Harley Benton JB-75 SB Vintage Series

First of all, I was blown away by the quality of this instrument. I heard very good reviews about it before but I was still a bit skeptical...BUT it was JUST as I had heard it would be.

The hardware on this is really worth much more than how much I payed for it. Wilkinson pickups and bridge?? wow.
Great quality stuff there.

The looks on this bass...well you be the judge of that. Doesn't it look great??
- 70s style block pearloid inlays (you won't find this kind of look for this kind of money)
- lovely 3 tone sunburst on a quality American ash
- Harley Benton(thomann) really killed in the looks department on this one, in a good way ofcourse.

It sounds great! I did an AB with a Fender Mexican Jazz Bass and I personally thought this was on par if not better than the Fender!! unbelievable! There is also a good response with the blend knobs.

I had this for about 1 and a half weeks and I couldn't really find much fault in the build of the bass. The frets are nicely trimmed on the sides so it doesn't hurt your hands, and it came setup very well! All I had to do was maybe adjust the saddles to intonate it a little bit but even that was very small. It also seems to be very durable so it should be fine when going on stage as well as on the road.

The only 2 cons I found about this instrument was the pickguard and the weight.

The pickguard doesn't really look like a genuine turtoise shell pickguard up close. Looks a bit "cheap" but that's nothing you can't fix by changing it.

The heavy weight can be both a pro and a con.
It's heavy because it's made of American ash body and that actually contributes to the resonance of the bass as there is more material and mass BUT for a guy like me who isn't "bulky", this might be a problem as it's too heavy to play long hours on stage.
SO my fix on this was buying a good quality strap.
I got a Mono Cases "The Betty Strap" which is doing a miracle work for me. It balances out the weight of the bass and has paddings to relieve the stress on my shoulders. So get a nice strap! I recommend the Betty Strap.

All in all, Great instrument! Great Price! Great Service!
Kudos to you Thomann!!

What a glorious bass. I'll say it again . . . what everyone else has been saying . . . I seriously cannot believe I got this great sounding of a bass for $138 dollars. I have played for 30+ years. I played professionally for several years, and have some mid-to-high dollar basses. I have not played an “inexpensive” bass in years. Maybe decades. And I’ve NEVER bought a bass this cheap in my life. But what a surprise this bass has turned out to be. It's fantastic. I’ve wanted a bass with this blocked/bound rosewood board look for a long time. And it scratches that itch on the cheap.

The HB is surprisingly comfortable to play. The neck is straight and smooth, the body is solid, paint and finish look great. The satin neck is fantastic and easy to slide around on. I took it down one star because the fretwork is a little lacking. But I would by no means complain about that at this price point. I’ve played worse. I love the blocks and binding. The neck is a bit thicker (front to back) than the jazz neck on my Lakland, which I like. I need a little more meat for my big garden rake-sized hands to hold on to, and the HB fits the bill. It is a little heavy, but not as shockingly heavy as I expected it to be based on many reviews and comments I’ve read. I don’t have a scale to confirm this, but just holding one bass in each arm, it feels a little heavier than my Lakland 5-string jazz, but not overwhelmingly so. It plays great sitting down. Maybe just a liiiitle neck dive. Some lightweight tuners might change that. But it’s not enough for me to worry about.

The pickups pack a ton of punch and warmth. When I first got it, the bridge pickup was way higher than the neck pickup, and it sounded thin and weak. Once I evened out the pickups, it sounded warm and full. Interestingly enough, so far they're dead quiet. I live in an old house with ungrounded wiring where I practice, so everything buzzes. Passive/active/split/single coil. It doesn't matter. But the HB buzzes less than my Lakland. And the single coil Roswell pickups don't have the same 60-cycle hum I was getting out of the Lakland pickups. It's fascinating. When I solo one of the pickups on my Lakland, even just a little, I get some hum. It's to be expected from single coil pickups and is part of their inherent tone and charm. But when I solo one of the Roswell pickups, even all of the way, I get no hum at all. Maybe they're wired to somehow defeat the hum. I don't know. The only negative tone-wise is that I do find the bass to be a very “clanky” with the pickups and tone knob on full. Way too much high end coming through. I have to roll the tone knob down quite a bit to calm the clank, but once I get it dialed in, it's perfection. And it makes my Tech 21 YYZ pedal absolutely sing. Of course, it's no Lull. That would be silly. But it will likely kick my Lakland (a bass that costs about 10x as much new) off the top jazz spot in my arsenal. I am thrilled with the purchase.

