S
Good value
Unfortunately the first Guitarbass had to be returned to Thomann with a large number of faults of which one was very serious. Thomann Customer Support was very good and paid for the return carriage and sent a replacement at no extra cost to me. So this rating and review is solely about the replacement.
I really liked the idea of an inexpensive Bass VI without a tremolo arm. I had previously tried out a Fender Squier Bass VI, but the tremolo put me off completely. Plus I thought the layout of the knobs and switches, whilst authentic enough, looked rather fussy. Whereas the Harley Benton suffered from none of these disadvantages and had a much lower cost.
The finish was excellent - a lovely sunburst front and back albeit with a few inconsequential tiny lacquer splashes. The fret edges were not rough and the fretboard block inlays were nicely done. The action out of the box was reasonably good - certainly quite playable. There were no problems with the sound other than a very slight probable ground loop hum - almost imperceptible. The middle pickup seems to be reverse wound reverse polarity which is very good. However the single coils do not seem to be prone to picking up noise unless deliberately provoked and I do not think they would benefit significantly from upgrading.
Considering the very low price this was a good instrument. But of course almost any guitar or bass can be improved :)
I took the Guitarbass to my luthier to change the strings and do a set up. I like flatwound strings and chose LaBella - actually they are the only manufacturer of Bass VI flatwounds as far as I know. The correct set for this instrument is the HC6F set (for Schecter Hellcat VI) which fit perfectly for length. The 767-6F set is too long but can be made to work although far from ideal. These strings transformed the instrument for my style of playing which is mostly jazz. In particular the low E .095" string was an enormous improvement on the original .084" roundwound low E - both in terms of intonation and feel. I have another short scale (30.3") bass and use a .110" D'Addario flatwound low E on that - however the .095" LaBella flatwound holds its own in comparison.
All the new strings fitted through the tailpiece with no need to drill to a larger diameter. They also fitted through the nut with no widening required. The nut depth was very nearly spot on which is quite unusual with an inexpensive guitar. Some adjustment was required to the bridge saddles for the bottom two strings.
The luthier also changed the volume and tone pots, jack socket, and 5 way switch for higher quality components and replaced the original unshielded wiring and rather poor soldering. He did some work on a few frets including removing and replacing one. After which the action was really superb - as low as one might wish for on a guitar and no buzzing whatsoever.
He also replaced the rather thin original neck screws with genuine Fender neck screws and at the same time corrected a slight misalignment of the neck so that now the two E strings are perfectly positioned relative to their fretboard edges and the pickup polepieces. The original alignment was not terrible but in the pursuit of perfection these things have to be done.
One issue was that the channel for the truss rod wrench does not easily allow the wrench to be fully inserted into the adjustment socket - it can be achieved but great care is needed. A solution is to use a wrench with a shorter arm or to cut the supplied wrench's short arm even shorter. In any event the truss rod adjustment socket looks to be made of rather soft metal so it may be wise to take all the load off the neck before making adjustments.
Following these improvements I now have an excellent Bass VI and am very satisfied. It's a very versatile instrument which can function purely as a bass or extend up into baritone territory. It's perfectly possible to pay chords on the upper four strings above about the fifth fret. The only question mark might be on consistency of quality between individual examples as the first instrument I received was very poor.
I really liked the idea of an inexpensive Bass VI without a tremolo arm. I had previously tried out a Fender Squier Bass VI, but the tremolo put me off completely. Plus I thought the layout of the knobs and switches, whilst authentic enough, looked rather fussy. Whereas the Harley Benton suffered from none of these disadvantages and had a much lower cost.
The finish was excellent - a lovely sunburst front and back albeit with a few inconsequential tiny lacquer splashes. The fret edges were not rough and the fretboard block inlays were nicely done. The action out of the box was reasonably good - certainly quite playable. There were no problems with the sound other than a very slight probable ground loop hum - almost imperceptible. The middle pickup seems to be reverse wound reverse polarity which is very good. However the single coils do not seem to be prone to picking up noise unless deliberately provoked and I do not think they would benefit significantly from upgrading.
Considering the very low price this was a good instrument. But of course almost any guitar or bass can be improved :)
I took the Guitarbass to my luthier to change the strings and do a set up. I like flatwound strings and chose LaBella - actually they are the only manufacturer of Bass VI flatwounds as far as I know. The correct set for this instrument is the HC6F set (for Schecter Hellcat VI) which fit perfectly for length. The 767-6F set is too long but can be made to work although far from ideal. These strings transformed the instrument for my style of playing which is mostly jazz. In particular the low E .095" string was an enormous improvement on the original .084" roundwound low E - both in terms of intonation and feel. I have another short scale (30.3") bass and use a .110" D'Addario flatwound low E on that - however the .095" LaBella flatwound holds its own in comparison.
