Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series

I was positively surprised, I must admit. the bass was in good settings as soon as it was opened from the package. I immediately replaced Harley Benton's new strings on the bass and they were adjusted with little effort. when changing the strings, I noticed that a small piece of plastic came off the saddle, but luckily it didn't affect the position of the strings and the tone. I don't feel like sending the bass back to Thoman because of this. you can't expect the impossible from a bass in this price range, because of the finishing of the parts and the bass. I think the sound of the bass is good, quite simple but ok. add a little distortion and it works. a good bass in all its simplicity.

This is the black satin 'stealth' finish. They seemed to be on the light weight side, and mine didn't disappoint at 8.6 lbs. The bass itself was flawless. Fit and finish are remarkable for a cheapo bass. The bass feels substantial and well put together.

The set up was not the best, but a few minutes spent reducing the neck curvature and adjusting the saddles brought it to a very comfortable action. The tuners hold tune well. The plastic nut seems well cut. The knobs work great with no noise or scratchiness. I haven't adjusted the nut yet because it plays well enough already, but I'll have to do that to make the top positions a bit more comfy to play.

I really like it. The neck takes some getting used to as it is wider (about 45mm) than a SR5 but not excessively chunky. I find it quite comfortable. The frets are level which I find surprising for such a cheap bass. The narrower string spacing and the additional string means I was a little clumsy to start, but I've been playing this bass exclussively since I got it and I'm getting there now.

In fact, I'm starting to really like this 5 string thing.

If I had to give it a one word review it would be 'wow'.

This is a very decent bass, regardless of price, but when you consider the price... yeah, wow.

It has that Stingray vibe and the passive electronics are just fine. Sure, not as versatile as having an onboard preamp, but I actually love passive tone controls, so I'm happy with it as it is.

It was a bit frustrating at first, but as I adjust to the different layout it becomes more fun... and I feel like something clicked. I'm enjoying immensely how I can move across strings and reduce the movement up/down the neck that way. That being said, it sounds surprisingly good. It has a growl to it that I was not expecting. The bass sat good in the mix and the lows were pretty defined. The B string wasn’t as sloppy as I thought it was going to be. I didn’t go below D on the B string and found fretting the E came in handy as opposed to playing it open on the E string. The only thing the bass really lacked was high end spank (could be due the the strings it came with). I don't use the additional lower notes that much, but I use a lot of the notes I would often play on the E string on the B string now, just moving across with fewer jumps to different hand positions on the neck which also means I look at the neck a lot less. And having the option to play those notes between the low E and A on the E string for more definition or on the B string for additional girth is really useful too.

This may be the bass that makes me finally 'get' 5 string basses. All in all it is a fantastic bass at €140 shipped. For my first five string I think I made a good decision getting this thing and have no regrets at all. I am glad I made the purchase.

finally landed one of these yesterday after months of waiting for thomann's somewhat 'erratic' (to be polite) restock estimates. so after all that waiting, its ....okay....

there is nothing wrong with the bass itself, its as described, fretwork is perfect, neck is straight, finish is pretty perfect - all the usual critiques. aesthetically i have no problem with the tort pickguard, and the glaring white nut on a stealth black bass is an odd choice, but again, its a minor detail. out of the box, the setup was decent. the bridge plate is very, very slightly wonky.

the biggest problem is the sound. after being blown-away impressed with the roswell pickup in the HB 51 PB, next to it this poor humbucking twin single coil *thingy* of a pickup just doesn't cut it. its way too thin, the highs are too crispy, mids too pronounced and the bass is non existant. i'm fairly sure with EQ it can be solved of course it can, but off the shelf, its poor.

a passive stingray wannabe, i can live with. but one with such a poor quality pickup, and this whole twin single coil thing? eh maybe not so much. but i mean they had to fill out those three knobs on the control panel somehow.

having said that, here it comes - for the price, this is a beginners instrument. its a budget as budget can be. given the quality of the actual body, neck, fretwork, finish and so on, a pickup swap is well worth it. the thing *looks cool*. Maybe even cheap two band EQ and a battery box, again, if you have the tools, this is the perfect candidate.

so all in all its a good buy. but, dayum, thomann. stick a decent roswell in this thing for the price increase you sneak on every three months