for the vid.
How would you describe the quality of the fretwork on both basses? Are they properly finished, even and smooth or not? Any fret sprout that you can notice on either? Which would you choose based on the care of the fret finish?
Thanks
Check out the full reviews of both basses for more detailed info. TBH, both are fine if not pretty great for the price point. YMMV of course as with all budget instruments
The Harley-Benton seems like it would be more comfortable to play, but if I had to use one of them to play a gig tonight with my rock band, I'd go for the Ibanez. It has a much bigger sound with fatter mids. I'm not hearing too much of the harshness you're talking about. I seems as though it's got a lot of the kind of tone that sounds cranky solo, but great when the rest of the band comes in. I get the sense that it would have some presence that the HB lacks.
That said, the control configuration of the HB and the ergonomics of the Ibanez both seem like deal breakers to me.
Hey Butch here, I like the tone, the body and neck better on the Harley Benton, but it really needs another volume pot to get the full range. I wonder if the tone pot is wired wrong on the Talman. Thanks!
I love the HB, but it’s so bizarre they didn’t bother to include any method for pickup selection
Wtf was HB thinking with that pickup configuration?? Just charge 10 euros more and give it a third knob or a switch
I love the HB, Mr Lobster. I would love to see some pick-up selector mod - if you could please!
In this demo I liked the HB...but the Ibby is more versatile since you can solo the P pup and get the full range of tones w the Ibby instead of just 100% or 0" with the HB.
Salutations, crustacean!
I followed with great interest the customization of your own Harley Benton MV4.
So here's a deeply existential question for you, prince of the low tides 🦞: which one do you prefer between your own fully custom HB and the Sire U5?
And, an easy one, which one suffers less from neck diving and right arm playing discomfort, a question surely being asked by those, like me, who followed the reviews of these two petite axes?
I'd like to know, because I have to settle on a desert island with only two things: a bass guitar and... Sophia Vergara🤪. And I still want to keep some interest in music.
BTW, we have the same taste in bottoms: I’ve got the same blue Pierre Cardin pajama pants, Sophia's favorite. 🤣
Have you tried the Ibanez artcore AGB 200 bass yet?
Currently I have the Short-scale Fender Player Series PJ Mustang.
I'm hoping to get the Fender Japan Short-scale Junior Collection Jazz Bass, later this year.
It will be interesting to compare them.
I agree with you 1 point the ibanez have a little bit better sound in slap in all the rest the h.b. lead!
The Ibanez talman only needs a tone monster and it's a wrap it will kick the Harley Bentons ass hands down
I know it costs more but I spent the past few hours ripping on my G&L Fallout Tribute and it slays. Try one if you get a chance!
Very high brightness and super readability are needed for solo performance. The bass should work in its frequencies. But I like this bass. (I'm sorry. Machine translation from my language)
Do they got those in Fretless form and would ya want one?
Thanks for the great comparison. I borrowed a friend's Talman 30 for a recording session recently. It sounded great, but the thing that irked me most was the fat neck. It's a much fatter profile than my standard length go-to Squier Jaguar Bass, it just seems like a very odd design choice on a short scale. Also the body shape is kinda clunky, whereas the Harley nails the Mustang vibe with it's slightly slimmer and more elegant approach. the Talman is… bulgy!
Harley "nails the Mustang vibe" by directly copying it.
@@deaddoll1361 I'm just not sure how they signed off on the TMB30 body shape. If the body had more of the flow of the headstock it'd be great, but… blob.
Off topic, but I got my G&L CLF Research L1000 yesterday after your recommendation and I'm so happy with it 🥰 Sounds great, very versatile, looks amazing (I got the blue). Thanks Lobster! 🦞
NICE! Enjoy the Wunkay!
