Harley Benton MB-4 Satin Black (REVIEW and SOUND TEST)

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, JohnDaBass said:

Oh come on open the box and show us some photos and sound clips.

Chop, chop get on with it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

Well, it is the bass I was waiting for

More tomorrow

[mcnach]

Well, it's been a few days now, still getting used to that 5th string, and overall I can give a big thumbs up. 👍 

It's not perfect, but whenever I think of something that's not quite 100% then I realise that I was comparing it mentally to other basses that cost me up to 10 times more

It's a very decent bass, and a ridiculously good bass for the money.

 

Mine looks like it had been on display for some time. It didn't have fingerprints or anything, but there was dust accumulated on the bridge/saddles and on the same side of all three knobs, and it seemed a bit... messy in general. By comparison, my girlfriend's Precision in the same finish was absolutely smooth and impeccable. Quick wipe, and all is good.

It's pretty light for a 5-string bass: 8.6 lbs. My old EBMM SUB5 was close to 11, and the G&L L2500 was around 10 lbs. This one is only 8.6 lbs which is nice. The balance is pretty good, on a strap it stays where I put it, but I can feel the neck is very nearly in the 'too heavy for the body'. It's one of the things I've found in many light basses, they seem to achieve that largely by using light bodies, and then the neck pulls it out of balance. This one is ok.

The neck is full, slightly on the chunky side for a 5-string, not far off the L2500 as I recall. The SUB5 and Lakland 5502 were shallower (and also slimmer for the SUB5). Is this bad? Not for me, I favour meaty necks: Precision/Stingray styles. The string spacing is narrowish but wider than on 5-string Rays, and the G string doesn't fall off the fingerboard because there is enough room.

It is BLACK.

Like... none-more-black. In a guitar rack it looks like a blackhole-shaped guitar. I love the finish. Not sure what the fingerboard is made of but it's very nice, very dark, smooth, shiny. Fretwork is good. Originally the neck had far too much relief and the saddles were too high. I think that maybe the same person who put it on display noticed some fret rattle and decided that one way to alleviate it was to ensure the strings were as far as possible from the frets. If that was their goal, I expect they slept very happily that night, proud of a job well done. If they wanted to still have a bass you could play... then not so much. A quick adjustment (what took me longest -minutes- was to adjust the curvature of the saddles, they were all over the place) soon made it very playable. I haven't played 5-string basses in years and even back then I never really adjusted to them, so I still feel a bit lost and hit the wrong string, between the narrower strng spacing hand having one more string... muting is getting rapidly better but I still have work to do to get to an acceptable level. Right now I can play ok for a while and suddenly KLANG goes the B string, ooops... I definitely don't feel comfortable to play it live yet, not that there's any hurry, unfortunately

Sound... definitely on Stingray territory as you'd expect, but not amazing. It's a perfectly usable sound, and between the two volumes and the passive tone it's decently versatile. I love Stingrays, and this gets me close enough... and again, if I think "hmmm, I wish it had more X or less Y" I quickly remember the price: if something bothers me enough, it would be very easy to modify it while retaining the total cost low when you consider how good the resulting instrument is. 

The only thing it needs is to file the nut slots a little, as it's a little high as it is, but that's trivial and it's perfectly playable as it is anyway. Other than the pickguard (not a fan of the tortoiseshell look) I have no intention of changing anything in a hurry, but I suspect that if I end up using the 5-string more and bring it to my bands I would change the pickup. My favourite is the Seymour Duncan alnico (SMB4A for 4-string) or the original (Nordstrand MM4.2 is very close to it), unfortunately the 5-string version comes in a differently shaped enclosure so I would have to find something else. No hurry 'though.

 

 

I think a black pickguard is the way to go. This is without one at all:

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by mcnach

[horrorshowbass]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

Well, it's been a few days now, still getting used to that 5th string, and overall I can give a big thumbs up. 👍 

It's not perfect, but whenever I think of something that's not quite 100% then I realise that I was comparing it mentally to other basses that cost me up to 10 times more

It's a very decent bass, and a ridiculously good bass for the money.

 

Mine looks like it had been on display for some time. It didn't have fingerprints or anything, but there was dust accumulated on the bridge/saddles and on the same side of all three knobs, and it seemed a bit... messy in general. By comparison, my girlfriend's Precision in the same finish was absolutely smooth and impeccable. Quick wipe, and all is good.

It's pretty light for a 5-string bass: 8.6 lbs. My old EBMM SUB5 was close to 11, and the G&L L2500 was around 10 lbs. This one is only 8.6 lbs which is nice. The balance is pretty good, on a strap it stays where I put it, but I can feel the neck is very nearly in the 'too heavy for the body'. It's one of the things I've found in many light basses, they seem to achieve that largely by using light bodies, and then the neck pulls it out of balance. This one is ok.

