as for the 'tonewood' thing, there's a video on YT of a guy that started with a guitar body, and bit by bit he took away THE ENTIRE BODY! He was left with strings and a pickup strapped from 1 table to another table and it sounds EXACTLY the same as the guitar body! google it!
We all saw that video as well. To me, personally, I don't think it sounded exactly the same to my ears, but I think we ultimately need to go down to some kind of robotic strum on the same electronics with varying woods and then seeing the results on an oscilloscope graph to really nail it down scientifically. I've been trying to figure out the best way to go about that on the channel; need more science experts on the line about it!
when it comes to electric instruments the pickups will always sound the same as their designed to. Only thing really changing the tone is the player and the actual setup of the bass, uneven frets, poor intonation, etc
@@davedixon2167 if you need to go down to oscilloscopes and mechanical strumming to find a difference, then that difference is pretty much irrelevant for all intents and purposes.
I saw the video too, but it's weird that when I upgraded my old Luna bass (not the tattoo one you find on google) with DiMarzio DP122CR and a new tusq nut, it still sounds bad, compared to my stock Squier JB & Fender PB. Maybe it's the bridge or string tension.
I started bass about two years ago. I’ve bought several HB models and this is my favourite but not the most expensive! I have since replaced the pups with EMG Geezer Butlers, the pots and wiring from a Crimson Guitars kit and the tuners with Hipshots. The bridge is next on the list and it’s had a complete setup and fret dress by a local luthier whose opinion is that it’s as good as any Fender he’s had in! That’ll do for me!!!
I bought the P-bass version of this as a cheap hotel room bass when I'm travelling for work (nervous about taking my Fender American Standard P-bass on the road). After popping some EMG GZR pups in the Harley Benton, it's a fantastic bass and my go-to now for D-standard and Eb tunings (also fitted heavier gauge strings). Honestly, for the money you can't go wrong... it's a great starting point to upgrade parts on at a later date. 👌 🤘🤘
@c0rdeiro494 no, the GZR P Bass pickups drop straight in, and don't need soldering. You'll need new tone and volume knobs, though, as the EMG pots have wider stalks than the standard HB ones. Or drill out the HB ones to fit the EMG tone and volume stalks.
For a beginner, it's amazing what you can get for little money these days. And for a professional or semi-professional, a Harley Benton bass is always an excellent backup bass. I don't want to drive to a gig with two vintage Fender basses, but I don't feel comfortable without a backup bass either. Because if a show has to be interrupted just because one of the strings breaks, that's really embarrassing.
If someone thinks that an instrument is an investment and not mainly a tool to show your musical skill and craftsmanship then we are mixing up two different things. Musician thinks about music, collector thinks about money spent and received later on. It's just a piece of wood with strings attached, the person playing it is what makes it rock or suck.
I don't think you're being fair here. If playing music is how you earn a living, then buying a new instrument is very much a business investment. If you want to get hired for session work then you have to provide the tone your client wants not what you want.
That's one more reason to invest in several inexpensive but good instruments rather than few extremely expensive ones. You can have 3500$ historic relic precision bass but it won't help you if client is looking for modern metal tone. BTW when was the last time your client requested that your bass has to be of certain price or made of certain wood? :D
I have two Squire basses (4 and 5 string Jazz Basses) with maple necks. What I did was swapped the tuners out (Hipshot) and the 4 got the extender key as well. Both got Hipshot bridges and the nut on both is brass. SD Quarter Pound PUPs (My Geddy Lee Jazz also got those) and I upgraded the volume and tone pots. The sound is INCREDIBLE! I would play the Squire 4 string live exclusively except for the weight... Imagine a VERY early P Bass... And it's more than that LOL.... I used the Squire for recording (for the first time) and the owner/engineer of the studio came into the booth and I said "What's up?".. He said "I just had to see if that really was a Squire like you told me.. It's tone is amazing!".
going from stock Squier affinity pickups to EMG P pickups I noticed an improvement. I was already happy with the squier pickups and got the EMGs as a gift. the main benefit of the EMG pickups is they are noiseless and the increased total spectrum the bass now has, there is lower lows and higher highs while still having that mid range emphasis that P bass pickups are known for. I don't think it is ok to hate on an instrument just because it's price is low. Just point out it's flaws and either you can live with those flaws or you can't. If you are a professional you are going to want at least one professional quality instrument to play shows with but why not have a $200 copy of a rickenbacker. You have to be a fairly wealthy individual to have a music instrument "collection" but as a hobbyist I can see why it would be fun to have multiple basses even if they are of lesser quality. The price of instruments has started to go through the roof so if more people are buying the inexpensive models the more established brands will have pressure to lower their prices. Competition is good for the consumer at the end of the day.
here is my mentality regarding inexpensive gear, the gear should not be too cheap enough where it makes you wanna buy another that does a similar job (basically something that already covers most of what you want from a gear), and it shouldn't be too expensive enough that you won't take it out of the case out of fear that it will be broken/stolen or something...
