Harley Benton JB-75MN NA Vintage Series 4-stars Reviews

Superb quality for the price!

This instrument is excellent. The tones from the pickups respond in the way you'd expect from their 'jazz' configuration and all the 'Jaco' to 'Marcus', sounds are very well-represented. The build quality is of a very high standard, frets dressed nicely. If I have a criticism, it is that the nut wasn't smoothed off but worked as it should. I'm being picky; something that I sorted out myself within minutes.

The hardware is cheaper but functional; tuners holding pitch fine. The bridge is fine with 'brass' saddles. The bass wasn't quite 'in-tune' but again, once I had adjusted the bridge, no problem. The neck has a kind of 'D' profile, so don't expect the 'modern' jazz here - it is a 'vintage' model. However, I love the dimensions and the neck itself is very comfortable and solid. There is probably a finish on the back of the neck but essentially it's 'unfinished', meaning that it's very easy to get around. This is a very playable bass!

If there's a drawback certainly for me, it's the weight. The body is a three piece ash (American?) and is too heavy for my (older) frame and that's why, most reluctantly, I am returning this truly fabulous instrument. This has been a hard decision and I would encourage HB to come out with a lighter body version as at this price point, aimed at the beginner - they would benefit from an instrument that doesn't weigh them down (me too!).

I have been a professional bass player for many, many years and I was looking for a cheap bass as a project to play around with, perhaps replacing the hardware and experimenting with different pickups - obviously, I wouldn't be playing around with one of my vintage basses.

In conclusion, I would recommend this instrument with confidence. Don't be put off by the name or the crazy low price. This instrument represents a 'bargain'; the weight just didn't suit me. I would happily play this on a gig - I'm not a 'label' snob and I would challenge anyone to tell the difference between this and say a Mexican Fender at four times the price? However, it's all subjective but I would suggest that if you're looking for a 'vintage-style' jazz, this has got to be on your list.

Cracking Jazz bass

Sounds great, looks great. Quite a back-breaker and electronics came loose a few times needing soldering, but all in all a solid bass.

excelent for the price you're paying

Apart from high frequency hiss when recording through audio interface and cheap, weak metal quality tuners, this bass is superb for the price. Played couple of live shows with it and no problems, sounded great.

Absolute bargain!!! But...

Use

I bought this bass guitar to improve my creative workflow. Straight out of the box, this thing played amazing! It was set up very well, and it was even in tune (almost, but still a big thumbs up!).

Plugged this thing straight into my AI, and it sounded just like a Jazz Bass should. I'm a guitarist, so I might not have enough experience to really give this thing a fair judgement, but it does its job very well.

If you are on a budget, I'd recommend this over other contenders in the same price range.

The only downside is that this thing is super heavy... I wouldn't want to play shows with this. Luckily, I bought this only for home recording purposes, so I won't have to bear any back pain :D

Great job, Harley Benton!

Amazing instrument for an amazing price, especially for a beginner!

I will preface this by saying I am a 100% Bass beginner - so take that as you will.

I love this instrument. It is absolutely beautiful and is very comfortable to hold. It is quite heavy, but I am experienced in playing heavy instruments suspended from my body, so for me hasn't been much of an issue.

Out the box needed a little tuning, but sounded okay - however when I set it up and switched out the strings for some trusty basic strings from my local music store, the sound quality shot up dramatically.

The only issues I have was 1) the shipping box had much damage and luckily no damage to my instrument and 2) that the protective plastic on the pickguard and around the pickup knobs was INCREDIBLY hard to remove and there are still bits of plastic under my knobs and stuck UNDER my cable input socket that even the music store tech couldn't remove. Also, there are a few screws that have quite a bit of sawdust smooshed into the hole which has caused some of the screws to not be completely level. I would probably be more upset if I were a more experienced player.

Overall, as a beginner, the instrument is well worth the price and I am in love.

My first bass

Just the right dimensions, good sound, some clearance on the pickups, don't understand why, you can just push them deeper. Unbalance soundwise between the strings. I'm happy though at this price.

Great Entry Level Bass

Im not a bass player, but wanted a bass to lay down ideas and to record at home with. This bass was perfect. It needed very little adjustments out of the box but thats just me being picky. Its fine to play right out of the box.

Would reccomend.

Impressive Price-Performance-Quality

This is the first bass I bought about a month ago.

As a new bass player I had low expectations for this price range and I am not experienced enough to notice every detail.

So considering this, I would say I am very pleased with my purchase. Here are some of the things I noticed so far.

- Sound is good (for the price) and strings are OK. I expected major fret buzz, I am glad I was wrong.

- It seems well made with only a few minor wood/paint spots that can be easily overlooked.

- Some of the brass saddles became discolored already. I am not sure if they are brass or just brass-plated but I know brass-plate wears off with time.

- Pick guard gets scratched way too easily but maybe it is just my play style.

- It is indeed a bit heavy, about 6 kg.

Also, I would like to mention that it was packaged very carefully, protecting the bass and the strings !

To sum it up, I doubt there is a better bass guitar at this price. I highly recommend it, especially to new bass players like myself.

The guitar is well made and well tuned. Buy and play.

Garik Djan

I watched a video on YT and decided to buy a JB-75MN. Just for fun and its low price. I also have an Ibanez btb 605bg, but it's too big for me. Out of the box, my JB-75MN made a lot of noise. I completely replaced the tone block and made earthing. I also replaced the pickups.

Awesome Bass Guitar for an Unbelievable Price

I am a guitar player in my band but Bass Guitar has always been my first love during my younger years but I could not afford or invest on expensive bass. So upon searching for the best inexpensive bass, I found Harley Benton brand. Look at it in Youtube and saw the good reviews so I decided to buy one. And I can say that this is one of my best purchase for a music gear so far.

