Harley Benton PB-50 FR Vintage Series

Első basszusgitárom, így összehasonlítási alapom nincs.
Alaposan becsomagolva érkezett, tökéletes állapotban. A festés hibátlan, a kivitelezés szinte hibátlan, egyedül a gitár fejénél nem tökéletes a csiszolás. A dobozból kivéve hangolás (és a környezeti akklimatizáció) után egyből játszható. Nem csörög, nem vág sehol.
Ár érték arányban bajnok.
Ha megfelelő elvárásokkal állunk hozzá nem okoz csalódást.
Én örülök, hogy megvettem. :)

I have always yearned for a 50s style single coil P-Bass and also wanted a back-up to my Fender Player P-Bass.

I would say it is an amazingly good value for the money. Although, there were some flaws with the finish, and the tone knob is coming off.

After set-up, it feels almost as good as my Fender. I use it in Drop C and tuning stability is really good.

The weakest point is the pick-up, that I am planning to replace with a SD. I also installed a vintage looking pick-up cover which really enhances the vintage vibes.

Overall, I am more than satisfied for the budget.

I ordered this single-coil version to start up base riffs to support my guitar playing.

Seeing a few very positive reviews on YouTube triggered me for especially this bass guitar with no difficult settings.

Three days later it was delivered to my home packed in a very big box with another box well protected inside of it. No dents, no damages whatsoever, it arrived in perfect condition. Very funny are the UPS notices you get on your mobile phone that your shipment is on its way and what time it will arrive.

Out of the box playability:

After seeing the YouTube review I didn’t expect the budget guitar to come out of the box as perfect as the on the YouTube video, but I was wrong! Perfect smooth satin finish neck, no sharp frets, action height on 3 strings was almost good for my tase, i lifted the saddle of the E-string a bit, which made it almost perfect to start playing right away. There are D’Addario strings on the guitar, unbelievable because these do not come cheap. I wonder how they do it fot this price.

Hardware:

The body is beautfully done with a very thick layer of fiesta red, very thick 1-ply pickguard with a beautful design, the Roswell VTN4 Vista Alnico-5 vintage PB-style house brand single coil pickup is attached directly to the body and magnets lines up perfectly with the strings.
The chrome volume and tone knob feel very convincing and roll smooth, tone pot had to have a little contact spray because I heard a tiny crackle whilst rolling on and off. Now it is absolutely silent in using on amp or headphone. Tuners are vintage but do their job beautifully.

Soundcheck:

First I plugged on a very simple mini guitar amp with a headphone to try various settings.
As I am a guitar player but decades ago started at some point with a very bad bass guitar I quickly stepped up to the plate of playing various riffs I used to know. The sound was nice and round, much better than to expect but please understand I have no comparison here besides electric and acoustic guitars. I became so confident in playing my red rambler after already one day that I ordered a B-stock Hartke bass amp with it at Thomann’s, which came delivered at my front door unbelievably fast, in one day wow!

General impression:

This bass guitar is a jewel to the eye, the neck for this kind of money has been done very very good, even the woodgrain is beautiful on front and back. The hardware is more than sufficient for use and can be upgraded but certainly does not have to right away. I myself am more than content with the Roswell Alnico 5 Vintage single coil pickup, it does not hum or buzz and gives a perfect rumble ramble foundation when the right chords ring out. I for example went straight into Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix and Funky Town rythms and ended with a very low and deep Reggae riff. The sounds are more versatile as one should think.

My advice:

Go and buy one! Disover the simplicity of bass playing for little gas-money you cannot even spend properly on a trip or dinner in this fast changing world. Pleej dah bees!

Thanks for reading!