Harley Benton MB-4 SB Deluxe Series Reviews

Not a bad starter musical instrument but nothing more

I ordered the bass guitar at the end of January. In the almost two months since I've been playing it (2-3 hours every day) I've noticed some pretty serious wear on the frets - deep string marks on them. Overall, the bass is not bad, which can be used as a base for an upgrade. But if you need a refret that would cost as much as the bass, it's not worth it.

Wooow!

I've had a Stingray HH 2001 in Trans Orange, but it had a quiet G string no matter what I did, a neck like a baseball bat and a neck that needing tweaking every time the wind changed direction. I moved it on in the end, but always liked the ergos and tone. 90% of the Stingray tone if you are a bass anorak, an audience wouldn't notice. ... love the passive easy use electronics, the pup is incredibly hot, good variation on the tone, wonderful neck. The finish is faultless. I spent an hour on set up, as I do with every bass regardless of price point, didn't need much, touch off the nut, mere tweak of truss rod. It keeps tune impeccably, stable neck. Friendly of mine had a noodle on it not knowing it provenance, was blown away by it's ease of use and then imploded when told the price. All in all, just buy one enjoy. The usual great Harley Benton great quality.

Just exactly what I needed! Great value and great tones!

Nice guitar , love the tone

Although this sounds great the playability doesn't have the best action but very playable . Love the tone !

Can't complain

Ive played bass almost 20 years. Many instruments have came and gone in my journey, from ultra low end starter beginner guitars to ultra high end.

For the money you really can't complain. It sounds pretty decent , nice Stingray type growl . Perfectly suited with roundwounds. It's a good bass for the funk / rock. It's very fun to play. Hardware is cheap is flimsy . Pickup looks horrid but sounds good. Neck is on the wide side but easy and fast. Few blemishes on body. Fingerboard at body there is a couple of Millimeters gap. All is forgiven though. Great start up bass or a mod project / studio tool.

Totally useful for this price

This is an amazing bass especially for this price point. Quality and fretwork is really good. Pickup sounds balanced and responsive.

Only drawback for me is thick neck profile which some might prefer but I like slimmer and narrower neck profiles like jazz bass, this leans towards P bass neck profile.

I recommend this product if you don't mind thicker neck profiles, this bass is a steal for its price.

A cracking bass

For £110 what could possibly go wrong…?

NOTHING

Pretty much perfect out of the box. Looks great. Well made & fun to play. The perfect start for your bass journey

Wow

This thing is worth twice the price. Fret work is flawless. Pickup sounds ace. The finish is incredible.

A Wonderful Product!

This Bass holds remarkable value for the price. The quality is superb, and it sounds great! The controls allowed a lot more tonal versatility than I expected, and I can hardly put this bass down! I would recommend this bass to anyone!

Very versatile! I'm loving it.

I really like the flexibility of the split coil. Two volumes and a master tone. I can get a nice pbass sound if I favor the front part of the pickup, a really nice single coil if I favor the rear and a full on humbucker if you have both on and lots of craziness in between. Currently, I have the front volume down to about 80 percent and the rear volume to 90, tone knob 100 percent.

Excellent Quality for the price

Excellent quality for the price. Ship time to the states was as quoted. The bass arrived without a scratch on it. After a few minutes of tune and minor set up I was playing. The only flaw I could find was a run in the paint on the head stock. Nothing major but it’s there. Frets have no sharp edges and no fret buzz anywhere on the neck. Sound was decent but I replaced the electronics with pre Ernie Ball music man electronics keeping the original strings. Now playing thru my ampeg svt this bass has a pure 70s music man sound and all I can say is wow. I have been playing bass for over 40 years and have 5 other much more expensive basses but after a year of having this bass most days I still grab the Harley Benton first. It’s light and fast. It took me over a year to pull the trigger on this bass and wish I hadn’t waited. Even with about 65$ shipping to the states and 100$ for the preamp and 75$ to have a route done on the back for a battery as there is no room in the electronics cavity to hide it there I feel this bass plays and sounds like a much much more expensive bass. I got the exact sound I was looking for. I almost forgot the tuners. I still have the original tuning keys on it and have no plans to replace them as they just plain stay in tune for weeks at a time. If your looking then I suggest you just get it.

Amazing Bass For The Price!!

Honestly, this is a better bass than some of the 4-500 dollar basses I have looked at!

The sound is great, the action is awesome, and it really looks beautiful.

I gave it four stars on quality because the bridge is lifted some on one corner. It doesn't seem to affect the sound, and I like playing the bass too much to make a stink about that!