I can’t comment on HB basses, but around 20 years ago I bought a pair of SX Pj basses. ($109 each) on 1 of them the only upgrades was an SX jazz neck. The other got a Warmoth neck, Schaller hardware, Dimarzio pickups & new CTS pots. I leveled frets on both & gave them graphite nuts. The SX jazz neck is very narrow @ the nut, I had to do a lot of sanding. All that said, those 2 basses are the best I have. Better than my Fender J or Peavey. Also, SX looks hard to find now, & they’re way more expensive.
“Burn it…”. LOL, I bought a $40 Glarry that needs lots of love and care… then my bro-in-law talked me into a the HB being reviewed here, and his exact words for the one I’m working on was “throw it on the burn pile”
Regarding your unpopular opinion #2, cheap instruments like HB are great way to check out what you really want, sure you can drop couple of thousand bucks for Music Man or whatever boutique instrument you drool over, but is it really the tone and feel you want? And if they are worth nothing on the used market... then get used! For example I've never been interested in P basses until I bought HB P-bass and i LOVE it. I have more expensive, custom built basses but I still like coming back to my Harley Bentons and I play them a lot, they have their issuses and obviously aren't built that well, but I simply enjoy playing them, I like the feel and the sound... isn't that what really matters? I think a lot of bassists are caught up in this illusion that unless you spend a fortune on instrument you can't play good music and be happy. You can. And the difference isn't really that big...
The upside of a cheap HB is you can teach yourself to modify /work on a bass without worrying about messing up a $2K Fender. So swap out the output jack and teach yourself to solder. Work on using a fret file without fear of causing Leo to turn over in his grave.
Ah, some of us don’t care about resale value. Some buy a bass and actually keep it. The HB MM-84A SB is a really nice bass for the price. Comes in at $169!.00! What’s nice is it has 24 frets and two massive humbuckers! Another is the B-450 QTB. Different colors in this series. Again 24 frets and good wood for the body, neck and fretboard. Sounds extremely good and comes in at $159.00 If you’re strapped for cash, these are good options.
Hot take: being concerned about "retaining value" on instruments, shows you aren't putting concern/emphasis on the things that make you a musician. to each there own, but don't confuse *THAT* with being a player who wants a tool for their craft. yeah?
Awesome demo! 😎🤘🏻🎸 harley Benton makes phenomenal basses for the price and this skb model is no exception. It has a great tone. Especially when played through a gk legacy amp(which I’ve been thinking about purchasing). I personally dig their mm-styled bass and I would go with the 5-string version of that bass and maybe one of their other models. Other than that, Harley Benton makes great basses for the price.
As for the talk about the instruments you very pleased with owning, I agree with that. If you own a bass that you’re truly pleased with, it should matter to you. And it really doesn’t matter how much they cost, it’s the sound quality that matters the most. I own basses that I’m truly pleased with and I’ve been treasuring them ever since. If you’re curious about a particular bass, there’s really nothing wrong with giving them a shot. You might like it or you don’t. Either way, you took a chance on trying it out.
I had Squier Affinity with ceramic pickups and CV Jazz Bass with alnico 5. Personally (and I know it will sound stupid maybe), I enjoyed the ceramic pickups sound more as they sounded more bright to me. The alnico pickups provide more warm “woody” sound so to call it. Not bad or better - I think it’s matter of taste.
My first ever bass was this bass but the version with just the p bass pickup (I only started like 2-3 years ago) It served me fine for my needs, the action on it out of the box was high as a skyscraper, so it may have hindered my progress when i was starting out. But once i learned to adjust action, i got it down to a reasonable level. It still to this day sort of feels clunky but that might just be because im not used to size of a traditional p bass. ...although i did treat it kinda poorly and now its in a state of disrepair, basically would probably need to swap all the electronics except maybe the pickup itself Would I reccomend it to begin with? If you are looking for a good starting p bass tone, sure. But with the range of choices harley benton has, im sure this is just one of the many basses that can get you there. So pick and choose your favourite style and size!
Still rocking MB-5 HB, dropped in an EMG MMCS, and it was a huge, noticeable difference in sound. Feel, and build quality is the biggest issue I have with most HB. "Higher end" HBs (HBZ series) are a bit of a different story but still.
we all saw that video about the guitar with no body that sounded the same. I'm not certain the same mechanics apply to bass frequencies. I'd like to see that test.
