Harley Benton PB-20 SBK Standard Series Reviews

basic sound for a basic job

Bought this bass to match with the Tele version I bought and also cuz I needed a cheap bass to record some sketch tracks for songs Im writing. Looks great, plays ok, the output seems a little lower than expected, not a lot of signal getting through, but a simple compressor pedal can fix that problem. no buzzing issues with the electrics, tone and volume knobs work fine.

Good for upgrade platform!

So far, no complaints! Hardware and finish are amazing and I can't believe I got this for this price. Upgrading the pickups is recommended and that's it! The rest would just be cosmetics. Oh, the nut will need to be upgraded too. I mean, the Tusq's are not very expensive and this will still be less expensive than the Squier Bullets.

Can't Go Wrong!

I own Six Harley Benton Basses, Four Fenders, And two ESPs.

Let Me tell You... I'll put Harley Benton on even Par with the guitars costing four times as much. My go to is the JB 75.

Great precision

I have few HB guitars and basses and also played on few others, they are unbeatable for the price! This precision has stylish look, I wanted the matte finish but beware - fingers stick to it even more than on glossy finish! use some special wax or polish to keep it looking good. The tuners are great, bass stays in tune even after longer playing, I guess it came with HB strings and the sound was not overwhelming but it was fine. The pickup sounds great, although I bout seymour duncan SPB-1 with the bass and already replaced it, the one the bass is equipped with is great too, you got the p-bass feeling when plugged in an amp instantly. I strongly recommend these affordable HB instruments to everyone!

Decent bass for the buck

I've been playing for a while but wanted a P bass to mess around with. I've seen alot of unboxing/review videos of this bass and figured i'd give it a shot for the price. I also started back in the day with another house brand P bass so wanted to see what Harley Benton offered.

The Good :

- Quality : Came ready to use, not adjutsments required just some tuning. It feels like a slightly more expensive guitar then it really is.

- Finish : Matt black finish is really nice, looks great and feels good.

- Sound : Considering the price i was expecting a little grotty tone, but it's pretty decent. Gives that punchy P bass sound with no problem.

The nit nicking (not cons just meh)

- Neck Width : For a 4 string the neck width (E-G) is wider then your average 4 string, it's closer to a 5 string. It's not unmanageable but suprising as it doesn't seem to add anything.

Overall for £85 you can't go wrong, its a good bass and if you don't mind not having a famous brand it'll probably last you a while.

For such a low price really good instrument. I use it only for rock/metal covers for my youtube channel.

The only con is a bit weaker pickups but for the price they are ok.

The neck is a bit chunky but smooth and fast, the weight is light.

Setup was already done when unboxed - ready to play.

Jack lead port came undone about a month after purchasing

The wires connecting the jack port to the rest of the guitar came loose about a month after purchasing, but i sent it back to customer service, very good reception and shipping updates, came back absolutely fine. i'm sure it was just a minor manufacturing error.

other than that, the hum of the pickups is inexcusable once you begin to notice it. like most harley benton products, this is okay for learning the basics of a bass, but you'd definitely want something of higher quality for regular use.

What can you expect for a 100€

First of all, this guitar with its matte black finish looks great ... and i bought this as a project

Called the jim wortel bass

(So yes, that means lower action, fretjob, black on black faceplate (3ply black white black) and emg pickups)

But untill that all is done ... you have to ask yourself, what can you expect from a 100 euro bass ...

It plays a little less, mine had fretbuzz and terrible strings, but after a replacement, and tune up, it will look a lot better ... i bought active emg pickups, do not make that mistake, unless you are a woodworker and you can really make s cavity for battery placement, otherwise you need to fix battery underneath the pickguard, and eacht time you need to replace the battery its a hell of a job

So, yes i will finish the upgrade, but i bought a better bass and sell this one

Just some food for thought

Bitten By the Black Widow

Don't let the dark finish fool you, the tone is classic P bass. I know this bass is a hit with hard rock, punk and metal bass players but I got mine for some Jameson\Kaye style P bass tones and it does it. Good news is the paint was stripped on the bottom so the ground issue has been resolved!

