Baloney Balderdash

The standard Tone control on most pedals is actually a tilt style EQ, so sounds strange to me if you just discovered it last year. Also to OP, I believe there are a few clones around of the Diamond compressor, the Mooer Yellow Comp at least is one for certain, and in a mini pedal enclosure format too, so that would be an option to consider.

Sounds really weird about those fixed, non adjustable pickups. What on earth could possibly be the reasoning for that? Just doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me. Only thing I can possibly think is achieved by that is scaring potential buyers away as soon as it is revealed in one of the reviews of the bass on Thomann's own website, or people learn otherwise, or to troll beginners who don't know any better, not that those reasons makes any more sense. Just seems like a bad business decision, and strangely enough also quite unlike Harley Benton otherwise. Like almost as if someone in charge of the economy with no knowledge whatsoever about instruments from the top down decided that production expenses of these basses needed to be cut, by what, 5 cent?, for who knows what absolutely retarded reason, which incidentally happened to add up perfectly with the cost of the two small pieces of foam that was otherwise supposed to be attached underneath the pickups to make adjustment possible, and then just ordered them to be left out by the assumption that two crappy foam pieces couldn't possibly have any practical function anyway, and then when told: - "But those hold the pickups in place, are you sure about this?", replied: - "Well, then, just glue them in, much better solution anyway, and who are ever going to look under those..., was it peckhoofs you called them..., ...pigooze, ...right..., anyway?". I was told the pickups in their cheapest, progressive series I seem to recall, 6 string bass offering was like that too, when I revealed I was pondering on weather to buy one, I think actually here on this forum, which made me decide for a definite no purchase.

I agree on all points. As said I am fully aware it is far from an optimal mix. But it was made at a point where I only had a pretty crappy condenser microphone to record, even if I think the actual recordings sound surprisingly decent despite that, and also I just got a new PC after my only 1 year old Macbook Pro with Logic installed died on me after spilled beer into it while making music with a friend of mine, so I didn't have a proper reverb plugin at the time either. I am usually a big fan of reverb, and if I had had a proper reverb plugin at the time mixing this song the vocals would definitely had been processed thoroughly through that, really annoyed me even at the time I mixed it that I couldn't add more reverb to the vocal track and make it sound a bit more ethereal, definitely was never the intention that it should sound so dry. But yeah, will pull myself together to make a proper remix at some point, and I am glad you liked the actual song. Probably one of the most catchy songs I ever wrote, but without for that reason sucking up to anything, or deliberately going for being easily accessible. Here's another one of my personal favorites I recorded for that project, a couple of years earlier, this one is a bit more traditionally folky:

A shame about the guy in the last video having such a an ultra scooped muddy wet fart of a clean tone with no definition or articulation whatsoever, which just makes the demonstration overall sound muddy and farty, no matter how he sets the controls or blend the 3 parallel dirt effects this pedal features. I am really left non the wiser of how that pedal actually sounds, cause I am quite sure it doesn't sound like all muddy wet fart no matter how you use it, like this guy makes it sound like. I do though get a feeling that it would probably work better with guitar anyhow.

Well all those short scale basses I listed with narrower string spacing than the standard 4 string 19mm were originally designed back then, including the Nordstrand which is a modernized take of on an old design from back then as well, so I guess that makes a lot of sense. But yeah, as said, by far most short scale basses that was designed more recently pretty much share the same measurements as regular 34" scale basses, except obviously for the actual scale length and then the body size, which by far most often will be down scaled too, to match the relatively shorter length from the end of the neck to the bridge that the shorter scale length results in. Also short scale basses in recent years have now eventually nearly entirely got rid of that stigma of automatically being considered second grade "beginner/amateur" instruments, and several brands now offer higher end options for short scale basses that are as much serious "real"/"professional" basses as any full 34" scale bass. Needless to say way behind high profiled acclaimed professional bass players such as Stanley Clarke, Paul McCartney and Jack Bruce who switched to mainly playing short scale basses decades ago.

