Harley Benton 5-String Jazz Bass

I actually have two of these Korean made Jazz basses, I bought one then bought another and took out the frets Everything is pretty much standard and as you would expect from a passive Jazz style bass.

Both my basses have a two piece solid alder body.

The tuners are a 4:1 design which balances well and much better then the Mexico ?neck diving? 5 in a line.

It?s your standard jazz bass, and it sounds like a decent quality jazz bass and can do everything you would expect a Jazz bass to do, I compared it side by side to my Fender Mexican V string and they sounded pretty much the same, The Benton has a little more zing, but then the strings were newer. There is no excessive noise in fact it?s a quieter then my Fender Mex.

Everything was spot on as I bought it online from a UK dealer who sets them up himself, rather that send basses out with just a factory set-up. The quality of the finish is really excellent, the frets were nicely finished and I can?t fault anything in this section.

Solid as a rock, but come with a 3 year warranty anyway, I?ve gigged with two of these basses for just over a year and never had a problem.

As I said it comes with a 3 year warranty, and the UK dealer was very helpful and friendly.

I?ve been playing bass for a round 6 years, and played guitar before that. I bought a Mexican Fender V string which has all the tuners on one side, that bass was OK but it was very neck heavy. I came across this bass on ebay.uk and thought I?d give it a try, I was really impressed for the price, it balanced much better than my Mexican Jazz bass, sounded as good and had a better quality bridge. Plus I?d always wanted to take off the scratch plate on my Mex Jazz but couldn?t because of the routing, which looked butt ugly without the scratch plate. Anyway I was so impressed with this bass that I sold my Fender Mex and bought another Benton and had it de-fretted. I think with this bass you get a lot more than you could reasonably expect for the money, it beats any made in china bass I?ve played hands down, but it?s not USA custom shop quality either. It?s a good serviceable V string jazz bass for not a lot of money. By the way I see Fender have now adopted the 4:1 tuners on their new V string Jazz Basses, I?m looking forward to trying one, but even the street price of cheapest US model is over 6 times what I paid for this bass.

THIS IS KOREAN MADE BASS, IT?S A COPY OF A FENDER 5 STRING JAZZ BASS, USUAL FEATURES ALDER BODY, MAPLE NECK, ROSEWOOD FINGER BOARD 2 PASSIVE SINGLE COIL PICK UPS, TWO VOLUMES CONTROLS AND ONE TONE. IN SHORT IT HAS ALL THE FEATURES YOU WOULD EXPECT ON A JAZZ BASS.

I PLAY IN AN OLD SKOOL COVERS BAND AND WE DO A LOT OF FUNK AND SOUL MUSIC, THE JAZZ BASS IS IDEAL FOR THIS SORT OF THING, I USE A BOSS EQ FOR WHEN I?M SLAPPING AND I ALSO USE AN OLD COMPRESSOR PEDAL. THE SOUND OF THIS BASS IS PRETTY AMAZING FOR THE MONEY, IT SOUNDS JUST AS YOU WOULD EXPECT A GOOD JAZZ BASS TO SOUND, IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE PLAYING IN BUT YOU WOULD EXPECT THAT WITH ANY NEW BASS. I HAD A FENDER USA FOUR STRING JAZZ BASS, AND BOUGHT THIS BASS BECAUSE I WANTED TO TRY A 5 STRING, BUT I PLAY THIS BASS ALL THE TIME NOW.

THE BASS PLAYED RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX, IT WAS EVEN IN TUNE!, IT WAS WELL SET UP AND NEEDED NO ADJUSTMENTS, THE FIR AND FINISH IS EXCELLENT.

EVERYTHING SEEMS STRING AND STURDY, AND I DIDN?T ENVISAGE ANY PROBLEMS.

I BOUGHT THE BASS FROM A DUDE ON EBAY HE SEEMS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, AND OBVIOUSLY KNOWS HIS STUFF AS HE SET THE BASS UP AND ALSO ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS, I WISH MY LOCAL MUSIC SHOP WERE THIS GOOD.