My only other complaint is not about the bass itself, but the shipping process. I do intend to let Thomann know that the box was completely destroyed in places when the bass/case arrived. The bass did not escape unscathed. But there was surprisingly little damage compared to the utter destruction of the box. Just a chunk taken out of the top of the headstock. Not enough to return the bass for, but certainly enough to be frustrated by. Especially given the number of complaints I’ve read online about their basses being damaged by overseas shipping to the US. They have GOT to start packing them better. It will save them money on returns. The bass had poked through both the top (by the top of the headstock) and bottom (by the strap pin) of the box, damaging the top of the bass. There was little to no padding inside, despite being double-boxed. I decided when I ordered it that if I liked this bass, I was going to order another, but I don’t think I will now, because I don’t want to risk it. If you’re local, or at least on the same continent, it would be far less of a concern.

I have been wanting to get a jazz bass in these colors for a while but since I don't play bass very often, I didn't want to spend the money. While surfing the internet, a video showing a Harley Benton bass caught my eye and I started looking at this model and I read the reviews. At this price point, and with the outstanding reviews, I thought it was a good gamble so I placed an order on June 2.

On June 29 it arrived via DHL and USPS. It was in excellent condition. The bass was pretty well set up and ready to play after I stretched the strings and tuned it. The only issue I could find was that one of the inserts on the fretboard will eventually get a little glue as it's rising up a hair on one corner. The neck fits snugly in the pocket. The frets and edges are smooth and the fretboard looks great with the binding. The hardware and electronics work very well. The Sunburst finish is gorgeous!

I already have a Fender Player series model jazz bass that I love so I couldn't wait to compare the two. Through my inexpensive practice amp, this bass sounds about the same as the Fender and may actually have a little more output. The Fender weighs 9 pounds, and I'd estimate that the HB is about 3-4 pounds heavier. The fret edges feel a little bit better on the HB bass than on the Fender. Due to the extra weight of the HB, the Player series bass is more comfortable when I stand up to play, but otherwise, I'd have to say the HB is pretty much on par with the Fender.

Well look at that! A bass with all the bells and whistles for less than 140 euro! As always there is a catch, but let me start with the good things (and there are many):

The materials used are way ahead of all the others at this price point and even higher
-The body is made out of ash (much better than basswod)
-It has a beautiful grain and it is made out of two pieces that were quite well aligned. You wouldn't really see that it is a two piece body without looking very closely
-The maple neck is one piece of solid wood and it has binding (a very rare sight at this price point)
-The pearloid fret inlays look great. I expected them to be just chunks of white plastic but they aren't much worse than the ones on my Les-Paul.
-The pickups sound great and the electronics work flawlessly
-Brass saddles (very cool!)
-Tuners work well
-Overall, you get so much "stuff" for your money that it's quite hard to believe.

Now to the bad things:

-Craftsmanship is generally speaking quite lacking. This is obvious especially when you look at the neck. The fret ends have not been hammered in properly and are higher than they should be (It's as if they were "peeling off"). This results in a lot of fret buzz. The fretjob is in general the worst thing about this guitar.
-Straight out of the box, the neck is covered by some dust, as if they didn't clean it after sanding. This is however easy to get rid of.
-The fretboard is not sanded properly and small scratches from the sanding paper are visible
-The paintjob is very good, but there are three tiny left out dots on the corners of the neck joint, not a big deal and they are barely visible.
-The fret metal is "smudged" on the neck's binding; it goes off after a while of rubbing.
-The pickguard looks as it looks, more unfortunately it has a small drop of black paint on it (it's 3-ply though).
-The nut is made out of some cheap plastic, it doesn't look splendid but gets the job done, its just that all the other hardware is much better quality.
-The neck is quite thick but this is a matter of preference. Also the fretboard wood has an unusual woody grain unlike rosewood.
-The strings on my guitar were terrible, they sounded dull and one of them even snapped when I was tuning the guitar for the first time.

All in all, it is obvious that these guitars aren't being made by the world's finest luthiers who take their time to do everything perfectly. There is actually quite a lot of work left to be done, so let me guide you through the steps to finish it off:

-Add the 5 euro Harley Benton bass strings to your order and throw that stock abomination away :)
-Hammer the fret ends in to prevent fret buzz.
-Use some fine sand paper and go over the frets once more, on my guitar they were levelled but not really fine-sanded.
-Polish the scratches on the fretboard (perhaps by your dremel's fine polishing wheel).
-Take some oil and clean the fretboard, it is going to look much better. You can use lemon oil but even wd-40 will do just fine.
-Adjust the truss rod, action and intonation.

Do all of that and you have an incredible guitar for a ridiculously small amount of money; whether you can do it is something to consider before buying, but the piece that you get might be better made, you never know.
Besides, Thomann's outstanding service has your back and you can return it, in case you don't like it. I also have to give them special credit since they've sent me the new strings for free.

