Harley Benton RB-414LH BK Classic Series Reviews

Great option for any beginner lefty

My first bass was a similarly priced instrument but the quality of this one is much better. Sound, feel and looks they are all great!

Great $200 Bass!

this is my second bass my first one was around $100 and was cheap this one however is much better in sound build and feel the only thing i can say negatively about it is that it sounds a bit tangy but with that said it has its own unique style to it and that tangy noise can be fixed with an EQ overall i give this bass 5 Stars great value for the price

Rick Sound On A Budget

The looks and feel of this bass are very polished and sounds like a real Rick 4001, I put flats on it and I'm loving the tone.

my favorite HB bass

over the past year ive bought a lot of HB guitars and basses. this one is the best the brand has to offer. sometimes, the bad thing about these are the pickups but i really liked these!

Exceeded my expectations

Great construction and finish. Good sound. Easy to perform with. Excellent price.

Great looking bass with some caveats

This bass looks amazing - that's the only amazing thing here. It's not bad but since this is not the cheapest available bass I've expected more. So I decided to buy that one over the pb-20 hoping that it'll be better to choose someting a bit more expensive and just start playing right away. Unfortunately I was wrong, it'd be better to buy the pb-20 and some decent pickups along with it for the price of the rb-414. Unfortunately the single coil jazz pickup here is just so noisy that I cannot for the love of God find any single place or orientation in my apartment where it'd not be buzzing so much that I've never in my entire life heard such noise coming from any device. I'm not entirely sure since I know close to nothing about the specifics when it comes to this field but for some newbies like me - it's not pleasant to use it unless you can find room that is 100% clean of any electrical devices or wiring. Some may say as I've seen that 'this buzz is charming and it's the most beautifull thing with these pickups' and okay, some may find it charming but for me and perhaps for many others it'll just seem as if it's just a broken unit and just like me they'd be frustrated over this noise. Sure I could return it and go buy something better - it's just my lazy choice not to bother myself with returns. In general tho if you're like me who would rather just get a nice clean sound out of their new toy - avoid this one.

Half the mon, all the fun!

This is not just a great bargain product, but one that belies its price! I got it in March of 2020, and we all know what happened then! Always wanted a bass and since was going to be at home a lot, this seemed a no brainer. Got it primarily because of price and looks (Cliff Burton forever!!), but loving it cos of the great sound. Some slight blemishes, but I think they give it character. All components working very well and finish spot on! Action is lovely and tuning holds well.

This was my first ever bass I bought and I'd have no qualms telling any bass player to buy one, beginner or whatever.

Awesome kick for a very low price

Lefty Rick-o-like are pretty rare to say the least. So when I saw that bass poping up on some different youtube reviews, I found myself almost instantly hooked. But I was also a bit scared. Never have I ever bought any HB instrument before and, let's be honnest, I had my share of so called "GREAT" little brand basses. So I dug deeper, trying to find cons to balance the so many pros. After a moment, I had to admit the fact: people who tested it enjoyed it.

So I finally ordered mine. It arrived perfectly packaged 2 days later and, like a kid, ran upstair to plug it and give it a first run.

For me, when thinking about Rick basses, the two names that come to my mind are Lemmy Killmister and Cliff Burton. Okay, let's go then!

Little tinkering to find the right settings and then let's make the neighbours mad with some Motörhead's classic Overkill...

Okay, yeah sure, she's no Rick but, man, does she roar! Love it!

Now regarding the other aspects of the instrument... I'm quite used to Ibanez style basses. They're light, intuitive and sound whole and warm unless you push them. The RB-414 is, so far, the exact opposite. Not back breaking heavy but you definitely feel the difference, but most important this one growls angrily on its default mood. It actually takes me some effort to make it sound like a normal bass. Not complaining, exactly what I wanted from it.

It's oldies/classic shape also forced me to hold and approach it a bit differently from what I played so far. I'm used to wear my basses quite low. I can't here as my forearm would then rest painfully on its angular body edges so... "pull me up those pants, kiddo!" No drama tho, just a different approach.

I could go on and on about that 200€/$ guitar and compare it further to others I played but the main thing is that the Rick (inspired or real) is a category of its own and, therefore, must be aimed for knowingly. If you're aware of what you're buying, I really think you will be pleased. If you're a beginner looking for a cool first bass, it could be. Just know that it will require a little bit more adaptation in order to play all those styles you wish to play.

As far as I'm conscerned, I had more out of it than I expected.

Very, very pleased and will certainly come back for more.

Great sound with minor adjustments

Bought this bass for my band's studio recordings.

In the beginning the sound wasn't good at all but with some neck and pickup adjustments it came together much better than expected !

Cons:

The pickup height adjustment mechanism was broken so I had to remove them and change the screw that hold up the whole mechanism. Also, there is some imperceptible noise from the pickups so you might wanna replace them.

In conclusion this is a great bass for this amount of money !

Hey, is that a Rick?

That's the question I get asked a lot when I pull out my RB-414LH at a gig. I replaced the strings with white tape-wound flats to be kind to my fingers, and it plays like a dream. I get some great tone and a lot of clarity, according to my drummer. I play in several blues bands, and this bass has really.worked out well.