Harley Benton Beatbass FL VS Vintage Series

Bang for your buck

If you are looking for a hollow body fretless bass at an affordable price, I can't think of any other option. And that's OK, because this bass punches way above it's price point. My only complaint is the knobs/controls. They are confusing, initially, and ugly. Screw the nostalgia vibe, just use knobs, like Hofner does on the Greenline models. Would be way better functionally and aesthetically.

Great fretless bass, value for money

I dont have experience with fretless bass and decided to try. Both Harley Benton beatbass and i am surprised by quality and sound of this bass guitar. Really value for money.

Real bang for the buck!

To be honest for 200 Euro I wasn't expecting that much, just something to mess with. I was so impressed with the one I bought to have a bass in Germany to play when visiting my brother that I bought another for here in the states! Sounded decent out of the box but with little tweaking ( DiAdario half round strings and properly setting the bridge for correct intonation ) I have a bass that is truly a marvel! Sound and play ability are 1st rate! Have recently sold my Godin A4 that I had since '96 as the Beatbass can't be beat! Love it.

very good

It was the only choice since Hofner has not released any fretless version of violin bass. the instrument is above my expectations! Very good vintage sound. And comfortable fretboard

Nice to play now and then

I've had one of these a long while now, apart from using it on the odd song to try and impersonate a double bass, I've not really got on well with it.

As usual with HB can't fault the quality for the money, the bridge is a bit of a pain to adjust but it is the same as it would be on a Hofner.. Dots aren't all that helpful.

Bit of a disappointment...

On the whole these are well made, but even at this price point my particular copy came with a few let downs:

1: the sunburst finish on mine is rather crudely applied, heavy black outer and sudden change to amber centre, and the 'flame maple' top shows barely any figuring at all, nothing like the website images.

2: the fingerboard was dry as a bone and pale grey looking, and took four coats of lemon oil applied over a couple of days to get it looking and feeling respectable.

3: the pickup switches are wired incorrectly (and I don't mean in the quirky original Hofner sense) - bass 'on' actually switches the bridge pickup on, and treble 'on' switches the neck pickup on. Not a huge issue for me as I always have them both on and use the volumes to balance the tone, but still not up to scratch.

3: as many have said, the strings supplied with the bass are dreadful - why bother? I have replaced them with genuine Hofner flat wounds.

I get the feeling I have received a 'Friday afternoon' copy of what would otherwise be a great value instrument...

very good for the spectacular price

It is my first bass, so keep in mind I don't have any experience with other bass instrument. But I own several acoustic and electric guitar, so I imagine I can evaluate this instrument reasonnably...

5 stars, because it is a pretty good instrument for a very low price. If like me you are just starting bass, and just want a simple fretless instrument to see if you like it, don't hesitate this one will do the job.

Just a quick note, I didn't experience the original strings, I put some Pyramid Gold Flatwound 040-100, as I do with every guitars I buy (spending a little much for good strings! This is, in my opinion, the easiest upgrade to do with any instrument, and never regrets doing it)

A good choice for me

I used to own and play, in college, a rare (now a days) Ibanez flying V bass. It was cool and great for metal. The guys I played with were music majors. On occaison, they asked me to play the stand up bass to get that boogey woogey wood sound, like The Stray Cats. It was a b*tch; no frets or markers, holding it vertical instead of horizontal, etc. But, I never forgot that sound. After a lot of years, I'm playing rock n roll again. In looking for the electric bass that gives me that distinct fretless hollow sound and rock versatility, it turned out to be this bass. GREAT PRICE for the quality.

Fun little bass!!

I play contrabass, and this small fretless bass guitar is not exactly the same thing. But it's perfect for me when I need to double on electric bass

Fits the purpose I intended

I wanted a fretless bass, and a semi hollow bass. In this instrument, both the options intersect. The sound is very good, it os possible to choose between a snappier sound from the bridge pickup, but also an upright bass kind of sound from the front pickup.

However, I think the build quality could have been improved. The nut seems to be taken from a fretted Beatbass, and the strings sit too deep within the nut. Also, the nut thickness is too great, which makes it hard to fret the first and second fret.

The bridge needed some tweaking, but I guess that is expected from a Beatbass, as it would be expected from a Hofner bass.

The truss rod needed adjusting, but the support team helped greatly, and answered my e-mails remarkably quick, so a big thank you.

For the money, I believe it is a fantastic bass.