Harley Benton Solid UkeBass Spalted Maple 4-stars Reviews

Good ubass at a budget price

I bought this Harley Benton Spalted Maple to have a backup to my far more expensive Kala.

First impression was good. Nice workmanship. Just a few flaws like loose tuners and a spot of glue on the fretboard. Nothing big really. One annoying thing is that the position mark on the side is missing on the 9th fret, and instead found its way to the 10th... Otherwise - very nice.

The Aquila strings was cut too long and I had to remove some centimeters. Since I dislike the rubber feeling I put on a set of Aquila flat spirals to get a little sharper sound and higher tension. That was the point I noticed the low output of the E string. Tried to fix it by pressing down and waggle the bridge, but it didn´t work. Guess there is a contact issue between the bridge and the piezo. I will possibly change the piezo anyway as this is most likely a very cheap one.

The preamp works OK, but the tuner button is well hidden and if you have big hands you will struggle.

It plays very well. Nice and fast neck.

Pros: Affordable Ubass. Good looking. Plays nice.

Cons: Piezo is partly working. Loose tuners