Harley Benton MV-4M Mustang-like bass. £198. Opinions?

[prowla]

56 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

If Fender favoritism met with objectivity to you equals Fender negativity then I guess you would be right...

I’ll stick with my Fender. 🙂

[ezbass]

I already have a Fender JMJ Mustang, so I can compare and contrast - up to a point. I was looking at the Player PJ Mustangs, but at £619 new (3x as much), the HB had to be worth a punt. Time will tell.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I currently own four Fender Mustangs (six if you include guitars as well as basses) so I'm a big mustang fan, but I don't have a PJ one, only a pair of JMJs, a 90s CIJ & a vintera. Call me shallow, but I can't get past the sausage/dingaling shaped control plate of the harley benton. If it is possible to finagle a Fender style control plate onto one of these - possibly with a custom pickguard I might be interested.

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I currently own four Fender Mustangs (six if you include guitars as well as basses) so I'm a big mustang fan, but I don't have a PJ one, only a pair of JMJs, a 90s CIJ & a vintera. Call me shallow, but I can't get past the sausage/dingaling shaped control plate of the harley benton. If it is possible to finagle a Fender style control plate onto one of these - possibly with a custom pickguard I might be interested.

😂

[ped]

6 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Yeah, I couldn't live with effectively only having 17 frets available, because of the poor upper fret access of the Fender, plus I would prefer the flatter 12" radius fretboard of the Harley Benton too.

 

Also tuners, pickups and bridge looks good, just because it doesn't look like an original Fender Mustang doesn't mean it looks bad or wrong aesthetically, cause it really doesn't, and it doesn't have to look identical either, just some people who can't handle that it doesn't look like they are used to (and I bet some people would complain if it looked too much like an original Mustang too).

 

As far as I am concerned the Harley Benton is an improvement of the classic Fender Mustang design in almost every possible aspect.

 

 

You've got both then?

[Baloney Balderdash]

1 hour ago, ped said:

 

You've got both then?

 

No, but I do have eyes and ears, can count and read, know my personal preferences, and have first hand experience with other Harley Benton and Fender basses and guitars.

 

I don't know how you come to that conclusion from what I wrote in that reply you quote me for, I even wrote: "...I couldn't live with effectively only having 17 frets available, because of the poor upper fret access of the Fender, plus I would prefer the flatter 12" radius fretboard of the Harley Benton...", implying that I own neither.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[ped]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

No, but I do have eyes and ears, can count and read, know my personal preferences, and have first hand experience with other Harley Benton and Fender basses and guitars.

 

I don't know how you come to that conclusion from what I wrote in that reply you quote me for, I even wrote: "...I couldn't live with effectively only having 17 frets available, because of the poor upper fret access of the Fender, plus I would prefer the flatter 12" radius fretboard of the Harley Benton...", implying that I own neither.

 

 

Alright, calm down

[Frank Blank]

8 minutes ago, ped said:

Alright, calm down

Good luck with that.

[ezbass]

The HB Mustang-alike has landed. First impressions are good, although the quoted nut width of 41.3 mm is incorrect, it is 38mm (Thomann have been contacted about this). Straight out of the box and tuned up delivered a pleasing tone that is in between my JMJ and shorty 'Ray. The setup isn't bad at all, yes it needs a little intonation adjustment (I really mean a little), the truss rod needs more relief (it was shipped with slack strings, so fair play) and the fret ends, whilst better than when my shorty 'Ray was new out of the box, wouldn't go amiss with some emery paper on a block (just a quick pass should do the trick). Regarding upper fret access, I can reach the top frets on my JMJ easily enough, but with the HB it is a breeze. It weighs in at just over 3.7kgs and balances nicely on the strap. The Gotoh tuners are smooth and positive as you'd expect from Gotoh, but the pots are a revelation, they feel really good too, the taper is good, although the tone needs some travel before any significant happens (a different value cap should sort that). For just a fiver over £200, it was a sold buy. I just need to wait for Thomann to comment on the nut width discrepancy before tackling any of the setup work and fitting the balance pot I ordered.

[TheLowDown]

9 minutes ago, ezbass said:

although the quoted nut width of 41.3 mm is incorrect, it is 38mm (Thomann have been contacted about this).

That's good to know, I prefer the 38mm width. I think Thomann and Harley Benton are great, but the accuracy of the info on the product pages often leaves a lot to be desired and is best double checked.

[ezbass]

I’ve found a tiny chip on the headstock that I’ve also informed them about, the packing was not damaged, so it’s happen pre boxing. The finish on the headstock, where the matching black meets the maple, is a bit sketchy here and there, but only noticeable if you start looking closely. Still amazing VFM nonetheless.

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

... and the fret ends, whilst better than when my shorty 'Ray was new out of the box, wouldn't go amiss with some emery paper on a block (just a quick pass should do the trick). 