All the new strings fitted through the tailpiece with no need to drill to a larger diameter. They also fitted through the nut with no widening required. The nut depth was very nearly spot on which is quite unusual with an inexpensive guitar. Some adjustment was required to the bridge saddles for the bottom two strings.
The luthier also changed the volume and tone pots, jack socket, and 5 way switch for higher quality components and replaced the original unshielded wiring and rather poor soldering. He did some work on a few frets including removing and replacing one. After which the action was really superb - as low as one might wish for on a guitar and no buzzing whatsoever.
He also replaced the rather thin original neck screws with genuine Fender neck screws and at the same time corrected a slight misalignment of the neck so that now the two E strings are perfectly positioned relative to their fretboard edges and the pickup polepieces. The original alignment was not terrible but in the pursuit of perfection these things have to be done.
One issue was that the channel for the truss rod wrench does not easily allow the wrench to be fully inserted into the adjustment socket - it can be achieved but great care is needed. A solution is to use a wrench with a shorter arm or to cut the supplied wrench's short arm even shorter. In any event the truss rod adjustment socket looks to be made of rather soft metal so it may be wise to take all the load off the neck before making adjustments.
Following these improvements I now have an excellent Bass VI and am very satisfied. It's a very versatile instrument which can function purely as a bass or extend up into baritone territory. It's perfectly possible to pay chords on the upper four strings above about the fifth fret. The only question mark might be on consistency of quality between individual examples as the first instrument I received was very poor.
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DD
It depends what you want it for...
I saw this guitar here on Thomann and immediately wanted it, despite the 3 single coil pickup loadout. And therein lay the problem. Once I got the guitar, I played it acoustically (it's quite loud and resonant) for a few weeks until I actually plugged it in. Ugh. Now, it's worth noting that I play normally with very high gain settings (I like and play mostly death metal and grindcore) so mileage may vary for different users in terms of tone BUT I found this guitar to be VERY noisy - and not in a good way. It's the noisiest guitar I've ever played, just a constant ground hum/buzz coming from it that got more or less extreme depending on where my hand was positioned and was especially bad/noticeable around the pickup selector. I took it to a luthier who plugged it in and immediately pulled a shocked face. I don't know if just my guitar was defective but I spoke to thomann extensively about this and presented them with videos and suchlike, and they did say "that's just how those single coils are". So, bear this in mind if you're looking for heavy/distorted tones from this out of the box. It doesn't like it. At all. I really wish this came with a more versatile pickup setup or, ideally, 2 humbuckers as are available on similar models available elsewhere.
HOWEVER, the actual set up and playability of the guitar was great. It required very little work. The stock strings were perfectly acceptable and the action was also fine.
I changed the pickups to a hot rail at the neck and routed a humbucker in the bridge position, and now it sounds perfect for my needs. I just deaded the middle pickup and replaced the 5 way toggle with a 3 way and the job's done.
I dislike the tuners, I'm not sure why these "vintage" styled tuners appear on modern instruments and they feel more like acoustic tuners. They're the metal box style, and don't really suit a modern guitar. They're also quite squashed up and a few are a little "off" in terms of being in a straight line, but that doesn't affect playability or their functionality at all. I will probably swap them out at some point for locking tuners.
The neck IS quite thick, but I've small hands and haven't really found it to be a major issue. Obviously it needs a strong neck with the amount of weight pulling on it from the heavy strings.
One final negative/nitpicky point would be that the finish is fairly wretched, but that's solely a matter of personal taste and obviously does not affect the sound or playability at all. I'd just rather it was more contemporary but I've always disliked tobacco finishes.
I actually opened a return ticket on this, but in the end decided that I liked the playability of the guitar enough to warrant keeping it, and that it justified a little more expense to get it sounding how I wanted. I'm very glad I put this work in, as I'm now happy to have this useful instrument in my collection.
HOWEVER, the actual set up and playability of the guitar was great. It required very little work. The stock strings were perfectly acceptable and the action was also fine.
I changed the pickups to a hot rail at the neck and routed a humbucker in the bridge position, and now it sounds perfect for my needs. I just deaded the middle pickup and replaced the 5 way toggle with a 3 way and the job's done.