Some counters: 1) Not everyone can save up for that $1-3k bass. Given life's other responsibilities (kids, mortgages, utilities, etc.) spending 4 figures on a luxury item (and let's face it - the majority of people playing are NOT professionals, by occupation, and can't even benefit from write-offs, thus making instruments luxury items) is simply not feasible for many people. The cheap bass market exists for a reason, after all. 2) Beware the law of diminishing returns. Yes, a $600 LTD may be noticeably better than the $60 Glarry, but how much better is the $3000 Spector? We start to get into the realm of subjectivity. If your needs in an instrument are simple, and the build quality is decent enough, why spend more on features you may not need? 3) Inexpensive basses give you the opportunity to customize and make them into your own, whereas the minute you change a single tuner on a $1K bass, you've diminished it's value. 4) I've been inspired playing cheap instruments and expensive instruments alike. If you need to be "inspired" by the worth of an object, the issue isn't the object - it's you.
People get too hung up on the money. The fact that an instrument may or may not be $3,000 isn’t and shouldn’t be the sole factor for its inspiration. My point is get the one you really want. Whether it’s $60 or $3,000 (or likely somewhere in the middle) is up to you. Buying a cheap instrument isn’t inherently bad, but some people often fall into the trap of buying more and more just to satisfy a need to have a new thing. That’s all I’m saying. Not trying to sound elitist or snobby or any of that, just giving my opinion based on my experience.
my main basses are a fender american ultra jazz bass and an american ultra p bass... I also own this Harley Benton Bass, its kinda a wall deco, or a bedroom bass or how u wanna call it... i also used it as a backup... Anyways, i only own these 3 basses, and as u said i prefer saving up for a bass i really want, instead of buying 100 cheap ones...
Interesting. Would like to know if you've found any beginner priced EB-O basses yet. These HB and Squires etc., ad nauseum are all P-Bass style look and sound alikes. What about the baby Gibson bass player's? Are they relegated to Epiphone for their starting point? If yes, well maybe the far east factories are just going pop and our secret handshake Gibson player's are smiling with no clones out there. Curious as to your thoughts. I have a friend who plays guitar and keyboards who would like to add a beginner bass to his studio. He wants my Alvarez 5 string now that I got my 'the one that got away,' at last but I'd rather see him start on a 4 string.
Weird video. I can't tell if it's praising HB for making great value instruments or bashing it from a shill POV. The title tells you this bass performs great in a live mix, then the owner tells you how well it performs during the live performance. And then it turns into an almost 10 minute rant that with all due respect, seems to be coming from a place of pure salt trying to validate the investment oo much more expensive guitars when there are instruments perfectly capable of doing the same job for 10 times less money. I understand where you are coming from though. I have the Harley Benton MB5-SBK 5 string (musicman copy) and a real Stingray Special 5 H which is literally almost 20 times the price. Was I blown away or my life changed by the difference in quality? Not really. It's still wood and some cables. It is definitely crafted better obviously, but definitely not "throw the HB in the garbage or burn it" better. For the weekend warrior/bar rat any bass will do really. Specially if you upgrade what you think needs to be upgraded. I feel It's when if someone is a touring, session or hired gun musician where you need to perform at the top of your game and have the absolute most pristine sound (no noisy electronics, rattling hardware, bad frets, etc.) the sum of the parts from the premium instruments ammount to something. The sentimental value of having something nice I can agree on. We all want nice things. Expensive instruments definitely look and feel like they were made with more attention and care.
I am a fan of cheap basses....😔, I am sorry....but I love my Ibanez basses, especially the short scale Mikro ones. I use one with guitar strings and distortion in my metal band which has no guitars.
On the tonewood thing, people always try to simplify these things and ultimately fail. “Sounds the same” is very subjective. A lot of these experimenters ultimately say that “there might be some differences in sustain” which means it sounds totally different, because sustain is tone. Sustain isn’t frequency independent, different configurations of woods and strings give different sustain on different frequencies, meaning some frequencies die off sooner, some last longer, totally changing the feel and tone of the instrument. And finally, I have never heard anyone say a hollowbody guitar sounds the same as a solid body. So somehow, adding air to the instrument DOES change tone, but different wood doesn’t? I also firmly believe the composition of the guitar has massive influence on the tone and feel of the instrument. Not just the strings and electronics.
While I haven't played this one specifically myself, lighter tuners generally help - but before you go slapping hipshot ultralites on everything, Gotoh Res-O-Lites are even lighter and have smoother gearing!
