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

Very fast delivery , 5 days to Croatia and no scratches .

This bass gives more than you think when you see this low price .

It is very cheap and it has excellent sound and looks great.

Great for beginners , but also for everybody , because if it's cheap doesn't mean it's for beginners . Money well spent !

Pros- sound , look , low price..

Cons- nothing special , price too low to talk about cons .

I bought it for decorative reasons (to look nice on the wall of my room :) )

Turns out, it's a very nice 54 p bass copy. Hardware is solid, wood is nice, the neck is straight and the bass has a very low action without fretbuzz (mine does at least).

All in all, a solid instrument that could be priced a lot higher, and i play it a lot at home. It would make for one hell of a beginner bass, although, most beginners should choose the traditional p or jazz models IMO

A bargain, even post Brexit ;-)

I would happily pay more for a bass of this quality, it's genuinely worth twice as much. The pickup and strings alone would set you back about £70 if bought apart from the bass.

It really looks the part, I've wanted an 'old-style' P-Bass since forever and this doesn't disappoint (although I have ditched the huge plastic pickguard, it just looks nicer without it).

I will re-string it with flatwounds but the supplied D'Addarios are well worth having (I just prefer flats is all).

I took it out and gigged it the day after it arrived, it played perfectly, did the job, stayed in tune, sounded great. Couldn't be happier with it.

Just a shame that recent current events have de-valued the pound, adding about a tenner to the price of this bass since June 24th.

Still worth every penny though.

Incredible Value

Just received the bass today. I am staggered at the quality of this instrument. Set up almost perfect , just a tiny tweak needed to the E string saddle but otherwise spot on. Intonation dead right , neck relief perfect , balance good, strings good quality roundwounds , Build quality and finish excellent. I have had many basses over the years including Fenders , Warwicks, Wal, etc. and the quality is well up there with the best

In my opinion whether you are a beginner or advanced player you'll be delighted with this instrument. It has to be the finest value for money bass on the market. I can't wait to gig with it.

As a beginner i believe it a really good and affordable choice as well.

It is my first bass and I think it has more than enough for a beginner like me. Cheap but considerable and easy to customize as well.GREAT CHOISE ,again.

What a bargain

For the money, you can't fault this bass. Sounds fantastic, with a lovely chunky neck. It even comes with D'addario strings. Would definitely recommend this bass.

Low Budget? Don't worry...

...because this is a good bass. Nice burst finish - it is Foto-Flame, but that's not a negative... more importantly, the satin-finish maple neck is straight and true and plays very nicely. No rough or sharp fret-ends, tuners hold tune, bridge is a high-mass item with grooves for the saddle screws... after a few minutes adjusting the intonation and action (with the supplied hex key) we're away.

The Wilkinson single-coil does a fairly plausible impersonation of Leo's 1951 pickup and has the fast attack associated with the original. It's at least as good as the name-brand upgrades that are available. The stock strings are D'Addario XL Nickel Rounds. I don't like these strings, they're somehow not as good as the D'Addarios you buy elsewhere - and in any case rounds aren't really appropriate for this bass. It far prefers flats, and fitting them makes a HUGE positive difference to the sound and playability.

So if you fancy the 50s vibe but don't want to break the bank, or if you just don't have the wherewithal or the inclination to spend hundreds on a more upmarket instrument, this bass will do you well enough. There is nothing wrong with it that a few minutes of fettling can't sort and it could easily be your main bass if necessary. My only gripe is that it would be far better out of the box if it came with flats already fitted.

PB 50

Ordered the bass Sunday night and had it by Friday delivered to the UK. I play in a rock covers outfit and bought this as a back up.

This is a cracking little bass. Out the box the intonation was spot on, just had to lift the saddles a couple of turns to get the action the way I like it. D`darrio strings are fitted as standard which is good as they are my brand.

The fit and finish is really good: hard to believe the bass is so inexpensive and I have bought basses from the well know makers that are 3 times the price and the quality of this bass is equal.

The chrome hardware does the job and there is no sharp fret ends. I brought it down to a rehearsal the day I got it and the guitarist prefered the sound of the PB 50 to my more expensive Yamaha!

I may buy another to modify a bit but this is a great buy.

fun fun fun

this bass is fab, great weight, great balance, looks cool, gain-y as anything - volume off, turn up a bit and nothing, turn up a bit more and nothing, turn up to near halfway and it roars into life, big, full sound! played straight out of the box, good set-up, no LX problems, tuned it and played it.

and versatile, the full time player in a band i'm in loved it, we play jazz, latin, soul, funk and rock-y stuff too, and he just couldn't hurt it, he only put it down cos the brand new strings were hurting his fingers - get your dress off!!!