Tone and clarity is surprisingly good. And by just tweaking the knobs to different positions, you can produce different sound and find your own tone as you like. I am surprised by the Roswell brand of its pickups. Hats off.

Build quality is unexpected. I though it will have poor workmanship because of its price point but upon receiving the guitar, i was astounded by the build of the guitar. It is smooth, flawless and have that expensive feel to it.

great!

Great sounding! Plays really well.

Just quite heavy.

1and half Year Later - Can't Beat This P/P

It's been a year and a half since i got this bass.

Shipped with setup done. Action on point. Intonation bit off, but it is normal. Nothing that a quick phillips head turn wouldn't fix. Hex and phillips tools included.

For a beginner to mid-tier player this bass is a blast to play on. (upgrade electronics when you feel the need and it opens its vocabulary)

Would recommend. Even got 2 friends that bought Harley Benton instruments after playing this bass.

Got a Benton Tele as well, the review is the same.

Go for it

that price

I'm going to start by calling out alan from QC, when I got mine it wasn't grounded properly, not a big deal, very quick fix, the pickups do have a fair amount of hum to them but that's to be expected

The hardware feels very sturdy, it came set up perfectly, the fret work is clean, if you're used to a c shape fendery neck you won't be disappointed here it's very comfortable, it's a bit on the heavy side bare that in mind

it's a solid instrument at an incredible price

Great bass for the price

I am happy with the bass, especially at this price point. The setup needs work and the bass is on the heavy side.

Apart from that, i can recommend it.

Good sound, too heavy.

Portuguese | English

Excelente baixo elétrico, a um preço bestial. Vem equipado com cordas roundwound. Não tem muito que se lhe diga, saiu da caixa pronto para tocar, apenas tive de afinar, não irei fazer um setup num futuro próximo. No geral, é um bom instrumento, acabamento clássico muito agradável. Por este preço, sentimos que ficámos a ganhar sem sombra de dúvida. Tenho apenas intenções de mudar as cordas para flatwounds. *UPDATE* já o uso há 1 ano e continuo inteiramente satisfeito, já toquei ao vivo, já gravei, já fiz tudo o que podia fazer, e o instrumento não desilude.

Great bass guitar at a great price. Comes with roundwound strings. There's not much to it, it came out of the box ready to play, just had to tune up, won't do a setup anytime soon. Just overall great bass, absolutely beautiful classic finish. And for that price, it feels like a bargain. Just gonna change to flatwound strings and that's it.*UPDATE* I've been using it for a year now and I'm still fullfilled with the bass, I've played live, I've recorded with it, I have done as much as I could with it, it hasn't let me down yet.

Can't go wrong with one of these.

This thing has some weight to it! Seemed well set up out of the box, the sound is good and it was easy to play. The tuners are beefy and hold the string tension well.

The only issue I had was a tiny split in the finish due to a screw being over tightened on the volume & selection plate area from the factory. Doesn't affect the playability of the guitar though.

I bought it because I'm not a big bass player, but wanted something to use in a mix. This definitely gives me that.

Solid bass... very heavy though!

I am a bit of a budget guitar/bass addict. The most expensive thing I have in my arsenal is a hagstrom HB8. This is up there in the weight category so it isn't too much of a problem that the JB-75 weighs the same as my car. I think this is an excellent, versatile bass. I have to admit that I am becoming very fond of Harley Benton guitars and this is the 4th addition to my collection.

My band packed in earlier this year but it was to be my primary 4-string for that. But now I am on my own I use is primarily for my home studio.

SOUND: It fit with the rock/blues we were playing seamlessly and has the versatility to cover most bases being a jazz copy. The pickups are nice and hot, the heft of the body ensures a nice full tone, and I've had zero problems with the neck like I had with the bass vi copy (sharp fret edges needed filing) and the strat copy I bought recently (same issue with the fret edges, and one fret above the 12th was raised slightly but was remedied with a bit of filing). So no buzz and the intonation is spot on.

BODY/FINISH/BUILD QUALITY: it looks gorgeous. The finish is around what you might expect for a mid range bass and much better than you would expect at this price point. There's no glaring problems with the body, the plastic covers are all well cut and everything is well secured. The jack is solid and the pots feel good, no crackling/buzzing to speak of which is more than can be said for the hagstrom... The tuners are the only real let down, but they work. There's a lot of play in them so they would be worth upgrading at some point, if I was to get a lot of use out of the bass, but as I am only using it in the studio then there's not much point.

CONCLUSION: For a gigging musician this might be a little heavy for a lot of stage use. It's akin to having about 7 real jazz basses hanging around your neck. For occasional use or use in the studio where you can sit in a nice comfy chair it is an absolute belter. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something to start out on as it wont break the bank but you arent buying rubbish. I personally think it is an excellent bass and would thoroughly recommend it.

Review after 6 months of use (*2 years)

Excellent J-bass for its price. Price-to-quality ratio is top. Plays great. Has the feel and sound of a jazz bass, which is encouraging. Looks good. Great first, beginner or part-time bass. Would recommend it to all. Downside is its weight, it's a very heavy bass.

One of the frets popped out after 4-5 months of intensive use, probably due to the onset of winter. Since this is known to happen to all basses, including expensive ones, I don't hold it against this model. Very worthy purchase.

EDIT 1: Several frets are popping up a little after 6 months of active playing. I like to play with low action and this is unfortunately a problem, as I am getting more frets buzzing every week. Excellent bass but the fretwork is a cause for worry.

*EDIT 2: The wood of the body seems to be deforming slightly, so much so that there is friction when turning the potentiometer knobs. In hindsight, great value for beginners, probably unreliable as a main instrument for too long.

Good bass!

The fourth string touches the neck pickup a little lower strings. Sorry for my English :)