neil___lien

Thanks @Reggaebass! I think i got sloppy halfway through the video but kept it anyway...

Hope to record better videos with the bass a bit louder soon!

Thanks again!

14 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Hi, nice job, as long as it’s playable and it sounds good you’re good to go 👍

Recorded this after driving for 7 hours so no good playing there but U can hear it played close to the neck & palm muted:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cwn_wCvszdn/?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ==

Hey y'all!

Due to financial issues, I was down to zero playable basses for the last three months.. This Jim Harley Pbass copy was given to me pre-Covid by a couple of friends after it had sat in a garage for 10+ years. Metal parts were rusty, pots were scratchy, the bumpy pickguard would come off everytime U'd pull the jack out... 

It's made of really shitty soft wood (is it even wood?) and the screws were just spinnin' in there like there was nowhere to cling to lol...

Pics of the bass before & now below:

- Guyker bridge with brass saddles (no through body option, sadly enough, but that'swhat i had so that's what i had to work with),

- Squier CV tuning machines,

- Harley Benton strap pins & knobs,

- MusicLily CTS 500k pots,

- Ancable input jack,

- Sprague Orange Drop capacitor (0.047uF),

- copper tape shielding

- cloth covered wiring &

- D'Addario Nylon Tapewound strings.

This will have to do until i get smthg better.. Hopefully soon...

Aesthetically not really different.. i do plan to refinish it in Pehlam Blue or Dark Lake Placid Blue with dark red tortoise pickguard if it turns out i like the bass a lot.. 

I am curious though. I can't find much online about Jim Harley as a brand. There are a few really dreadful reviews of this bass on Audiofanzine in France for instance.. but other than that... 

Does anyone know anything? Where it was manufactured, etc? There is a sticky area behind the headstock on mine where it seems a sticker was at some point, probably indicating country of origin & serial number.. but it's been removed...

Before:

After:

1 hour ago, jd56hawk said:

Bought it Sunday, shipped yesterday afternoon, arrived today before noon!

Thanks, UPS, not for leaving the box on my front porch and driving away...never received email confirmation from them, never received tracking number, etc...but very fast delivery!

Where do we go for pics & full review???

Congrats ! Purchased a Cort C5 Plus from Kytary Thursday last week and it's still in Czech Republic.. i am in France now, going back to Spain on Saturday & i am starting to stress out.. 

2 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

A Reverend.

 

Mercalli? Or Thundergun?

Thundergun!

I want the Ndegeocello one in satin black!!

And then you try a Sire... 

🤯🤯

10 hours ago, TheGreek said:

There is the fall back position of "it's not mine - it belongs to xxxx and I'm borrowing it/ looking after it for him so his wife doesn't know he bought it." 

 

This works unless your wife knows his wife.

Yeah i use that excuse all the time, & i don't even have a wife... 

Hey there!

I own a P7 2nd Gen with flats. My only other bass is a V3 with tapes. & obviously i do second the P7 choice. It's a great bass, very versatile & reliable IMO. Both bought second hand, i have less than £500 invested there, cue that's all i could afford. Up until recently i didn't even have my own gigbags to carry them round... 

Before going the Sire route i was obsessed with the Yamaha TRBX504/505 & the TRBX604/605. I believe i have watched all the reviews available on YT twice & read most of the Talkbass thread about them... and i would say those are also great options in Ur budget.. 

I have an instagram account as neil|lien where U can listen to both my basses in action if U need some soundclips!

Yeah, am ashamed to recognize it's happened to me.. 

I really wanted a BTB846SC-DTL & could not afford one. One popped up on the second hand market one day, i offered my Sire P7 5-string Swamp Ash & a semi hollow Ibanez guitar i had... i have been missing that P7 since then. I recently got a P7 4-string Alder in another trade, & i really like it but, still, it's not the same... reallymy regret that stupid move cuz i ended up selling the BTB after a year...

11 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

Fair play, I have also had the same thoughts... I think the thing with this model is that it sits in between some better value models... A bit more money gets you Gotah tuners for example..  like I say QC at this price point can very variable. I think overall though HB stuff is awesome value for money. 

 

Out of interest what was the cheaper bass you played that was better?

Two Squier Broncos. One was a 2008 & the other one i can't remember. No fret issues, super smooth neck (now Broncos are more expensive). Same with a Squier Mini P and an Ibanez Mikro.

Also played a Squier Affinity PJ bass in a shop in Copenhaguen once that blew my mind. It was in 2018 & i still remember... 

Also had an Ibanez TMB30.. 

And a Vintage V74MRJP (fretless Jaco road worn bass)...

Now ALL of these basses have gone up in price like crazy but they were "budget" basses that were awesome in that niche of the market.

55 minutes ago, Bobo_08 said:

 

I'm also returning mine, needs fret levelling. It's neck divey but you know for the price you can't expect the same level of QC or components as Fender or Sire et al. 

Sometimes you will get a duffer most often it will be fine. I'm not complaining about neck dive ast these prices points. 

Yes, i am aware of that, but i have had or played basses around the same price point that were better.. i went for the HB cuz it's all i can afford right now, but the second hand market might be a better option..

36 minutes ago, Paolo85 said:

Question: is the neck fairly chunky for being a J? I remember in my JB75 it was rather chunky. I am trying to figure out if neck dive would go away with better tuners or wether it may be "structural"

I have compared to a Squier CV60S & yes it is a tiny bit chunkier but by a hair.. like U can't see it, but feel it slightly... 

Well.. i am thinking about sending it back.. it is actually really neck heavy & dives a lot which is a PITA when playing through long practice sessions, the fret ends are pretty sharp & make playing really uncomfortable, and there are bits of stuff sealed into the neck finish that i can feel while playing.. IDK. I'll play it some more tomorrow but yeah i think i am done trying with Thomann... 