To te resale point: you usually can sell used instruments at 70% of the price of a new one. Let say you buy 1000€ bass and sell it for 700€ you lose 300€, even if you just give away that HB you lose 150€ or what ever its selling now for. So imo thats quite mute point. And instruments are meant to be played not sold. Thats my 2 cents
Hi, I bought this Harley Benton so that I can leave a bass ready for me at the rehearsal room (my heavy Status is getting even heavier as I get older). That said: it's an all-round bass that plays well (needs a little setup and better strings), holds its tune, sounds good and looks even better. As for loss in investment: true, you'd better give this bass as a present to someone starting with a bass than trying to sell it. But...if you enjoyed it for a few years and then give it away, you lose 120 dollars, make someone happy and that makes you happy as well. If you buy a 3000 dollars bass, enjoy it for a few years (there's always better out there ) and than sell it... you easily loose 1000 dollars. OK, you'll make someone happy too but I bet you won't feel that happy yourself. It would be nice to advice your readers some good strings because the stock ones are ...challenging ...(hurting actually)
This is a fantastic take on the topic of cheap basses. Some of them may perform well and some people may love them, but having that thought in the back of my mind that I can never recover an investment or successfully trade into something else with it would eat at me. Great video as always and keep it up.
I have a HB JB-75 that i've been playing for 10 years. Even if end up just throwing it in the trash, it will have cost me 17 EURO/year. That's enough return on investment for me :D
Tone wood ohh god. But, that said ash bodies do usually sound 'better'...why, simply because the wood is so dense and provides such a firm anchor for the bridge....the stiffer the two ends of the string are supported the more the string resonates thru the pups, which simply react to the string movement. The downside, ash is ridiculously heavy, a sit down player.
Ceramic pickups aren't better or worse, just different. It's a just a different construction method. Most of the mainstream thought surrounding pickups is wrong anyways, and the magnets themselves aren't even that important.
Wise words re cheap basses. You may have just stopped me spending £150 that I didn’t need to be spending. I got rid of a cheap one that was just hanging on the wall.
You're looking for a ROI for a $120 bass? "Don't buy a $120 instrument, buy a $1200 instrument." So, wait for potentially years before you start playing? Useless advice.
Utter bilge. As a luthier, once you spend over that needed for a Harley Benton or Squier and set up - and even a 5k boutique bass needs a set up - you are merely paying for perceived romance. As for resale, you spend 150 on a Harley, it's worth 100 second hand. You drop 2k on a US bass, you loose far more, simple mathes.
WOOD DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE ...The argument is that the the wood does not vibrate and send a certain sound thru the PU's because they can only be activated by the metal strings. Surprise!!! ...that argument is correct. What wood does do is 'absorb' frequencies ..it has a sponge like quality. What frequencies it finds easiest to absorb it does and what is left goes thru the the PU's. So if you like an ash body on a bass it is because what you hear is what is left and that is what you like. This I got from the designers of Yamaha pianos trying to find the right absorbance for their pianos because Steinway has found the formula from trial and error over a hundred plus years and they want to duplicate it. Yes they know that the piano is acoustic and it has inner tone chamber but they nailed that decades ago and found out it was not near good enough it is controlling and tailoring the absorption that is the problem
Wild! I was a piano salesman a hundred years ago when I was young, and I thought Yamaha and Kawai sounded far better than Steinway because they were crisp and bright!
as for the 'tonewood' thing, there's a video on YT of a guy that started with a guitar body, and bit by bit he took away THE ENTIRE BODY! He was left with strings and a pickup strapped from 1 table to another table and it sounds EXACTLY the same as the guitar body! google it!
We all saw that video as well. To me, personally, I don't think it sounded exactly the same to my ears, but I think we ultimately need to go down to some kind of robotic strum on the same electronics with varying woods and then seeing the results on an oscilloscope graph to really nail it down scientifically. I've been trying to figure out the best way to go about that on the channel; need more science experts on the line about it!
It does sound almost the same :)
when it comes to electric instruments the pickups will always sound the same as their designed to. Only thing really changing the tone is the player and the actual setup of the bass, uneven frets, poor intonation, etc
@@davedixon2167 if you need to go down to oscilloscopes and mechanical strumming to find a difference, then that difference is pretty much irrelevant for all intents and purposes.
I saw the video too, but it's weird that when I upgraded my old Luna bass (not the tattoo one you find on google) with DiMarzio DP122CR and a new tusq nut, it still sounds bad, compared to my stock Squier JB & Fender PB. Maybe it's the bridge or string tension.
