Harley Benton TB-70VS Deluxe Series Reviews

Should of just sent it back

I'm a idiot really. When I recieved this bass the bridge was hanging off it, I should of just sent it back but instead I googled it and saw that it was quite a common problem with 3 pin bridges. Anyway I used a epoxy glue and that fixed it. People complaining about neck dive with this bass, that is because the strap pins are not in the right place, I moved the pin to directly behind where the neck meets the body and voila! you can stand and play bass. When I plug this bass in I can hear some hi pitched frequencies which I don't get with my other harley benton guitar. It's a real shame really because the finish on this guitar is spot on, it looks lovely but its been a nightmare really.

What a monster!

It's pretty clear that even after changing the initial design of this bass guitar its main idea was to replicate the looks and the sound of a Gibson Thunderbird.

Of course, what got me attracted to this instrument at the very beginning were the features that you get for less than 150 EUR: mahogany body, set-neck, active pickups and the legendary design that rocked the 70's and the 80's.

This thing is really massive and heavy - it has nothing to do with the basses I used to play before buying it. Probably not for people with weaker shoulders, but I seem to dig it as it is. Furthermore, if it ain't heavy, it ain't metal!

For a guitar with such structure, the neck dive is unavoidable - a heads up for the singing bass players that might feel tempted to attempt doing something else with their left hand (ha-ha!).

And finally - the sound! The bridge pickup is as bright as a hammer hitting an anvil and the neck is roaring like a thunder. As you might expect, BT-70VS delivers an unbelievable sustain, even if you use the push-pull feature of the volume knob and switch it to passive mode.

I took one star from the quality section because some additional setup is clearly required, even though the thing was playable right out of the box. It needs some final touches to get even closer to perfection.

Anyway - it's a bass that sounds even better than the simple sum of its parts and I would totally recommend it to people that are not afraid of weighty instruments.

An unexpected investment that came out to be a dream that turned into reality

First of all, u guys need to know what kind of player I am to understand how relevant to you is my review, so I'm a casual player, it's a hobby to say more precisely , and I do play on a low cost amp. Having cleared that I have to say that was is written in description u get, real mahogany, real rosewood fretboard, tunners do their job well, the pickups are not bad, an the finish quality took me by surprise, I wasn't expecting it to that well made, (PS I'm a lucky owner of the one that has the original shape). What I do recomand is to change the strings with some good quality ones, and adjust the bridge, then u will see it is unbelievable good for the money. And also if u fell like changing the pickups I think it will be godlike, but I didn't, and I'm more than pleased with them.

Another thing is the neck that tends to go down, and forces u to take the it's weight in your left hand, so I believe it's hard to play this on a standing position, I usually play sitting and with it on my lap, and I saw that on standing position it's more than hard, again it will need to readjust the belt bolt from the left side, somewhere under the connection of the neck and body, I don't recomand to put it right on the connection since its a set neck construction, and will weaken it.

But I didn't bother :) I play it while sitting, so it's OK for me.

I used once on an amp with a lamp preamp, just to see how it really sounds and I've been more than pleased, in fact the amp owner wanted to buy it from me, he was fascinated.

So if you want to learn to play bass, play at home, or even in a small bar, it's OK, and the value it's amazing, if u want to play it on stage u can buy this, and do some mods, personalise it, put some nice strings, adjust the belt bolt, buy some emz active pickups and there u go, :) the wood it's good, sustains perfect, etc etc... Just buy it man it's cheap and good.