Harley Benton HBZ-2004 Deluxe Series Reviews

A very bassy bass by default, absolutely love it

Sounds amazing paired with my Orange 50W amp.

Deep heavy bass. I am bass head in general and got that "damnnn" :)

The only -1 point is for built quality... could be better, some screws on the magnets were not fully screwed in, some frets could have been placed better to avoid rattles, but these were only minor details, haven't stopped me from enjoying it since December and never bothered to even fix them...so no real issues.

I will avoid saying "for the price" because even if I had paid more it would have still been my favorite.

Recommended for beginners 100%.

Overall Good budget bass-with issues

I bought this with the expectation of making it a project bass. It is a very attractive neck-thru bass. There were some minor finish issues, uneven lacquer,some small dings, nothing drastic. However on loosening the strings the nut fell right off the bass! The barrel input jack is also at a very odd angle and needing tightening to stop noise. The action was too high and the set screws were too long had to replace them after scraping my hand on it. The bridge is very cheap with sharp corners. Paint comes off easy. The pickups are a bit noisy and odd sized and set way too far from the bridge. The neck is slightly thicker than I like but plays very well.

All this sounds like its not a good bass. It most certainly is good for the money. It plays (and looks) better the something like a Fender Squire.

I could have sent it back but nothing bad enough to go to the trouble since I'm in the USA ,they probably know that.

As a project bass it first got a Lustihand Twin filter preamp,upgraded shielding. New pickups on the way, Delano skinny soapbars.

Next will be a Schaller Bridge. This turns a budget bass into a more expensive bass. For me worth it to have a unique fun ,project bass as I have done this to other low and midpriced basses.

Faulty item

After saving money long time for my first bass it finally arrived with an ugly mark from factory at the back of the body. Supposed to be checked from technician before send out for delivery .. how did they missed that.. or ignored it.. very disappointing

Great value

As a furniture maker, I have to say how impressed I was with the quality of this instrument. It was recommended by a friend who was using it at a recent gig. This is my first Harley Benton, and it won't be my last.

Good Bass

I'm gonna be completely honest: I am an absolute beginner and mostly bought this specific bass because it looks awesome.

That being said, the instrument seems to be of high quality and feels very nice to play. One of the knobs got a bit loose after a while which was easily fixed with a bit of glue and besides that I didn't have any issues. The strings tune easily and stay in tune, the active EQ works as expected and the battery lasted me around three months of almost daily use.

I don't have the experience to pick up on all the subtleties of a good bass sound, but I really like its tone and with a little bit of compression it sounds really good. There is a little bit of static noise when I use only one pickup, but I'm pretty sure that's to be expected on a J-Bass.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase.

Gorgeous Bass, Incredible Price!

I couldn't be happier with this instrument, and the price is insanely low for the look and quality you're getting. The neck is silky smooth, the laminations are tight, and the mother of pearl inlays really add to the look. And it's not a bolt-on! Amazing for the money. To my beginner's ears, it sounds very tight and punchy. The setup out of the box is excellent, and the quality of strings it ships with is quite good. I did detect a bit of grounding noise when I took my hands off the strings, but that may be my amp, or just a quirk of jazz pickups that I'm not aware of. Get this bass before they come to their senses and raise the price!

Amazing value for the cost.

This bass is nothing short of stunning. The wood is beautiful, with the neck-through design adding just enough pop to make it not boring. The diagonally mounted pickups just add to the funky aesthetic that makes this bass even more unique. The hardware is nothing to write home about but for the price, it is wholly acceptable. The tuners hold tuning well and the knobs have a great knurling to them. How this bass is being sold at this price is baffling, if you are on the fence about ordering one.. just do it, you will not be disappointed.

Feel the beat

After a bit of neck adjustment (no big deal) and I was on my way to thumping the strings. Sound fairly loud and precise for the money. Good intermediate bass but easily can be used on stage.

Bought on a whim...

Note to self- have more whims. Beautifully made and a joy to play.

Wonderful bass at a ridiculous price

I'm blown away by the quality in this bass guitar. I bought it just to see what the talk was about. The build quality is on par with instruments 4 times its price. The pickups/electronics are nice, however there are much better out there. Changing out the electronics world make this a pure 5 star instrument.

Great bass for a guitar player who needs a bass

I’m a guitar player not a bass player. But I wanted something that played and sounded good. This is perfect.

Great product!

This bass plays & sounds great! I have 10 basses & this one is the most versatile, plus the quality at this price is amazing! Highly recommended!

Remember the Price, it's good for the price.

