Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series

Great value for money

Looks really good, and once you’ve got used to the controls has a great sound. Took a bit of setting up (truss rod, intonation, string height), and changed the strings for Fender, but once that was all done it plays really well. Really heavy though, just as well I’ll only be using it for a few songs!

Great cheap bass

I can't really complain about anything at this price bracket. Well built, comfy neck, no sharp frets, setup great straight out of the box. Obviously pickups etc may be upgraded if you need a typical stingray sound, but with tweaking your amp settings you can get close to the Stingray tone. Really nice bass.

Great Bang For the Buck!

A great quality instrument at a great price! Having 2 volumes is interesting, and gives the instrument a different palette of sounds. It´s punchy and a great slapper.

Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series

The Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series bass guitar is an outstanding instrument that offers high sound quality, comfortable playability and stylish design at an affordable price. This instrument has become popular among bass guitarists due to its superior sound and ease of use. One of the key advantages of the Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series is its high-quality sound. Designed using quality materials and components, this bass guitar has a clean, powerful and rich sound that is suitable for a wide range of musical styles. With its five strings, it also offers an extended range of sound, making it an ideal choice for bassists looking for more room to express themselves. In addition, the Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series Harley Benton MB-5 SBK has excellent playability. Its comfortable fingerboard and ergonomic body make playing it enjoyable and comfortable, even with prolonged use. It is also equipped with high-quality hardware, including the pickups and bridge, which ensures tuning stability and excellent sound.

At it’s price, it’s unbeatable.

It’s really incredible how HB managed to cram so much bass into a 140-ish EUR price tag. Look, let’s be honest, it’s not gonna beat any high end basses but on the other hand, it definitely gives other entry level basses at even double this price a run for their money. As many point out, it does need a setup but so do many other, way more expensive basses when you first get them. For beginners reading this - don’t skip this step! Have someone do it for you or if you have no luthier or other bass player in your area, try it yourself. It’s not as difficult as it seems. Another thing some have pointed out and I can only confirm, the factory strings aren’t the best. They’re OK sounding but they start getting really uncomfortable really fast once you start sliding on them. I mean, you can’t expect 40€ strings on a 140€ bass, that would be almost 1/3 of its price but just keep this in mind and grab some new strings asap. Other than that, this is a great bass to start on as well as add it to your collection if you need something inexpensive but solid.

Best bang for buck ratio ever

Black sating finish look awesome. I am thrilled to look at it. Tuners are slow, i. e. one needs to turn key a lot and this is good because it's easier not to overshoot when tuning. Intonation out of the box is fine, nothing to complain about it. Tone is good for my ear as well, no problem here as well. Fretwork is great, there's no sharp edges at all. One point Volume of D and G strings is ~4dB higher as three other strings straight out of the box. This is not a single case. I checked few of these and each had the same weakness. However, little manual work with screwdriver and extending the pole pieces with 1.5 high neodymium magnets fixed the issue.

Value!

Perfect straight out of the box! No set up required … Unbelievable value!

Great for the price

I bought this as my first 5 string bass primarily to write and record demos with. For this function, and for beginners learning on a 5 string, this bass is perfect.

I am a fan of how this bass both looks and feels. It is very nice to play and the matte paint is very good looking.

There isn't a huge amount of tonal variation with the humbucker pickup, you can split the coil which does change the sound to be slightly clearer however with an instrument in this price range there is only so much that can be done.

My only issue with this bass is that on mine the pickup makes the low E and B string far louder than the others. I assume this is just an unfortunate outlier on my bass because I haven't heard anyone else mention it in reviews but it can be somewhat frustrating.

Overall, this is a good product and is very useful for beginners or someone who just needs something to write with

3 years later I still love this bass

I’ve had this bass for about 3 years have gigged rehearsed and recorded with this bass I love this bass I don’t know weather I just got a really good batch or not but for the price it actually feel like a steal suck a amazing bass the pick up is not super high quality but I’d definitely describe it as a 7 out of 10

Fantasic

Fantasic is the only word that comes to mind. Wow great bass wonderful tone Harley Benton is no secret. Don't let the price fool you. This product is it. The aesthetics are eye catching. When it arrived the set-up was perfect as usual I took it straight from box to band practice and floored everyone. They wanted to just touch it and the tone they loved. They thought Ernie Ball had a new line. I will change the humbucker out because I need a little more but otherwise the feel of this bass is special. It's worth everyone penny and more so investing in a better humbucker for me is worth it. This one will go in my will.