Harley Benton JB-75MN NA Vintage Series Reviews

Well worth the bucks

Bought a B stock option. to record a DI bass signal for my music. >

Pros

.shipped fast

.good tuning keys

.no fret buzz

Cons

.there is a black blemish on the backside of the bass but it is small and has no effect on the sound.

You won't find better for 140¤

I bought this as an extra bass to practise when I'm away from home. The neck has a nice feel and is straight. The sound is fine and I'm not noticing any significant hum. The body woodwork is lovely - it looks a lot like my swamp ash Marcus Miller Sire.

The fret ends absolutely need half to one hour of DIY with some masking tape and fingernail sanding boards to make play comfortable.

Being picky: the tuners feel like you need to apply a lot of torque to get the thing up to pitch, especially on the D and G strings. This might be the tuners themselves or the nut or the string tree. Or a combination. So I'm replacing the tuners with some Schaller just because I feel like it. The pickup pole pieces stick out a lot and they're kind of sharp. This is probably just like original Fender, but just a bit janky. I might replace them for that reason alone. I'm also going to try a cheapo high mass bridge, again, just because I fancy tinkering, not that it's absolutely necessary.

Just love it.

I'm not trying to sell or persuade you to buy this but I remember the fist time I played this bass I was shocked! I took the instrument at school and my teacher was truly amazed by the sound of this bass so that he bought 2 for him and so did the others from the school. I still have this bass 2 years later and I think was the best purchase I've ever done!

Great service, great quality...

I bought this as part of the bass/amp/accessories package.

The product was quickly dispatched and sped across Europe at lightning speed. It spent a matter of minutes being approved by customs and arrived at my hometown in impressive time.

It unfortunately then spent the next two days at the PARCEL FARCE depot 200 yards away from my home.

The item was very well packed and upon inspection, it seems flawless, looks stunning and plays very well.

I have a collection of p electrics including high end Gibsons, Fenders and PRS so this was purchased as a "suck it and see" distraction. I don't know if bass will be my thing, but it's got to be tried.

I can only say that, if this is the quality of HB's, more will be joining my collection in the near future (space and wife permitting).

Insane value, top service (apart from PARCEL FARCE) and quality way above it's price range. Do not hesitate....

Great sounding bass, needs some fret work.

This is a great sounding bass, the roswell pickups do a great job creating the jazz bass sound. The looks of the bass is also quite good, and the inlays do look quite the part.

Pros: Good pickups, d'ddario strings from factory, looks.

Cons: weight ( it's quite heavy, maybe 1 kilo more than a fender/squier), fret tops needs some fine sanding (it was quite dirty, so bends feels scratchy.

Love it

Great bass guitar for a low price that simple

Quality which needs no qualification

Forget the 'for the price' kind of qualification which is often used. This is an excellent instrument in its own right. Mine (NAT model) was properly set up when I received it and I haven't been able to find a single imperfection in the build, the sound or the extensive range of tones available, especially for a passive bass. I would consider it to be reassuringly 'solid' rather than 'heavy'. I now own three Harley Benton basses and I'm more than happy to recommend all of them, equally.

If some buyers have acquired a 'bad' one all I can say is that I have encountered quality control issues with considerably more expensive instruments from some of the 'household' names in the industry. Highly recommended.

Great!

I bought this bass because I wanted one to learn how to play. I never expected the sound would be so good. The finishing is great and the instrument itself is quite heavy.

I doubt that you can find anything better for this price!

Enjoying my new bass

I'm a six string player who wanted a bass to mess about with. This through my new Fender Rumble sounds great. Goes from quacky funk to jazz thump. It's quite heavy - I bought a good strap that cost nearly have a s much as the bass!

It stays in tune and quite simply feels nice. The neck finish is very smooth in that sort of non sticky matt way. Can't believe the value for money and most of all it's a lot of fun to play. Will always look at HB for new purchases.

The only downside is it's a bit heavy.

Excellent for beginners & intermediates. Looks, feels & sounds great.

As a beginner I needed a bass that felt good and had a good action (as I'm still developing my technique and would not be able to adapt to a 'difficult' bass very easily). I also wanted it to sound good even though I'm not gigging (yet!).

Pros

This bass looks fantastic - my bass tutor was VERY impressed when he saw it and played it for a while. Build quality is superb and the machine heads & strings hold their tune well.

It has a lovely sound. There a good depth on the neck pickup for a deep rumbling bass and brightness on the bridge pickup for a great jazz sound. The tone control is very effective and tames the brightness perfectly when needed.

I can confirm this bass ticked the boxes for feel and sound, but I did have to adjust the bridge height to get a lower action. This is quite straight forward and worth experimenting with and the tools for truss rod and bridge adjustment are supplied.

Cons

Shielding is not very good on the internal wiring so there can be a slight buzz in some conditions, but this disappears when the strings are touched, and isn't at all bad.

