Harley Benton Beatbass VS Vintage Series

I've bought a few HB's over the years and this was the biggest surprise. It's not perfect, I'll explain below, but what you get for the price doesn't make sense, it's that good.

It's beautiful, it looks amazing. Let's face it, you're probably buying this for the image, it's not top of the list for 95% of Bass players. The finish is great, the binding is spot on, it's what you hope it will be.

The tuners are ok (that's good in Harley Benton language). The pots aren't scratchy, the switches are good (a little confusing at first), I had no fret sprout and the strings it arrived with were ok but will get changed in a week or two.

I knew it would need a setup and it got one. What did I have to do?

The fretboard was dry, unbelievably dry. It took me a bit of time to lemon oil it three times. Once it was done, it looks good. The end of the fretboard is roughly cut and finished and will need tidying, but it looks ok. The frets were a little rough and needed a good polish but there was no sprout so that only took 30 minutes. The intonation was ok so I marked it up, allowed for a little adjustment, and removed the bridge for a body polish. The neck was flat, way too flat, so I added a little relief which also lowered the action as it came really, really high. I tightened up the tuners although I will replace them soon although I really don't need to, they're fine. Finally, I lubed the nut (not like that) as it's plastic so a little lead is a good idea.

Once done, I tuned it up and left it for a few hours to settle. Now I can't stop playing it. There's a lot of neck dive, all violin basses do this, you'll need a strap, remember this is a hollow body bass and it's unavoidable.

I've always thought Harley Bentons were underpriced, this one doesn't make sense. It's that good.

If you can do the basics I listed above, get one. It's not even worth sparing a thought, just buy one. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I am a hobby guitarist who likes to do my own work on the guitars that I purchase, I currently own 11 electrics, 1 bass (this one), 3 acoustics and a ukulele.

This is a beautiful looking instrument and at approximately $186AUD ($142USD) is unbelievable value for money.

Pros:
1. Of the 3 guitars I ordered, this appears to have the best finish, I can't find a single thing wrong with it, no blemishes whatsoever.

2. The tuners work well and seem to hold tune fine, even after sitting around the house for a few weeks now.

3. All controls and pick ups are working.

4.The tail piece is a little more ornate than the original and going by images on the net, appears somewhat shorter as well.

5.The lovely burst finish is continued on both the back and the neck, a nice touch, especially at this price point. If the good people at Thomann don't remove this, you can search You Tube for "650Thunderbird" or ". Harley Benton Beat Bass Unboxing/1st Impressions" to see for yourself.

6. Flamed maple top is very well done, the join is barely visible, unless you look very hard.

7. Being a "short scale" bass, it will be easier for a guitarist to make the transition to bass with one of these, rather than with a "standard scale" bass.

8. Even with postage costs, it is cheaper to buy from Thomann, than to buy from my own country (AU). This is one of three guitars I have purchased (all in one order) and their quality control, in my case, is second to none.

Cons:

1. Being a hollow body, it suffers badly from the dreaded "neck dive" so even when seated, a strap is a must.

2. The shape does not make for comfortable lap placement.

In summary: I am completely satisfied with this bass guitar and would recommend it to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Cheers
650Thunderbird