I have to say I?m astonished at what I received for ¤139. I?ve been playing bass for 45 years and have owned more than my fair share of top name brand basses. I bought this more out of curiosity than anything and expected to play it a few minutes and return it. No, that?s not what happened. First, the woods used to make this bass are excellent. Swamp Ash, Maple and Palissander are used by the best makers. The tailpiece is a good solid medium weight part with brass saddles. The pickups are very decent with plenty of lows, mids and highs. The pots are smooth and clean, no scratchy noise. The nut was cut perfectly. The finish is also very well done. The neck is a little thick for my liking but it plays smooth and fast. The bass overall is very solidly built. And yes, it is quite heavy. Not a problem for me since I sit while playing.

I did have a couple of minor issues with mine. The fret job was a bit lacking and I was getting a lot of fret buzz in a few places. The tuners are also not that good. I spent a couple hours leveling the frets, re-crowning them and buffing them, along with putting a set of Fender tuners on it that I had lying around. I have the knowhow and tools do this kind of work on guitars and it didn?t take long or much effort to fix these issues. This is now my go-to fretted bass when I?m not playing my Ric 4001v63.

Despite the minor issues with the bass, I?m still giving it 5 stars. You simply can?t buy a better instrument for the price. Oh, and did I mention this is a great looking bass? ;-)

I'm long in the tooth now and in a past life was a professional bass player on tour, opening for some top bands of the day. I also played in studio sessions and used a P-Bass and a J-Bass, both Fenders from the 70s. I haven't touched a bass in many years but felt the urge. I was leery of a low-cost bass but read the reviews and bought this JB-75 vintage series bass. It arrived almost two weeks ago now. This is one heck of an amazing bass guitar for the money. The tone is much richer and variable than I expected. The tuners hold well, and I've not encountered the fret problem some have mentioned. Hey, it's not a $2900 75 Fender but I'm truly impressed with the workmanship for the cost. Heck, my guitar cases cost more than this bass. You won't be disappointed when you buy from Thomann.

At first glance when I received mine I thought Fender Custom shop. Mine was flawless in every respect down the the brand of strings I use. I stretched the strings that were on it and went through the setup. It is the first bass I have ever had including Fender American's that I had to do nothing. Everything from string height to the nut was spot on. I thought I might have to change the pickups and wiring harness but NO. This bass sounds wonderful as is. Frets and neck are perfect and extremely comfortable to play. The only negative I have is that this bass is heavy. Obviously not a light Ash but I think that heaviness lends to the resonance of this bass. You cannot go wrong here. From fit to finish, from sound to playability you cannot do better with a Fender American at 9X this price. I don't know how they do this but I am glad they do!

This is without a doubt the best new instrument I have ever purchased for $130. Come to think of it, I've never bought a used instrument this good for anything even close to this amount.

What is the cost of a fully bound, block inlay Fender style Jazz neck on the aftermarket anyways? I'd bet that it's more than the cost of this entire guitar.

How about the Wilkinson pickups and hardware? What would that cost you?

Plus an American swamp ash body.

You couldn't build this bass on your own as cheap as Thomann sells it for, it's as simple as that.


I own two bass guitars with which I can compare this Harley Benton Jazz Bass: A Squire Affinity P Bass, and a Fender Modern Player Tele Bass. While the Benton absolutely demolishes the Squire, and I mean badly, I can honestly say that it is every bit as good as the Fender Modern Player bass.

Unlike a Squire Affinity, this Benton is a full sized bass, with a full thickness body and all of the attendant weight. It does not look, feel, nor sound like a beginners bass.

It has excellent quality hardware, from the tuners, bridge, and pickups, right down to the strap buttons and neck plate. This instrument was made with some serious attention to detail. It feels solid, substantial, heavy, and extremely well put together. As it came it was flawless, without so much as a single blemish.

The bridge has a good amount of mass to it and doesn't look at all like what you'd expect to see on a bass at this price.

Likewise, the tuners are very smooth and solid. This bass easily goes into tune and stays there.

The body is shaped exactly like a Fender Jazz bass. It is much more a scary close simulacrum than it is an inspired copy. I'm not complaining, as Fender got it right on the proportions of the J bass. The grain of the ash body is clearly visible through the finish and is quite attractive. Although from the back it looks like the body is two center joined pieces, it's hard to say how many pieces actually make up a guitar like this. Whatever the case is, it sure is pretty.

The neck is a very nice, straight line grained piece of maple. It has a satin, almost unfinished feel that is very comfortable. Although the photos on Thomann's website don't show this model having a skunk stripe on the back of the neck, mine does have one, which I actually prefer. The neck to body pocket union is super clean and tight.