I?VE BEEN PLAYING FOR AROUND 8 YEARS NOW, AND GIGGING FOR THE LAST 7, I HAVE A FENDER USA 4 STRING JAZZ BASS AND ALSO A WARWICK CORVETTE ROCK BASS, I NEVER USE THE WARWICK AND IT?S JUTS THERE AS A SPARE, I USE A TRACE ELLIOTT BASS RIG AND A COUPLE OF SIMPLE EFFECT PEDALS. AS I SAID I BOUGHT THIS BASS IN A WHIM AND IT?S NOW MY MAIN BASS, I?VE LOOKED AT THE FENDER USA 5 STRING JAZZ BASS BUT CAN?T JUSTIFY THE PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IT AND THIS BASS, THE FENDER DOES HAVE A SLIGHTLY BETTER QUALITY FEEL BUT IT?S CERTAINLY NOT WORTH SPENDING THE EXTRA #1,000. I YOU WANT A 5 STRING JAZZ BASS THIS HAS TO BE THE BARGAIN OF THE YEAR.

This is you basic jazz style bass, but with 5 strings and no pick-guard. Made in Korea, Alder body in a burst finish, Maple neck with Rosewood FB, traditional passive pick-ups, vintage tuners and chrome volume tone controls, Bought from UK eBay dealer.

I play mostly jazz funk but some rock and pop styles, but I think this bass could handle most styles of music, after all the Jazz bass is used in all styles of music. My Bass rig includes a Trace Elliot head and a twin 15? cab and a 12? and a 10? cab, effects wise I use an old Boss EQ and a DOD Envelope Filter, al you classic jazz sounds are here, and using the duel volume controls it?s easy to find the sweet spot, I use the EQ to thin the sound out for slap n pop styles, and the Filter for low funky synth lines, the basic sound is rich and warm with no excessive noise , it balances well when played seated or on a strap.

The bass played brilliantly right out of the box, the set-up was really good, much better than I would have expected but the dealer does personally set up each bass before dispatch. When you buy a bass for as little as this you tend to be looking for problem areas and wonder what you will have to upgrade first, but the fit and finish are really good, absolutely no problems at all, the tuners are of the vintage variety and so feel a little flimsy, so I may change those due to personal preference, after all this is a 5 string bass jazz, so it?s not going to spoil the authenticity of the bass, I may also change the pots at some point, there is nothing wrong with the stocks ones, but if anything is going to fail I would guess it would be the pots being Korean.

I think will a simple designed bass like this any problems will show up immediately, and everything here is solid. The finish on the body is quite thick, I do prefer a very thin vintage type finish for feel, but I guess this finish will resist knocks better; I fitted strap locks as I don?t truss standard strap buttons after an accident with a vintage Fender!

Really great guy, very knowable and helpful I?d certainly buy from him again.

I?ve been playing bass for around 8 years, and guitar for a few years before that, I was looking at the Fender 5 string basses but they are very expensive and I wasn?t sure I?d really use a 5 strings, after all Jaco said 4 is enough, and being the rather shallow person I am I bought this based on it?s looks juts to try the 5 string thing, and I?m hooked the only thing I did was rub the back of the neck down with some very fine grade sand paper to get rid if the new bass feel, I do have a 70?s Fender jazz when I would never sell but I do find myself reaching for the 5 string more these days, if it were stolen I may look again at the Fenders, but at the moment I?m waiting for the seller to get some more in so I can buy another and de-fret it. For the money this is an amazing bass, and really good value for money, makes you wonder what they could build for a little more cash.

There are two version of this bass (see important info in the conclusion)this one was made in China 2003
It?s a Fender Jazz styled bass with no pick guard and five strings, twin passive pickups, 2 volume, 1 tone, Sunburst loss Finish Alder Body, satin maple neck with a rosewood finger board, headstock is a 4:1 configuration, came with allan key and a cheap lead.

The sound is like a typical cheap jazz bass, serviceable but noisy as hell and you can?t really get the sweet spot you find on a quality Jazz bass.

