mcnach

edited title... it's not a JJ-550 but a JJ-55! The 'zero' was an O, OP=open pore. So JJ-55OP.

Well, I start with a lie since I received it on Saturday... but it was meant to arrive today! I have owned a few 5 string basses in my time. From cheap ones like a Squier Jazz V DeLuxe and a Peavey Millenium to less cheap ones like Lakland 5502 and a USA made EBMM MusicMan SUB5, oh and a G&L L2500 (beast!). I never really gelled with any of them (Lakland was the closest, beautiful beautiful neck) and didn't really get to use any of them frequently enough. Eventually I decided that I didn't need a 5 string. Last year my girlfriend got me a Harley Benton MB-5. The black matt one, Stingray style. For some reason it just felt right, I loved its sound, and I kept playing it... Eventually I got used to 5 strings and these days I use either, and I'm getting to really like having 5 strings. Then I saw the new Harley Benton JJ and PJ series, I had some unexpected money in my pocket... and before I realised it I had spent £181, all included, on a natural finish JJ-550. I'm far too impressionable. This bass is not light. It's 9.8 lbs (The MB-5 is 9.1 lbs), which is not terribly heavy as far as 5 string basses go, but it's not light. I use these wide and nicely padded Lekato straps since I hurt my shoulder a while ago, and they have made weight pretty much a non-issue. I can't recommend those straps enough (and they aren't even expensive). Not light, but not a boat anchor, and it balances really well, both standing and sitting down. The neck is wide but shallow, perhaps not as shallow as the Lakland, but not far off. I find it very comfortable. Fret ends were smooth, nut is a tiny weeny higher than ideal (will take care of it at some point)... I had to do nothing to it and it alreay played well. It turns out this exact bass was the bass Thomann used as a model for their photographs, so perhaps they spent some time adjusting it: I have played another two HB basses and both needed some minor adjustments to frets and nut (as well as intonation etc). The string spacing is 18 or 18.5mm I think, I need to measure it (not in my hands this minute!), so it's in the wide side, which I prefer. Build quality... no complaints. It was £181, but it could have been a £600 bass and I'd see nothing wrong with it in that respect. It would be a very good platform for building your own with better quality hardware and electronics. Hardware... Nothing to call home about. Far better than the black hardware on the other HB basses I've had my hands on, but nothing amazing, just the usual inexpensive chrome hardware you get in this kind of instruments: they do the job without fuss, 'though. Electronics... Probably the best place to start investing money on, but just like with the hardware I don't see a need to replace anything just yet. My first impressions were a bit 'meh', but it turns out the EQ on my amp was all over the place and I had not seen that. Once I noticed and set it to more reasonable parameters, the bass sounded a lot better. I do think I will replace the pickups, simply because I like humbuckers on my Jazz type basses. The single coil hum can be annoying. It's no worse than any other single coil Jazz pickups, 'though, and I tend to roll off quite a bit of treble which also reduces hum. I would like a Model J here, but they don't make them for 5 strings so I'll have to wait and see what would be a good one to use. It's got a 2-band active EQ. Nothing amazing, but I have to say I like it more than the usual cheap preamps you find on low end basses. And not so low end! I really dislike the 2-band preamp on my Sandberg VM4, and I'm not a fan of the EMG in my Schecter Model-T Session. One 'problem' I find with a lot of 2-band preamps is that the treble is too high, so that when cutting it only cuts finger noise and little more (I'm a fan of passive tone controls). However this one works quite nicely, which was a surprise. The bass EQ is still a bit lower than I'd like, ideally, but it's no different to most other 2-band preamps. It's probably centered at around 40-50 Hz. Shielding is non existent, 'though, which for a bass with single coils is not great. Easily remedied, but really, it should be standard in any instrument. Polepieces on the neck pickup hum when touched, but the neck one is silent. Again, easily remedied, but the fact that one hums and the other don't probably hints at the care (or lack of) when choosing these components. I felt I had to say something negative, so that's that! I even like the strings it comes with (same as the MB-5: I have a set of Newtone strings I bought for it, but I ended up liking the stock strings so I have not replaced those either). I'll deal with the shielding later tonight. I have a recording session tomorrow and I would like to use this one. I've put some foam at the bridge, and I'm cutting down treble a lot, so I really don't hear any noise as long as my hands are on the strings (and very little when they're not), but I don't want to take chances tomorrow: I'm showing up with a really cheap bass, I don't want to have unwanted noise and look like I don't have a clue. Anyway... that's it for now. I'm very impressed by this bass. The MB-5 and PB-20 (Stingray and Precision style) I've played were fine (after some TLC) but you know they're cheap. This one feels like a substantial improvement in quality. Did I get lucky? Or is this representative of the range? I don't know. I'll take some pictures when I get a chance... but it is the very same one pictured here: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jj_55op_natural.htm edit: I liked it so much, I went and bought the PJ version a week later, see below.

