Harley Benton Bass Guitar Kit J-Style 5-stars Reviews

Much higher quality than expected.

I've been wanting to have a bass and thought assembling this kit would be a fun way to add one to my collection. Straight out of the box, I was surprised at just how good the parts felt - the neck feels nice and smooth and there were no sharp ends to the frets. The body also is good and heavier than what I expected (doesn't feel like it has that much neck dive because of this). If there is one complaint I would have is that the screws were all mixed up together so it could be confusing for someone, but common sense and patience helps here. Overall I think this is a great way for someone to get started with basses. I will definitely be trying the other kits in the future too.

Great Kit!!!

Sounds great. Still needs some adjustments, of course. The shipping was slow (thanks to Moldova Post),but it was worth it!!!

Very good bass for beginners

Assembly went good. All holes were at good places, maybe few part of millimeter off but it did not impact assembly. Signal output from this cheap bass was louder and clearer compared to my Epiphone bass :) One slight annoyance is the bass pot - when turned, feeling is like it scrapes on something inside :( However, it does not impact output sound. Cable included with bass is thin and cheap but it somewhat cancels noise better than my other cable. Conclusion - I think this is very good and cheap bass for beginners - for little money and some effort you get a solid instrument.

Insane quality for the price and straightforward build process

I recently had the pleasure of assembling and playing the Harley Benton Bass J-Style DIY Kit, and I must say, it exceeded my expectations in every way. As a budget-friendly option, the kit offers insane quality for the price, making it an excellent choice for those curious about DIY projects.

The build process was straightforward and incredibly enjoyable. The kit comes with clear and concise instructions, making it accessible for those new to DIY instrument projects. The provided components are of impressive quality, and everything fits together seamlessly. The body and neck materials are sturdy, and the precision in the pre-cut parts ensures a hassle-free assembly. The body is ready for painting which comes out pretty good even with a spray can.

What truly sets the Harley Benton Bass J-Style DIY Kit apart is its surprising tonal capabilities. Once assembled, the bass delivers a rich and versatile sound that is, again surprisingly, impressive for rock, punk, and metal. The pickups provide a well-defined and punchy tone, with a surprising amount of clarity in the midrange and a robust low end. Whether you're laying down a funky bassline, rocking out with power chords, or diving into metal riffs, this bass handles it all with ease.

Considering the affordability of this DIY kit, it's a fantastic option for musicians on a budget or those looking to add a unique touch to their collection without breaking the bank. The Harley Benton Bass J-Style DIY Kit combines value, quality, and tonal versatility in a way that is hard to beat. I highly recommend it to anyone in search of an affordable yet high-quality DIY bass experience.

Bass Kit

Well, how suprised was I! what a fabulous guitar kit this really is! Everything you need is all there, it goes together very easily and presented no problems whatsoever. This is really a fabulous way to get into building your own guitars,the finish of the neck and body were both very impressive, excellent stuff! Once built up and plugged in it sounded very good indeed- How do they do it for this price?? We were going to paint it but it looks so nice as it is, easy to upgrade and paint at a later day, great fun. Will definately be buying more....

good kit

i'm glad i took that kit. Nice woodwork, good instruction, good tuners and pickups. Will buy another kit. Maybe guitar

Turns heads, not stomachs

I bought the kit as a pastime during lockdown. I wanted to try some different finishes and ended up with a washed out forest green wood dye. Everything fitted correctly, I was able to cut a new headstock design, finished the body with Danish oil, even used the stock strings. For the money I was delighted. Theres a lovely sharp attack to the sound, tuning gears are good, it stays in tube for weeks. I can't fault it and plays better than guitars costing way more. Going for the jazzmaster next

A great optiom

This has been my first Diy kit and my first bass guitar. Built quality is and sound is fantastic. Nothing difficult and the result is great. I wouldnt be more sattisfied if i bought a ready made- fender bass guitar. I Suggest it for anyone who are willing to shape his own bass guitar

Had tonnes of fun building this with my 8 year old son. The bass came out surprisingly nice considering the price; the fretwork is good and the neck is really nicely finished. Im a guitar player but it sounds good to my ears too. Very very happy with it.

