Harley Benton PJ-5 HTR Deluxe Series Reviews

Brilliant P/J

I bought this with the intention of modding it.

Before any of that started though, the bass didn't need anything doing to it. The stock pickups sound great, the bass came set up just how I like it, it was in tune out of the box and the neck was nice and straight.

Weight wise it's pretty good for a five string, not too heavy but you can definitely feel the difference coming from a four. The stock pickups are great considering the price of the bass overall. The P pickup has a more modern P tone to it, but roll off the tone and it delivers a great vintage tone. The J pickup is exactly that, a bridge J pickup plenty of mids and combined with the P all sorts of tones are available.

The overall finish is even and polishes up nicely. It's also worth noting that it's a strong finish and doesn't chip easily.

The only downside to this bass is the ribeye steak coloured pickguard. That's easily remedied though.

There are more expensive basses out there that aren't a patch on this one.

FOR THE MONEY, ALL IN ALL A GREAT BASS DEAL!

I play mostly in my home studio.

For the money you spend, you'll get a VERY nice 5 string Bass.

The wood that makes up the Bass, I got, is very good. The hardware is OK, let me qualify that the bridge and tuners are the OK part, both are more than adequate. The Pickups both sound very much like the pickups they are emulating. The pickup screws are another matter, they seem weak, as I was trying to raise them, they couldn't push hard enough to get the pickups higher and hold them there.As they came from the factory the pickups were decidedly low.

I did a setup (intonation, string height and truss rod) using the strings that came with the Bass, and now the neck is comfortable (though somewhat thicker than the other 5 string necks I've played on) and holds the truss rod adjustment well.

The tuners work as expected as does the bridge (upgrades for the bridge, tuners and pickups depend on your cash flow and wether or not you want to spend at least the cost of the Bass or more for replacements) The fingerboard is well manufactured (as is the complete Bass for that matter) with the frets seated well and no sprout.

I play through a Fender Rumble 100, not a big rig. The Bass is clear with great pitch definition (surprisingly the B string comes through the same, a trick for a 34" scale, but I believe the thickness of the neck has something to do with that !) very old school P Bass sounding (I use the vintage switch in with it out the Bass has a more modern sound) I used to play through a GK 1001RBII and a pair of 1X15 GK neos. I think this Bass would translate through that rig to the concert stage with ease.

If you're thinking of picking up a 5 string but can't afford the cost of a "BIG NAME" Bass... rest assured that this Bass will give you all you need to get playing in a professional manner..... with out shredding your wallet.

My background:

I've been playing for the last 50 years

In the 80's I toured then world with country artist Bobby Bare

I played the largest Country club west of Gillie's in TX in the house bands from 1978 through the 80's when not on the road.

I'm 65, on a fixed income to quote Arnold " I'm old, but not obsolete.

Outstanding for the money

This is a really solid bass which is well built and plays well.

The pickups are not fantastic, but they are not terrible either - they are perfectly useable.

The neck is chunky, but I think that helps with the overall sound. The tuners hold well enough.

I play in a covers band, and I was looking for a backup bass to my Yamaha 2025x. This more than does the job, I would happily gig with this instrument as is.

for just over a hundred pounds, you will not find a better 5 string p-bass. Worth getting to upgrade the pickups and bridge.

The only downside is the hideous scratch plate . Oh, and the unorthodox splitting of the precision pickup. (backwards to all other 5 string p-basses!)

Buon rapporto qualità prezzo

e un buon basso , pecca la quinta corda ma e dato dalla tipologia di pick up e non dalla qualità.. manca un po sunstain dipendemente dal legno, la botta per lo slap c e anche se onestamente quei pickup fanno un po di rumore , ma acquistando un buon cavo come il planet wawe circuit breaker il ronzio è quasi nullo.. consigliato! da acquistare subito le corde , le corde di serie non danno botta , volume e timbro allo strumento . sono pessime .quando comprate questo basso vi consiglio di comprare un buon cavo planet wawe circuit breaker e una muta di corde d addario nickel o acciaio , cosi potete suonare alla grande , il suono non e male , ci ho anche registrato ..

Good for its price

Its a bit noisy but feeling when playing is quite impresive for the bass which costs as much as case for guitar. I bought it to try 5-string bass and to start to play 5-string bass. I will replace pickups to get rid of noise.

THE INSTRUMENT IS USED FOR HOME TRAINING AND GIGS.

IT IS A WELL CONSTRUCTED PIECE HAVING QUALITY MATERIALS AND AN EXCELLENT FINISH.

DETAILED ATTENTION HAS BEEN GIVEN TO FINISH.

THE INSTRUMENT PRODUCES NICE, CLEAR SOUND.

PICKUPS WORK EXCELLENT, GIVING DESIRED BLENDED TONE.

IT IS A BIT HEAVY BUT YOU GET USED TO IT SOON.

A decent bass at an awesome price

For the price, I don?t think this bass can be beaten. Even taking the price out of the equation this is a solid instrument that can be set up pretty much however you like. I have the action super low and it holds up totally fine.

The pickups aren?t fantastic, but they do enough to handle the low B and have decent clarity.

I?ve managed to get a pretty wide range of tones from this and it handles high gain quite well, the neck is extremely comfortable and the frets came well-polished and with no sharp edges.