I started bass about two years ago. I’ve bought several HB models and this is my favourite but not the most expensive! I have since replaced the pups with EMG Geezer Butlers, the pots and wiring from a Crimson Guitars kit and the tuners with Hipshots. The bridge is next on the list and it’s had a complete setup and fret dress by a local luthier whose opinion is that it’s as good as any Fender he’s had in! That’ll do for me!!!
I bought the P-bass version of this as a cheap hotel room bass when I'm travelling for work (nervous about taking my Fender American Standard P-bass on the road). After popping some EMG GZR pups in the Harley Benton, it's a fantastic bass and my go-to now for D-standard and Eb tunings (also fitted heavier gauge strings). Honestly, for the money you can't go wrong... it's a great starting point to upgrade parts on at a later date. 👌 🤘🤘
-_- ... just say a FAP-bass.
Did you have to file the nut for tuning it to d standard with heavier strings?
@@teddystevens6624 nope, it worked perfectly without filing the nut. Your experience might be different, though...
Do you need to drill new holes to fit the EMG pickups?
@c0rdeiro494 no, the GZR P Bass pickups drop straight in, and don't need soldering. You'll need new tone and volume knobs, though, as the EMG pots have wider stalks than the standard HB ones. Or drill out the HB ones to fit the EMG tone and volume stalks.
For a beginner, it's amazing what you can get for little money these days. And for a professional or semi-professional, a Harley Benton bass is always an excellent backup bass. I don't want to drive to a gig with two vintage Fender basses, but I don't feel comfortable without a backup bass either. Because if a show has to be interrupted just because one of the strings breaks, that's really embarrassing.
If someone thinks that an instrument is an investment and not mainly a tool to show your musical skill and craftsmanship then we are mixing up two different things. Musician thinks about music, collector thinks about money spent and received later on.
It's just a piece of wood with strings attached, the person playing it is what makes it rock or suck.
I don't think you're being fair here. If playing music is how you earn a living, then buying a new instrument is very much a business investment. If you want to get hired for session work then you have to provide the tone your client wants not what you want.
That's one more reason to invest in several inexpensive but good instruments rather than few extremely expensive ones.
You can have 3500$ historic relic precision bass but it won't help you if client is looking for modern metal tone.
BTW when was the last time your client requested that your bass has to be of certain price or made of certain wood? :D
Did anyone else get excited when he said he was gonna have a tlc show but realized it was a hoarders joke 😅
I have two Squire basses (4 and 5 string Jazz Basses) with maple necks. What I did was swapped the tuners out (Hipshot) and the 4 got the extender key as well. Both got Hipshot bridges and the nut on both is brass. SD Quarter Pound PUPs (My Geddy Lee Jazz also got those) and I upgraded the volume and tone pots. The sound is INCREDIBLE! I would play the Squire 4 string live exclusively except for the weight... Imagine a VERY early P Bass... And it's more than that LOL....
I used the Squire for recording (for the first time) and the owner/engineer of the studio came into the booth and I said "What's up?".. He said "I just had to see if that really was a Squire like you told me.. It's tone is amazing!".
thank you for your squire experience on a harley benton video, helps alot
going from stock Squier affinity pickups to EMG P pickups I noticed an improvement. I was already happy with the squier pickups and got the EMGs as a gift. the main benefit of the EMG pickups is they are noiseless and the increased total spectrum the bass now has, there is lower lows and higher highs while still having that mid range emphasis that P bass pickups are known for. I don't think it is ok to hate on an instrument just because it's price is low. Just point out it's flaws and either you can live with those flaws or you can't. If you are a professional you are going to want at least one professional quality instrument to play shows with but why not have a $200 copy of a rickenbacker. You have to be a fairly wealthy individual to have a music instrument "collection" but as a hobbyist I can see why it would be fun to have multiple basses even if they are of lesser quality. The price of instruments has started to go through the roof so if more people are buying the inexpensive models the more established brands will have pressure to lower their prices. Competition is good for the consumer at the end of the day.
here is my mentality regarding inexpensive gear,
the gear should not be too cheap enough where it makes you wanna buy another that does a similar job (basically something that already covers most of what you want from a gear), and it shouldn't be too expensive enough that you won't take it out of the case out of fear that it will be broken/stolen or something...
Bingo, totally agree
I can’t comment on HB basses, but around 20 years ago I bought a pair of SX Pj basses. ($109 each) on 1 of them the only upgrades was an SX jazz neck. The other got a Warmoth neck, Schaller hardware, Dimarzio pickups & new CTS pots. I leveled frets on both & gave them graphite nuts. The SX jazz neck is very narrow @ the nut, I had to do a lot of sanding.
