Harley Benton PB-50 SB Vintage Series 5-stars Reviews

Exellent product

im so glad i decided to buy this bass , in short the Harley Benton pb-50 is one of the best guitars ive ever bought , not just because of the low pricepoint ,but the quality and playability you get at that price ! ive not been able to put this instrument down since i purchased it , in my opinion , its that good !

surprisingly good for the price

I was expecting less but that bass is surprisingly good for the price. As non-professional musician I'm recommending this to all people who want reasonably priced bass.

Unreal!

first off, only took 8 days to get to the United States. Which is awesome! Then, this bass blew me away. I cannot believe how nice it is for the price. I had to do a little set up but that is normal and expected. This really makes me question the amount of money i have spent on guitars in the past. I have an american jazz bass and a 50's Fender P bass and so far this is my go to.... figure that out... It is not a matter of why are HB's so inexpensive, but why are the other brands so high... do not be afraid, it is for real. Going to be ordering the 6 string fret less soon.

Great value for the money

It's what you are hoping for looking at the specs,it definately lives up to expectations.I use it for covers on youtube and i will be using it also for gigs and so far so good.It's perfect for its territory meaning that the neck is really fat and thick and the pickup operates at its best on e standard and borderline acceptable on drop d and d# standard.so if you are a bass shredder virtuoso who wants to djent,nope for you.But for the basic riff bassists on e standard songs ,it couldn't be more fitting for your situation.The neck feels great, the frets are a bit rough on the edges but that is easy to fix and could be just to the one i ordered.

Great bass for an event greater price

A beginner bass player, but a pro mixing engineer, this bass hits all the right notes. Tighter on the bass end, this baby fits perfectly in the mix. It buzzes at times, but not if care is taken to hit the notes properly. I prefer the single magnet design, since it give a more coherent motown-like sound. Don't be impressed with the other models that have a much louder bass end. You'll struggle to fit it in the mix. Would have loved a green/blue saturated color version.

Looks like a P-bass, plays like a P-bass, Sounds like a p-bass

A fantastic instrument for the money. The resemblance of a 51 Fender P-Bass/Mike Dirnt P-bass is uncanny. HB have really done a great job. A slight negative though, mine came with a wobbly volume pot & doesn't turn smoothly at all but I hope to get this fixed within the coming days. Came set up & intonated perfectly.

Looks and sounds the part

I've not had a bass since Jean Jacques Burnel and Bruce Foxton were in their pomp, then, everyone had a p bass or copy. Then, in the 80's Japanese basses were the rage, Ibaneze and Aria. My last bass was an Aria SB900. £400 in 1981. It was made in the matsumoku plant in japan, and was a precision (no pun intended) instrument the match of any Fender or Rickenbacker.

Fast forward a few, ahem years and I'm getting the bass bug again, so I decided to find a cheap, fun bass to mess around with. That's where the PB50 comes in.

It arrived in Scotland five days later, well packed in a double box.

On opening I find one very nice looking bass, there's even a cheap lead, plectrums and stickers. First impressions were very promising, solid, well finished and a nice weight.

Plugging in and I was even more impressed. This is the Roswell pickup and I haven't heard the wilkinson version to compare but I'll tell you what, it definitely sounds like a p bass, it growls with the treble up, and thumps when wound back. The tone actually works really well, gradual and smooth. The neck is chunky and very well finished, silky smooth with nice bevelling at the edges. I manage to get the action down to 2.5mm at the 17th fret with no buzz - That's good.

I removed the pickguard and found sawdust and small pits and indents where the screws have been tightened onto the wood. The bridge and tuners are ok but this bass could take an upgrade on both. I Think the pickup is excellent, loud and clear. I have read that the wood grain is a print, if it is its very good and they've went to the trouble of making it look like several sections joined together - I think it's a real grain, but don't really care.

To summarise, this is a great bass. Impressive build and even better sound. I would say its better than my squier strat se, but not in the same league as my classic vibe tele at nearly four times the price and is a real fender in everything but name.

A true bargain.

Exceptional!!!

Let me tell you first that this is the bass with the Roswell pickup. At the beginning i was very sceptical about the new pickup, because everyone was talking about how good the older Wilkinson pickup was. Ok, i can't compare it direct, because i don't own one with Wilkinson, but this pickup is exceptional! Round and warm with a good amount of punch. You don't feel that something is missing. The bass is gorgeous! Unbelievable finish for the price. And what a price! The fretboard is very comfortable with no sharp edges, no big issues with buzz etc and a decent set up(action/string height/pickup height etc) . The hum from the big poles single coil is small and not annoying. The overall feel & sound is that this instrument worths more. Recommended.

Ok for the price

I'm using the product mostly for rehearsals in pop, funk and jazz genres.

Really nice looking and sounding instrument. Please note that the bridge differs from the one could be seen in the pictures. I do not have the possibility to compare it with the Wilkinson pickups, but the Roswell pickups sounding great. The slap sounds and clear and very well defined. Turning down the tone and plucking at the end of the fretboard makes a really good upright-bass-like sound.

Pros:

+ Spectacular finish

+ Really nice sounding (yeah, I have mentioned that already twice ;) )

+ Quality tuning machines

+ The output level is extremely high (I suppose the big pole pieces are responsible for that.)

+ The instrument itself is not so heavy.

(+) The neck is wide and thick what is a pro for me.

Cons:

- All the minor screws are over-tightened, so I have to fix the ones holding the strap knob. The scratchplate holding screws are also affected.

- A bit wobbly jack connector

- Frets are not polished, scratchy sound is present when bending.

- Frets are not so well machined at the side of the fretboard.

- During the construction the wood flake is not cleaned from the surface before the scratchplate have been tightened, so one could fine minor defects of finish under it.