Does anybody know if a controller such as the Hotone Ampero Control (it says it does midi over usb) would work with a C4? It would be handy to have some footswitchable presets, if they worked together. https://www.hotoneaudio.com/products/controlers/Ampero Control edit: it doesn't look like it, it doesn't do 'usb host' whatever that is, and it seems that's the key. As you were.

I just got a 5 string Jazz type bass, and it made me remember something I dislike about Jazz pickups: the hum. I tend to go for DiMarzio Area J for humbuckers that sound a bit more like a traditional Jazz, and Model J when I want something heavier. I would really like a Model J, but they don't make them for 5 strings. Does anybody have any recommendation of a Jazz pickup that is humbucking and not overly bright and heavy in the low mids, for 5 strings?

So he managed to destroy two speakers? Good job the new ones are 'unused' then... It sounds like this guy likes to push them hard.

I encountered a few of those gigs in my time, but after a while I realised it was BS: I can set my amp quicker than my drummer puts his cymbals in place and gets ready. From then on I always offered I'd use my amp, and not a single time I was met with a frown. A powered wedge sounds like a very good idea to me. I used to bring a small MarkBass combo with a stand to tilt it towards me, and set it in front of me or on the side, pointing at me (essentially doing what a wedge would). That way I got out of becoming hostage lending/borrowing equipment. It might work for you too.

After spending a lot more time with the JJ-550, I decided the pickups are just fine and I'm happy to keep it stock (I will probably turn it passive at some point, 'though). I put a bit of foam at the bridge and got a very nice sound... I have a recording session on Tuesday and I think I'm going to bring this bass along.

+100

No, the JJ is active, the JP is passive. On their website both say Volume, Balance and Tone, which is true if a bit misleading: on the JJ the 'tone' is a concentric dual pot for treble and bass cut/boost. If you look further on the specs you see the JJ having some kind of "active boost" although it's most definitely cut/boost.

I'm with you on that one, then Tort < pearloid types < anything else I'll probably wrap mine in some black matt vinyl I've got.

I was ready to remove the stock strings on my MB-5 as soon as it arrived, but I waited a little and by then the initial new 'zing' was gone and I actually really liked the strings. Still on, an the Newtone replacement set is still in its package. Pretty nice strings once they settle, which happens in a couple of weeks or so with everyday use.

Ha, yes... it's hard to remain objective when we're excited about a new toy. I sometimes go too far the other way: looking for things to criticise... and after a bit, it all settles and finally I accept I like it, or don't. I already have to backtrack a bit from what I said earlier... the 2-band is not THAT bad. I was using my little BAM200 amplifier and the controls were all over the place. I forgot I had taken it away on Wednesday and just dumped it back in place. Now I just plugged in... After I noticed it, I set the EQ flattish and repeated... and found to my joy that the EQ point for the treble is actually quite useable. It's still a bit harsh if I boost, but I generally just cut. Many 2-band preamps have a very high EQ point for the treble, in my opinion, and do not remove but the highest of the high: string noise and not a lot more. This seems far lower, into the high mids, and as a result it's a pretty nice cut that it does and I don't really need the LPF to tame the top end. :)

Not a nice white one, it's pearloid... yuk (nice bass 'though)

Very nice, despite the signs of cosmetic wear! I only found out about this one after you already had expressed an interest, otherwise I would have gone to check it out in person myself! But it's ok, I don't *need* another bass.

Yeah, the packaging was very good. Those plastic tube/bubble things are solid, inside a box, inside another box. Very simple yet effective. I much prefer this than a hardcase for shipping: hard cases protect against direct impact, but without material to absorb the energy of the impact a lot gets transmitted to the bass inside.

