Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series 5-stars Reviews

A Low Strung Six - Just Like The Beatles

I first saw a six string bass in The Beatles film “Let It Be”. I wanted to try it for myself; it is as good as I hoped it would be.

This bass is a lot lighter than I expected. It has been set up beautifully and plays really well.

I am using it to double lead guitar for my guitar instrumentals, it thickens up the sound and gives it more body.

Pros

Easy to play

Light body

Great fun

Double guitar lines

Double bass lines

Cons

Hard to put down

A different kind of riff stick

As a guitarist I'm most interested in the lower end, often tuning down to C, but as a bassist I end up playing chords like a guitar. So this is exactly what I've been looking for! Right out of the box this thing plays perfectly. The GBVS has a simple setup of volume, tone, and a 5-way pick-up selector that gives a wide range of sounds. The stock single-coil pickups & strings can be a little thin, especially if you're expecting a traditional bass sound, but the tone knob gives a lot of variety. And you could always change to a heavier string gauge or install different pick-ups. Cosmetically I have zero complaints. I love the offset body and neck shape, and the finish is great and light on the neck so it's easy to move your hand around. No frills needed.

It's an ideal rhythm instrument that has a distinct timbre from a bass or guitar that can give you massive backing tracks and low-end lines. Famously used by Peter Hook in New Order, Robert Smith on "Disintegration", and Glen Campbell in "Wichita Lineman", there's a lot of sonic possibilities available. I bet this would be killer for a 2-piece band, or a looper-based solo project!

Amazing cost benefit ratio

Amazing cost benefit ratio, very good build quality considering the price range. No flaws or issues and looks amazing live, was good to go out of the box, just needed to be tuned. Less positive point is the pickups that could have a bit more output and "punch" but not critical, they still perform well. As a suggestion for future improvements in the model, the individual on/off switches for the pickups would be a plus.

Overall fantastic product, I'm loving it and definitely was a great buy

If you are in the market for a bass VI like or baritone guitar definitely have a look at it.

A super fun rare instrument. Great for the price.

I've always wanted a Bass VI, but could never justify spending all that money. After picking up this Bass, I wish I had done it years ago. Once again, great value for the price tag!

Better than expected - tons of fun for the price

I was pleasantly surprised with all aspects of this affordable bass VI. The guitar I received looked nothing like display photo, but its got a good looking finish. Basic set-up was done before shipping to US (VERY fast!). All elecs work well with no crackles or signal drops while switching, pickups are ok for price, 5way strat switching is kind'a fun, stock strings sound ok as well. The neck is a good profile, not too fat or slim, its straight and adjusts correctly w truss rod. Its hard tail is more stable than vibrato style + slightly smaller body is comfortable to play. *VERY important to put correct strings on a bass VI - IT IS NOT A 6 STRING BASS* (Heavy bass strings will warp your neck) Realistically, buyers should expect to set-up according to preference - I do this with all new guitars so it does not affect my assessment of an instrument.

Fantastic mod platform

As a Loathe fan, the concept of a 30" hardtail offset was super intriguing - I checked it out and I was pretty blown away. The only slight gripe I had about it was that one of the tuners slipped a little - other than that, it was faultless. That said, I'm a total tinkerer - this proved to be a great mod platform - I've since swapped out the tuners, nut, rolled the fretboard edges, and I'm in the process of routing out the body for HH (Side note: the SSS route kinda sucks, a HSH internal routing would've been muuuuch better). That said, I can't say enough good things about this guitar.

I love this Guitar!!!!

Just received - well packed - no issues. Cant find anything wrong physically, looks amazing. Strings supplied were awful but already had a set of Ernie Balls ready to swap. Now it plays great and sounds awesome with a huge amount of tones available with the 5 way selector switch. The tone knob doesn't seem to make any difference to the tone but that's not a problem for me as I never use it anyway.

This really has to be one of the best value guitars available today. Get one - you wont be disappointed.

Great Bass

Was a bit weary of this at first because of the low price point but Ive been blown away by this bass vi! Ive only gotten to use it to jam and record with some friends but its been amazing. the neck is great, the action is great out of the box, and it looks great too. the only thing id change would be the nut and the pickups, but those are merely personal preference and I think you'd be able to get by with the stock pickups.

A very nicely made guitar

I have wanted a Bass VI for a long time but like all new things, I didn't know if I would like it or could do anything with it. When I heard about the HB GuitarBass I knew I wanted one but when I tried to order one they were sold out and didn't know when they would have them again. They finally became available again and I got one. I really like it it is very well made. I would encourage any bass/guitar player to get one.

Great

This instrument has a great quality of build, and none of the intonation problems that plague the Squier model.The 5 way switch offers tons of versatility, a very good instrument a steal for the price it is sold at.

Good!!

Great bass/guitar for its price..few minor adjustment to make

it playable .. strings are ok.but upgrade to better brand strings

should do the trick..

BASS VI COPY

GOOD BASS VI , apart from some sharp frets , the rest of the bassguitar is very nice , sound is good , im changing only the pots with good ones and get rid of the sharp frets , put on some flatwound strings instead of those crappy rusty roundwounds and its a great buy , !! keep rocking harley benton , for 200 euros such a good instrument with some mods its fantastic im impressed

For the price...

...it's unbeatable. I always kind of wanted a 6 string Bass, and it turns out I love having one, and the fact that it was under 200¤ convinced me to take the plunge.

Fantastic six string VI style bass straight out of the box

I'd been on the lookout for a six string bass for a long time and the Fender VI was top of my list having been played by George Harrison and John Lennon in the Beatles and Jack Bruce in Cream. I liked the idea that it was tuned the same as a regular guitar but an octave lower so I could easily switch from guitar to bass. The VI also had a thin neck. Unfortunately, it was (and still is) way out of my price range. Even the Squier version was priced steeply and having played one in store didn't feel as solid as it should.

So when the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series came out I took a chance I ordered. I'm so glad I did. Straight out of the box, it felt fantastic. The neck was comfortable, the action low without much buzz and even unplugged it sounded great with solid intonation right up its long neck. The finish looks even better in person than on the photos - darker and more subtle with its burst.

Plugged in it gets even better with a good variance of tone from the three pickups - they take effects very, very well. Often a lot of effects can take the depth out of your tone but starting an octave lower with a bass puts you in a great starting position for alt-rock/psychedelic experimentation.

As a standard bass, the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series is more than adequate but as a new voicing for existing electric guitar players it's a revelation. And an absolute bargain.