I dislike the tuners, I'm not sure why these "vintage" styled tuners appear on modern instruments and they feel more like acoustic tuners. They're the metal box style, and don't really suit a modern guitar. They're also quite squashed up and a few are a little "off" in terms of being in a straight line, but that doesn't affect playability or their functionality at all. I will probably swap them out at some point for locking tuners.
The neck IS quite thick, but I've small hands and haven't really found it to be a major issue. Obviously it needs a strong neck with the amount of weight pulling on it from the heavy strings.
One final negative/nitpicky point would be that the finish is fairly wretched, but that's solely a matter of personal taste and obviously does not affect the sound or playability at all. I'd just rather it was more contemporary but I've always disliked tobacco finishes.
I actually opened a return ticket on this, but in the end decided that I liked the playability of the guitar enough to warrant keeping it, and that it justified a little more expense to get it sounding how I wanted. I'm very glad I put this work in, as I'm now happy to have this useful instrument in my collection.
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b
Great but a few caveats
This guitar...wow. This guitar. I literally (no joke) dreamed about buying one of these and I finally did. It was such a cool looking guitar/bass/baritone that I HAD to have one.
First thing off, the sound: pickups are okay-ish! At least in the bridge. The neck pickup is nice and warm but the one that stands out the most is the middle! It's actually a wonderful tone for cleans and I love it. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan and was very happy with it. There were a few things I did notice however. First off, this is my personal experience and not everyone will receive a guitar like this; The nut was cut poorly and had some shavings hanging off it (no biggie, just cleaned that up) but I also had lots of markings and weird blemishes around the binding on the fretboard. Also, my low E string was a bit too close to the A. Hard to explain but I think the string spacing was messed up when the nut was installed. Other than that, setting up was easy and the bridge intonated just fine! (which, if you know how bass VI-like guitars are, intonation is a big issue but not here!)
Anyway, I love this thing now. It plays pretty darn well and sounds massive. Yes, I do use it for metal/rock stuff but as a clean guitar it sounds just as good too. I love recording both guitar parts and bass parts with it. Such a cool instrument. I also recommend this!
First thing off, the sound: pickups are okay-ish! At least in the bridge. The neck pickup is nice and warm but the one that stands out the most is the middle! It's actually a wonderful tone for cleans and I love it. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan and was very happy with it. There were a few things I did notice however. First off, this is my personal experience and not everyone will receive a guitar like this; The nut was cut poorly and had some shavings hanging off it (no biggie, just cleaned that up) but I also had lots of markings and weird blemishes around the binding on the fretboard. Also, my low E string was a bit too close to the A. Hard to explain but I think the string spacing was messed up when the nut was installed. Other than that, setting up was easy and the bridge intonated just fine! (which, if you know how bass VI-like guitars are, intonation is a big issue but not here!)
Anyway, I love this thing now. It plays pretty darn well and sounds massive. Yes, I do use it for metal/rock stuff but as a clean guitar it sounds just as good too. I love recording both guitar parts and bass parts with it. Such a cool instrument. I also recommend this!
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OP
The Cure for your needs
Pros: Excellent value for money. Covers both guitar and bass sounds, everything from Surf to Goth Rock. Again, cheap. It was set-up perfect out of the box, no sharp frets, no buzzing on the frets, nice chunky neck (almost as chunky as a 50's Les Paul). Great starter guitar.
Cons: Pickups are muddy, noisy, and the cavity needs shielding and proper grounding with is issues since this thing needs to be played loud. E string needs to be a higher gauge, around 100 so it isn't 'flabby'. No strangle switch or seperate switch for each pickup as it is with a traditional VI.
Cons: Pickups are muddy, noisy, and the cavity needs shielding and proper grounding with is issues since this thing needs to be played loud. E string needs to be a higher gauge, around 100 so it isn't 'flabby'. No strangle switch or seperate switch for each pickup as it is with a traditional VI.
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A
Nice product
Wanted to try one, superb finish and neck /frets super level. Only disappointment is the string set supplied and the lack of volume.
Tone range is virtually nil. A good platform for upgrading - start with strings....
Tone range is virtually nil. A good platform for upgrading - start with strings....
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Mi
Excellent value, high-quality instrument
The Bass VI fills a unique musical niche... bought this for my son (primarily a guitar player) and myself (primarily a bass player) to expand our repertoires a bit...
