Harley Benton JB-75fl vs JB-40fl

[Paolo85]

Hi all, has anyone tried both the Harley Benton JB-75 fretless and the JB-40 fretless?

It seems most people buys the JB40fl, with good feedback. I would jump on the bandwagon no problem but the JB40 is out of stock.

While I can wait, I wonder if the JB40 is seemingly more succesful because of differences in build quality or maybe it's mostly the Jaco looks.

Looking at the specs the only difference is the fingerboard: pau ferro for the JB40 and laurel for the JB75.

What sort of difference should I expect from the two woods?

Thanks!

Edited May 15, 2022 by Paolo85

[kodiakblair]

11 hours ago, Paolo85 said:

What sort of difference should I expect from the two woods?

I'd say none.

 

Both Laurel and Pau Ferro are up there with Rosewood when it comes to weight and hardness , only difference is cosmetic.

 

You hear more about the JB-40 because it's been on sale 7 years longer then the JB-75 FL.

[Paolo85]

22 minutes ago, kodiakblair said:

I'd say none.

 

Both Laurel and Pau Ferro are up there with Rosewood when it comes to weight and hardness , only difference is cosmetic.

 

You hear more about the JB-40 because it's been on sale 7 years longer then the JB-75 FL.

Very helpful thanks!

[kodiakblair]

1 minute ago, Paolo85 said:

Very helpful thanks!

You're welcome.

 

Whichever one you decide on I'm sure it will be a cracker . 

[Paolo85]

I went for the '75. It will face a hard task: replacing a great-sounding Sire V7 which I sent back for minor faults and, as it was on its way back, I realized I did not really need. I'll see

[Fishfacefour]

Would be interested to see how you get on as I'm starting to get fretless curiosity myself.

[Paolo85]

I'll keep you posted!

[Paolo85]

Right, I am in shock for how good it is for the price. Many people said that but it is hard to put your mind around it before you try it.

It is a fretless jazz bass. Sounds like a fretless jazz bass. You can play your Jaco stuff (or try unsuccesfully as in my case) and get the sound.

There is no cardboard effect from weak pickups or anything like that. There is no bridge in the wrong position preventing intonation. The tone control does what it's meant to do. The neck is chunkier than a normal j (but with the same nut width so it's not like playing a precision), but it is still confortable. Fingerboard is well done, I pretty much achieved the same action as with the Sire. Tuners are cheap but eventually you do get that E in tune.

I would say the Sire gives definitely better results with the bridge pickup. Could be the pickup themselves or maybe also the ebony fingerboard of the Sire, I am no expert. With the HB when you switch from neck to bridge you feel the bottom end going away quite a bit, but it does not mean that looked at in isolation the bridge pickup is not good. You get a good snappy Jaco sound which I am having lots of fun with.

Obviously passive only (which is ok for me, I prefer it), you do not get treats such as the roasted maple neck or coated fretboard so I guess more frequent setups and, in time, my fingerboard will be eaten by the strings.

On that note, I was planning to switch to flatwounds but the roundwounds the bass came with are surprisingly good and are a perfect match with the bass so they are staying.

The problem with this bass is the weight. My scale is not precise but we may be talking 5.4kg. Certainly very heavy even for a jazz bass. I would not buy it if I had to gig with it.

 

 

 

[Spaceboonk]

Which is better in terms of slap?