Harley Benton PB-Shorty BK Standard Series Reviews

Excellent Guitar

I bought one of these guitars recently, and I am very satisfied with it. I live in England, and delivery took 2 days! The instrument is well made, plays beautifully, and is exceptional value for money. I would recommend it to anyone.

Harley Benton HBP90BK

This bass was my first ever bass guitar. I think that this bass is brilliant for beginners because it is not overly sized and it is great for just having at home to practice with. For gigs I would tend not to use this bass as the tone from it is not the best and without a good amp or effects pedals it possibly would not be good enough. Having said this it is good for practising because it is great for learning to play scales and riffs because the neck is not as long as other basses so its not as easy to be confused, you can also get a couple of different sounds from it. Overall I think its a great beginners guitar and ideal for using for practice.

Nice little Bass

Very inexpensive short scale bass i bought to initially see if i liked the shorter scale.

Well made and well put together. I did have to do some setup work to do but no real problems. The strings i thought were not the best but they do the job and kept in tune.

Surprisingly punchy pickup. Good tone.

The slightly down size body might be good for younger players, or people who just prefer a smaller bass. Although the neck is 42mm its not a very deep profile so has an ok feel. Fairly light weight although due to the smaller body it is not as balanced but i had no problems playing it sitting or standing.

Overall very good for the price.

excellent little bass

I bought this for a twelve year old who wants to learn bass.

Same size as a six string electric, so ideal for guitarists who dabble in bass now and then.

I knew at this price I'd need to do a set up, but It didn't need much, just had to lower the saddles and give the truss rod a i/4 turn, ten minute job

The hardware is better than expected, the pickups sound the way they should.

I'd recommend no problem

Nice Bass

I bought this for my daughter who has very small hands, she has clicked with the guitar straight away. A long scale bass was never an option for her but she is over the moon with the feel and action of this guitar.

We did find one scuff on the paintwork of the body but at this price it wasn't worth worrying about, it will get plenty more in the coming months I'm sure.

Nice to have metal volume and tone controls, it does lift the look of the guitar.

For the money I can't see anyone producing anything better than this and when you add it to the other pieces I bought with the combo, the package was an absolute steal.

Great deal.

Harley Benton PB-Shorty Bass

Remarkable value if you want to try out a short scale bass. Build quality was good for the price, neck good and straight although some fret buzz due to high frets. This reduced when I fitted flat-wounds, but I'm able to dress frets so was not a problem for me. Very solid bridge - heavier build than Fender's standard bridge! Truss rod moved freely and responded to adjustment well. Pickup is loud (after the string change) but not very exciting tone, but OK for the price. The neck was a few mm wider that most 30 inch bases and this was useful for me, but not too wide. Nut was the correct height for the 4 strings, not always so with cheaper models. Body is well finished and light weight, lighter than Squire's short scale for example, but black is not my color of choice! would be better available in another color, I don't think black sells so well.

NICE ACTION AND GREAT INTONATION KEEPS TUNE!

I am normally guitarist and needed bass for recording and I have weak fingers not strong and this Harley Benton PB Shorty was perfect for me.

A great bass with not too long neck and easy nice playing pressing down strings to frets and also very impressing is the intonation and keeping the tune for long time. When you have tuned it it stays in tune and as mentioned previous, the intonation is very good on every fret. Good design and nice quality for the price! Anders/Musician Entertainer.

my harley benton bass guitar

its a good bass guitar,,good hardware and good sound also very handy t use

Good for beginners

I decided to buy the Harley Benton Shorty as a gift for my girlfriend since she wanted to learn playing basic stuff on bass. She never really liked the feel of my own bass, a 5-string bass by Ibanez. You could argue about the hand size needed to play a bass effectively...well, we did anyway. Her hands and fingers are rather small and she doesn't feel comfortable with my bass' fretboard. So I wanted to buy a short scale bass while spending not too much money on it.

I'm glad to say, that the HB Shorty was a lucky pick for us. It's not expensive looks and feels nice and is a well made instrument for beginners. I changed the strings right away and oiled up the fretboard a bit but otherwise no set tup was needed whatsoever. Overall I am happy with the quality of the instrument and it's parts. The tuners could be a little bit more reliable (tuning once every 30 minutes or so is required, at least by my standards) and you could alway swap out the P-Bass Pickups. But other than these few minor things there's nothing wrong with the HB Shorty. Especially not for the price, it's a great deal for beginners and people in need of a cheaper shortscale bass. I think you could also recommend it to children.