All that said, those 2 basses are the best I have. Better than my Fender J or Peavey.
Also, SX looks hard to find now, & they’re way more expensive.
“Burn it…”. LOL, I bought a $40 Glarry that needs lots of love and care… then my bro-in-law talked me into a the HB being reviewed here, and his exact words for the one I’m working on was “throw it on the burn pile”
Regarding your unpopular opinion #2, cheap instruments like HB are great way to check out what you really want, sure you can drop couple of thousand bucks for Music Man or whatever boutique instrument you drool over, but is it really the tone and feel you want? And if they are worth nothing on the used market... then get used! For example I've never been interested in P basses until I bought HB P-bass and i LOVE it. I have more expensive, custom built basses but I still like coming back to my Harley Bentons and I play them a lot, they have their issuses and obviously aren't built that well, but I simply enjoy playing them, I like the feel and the sound... isn't that what really matters? I think a lot of bassists are caught up in this illusion that unless you spend a fortune on instrument you can't play good music and be happy. You can. And the difference isn't really that big...
The upside of a cheap HB is you can teach yourself to modify /work on a bass without worrying about messing up a $2K Fender. So swap out the output jack and teach yourself to solder. Work on using a fret file without fear of causing Leo to turn over in his grave.
wow very nice bass Marc now I need one
Ah, some of us don’t care about resale value. Some buy a bass and actually keep it. The HB MM-84A SB is a really nice bass for the price. Comes in at $169!.00! What’s nice is it has 24 frets and two massive humbuckers! Another is the
B-450 QTB. Different colors in this series. Again 24 frets and good wood for the body, neck and fretboard. Sounds extremely good and comes in at $159.00 If you’re strapped for cash, these are good options.
Thinking about getting this as my first bass for jazz/funk
Well said at the end. Regardless of price, I got to be inspired to keep picking it up.
Hot take: being concerned about "retaining value" on instruments, shows you aren't putting concern/emphasis on the things that make you a musician. to each there own, but don't confuse *THAT* with being a player who wants a tool for their craft. yeah?
Awesome demo! 😎🤘🏻🎸 harley Benton makes phenomenal basses for the price and this skb model is no exception. It has a great tone. Especially when played through a gk legacy amp(which I’ve been thinking about purchasing). I personally dig their mm-styled bass and I would go with the 5-string version of that bass and maybe one of their other models. Other than that, Harley Benton makes great basses for the price.
As for the talk about the instruments you very pleased with owning, I agree with that. If you own a bass that you’re truly pleased with, it should matter to you. And it really doesn’t matter how much they cost, it’s the sound quality that matters the most. I own basses that I’m truly pleased with and I’ve been treasuring them ever since. If you’re curious about a particular bass, there’s really nothing wrong with giving them a shot. You might like it or you don’t. Either way, you took a chance on trying it out.
Valid points. I'm just returning to bass playing so I think I may check one of these out.
I had Squier Affinity with ceramic pickups and CV Jazz Bass with alnico 5.
Personally (and I know it will sound stupid maybe), I enjoyed the ceramic pickups sound more as they sounded more bright to me. The alnico pickups provide more warm “woody” sound so to call it. Not bad or better - I think it’s matter of taste.
My first ever bass was this bass but the version with just the p bass pickup (I only started like 2-3 years ago)
It served me fine for my needs, the action on it out of the box was high as a skyscraper, so it may have hindered my progress when i was starting out. But once i learned to adjust action, i got it down to a reasonable level. It still to this day sort of feels clunky but that might just be because im not used to size of a traditional p bass.
...although i did treat it kinda poorly and now its in a state of disrepair, basically would probably need to swap all the electronics except maybe the pickup itself
Would I reccomend it to begin with? If you are looking for a good starting p bass tone, sure. But with the range of choices harley benton has, im sure this is just one of the many basses that can get you there. So pick and choose your favourite style and size!
Sounds Great
i used to have many expensive basses, but i always came back to a old cheap epiphone p bass, and my heart broke when it broke
Still rocking MB-5 HB, dropped in an EMG MMCS, and it was a huge, noticeable difference in sound. Feel, and build quality is the biggest issue I have with most HB. "Higher end" HBs (HBZ series) are a bit of a different story but still.
we all saw that video about the guitar with no body that sounded the same. I'm not certain the same mechanics apply to bass frequencies. I'd like to see that test.
I was thinking about buying this bass as my first bass
That thing sounds really good.