I need to play it more, lots more, but to grab it and have a thump for an hour or so is great, play along with all your 70s favourites on an old school 4 stringer. fab. get one. get two.

Better can't be you can't go wrong on this one!

I've been testing and looking for an affordable bass for very long time, Till now that I've finally decided to try this brand and I can say you can't find a bass such well made as this goody price. I've tested basses 10 times more expensive and I can't find such big differences qualities.

Well finished, tunning perfectly, simple beauty sounds grea!

I'll be purchasing some of the guitar line also!

Thanks for the serious and professional passion for music everything was perfectly delivered, no scratch! See you around!

AR.

Buy one now, what a bargain

What a great bass guitar, looks great and sounds fantastic, set up beautifully - nice low action. Especially pleased with neck, lovely mat maple finish just like top 1970s fenders I like. Body is light so neck dives, not too bad and nice colour, not sure what others mean about scratch plate, it's nice 2 ply. Tone control wide range, no noise, good earthing, strings top quality. Quick to tune, tuners nice and retro, smooth too. Prefer sound of my Squier Pete Wentz and Vintage Tony Butler (that's a bass, not some old bloke..) but this is so nice to play I will definitely be gigging with it. Totally recommended, need to clear out some less good stuff (Hohner, GAK) so I can buy more HB copies, based on quality of this one, the rosewood PJ must be fantastic.

Amazing value.

Disclaimer:

I play mostly metal and classic hard rock. Exclusively as a hobby, for my own enjoyment. My opinions are entirely from that perspective and do not reflect the needs of musicians who gig or play mostly with others.

Good:

-Fantastic price.

-Very good overall fit and finish

-Looks great

Bad:

-The pickguard is poorly finished.

-The pickup sounds a bit thin.

Fit and finish:

The body is finished very well. No flaws in the lacquer.

-Fret ends are very nicely done. The fret wire stops just before the edge of the fretboard and the gap is filled in as it should be.

-The neck is finished in a very light matte. It feels almost unfinished and my guess is that there is just enough clearcoat to keep it looking nice for a long time.

-The neck pocket is a very tight fit.

-All metal hardware is decently finished. No sharp edges anywhere.

-The pickguard seems a bit flimsy and the edges of it are not finished very well. Nothing 5 minutes with fine sandpaper can?t fix but a bit of a shame since everything else is so nicely finished.

Playability:

-The neck and fret finish ads a lot to overall playability.

-The simple bridge made for pretty easy setup, but getting a very low action will take a bit of work.

-Comes with quality Daddario strings right out of the box. Something I would not have expected for the price.

Sound:

-The Wilkinson pickup sounds a bit ?thinner? than the classic 50?s P-bass but is not bad at all. Not the warmest tone but it handles dirty overdriven tones without any issues.

Overall:

I would definitely recommend this bass.It is more than worth the very low price and easily competes with instruments several times its price. By no means perfect but a very solid product that should give years of enjoyable playing.

If it came bundled with Rocksmith 2014, I would call it the perfect gift for new bass players.

Destined for different (if not greater ... not with my playing) things.

Well, I bought this Bass after a discussion with a luthier friend at a summer party. The discussion was basically "how good can a cheap bass be, and how good can you actually make it?".

I've always had a hankering for a 50's P Bass, and this seemed the perfect way to do it.

On arrival we were BOTH (my untrained eye and his expert eye) impressed with the finish and construction. For the price, it's an AWESOME bass.

My luthier has sorted out many Fender and Gibson instruments that have been supplied with far more issues that this instrument did.

We were also impressed at the fact it came with a Wilkinson Pickup and D'addario strings - how can they do it at that price! I used it at a rehearsal and a gig before handing it over to him. I think I may have invalidated the warranty at this point...but it's worth it. I have no intention of sending it back.

He reshaped the Headstock to the proper 51/54 shape (Just enough room, then applying his own Decal), put on a 51 Style P Bridge and provided thru-body stringing. He didn't need to do a lot to the neck (a little fret finishing maybe) and made a pearloid scratchplate before handing it back.

Biggest issue was that the jack plate was a little ill fitting, which he soon sorted. Tuners seem a little cheap construction wise, but they do the job well and I've seen far worse.

It is RAPIDLY becoming my favorite bass. Everyone who grabs it can't believe how good it plays. Even with the extra work to customise it, it still cost far less than a Squier and has so much kudos.

