Harley Benton PB-Shorty BK Standard Series

This is a very cheap bass guitar, so it´s kind of a mixed emotions review. First off, the strings are so crappy it´s unbelievable and has so low output that they are totally not usable and you HAVE TO change them. The neck had a really bad back bow, so had to release the truss rod more than 2 turns to get it in the ball park. I have also lowered the saddle to the max and would like to lower it even more, but it´s not possible as is. The pickups are not great, but they are OK for the price. The frets cuts your hand, so I had to round basically all of them of on the sides. All in all it´s OK, but you would have to know how to setup up a bass/guitar to have any fun with this instrument, as the delivered setup is totally unplayable.

Bought this for home use, hobby only. Had to stop fingerpicking acoustic due to problems in both hands so thought I’d try a bass with less fancy hand movement. Delivery was fast up to local depot, but then got a message saying the address was incomplete. This proved untrue, but it was Friday afternoon and Valentine’s Day so a late trip to our remote village may have seemed unappetising. Got it on Monday.

It looks fine, body unblemished. Took several days before it would stay in tune, probably because of front pickup, which was badly fitted with one corner significantly higher than the rest. The adjusting screw had a stripped head so I guess someone had noticed. Eventually lowered it. Two bridge Allen key sockets didn’t work, one seems to have no hexagonal interior at all. Truss rod is jammed solid. The intonation screws worked fine as did the tuners. So not the best review, sadly.

If, after a month, my hands are coping, I’ll get that American Mustang in Aubergine. Wouldn’t that be nice?!!

I got this bass so i can have something sitting next to me that i could just pickup and practice with no worries.
My review of the bass right out of the box:
1) Finish - looks great. there were no problems with the finish on the body, the pickguard or the neck.
2) Hardware - the harley benton shorty comes with a vintage bridge and open back tuners, much in the style of an old school p bass. the tuners are fine, they hold the tune and do their job. the bridge however was not mounted correctly and i had to make some adjustments to it. the knobs all work fine.
3) sound - out of the box the sound was not impressive at all but after installing flatwound strings by GHS the sound improved alot. i intend to replace to pickup in the future.

all in all the bass required a good setup + changing the strings in order to play well and sound well but for the price i think it's worth it.

I'm a pro bass player, been playing for 10 years now - this is my first short scale. I bought it to easily schlep it to rehearsals and practice, as the 34" scale heavy basses are doing a number on my back.

Immediately after I recieved it, I took it directly to Rehearsal without even a test, and it performed admirably for the price. It definitely needs a setup and a change of strings, but with the right turn of the tone knob, I got the sound i was looking for, and the short scale makes it a breeze to play. I was so happy I even gigged it the next day!

Few cons, though.
1. neck dive!
2. the pickup on mine seems to be a bit noisy at times, but this might be a problem with the amp I was using. Also, there is definitely a difference in output for the strings, something I need to resolve with setup.

Pros
1. So easy to play, and light!
2. A really good P bass growl that I didn't expect from a bass of this size or price

Overall, A sensational buy if you want to try a short scale and don't want to pay too much - and also if you love the P bass sound!

I was looking for a cheap basic bass I could upgrade in the future.
The finish is nice, the bass looks good and has no distinct visual issues. The paint is nice and even throughout the body, the neck is feels smooth and the headstock also looks good.
For me the best features are the low weight and the short scale, which make it a really comfortable sitting-at-home instrument.

However, this is a very cheap bass, thus it comes with some flaws:
- The pickups are just straight up bad, both their sound and their adjustability.
- The frets have some sprouting.
- There's a lot of string buzz.

I had a JB-75 NA which sounds and plays a ton better than this one. If you are a beginner, with no plans of upgrading this very instrument in the future, I would suggest getting either that, or any other HB bass.

2nd bass ordered from Thomann . i was that impressed with my pb50. Whilst i understand that these are "B" stock guitars , i was not that impressed to see a rather nasty dent in the tip of the headstock . The setup was not fantastic either . the strings were unbelievably high and there was lot of top end fret buzz , the neck had obvious bowing . I managed to sort the bowing out fairly easily and got the action lowered and after that it played rather well. the sound is better than i expected with a good range of tone and plenty of output. the overall quality of the bass is reasonable , good machine heads , playable neck and electronics seem to do the job admirably. the one thing i will stress is not only is it short scale , its absolutely tiny body wise. this is an absolutely ideal bass for a junior player. this ended up being what i used it for, my 9 year old son has claimined it , and it suits him perfectly. overall a good product , but let down by a couple of probably unlucky bad issues.