Outstanding quality for that price

Outstanding quality for that price. It is also very easy to assemble. I only changed the strings with something more suitable to my needs. The instrument can be easily improved, if needed, with different components.

Worth it!

Full disclosure: I did immediately replace the plastic nut with a bone one before even beginning assembly, but aside from that I built this kit as stock (with the addition of some shielding paint, which it would have been nice to include by default).

The result? Well I'm no professional bassist, but I find it more than satisfactory. Feels good, sounds decent. The pickups and pots might be worth upgrading at some point in the future, but even as they are they're absolutely usable.

If there's on point of criticism I might offer it's that the routing in the body could use some smoothing, there's a bit of splintering I had to clean up. But for this price I can't be too harsh.

Really enjoyable project:

I bought this in December as a project to complete during the lockdown and was not disappointed at the level of quality.

I've had no previous experience playing bass or guitar of any kind as I am predominantly a Saxophone player. Never the less the experience of assembling, finishing and learning to play the bass was extremely enjoyable.

Pros:

-Pre made high quality parts

-Very easy to follow instructions (in both English and German, nice touch)

-Thorough guide on how to finish the bass to your own style without damaging the kit

Cons:

- one of the pre drilled holes for the screws in the head of the bass was a little too small but was easily rectified by slowly tweaking the screw in and out before fitting the tuning pin

This bass is not intended as a professional grade instrument but with care and attention could quite easily get there. The 'modular' aspect of the kit makes it more than easy to upgrade any parts you wish to in the future. I would definitely recommend the kit to anyone who wants to have fun building their own instrument or a high quality starter kit to upgrade and tweak.

Very nice bass kit

was good to screw it to get it ready for playing. i think sound is good. I use it with some programs which makes sound more richer, so for the price its very good.

Surprised.

Absolutely amazing kit - especially for that low price. I will buy p-bass kit as well.

Ready to go!

All you have to do is assemble this bass kit which could probably take an hour for the average person and it would be perfectly and readily playable. I decided to remove the finish off the body and stain it a dark wood colour but I was perfectly happy with the neck straight out of the box and didnt want to touch it except reshaping the headstock.

The plug in pick ups mean that no soldering is required and they sound great.

would reccomend.

Wow

For the price I wasn't expecting something amazing, but I was pleasantly surprised. The routing was a bit rough in some spots, but since I intended to customize the bass, this wasn't an issue. The pickups aren't the best, but once again, you can't beat the price. I recommend this kit. Cheers

great fun!

The qulity of the components and materials are perfectly useable, whilst not being the highest quality.

I did need to purachase a fret file as there were some very sharp fret ends.

Once assembled it was very playable and stable, if a little neck heavy.

Overall, these are good beginner kits that are very good value for money.

Great kit, super value

My daughter and I bought this kit as a project to make a fretless bass. The quality is really good, neck plays well, pickups sound great. All in all a really good purchase!

Very fun project

As expected, the quality of the product were amazing, but the holes cut out were kinda poor. One must put in some effort to make it better, but again thats the fun part. making it your own.

Also, dont forget to buy all the necessary tools before jumping in, and dont straight away buy upgrades, because it needs some work at first

Incredible bang for the buck.

I had fun building this. The final product is an extremely playable bass that has only needed minor adjustments to get close to how I like my basses to be. The pickups are surprisingly good and fit well in a mix (although I think I will end up replacing them). My only complaint, and it's something to be expected when you're building something like this, is that some of the predrilled holes for the head stock were not deep enough to accommodate the screws. However, they were good enough for rock and roll and I've had no issues at all.

I did not sand and fill the holes with wood filler, which is usually what you should do with a piece of wood like this. Just a heads up for something to do before staining. The 3 pieces for the body were not that different in color and, although you can see the difference between the pieces, it doesn't impact the final product.

If you're looking for a bass and also want a project, I would highly recommend this. Not my favorite bass, but my favorite is several multiples in cost more expensive.