Harley Benton JB-40FL 3-Tone Sunburst Reviews

wonderful tool

pros: good quality, expressive instrument

cons: little bit on the heavy side 5 kilos

Jaco on a budget

Amazing quality for the price, plays great straight out the box. Some better strings and a bit of lemon oil are the only things it needs for now.

I see why this gets such good reviews, a well made instrument for a bargain price. First time playing a fretless and didn’t want to invest a fortune, this is perfect for my needs.

Great Fretless for a low price!

For the price, I was surprised how well this played and sounded! Setup was good, frets weren't sharp, no neck pocket gap. A very solid package overall. The only con for me is that it is a bit on the heavier side. Other than that, this is a very gig-able fretless jazz bass, and that isn't something you could say about most basses in this price range!

This line is excellent

Same quality as the JB-75, so no complaints. Everything is almost perfect out of the box: setup is good (minor adjustments to my liking). Sound is good but does not quite measure up to the high end basses.

Very good bass

This is my first fretless, so I don't have any fretless experience, but I've played bass for 21 years so far. The bass is a lot heavier than you think a bass in this price range would be. It feels solid like it will last for a long time. The bass came with roundwound strings, but I put flatwounds on it. That is the only thing I've done to the bass. The bass sounds like a bass should sound. I really can't find anything bad to say about it. It is exactly what I wanted.

Really good Value

Super playable, nice sound. Great finish etc. Will probably swap out the pickups but they are good for the price point. Only thing of note is that it is extremely heavy. Overall I am very happy and would definitely recommend

Absolute Gem

Blown away by the quality of this instrument, it's an absolute joy to play, and I agree with other reviewers who feel it is worth 2-3 times the price at least. The finish is gorgeous, the playability is remarkable, the electrics are punchy and clear, nice variety of tones available, there is nothing I can find fault with, absolutely recommended.

Don't fret, be happy

If you'd like to try a fretless, go for this one. It's a real beauty with a good sound (change of strings recommended). All in all nothing to fret about!

Best fretless for the price

Really nice bass, a bit heavy.

Tonewise is a bit deaf when using flat wounds.

If you want to try out a fretless with no risk moneywise this is your guy.

Arrived damaged, pickup not installed correctly

The good: this bass- even including the $80 initial shipping, is a good value. The pickups sound decent, the neck feels good and is straight. The bass looks good. It is heavy and solid. Feels as good as, or better than, the competition at a lower price.

The bad: it arrived with a large chip in the finish. The outer box wasn’t damaged; it was due to poor packing on the inside I’m sure. The styrofoam was too thin and sparse.

The bridge pickup wasn’t installed correctly; three of the screws weren’t tightened at all, it was uneven in height.

Observations: the bass had a QC tag hanging from it- that guy whose name is in the tag didn’t pay attention to this bass. I know it is a budget bass, so my expectations were low. Still, these things are obvious and basic, and shouldn’t have been overlooked.

The basics are fine- heavy, solid bass that works and has a decent neck. It’s the QC and the details that need work.

I’ve contacted service to see what they will offer.

not bad but...

... definitively so heavy! The body is really heavy.

I changed the strings and the sound improved a lot.

Flawless

I barely took it out of the box and couldn't believe how it looks and how it sounds. Absolute monster, especially for that ridiculous price. The production quality looks very good, the body is solid and not so heavy I guess for ash. Almost no buzzes and noises from it, it came set up well and overall my opinion is that this is pretty good bass and no doubt, it bring pleasure to play on it.

Weighs a ton

So heavy, it put me off every time I was thinking of playing with it. Finally sold it after a month, got a used Rockbass fretless, couldn't be happier.

The finish on these is the one positive thing, quite impressive at this price point.

Good affordable fretless

Sounds, looks and plays great. Cheapest fretless bass on the market these days. Will probably put a new nut on this bass for better open string sounds. This is a no brainer decision if you are looking for a fretless. Lost points on features for not having active electronics or string through body, but hey, which fretless j-bass does?

Cool

Chouette basse pour un chouette son et se défend très bien sur scène en concert. Top

OMG

Worth any penny. Beautiful sound. Only pros (no cons).

It sings..

After lowering the strings, and a little intonation adjustment this fretless bass sings to me. Of course it takes some practice to play in tune (no frets, remember?), but you can certainly hear som Jaco in there. Could not be more satisfied. I highly recommend this guitar.

excellent bass for the money - sounds and plays exceptionally. only con is that its a bit heavy

Great Instrument, quality finish.

Great quality instrument at a bargain price.

Fun to learn fretless

When I decided to try learning fretless, I could not beat the price or reviews of this bass. In the short time I've had it, I've really enjoyed it. I would love to give five stars across but have a few minor issues.

PROS:

- looks lovely and finish almost flawless

- slim neck

- nice fret-marks

- feels great and plays easily

CONS:

- one small blob of clear coat on the side of the fretboard where it joins the body

- very heavy body; the good news is that there is no head-dive but this will definitely be a sitting-down bass

- round-wound strings; I don't understand this choice as I'm sure they would scratch the fretboard; I've replaced with D'Adddario light chrome flatwounds

The bottom-line is I'm very pleased with what I have for the price. I have no need to spend more.

UPDATE: The first time I took this bass out in public, it failed me. I had to have a technician re-solder some sloppy spots and re-set the pickups. I won't change my stars as this is a QA issue, not really a problem with the instrument.