Plays superb right out of the box!

quality superior to its price

I bought it for the bass practice of my step daughter, but I'm playing it myself. The quality of the crafting and the sound is surprising. Certainly beyond its price range, way better than some much more expensive basses.

Harley Bunton Products

I saw few reviews on this bass and I want to buy the five string too. A like Harley Bunton products.

Exceptional Value

I purchased this bass on a whim as price wise it was very inexpensive. After having it for a week or two, I can honestly say that for the money you can’t go wrong. It’s lightweight and sounds great. I love it.

Great Bass! Very Happy with it!

After seeing many reviews of the bass on Youtube, I decided to take the leap. It arrived at my house in Louisiana in just 3 days! When I unboxed the bass, I noticed that there was a few sharp fret ends and that the nut was cut incorrectly causing high nut action. After getting the bass set up by a luthier, it plays great. Not as good as my Warmoth P Basses, but they are 10 times the price. I cannot get the action any lower on this bass without really bad fret buzz. Don't get me wrong the bass plays great and is perfectly giggable, but don't expect a perfectly playable bass out of the box. Overall it's a great investment for someone who wants a Music Man style bass, but be prepared to give the bass a proper set up. I would say that the bass is on par with the Sterling By Music Man Ray 4.

UPDATE: I initially gave up on this bass and took it apart. I stored it in my closet for over 3 months. I decided to give it another try. I rebuilt the bass and used roundwound strings instead of flats like all my other basses. Using rounds solved my problem with the setup. The action is nice and low and hangs with my Warmoths. This is an absolute killer bass that won't break the bank. I would compare it to instruments 3 to 5 times the price.

great bass for price

Bought this bass after reading reviews, I'm really surprised at the sound and quality for a bass that costs so little. The neck is a bit on the chunky side but that is alI I can find to put into the negative side. can't go wrong buying one.

Super bass regardless of price !

Being a semi pro player for many years, playing mainly Blues, rock and funky stuff. I bought this bass as an addition to my trusty '54 style Fender P-bass, to have for the occasions where i need a more "modern" sound. I was looking at basses at much higher prices, but based on the reviews, I got curious on the Harley Benton MB-4 , and given the low price, I thought it was worth a try.

The fit & finish is flawless, and the bass looks absolutely beautiful. The weight is medium, not light but not heavy. Balance on the strap is good.

The satin neck is dead straight and feels fantastic. The neck profile is a bit on the chunky side, which I like, but it's maybe not ideal for smaller hands. The fretjob is good by any standard, no sharp edges here. The nut is probably plastic, but it's smooth and with perfectly filed slots, no string binding.

The amplified sound is good and "close enough" to a real Stingray to fool most people in a blind test. The output is not super high (Actually a tiny bit lower than on my P-bass), but the sound is punchy, deep and clear. The coil split with two volumes takes a little bit of getting used to, but gives good tonal variation, and the tone pot is doing its job.

The acoustic sound is loud and clear, the sustain is very good, and there are no noticeable dead spots on the neck.

The bridge seems fine, and the tuners works smoothly and holds tune well, even if the resistance is a bit uneven.

The setup was good out of the box, and even the strings was ok, so for a beginner this is a no-brainer, easily compareable to basses costing 3-4 times as much.

A pro player might want to tweak the setup to personal taste, upgrade the strings and maybe pickup, electronics and tuners, but then you also have a bass compareable to a true professional instrument.

I have already used the bass in the studio as it came out of the box, and have no hestitation bringing it on the road as it is.

Conclusion... This is a great bass, even if you do not consider the price. With some small upgrades, it will become absoutely awesome.... !

Class

Bought this bass on a whim as I don’t buy instruments Iv never played before so didn’t really know what to expect, but have just been completely blown away at the quality of this bass. Having played a friends £800 bass a couple of weeks ago I’m extremely surprised and pleased to say I wouldn’t trade basses with them if the opportunity came!

Awesome quality for insanely low price

Harley Benton makes really good guitars. MB-4SB is a great deal. It plays really well, and after a little bit of turning screws, I was able to get very very low action on it. I was worried about string quality since bass strings can be so expensive, and this bass is so cheap, but I was surprised how good these are, I have had this guitar for a year now and I didn't have to change the strings. Build quality is awesome, frets are leveled and don't stick out of the sides of the neck, so they don't hurt your fingers. The sound is nice and has a nice bridgy tone. I'm happy with the purchase, and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get a good guitar for a little price.