That's perfectly normal though, with a few exceptions (Feder/Squier Bronco and Mustang Bass (17mm string spacing), Nordstrand Acinonyx (17mm string spacing), Danelectro Longhorn Bass (16mm string spacing), Höfner Violin/Beatles Bass (15 mm string spacing), are the only ones I can think of are exceptions to this really), for short scale basses, having regular measurements, as a 34" scale bass, except for the actual scale length of course (and well, most often a sized down body as well). Also the measurements are actually listed on the page for this instrument on Thomann's website (or at least that it's a regular P Bass 42mm nut width, and as said the rest of the measurements follow a regular 34" scale bass, except for the scale length, as for most other short scale basses on the market). With a bit of work though with that nut width you could turn it into a narrow string spacing short scale 5 string bass (installing an extra tuner, a new nut and swapping the stock bridge for 5 mono rail bridge pieces), which I kind of have pondered on maybe doing myself, once I get one of these basses in the nearest future. I was surprised with how beefy the neck was on my Harley Benton GuitarBass (Fender Bass VI concept) too, but it is actually still surprisingly comfortable, and it does actually say C shape in the spec list on Thomann's website, not modern or slim C shape.

Thought it would be interesting to get an idea of how common different picking techniques are, hence this poll. As for myself I prefer using a pick to pluck the strings, and will do so 90% of the time. And after much experimentation with different picks I more specifically found that I like the feel/response and tone of the Dunlop USA Nylon .073 with a slightly rounded tip (use fine sand paper to round the tip slightly before use) the best. I do know how to use my fingers though, and in those rare cases where I don't use a pick I use a combination of different fingering technique, that is: regular 2 and 3 finger plucking technique, classical acoustic guitar style finger picking, double thumb, faux "index finger + thumb pressed together" pick, as well as flamenco style index and middle finger flicking. But I just happen to much prefer that unique snappy emphasis on the attack you get from using a pick, that can't really be replicated using any finger picking techniques. Funny enough I much prefer using my fingers on both acoustic and electric guitar.

Looks great, but can't quite wrap my head around how it is supposed to function in actual practice. Like how would you adjust string action, and wouldn't adjusting intonation cause the ball ends of the strings to get in the way of the intonation screws, unless they all are adjusted at absolute max length, which kind of would defeat the whole purpose in the first place?

Not worth it for EMG. A whole new additional packaging for such a set would cost more for EMG than an extra connector block, and I would think most people who upgrade or swap stock pickups would be likely to combine different pickup models anyway, meaning that if this should be consistent EMG would end up having to supply a lot of different double pickup sets, not to speak of those few people who run basses or guitars with 3 pickup configurations. Simply not worth it for EMG from a strictly business point of view. Finally this form allows customers more flexibility if they eventually end up using the 2 pickups in 2 different instruments, so there's that too. So really not that surprising when you think of it.

Not everybody got that same taste and preferences, or the person who owned it previously might have had a specific thing for Delano pickups, that doesn't mean the stock pickup necessarily was bad, just that the person owning the bass had other preferences, also some people modify instruments just for the sake of it, what you suggest could of course still be the case though, I honestly wouldn't know.

I had a thought, could it be that since Harley Benton have no issues with the no name pickups in even their lowest dirt cheap models sounding absolutely amazing that big brands with a budget line on purpose make lackluster pickups to put in these lower end models to make their expensive high end line of instruments seem better than they really are, so to speak to create an illusion of a difference that in reality is far from as huge, and certainly nowhere near what the price difference would otherwise suggest? Could this theory actually have any reality to it, or am I just making up conspiracy theories here? I mean the big companies would certainly have a motive to do so, and this theory does seem to match my, admittedly fairly limited and nowhere really statistically valid, first as well as second hand experience with such instruments in question.

Full size, yes. But there should be no need to upgrade that pickup, it sounds no short (no pun actually intended) of amazing.

I'm a big fan of the Joyo Orange Juice for everything from just a slight tube like breakup, over low gain overdrive, and all the way up to a medium kind of distortion. I got 2 on my board, one used as part of my always on basic "clean" tone, set to an upper low gain overdrive and mixed in parallel with clean signal via a Boss LS-2, placed towards the start of my signal chain, and later a post reverb medium gain distortion, and I actually plan to even add a third for a high gain overdrive, placed towards the start of my signal chain. Though I guess technically it is a seriously sized down clone of the Tech 21 Oxford, just with simplified EQ section and no cab sim filter, to accommodate it's miniature size, but I just had to mention it, since it is probably my favorite bass drive pedal for just about any level of drive, bar high gain distortion and fuzz. From what I heard the One Control Hooker's Green Bass Machine, as suggested by someone else earlier on the thread, sounds really great as well, providing a warmer, somewhat fuzzy, thickening kind of grit on lower gain settings and gets amazingly gnarly on higher gain settings, with as good as no low end loss, where as the Orange Juice is a somewhat other beast, more in the gritty grindy end of the spectrum with a good amount of bite as well.

