Harley Benton B-35BK Acoustic Bass Series

This is my third acoustic bass, which I use for practising at home and for jamming in my buddy's basement. This is definitely the best! I've already sold one other. I would love to give it five stars across the board but there were a few unfortunate deficiencies.
PROS:
- overall look is lovely
- nice binding, rosette and stripe down the back
- acoustic volume is better than my others, especially the E-string
- amplified sound is nice & seems even across all strings
CONS:
- the strings were unbelievably squeaky; I had to immediately replace them with D'Addario tapewounds; now the sound is awesome
- the fret ends are quite rough; I'll need to do some sanding
- there are a number of finishing flaws that aren't obvious from any distance but do indicate quality control issues:
- extra glue seeping from binding on the back and where the neck meets the body on the front
- the binding is nicely highlighted with two pin stripes but in a few places, there are short bursts of three stripes
- the edge of the sound hole is rough
- the hard coat is blobby by the sound hole where it meets the neck
Despite the CONS, I love this bass and hope it will hold up for many years.

For my money, yes. I've tried plenty, owned a couple, and none have brought a smile to my face like this black beauty. Good for jazzy faux-double bass sounds, but I really like the way it blends in with different styles.

A nice folksy platform to go under hammered dulcimer and harp.

A smooth organic tone that blends in with singer-songwriter guitars the way that dirty electric bass blends with heavier music.

And on the topic of heavier music, I like to use acoustic bass for the "clang" side of a dual-mono bass sound. It adds a very different sort of percussive element to the low end.

So yeah. This has replaced much more expensive basses in my playing rotation.

Plus, it's fun to play.

I was skeptical on the Harley Benton thing before. I get it now: this thing SLAPS.

After 40 years classic and electric gitar, I thought to try bass allso.
The semi accoustic of this bass gives it a real fine sound. The strings are easy enough for my fingers. So improvising with it, with or without amp, is a pleasure. Wish I had bought it much earlier.
Had mezelf deze fijne bass veel eerder moeten gunnen. Zelfs met mijn reuma vingers heb ik meer dan genoeg kracht op deze snaren. Moet ze toch genoeg bewegen. En de krachtsport al musicerend is altijd erg motiverend. Geeft mijn drummen en ander gitaarspel weer een grote boost. In kunnen horen en instrumentbeheersing.