Harley Benton Beatbass FL VS Vintage Series

I've had it for almost a month now and I must admit, it's really Good. Where do I start?

From the physical aspect, it's just great. Looks great and FEELS great. The sunburnt color from the body stretches nicely across the neck too, which makes the bass look "whole" (if you know what i mean.. there are So many bass guitars that have a sunburnt body but lightwood neck and, personally, not a fan of these from an aesthetic point of view). Other parts of the bass look great too, just all of it.
It's super comfortable too tbh?? Which, I didn't expect that, considering its shape; i thought it'd be chafing my tie but surprisingly it isn't. The neck is also super comfortable and easy (surprisingly!) to fret on, there's no problems with plucking either. It's shortscale so it also feels just much more pleasant and faster. It's just cool. Feels good.

Now, as for the sound, it's also just... very good? Great? The flatwound strings sound great and both pickups give you very distinct but nice tones; it almost sounds like an upright bass. It's so warm and thick, love it.

The only downside is that there's a rather prominent neck dive but that's to be expected with a semi-hollow body so I don't really count that as a con.

I feel like, for that price especially, that is a STEAL. Like, a violin bass? Fretless? Shortscale? With two humbucker pick-ups? With flatwound strings? And so nice-looking? Really, REALLY worth its price. Rare to find all of these qualities on one bass (if not impossible).

It is my first bass, so keep in mind I don't have any experience with other bass instrument. But I own several acoustic and electric guitar, so I imagine I can evaluate this instrument reasonnably...
5 stars, because it is a pretty good instrument for a very low price. If like me you are just starting bass, and just want a simple fretless instrument to see if you like it, don't hesitate this one will do the job.
Just a quick note, I didn't experience the original strings, I put some Pyramid Gold Flatwound 040-100, as I do with every guitars I buy (spending a little much for good strings! This is, in my opinion, the easiest upgrade to do with any instrument, and never regrets doing it)

A Rarity... A Short-scale Lightweight, FRETLESS bass

I have been playing bass guitar in a band for over 20 years and have now retired from the music scene, mainly due to arthritis in the back and wrists. I missed playing very much after selling off all my working Fender P bass collection ,so I decided to try a light, short scale bass just for amusement, which I found so much easier for my condition, once I got used to playing the shorter scale

I spent ages looking through the internet for a Fretless Short Scale bass only to find this beauty in my favourite music store, Thomann.

The Harley Benton Beat-bass Fretless bass played wonderfully, straight out of the box, even with it?s own factory fitted Flat wound strings on. It was so smooth and the intonation was perfect. Talk about weight. Light as a feather. It does give a little ?Head Dive? with a slippery strap, but if you get yourself a leather, headstock acoustic strap connector and fit the strap from the top of the neck and to the usual button on the bottom. Perfection and Comfort.

This is the perfect fretless bass for the beginner or experienced bassist wanting to learn the art of fretless playing at a ridiculously low price. I would recommend buying the Thomann Beat Bass Gig bag, product number 188608, a well under £20, made for the Beat bass fretless and standard violin bass, as you won?t find one any where else to fit as well as this one. The bonus is that the bag also fits a Squire Bronco Bass which is another short scale in my new collection, so that is one bag for two basses.

This is such a great buy for guitar players wanting to give a bass a try, as it is such a bargain.

One little tip. I tried to fit a set of D'addario flatwound strings but found that the ball ends on these were a lot bigger that the H.B. strings already fitted. After an email to Thomann, Thet set back instructions and a photo of how to loosen the tailpiece to get the correct distance to fit the D'addarios or any other strings with a bigger ball end. Great service

Just buy one. You've nothing to lose at that price