Any opinions on Harley Benton?

['59]

I'm looking at getting a 5 string fretless bass and the only one I can find is a Harley Benton HBZ-2005FL NT Deluxe Series. I've been considering a 5 string for a while now, and I also want to experiment with fretless because I've tried a few in the shop and I like what they can do.

They are crazy cheap, so I'm not out too much if it's bad. But I'm also not trying to throw money away.

 

[Mincer]

Well, they are a store brand overseas, so we don't see a ton of them over here. But the few HB guitars I've played have been solid instruments.

 

[Securb]

My bass player has two real RIcs and a HB rick clone. He plays the HB more than the real Rics it sounds fantastic.

 

[Blille]

I have a Bass VI of theirs. It was well built etc but the bridge needed replacing to intonate well, which is not unusual in these instruments to be fair.


Ibanez is good value
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SR375EFBBT--ibanez-sr375e-sr-standard-fretless-brown-burst

 

[ICTGoober]

I bought a LP Junior Fat awhile back. It's terrific. I loaned it to a pal who liked it so much he ordered one just like it. He liked THAT so much he ordered a 25th Anniversary LP Goldtop. He loved THAT so much his bass player ordered a 25th Anniversary Jazz Bass. Guess what? He loved it.

They are excellent quality, period - and they are incredibly low priced. I don't know how they do it. Also, shipping from Germany is quite reasonable at less than $100 and most times shipping to the US took 4 days. Like I said, I don't know how they do it.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

This is a topic that is coming up a lot. If I wanted to pay the same price for shipping as I do for the instrument, I'd check one out. Luckily, a local company also skips the middleman and sells guitars manufactured in China, so I can buy from them instead. Check out Glenn Fricker's HB reviews, when he's not yelling, he can be informative, he's had some success and some failure.

It's not the '80s anymore, now cheap guitars can be as hit-and-miss as the big brands. We're so lucky.

 

[Chistopher]

Dang it, now you've got me thinking about buying a new bass.

 

[Aceman]

Never touched an HB bass.

But I have never touched an HB guitar that didn't punch way above its class, and never really heard a bad word about them.

 

[solspirit]

I'm sure they'll go up in value someday, I've never heard a bad thing about them.

 

[ehdwuld]

for the price plus shipping you can probably get a nice Ibanez 5 string

 

[Blille]

They have a big sale going on right now btw

https://www.thomannmusic.com/social_harley-benton-25.html?offid=1&affid=128

 

[ErikH]

I almost bought one of their PJ basses but ultimately went with a Squire Classic Vibe.