Harley Benton MM-85A SB Deluxe Series 3-stars Reviews

Does a little more than the price entitles

The built is poor quality: you can feel the fret edges over the neck, the neck isn't fast, it picks radio signal, it isn't hybrid passive which could have been nice as it eats up battery faster than expected. To compensate for the extended neck, they had to pull up the bridge closer to the pickups which is ok and finally, the neck pick up is placed where most of us would slap and so either you screw it in, either you adjust your technic.

The good :

- the 5 position switch really gives you 5 different basses sound, including jazz bass type and sort of MusicMan type it's really great to play with

- The sound is GREAT, punchy, maybe a little too much plain as in less less subtle tone as in a fender or a real MM, but with new strings slapped to it, it's amazing. I had friends try it at a jam, they bought theirs a week after. I do compensate with a EQ pedal or VTF of my Mark Bass amp

- Almost a year onward, it seems to hold on despite the cheaper quality of wood and mechanics

All in all, great bass to begin with, experiment on. I'll bring it to my luthier friend so he can maybe screw the soap further in to let me slap and fix the radio interferences