Way beyond expectations.

I bought it as a 'bang-around' bass, to carry around and record bass parts for my compositions. I didn't want anything fancy, or high priced, but having played one prior to purchase, it was a no-brainer. This bass is steal! Good hardware, perfect body finish, came with proper setup and intonation.

I play it mostly 50's style, with a pick. Sound-wise - It's much more than expected - great old-school grown, I had no problem nailing Conrad 'Guybo' Smith sound (heard on Eddie Cochran records). Looks great, plays sweet.

Neck is in satin finish, what not everyone might like, but at the price, there's nothing to brag about.

The 51 style pickup not only looks great on the guitar, but also does the justice to that classic sound I was going for.

Volume and Tone control do what they're supposed to do, broadening sound from bite to mellow.

This instrument is basically one of those great deals - it's simple, aesthetic, great sounding, and really nailing what it's based on - old 51 P-bass. I can't recommend more, if you're into classic sound of great records made at GoldStar studios, or anytime from early 50's to mid 60's.

Excellent bass guitar

I bought this bass guitar in two minds - I was not really sure what to expect for such a low price.

Having owned and played it for a few months, I can honestly say it is an excellent instrument worth more than the asking price.

The build quality is very good, my only complaint is that the edges of the pick guard are sharp and this can be easily fixed with a file.

I removed the guard and use it without one - it looks better in my opinion.

Intonation and tuning is perfect, fret work, tuners and electrics very good and everything works as it should

The sound is powerful, deep and even across the strings.

It weighs just under nine pounds and it looks great - what's not to like?

Astonishing for the price!

I needed a bass guitar for a recording project I've been working on. I considered various second hand options, but decided to take a chance on a new Harley Benton (I have and like one of their T-style guitars too).

The set up on the bass wasn't great straight out of the box, but with some adjustment of the bridge and truss rod it now plays well and is buzz free.

The neck is nice and chunky, certainly more P-bass than J-bass in profile. The satin finish feels really nice in the hand, and much better than the sticky poly on other brands.

All the hardware does what it should, so there are no complaints on that front.

In terms of sounds, it's a warm and thumpy sounding bass. Rolling on the tone brightens it up a bit, but it's got that woody 50s sound in abundance. I'm surprised at the sound from such a small pickup (but Wilkinson tend to make impressive components).

Great Bass for peanuts

I needed a spare bass to throw around the house.

The bass was well packed and arrived in the UK fairly promptly.

THe bass is solid and not to weighty. There was no real flaws in the craftsmanship , infact ive see worse in squire and fender bases. The neck has one minor wood grain flaw that is basically just a slight difference in colouring.

The routing and bridge and pickup fixing was spot on and the nut and machine heads all quite straight,

The tuning was noticeably stiff but improving.

The pick-up sounds clean and quite with a low mid punch much like the bass it copies.

Action was initially high and neck a little to curved for me. A quick tweek and the action is nice a low with minimal buzz. A couple of hours fret dressing would probably only reep a mm lower action. Neck is big and wide but I have big hands. I feel quite comfortable playing this even at speed.

Bottom line... This is quite astounding for the price. BAck in the 80s, I've played worse US fender basses than this. TBH if this had fender on the headstock, 50% people would not know. Comparable to a medium quality squire and poor Fender.

Maybe I was lucky.

Harley benson pb-50SB

Bass arrived this morning via parcel force intact and early NICE !

bass was well packed even though someone had had a peep inside the box and resealed it customs I assume.

Well down to the guitar the finish is very good machine heads smooth pup excellent throughout the range volume and tone pots very clean no buzz or hiss when plugged into my ashdown amp what can I say all in all I am very impressed by the guitar it plays perfect If I had paid 4 or 5 times the price it would still be worth the money ive owned fenders gibsons etc over the years and this bass is up with them

If you are contemplating buying this little beauty go for it you will not be disappointed I have no idea how they can produce such a lovely guitar for this price

I will be ordering more Harley Benson guitars very soon

what a bass

had this bass for a few months now and couldn't believe how good it has been.

Arrived 5 days after ordering and with a little setting up out of the box its ready to go. Great looks and finish and plays beautifully. No problems after 3 months and would recommend buying one.

Bargain

Wanted to relic the bass so it was similar to the one Sting now uses. Beautiful to look at straight out of the box. I thought the pickup sounds rather nice. Adjusted it closer to the strings and did neck setup. Jas quite a growl to it. D'Addario strings. What more could you want?