There?s quite a bit of neck dive, which is probably the biggest issue I can find. Pretty minor when compared with other basses in this price range.

Harley Benton PJ-5 HTR Deluxe Series

As with all Harley Benton basses, the value for money is astonishing. The build quality is exceptional and the sound is great. The hardware could be of a higher standard, the machine heads and bridge aren't particularly heavy duty, although it should be taken into consideration that the whole bass costs around as much as a set of Fender machine heads and bridge. This is my fourth Harley Benton bass and definitely not my last.

Nothing fancy, but works

Basic bass; just works. Required some bridge setup when arrived, but otherwise no problems. One thing -- not critical but very annoying -- the bass is covered with some plastic film for protection, and to remove it is hard, because it's *under* all the pots, so one has to take them off to remove the plastic.

Fantastic quality for the price!

Neck and body are solid. Pickups aren`t "the best" but at this price who cares. I have recorded with it and it sound great. Love the extra low string. Go for it, you won`t be disappointed.

Sounds good

Sounds good what can I say I'm starting to play bass and it's has nice weight and nice sound to it

Punches well above its weight.

Firstly I was really impressed with the speed of delivery - Germany to the UK in four working days!

The bass arrived well packed and in one piece so no complaint there. When I opened it up I was really pleasantly surprised at the quality of the bass. The finish on the body is flawless. The satin finish on the neck is consistent and feels great. The frets are all level and well dressed with no sharp ends at all. The tuners feel smooth and even and hold their tuning really well. The BBOT bridge is functional as you'd expect.

I did have to make a couple of adjustments though. I lowered the action (although it was perfectly playable when it arrived) but more importantly the treble side strings were noticeably louder than the bass side strings when plugged in with the neck pickup soloed so I lowered the treble side of the pickup and raised the bass side slightly which sorted it out.

Sound wise this can do a reasonable precision tone and a decent burpy jazz tone from the bridge pickup or obviously any blend of the two.

The other basses I own range from £800 - over £4000 in value and, while it can't compete on quality with my more expensive basses it still holds its own against many instruments several times it's price.

The best of basses for this price

It is really great discovery for me.

When I unpacked parcel I was surprised. It looks like expensive respectable bass. But when I start playing It surprised me once more. Sound is very good. Just from the box. Without laborious tuning. Very good strings. What string you use there?

It has only one disadvantage - name. But if for you sound is more important than name - this bass for you.

Amazing

Amazing bass guitar. The best I've used so far. Great response, great sound!

Good Bass for the price

I'm primarily a guitarist, but I play bass while tracking demo's at home as well, for the money this is ideal. It's not the best bass in the world, lets get that over first. It does however cover a necessary gap in the mix and would serve well if you want to play it live. I purchased this towards the end of 2011 and I haven't had any 'major' issues with it yet.

The neck pickup sounds very warm, I tend to have this quite high and feed the bridge pickup in until I get the rounded sound that I'm looking for. The neck pickup does pick up the low B string in a 'nicer' way than the bridge does. Maybe that's just personal preference.

The beef I have with the bass are the machine heads. They just seem to not grip that well. If you want to tune you can't make any fine adjustments especially on the low B. You can get it in tune and it will stay in tune, just be cautious when you are tuning it.

If I was to purchase a bass again, I would think about getting the Harley Benton HBZ 2005 instead.

Unpretentious 5 Stringer offering decent bangs for the buck.

Bought this as my beater Bass for Open Mics and Jams and did not have huge expectations from it. However, it really does what it say on the tin and once I've shod it with some flatwound strings, am sure it will be even better!

I don't know if I was just unlucky or out here in the sticks the Couriers regard musical instruments as the " devils tools" and treat them badly but I've had 2 of these in quick succession having had the initial one replaced.

My first one I'd say was on the verge of being too heavy, this newer one is a tad lighter. Decent quality Tuners, the ferrules are a little lumpy under the chrome but hey this is a cheapy Bass. A couple of cranks on the truss rod and the neck plays pretty well, and like I say, with some flatwounds it will play and sound even better.

Usual controls, volume for the Pbass pickups, volume for the rear Jazz pickup and an overall Tone control. People talk about upgrading these low price point Basses but really all the hardware is fine, the tuners stay in tune and it's a decent solid wood body. The Lacquer is semi translucent and you can see the wood grain through the red colour. The neck is a satin finish and actually narrower than a standard PBass or JBass neck. This is not an issue for me and I have large hands and fingers.

Luckily no tortoises were killed in the making of the scratch plate and from a distance it looks reasonably authentic

OK, the Bass does not totally sound like a genuine F Bass but in a band situation at the Dog and Duck on a rainy night no-one is going to notice.

Would be ideal for someone dipping their toes into 5 String water too.

Super Cheap Great Bass

really really good bass cheap buts greta bass great action and pickups its brilliant for all genres and has teh low B string well worth buying and compares to more high end basses. it also looks really really nice and i =is great in a premium gig bag

Awesome Bass guitar!

Would suit anyone looking for a 5 string bass on a budget. Needed a little setting up. Once this was done it's a little monster of a bass! I've just finished recording some material with it and it performed really well. A variety of tones can be created with the PJ pickup configuration, which is very useful, as I play different styles of music.

It looks sexy too! I can't pass it without giving it a quick twang!