Obvious the best tone bone for the nut of a bass is bass bone!

All other things being equal, that is design wise and going through a similar cabinet, an 800W amp will theoretically/technically, and likely in practice too, only be about just bellow +2dB louder than a 500W amp, try turning a booster through an amp with clean head room enough up +2dB and see if that'll really be worth it.

An old recording by me, for my alternative folk solo project "...and for such a long time". Unfortunately not that well recorded and mixed, but I do plan on remixing it at some point in the future. But otherwise I am actually really happy with the actual composition and lyrics writing I did.

It doesn't look abused to me, the front "scratches", as several people already pointed out, really looks like cracks in the finish, which would have happned regardless of how much one had babied around the bass, and the back scratches look like perfectly normal healthy use of an instrument that age, without anxiously obsessive cautiousness around what essentially is a mass produced tool, meant to be used, rather than displayed as if it was a piece of high art.

That's wildly impressive and really cool.

Which again is a rip off of Fender's :

I use these Harley Benton rubber washer strap locks : Simple, cheap and effective.

Yes, cause as we all know popularity (read quantity) equals quality, just look at Top 40, absolute gold, cream of the cream of music, the true avantgarde, pure genuine genius, all classics that will be listened to for decades to come by true music lovers, one only has to listen to Kanye Wests version of "Bohemian Rhapsody", which is at least 100 times better than Freddie Mercury's, to know this is for a fact true, and that Kanye West is indeed the greatest legendary rock star who ever lived, and that Queen should be stripped from all they ever achieved and instead have all the respect and space in music history that they've earned given to Kanye West, as he rightfully truly deserves. Just like Joe Dart's "Dean Town" displays a musicianship at least a thousand times greater than Jaco Pastorius's "Teen Town", the number of real teenage listeners of the respective songs here should speak for them self, not only as to which is the better song and which holds the greatest musical qualities of the two, but also as to which of them truly deserves it's place in music history and which do most definitely not. It is time for "Dean Time" to be declared legendary at the expense of "Teen Town", which from this day on shall be declared no longer legendary, along with Jaco Pastorius, in favor of Joe Dart! No doubt Vulfpeck if any has the power needed to rewrite music history. From scratch! Mozart have had a central role in music history for way longer than plenty, way overdue time to erase his contribution to music history for good and for his spot in it to be passed on to OneRepublic! You see, there is in fact such a thing as a limit to just how long you can be legendary before your contribution to history is no longer legendary but just boring old news that only boring people wants to listen to/read, and who wants to be boring? I'd say burn all the history books, they are just full of old boring news anyway, and write some new ones with a more modern and action packed story involving some reality stars and YouTube/Instagram influencers, and just watch the amount of readers sky rocket in no time! For instance I'd suggest replacing the story about Napoleon and Waterloo with a "most popular YouTube influencer Vs most popular Instagram influencer" kind of story, like same concept as the "Alien Vs Predator" movie sort of thing, though the latest season of Paradise Hotel I think probably might work well for this too, cause honestly who wants to read some old boring story about some old boring dead megalomanic French guy, hello, sooo boooring! Yes, I see now clearly what you are saying Sideshow Bob, very acute and insightful point, thank you for granting me this pricelessly unique insight to the inner workings of a hipster Vulfpeck fan's mind.