Yeah! Got mine today!

Really cool... lighter than my Harley Benton MV-4MSB & a tiny bit heavier than the CV60s JB that i have now on sale locally... 

Pretty noisy so i will have to shield at some point, but other than that, i like it. It does neck dive a little but i can live with it...

I went for the white one with mint PG but would like to get a dark red/brownish tort PG in the future. If anyone here wants to swap.. i live in Spain, but i have a friend who flies back pretty often. 

2023 bump!!

I used to own an RMI Quantum Dominic Di Piazza Signature 6 string.. even wrote a NBD article on here:

Actually, he told me the other day he still had one bass in stock. I am not in a position to buy anything right now.. but i highly recommend his basses & would order one to my specs if i could... 

Here are the specs of the bass:

Translucent aqua burst high-gloss polyester finish

Pearloid fretboard inlays

Deeply inset bolt-on construction (7 bolts) with recessed neck heel for unhindered playing

Slim 35mm deep semi-chambered, stepped-level body (for lowest action)

3-piece wedge body construction (hard maple centre / Vietnamese walnut / pink mahogany)

Exotic poplar birdseye top

24 medium-gauge frets

33" scale

16.5mm string spacing at the bridge

43mm nut width

Flat rosewood fretboard (no radius / like classical guitar)

Apex scarf neck construction (3-piece hard ash, hard maple, nato mahogany)

Maximum-stability U channel Martin-style truss rod + 2x KTS titanium reinforcement bars (Japan)

RMI dual-coil humbucking CNC-wound pickups in wooden shells (poplar birdseye / maple)

Mini 3-way coil selection switch per pickup: parallel, single-coil, in series

Preamp (9v) with 3-band EQ + pull / push for passive / active switch on Volume control

Hipshot A-style brass bridge

Hipshot Ultralight Y-key aluminium tuners

Weight is around 4Kg (based on the 3.8kg verified weight of the earlier model)

41 minutes ago, Bobo_08 said:

Can you send us the tracking ID so we know when it arrives 😂😂

 

But seriously, I am considering buying this bass but I am interested to see their approach in terms QC and materials selection, the JB62 I bought is ok, but has some uneven frets and what appears to be a bow in the neck higher up towards these things combined are preventing me from the action where I would like it. 

 

The big thing I'm interested in is the weight... My JB62 weighed in at over 4kg which for a poplar body is on the heavy side, as the 25th anniversary firemist is American alder I am concerned it could be heavier!. 

Man.. i purchased a JB-62CC yesterday, parcel is being sent out to me today, and after seeing LowEndLobster's review & these comments online... i am seriously second-guessing my choice.. fingers crossed...

Hey there!

Have U considered staining it? There is some nice grain in that wood. There is probably something that can be done to make it pop some more & then staining the wood purple or green or close to black if that's what U're after.. 

There is a guy on TB who has done that & has shared pics of his basses quite a few times & they look stunning..

Yeah reach out to Thomann & say U don't mind keeping the bass if they give U a discount. 

4,14kg is pretty heavy still... hmmm..

Hello everyone!

Any news from those of U who did buy this model? I am thinking of getting one as it's what i can afford right now!

Unless...

4 hours ago, dub_junkie said:

I couldn't order an MV-4JB in anything but sunburst so decided to go with one of these instead. Ordered the Dakota Red 

 

Cool!!

Let us know how U like it when U get it!

Ah and also: how heavy is it? Hehe

There is one here in Spain for sale on the second hand market, the seller is Bass Advisor from Youtube, he bought it to review it & is offering it up for sale for a few days in case someone is interested, before eventually sending it back to Thomann. He states that the weight is 4,57kg

3 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Actually rude? Or just what a blunt German sounds like replying with a no, in a foreign language to them? 

Well, he didn't use swearwords or anything, but instead of phrasing it "we regret to inform you that it is not commercially viable for us to offer discounts on new products balblabla" he said "there is no way you are getting a discount". I also asked a couple of other questions about why some products were not showing on their website anymore, & the same super dry phrasing was used. I understand that written messages don't give U access to intonation or body language cues, and that this guy might actually be starting in the Customer Service department, but yeah there was no other way of understanding that email. 

I have interacted with German people before & they aren't what Hollywood shows in movies lol.. 

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Or a pair of grubby Y-fronts.. 

Ok! That right there!! That is the solution! I believe i have some underwear with the old Batman logo somewhere!! Lol

1 hour ago, lemmywinks said:

@jassbass I would be hitting them up for a free bass or two!

Yeah try that!

The other day i saw on IG how a young parisian lady who had picked up playing bass during Covid was being sent Fender basses now.

I have bought a bunch of stuff from Thomann over the years, currently own only a HB gtr & a HB bass, & am on a very tight budget.. so i thought that maybe, asking politely & reminding them of my client history with them, i could ask for & get a 15% discount on a JP-45OP that i wanted. They replied in a very rude manner.

So, here is what i am doing: i release videos on IG & TikTok every day, playing my HB MV-4MSB, but don't tag them anymore, don't mention the brand, keep the headstock out of the frame. 

My circumstances are not going to stop me from making music, so i'll keep playing my HB gear, but there is no way i am going to be used to advertise Thomann & their in-house brands. I am actually thinking of getting stickers to put on the headstocks. Any idea of what kind of stickers i could use without damaging the finish of the instruments? Things that could easily be removed if needed?

And i believe my Harley Benton MV-4MSB is 4.1kg IIRC

Aaah great! Thanks! Glad to hear U like it!

I ordered a JP-45OP today in the end, so a JB62 will have to wait for now..