Harley Benton JB-62CC OW

It’s just arrived, I opened the box having owned and played budget Yamaha and Peavey basses in the past I am honestly amazed at the quality and weight, feels solid and looks fantastic.

All my prior Basses needed some kind of setup at higher prices paid 10+ years ago, all minor things but from the major brands.

My first impressions are that:

1)The finish is great.
2)Frets are lovely and smooth.
The toasted maple neck is quite lovely and the profile is easy to play and get a good stretch over.
3)The strings are good quality out of the box.
4)Holds tune well.
5)The setup is almost perfect just needing the slightest saddle adjustment up on E and A string to remove the slightest fret buzz.
6) Sounds great, typical tone for this style of guitar.

I’m not swayed by brands, guitar wise I’ve had everything from epiphones, Ibanez’s, American fenders, Peavey, Yamaha, Gretsch. Most of the cheaper range are made under licence, so looking into the Harley Benton range I see that they have a large number of suppliers producing the range.

Some have written off the brand online, which I thought was quite unfair, with this price point it’s about making a guitar that’s going to be great for a learner or intermediate player, easy to play and confidence inspiring, in my opinion it’s a £158 bass that’s potentially as good as those of bigger names for up to £400-500 bracket.

I would buy again and if your considering this model then I hope my review helps.

Bought this as my first bass because I wanted something inexpensive but not rubbish.

And I'm not disappointed. Little bit neck heavy maybe, and certainly needed the action lowering a bit to be able to play slap but otherwise can't fault it. Feels well made, no fret buzz, pickups sound good enough and put through a cheap Caline pre-amp are really quite punchy. Copper shielding won't do it any harm but it's not urgent.

Anyone wanting a good beginner Jazz Bass should look at this; I had a good hour with a mate's Squier JB and it absolutely wasn't any better despite costing twice as much.