N
Probably my fav bass at the moment
I've had it for almost a month now and I must admit, it's really Good. Where do I start?
From the physical aspect, it's just great. Looks great and FEELS great. The sunburnt color from the body stretches nicely across the neck too, which makes the bass look "whole" (if you know what i mean.. there are So many bass guitars that have a sunburnt body but lightwood neck and, personally, not a fan of these from an aesthetic point of view). Other parts of the bass look great too, just all of it.
It's super comfortable too tbh?? Which, I didn't expect that, considering its shape; i thought it'd be chafing my tie but surprisingly it isn't. The neck is also super comfortable and easy (surprisingly!) to fret on, there's no problems with plucking either. It's shortscale so it also feels just much more pleasant and faster. It's just cool. Feels good.
Now, as for the sound, it's also just... very good? Great? The flatwound strings sound great and both pickups give you very distinct but nice tones; it almost sounds like an upright bass. It's so warm and thick, love it.
The only downside is that there's a rather prominent neck dive but that's to be expected with a semi-hollow body so I don't really count that as a con.
I feel like, for that price especially, that is a STEAL. Like, a violin bass? Fretless? Shortscale? With two humbucker pick-ups? With flatwound strings? And so nice-looking? Really, REALLY worth its price. Rare to find all of these qualities on one bass (if not impossible).
From the physical aspect, it's just great. Looks great and FEELS great. The sunburnt color from the body stretches nicely across the neck too, which makes the bass look "whole" (if you know what i mean.. there are So many bass guitars that have a sunburnt body but lightwood neck and, personally, not a fan of these from an aesthetic point of view). Other parts of the bass look great too, just all of it.
It's super comfortable too tbh?? Which, I didn't expect that, considering its shape; i thought it'd be chafing my tie but surprisingly it isn't. The neck is also super comfortable and easy (surprisingly!) to fret on, there's no problems with plucking either. It's shortscale so it also feels just much more pleasant and faster. It's just cool. Feels good.
Now, as for the sound, it's also just... very good? Great? The flatwound strings sound great and both pickups give you very distinct but nice tones; it almost sounds like an upright bass. It's so warm and thick, love it.
The only downside is that there's a rather prominent neck dive but that's to be expected with a semi-hollow body so I don't really count that as a con.
I feel like, for that price especially, that is a STEAL. Like, a violin bass? Fretless? Shortscale? With two humbucker pick-ups? With flatwound strings? And so nice-looking? Really, REALLY worth its price. Rare to find all of these qualities on one bass (if not impossible).
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d
very good for the spectacular price
It is my first bass, so keep in mind I don't have any experience with other bass instrument. But I own several acoustic and electric guitar, so I imagine I can evaluate this instrument reasonnably...
5 stars, because it is a pretty good instrument for a very low price. If like me you are just starting bass, and just want a simple fretless instrument to see if you like it, don't hesitate this one will do the job.
Just a quick note, I didn't experience the original strings, I put some Pyramid Gold Flatwound 040-100, as I do with every guitars I buy (spending a little much for good strings! This is, in my opinion, the easiest upgrade to do with any instrument, and never regrets doing it)
5 stars, because it is a pretty good instrument for a very low price. If like me you are just starting bass, and just want a simple fretless instrument to see if you like it, don't hesitate this one will do the job.
Just a quick note, I didn't experience the original strings, I put some Pyramid Gold Flatwound 040-100, as I do with every guitars I buy (spending a little much for good strings! This is, in my opinion, the easiest upgrade to do with any instrument, and never regrets doing it)
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R
A Rarity... A Short-scale Lightweight, FRETLESS bass
A Rarity... A Short-scale Lightweight, FRETLESS bass
I have been playing bass guitar in a band for over 20 years and have now retired from the music scene, mainly due to arthritis in the back and wrists. I missed playing very much after selling off all my working Fender P bass collection ,so I decided to try a light, short scale bass just for amusement, which I found so much easier for my condition, once I got used to playing the shorter scale
I spent ages looking through the internet for a Fretless Short Scale bass only to find this beauty in my favourite music store, Thomann.
The Harley Benton Beat-bass Fretless bass played wonderfully, straight out of the box, even with it?s own factory fitted Flat wound strings on. It was so smooth and the intonation was perfect. Talk about weight. Light as a feather. It does give a little ?Head Dive? with a slippery strap, but if you get yourself a leather, headstock acoustic strap connector and fit the strap from the top of the neck and to the usual button on the bottom. Perfection and Comfort.
This is the perfect fretless bass for the beginner or experienced bassist wanting to learn the art of fretless playing at a ridiculously low price. I would recommend buying the Thomann Beat Bass Gig bag, product number 188608, a well under £20, made for the Beat bass fretless and standard violin bass, as you won?t find one any where else to fit as well as this one. The bonus is that the bag also fits a Squire Bronco Bass which is another short scale in my new collection, so that is one bag for two basses.