The first bass I received was totally unplayable (see conclusion for more info, the second was playable but these factory set-ups leave a lot to be desired, the action was really high, the frets slightly uneven with some sharp ends, as mentioned before the pick-ups were badly set up and very noisy.

Until I get the bass set up properly I wouldn?t dream of gigging this instrument, but I guess it all seems durable enough.

I bought this bass from Thomman in Germany and I would never use them again, I ordered on and it took 14 days for the bass to arrive, the first bass was totally unplayable and I had to pay #40 shipping to return it so they could send out a replacement. The second bass had a coup[le of small scratches but I kept it rather than paying out another #40. Thomman have a money back guarantee but you have to pay for the shipping which is expensive from the UK, the customer services seem OK by email it takes around 24 hours for a reply but they just make empty promises and although they tell you will be notified when the bass is shipped etc, you never are.

OK here is the thing a friend of mine bought a Harley Benton bass on ebay from Benton Music in the UK, and it was a really great bass, so being clever I shopped around and found I could get one cheaper direct from Thomann in Germany and save around #30? big mistake!
Where my bass is made in China my mates bass is a Korean Model and the guy he bought it from on eBay personally sets them up, the one I bought looked identical but clearly different hardware has been used, the pick-ups sound completely different, his sound full rich and woody, mine just sound thin and cheap, but the biggest difference is in playability his bass plays like a quality instrument, mine is a dog. I saved around #30 by buying from Thomann but it cost an extra #40 to have the first bass returned and shipping is not refundable, I would never use Thomann again.

These basses are made by the Saein Musical Instrument Company, who make a number of Brand name guitars for Peavey and Ibanez etc. they also have there own Shine brand in the UK and Harley Benton in Germany, but they have 2 factories one in China and one in Korea, I?d avoid the made in China basses.

Great Looking 2004 new line model, a bit like the Jaco Fender Model but with 5 strings

Spec:
5 strings, Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Board, 21 Medium Frets, Twin jazz passive pick-ups, 3 domed controls 2 Volume X 1 Tone, Dark Sun burst Finish, no pick guard.

I play in a covers band and some times at church, I have to have access to a lot of sounds and I think generally a jazz bass covers it, I wanted the low B for a bit more range and because a lot more music seems to be using 5 string basses these days. I put the bass though my Trace Elliot Stack and also straight into the house PA at bigger venues. This bass sounds rich and woody very much like my USA Fender Jazz except it?s a bit brighter, I like to adjust the 2 volume controls to find that jazz sweet spot, but there are other sounds available just by using the volume controls, I don?t do a lot of the slapping stuff but when I do I use a Boss EQ pedal as I generally don?t like active basses. I found the bass very easy to adjust to and I love the low B, it also opens up your playing in different positions which is interesting.

Everything is OK, the electrics work fine, the tuners look a bit cheap but they stay in tune well, I did thing about changing them but they work fine so there is no point, the bridge is the typical Fender type, I might put a more solid Badass on there at some point, but it might ruin the jazz vibe, the frets are finished properly, and the neck joint is tight with no obvious flaws anywhere, it came with a low action that I raised a little as I?m, quite heavy handed, other than that it played great straight out of the box. The sunburst finish looks stunning and I get lots of people asking me what make it is.

Everything is solid I can?t see any problems; I look after my guitars, and carry spare strings etc. I think you only need a backup if you play an active bass, because if something goes wrong with the pre-amp the bass is just dead.

I bought the bass mail order which I wouldn?t normally do, but I can?t see any problems, the UK dealer check each instrument before he ships the out, and is quick to answer questions.

I played guitar for a few years and then switched to bass about 5 years ago, my only other bass is a Fender Jazz, although I have had a Musician Man and a few others. I was attracted to this bass because is looks so cool, I really wanted a Roscoe Beck 5 string but it didn?t sound like a real jazz bass, and cost 10 times what I paid for this one, also this bass looks cooler to me. I am thinking of changing the bridge and putting proper plastic jazz knobs on, I really dig the 5 string thing and I find myself using this bass more and more, for the price you get a lot of bass for your money.