The neck is full, slightly on the chunky side for a 5-string, not far off the L2500 as I recall. The SUB5 and Lakland 5502 were shallower (and also slimmer for the SUB5). Is this bad? Not for me, I favour meaty necks: Precision/Stingray styles. The string spacing is narrowish but wider than on 5-string Rays, and the G string doesn't fall off the fingerboard because there is enough room.

It is BLACK.

Like... none-more-black. In a guitar rack it looks like a blackhole-shaped guitar. I love the finish. Not sure what the fingerboard is made of but it's very nice, very dark, smooth, shiny. Fretwork is good. Originally the neck had far too much relief and the saddles were too high. I think that maybe the same person who put it on display noticed some fret rattle and decided that one way to alleviate it was to ensure the strings were as far as possible from the frets. If that was their goal, I expect they slept very happily that night, proud of a job well done. If they wanted to still have a bass you could play... then not so much. A quick adjustment (what took me longest -minutes- was to adjust the curvature of the saddles, they were all over the place) soon made it very playable. I haven't played 5-string basses in years and even back then I never really adjusted to them, so I still feel a bit lost and hit the wrong string, between the narrower strng spacing hand having one more string... muting is getting rapidly better but I still have work to do to get to an acceptable level. Right now I can play ok for a while and suddenly KLANG goes the B string, ooops... I definitely don't feel comfortable to play it live yet, not that there's any hurry, unfortunately

Sound... definitely on Stingray territory as you'd expect, but not amazing. It's a perfectly usable sound, and between the two volumes and the passive tone it's decently versatile. I love Stingrays, and this gets me close enough... and again, if I think "hmmm, I wish it had more X or less Y" I quickly remember the price: if something bothers me enough, it would be very easy to modify it while retaining the total cost low when you consider how good the resulting instrument is. 

The only thing it needs is to file the nut slots a little, as it's a little high as it is, but that's trivial and it's perfectly playable as it is anyway. Other than the pickguard (not a fan of the tortoiseshell look) I have no intention of changing anything in a hurry, but I suspect that if I end up using the 5-string more and bring it to my bands I would change the pickup. My favourite is the Seymour Duncan alnico (SMB4A for 4-string) or the original (Nordstrand MM4.2 is very close to it), unfortunately the 5-string version comes in a differently shaped enclosure so I would have to find something else. No hurry 'though.

 

 

I think a black pickguard is the way to go. This is without one at all:

 

That looks unreal.... as soon as the 4 strings come back.....

[DarkHeart]

Wrap the plate like I did, costs a fiver and is reversible, try a Warman pup in it, I love mine with one in.

[stewblack]

Great review @mcnach, as @DarkHeart says, go Blue Peter on it. A roll of sticky backed plastic is cheap, and you'd have enough to do it several times over.

I'm lucky I like the tort look! The only mod I've done is a @KiOgon tone pot, the switching one. Put it on this and on the stealth P. 

[stewblack]

[kodiakblair]

15 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Bloody Hell, you'd never know there was a bass against that wall. 

[stewblack]

3 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

Bloody Hell, you'd never know there was a bass against that wall. 

I know. Light just falls into it. 

[mr4stringz]

19 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

Wrap the plate like I did, costs a fiver and is reversible, try a Warman pup in it, I love mine with one in.

I’m planning on a pickup switch out on my 5er and had been looking at a Warman as didn’t want to spend much given the cheapness of the bass. He’s not currently got the 5 string pickup in stock though unfortunately. 

[mcnach]

21 hours ago, horrorshowbass said:

That looks unreal.... as soon as the 4 strings come back.....

 

If I didn't have a Stingray already, I'd be very tempted too (I am tempted anyway, and I don't need one  ). A perfectly nice bass for no money at all, with the option for 'upgrades' if you really want an onboard preamp and/or a different pickup. I've played my share of cheap instruments, and this one is probably one of the better ones, by far. The finish is so unique too, I love it.

[mcnach]

20 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

Wrap the plate like I did, costs a fiver and is reversible, try a Warman pup in it, I love mine with one in.

 

I'm considering that, yours look great! 

I actually have a few adhesive vinyl sheets somewhere that I could try. Not sure I have any black right now 'though. I have purple, various shades of red, even copper effect too, but not sure about black. I may have some with that 'carbon fibre effect' texture, in black and burgundy if I recall correctly. I'll have to look for them and see, maybe I get a chance to try it today.

I have no experience whatsoever of Warman, they seem too cheap to be good enough, but sometimes cheap is good (Tonerider, Entwistle...), your clips sound good, so it's definitely a contender (edit: I got confused, the clips I heard were fropm the OP, with the stock pickup, I think?). I won't think about it seriously though until I have put strings that are more to my liking (probably DR Sunbeams on this one... although I have a set of blue DR Neons that could look interesting but I'll have to get a separate 5th string for that... blah blah blah...  ) 

Edited January 10, 2021 by mcnach

[mcnach]

I just ordered a new set of strings. It looks like DR don't make the exact set I would like and can't seem to be able to find the right singles... and a lot of suppliers seem to be out of stock, so I had a look at Newtone Strings: UK-made and often compared to DR.