Pros: Tone tone tone! The tone is better than expected but if you wish to mod it or upgrade it, you'll be pleased with the outcome. The finish is beautiful, not my first satin finish either; it's dark and smokey in the best way. No issues with the build.

Cons: For me the cons were all superficial. The neck was a bit wider than my hand can handle. The tuners, net and bridge could be better. The pickguard would have been better if it were one-ply black; this all stupid little things. There's nothing wrong with the bass that can't be modded, fixed or upgraded. If the build is good and the wood is good you can work with it. That's more of a strength with HB.

In the end if you want an affordable P-bass you can upgrade or modify that's built well and looks awesome than you've found it. I've been using mine in my home studio and I could not be happier with the tone. If I change anything it would be the tuners and putting some flat wounds on it but that's me. Make it your own and have fun with it; this should be fun. I've been bitten by this black widow and it feels so good.

Super Sleek

looks, feels and sounds amazing for the price brilliant beginner bass

Absolutely amazing for the price!!

Great product for the price! Sounds very good. The neck is very hand friendly and perfect shape for small fingers left hand. You unbox it and it is ready to play, just tune it up. Intonation is factory setted perfect level. The quality of every detail is perfect - like guitar for more than 600 Euro .... Absolutely the best bass guitar for beginner and not only!!

I have the 5 string version - all is the same!!!

Must to have bass guitar! You will be very happy!

Amazing

As a beginner this is an absolutely fantastic bass guitar.

set up ready out of the box just needed a tune and sounds and feels wonderful

AMAZING

CHEAP AMAZING BASS, I WOULD HAVE PAID TRIPLE THE AMOUNT FOR THIS

Great starting bass

I got this as a backup. But it did play really nice. got some new electronics and a nice setup, now it's like a dream to play.

Black Beauty

This is my first bass guitar. I bught it to learn it properly, and start making my own music.

First the looks: The finish is beautiful even no scratch or anything else. Satin black finish, and the red scratchplate looks epic together. Soundwise i really like it, use it mostly clean for songs.

For the price this is a pretty good bass to start playing, learn things, and with a proper amp, you can record song with it.

I recommend it.

Pros:

- Price

- Looks good.

- Sounds good.

Con:

-Only con by far that the Jack output is not in the best place IMO.

Pros: A good feeling of a precision bass. Nice colour. Perfect neck feeling. Good sounding especially for 115 euros.

Cons: Some marks on the fretboard finish. The jack input too tight, I barely can take my cable off.

Solid bass for next to nothing

For an amazingly low price you get a very solid and good sounding instrument. It does what you expect from a P-bass. It sounds great, except that it desperately needs shielding. If you let go of the strings you get the familiar hum issues of a non shielded instrument and on this particular one its pretty bad. But other than that it plays great after a setup. I do recommend you learn to do your own setups when ordering guitars and basses online. From the factory the action is always very high. After a bit of tweaking this beauty plays like a dream. Frets are very well done, the matte black finish is beautiful and everything is screwed on tight so nothing rattles.

One bit of criticism I do have is that aftermarket pickguards do not fit on this bass. I wanted a black pickguard to make a stealth bass, but even the Harley Benton aftermarket pickguard will not fit this instrument. So I'll have to get creative myself.

Fantastic value for money.

Plays and sounds great right out the box.

Just tuned it and it was good to go.

Great!

I have no complaints. This is a very good bass at the right price.

Almost perfect

I had some troubles first off with getting rid of fret buzz. I am no pro when it comes to guitar maintenance so I am sure if I took this to an expert if would be no problem but as a product that is aimed towards beginners it felt a little poorly setup when I first took it out the box. A beginner bass guitar should only really need to be tuned up.

Other than that however it is a relatively good guitar for the price. Other reviews state that there is no buzz when plugged into an amp but I have not found this to be true however my amp is quite old.