I feel the nut height does require a minor adjustment (slightly lower on 2 strings), but it's minor and isn't causing a problem. It would have been good to have a better setup out of the factory (hence the 4 stars on quality).

Overall, for the price this is an excellent bass. I've played it through both a modelling amp and PA speakers and have practiced for hours - I enjoy it that much!

Still in love with my stuff bought at you, guys!

Hi there,

This bass is beyond my expectations, really! Just like a Ferrari: it's good to look at, sounds great and very cool!

God bless!

One of the best bass in the world

It?s a realy interesting bass, with a great colors and body type, and with a excellent sound.

TOP bass in the world

Bargain

One of my best friends owns a bass that cost 10 times what this one did and he was almost in tears when he saw it, when he played it he just kept shaking his head.....absolute bargain.

You get what you pay for.

You do not expect to buy a 140 Euro bass guitar and sound like Marcus Miller, do you? For the money you pay for, this bass is unexpectedly good. Descent tone, good construction quality and playability. It has good looks too! If you are looking for a cheap. entry level bass, that's a very fine choice.

very good for the price you pay

I bought this as a joint present for my dad and I as we had both wanted to learn to play bass for quite a while. I didn't want to spend too much money on something that neither of us had experience with playing before so chose this bass.

Downsides

1) The pick ups are not the loudest pickups you can have on a bass guitar, however these can be swapped out/upgraded if/when you need to.

2) the bass isn't the lightest. having said that, it is easy and comfy to play for several hours at a time before it really starts to become an issue.

3) the strap screw on the bottom of the bass came off after a few months, however this was easily fixed and can be an issue on any baa you buy.

Positives!

1) The bass is great value for price and the perfect bass for beginners that are not too sure if they will like playing bass.

2) the tuners hold the tuning incredibly well

3) has that classic fender look for a fraction of the price

4) is a very solid bass that wont break too easily for those who are clumsy like me

all in all, if you are looking for a back up bass, or a starter bass, then this is the one you need!

great classic sound :)

For the price of this thing I am very satisfied :) You can get classic sounds without breaking the bank, hardware seems solid, all pots and tuners work as expected. There is hum when using only one of the pickups, but it's level is typical, just like other single coil guitars/basses. Great bass to mess around at home and record ideas. It's rather heavy so if You want to use it on stage be ready for some weight on your back. Fully recomended for this kind of price :)

Crazy cheap, great player

I have owned a Fender Jazz bass for over 20 years but wanted one with a maple neck for brighter tones and bought the JB-75NA. I own a few Harley Benton basses so knew the build quality would be first rate and i wasn't disappointed. The neck is a little thicker than my Fender but its not at all chunky.

The Pros:

The ash body is absolutely gorgeous. Its a very very well matched two piece and i have trouble finding the join and the wood grain on the contours is beautiful. The tuning machines work well and are accurate enough to get the job done. The bridge has nice brass saddles and does its job well. The nut was cut perfectly and does its job well. Good fret work.

The Cons:

The pickups are quite low output and while they do sound quite good i may change them but im in no rush. The body cavity is not shielded and the pickups can buzz very slightly when near lights but will be easily sorted by copper shielding tape.

Conclusion:

Buy one you wont regret it. Its a lovely heavy hunk of a bass and sounds great, plays well and looks exceptional. If you are into tinkering or projects this would make the perfect base for any upgrades as the machining of the wood both neck and body is flawless and every bit as good as my Fender and the pups bridge and tuners are all easy to replace but the real benefit is that you dont have to ist great just outta the box.

Perfect!

In the youth I used Fender and Law Suit Ibanez guitars. I needed something simmilar and HB JB Vintage was right chouice. Manufacturing was perfect, tuning, playability, sound,...And looks GREAT!

A real hidden gem

This bass is excellent. Action can be low as you want and plays as well as any mid priced bass does. Pickups are good quality.

I also have another Hb bass which isn't great however I believe this particular model could be a real hidden gem- I have happily gigged it , leavin my other jazz at home (which was 6 times the price). The neck pickup routing isn't tight so you couldn't really use it with the pickup guard off

I might even get another one!

One thing though... It's very heavy so you might need to get a good wide strap for it. I've actually drilled some of the wood away from underneath the pickup guard, it's made a slight difference.

Got get one.. or two!

A great bass

I have had many compliments about the quality of build and sound of this bass, and I am extremely happy with the product.

I use this bass to play live and for studio recording, and it out-performs both situations. It sounds nasty and grindy when played aggressively with a pick, which is ideal for metal. It is also very versatile in other genres, where it performs well being playing with fingers.

The only negative point about this instrument is that it is extremely heavy! When playing live, is certainly gives your shoulder a good workout!

Overall, I believe that this bass deserves 5 stars all around, as its sound quality matches how it looks - fabulous!