I ordered a set choosing gauges individually, round-cores stainless steel (going more for the Fat Beam vibe after all), and the cost was similar or a bit cheaper than buying DR. Let's see how it goes.

[DarkHeart]

3 hours ago, mr4stringz said:

I’m planning on a pickup switch out on my 5er and had been looking at a Warman as didn’t want to spend much given the cheapness of the bass. He’s not currently got the 5 string pickup in stock though unfortunately. 

Theres one on ebay from the Warman shop, last one though.

[kodiakblair]

5 hours ago, mcnach said:

I have no experience whatsoever of Warman, they seem too cheap to be good enough

The mark up on pickups is obscene. 

Look at prices this mob charge selling to the public, are the big names paying a quarter that by bulk buying ?

 

https://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Pickup-Parts

[mr4stringz]

4 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

Theres one on ebay from the Warman shop, last one though.

Thank you!

Yoink.

Not now there isn’t!

😬

[jassbass]

On 09/01/2021 at 16:58, DarkHeart said:

Wrap the plate like I did, costs a fiver and is reversible, try a Warman pup in it, I love mine with one in.

Hi how do you do this?

Thanks 

[mcnach]

5 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

Theres one on ebay from the Warman shop, last one though.

 

🙉🙈🙊

Only £25, that's really nice if the pickup is decent (and it sounds like it is!)

I really want to wait until I get the new strings, I've changed too many pickups when a different string model could have been all I needed . The OP's bass (the MB-4) sounds really nice with the stock pickup, judging from those clips.

 

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, mr4stringz said:

Thank you!

Yoink.

Not now there isn’t!

😬

 

ah well, you save me from a sleepless night trying to decide what to do

Let us know what you think about it after you try it, please

 

[DarkHeart]

On 10/01/2021 at 21:22, jassbass said:

Hi how do you do this?

Thanks 

It`s dead easy, just get some vinyl wrap off ebay, cut it out oversize then just stick it to it, I usually wrap round the edges of the pickup holes and trim with a stanley blade round the outside or razor, got to be a sharp blade though. You can use a credit card to squeeze out air bubbles and use a little heat if required to mold it round a shape, try it, you`ll surprise yourself how easy it is. Ideal for the HB`s as they`re non standard scratchplates.

[TheGreek]

Not a scratchplate person normally but I have a SUB 5 incoming and I'm thinking of a leather/suede cover for the plate...anything I need to worry about?

[TheGreek]

This HB PJ5 is available on Gumtree for £75

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/harley-benton-pj-5-htr-deluxe-series-5-string-bass/1394713260

[incommunicado]

Anyone who eventually got both the MB-4 and the PB-20 to share an opinion? 

[mcnach]

17 hours ago, incommunicado said:

Anyone who eventually got both the MB-4 and the PB-20 to share an opinion? 

 

Not the MB-4, but I got an MB-5 and the PB-20. Anything in particular you're wondering?

[Bassfinger]

On 07/05/2022 at 19:14, incommunicado said:

Anyone who eventually got both the MB-4 and the PB-20 to share an opinion? 

I got the MB4 in black. 

 

Aside from one slight sharp fret end the finish was excellent.  It was easy to set up the action.  I like mine medium-low rather than super low, tonally its better and it aids doing hammer ons and pull offs, so I never tried to get it low enough to show any issues that required a fret dress.

 

Not stuck mine on the scales but among my basses its just on the lighter side of average.

 

Wilkinson tuners makes tuning easier and improves tuning stability, obligatory Warman pickup adds a bit of depth and grit to the tone, and it all still left me with change from £150.

 

A good looking, eminently playable, and ridiculously good value bass. Slap on a Squier badge and give it a silly name, and people would pay £350 for one and think it good value.  A great bass in its own right, or an inviting platform for budget tinkerers.  It's a hit with me.

 

Never had a PB20, but as a modding platform it looks very intriguing...

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Bassfinger

[Machines]

Just picked a 2nd hand MB-4 locally for peanuts but very much as new.

 

Fret ends are a little sharp, but not enough to cause a problem. Had to give it a good setup - but it's a very playable instrument and sounds decent passive, adding some outboard EQ really spices it up. Stick a decent amp model on and the passive shortcomings disappear even further.

 

Probably not a keeper (it was local and I was bored) but my band's guitarist has already reserved it for home recording if I sell. I think the finish won't wear too well, also in the last 2 hours i've had to polish it 87 times for fingerprints.