Was very pleased with the quality and playability right out of the box. Solid instrument, hardware tightly mounted and functional, electronics crisp and responsive. The supplied strings were a little tinny for my taste, but an easy swap with Ernie Balls and we're in business. There may be another one of these in our future, since my son and I keep fighting over who gets to play it...
Was very pleased with the quality and playability right out of the box. Solid instrument, hardware tightly mounted and functional, electronics crisp and responsive. The supplied strings were a little tinny for my taste, but an easy swap with Ernie Balls and we're in business. There may be another one of these in our future, since my son and I keep fighting over who gets to play it...
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N
Nice hardtail bass vi
Really nice bass vi copy. Pickups give great range of tone down from nice deep bass to quite twangy highs if you wanted. A bit noisey but they are single coils...You can do cords (just carefull of low e), bass lines,leads and riffs on it.
I like the hardtail brigde (keeps intonation better then original tremolo) and easier to find baritone strings to fit it (to tune a-a or b-b instead of e-e).
Takes chorus and delays wonderfully for curelike riffs. Takes fuzzes well for postrock,doomlike styles as well. Neck and frets are quite nice and smooth (no sharp edges on it).
Even though I?m not into the 60s sunburst finish it is very well done, no bubbles/stains/etc in laquer. And nicely put togther.
Only reason why it?s 4 stars and not 5 is the nut is ok (could be better), electronics aren?t too well soldered (but thats a five minute job to fix if you know what your doing. and for the price I?ve seen ALOT worse), and the strings it ships with. Low E is a 0.084 (i think) way too thin, and even after setup it?s too loose causing fretbuzz (you could fix with shim, but too much bother). If you fit a 0.095 string that does solve the floppines though (or alternativly tune down to a-a or b-b with thinner strings).
Apart for those little niggles (that can be fixed quickly and cheaply), a very nice and versatile instrument (and very nicely priced compared to competicion).
I like the hardtail brigde (keeps intonation better then original tremolo) and easier to find baritone strings to fit it (to tune a-a or b-b instead of e-e).
Takes chorus and delays wonderfully for curelike riffs. Takes fuzzes well for postrock,doomlike styles as well. Neck and frets are quite nice and smooth (no sharp edges on it).
Even though I?m not into the 60s sunburst finish it is very well done, no bubbles/stains/etc in laquer. And nicely put togther.
Only reason why it?s 4 stars and not 5 is the nut is ok (could be better), electronics aren?t too well soldered (but thats a five minute job to fix if you know what your doing. and for the price I?ve seen ALOT worse), and the strings it ships with. Low E is a 0.084 (i think) way too thin, and even after setup it?s too loose causing fretbuzz (you could fix with shim, but too much bother). If you fit a 0.095 string that does solve the floppines though (or alternativly tune down to a-a or b-b with thinner strings).
Apart for those little niggles (that can be fixed quickly and cheaply), a very nice and versatile instrument (and very nicely priced compared to competicion).
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Nt
Awesome instrument
It's the third HB electric guitar that I bought, it's a good construction and I prefer the hard tail bridge over the tremolo of the original design
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-B
Budget Bass VI
Bought this to replicate tic-tac bass and some other Bass VI niche stuff on recordings. Also an interesting solo instrument. For the price, it surpassed my expectations. Needed only a new set of strings (low E too floppy as most say) - bought Ernie Ball 6 string bass strings and those work well for me — and a minor setup to my preferences. Very well made. Wish it had the strangle switch like Fender but what you gonna do? For the price I am happy, but it’s probably not as nice as a squire bass vi. But for dabbling in either Bass VI or baritone territory (just a different set of strings) it’s pretty nice to have this option at this price point.
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PQ
Bass VI Clone Does What It Says On The Tin
It's pretty much perfect. frets are all level. action is low, tiny bit of fret buzz so i'll try raising the saddles a mm or 2. it has good tone, frets feel a bit rough so a quick polish should sort that. The top string isn't as bad as i was expecting after Cory Mura's video and some reviews I've read, it's loose but workable. The back of the guitar has some blemishes but nothing of relevance. The strings are aligned correctly over the pick-ups. The bridge is in the correct position and the neck sits perfectly on the body. The machine heads do feel a bit weak having to adjust much larger strings. The Volume pot is fine, feels cheap but it works just fine. The tone pot fell off straight away but that an easy fix and its the only real fault. I was expecting that i may have to take the GuitarBass to a shop for set up but i was surprised to find it played very well out of the box. It was even in tune. All in all I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend the instrument to anyone thinking of buying one.
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