Harley Benton DB02-BEM Electric Double Bass

The Harley benton DB02 is Thomann's in-house, extremely-affordable electric upright double bass. With a consumer price of $493.29 + freight, the purchase to at the very least try-out this instrument seemed like a no-brainer!

Thomann very adequately prepared the DB02 for shipping to the USA. Inside the package there is a canvas gig bag cover (unpadded) with an outer pocket for bow and accessories. The bass must employ the use of its active pickup system (with 9V battery) to be heard. Tonally, the instrument provides a surprisingly good sound for the cost, although the string height is extremely high out of the box.

The DB02 has an unfortunate weakness by design: its wobbly endpin. The instrument simply cannot be played at appropriate height without its unsteady drawback.

Another uncomfortable annoyance is the DB02's optional playing shoulder feature. This piece of hardware calls for two threaded inputs to be screwed into the body of the bass each time it is made ready to play. But, the inputs are extremely tight, and every time a player goes to screw-in the tips, it feels as though they might break at the connection. Moreover, the shoulder is unadjustable, making the playing position forced at the given angle, per the height of the player.

Is the Harley benton DB02 right for me? If you're asking this question, all I can advise is to try it for yourself in order to make the final judgement. There is a cost involved for shipping this oversized package, so keep this in-mind. If the experience of trying electric uprights at home is your chosen action, get used to the freight expense for both directions to-and-from the seller.

For my first foray into the world of EDB, it seemed like a great idea. The "Wobbly Endpin" as others have said is annoying, but it is just a rod - you can buy rods in a lots of materials, diameters and lengths. I enjoy playing it and it sounds good to me

And on to the bag.....

It comes with a bag that seems of reasonable quality. It has several handles and a shoulder strap. Do not trust that shoulder strap.

The instrument is fairly heavy and quite tall. When the stitches on the shoulder strap snap - and they will, it will give at the top - at the back of your shoulder. The bass will fall backwards (you will not be able to catch it) though an angle of around 110-120 degrees. This means the headstock, even in it's bag, will fall about 7 feet and hit the ground. I had only had it 3 weeks. It's a dreadful design fault.

I bought this on a whim because I thought it would sound better for some high school choirs I accompany occasionally. First off, the first time I showed up with it, they LOVED the sound. It fit the acoustic sound of a choir much better than an electric bass. While I may not make my money back on this small investment, I still consider it worthwhile as I've had a blast learning to play some real walking bass jazz.

Pros: Honestly, it's cheap is the #1 pro. I wouldn't have even bought it at $100-200 more, and certainly not the $4-500 more for other brands I've found locally. That said, it's cheap in a not so noticeable way. After a quick setup, (adjusting the bridge, filed the nut slot down a bit) it plays nice and easy and makes an upright-like tone. That's what I wanted, so it's a win for me. I run it through a piano amp which has a very flat/even sound profile and it works great. Through my bass amp, I have to work with the EQ quite a bit to get an equal tone.

Cons: Yes, literally every component could be better, but refer to my long list of pros. It's cheap, what did you expect? The end pin sucks terribly, as does the body support. Any improvements there would be worth the $5-10 investment on Harley Benton's part. I've actually taken to playing it sitting down, no endpin, no body support, and it seems to fit how my body wants to play it. So...kinda weird to play it like a cello, but no one seems to care.

If you're coming from an upright and looking at this for a portable alternative, I'd probably look elsewhere unless you're handy with instrument modifications. In my mind, this is a tool for electric bass players that want to switch to upright occasionally.

Taking a star off for the endpin/body support. Otherwise it lives up to the price and I'd recommend this for others in the same situation as myself.

I have been playing guitar and bass since I was in grade school (61yo now) and wanted to try out Stand-up Bass just for something different. One of my 4 bass guitars is a Harley Benton 5 string PJ bass that I just love... quality, sound, and playability. Some of the other reviews I've read on here are borderline ridiculous! "Lack of directions!" Come on! How much directions do you really need for this?? I replace the fiberglass extension rod with an aluminum one, but that was an easy fix and was my ONLY complaint. Of course it doesn't sound like a full body acoustic double bass, but when you mic or amp them, they begin to not sound so much like a full body double bass either! I've only had this bass for a few days, but already have learned the slightly different techniques and a handful of tunes. I'm really digging this bass so far and am very pleased with my purchase!