So this is the thread to post pictures and tell about your Harley Benton basses. I must admit I only own one, a Harley Benton GuitarBass, their take on the Fender Bass VI concept (that is a 30" short scale 6 string bass, but tuned like a guitar, only 1 octave lower, and with narrow typical guitar like string spacing), that I bought a couple of months back, but which has quickly grown on me to now having become my main instrument of choice. I however has it tuned to G standard tuning, that is 9 half steps bellow regular guitar E standard tuning, or 3 half steps above regular bass E standard tuning, using a set of custom made Newtone nickle plated roundwound hex steel core strings, gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .034 - .027 - .020. I had heard a lot of praise about Harley Benton instruments, and it wasn't lies, this instrument for sure is unbelievable amazing value for the money. No finish flaws that I can spot, just beautiful if you happen to like sunburst with tortoise pickguard (which I must admit is one of my absolutely least favorite finish options, but it actually has grown on me, since getting this instrument, had it come in any other finish option I had picked one of those though), absolutely perfectly spot on cut graphite nut, the 1 piece maple that makes up the neck got perfectly straight grains running the length of the neck, the pickups sounds not short of amazing (if rather noisy, but I guess that's pretty much part of the deal with any single coil pickup in any instrument that hasn't been shielded properly), even if I only use the middle one soloed, gives me spot on the kind of tone I like, very articulate and very sensitive to picking dynamics in a very natural way, and the frets are as good as perfectly leveled from factory too, I have it set up with ever so slightly bellow 2mm (~0.078" ~5/64") action, measured from bottom of the thickest string to top of 12th fret, and about 1.5mm (~0.059" ~4/64) action on the thinnest string, but I am confident I could go even lower if I should wish so without any fret buzz whatsoever. Here is is, with an added Jack Skellington (character from Tim Burton's animated movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas") skull sticker, the stock knobs swapped for transparent clear and black lampshade knobs, with respectively green and red electrical tape (also known as insulating tape) cut to shape and stuck on the top of them, the electronics swapped for a set of EMG solderless wiring, with the middle pickup having had it's wires swapped for a shielded one, and connected to the 250kOhm volume pot only (adds up to the original stock 500kOhm respectively Volume and Tone pot, and I have no use for the tone pot anyway), the remaining EMG solderless tone pot and the original 5 way pickup switch left unconnected, only being there for aesthetic reasons, as is the neck and bridge pickup (though except for the original stock wiring not being shielded and the original stock jack output socket seeming a bit to the flimsy side the stock electronics actually seemed and worked perfectly fine): And a more artistic rendition: The only additional mod I plan really is painting the stock black pickup switch knob very light yellow, like on this PhotoShopped image: Definitely won't be the last Harley Benton instrument that I get either, next one is likely to be either their dirt cheap short scale P Bass, sounds amazing in the samples provided on Thomann's own homepage, or their fretless Violin/Beatles Bass (that they call Beatbass), which sounds amazing in the demo videos I watched featuring it on YouTube, especially one very thorough one where even the straight DI'ed tone with no post production that it demonstrates sounds pretty amazing to me, kind of curious to try out a fretless bass, I know I for sure will have some use of it in the music I create, and it being short scale, which there aren't many options for when it comes to fretless basses, makes it the obvious choice since I almost exclusively played short scale basses for something like the last 15 years or so. Oh, and the strap in the picture is a Harley Benton one too by the way, an 85mm wide black real suede leather one with 6mm memory foam padding. Really comfortable to wear, even with this instrument, which, what I didn't mention, is actually quite heavy.

Not at far as I am concerned. At least at that point it becomes legendary for being seen, not for being a bass player, and that would really just be famous/popular, not legendary really, as being seen requires little skill, at least non that makes you worthy of being considered legendary. To be legendary it requires a craft or a skill one can be considered legendary at, it requires of you to be worthy to be written into a significant person in the history of the art or craft you master. Legendary is all about the significance of one's contribution to the history of ones art/craft, regardless of how commonly known or popular said craft or art happens to be outside of circles of people who have a specific interest in that field of work. I very doubt any of Vulfpeck songs, at least this far will go down in the music history books as legendary, songs Tony Levin helped create and played bass on already are. Tony Levin, while being most famous for King Crimson and Perter Gabriel, was and is by the way still a sought after and highly regarded session player as well. Tony Levin is worthy of a lengthly chapter in the book of music history, having been active through decades and still is, Joe Dart maybe of a side note mention somewhere about the 2010's/2020's. Ever heard of anyone say: "Man that guy is absolutely legendary for being popular, he sure hell know how to be seen, just amazingly famous, I don't know how he pulls it off, truely awe inspiring!"? Whenever we are talking music, or any other craft or art for that matter, opinions on it from people who have little understanding of it doesn't really matter, at very least not in a historical context, past, as well as present and future, other than as a fairly insignificant side note. People don't write history on the basis of being popular, unless you are unusually and extremely, significantly, popular, and that is not the case with Joe Dart, or Vulfpeck for that matter. For instance I very much doubt that many people here in Denmark know who they are, unless specifically musically interested or specifically interested in bass, and I dare claim that then more would know Tony Levin is, or at least King Crimson or Peter Gabriel, and that regardless of age.

Tony Levin should most definitely had gotten one, and I strongly assume Joe Dart only did so because he is paying for the production costs himself. Tony Levin is a legend, which can't hardly even remotely be said about Joe Dart. Levin certainly more so than John Myung and Tim Commerford too.