Some counters:
1) Not everyone can save up for that $1-3k bass. Given life's other responsibilities (kids, mortgages, utilities, etc.) spending 4 figures on a luxury item (and let's face it - the majority of people playing are NOT professionals, by occupation, and can't even benefit from write-offs, thus making instruments luxury items) is simply not feasible for many people. The cheap bass market exists for a reason, after all.
2) Beware the law of diminishing returns. Yes, a $600 LTD may be noticeably better than the $60 Glarry, but how much better is the $3000 Spector? We start to get into the realm of subjectivity. If your needs in an instrument are simple, and the build quality is decent enough, why spend more on features you may not need?
3) Inexpensive basses give you the opportunity to customize and make them into your own, whereas the minute you change a single tuner on a $1K bass, you've diminished it's value.
4) I've been inspired playing cheap instruments and expensive instruments alike. If you need to be "inspired" by the worth of an object, the issue isn't the object - it's you.
People get too hung up on the money. The fact that an instrument may or may not be $3,000 isn’t and shouldn’t be the sole factor for its inspiration. My point is get the one you really want. Whether it’s $60 or $3,000 (or likely somewhere in the middle) is up to you. Buying a cheap instrument isn’t inherently bad, but some people often fall into the trap of buying more and more just to satisfy a need to have a new thing. That’s all I’m saying. Not trying to sound elitist or snobby or any of that, just giving my opinion based on my experience.
my main basses are a fender american ultra jazz bass and an american ultra p bass... I also own this Harley Benton Bass, its kinda a wall deco, or a bedroom bass or how u wanna call it... i also used it as a backup... Anyways, i only own these 3 basses, and as u said i prefer saving up for a bass i really want, instead of buying 100 cheap ones...
I've never liked how PJ basses sound, I always find myself just using the P because of the huge volume drop I get with all of them
Interesting. Would like to know if you've found any beginner priced EB-O basses yet. These HB and Squires etc., ad nauseum are all P-Bass style look and sound alikes. What about the baby Gibson bass player's? Are they relegated to Epiphone for their starting point? If yes, well maybe the far east factories are just going pop and our secret handshake Gibson player's are smiling with no clones out there.
Curious as to your thoughts. I have a friend who plays guitar and keyboards who would like to add a beginner bass to his studio. He wants my Alvarez 5 string now that I got my 'the one that got away,' at last but I'd rather see him start on a 4 string.
Weird video. I can't tell if it's praising HB for making great value instruments or bashing it from a shill POV.
The title tells you this bass performs great in a live mix, then the owner tells you how well it performs during the live performance. And then it turns into an almost 10 minute rant that with all due respect, seems to be coming from a place of pure salt trying to validate the investment oo much more expensive guitars when there are instruments perfectly capable of doing the same job for 10 times less money.
I understand where you are coming from though. I have the Harley Benton MB5-SBK 5 string (musicman copy) and a real Stingray Special 5 H which is literally almost 20 times the price.
Was I blown away or my life changed by the difference in quality? Not really. It's still wood and some cables. It is definitely crafted better obviously, but definitely not "throw the HB in the garbage or burn it" better.
For the weekend warrior/bar rat any bass will do really. Specially if you upgrade what you think needs to be upgraded. I feel It's when if someone is a touring, session or hired gun musician where you need to perform at the top of your game and have the absolute most pristine sound (no noisy electronics, rattling hardware, bad frets, etc.) the sum of the parts from the premium instruments ammount to something.
The sentimental value of having something nice I can agree on. We all want nice things. Expensive instruments definitely look and feel like they were made with more attention and care.
It was confusing, true.
I am a fan of cheap basses....😔, I am sorry....but I love my Ibanez basses, especially the short scale Mikro ones. I use one with guitar strings and distortion in my metal band which has no guitars.
On the tonewood thing, people always try to simplify these things and ultimately fail. “Sounds the same” is very subjective. A lot of these experimenters ultimately say that “there might be some differences in sustain” which means it sounds totally different, because sustain is tone. Sustain isn’t frequency independent, different configurations of woods and strings give different sustain on different frequencies, meaning some frequencies die off sooner, some last longer, totally changing the feel and tone of the instrument. And finally, I have never heard anyone say a hollowbody guitar sounds the same as a solid body. So somehow, adding air to the instrument DOES change tone, but different wood doesn’t? I also firmly believe the composition of the guitar has massive influence on the tone and feel of the instrument. Not just the strings and electronics.
The fretboard on the bass neck seems more like techwood and not rosewood...
Super channel. It could be nice with a review on a sandberg bass. I would like to hear your thoughts on that brand.
Sandberg is super basses, but they are expensive ;) Harleys is good basses and they are cheap as shit ;)
question - any neck dive? I have the standard series version and its got TERRIBLE neck dive!