This is such a great buy for guitar players wanting to give a bass a try, as it is such a bargain.
One little tip. I tried to fit a set of D'addario flatwound strings but found that the ball ends on these were a lot bigger that the H.B. strings already fitted. After an email to Thomann, Thet set back instructions and a photo of how to loosen the tailpiece to get the correct distance to fit the D'addarios or any other strings with a bigger ball end. Great service
Just buy one. You've nothing to lose at that price
I have been playing bass guitar in a band for over 20 years and have now retired from the music scene, mainly due to arthritis in the back and wrists. I missed playing very much after selling off all my working Fender P bass collection ,so I decided to try a light, short scale bass just for amusement, which I found so much easier for my condition, once I got used to playing the shorter scale
I spent ages looking through the internet for a Fretless Short Scale bass only to find this beauty in my favourite music store, Thomann.
The Harley Benton Beat-bass Fretless bass played wonderfully, straight out of the box, even with it?s own factory fitted Flat wound strings on. It was so smooth and the intonation was perfect. Talk about weight. Light as a feather. It does give a little ?Head Dive? with a slippery strap, but if you get yourself a leather, headstock acoustic strap connector and fit the strap from the top of the neck and to the usual button on the bottom. Perfection and Comfort.
This is the perfect fretless bass for the beginner or experienced bassist wanting to learn the art of fretless playing at a ridiculously low price. I would recommend buying the Thomann Beat Bass Gig bag, product number 188608, a well under £20, made for the Beat bass fretless and standard violin bass, as you won?t find one any where else to fit as well as this one. The bonus is that the bag also fits a Squire Bronco Bass which is another short scale in my new collection, so that is one bag for two basses.
This is such a great buy for guitar players wanting to give a bass a try, as it is such a bargain.
One little tip. I tried to fit a set of D'addario flatwound strings but found that the ball ends on these were a lot bigger that the H.B. strings already fitted. After an email to Thomann, Thet set back instructions and a photo of how to loosen the tailpiece to get the correct distance to fit the D'addarios or any other strings with a bigger ball end. Great service
Just buy one. You've nothing to lose at that price
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A
Stunningly good!
Have played bass for approaching 50 years and always tried to buy the best I could afford. But this time I decided to buy something cheap!
I expected to receive quite a shoddy instrument. But not a bit of it. It has a lovely and flawless finish. All the electrics work and there are no crackles, buzzing and the like. There are no rough bits, sharp edges, nothing missing, nothing not working. It even comes with an Allen key for the truss rod and a short guitar lead which would be fine for practicing.
To be honest it was a delight to receive and it's a delight to play. The action was nice and low straight from the box and it was pretty well in tune. I've not adjusted anything to make it play better. Apart from a tune up and a bit of time to let the instrument settle then re-tune, it could easily have been straight from the box and on stage with it. I love the sound, too: nice mwah and nice thump from the E string.
Delivery from Thomann was excellent. I ordered it Friday pm and the postman was at my door, 12pm the following Monday.
Quite simply, there aren't any negative points. My missus has asked me to help her learn bass so I might even buy another one!
One thing I should have done was buy a gig bag to go with it as this will be one of my front line basses: yes, it's that good!
I expected to receive quite a shoddy instrument. But not a bit of it. It has a lovely and flawless finish. All the electrics work and there are no crackles, buzzing and the like. There are no rough bits, sharp edges, nothing missing, nothing not working. It even comes with an Allen key for the truss rod and a short guitar lead which would be fine for practicing.
To be honest it was a delight to receive and it's a delight to play. The action was nice and low straight from the box and it was pretty well in tune. I've not adjusted anything to make it play better. Apart from a tune up and a bit of time to let the instrument settle then re-tune, it could easily have been straight from the box and on stage with it. I love the sound, too: nice mwah and nice thump from the E string.
Delivery from Thomann was excellent. I ordered it Friday pm and the postman was at my door, 12pm the following Monday.
Quite simply, there aren't any negative points. My missus has asked me to help her learn bass so I might even buy another one!
One thing I should have done was buy a gig bag to go with it as this will be one of my front line basses: yes, it's that good!
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R
Good quality for price!
Bought this as an introduction to fretless playing and was very impressed with the product.
It has a plastic feeling to it and the fretboard itself is a little rough but the sound it produces is surprisingly nice and has a rich wooden tone. If your in the market for a double bass sound without the price tag or storage issues this is definitely worth a purchase.
It has a plastic feeling to it and the fretboard itself is a little rough but the sound it produces is surprisingly nice and has a rich wooden tone. If your in the market for a double bass sound without the price tag or storage issues this is definitely worth a purchase.
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T
Amazing fretless violin bass!
I had been looking at this bass for a while, as I really love the sound of Hofner-style violin basses but did not own one yet, and seeing a fretless one, at such a cheap price, I just had to go for it. This instrument did not disappoint!