 

I had the same issue on mine, only a couple of frets mind, and only very minor rough edges, certainly nothing significant. I used some fine grain sand paper and a sanding block, applied it to the neck at a 45 degree angle applying no real pressure, more just making contact with the neck and a couple of passes back and forth, check the rough edges and then a couple more passes. 2 minutes later it was all sorted, no specialist tools required and the neck binding (which I thought might get chewed up by the sand paper) felt silky smooth.  

[ezbass]

Can't do the balance pot and fret end dressing until I get a reply from Thomann, but a basic set up should be OK. A 1/4 turn more relief in the neck and it's all good there. All the saddles needed moving back for intonation, but plenty of adjustment still available either way for different strings. A good low action (for me) of about 2mm at the 12th fret is easily achievable, without any fret buzz. The pickup height is going to need a bit more work as the P pickup is as high as it will go with the foam provided (I had much the same issue with my shorty 'Ray) and I like to have some adjustment either way. It'll need more shielding as there is more buzz than I'm comfortable with (single coil in the bridge taken into account) but this was also case with my JMJ. The headstock finishing issue I mentioned above turned out to be left over compound and was easily removed with my thumbnail. However, in the daylight there is some sort of dye bleed on the neck binding, which indicates that the fretboard has been darkened to make the laurel look more like rosewood, which it does. Tonally it sits rather nicely between the JMJ and 'Ray, making neither redundant, whilst still adding an extra flavour (the balance pot should enhance this feature more I think). It plays very nicely indeed and certainly doesn't feel like £205's worth of metal, wood and plastic.

Edited March 3, 2023 by ezbass

[ezbass]

OK, concerns sorted with the lovely folks at Thomann (their customer service seems to be very good and an example to other retailers) and I'm keeping it. That means, out with the screwdriver, soldering iron, the fret finishing kit and some copper tape. Installing the balance pot was definitely the way to go for me, there are now 5 definite tones to be had with, as expected, a kind of 60/40 split, favouring the neck pickup, being my favourite. These Roswell pickups are really punchy and very articulate and not just for money, they are just good pickups. The edges of the plastic covers are a bit sharp my liking, particularly the bridge, single coil, but that's an easy fix down the road (I think plain, solid tops would look ace). Ran some 800 & 1000 grit, followed by some micro mesh over the fret ends and it's much nicer, despite catching the paint work 🤦‍♂️ (the relicing begins here). A bit more relief was required and seems to have settled down well. In conclusion, I'm very pleased and, at the money, these are unbeatable. It stands up well side by side with my other shorties and I have no qualms about gigging it, in fact, given the cost, it'll be the perfect bass for less salubrious venues, without having to sacrifice anything tonally.

 

What’s that I hear you say? 

 

Very well...

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by ezbass

[Osiris]

I've had my HB Mustang for around a month now and around an hour ago my new bespoke scratch plate arrived from Scratch-It! I cannot recommend Tim and Scratch-It enough - first class service, excellent communication, most importantly a good sense of humour, plus prices that are a good chunk cheaper than the couple of places that quoted me for a bog standard plain black plate.

 

My original plan was to get a plain 3 ply black/white/black plate for it as I don't like tort, and the stock plate looked particularly hideous against the sea foam green finish, IMO. But for £40 delivered I have something totally unique and looks fantastic too!

 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

I've had my HB Mustang for around a month now and around an hour ago my new bespoke scratch plate arrived from Scratch-It! I cannot recommend Tim and Scratch-It enough - first class service, excellent communication, most importantly a good sense of humour, plus prices that are a good chunk cheaper than the couple of places that quoted me for a bog standard plain black plate.

 

My original plan was to get a plain 3 ply black/white/black plate for it as I don't like tort, and the stock plate looked particularly hideous against the sea foam green finish, IMO. But for £40 delivered I have something totally unique and looks fantastic too!

 

My real Fender one on pg.1 has one of Tim's too! 🙂

[Osiris]

23 minutes ago, prowla said:

My real Fender one on pg.1 has one of Tim's too! 🙂

 

Go on, show us a picture 😃

 

Up until last year I had an Olympic white 2017 Fender PJ Mustang, it was a great bass and only moved on when I bought a JMJ Mustang. Honestly, the HB is every bit as good as the Mexican PJ, more so in fact considering the price hikes over the past few years. The Fender was well under £400 new in 2017, they're now in the region of £650-700 and you're getting something every bit as good quality wise for £500 or so cheaper in the HB. God bless child labour. 

[prowla]

1 minute ago, Osiris said:

 

Go on, show us a picture 😃

 

Up until last year I had an Olympic white 2017 Fender PJ Mustang, it was a great bass and only moved on when I bought a JMJ Mustang. Honestly, the HB is every bit as good as the Mexican PJ, more so in fact considering the price hikes over the past few years. The Fender was well under £400 new in 2017, they're now in the region of £650-700 and you're getting something every bit as good quality wise for £500 or so cheaper in the HB. God bless child labour. 