(-) The thumbrest annoyes me a bit when slapping, but it could be easily removed

Cool bass, reasonably priced too

I'm a guitarist, not a bassist, but I got this to play with and it looks and feels wonderful. The setup was great from the get go, everything worked and sounded as it should, meaning a volume and a tone knob, it's rather simple.

The neck feels great, the action is good, sound is pretty classic.

I like everything about it, highly recommended for anyone wanting a vintage looking p-bass.

Amazing

It sounds great, properly set up out of the box, no major flaws. Little visual flaws, but nothing relevant. It feels like a semi pro instrument, and sound like an instrument way above it's price point.

amazing bass

I can't believe that i got this bass for that price. Very well build structure and of course with efficient but inexpensive parts. If you play the guitar and do regordings at home get one now :)

Good value for money but needs work as standard.

Bought this as a gift for my younger brother who is a long-time guitar player.

Out of the box the tuners were a bit rubbish, but functional.

Fretwork left a bit to be desired. Worked just fine for a higher action, but for anything vaguely low it would need a decent fret job.

Neck is substantial. Width is fairly standard modern P bass, but it's deeper than any other bass I've played which may be an issue for some.

Pickup sounds very good.

Excellent Bass for the price!

I really LOVE this bass! It?s just perfect for what I needed. I?m mainly a guitarist but I needed a bass for some recording and this is exactly what I wanted. I have been having so much fun writing and playing this bass over the past few weeks.

Pros

1) When the bass arrived it had a lovely action. It is very easy to play in my opinion. I actually really like the neck shape too. It is a thick neck but comfortable to play.

2) I tested the electronics and everything worked fine, no problems.

3) The intonation was spot on.

4) The finish is absolutely beautiful!

5) I really like the pickup on this guitar. It has a nice clear sound but you can turn down the tone knob and it will warm the tone nicely. It's a very versatile bass.

6) Seems to keep in tune really well too.

Cons - Not many!

The scratch plate and chrome hardware looks/feels a bit cheap but it has not let me down.

Don't be fooled by the price, the quality of this bass is amazing. I would definitely recommend this bass for beginners and those like myself who needed a great sounding, cheap bass for recording. Although I would definitely gig with this bass too! And to top it all off it also included allen keys, sticker, picks and a lead! You can?t go wrong with this bass, go for it!

VERY IMPRESSED!!!!

I have been looking for a vintage bass for a long time to use in my band Jasper Dan and after I had a really bad experience with another company I decided to research HB. The PB-50 caught my eye. Not only for it's price but satisfaction of all the other owners.

I received my PB-50 only 8 days after the order was placed (Since I stay in South-Africa that's impressive). I was a bit concerned when I saw the state the box was in when receiving the package (probably thanks to customs) but on closer inspection the bass itself was very well protected.

The bass is beautifully build and sounds amazing! The only tiny niggles are that the tone knob was put on a fraction skew (Almost unnoticeable) and the hole for the truss-rod was machined a little rough. Other than that it's perfect.The machine heads keeps tune beautifully, The bridge is exceptionally. Bar one single fret, the neck is exquisitely manufactured. Neck is chunky but very easy to get used to. The bass came set-up near perfectly and thanks to the D'adario strings I could literally just plug it in and play. The finish is stunning and it's very light.

Doesn't matter how professional a musician you are. This is a bass that will hold it's own in any scenario.

This was the best decision I ever made. GET ONE!!!!

Absolutely brilliant!!!

Simply cannot fault this bass , for the money it is absolutely amazing. Plays faultless and only needed minor adjustments for the height of the strings.

Plugged in and played like an absolute dream , and for what I need a bass for I didn't want to spend a fortune and this ticks all the boxes.

The pickup gives a good tonal range and you can get an amazing array of sounds through the single coil.

The unfinished neck isn't to big or wide and your hands can fly up and doe with ease.

For the price this is an absolute must buy for beginners or even more advanced players! 5 stars

Excellent bass for the money

I just updated the pick up for a Seymour Duncan and the strings. it sounds great!, warm and deep and punchy. great sustain as well. great bass for the price. By the way, if you like to do the same. keep in mind that the Seymour Duncan pick up is a little bit bigger, so you must adjust the pickup cavity. Cheers

Perfect for the price

Ok, guys, first of all - I'm not a bassist, but I've looked for a cheap precision bass guitar for home studio recording. So, what I need from bass - is just support rhythm of drums and to have deep background. This bass sounds like a Fender Strat for $200-$300, but it's a bit thud (maybe I would change pickup/electric part soon). Now, what I have found very positive and was surprised - it's sustain of this guitar, its nicely long! I think this caused by great quality of wood. Finally, I can simply change strings, electric part and pickup, tune it and have the sound I'm looking for; but the neck and body - they are really great. By the way - it comes with d'Addario strings (I'm also using d'Addario for acoustic and electric guitars because of nice quality). So, if you need cheap, great and working bass - you can buy it without doubts; and I just can advice to tune it well.

It is a great bass

I bought this as my first ever bass. I played guitar for quite the long time now and I decided that I want to venture into bass playing and generaly have a bass for backing tracks, writing songs etc. and this bass is everything I wanted it to be. It is easy to play out of the box, it came set up, and it was almost in tune (that was probably because the temperature changes during the shipping procces). As a beginner bass it is fenomenal and I belive that it would hold it's ground on stage as well. The only thing I maybe could bring up as a con is that it's only has one single coil pickup and 2 knobs and for someone who wants to tweak their bass all the time THis might be a turn of (not for me though, i like the simplicity) but that is part of the design and also gives it it's charm. I have tried to use it for everything from blues to rock to metal and it didn't fail me once.

Excellent value for money

Great first bass, very fast delivery time.