Aha! Mine too! First impressions are very good. You probably have seen my exact bass because... mine was the one the pictures on their website were taken of. It's the second time I had this happen. First time was a fiesta red Squier Precision CV60, and it came with a nice big photograph in an envelope. I guess times are hard so the photograph was smaller this time . It's not light, this one. But it's not terrible, and the balance/fit is very good. I'm using these "Lekato" brand padded wide straps since I hurt my shoulder a while ago and they make the weight of instruments pretty much a non issue as long as they balance right. I'll weigh it later. The strings were a bit loose out of the box, tightened them up to pitch... and that was it. Nothing needed. Nice lowish action, plays smoothly, and I love that neck. I like wide/shallow necks on 5 string basses (the best I've had to my liking was a Lakland 5502, this is not far from that) and this one fits my preferences well, so that's lucky. Build quality seems a nice step up from my black MB-5 (and I really like that one after I took care of the usual fret ends and nut), if let down a little by the electronics. It sounds ok, in the sense that it sounds like a bass, but nothing that will turn heads. It'll do the job. I got a pretty good reggae sound from it, and was playing around with something more funky too... but I relied on external FX for that (Broughton Resonant Filter EQ, in particular). The 2-band preamp is the usual uninspiring cheap preamp with harsh treble and huge lows, I'd rather it were passive. I have a few options in my drawer: I have plenty of components to rewire it fully passive, maybe add a Tonestyler control, I also have a couple of John East preamps I'm not using (U-Retro and a Uni-Pre with passive tone)... so we'll see what happens. I typically take a couple of weeks getting used to a bass before I decide whether I change anything and what. It's part of the 'fun' with low end instruments for me. The control cavity is huge so no problem accommodating whatever I decide to go for. On the whole... it's a very nicely built bass that could be improved easily on the electronics side of things, but not a requirement in order to enjoy it. The difference in quality with the cheaper MB-5 is quite apparent (cheap tuners but feel solid). Not sure if the fact that it felt right straight out of teh box has anything to do with the fact that this bass had been handled by Thomann to make their demos and pictures... My only question is: should I have gone for the version with a P style pickup? Probably. The neck pickup on a Jazz style gets me close but not quite, although the position of the P pickup on these basses doesn't look exactly to be on the Precision spot, dunno. @stewblack what do you think of your P style pickup? And the bass in general!

Ah, I didn't notice that bit. Earlier today I got an email from DHL saying it's in the country and expect delivery on Monday. Fingers crossed!

Did you get a working tracking number yet? I got the shipping email on Tuesday morning (6am) with a tracking number that has not worked yet. DHL and UKmail... :rolleyes:

Is the problem that they copy another design or that they copy another *cheap* design? I don't hear so many complaints about, say, Jazz style basses

Look at the Fusion range. Very decent rucksack design straps and ergonomics. I have an F1 which they don't make anymore, but the Urban seems to be the replacement. They're the most comfortable ones I've found, in my opinion much more than Mono in particular. Very good protection too. edit: and yes, at least my F1 has a nice and thick belt strap so that it's nicely fit on the waist as well as shoulders. The Urban seems to have a smaller waist strap but it looks like it'll work. It's a pity they don't make the F1 anymore.

I've been using it with several bands, but mostly with a 6-9 piece (it varied over time), with horns, keys, percussion... Ska/reggae mostly. The amplifier has plenty of power, how loud it gets it'll depend largely on what speakers you use. I find the 2x 210 cabs I use (stacked vertically) give me all the volume I want and some. If one day I felt it wasn't enough, I'd be looking at adding bigger cabinets rather than a different amplifier, to be honest. The D800+ power rating is not shy.

That's how I use mine with 2x Barefaced Two10 4ohm, total 2 ohm. I borrowed a D800 once and I tried it at a rehearsal session side by side with a Markbass LMIII and a Genz Benz Streamliner 900. I liked the D800 best, but I found its character a bit 'dark'. Still good, but the D800+ just sounded a bit more the way I wanted before I start playing with the EQ, and the adjustable HPF is a great thing to have. It's pretty versatile. Between the voicing control and the interplay between bass control and HPF you can get a very wide range of sounds... and then there's the EQ with dual semiparametric mids. Is it truly 800W? I expect so. Mesa tend to be pretty honest about their specs. But you know that 800W won't be twice as loud as 400W, right? It's definitely loud, or it can be, with the appropriate speakers. I'm very happy with mine, nearly 5 years on.

Tuners. I also thought that they're all much of muchness... but those in the PB-20 SBK felt soft even before it sheared. Hard to describe, they feel thin and light. I have not yet changed strings on the MB-5 SBK (also 'stealth black' series), but they feel the same and one of them is already feeling like it's getting stuck. I'm going to add a drop of oil and hopefully that will keep them going a while, but they aren't solid. I have never encountered this before. It's a really soft metal. It's not great, but again, how much was the bass? I really like everything about it, so getting new tuners doesn't seem like a terrible deal. Weight? Who knows. Ash tends to have a grain that looks nice... but it can be very light or a boat anchor. Not all 'swamp ash' is light either. I don't expect these basses will be the lightest but hopefully the smaller body (compared to a Jazz) will make it a bit less hefty. I'll be able to tell you by the weekend The MB-5 I've got is not heavy at all, but it's not ash either. I think it's basswood. Shape? Now that's very subjective, like colours. I don't care whether they're a copy or not. But I like it. I'm not in love or anything with it but I think it looks pretty good, especially in natural or sunburst, although if they had had a black satin finish I would have gone for that.

£181 for the JJ550P... all included. I just had to.

I'm so impressionable... I just went and ordered the JJ550P above. 😂