Harley Benton PB-50 FR Vintage Series Reviews

Really worth it

Great bass and not just for the money, haven't had any issues at all. It looks very cool, really has a vintage 50s vibe. I just had to adjust the truss rod and polish the frets and now it's got a good action and plays great. I already recorded a song with it. I also bought Fender flatwound strings for the bass but might keep the original Daddario Rounds we will see.

I have around 30 Harley Benton guitars which says enough about my opinion and satisfaction with this brand. Can't beat it regarding price-quality

A well made, cheap 50’s P Bass

I’ve had one of these for a few months. The wood is well cut, the paint job is perfect, the fretwork is flawless. It moves a bit during the year so don’t be afraid to adjust the truss rod a bit from time to time. The pick up is a bit bright so I replaced it with a high end one. The tone and volume know although not high quality work correctly. I can’t believe that this bass costs 100€ ! Super recommended

Knobs on pots are crap, pots are ok, everything else is amazing.

Had a pot that was loose and tried pulling of knobs. They were TIGHT. Also the forming was misaligned so they spun with wobbling. I carefully pulled and was able to remove one, but the tone pot broke before I could get the knob off. It took pliers on the broken shaft to remove the knob. Replacing both pots and knobs with something that isn't terrible. Other than that, the Bass is solid. Replaced strings with some half rounds and did a normal setup. Needed 1/4 turn on truss rod and I lowered the action 1.5 mm. Also lubricated the open style gears on the tuners to get a better feel. They are not perfect, but certainly usable.

Great P Bass!

Unbelievable value, great neck, fun colour!

Punchtastic P Bass

I wanted a Bass to add to my electric and acoustic guitar collection so being a p bass fan I chose the Harley Benton PB-50 in red. It arrived after 7 days which was unbelievably quick. The red colour really pops and looks awesome. Playability from the box was good and perfectly acceptable however a few adjustments to suit my tastes and it was time to plug in and wow this does not dissapoint. The neck is lovely no sharp fret edges and nicely finished frets . I love the feel of the neck super smooth finish , chunkier than a J bass but still very comfortable. Sounds wise this bass produces a strong tone but softens when volume is turned down . Tones are suitable for a wide range of music . The sub £200 bass market is becoming increasingly competitive but this bass punches through the competition with ease with value and quality and I highly recommend this instrument for beginners and seasoned players alike

Take me to the past

The image is amazing, the sound is classic 50's. Its performance is a bass 5-10 times higher than its price.

Motown madness

I started getting into playing Motown music to learn what Wilton Felder and James Jameson, etc. we’re all about. This bass gives you that good P bass, hollow, woody sound. Fun for funk and stuff like Jamiroquai as well! The bass came with some pretty bad fret buzz…some neck tweaks and fret filing did wonders.

Beautiful Bass

I get tons of compliments on this bass and it not only looks awesome it sounds great. The Roswell pickups sounds amazing

Solid Bass - crazy price.

This bass is solid. It sounds very nice and it looks amazing. Quality is great. The quality impression of the Squier guitar from my son is the same.

Only nitpick: Resting your thumb on the pickup is not that comfortable because it has a notch on the top. But nothing that is problematic, I got used to it.

The Color (firetruck red) is amazing. This is perfect for beginners (like me), but I believe anyone who wants a second bass with this specific style will be super happy.

Bang for the buck… and looks the part too!

Unbelievably good bass for its price

Nice replica of 50th Precision bass for ridiculous price. Well made, stays in tune, straight neck and great powerful single pickup. Strings a little high from the box but I think some work with nut and truss rod may improve it. Beautiful red adds some mojo points)

Great raw sound, a lot of character

Someone recommended me this bass. I didn't realize instruments for this price could be this good.

Went for it. I love the popping color of this.

I was instantly loving the sound.

I'm giving the features 5 stars because I was looking for something basic.

It is surprisingly versatile because of the responsive tone knob.

All the way up there's a lot of detail and character in the sound that responds well to different styles of playing. From an Entwistle/Chris Squire kind of growl to warm Jamerson-like soul grooves.