While I haven't played this one specifically myself, lighter tuners generally help - but before you go slapping hipshot ultralites on everything, Gotoh Res-O-Lites are even lighter and have smoother gearing!
@@davedixon2167 you didnt answer my question - Is there neck dive? yes or no?
@@stevenaustin4591 I did say i havent played this specific bass myself. it went from chris to lenny. My apologies.
I have one - no discernible neck dive. 😁👍
10:22 100% agree.
Id rather have 20 cheapo guitars/basses than one pricey one.
A good musician can make anything sound and play good.
Anything else is just BS.
To te resale point: you usually can sell used instruments at 70% of the price of a new one. Let say you buy 1000€ bass and sell it for 700€ you lose 300€, even if you just give away that HB you lose 150€ or what ever its selling now for. So imo thats quite mute point. And instruments are meant to be played not sold. Thats my 2 cents
Hi, I bought this Harley Benton so that I can leave a bass ready for me at the rehearsal room (my heavy Status is getting even heavier as I get older). That said: it's an all-round bass that plays well (needs a little setup and better strings), holds its tune, sounds good and looks even better. As for loss in investment: true, you'd better give this bass as a present to someone starting with a bass than trying to sell it. But...if you enjoyed it for a few years and then give it away, you lose 120 dollars, make someone happy and that makes you happy as well. If you buy a 3000 dollars bass, enjoy it for a few years (there's always better out there ) and than sell it... you easily loose 1000 dollars. OK, you'll make someone happy too but I bet you won't feel that happy yourself.
It would be nice to advice your readers some good strings because the stock ones are ...challenging ...(hurting actually)
This is a fantastic take on the topic of cheap basses. Some of them may perform well and some people may love them, but having that thought in the back of my mind that I can never recover an investment or successfully trade into something else with it would eat at me. Great video as always and keep it up.
I have a HB JB-75 that i've been playing for 10 years. Even if end up just throwing it in the trash, it will have cost me 17 EURO/year. That's enough return on investment for me :D
Tone wood ohh god.
But, that said ash bodies do usually sound 'better'...why, simply because the wood is so dense and provides such a firm anchor for the bridge....the stiffer the two ends of the string are supported the more the string resonates thru the pups, which simply react to the string movement.
The downside, ash is ridiculously heavy, a sit down player.
Ceramic pickups aren't better or worse, just different. It's a just a different construction method. Most of the mainstream thought surrounding pickups is wrong anyways, and the magnets themselves aren't even that important.
yeah i bought a used cort bass no one really wants them in the second hand market
don't buy 12 100 dollar basses buy 26 500-2000$ basses such as I have in the background.
Unfortunately we can't all afford 1500 dollar basses
I'm a earth is flat guy myself.
It's from Germany, not Asia.
Company is based in Germany the factory is in China
@@nicktorious4829it’s from Indonesia. Pedantic I know but it’s a different country completely.
Wise words re cheap basses. You may have just stopped me spending £150 that I didn’t need to be spending. I got rid of a cheap one that was just hanging on the wall.
Deep comments on pricing....yet doesn't know the price😂
You're looking for a ROI for a $120 bass?
"Don't buy a $120 instrument, buy a $1200 instrument." So, wait for potentially years before you start playing?
Useless advice.
Utter bilge.
As a luthier, once you spend over that needed for a Harley Benton or Squier and set up - and even a 5k boutique bass needs a set up - you are merely paying for perceived romance.
As for resale, you spend 150 on a Harley, it's worth 100 second hand. You drop 2k on a US bass, you loose far more, simple mathes.
Damn i just ordered it after this vid XD
WOOD DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE ...The argument is that the the wood does not vibrate and send a certain sound thru the PU's because they can only be activated by the metal strings. Surprise!!! ...that argument is correct. What wood does do is 'absorb' frequencies ..it has a sponge like quality. What frequencies it finds easiest to absorb it does and what is left goes thru the the PU's. So if you like an ash body on a bass it is because what you hear is what is left and that is what you like.
This I got from the designers of Yamaha pianos trying to find the right absorbance for their pianos because Steinway has found the formula from trial and error over a hundred plus years and they want to duplicate it. Yes they know that the piano is acoustic and it has inner tone chamber but they nailed that decades ago and found out it was not near good enough it is controlling and tailoring the absorption that is the problem
Wild! I was a piano salesman a hundred years ago when I was young, and I thought Yamaha and Kawai sounded far better than Steinway because they were crisp and bright!
Guess you get what you pay for.. a cheap sound. That thing sounded like a slab of wood with a broom handle attached to it.