Harley Benton TB-70VS Deluxe Series Reviews

TB 70VS

Love it sound grate look grate

HB -awesome t-Bird

This bass is striking in all aspects !!

Great looking with matching sound

The bass arrived quickly, undamaged, and in very playable condition. The neck was straight and the bass only needed to be tuned up and a little intonation adjustment. There were no flaws in the finish, everything was very nice!

This Bass Will Leave You Speechless

I have wanted a Thunderbird-style bass since hearing John Entwistle's golden but thunderous tone on The Who records. I knew that he was on to something special with that long string of T-Bird inspired basses over the decades.

So when I saw Ian of "Scott's Bass Lessons" extolling the virtues of the Thunderbird being not only an earth-shattering Rock instrument on the low end but sweet as honey on the high end, I was intrigued. Then he demoed it and I was sold. I started jonesing for a T-Bird so much that it hurt! (not joking)

So I did my research and discovered that this bass was consistently getting rave reviews from everyone on the Internet. And, yes, the fact that was at a far more reasonable price than the alternatives was a big factor too.

Well, it's true. This bass is not only everything that I had hoped for but more. The setup was perfect out of the box and I didn't have to spend additional funds to get my tech (who is a Rock Star in his own right) to "make it sweet". The strings appear to be Daddarios and they're the same gauge as what Entwistle used on his T-Birds.

The only mods that I made were replacing the pickguard with a flat black single-ply (see the ESP Phoenix Tobacco Sunburst to see what this looks like) and replacing the knobs with custom goldtopped black-sided knobs. The factory look was fine but now it's better, IMO - call me vain, I don't mind. The bass has the traditional T-Bird neck dive problem but I'm used to playing Gibsons so that's kind of a given with them. It's really no big deal.

Now let's get to the bottom line: The tone. Ian was spot on, this bass is thunder in an earthquake on the low end and sweet as honey on the high end. This bird sings AND roars!

Entwistle nailed it.

This bass has very quickly become my favorite bass - so much so that I'm thinking about buying another one with a different finish. I suspect that you will love it as much as I do.

Now if you'll excuse me, my Harley Benton TB-70vs is calling and I must answer. Rock on kids!

You will not be disappointed

Great sound, cool look, plays great, Just buy it!

I don't know how they do it.

good price for this quality

Fantastic bass. Excellent quality for the price.

Excellent quality but awkward

The good parts about this bass are the looks, which are incredible, and the sound. The neck is gloss, but doesn't feel sticky which is amazing. Everything from the shape, to the finish to the knobs looks amazing. The sound is great. Much nicer than a previous active bass that I had.

The bad thing about this guitar is the balancing. It's OK to play sitting down, although it digs in to your chest a bit, but to play standing up is exhausting. The neck dive is unreal and the neck is incredibly long. That means that you really have to put energy into it using it and it just makes it unenjoyable.

Happy with the product

I heard about Harley Benton guitars from a friend that plays multiple give weekly. He had ordered a fusion III guitar just to try it out. He now uses it more than his American start on stage.

I was looking for a bass when I saw his post and decided to give it a try. Awesome guitar straight out of the box.

value for money

couldn't believe the quality of this bass when it arrived....i always wanted a thunderbird but my budget couldn't stretch. This was the cure. its pretty heavy, and the neck dive is terrible, just like any other thunderbird. electronics are active so you get a good range of tones....reverse headstock and over all look is cool as f*** ... for the price it has got to be 5 stars

Cool bass but it has some serious flaws

So not wanting to spending allot of money on a real Gibson Thunderbird, I figured I give this Harley Benton a go. Amazing what you get for your money! So the Good, awesome build quality! Right out of the box it played great. Just need some minor tweaks of the truss rod. Extremely well made, flawless finish and great fretwork. It has a nice deep growly tone and amazing at this price point it sports active electronics.

So the bad......there is a serious design flaw. This is Harley Benton's take on a Gibson Thunderbird. But when they designed it they moved the neck way too forward on the body. Thus makes for a LONG reach to get the low F on the E string. If you look at a real Thunderbird, the bridge is much closer to the rear of the body, so the reach is not that bad.

Also due to the neck being pushed so forward......horrible neck dive. The worse I ever experienced. But it can be somewhat fixed. The main issue is they have the front strap button in the wrong location (on the top edge of the body). I had to move the front strap button to the backside of the body where the neck meets the body (like on a real Thunderbird). That pretty much solved the neck dive issue.

So for the price point of this bass, I can't complain too much. But with that awkward design and long reach, will not be using it much on a gig. Just not comfortable for a night of playing.

Amazing Tone and Value!

The fit and finish of this bass is stunningly good, especially for the purchase price. The Roswell pickups actually sound great and I have no compulsion to swap them for any other set. The preamp is a good match and the option to switch between "active" and "passive" tone modes (as the bass still requires a battery to operate either mode) is very useful and both sound great.

The frets were also perfectly level with no fret sprout.

I'm so very impressed with this bass and it's absolutely a keeper.

Very nice, but after adjustment.

This is my fourth Harley Benton bass guitar, and fifth instrument from that brand. All the other guitars that I bought from new were 100% out of the box.