It plays well. It was set up properly. It's even in sound mostly, but not as much on the E string. I would like a bit more string tension there as it can get a bit loose and buzzy, but nothing bothersome with the right technique. I might be able to fix that later with some adjustments to the setup.

All in all a fantastic bass that I already love.

Especially the sound character and responsiveness still surprise me every day.

Great bass for the money

If you value sound over all else, buy it cos for £99 you aren't getting any better, period. It sounds as good as any Squier P Bass, much of the traditional "P Bass" sound with this but the tone pot fully open or fully closed gives a tad more versatility of sound than a Squier P Bass. Not tried the 50s Classic Vibe that this is closest to though.

Build wise it's solid enough. Fret ends a tad sharp but everything does its job and it stays in tune.

It's a basic bass, but then it's a simple design. Seriously, for the money it's blown it out of the park. A touch better QC and this would easily be worth 5 times the price.

Pleasantly surprised at the quality!

I've been playing bass for almost 40 years and have played a lot of different basses, high-end included, in my working bands. I bought this bass to use as part of my Dusty Hill costume at our Halloween gig. Originally I planned to use it for just one set but it played and sounded so great that I ended up using it the whole night. My guitarist, who's very particular about the bass sound, also loved it and recently requested that I bring it to our most recent gig. The finish and general setup was excellent. Once it arrived I did my own final setup and slightly modified the electronics to match the 1956 Fender P-bass this is modeled after (very minor changes, I think it was moving 2 wires and replacing the cap). For the price I paid I can't believe I got a bass that plays and sounds like this! It's not as easy to get a terrible instrument anymore like it was in the 60s and 70s (and most of the 80s) but this is just an incredible deal! I've never been a fan of Precision basses in general but I've always had a soft spot for the '50s style models. This one is definitely going to be a keeper!

Good bass for this price

Excellent bass for this cost. 💲

I am very pleased with the build quality, it did not cause any complaints. The frets don't stick out, the strings are at an acceptable distance, the bass is well tuned and all this is straight from the factory. This model has very good ergonomics, although the neck does not have a quick game. Well, this is an attempt at the classics.

There are no complaints about the sound either, it sounds a little better than its cost, for the first bass this is a very good option. There is an opinion that with other pickups, it sounds even better, so we will add customization to the advantages.

Of the small drawbacks, it is not very convenient to put your finger on the pickup because of its shape, but there is a stand in the kit that can be screwed on. And near the pickup itself, I can see the wiring.

The cutout for the belly is very comfortable, but was it classical bass?

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Отличный бас за эту стоимость. 💲

Очень доволен качеством сборки, оно не вызвало нареканий. Не торчат лады, струны на приемлемом расстоянии, бас хорошо отстроен и все это прямо с завода. У данной модели очень хорошая эргономика, хотя гриф не располагает к быстрой игре. Ну это же попытка в классику.

По звуку тоже нареканий нет, он звучит чуть лучше своей стоимости, для первого баса это очень хороший вариант. Есть мнение что при других, звукоснимателях он звучит еще лучше так что к плюсам добавим кастомизацию.

Из маленьких недостатков, не очень удобно ставить палец на звукосниматель из-за его формы, но в комплекте есть подставочка, которую можно прикрутить. И возле самого звукоснимателя у меня виднеются проводки.

Вырез для живота очень удобен, но разве он был классических басах?

Very nice bass

The bass looks good, nice finish,nice neck, great tone and overall a well built instrument.

For it's price it cannot be beaten .I use it as a second bass and i am very happy with it. A perfect instrument for a beginner and for more advanced ones too. I would buy it again

Great bass

I bought this for my college's album project, and I'm amazed by the quality! The action is low, the fret buzz is minimal, and the neck is nice to move around - great instrument!

Great sounding bass for the price

I wanted this bass to be a mod project for learning purposes. I did a paint job on it and it handled it quite well! And the roswell pickup sounds good too. Highly recommend this instrument.

Cant beat this by anything in the price range

I ordered one of these a couple years ago and have loved playing it, it is well built, solid and sounds really good. Considering how inexpensive it is, just buy one and have some fun. I just ordered another in a different color!