Harley Benton B-650FL BK Progressive Series

Not for beginners

In terms of sound, construction and features it's an incredible instrument for its price. However, one feature which this bass does not have and which could be very useful for beginner fretless players is fret markers.

Amazing Bass

In general, it is an amazing instrument for the price, it has good sound, it doesn't feel cheap and it is probably the best 6 string fretless bass in that price range. The only small issue i found is the cutaway because it is a little hard to reach the high register of the neck without stretching the hand. Aside from that, everything in this bass works fine. The battery is very easy to remove since you don't require a screwdriver, so you can always remove it if you aren't going to play for extended periods of time; it also has a pull/push knob to swap between active and passive mode. The only feature i would like to see in this bass is a mid knob for the pre amp.

Good sound but poor quality

It seems the bridge is made of plastic and I think as time goes by it would definitely brake, this is something they should write in the review, i would not bought it if i have known it was plastic

Some assembly required...

I don't know how this bass made it through Quality Control, to be honest.

It arrived and before plugging it in, it was painfully apparent that every string was buzzing on the neck...without any frets to buzz against. It seems they didn't do any rudimentary set-up at all once they put strings on it.

Worse, when I plugged it in, the neck pick-up was not working at all. Definitely the cheaper electronics are to blame. The potentiometers are basically there for show as they don't change any tones on this instrument.

Customer Care was unable to provide any help or solutions, and made sure I was aware that I could not return the bass for free.

I'd recommend you steer clear of this one.

Quality is far exceed the price.

This bass has a really nice build quality that even better than a lot of bass in 400$ range , everything is solid , no wobbly part

Best for Budget

This "golden oldie" is best for its budget. Super workmanship.

For the price, this instrument is amazing. My only complaint is that the pickups are too high, even when I lower them playing the low B with a bit too much attack will cause the string to hit the poles of the neck pickup, which isn't great. The stock strings aren't amazing either, but these can be changed (for an amount half of the bass itself, ha , ha)

The price is stunning... The bass needs a few improvements

After a month, I can see what this bass needs to be a "good one".

I changed the strings on the first day. Then I noticed that the fingerboard is going up near the nut (on three half-tones!). It means that this area is not really playable.

I must admit that these are not huge issues when you are not scared to do some woodwork. I will take the neck off and refine it pretty soon. I might even take the fretboard off to replace it with a "better" wood (peroba rosa, angique, pau brazil, ...)

I have to dramaticly use a graphic EQ to get the sound I like... These pickups are quite muddy to my taste. Good basses though.

Overall, I think it's a good buy, and with a few (small and big) modifications it will get usefull I'm sure.

Good value

It's not an $800 instrument, but for the price it's pretty good

perfect quality-price ratio, the sound is pretty good and i like the massive body.