Harley Benton RB-414BK Classic Series Reviews

Very good and affordable bass guitar

sehr schön!! Sound quality is a lot better than my Ibanez!

Great axe!

I always wanted the and RB but could not afford it. This bass scratches that itch. Great for gigging any style and looks cool too!

A Beast

Kind of blown away. At this price you can't complain. Some minor issues out of the box like fret buzz but nothing too unexpected for travelling half way around the world. Neck took some time and truss rod adjustment to settle in.

Looks great with nice details like the binding.

Can get lots of different sounds, bridge pickup has got a great punch to it. Every time it comes out of the case it's still in tune.

DEFNITEY AN EYE CANDY BASS.

I am certainly not going to make any comparisons to any other bass that may or may not look or sound like.

A good Quality Instrument that needed little to no setting up. as soon as I pull the Bass out of its case ( Harley Benton Light Case-El-Bass ), did people start Dribbling and a Drooling. Fellow bass players love the wide range of sounds and im sure more RB-414 will heading to these shores.

Frankly looks much better in your hands than in the pictures.

would strongly recommend.

Great bass for the price

Took almost 2 weeks to reach SEA but well worth the wait. Good packaging so no dings or damages on the item.

Amazing sound and it looks incredible

Amazing value for money

It needs a full set up and light fret work, but very pleased at this price. Sounds great, each pick up has a distinct characteristic that makes it good for switching. My star ratings are based on value for money, of course this is not perfect but it is all you need.

"I LOVE the smell of Harley Benton in the morning"

1. It looks GREAT [a gold-effect for pickup cover/surround would look even better, I think],

2. Feels great [albeit a tad - just a tad - heavy]. Very nice balance,

3. Plays really well - no dudders (well, what you YOU call dead spots?),

4. Or rattles. I prefer the action a little high,

5. It holds the tuning really well - no slippage(s),

6. If you (also) use a double-octave, the 414 should compliment it nicely,

7. All-in-all, recommended. I'm well happy with my purchase - give me another 30 years or so (practice) and I'll give you a decent copy of Stanley Clarkes iconic School Days....

Really loving the 'Harleybacker'!

Having read the numerous,varied reviews of the RB-414 I ordered one, fully expecting to have to give it a full set up to get it playable, which I was happy to do (and have the tools and experience), as I really like the look. For a instrument in the sub £200 range, you should really expect to have to tweak it a little to get it exactly to your taste.

It was delivered remarkably quickly,well packaged and in perfect condition, no sharp or unlevel frets, truss rod, intonation, action all set up beautifully. I have played this for about a week now ,to allow for climate/humidity changes, with no adjustments necessary.

My main amp is an Ampeg head and 2x10 cab and with just a variation of the gain and tone you can get a very acceptable comparison to the 'Lemmy' or 'Chis Squire' sound,or whatever sound you want. Plug it through an amp modeller and you would barely notice a difference to the real thing.

As others have said the bridge pickup is pretty good (you can get a nice growl out of it), the neck is not so good,but still ok. It has also been mentioned that on the middle pickup switch setting, if you turn either pickup volume setting all the way down it turns both off. You are, however, still able to back either pickup off in order to get the mix you want. If you want to back either pickup off completely just flick the switch! It can be rectified by rewiring...but I won't be bothering.

The only thing I probably will change is the nut, it deserves better than the plastic nut it comes with.

It appears that I struck lucky with mine as I've had no problems with it, the setup was very good straight out of the box and the overall finish is faultless...I'm really enjoying playing the 'Harleybacker' and will be happy to gig it as well.

Couldn’t have asked for more

This bass is a mind-boggling value. It required some minor setup to get the action and intonation just right, but it played quite well right out of the box. Very nice fret work and the tuners were surprisingly good as well. I swapped in a set of flat-wound strings and now it plays beautifully, and sounds surprisingly close to a 4003 with plenty of character and tonal variation. I am well pleased.

good for the price

i dont play bass, and this is my first bass ever, im a guitar player at heart. with that being said this is pretty decent for the price, needs alittle bit of setup but other than that it sounds good and plays well.

Amazing bass

Gorgeous bass guitar, plays nicely, sounds good and looks beautiful! Terrific value. 10/10 :)

Plays like a you know what

I love these I have the red and the black ,gig with them ,never an issue ,I barely touched the set up out of the box ,amazing .

Nearly excellent ....

The sound is brilliant, the build is very good - except the fret heights were terrible and needed £110 spending on a full fret dress and set up after. Factor that in when buying! Still, at £309 total it is an excellent bass. I also angled the pick ups high at the g string side as the sound was weak coming out compared to the E string when factory set.

Honest hommage to the mighty RIC bass

How many of us bass players dream of owning a Rickenbacker? Its fans are legion, but how many of them can actually afford a $2000+ instrument? Harley Benton offers a viable and very affordable solution : the RB-414.

Though it doesn't sound exactly like a genuine Rickenbacker 4003, the RB-414 offers the classic look and spirit of that legendary bass, in a package that opens many modification options (bridge and pickups can be substituted for higher end Rickenbacker or aftemarket parts), for a total price tag which still remains far below the price of an actual RIC. The mahogany body and set neck provide good resonance and sustain, and though the pickups do not successfully emulate the RIC sound, this bass has a unique and full-bodied tone, especially for rock or funk-minded bassists.

Though probably not destined to become a classic vintage instrument (it is, after all, a clone), the RB-414 offers the budget-minded bassist an affordable and eminently moddable option that won't break the bank. I own one of these, and would recommend it.

Weak Highs but Great Lows

The E string sounds great once the bridge has been properly adjusted, but the higher strings come out extremely muffled.

Said bridge is also quite finicky, using loose rollers that you need to watch out for when you're changing the strings.

If you can get past those niggles, it's a solid RB copy and quite fun to play once the pickup cover has been removed.

The only thing I can say about its construction is the nut on mine was very loose and was actually sitting on a small crack. A couple of dabs of wood glue sorted all that.

Not really a bass for someone who isn't willing to put in a bit of work on the upkeep of their instrument, but decent for anyone else.

its great...but....

a dodgy bridge lets it down...not a deal breaker but.....if a string were to break during a live performance then parts can come loose , which isn't good...i like to slap it too which is worrying.....but saying that it is a cool looking replica of a rick....the neck pickup is great the bridge not so. put distortion on it and you suddenly become lemmy. i do really like mine but the bridge i am considering changing.

I will NEVER buy another Harley Benton guitar. Here's why...

I own 6 and don't have anymore room! 2 DC customs, BM, 335, RB Bass and a TE-90. All great instruments, if they were 4 times the cost. YOU CANNOT go wrong. For you US buyers, the shipping cost from Germany is $75, for one instrument or 2. If you buy 2 guitars instead of one, you are essentially getting it for half price. Order them now, You won't regret it!

Excellent experience and customer service

Pure quality 👌 in harley benton bass guitar 🎸

sounds great but the quality of it let it down.

I was really looking forward to getting as it looks great & sounded great from the reviews I watched, but I'm not sure if I got unlucky with mine but out of the box it had loads of scratches on the back (the one I bought wasn't a B-stock product) & the neck was severely bowed.

I tried to amend it but to get it to stop buzzing like crazy it made the action really high above the 5th fret & due to the bridge design I was unable to level out the action.

The bridge is a bit of problem area as it only allows to raise all the strings rather than the individual saddles, which makes hard to get a consistent action.

I think this would make a great mod project if you have time to put into it but unfortunately I just don't at the moment!