AndyTravis Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Hi guys, anyone got experience of the Harley Benton stuff Thomann do? Got a few acoustic sets coming up and need a low b. Got to be worth a shot at £140 ish? http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb35ntfl_5string_akustikbass_fretless.htm Really fancy something a bit more upmarket, like a Warwick, Furch etc, but for the use it'll probably see...it's hard to justify £800 ish to Mrs.T... Just wondered if anyone had experience/praise/horror stories. Thanks Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 no experience with the bass stuff, but bought the daughter one of the low end HB electric violins at Christmas. Needed to set it up like any new instrument (rosin on the pegs, adjust the micro tuners to mid range etc.) and we changed the bridge because we had a better one lying around off one of her old acoustic violins but other than that, it was playable straight out of the box. Really authentic sounding amplified too and well worth what we paid. My only concern with five string acoustic basses is that unless the body is humongous, the B string suffers from a serious lack of acoustic volume. I've tried a few, and even the high end ones can't overcome the basic laws of physics :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Yeah, I'll be using flatwounds once I've got something sorted. Looking into a used Ibanez EWB-205 or even a new one... We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 [quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1392319250' post='2367392'] Hi guys, anyone got experience of the Harley Benton stuff Thomann do? Got a few acoustic sets coming up and need a low b. Got to be worth a shot at £140 ish? [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb35ntfl_5string_akustikbass_fretless.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ss_fretless.htm[/url] Really fancy something a bit more upmarket, like a Warwick, Furch etc, but for the use it'll probably see...it's hard to justify £800 ish to Mrs.T... Just wondered if anyone had experience/praise/horror stories. Thanks Andy [/quote] Andy I bought a Harley Benton Jazz Bass [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb1975_na.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb1975_na.htm[/url] about a month ago and it's terrific, they check and adjust all guitars before they are sent out and have a 30 day money back guarantee and a 3 year warranty. Hope this helps. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Will see what my mate at Ibanez says tomorrow; will also need to consider defretting costs at the same time...the Ibanez is a better looking bass, and probably has a better preamp. It's going to be plugged in, so acoustic volume isn't an issue really - more a 'looks the part' thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Gear4music have the apparently same bass, fretted for £99.... Not hard to suss if I can go wrong for £99. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I picked one up for €70 about a year ago. Nothing wrong with them at all. The preamp is surprisingly good. The only minor drawback is the size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Cool! Got a mate looking into the gear4music one for me, see if they've got a scuffed return or something going dirty cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I bought one of those damaged gear 4 music ones (damaged round back plastic) off eBay as a donor for a project I'm working on and honestly, when you look inside, I wouldn't recommend one. Yes they are only £99 but I can't imagine them lasting very long and the quality of the body is, well I guess what you would expect for £99. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/6819B490-38A8-4894-9F71-8807F5105D05_zpskerlt9dz.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/16189442-6B2D-4401-B8BF-0A88AC1D5357_zpsuiesvp9o.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/8064419C-BFB4-4E5C-9333-CB5035D8FA05_zpslxnl6s0y.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I got one a year or so ago and they aren't the best of quality at all. They are cheap for a reason. Mine was the fretless 4 string and the dots are in the fretted position, ie between the frets so a bit tricky if your not used to it. Strap button on the heal for a leftie!! and lots of other shoddy mistakes etc. I wouldn't bother again. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Cheers guys, going with the gear4 one as my mate has sorted me out. See how much use it is to me, also going to use it to have a go at defretting etc. If I cock it up, it's not a huge expense - if I don't, then I have a serviceable acoustic. Would love the Furch, so if I get a lot of gigs If need one for...I'll invest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Well... Got my Gear 4 Music 5 string today. Overall, for the price they're asking £99; it's very hard to whinge about. But, for anyone looking at getting one - I'll go over it a bit. I'm glad I'm taking the frets out as there are a fair few questionable ones in there. Some are rough on the crowns, and there are a few raised or sharp ends. Nothing a quick dress wouldn't solve. The action is fairly low, not at all bad. The on board tuner doesn't really recognise the Low B and is fairly twitchy across the range. Spacing is narrow - not uncomfortably so, but narrower than my Status Groove which is 18mm spacing. The actual fit and finish (apart from the frets) is really decent. Sound wise, it's a fairly typical ABG, a bit cardboard box if that makes sense? But volume is even across the strings, and the B is respectable. Will be a thread on the defret in repairs and technical. Going to start it tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 http://basschat.co.uk/topic/230595-acoustic-bass-de-fret/page__pid__2377698#entry2377698 If you're interested... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboy1984 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I use to have one of the Harley Benton 5 string fretless acoustic. They are ok but nothing fantastic. First the ACB need setup and the fretboard need doing as well (at least on my) to get rid of rattle/buzz. The pickup and electronic is ok but the B string is weak even when plugin to an amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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