It’s on the 1st page of this thread. 🙂

[Osiris]

5 minutes ago, prowla said:

It’s on the 1st page of this thread. 🙂

 

Oh yeah, 🤣

[ezbass]

Fitted my favoured EB Cobalt Flats today (a used set, in case it went all horrendously wrong); ooh, that's the stuff! Had to unwind the E string a bit as the locating hole in the Gotoh tuner is very wee and I'm inserting way beyond the silk. Because of the tight radius on the tuners, I was expecting the E to break, but no, it seems fine. Had to tension the truss rod a bit, but nothing dramatic, just a 1/4 turn or so. Something I noticed when taking off the film from the pick guard is that there a sort of bloom at the point where the control plate meets the p/g (the top laminate has lifted a bit). When refitting the p/g the reason for this became clear, it's too big. However, a quick pass or two with a craft knife to shave off a bit (probably less than 0.5mm) makes it a precise fit. There are some areas where the shape of the p/g could be smoother, but this is a cheap instrument and the corners cut seem to be in areas that just don't matter that much and are easily remedied. The performance is still blowing me away given the miserly cost.

[ped]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Fitted my favoured EB Cobalt Flats today (a used set, in case it went all horrendously wrong); ooh, that's the stuff! Had to unwind the E string a bit as the locating hole in the Gotoh tuner is very wee and I'm inserting way beyond the silk. Because of the tight radius on the tuners, I was expecting the E to break, but no, it seems fine. Had to tension the truss rod a bit, but nothing dramatic, just a 1/4 turn or so. Something I noticed when taking off the film from the pick guard is that there a sort of bloom at the point where the control plate meets the p/g (the top laminate has lifted a bit). When refitting the p/g the reason for this became clear, it's too big. However, a quick pass or two with a craft knife to shave off a bit (probably less than 0.5mm) makes it a precise fit. There are some areas where the shape of the p/g could be smoother, but this is a cheap instrument and the corners cut seem to be in areas that just don't matter that much and are easily remedied. The performance is still blowing me away given the miserly cost.

Sometimes it’s little adjustments and fettling which makes a bass feel ‘yours’ and in a weird way, even more satisfying than one that’s perfect out of the box (or does the HB come in a carrier bag!)

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, ped said:

Sometimes it’s little adjustments and fettling which makes a bass feel ‘yours’ and in a weird way, even more satisfying than one that’s perfect out of the box (or does the HB come in a carrier bag!)

TBH a lot of other retailers could learn a lesson from Thomann. Admittedly I ordered a few items, but the bass was in its box, which was packed in a larger box with more paper packing than you can shake a stick at. I had to go digging to find the bass box.

 

You mentioned over in the SS thread about noticing more accentuated tonal differences on your modded Mustang than on an equivalent long scale. This is my first 2 p/up shorty and I must agree that the different tonal differences are certainly more pronounced than on my J type 33” scale with a balance pot.

[dub_junkie]

On 29/12/2022 at 12:54, solo4652 said:

First impressions of the HB MV-4M in Daphne blue:

 

.............Daphne blue is pretty bright, and I think I would have preferred not to have a matching headstock. The overall look is a bit, errrm, "pretty". Not sure why a tug-bar is fitted................... Very pleased with the purchase, after dithering about it for a week. Amazing value.

 

This looks ace. Think I've just found the colour of the MV J/J jazz bass if I go for one (which is near enough a certainty if my thoughts on the MV P/J are anything to go by) 

[dieseldalziel]

On 04/03/2023 at 17:12, Osiris said:

I've had my HB Mustang for around a month now and around an hour ago my new bespoke scratch plate arrived from Scratch-It! I cannot recommend Tim and Scratch-It enough - first class service, excellent communication, most importantly a good sense of humour, plus prices that are a good chunk cheaper than the couple of places that quoted me for a bog standard plain black plate.

 

My original plan was to get a plain 3 ply black/white/black plate for it as I don't like tort, and the stock plate looked particularly hideous against the sea foam green finish, IMO. But for £40 delivered I have something totally unique and looks fantastic too!

 

Just saw this on the Gig.ink Facebook page👍

[uk_lefty]

On 04/03/2023 at 17:12, Osiris said:

I've had my HB Mustang for around a month now and around an hour ago my new bespoke scratch plate arrived from Scratch-It! I cannot recommend Tim and Scratch-It enough - first class service, excellent communication, most importantly a good sense of humour, plus prices that are a good chunk cheaper than the couple of places that quoted me for a bog standard plain black plate

+1 they're fantastic! Great design on yours.