The fretboard was a little dry out of the box, which I know from experience is common with a new Harley Benton. Once I had applied a generous coat of purified linseed oil it revealed itself to be an absolutely gorgeous piece of rosewood. It's a really nice, dark chocolate colored, tight grained, smooth piece of real estate to move your fingers across. The inlays are well done and the fretwork is of quite good quality. The neck binding is also flawless and clean, even around the heel where it can tend to get sloppy on inexpensive guitars.

I had read complaints in some of the reviews that claimed the pickguard looked extremely cheap, though I don't see that at all. It is a clean, handsome, and 3 ply.

Two things that I was particularly surprised by was the nice strap buttons and the rubber gasket behind the neck plate. These are quality touches that you simply don't expect to see on a budget priced instrument.

The nut looks clean and is cut well.

Out of the box the action was a bit high for my taste, though after adjusting the truss rod and lowering the bridge barrels slightly I was able to achieve an action such that the bass virtually played itself. The tiny Jazz bass neck makes playing a breeze.

Before I received this bass I was already planning on cutting the headstock into a Fender shape. Now that I actually have the thing, I think that I don't want to touch it. It is so perfect and beautiful that I now believe it should be left alone.

Imagine that, a $130 instrument that doesn't need to we tweaked in any way. Even the cheap mini-pots work satisfactorily. What's an inveterate cheap guitar modification addict to do other than shut up and just play the thing.

The JB-75 sounds very full, round, and tight, with excellent definition, just like one expects of a good Jazz Bass. The range of tones possible on this bass is very wide.

If you're thinking about getting an inexpensive bass guitar, do yourself a favor and seriously consider this one. I can't imagine that you could possibly do better for the price and I highly recommend it.

Read my full review, see lots of detailed pics, and listen to a sound demo here:

http://www.aguitarforum.com/threads/harley-benton-jb-75sb-rw-vintage-series-jazz-bass.87354/

I ordered on a notion that I can do most any work on cheap instruments and fall in love. This thing showed up to the US in a week and I sh*t a chicken when I opened it. Everything. Is spot on. The tuners are nice, the headstock is shaped to where you can reshape for that "classic" look. The nut is cut proper, the frets are nice, level and finished. The neck needed no adjustment at all. It has a satin finish which doesn't get sticky. The fretboard inlays are hard to believe they're so nice. The finish is just fine. The pick guard and screws are fit well. The control cover has the shipping plastic stuck under the controls so I had to remove the knobs and remove the nuts holding the jack and pot to removed the plastic but that showed that it has nice full size pots, good wiring and a good jack. The bridged has brass saddles that WAS intonated from the factory. I did drop the action because I just prefer a little rattle. Then I plugged it in. I just DI to the board with maybe a little chorus and I was blown right away. Never been a fan of D'Addario strings but these are very impressive and more than worthy of a couple months. I went with the usual Dunlop Straplocks so I was happy to find myself screwing into a real slab of wood vs. basswood or something cheap. Most people will complain and note that it's heavy. Yes it's heavy. It's very heavy. But that's what it means to be a kick a** bass. I've had mine a month or so and every time I pick it up Im delighted and still hard to believe I got this instrument from a legit merchant and it's not stolen or something. It's really that nice of a bass. Because of its quality I bought my daughter one of the standard series in red. It ALSO was fantastic for $160 so now I'm convinced and just now ordered the Olympic White 62. I can't say enough about these Harley Benton basses. They are without question on par with ANY other Jazz Bass on the market. I don't care if it's top of the Fender line, (A good Squire is hard to beat), or even a custom made boutique job, this Bass will most definitely hold it own.

I had just joined a band and I was stuck for a bass - I had been using a signature series Ibanez I borrowed from a friend. I was pretty broke at the time, so I took a gamble and ordered the cheapest bass I could find. I was pretty aprehensive about it, I've played some pretty horrible basses in my time but I went with my gut (and the endless amount of good reviews).

For the price you pay, this bass is a masterpiece. The sound quality surpassed ALL of my expectations, not to mention it's absolutely gorgeous. I've been playing for 14 years and I've been through a lot of basses, I can't express enough how great this instrument is for the price.

There are some problems with the hardwawrd. It has been well broken in since I first received it and the jack screws seem prone to wear - twice I've had the jack itself come loose at gigs, requiring a quick screwdriver job to fix.

It is also quite heavy, which is tiresome for those longer shows.

Aside from that, I've had no problems. Well worth it. I just ordered the fretless version of this bass and I CANNOT wait to play her.

Happy bassing!