Harley Benton B-450FL BK Progressive Series

First and foremost my opinion of the guitar, then some notes on what you might expect on receipt. I was very pleased with how it looked and the build quality. The action adjustment at the bridge could be more robust but to be fair it does the job. And the nut does look cheap and of simple manufacture, so could easily be remedied for a marginally higher quality component, but again does the job. I upgraded the strings to La Bella deep talking bass and I think this is a significant thing to do. They are beautiful strings that enhance any guitar. In this case the tonal difference is radical, I couldn't have played it with the original roundwound strings. Well I say that, it would play, but just not the same experience. So, for under 200 Euro I have a nice sounding fretless bass, a strap (I added that myself) and some very good strings. I have a 1980 Fender Precision and a Double bass so it was up against some stiff opposition, but it does compare very favourably. Some people might say, its an in-house, not a well known Brand, like Fender or Yamaha etc but does that matter if you are getting a good guitar for very little outlay. The HB badge might affect resale value, but I was never planning to sell mine. That's the good. The bad! Out of the box it is unplayable and if you've never set up a guitar there is no guidance, so its necessary to watch Youtube tutorials, But when I asked Thomann did send links to their site with advice on essential setup I have suggested a single page of set-up guidance notes to accompany deliveries would be a good idea, details of the transcript I sent is as below. In summary for the money quite exceptional, but my proviso would be with upgraded strings and perfect for a first foray into the world of Fretless bass.
I have suggested that at least a single page of advice notes are issued with each sale. It is unplayable, (out of the box) as received and not everyone will understand that it needs a proper setup.
> Just some guidance notes; Important Information. Truss Rod adjustment maybe required... do it like this and action set -up, like this... then intonation, like this, even if only a paragraph on each subject.

I ordered this bass just to mess around with a fretless out of curiosity. In Czech Republic you can get cheapest fretless bass for double the money (Squier JB). So I had basically no expectations. Also I own Harley Benton PB-50 which is fair but not a well made instrument.

When the fretless arrived, I was surprised. The build quality was significantly better then PB-50. The fingerboard was dry af, so I used fretboard conditioner oil when changing strings. The original roundwounds were nothing fancy and I was afraid of the damage they could do to the fretboard. Immediately I switched to fender flatwounds and the improvement was unbelievable. The sound is smooth, not limp, clear, the output on the thinner strings is higher than I'm used to which is nice. You don't get much high frequencies even if you try, The active treble pot makes zero to none difference.

What I don't like is the bridge. You have to take off the string in order to set it up and then see whether it's ok. If not, you have to take the string down again. Also the metal which it is made out of is cheap and soft.

The battery drains fast if you leave it on active mode and keep the jack in.

It is also very light compared to my jazz bass copy, which is nice af. Still it's balanced, it doesn't fall on the neck.

Great thing is that there are no lines on the fretboard. It's a bit more difficult to find the tones but as the wood hasn't been cut, the delivered tone is full and has a long sustain as the wood resonates better then fretboards with lines.

The neck is very comfortable to play. It's got satin finish and thin profile, ideal for fast playing.

For the price I think this is unbelievable instrument.

Very impressed with this! The build quality is simply amazing on both the neck and body. It doesn't feel like an entry level instrument. This is a quality item.

The only reservation I have (which would be simply remedied) is that the pots don't feel perfectly smooth in use. They don't crackle though, they sound smooth, but I'd probably want to upgrade them at some time, maybe.

The other hardware is decent enough. The tuners and bridge pieces are smooth to operate and the pick-ups seem fine. The battery box is much better than the one on my Ibanez SR500. The modern D-shape neck is comfortable and encouraging to play. Its a little wider at the nut than my SR-500 (which is more of a jazz style profile), but its still easy to get around.

As a playing instrument, this bass is amazing. It also has a really good tone range. You could pretty much play any style of music with this.

Well done for Thomann for package and delivery too. Came well packed and reached me in the UK in less than four days. Excellent service.

As my latest acquisition, a Harley Benton B-450FL BK, has just arrived, I can't tell you that much about this 4-string fretless, other than what can be garnered from my first impressions, in particular in comparison to my existing B-450 QTB and B-550 QTB models. It seems to be built to the same exacting standards, so I'm expecting great things from this machine when it gets used in anger, so to speak. That'll happen this week, on Tuesday, I think; but for now, the build quality looks great and it feels wonderful. The pickups and the controls also feel somewhat familiar, as I am already conversant the setup, owning, as I do, the two sister models specified above. I am, of course, assuming that what "looks" and "feels" the same, will "sound" the same; but perhaps not. But, what else can I say?; other than, get me to Tuesday ASAP! Let this latest Harley Benton adventure begin! Seriously, you want to get your hands on one or more of these basses; they are, quite frankly, incredible. Go on, treat yourself; it's Christmas!

For those of you looking for a reasonably priced fretless bass, this has to be on your shopping list.
The active pickups give a suitable response and the neck itself is very nice to play. You may have to tweak the intonation a bit at the octave but that is easily done with the individual saddles.
It is supplied with heavy-ish roundwounds, which you may wish to swap to flats for a smoother fretless sound.
For non-bass players like myself, I wanted something that would perform as I wanted but without paying the earth for a name brand. This does just that.
For some reason I seem to get on better with fretless basses than fretted ones and I like this toy very much.

I make a comprehensive review of this bass on my You Tube channel (search for "Harley Benton B450FL long term review - cool fretless bass.").

The only slight issue is neck dive - but I have this on almost every bass I have. Decent strap and cured.

At the time of my purchase it was £120 for a 4 string active pickup fretless bass. The key selling point for me was the humbucker pickups - which reject all sorts of noise in the church where I play. I then added some La Bella nylon coated strings - adjusted the truss rod (2 way!) and wow. But a lot of folks like the sound of normal strings - and at the price I doubt you need to worry about chewing up the fretboard - just buy another!

I have taken this bass apart, set it up multiple times. The tuners have a little bit of play but keep tune. I also did the "superglue" on the fretboard - worked fine. But it doesnt really need it - I just wanted to experiment.

The awesome thing about this active system - if your battery dies then pull out the volume knob and you go into passive mode. Not much difference in volume, master tone still works but the bass boost stops. This is a real bonus compared to EMG, where there is no such passive switch option.

Sure they are not EMG pickups - but they are very usable especially given I tend to add a Zoom B1XFour infront to shape the sounds more.

All in all a great bass - lovely neck - thin without feeling it will snap. Satin back. Rejects noise from induction loop - and with the La Bella's has the whole double bass tone and luxurious feel.

I followed Jim Stinnett's Real Bass Lessons/drills and was soon into fretless. Will look good on the wall too when you decide you need another fretless in your life - and once you get the hand of this bass you wont want to play fretted again!

My one regret? That I didnt buy the 5 string version. The 6 looks a little too plank like. 5 string to me is the most natural bass layout.