The instrument is very well made down to every detail (finish, binding, etc.). Additionally, the pickups and strings themselves are even of great quality, and you can easily get that classic thumping tone heard on so many Beatles albums without any modding, as well as having the freedom a fretless instrument provides (such as sliding and playing microtonal). The short scale also makes playing fretless much easier than on a long scale fretless bass. If you have the treble high enough, you'll get the classic fretless "mwah" sound, so you have the best of both worlds!
Perhaps the only downside is that the E string can get muddy sometimes, but this is a common issue with hollow or acoustic basses and easily fixed with the right eq.
I'd easily recommend this instrument to anyone, especially if they want that classic Hofner-style violin bass tone, as well as experimenting with fretless playing.
The instrument is very well made down to every detail (finish, binding, etc.). Additionally, the pickups and strings themselves are even of great quality, and you can easily get that classic thumping tone heard on so many Beatles albums without any modding, as well as having the freedom a fretless instrument provides (such as sliding and playing microtonal). The short scale also makes playing fretless much easier than on a long scale fretless bass. If you have the treble high enough, you'll get the classic fretless "mwah" sound, so you have the best of both worlds!
Perhaps the only downside is that the E string can get muddy sometimes, but this is a common issue with hollow or acoustic basses and easily fixed with the right eq.
I'd easily recommend this instrument to anyone, especially if they want that classic Hofner-style violin bass tone, as well as experimenting with fretless playing.
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JM
Fits the purpose I intended
I wanted a fretless bass, and a semi hollow bass. In this instrument, both the options intersect. The sound is very good, it os possible to choose between a snappier sound from the bridge pickup, but also an upright bass kind of sound from the front pickup.
However, I think the build quality could have been improved. The nut seems to be taken from a fretted Beatbass, and the strings sit too deep within the nut. Also, the nut thickness is too great, which makes it hard to fret the first and second fret.
The bridge needed some tweaking, but I guess that is expected from a Beatbass, as it would be expected from a Hofner bass.
The truss rod needed adjusting, but the support team helped greatly, and answered my e-mails remarkably quick, so a big thank you.
For the money, I believe it is a fantastic bass.
However, I think the build quality could have been improved. The nut seems to be taken from a fretted Beatbass, and the strings sit too deep within the nut. Also, the nut thickness is too great, which makes it hard to fret the first and second fret.
The bridge needed some tweaking, but I guess that is expected from a Beatbass, as it would be expected from a Hofner bass.
The truss rod needed adjusting, but the support team helped greatly, and answered my e-mails remarkably quick, so a big thank you.
For the money, I believe it is a fantastic bass.
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Ra
Look Honey, No Frets
It's no secret that some of us are piecing together small HB collections within our guitar collections. This is tough, because HB makes a wide selection of unique instruments and where are you going to find a short scale, fretless Beatle bass? Not at the beach, that's for sure.
It is wunderschon out of the box, and the first thing you'll notice is that the fretboard has no dots and no frets. (This is my first fretless).Initially, it's like your first time on skates, but it took only a few minutes to get the hang of it. And once you do, you can glide around with ease (there are markers on the side).
Yes, it almost has that stand up bass sound, and once you realize that you can ascend and descend with that sound, you might be cooler than you already were being a bass player and all.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, but I should mention that the girlfriend loves it, because it's hard not to love that sound. Whoosh! FYI, I'm playing it through a Fender Rumble, which appears to be a good match for it, no pedals.
I wouldn't hesitate to gig with it, and it weighs about 6 pounds. So, if you're building an HB collection, I'd say leave room for this dessert.
It is wunderschon out of the box, and the first thing you'll notice is that the fretboard has no dots and no frets. (This is my first fretless).Initially, it's like your first time on skates, but it took only a few minutes to get the hang of it. And once you do, you can glide around with ease (there are markers on the side).
Yes, it almost has that stand up bass sound, and once you realize that you can ascend and descend with that sound, you might be cooler than you already were being a bass player and all.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, but I should mention that the girlfriend loves it, because it's hard not to love that sound. Whoosh! FYI, I'm playing it through a Fender Rumble, which appears to be a good match for it, no pedals.
I wouldn't hesitate to gig with it, and it weighs about 6 pounds. So, if you're building an HB collection, I'd say leave room for this dessert.
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WH
Nice to play now and then
I've had one of these a long while now, apart from using it on the odd song to try and impersonate a double bass, I've not really got on well with it.
As usual with HB can't fault the quality for the money, the bridge is a bit of a pain to adjust but it is the same as it would be on a Hofner.. Dots aren't all that helpful.
As usual with HB can't fault the quality for the money, the bridge is a bit of a pain to adjust but it is the same as it would be on a Hofner.. Dots aren't all that helpful.
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E
More than worth it.
If you've ever wanted a fretless violin bass for a good price then I don't see how you could find better. It's exactly what you think it is, and it delivers that classic sound in spades. The only real negative is the neck dive is pretty bad but some lighter tuners will fix that easily. It's light, it plays well and right out of the box it was ready to go. Very satisfied with this instrument.
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