I might come back and revise later but this is my initial impression of the guitar. I've held in my mind what I paid for the guitar, I'm not expecting Custom Shop quality

It looks great, it seems to be put together well and it's a weighty block. Exactly what I wanted. The fretwork let it down as a number if the frets were dented by string marks suggesting that the fretboard had has some weight on it. The frets need a polish. The fret sprout was painfully obvious, a paper cut within minutes from a light test. A fret dress is needed and what it'll get. The action is a little high at the bridge, all HB's seem to have this trait and once I've tacked the frets, I'll address the action as well.

Pickup wise, its fine, the tonal range works if you adjust at the amp as well.

If you're happy with a basic setup then this is acceptable for the price. A couple of hours and I'll have a great bass. I personally love setting up guitars, I've bought a few HB's purely to practice setups on so there is nothing scary for me.

If you're not happy changing strings as you're a newbie, someone will be able to help or your local luthier could quickly run through this for you.

Despite the issues, it's still overall a great buy as it's a serious bargain for a great looking, neck-through bass.

Awesome bass

This is an amazing bass guitar, lovely sounding, low action and so comfortable to play. Why spend more on bigger named brands when basses as good as this can be bought for a fraction of the price?

Excellent quality for the price.

Excellent quality for the price.

Very well set up.

great product

very nice to play. light weight

Killer bass for the price!

Just started playing bass again after a 15 year break and selling all my previous gear. I've had the HBZ-2004 for 2 weeks now and I'm mighty impressed. Fresh out of the box the action needed a little attention and that's it! This bass plays beautifully, has a wide tonal range and looks amazing for the price. Highly recommended.

Fine for a beginner

Others have mentioned this also, but I want to say it as well, this bass looks really good. Overall quality is very good for the price and the tone is ok. However, there are some issues.

When I got this bass, it seemed a bit quiet to me and an inner part seemed to be loose, meaning whenever I move rotate the guitar, something seemed to hit the inner parts. I took the guitar apart and check and I see that a glue was used to attach the pickups to the pickup covers but over the time glue stopped sticking and the pickups were moving freely, which was really annoying and affecting the sound because the action was changing in response to your movements. I put some foam under the pickup to lift it and that seemed to smooth everything out, meaning that no loose pickups and when I use the screws that are on the pickup cover, it means that pickup and the cover are now moving together as opposed to not being able to set the action before.

There is one more issue, if I leave the battery in the bass, it will be empty in about 10 days despite a jack not being plugged in to complete the circuit. I will update if I can sort this out.

Very happy customer!

Im a guitarist for 30 years but this is also the 4th bass I've owned in that time. I've played bass in a few bands and now I've settled down in a new country, I'm building my gear back up and wanted to buy a bass again. I've been playing this via amp, DI into DAW, rehearsal rooms and live over PA. I'm reviewing this bass according to its price and therefore expectations at that point.

Firstly this guitar looks great but thats obvious in the photos.

The build, while structurally solid has a few very minor cosmetic flaws in the finish but you really need to look to see them. a small tool burn when routing the top horn, it could be sanded out easily as there is zero lacquer finish but I wont bother with that, maybe one day if Im bored. The back plate doesnt quite fit the hole at one corner, its short by about 5mm but it is completely shielded inside, I may make my own wooden backplate to match the guitar. The inlays on the fretboard arent perfect when you look up close. Nothing major!

It plays very well, after an adjustment of the truss and bridge, the action is low, no buzz, the neck is slim and thin. The frets stop about half a mil before the end of the fretboard and are clean and smooth.

Sound is very versatile, having the active controls is extremely useful when you want to ease or apply more treble/bass depending on style. The tone between the two pickups is matched well. There is a small notch you can feel when the pickup and bass/treble pots are in the center positions.

The only con I can find with the bass is that I have nowhere suitable for me to rest my thumb when playing as the pickups come quite high outside the string width so I may add a wooden thumb rest if I cant get used to it.

I've been playing other low cost / big brand basses since I got this and this HBZ just feels far superior in every way.

Active, through neck with this versatility, playability and looks at this price is a strong 5/5. Even at twice the price id give it a 5/5. three times the price id expect the minor flaws to not be there and then give it 5/5.

Great tone

The Harley Benton HBZ-2004 is an amazing guitar.It keeps tune well and the high,mid,low tone adjustments are a great addition to have on a bass guitar. The body and neck are absolutely awesome. The several types of wood used are just beautiful.This is the best bass guitar with Active electronics (in my opinion) that you can buy at this price or even higher.I'm very happy with this guitar and highly recommend it.