Harley Benton HBZ-2005FL NT Deluxe Series

Note that this review is for the fretless version.
I'm an intermediate player, I've got it 4 days ago, it's my first fretless and 5-stringer, first impressions is that it sounds great, it's BEAUTIFUL and the neck is very comfortable to play on. I love the wood grain of the Mahagony and 7 piece neck through ! It feels built sturdy and robust but only wear of time and use will tell.
The 5th string sounds tensed, growly and good to my taste.
It's stringed with D'addario roundwound, I like them very much, the bass is growly with them, and I will try to wear them out before I try the Pyramid black nylon tape wound I bought with it.
It came with some minor wood flaws in the finish, one in the back, a very small tear, one on the neck - a 3 cmx0.5cm missed finish stripe, some others which are less important and the most important one, is a very small but nudging bump on the back of the neck, and the left hand thumb sometimes feel it, but I will get use to it, and if not, I'll sand down it myself...
There is no passive mode for the pickups and It has a modern kind of sound (others would simply call it active sound), I couldn't really get to that Jazz bass Jaco type of bridge sound (at least not with a flat amp), but I have it in my fretted Jazz bass so I don't care for it too much.
I got it with that comfortable higher action which gives me that typical jazzy "fretless envelope" only on the first 2 strings, I guess I have to lower the action a bit to get more of that vibe which I like.
Intonation seems correct out of the box (+-2 cents for the 12 fret harmonics compared to open strings at least according to my phone which has its microphone limitations).
Overall VERY GOOD value for the money, and I also think it's a great fretless 5-stringer instrument to begin with as an intermediate player, I'm not a pro though.
It took its time to arrive from Germany to Israel but it was late only by a few days from Thomann estimations. Thomann service were very kind and explained patiently what might cause the delay, and opened an investigation with DHL, but it wasn't required in the end.
Notice is not lined in the frets, there are only marks on the upper side of the neck - but that was good enough for me for now, time will tell, as I still don't play it well.

Pros:
Sounds great
Good 5th string sound
Beautiful
Comfortable neck
Sturdy built
Relatively not expensive
Good play-abiliy out of the box
Nice strings though some would rather something flatter wound for fretless

Cons:
No passive/active switch, I might add it one day myself
Minor wood flaws
Less versatile sound than a Jazz Bass (not sure it's a con...)

Construction is very good - couldn't find any flaws or defects. Sounds excellent and packs quite a punch. Pickups buzz when the selector is set to 100% of either one. When in the middle the buzz is gone, and I like the tone in that position anyway so that is where I play most of the time.

The only real problem I had was the condition of the instrument upon arrival. I don't know if it was intentional, but the bass came virtually unplayable: the neck had such a strong back-bow that I was afraid it would break in half if I touch it. I needed to loosen the truss-rod considerably before the first string would even play an audible note. Intonation was abysmal, and even after adjustment it's not perfect.

If you don't know how to setup your instrument, be prepared to spend extra money for a setup at a guitar shop or luthier.

Overall I really like this bass and recommend it. I hope your order comes in better shape than mine.

We live in the world where the online reviews are heavily diluted and barely mean anything anymore. I do find that it is important to leave the most objective review as possible.
Why did I get this bass?
I was looking to get a fretless bass for over a year now. Having played a fretted 5-string Fender J-bass for a while now, I was just looking for something different in terms of sound and also to have a decent back-up instrument. I have tried Ibanez EHB1005F (retails for ~$1,800 CAD+tax) and was extremely underwhelmed by the build quality. You can talk all you want about the materials and craftsmanship, but if the instrument does not feel right - it does not feel right. Since then, I was on a hunt to get a more affordable and a better build instrument.

Price:
You cannot talk about any other aspects of this bass before mentioning the price. It is absolutely ridiculous how low it's priced. This is not a call for the manufacturer to increase the price, but more of an appreciation nod. One of the reasons I pulled a trigger on this is that I told myself that even if it's the worst instrument in the world, it's still very well priced.

Build:
I have absolutely no idea how Harley Benton manages to build these instruments at this cost and make a substantial profit. Yes, people that look for imperfections will certainly find something to complain about in terms of the finish or the wood grain or whatever. For a bassist that just wants to play the instrument and enjoy its overall looks, this is more than enough.

Setup / Shipping / Customer Service:
The only negative reactions I've read in regards to HBZ-2005FL were related to the poor setup that they received the bass in. This was not my case. In a matter of fact, it was set up probably better than I would set it up. I've done some minor pickup height and bridge adjustments, but they were not absolutely necessary. I guess that is hit-or-miss for some then.
Shipping halfway across the world to Canada was smooth and uneventful, as I was prepared for the customs to grab their share of $60 CAD for it. My interraction with Thomann has been great as well, as the team was responsive and efficient in addressing my concerns.

Overall:
This is by far the most underpriced instrument I currently own and I am looking forward to playing more with it. If I lived in Europe, this would have been a no-brainer for me a year ago.