Upon arrival, I noticed the finish at the bottom of the neck was rough looking, but expected from a budget bass guitar. Two of the volume/tone pots were loose and had to be tightened. The action was very high and found the truss rod was un-tightened and needed to be adjusted. There was fret buzz on the 10th fret and upon inspection saw one of the fret bars was slightly raised more than the others and I had to carefully apply pressure to the fret bar to get it to sink into its place. I was disappointed with the amount of adjustments I had to make to get this bass right.

Once it was in a playable condition, I was happy with the instrument. If it had arrived in the post-adjustment condition, I would have given nearly 5 stars. I love the look, the tone/sound and the feel of this guitar. The Thunderbird style bass is not for everyone, but for people who are into this shape/style of bass its definitely worth the money, providing you dont have the same issues that I did.

Having said all the complaints above, this won't turn me off buying more Harley Benton bass guitars.

Nice long scale bass at an attractive price

First off, I play guitar (poorly). Bass is something I am interested in. I play at home and have a decent Hartke combo amp. Pro's The tone and action of the bass right out of the box is great. Better than I had hoped. The finish on the body and fret edges are acceptable. My only con and its pretty petty is the tool marks on the bridge. At this price point its ok with me. doesn't affect playability at all.

Good but needs adjustments

For the price I was impressed by the quality of this bass. Except for the important neck dive (it's a problem I knew I will have to deal with - I drilled another hole under the neck) everything else is fine. I had to take it to a luthier for adjusments, because there was some important fret buzz due to neck bow and the three point bridge was something I didn't want to deal with.

It plays well, I like the neck, but it's not for short hands because of the position of the body. It's huge and heavy. I like to play rock with it, with a pick or finger style. Both work great. Except for the strings, I wouldn't change anything on it.

heavy, solid, tone machine

fantastic active pickup, fast thin neck, great finish

Good, but needs some changes

First the good: This bass is very comfortable to play sitting down. The finish is lovely and without blemishes. The shape is unique and cool. The reverse head stock helps with drop tuning. The active preamp gives this instrument a lot of range which makes it appropriate for a wide variety of styles. The sound is clear and punchy and it responds very well to a variety of effects.

Now the bad: The gunmetal chrome looks cheap and scratches easily. Regular silver chrome or black looks much better. The pickguard doesn't look great, and the lines don't match up with the lines of the lower horn. The controls don't allow for using the bridge pickup on its own. This could be fixed with a second volume control or a blend control. The strap button locations are terrible, the bass neck dives and makes playing standing up very challenging. This is fixed by moving one button to the heel, and the other higher up, about half way between the center line and the top of the upper rear point. The branding on the head stock looks incredibly cheesy. "Progressive series" should be omitted, and the HB logo should be about twice the size, and in either white or gold. The fixes are fairly simple, and I think they would make this bass a great instrument.

A lot of Bass for the money!

I'm predominantly a guitarist but wanted a decent sounding bass for home recording and like the sound of the Thunderbird.

When my TB-70VS arrived it needed a couple of minor adjustments to suit my playing style, but apart from that, I can't find fault with the quality or the finish. It's well made and looks great. The active pickups are switchable via a push/pull volume knob and have lots of scope for different tones. The fixed neck allows for really impressive sustain.

The only downside to this bass is the weight... Its a hefty beast (just like the real thing) and if you play standing, it's a bit neck heavy. This doesn't bother me as I always play seated.

Overall I'm really happy with the TB-70VS, your getting a lot of guitar for 168 euros (£144)

It's great fun to play and looks great.

Great bass guitar

First one sent me had a broken headstock. Poor thing but it got sent back and a replacement was sent.

Guitar is very good for the money for sure. Although i did have little issue. When I tuned up. The post holding the bridge in place came up and out of the guitar ! Managed to fix it myself no problem. Since then no problem at all. It playes like a bass costing more and sounds the same. Had a powerful cutting sound when you want. If you are think about getting this guitar then just get it. For the price you cant go wrong !

Nice bass that stands out

Overview:

I picked up this bass to complement my HB JB-75. I wanted somthing that looked and sounded completely different. After looking at all of the available HB basses, the BT-70 seemed to be exactly what I needed. Already being the owner of a FB, I was accustomed to the body shape and the way it balanced. As I recall, it shipped quickly and arrived well packed.

Looks:

The first thing I noticed after opening the box was how nice the finish on the body looked. The mahogony body had beutiful grain showing through the transparent parts of the burst finish. Although this bass is set neck, the raised center section gives it the appearence of a neck through design. There were no blemishes that I could find in the finish on either the neck or the body.

Build Quality:

I can't find anything to complain about here. The tuners were all put in stright, the frets aren't sharp, and the pickguard isn't bad. The poly finish seems a little thick on the neck (I prefer thin satin finishes), but at this price point that seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Nothing I can't live with. As for the electronics, all of the pots turn smoothly and without any audible noise. The push-pull pot snaps cleanly into each position.

Sound:

This bass is capable of producing a pretty wide range of sounds. I have never owned a guitar or bass with active electronics before. Each pickup has its own unique voice. The bridge is bright and punchy while the neck provides great lows. I like to keep the mix around 60% neck 40% bridge.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for an inexpensive bass that stands out from all of the PBs and JBs out there, this might be the bass for you. Its a bit on the heavy side, and the body sits a little odd (if you are not used to a FB/TB style body), but if those aren't deal breakers this guitar is worth it.