Harley Benton B-450 White Progressive Serie

To start my name is Rob aka RT Slinger a bass player of over 50 years.
I was watching a video and someone was reviewing this Harley Benton B-450 Progressive 4 string.
Now I have many brands of bass guitar in my collection of 17, but this one had some about the tone that really grabbed me.
So I contacted Thomann through this website and purchase the bass. Shipping to the US went smoothly no delays and the bass was in great shape when it arrived. I didn't need to do any set up it was great and no dead spots on the neck.
That tone I heard on the video was right there in my hands. I gig with the bass that same weekend and my band mates told me "just leave your other basses home", because of how well in set in the mix. The pros are many but the best is having a active bass that when the battery dies you can still use it in passive mode. Cons I truly haven't found anything that is wrong with this bass and I have held many, many bass in my 50 years of playing. Amazing job and I would and have told everyone what a great bass this is.
Thanks for a top quality bass at a incredibly affordable price point

My first bass, actually. Then i bought a Warwick.

It's extremely good for the price you pay. Never had a problem with tuning, and the fretboard feels very good. Slapped a pack of coated strings on it and been going strong for years. It's beautiful, the inlays are very cool, the sound from its double humbuckers is perfectly fine, and the fact that it's active/passive means i'm never gonna find myself in an awkward situation. Packs a bite

Now concerning the negatives, i only really have one. The neck and the first pickup don't really leave enough space between them for someone to double pluck. You can play slap, yes, but it's just a bit more limiting for my taste.

All in all though, this is probably the best bass a beginner could buy, and a bass that even someone with more experiance could really enjoy

For what you pay, This is a great investment for a newer player. Unfortunately mine had quite a bit of fret buzz until the local shop adjusted the truss rod and bridge a bit.Mine happened to come with a slightly warped neck per the pro shop. Now most of the buzz is gone. The tech at the shop was pretty shocked at the quality for the price, and he really liked the sound of the bass. The tone of the bass is fantastic through the HB-40B amp as well. The fretboard is very smooth, and the edges of the frets were rounded and polished nicely. The electronics cavity has electrical shielding as well, which i was surprised with given the low cost of the bass. I will be swapping out the strings soon as they do feel a bit gritty/rough when sliding your fingers across them. Not the worst strings, but certainly could be better. The fit and finish on everything is very nice, and there were no blemishes i could find. Not sure if it was supposed to come with it, but mine did not come with a 9v battery for the active pre-amp. Overall im really happy with the bass, and cant wait to play it more. For what I paid, and the quality I got, it was worth the almost 23 days shipping from Germany to the USA. Thank you Thomann!

Excellent budget bass. So many features for this price point. Low action, smooth skinny neck, and very comfortable to hold. My biggest gripe is the positioning of the humbuckers. Whatever way I play, the humbuckers tend to get in my way but that's more of a personal issue. They sound quite good. A lot of tonal possibilities, especially with the added active circuitry that requires a battery to operate but can be used in passive mode too. The bass I received was an off white cream colour, almost as if it's been naturally aged over time. It's got that vintage look you might find if you opened a guitar case in your uncles attic and found a guitar. I think the strings are Harley Benton's own brand and honestly, they sound great out of the box with that lovely brand new steel string sound that I love but their longevity is compromised as that lovely sound dissipated very quickly and became dull sounding, which might be down your alley but I prefer a brighter sound. All electronics work fine, and the bass didn't need a set up right out of the box. Fretwork seems good, no visible blemishes which is pretty amazing at this price range. Came well packaged and delivery was quick, with tracking provided.

A+ Thomann and Harley Benton!

I can't be any happier with this bass. I've played guitar for two years prior to buying this bass and it's such a joy to play.

The neck feels smooth and accessible due to the comfortable cutaways and relatively slim profile and the bass feels comfortable both sitting down and standing up.

The sound of these active pickups surprised me. They are very versatile and provide me with all the sounds i'll need for 99% of my favorite rock and metal songs. Off course there are better sounding basses out there, but definitely not at this pricepoint.

The only reason i'ts not 5/5 for the finish is a buzzing D-string. The nut slot of this string is cut ever so slightly too deep resulting in some fret buzz if i'm attacking the string, mostly when playing metal and punk rock. This is easily solved by fitting a new nut, which are anything but expensive, and i don't see this being a consistent error with these basses. The rest of the bass is finished great for this price.

Overall an amazingly versatile and solid bass, which is accessible enough for beginners and will probably satisfy most experienced players on a budget.