Ibanez sounds much brighter on my end. But neck dive and wide neck seems like they world be issues for me. I am considering the HB and adding EMG geezers
My complaint with anything coming from Thomann now days is the shipping cost. Back in the "good old days" a buyer could ship 3 guitars to the USA on DHL for under $40.00. Now one sent to the USA runs $85.00. That was a actual cart check out pricing I did one day ago. For the sake of research I added another guitar to the cart and went to do the checkout test and 2 would ship for $81.00. Now that sounds better but it adds the obvious question.. "How dey do dat" ? I may try that again and see how many you have to buy to get shipping to ZERO.. :) Yes I am doubtful that can happen but adding one was a lower price.. Must be German Engineering.. Thomann also prices USA Gibson cheaper than the price in the USA but can not ship back to the USA die to the dealer agreement. I found that out when they listed a basic model Gibson V for $800.00. OOO I tried to buy that! I have not tired that in a couple of years but I expect it is still true. The site may not let you even add USA products to the cart if you are logged in with a USA address. I have not tried it since 2020 when I was pretty much knocked out of buying from Thomann due to the shipping problem when DHL lost access to airlines and went to ocean containers.
Shipping to the UK is free over £149. So, with you being at least 5 times further away it seems only right that you should pay 5 times as much for shipping. So, that would be 5 x £0 = £0. I'm sure you'll agree that's only fair.
@@crystalwaveable You should try it in Australia where there is no Thomann. I looked at their Mustang with a Jaguar tremelo and it was like buying two guitars when shipping was added.
Hey Lobster, I always enjoy your videos. But I thought you made an odd choice in this one... that is, to not compare the tone of the Talman using the neck pickup only "because the Harley Benton always uses both pickups"(!) Why "penalise" the TMB due to a constraint of the Harley Benton...?
I use the neck pickup only on my TMB35 specifically to achieve the darker tone that you seemed to prefer on the Harley Benton. So it's kind of misleading to conclude that the TMB35 has (paraphrasing) "too-bright a tone" when it has an extra control that enables it to deliver a darker tone, and that this also ability to blend pickups also provides a broader palette of tonal options.
The HB does have some things in its favour ... I love the white binding around the neck, the lightweight tuners are a boon, there are more colour options, and the more stgandard styling will be preferred by many. On the other hand, the TMB is the only one that comes in a 5-string version, there's the forementioned ability to use combinations of pickups, an extra fret, and I actually prefer its retro style and slightly chunkier neck.
The TMB is much cheaper, too - or around the same price as the Harley Benton if you replace its stock tuners with Hipshot or Gotoh lightweight tuners.
Anyway: keep Lobstering.
Tbh, he also only played at 0 and 100% tone, because that's how Ibanez works, so i would say it's kinda 1:1
The HB I think , I'm not really a fan of short scale but a Mustang would be tolerated.
Hoping for a Manhattan Prestige review
By the end of this video, I was literally screaming at the screen. PLEASE drop the arbitrary restrictions for future shootouts: The obvious question is “what kind of tones can you pull out of the Talman and the Harley Benton, given their respective strengths and weaknesses?” Failing to check out the Talman’s neck pickup-only tone was a grotesque oversight. What’s next? Comparing an EB-1 to an EB-3, and leaving the bridge pickup off for “fairness”?
My thoughts? You criticised the appearance of the Talman body and head stock in its review, but are seemingly fine with Harley Benton's shameless rip off of a Fender Mustang. The lack of a pickup switch is also not an obstacle on the bass you judged the "winner", yet you'd earlier modified one by changing virtually everything. Personally I think you exaggerated the neck dive on the Ibanez too. I can't play my Mustang guitar sitting on my knee without the neck diving.
Ibanez wins
I love them both
i have the Ibanez TMB35- short scale and i like the p bass pickup alone the most. very fat .
Ibanez wins.
The HB sounds richer to my ear
I did not hear you say but I would think that the Harley Benton is less money...
Nope the HB is almost twice the price of the Talman.
@@v1rtu050 where did you get that incorrect number? Talman is $229.00 US and the HB is $199.00 (plus shipping from Thomann)
WOW 😃
HB 4:29 - 7:40 - 9:04
Ibanez 4:52 - 7:59 - 9:26
i love ibby's but the Hb won
Does this guy ever wear anything other than pajama pants?
Harley Benton is less muddy, the Ibby has too fat a neck
The talman has better aesthetics. Just like a cheap Japanese copy from the '60s the Harley Benton pickup configuration setting is simply just unheard of. The Talman stands on its own ground aesthetically but the Harley Benton looks like a cheap copy of fenders cheapest most worthless bass...the "Bronco/Mustang?"
HARLY BENTON WINNNNSSS
Very high brightness and super readability are needed for solo performance. The bass should work in its frequencies. But I like this bass. (I'm sorry. Machine translation from my language)