My girlfriend absolutely loves her first own bass. She nicknamend it "Shorty" right away and keeps butchering Red Hot Chili Peppers basslines every day.

Great value at a great price, go for it, short-fingered bass players!

A really nice product

It's a bass... It's a bass that has a great sound at a very reasonable price. Is it something you'd find the experts using on tour? No. That said, they are handy when you want to just add a quick bass line to a demo track or for when you're starting off on the bass.

Amazing instrument

..I play in a small hard rock/heavy metal band, and through the "Ashdown" amp this bass has enough power and playability to power its way through anything. Perhaps even armageddon. Or not. But still, it's a very strong bass, and it lasted three shows absolutely faultlessly, without a backup (which I admit was brave). Good finish, excelent sound, brilliant playability. I loved using this, and I still use it at home for the occasional thrash around when the epi's feeling a little fragile, or warming up for a gig..

Good for beginners.

Good overall bass pro beginners or occasional practice. Build quality isn't outstanding, but for the price it's actually good. Sound is ok and overall is a good product for starting in bass or just to play once in a while.

Great bass

I originally bought this for teaching on for pupils, as my own sometimes just smothers the kids and it's really heavy. This arrived and really had to be set up as you could "limbo" dance under the strings. (There was a label in the box saying it had been quality checked??) After adding a shim to the neck pocket and lowering the bridge, the action was a lot lower. Intonation was reset and wow what a lovely instrument. Quite honestly before I would of gave it a 3, maybe 4 stars (taking into account of it's price), but as you can see it's now a 5 on everything. I am very very happy with this now and may even use it on an occasional stand in gig. it is amazing what a 30 min set up/ service can do.

Harley Benton Short Scale Bass

Bought as a cheap and simple practice bass to just "grab and play" when the impulse strikes.

It's not meant to sound or feel like a 1000+ euro instrument, but it's great for what it is.

Tonal range is very limited, but it's screwed together just fine, finish is good for the price and everything is lined up reasonably well. Stock strings are it's weakest link, so I changed them immediately and for personal practice or just a quick jam it's fine.

Don't expect too much but at around 55 euros it's amazing how they can make something that plays like a bass for that kind of money!

Small bass

A bit difficult to play since it's not very well balanced, it keeps falling down on the neck side. Sit down while you play and this will give a nice introduction to the bass playing world.

Decent first level

You will need to make some adjustments and a bit of a fretwork. but after that you will have a good fist level instrument that will get you off the first couple of years of lessons.

Nice second Bass

I am a working bass player and wanted this as a spare bass to take to gigs with the possibility of playing a few of our more funkier songs on it. I am really impressed with it considering its very modest price tag. Set up and playable straight out of the box (once i'd removed the protective film from the pickups and scratchplate) it has a nice feel and is extremely light in weight compared to the Fender Precision I normally play. Good finish and the fittings are of a reasonable quality. The action is impressive and I found it really easy to play. How they knock out instruments like this at the price i'll never know! If you are a guitarist who plays occasional Bass, a beginner or like me fancied a short scale as a spare for gigging this Bass is for you.

Harley Benton PB-Shorty BK

I love this bass. its of decent quality , but it feels very nice to play. the frets dont go far past 12 but it was perfect for learning bass and i plan on upgrading soon. it was great value however it is evident that it is not quality. if you intend to gig look elsewhere but if you want to learn bass and have fun doing so its a surprising charmer and ive never been disappointed with it.

Perfect for the beginner

Teaching is often hindered by a pupil having an ill-fitting guitar. This has greatly helped a pupil of mine and brought on their playing to new levels. It's relatively light and is a great length with the the string height being of optimum level for small hands. I use it with pupils of age 7-11 and they cope well with it - ably moving around and having full control over the instrument. At this price it's an absolute steal - and one that should not be missed. As an adult it's also playable, not like a mini-instrument or anything. It is the real deal and i'd take it somewhere if one of my main basses needed to be fixed or something, it's a simple, middle of the road tone-wise, little gem and teacher's/pupils should be fighting over getting these into their lives.

Ideal for guitarists

A short scale bass is great for the guitarist who need to deputise on bass. Good warm tone from the pickups, light and compact. Finishing on the edge of the fretboard a little rough but intonation is good. Can't argue with the price, recommended.