HL
A genuine Bass VI for $200?!?!? Wow!
I have been a fan of "Bass VI" instruments since the 90's when I first tried out a Japanese "F" brand reissue at a local shop (still kicking myself for not buying it). A few years ago I indulged myself and bought the "S" brand "vintage modified" version, and aside from a couple VERY minor complaints it is damned near perfect. When I saw Harley Benton did their own take on this unique, inspiring instrument, I had to try it. And I am glad I did!
Aside from a slightly trimmed-down body, this is very close to my "S" branded VI. The neck, while a thicker profile on the HB, is visually similar, and insets into the body at the same place as my Bass VI. The inlays look nice, and mine came with well-finished frets and binding. The pickups sound good, and are in fact fiber-base AlNiCo pickups, not cheapo bar-magnet bottom-of-the-heap pickups. The only complaint I have is I do kind of miss the individual on/off switches for the pickups, and the "strangle" switch like my real VI has. The hardware is solid, and again, if I were to complain about anything, it would be the lack of a vibrato/vibrola/tremolo (some may actually prefer this hard-tail/stopbar configuration though).
So when I got my HB, I started by adding a tiny shim to the neck to even out the action a bit, and it plays like a dream now. I then decided on two other mods to make this my go-to gigging Bass VI (I've preferred to leave my "real" one in my studio). First I added a VibraMate V5 and a Bigsby B5 vibrato so that I get my wiggle-stick action going on this one like on my other one. Secondly, I replaced the volume pot with a 1M pot, and the tone control with a push-pull pot wired as a traditional tone pot, but with the push-pull function to act as a "strangle" switch (high-pass), similar to the original design. Now this HB is every bit as versatile as my "real" Bass VI, and it really makes me want to write more songs to perform on it instead of standard guitar.
Pros:
- Excellent bang for the buck
- Nice build quality
- Sounds great
- Good hardware overall
- Fit/finish is awesome
Cons:
- No vibrato/vibrola/tremolo
- No "strangle" switch
- Neck is a tad too "beefy" for smaller hands
- Pickguard is a little plain without the metal control plates of the original design
- Only one finish option
Overall, this was a terrific first instrument purchase for me from Thomann/Harley Benton, and I really recommend it for guitarists and bassists looking to inspire some "outside the box" playing/writing. You won't be disappointed!
Aside from a slightly trimmed-down body, this is very close to my "S" branded VI. The neck, while a thicker profile on the HB, is visually similar, and insets into the body at the same place as my Bass VI. The inlays look nice, and mine came with well-finished frets and binding. The pickups sound good, and are in fact fiber-base AlNiCo pickups, not cheapo bar-magnet bottom-of-the-heap pickups. The only complaint I have is I do kind of miss the individual on/off switches for the pickups, and the "strangle" switch like my real VI has. The hardware is solid, and again, if I were to complain about anything, it would be the lack of a vibrato/vibrola/tremolo (some may actually prefer this hard-tail/stopbar configuration though).
So when I got my HB, I started by adding a tiny shim to the neck to even out the action a bit, and it plays like a dream now. I then decided on two other mods to make this my go-to gigging Bass VI (I've preferred to leave my "real" one in my studio). First I added a VibraMate V5 and a Bigsby B5 vibrato so that I get my wiggle-stick action going on this one like on my other one. Secondly, I replaced the volume pot with a 1M pot, and the tone control with a push-pull pot wired as a traditional tone pot, but with the push-pull function to act as a "strangle" switch (high-pass), similar to the original design. Now this HB is every bit as versatile as my "real" Bass VI, and it really makes me want to write more songs to perform on it instead of standard guitar.
Pros:
- Excellent bang for the buck
- Nice build quality
- Sounds great
- Good hardware overall
- Fit/finish is awesome
Cons:
- No vibrato/vibrola/tremolo
- No "strangle" switch
- Neck is a tad too "beefy" for smaller hands
- Pickguard is a little plain without the metal control plates of the original design
- Only one finish option
Overall, this was a terrific first instrument purchase for me from Thomann/Harley Benton, and I really recommend it for guitarists and bassists looking to inspire some "outside the box" playing/writing. You won't be disappointed!
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D
A different kind of riff stick
As a guitarist I'm most interested in the lower end, often tuning down to C, but as a bassist I end up playing chords like a guitar. So this is exactly what I've been looking for! Right out of the box this thing plays perfectly. The GBVS has a simple setup of volume, tone, and a 5-way pick-up selector that gives a wide range of sounds. The stock single-coil pickups & strings can be a little thin, especially if you're expecting a traditional bass sound, but the tone knob gives a lot of variety. And you could always change to a heavier string gauge or install different pick-ups. Cosmetically I have zero complaints. I love the offset body and neck shape, and the finish is great and light on the neck so it's easy to move your hand around. No frills needed.
It's an ideal rhythm instrument that has a distinct timbre from a bass or guitar that can give you massive backing tracks and low-end lines. Famously used by Peter Hook in New Order, Robert Smith on "Disintegration", and Glen Campbell in "Wichita Lineman", there's a lot of sonic possibilities available. I bet this would be killer for a 2-piece band, or a looper-based solo project!
It's an ideal rhythm instrument that has a distinct timbre from a bass or guitar that can give you massive backing tracks and low-end lines. Famously used by Peter Hook in New Order, Robert Smith on "Disintegration", and Glen Campbell in "Wichita Lineman", there's a lot of sonic possibilities available. I bet this would be killer for a 2-piece band, or a looper-based solo project!
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x
The most affordable 30" baritone and it surprisingly good!
After band Loathe came out with their baritones it totally changed metal guitarist community. After seeing pros of these guitars i knew i need one. Squiers were discontinued, aftermarket was way too overpriced i went to thomann and fount this!
I looked at the specs and they weren't that different from what i was looking after.
I bought it and within week and a half it came to local post office i grabbed it and went home unpacking. It was shipped in double box so that no damage is taken during shipping.
The guitar even though is quite affordable ships well-packaged - frets and headstock were covered in foam so that strings can't do any harm by accident.
The first day i immediately re-recorded guitars for my metal track and it was a big wow for me. Since i was working in-the-box with plugins, i had no troubles with single pickups and it's low output. I even preferred that sound over my 8-string active SD-Blackouts guitar. I think because of the tension that this scale lenght provides. All the low notes sounded well-articulated and tight. And i primarily used it at home for writing and learning. The whole guitar is made decent but it needed some minor adjustments such as truss-rod adjustments and saddle moving and few sharp fret edges but nothing critical it didn't cut hands just felt little itchy. I went little too far since i was luthier and i leveled the frets by myself and it become even better. But again, nothing major were done with that.
It's now just over 2 years i own it. And i finally decided to do the only thing that bothered me about this guitar - i've changed electronics.
As been said singles were low output and the guitar coudn't stand live applications such as metal gigs. When adding more and more gain the sound became more hissy.
What i did recently i made another pickguard (with mirror look) which has only Humbucker socket, small 2-way switch for on-off volume and jack. And now i'm finally happy with this guitar. By the way i've never been upset about it. All the regular use cases it went through it performed really well, i just couldn't stand making it little better.
Pros:
- Great shipping packaging
- Well tuned
- Paintjob and varnishing is made perfect
- Tuning stability is awesome because of great tuners used. Guitar literally never came out of tune by itself (note: string tension is way higher than on a regular scale guitar)
- Pretty lightweight for that of a scale length (subjective, my other guitar is an 8-string)
- Price
Cons:
- Few sharp fret edges
- (subjective) Low output singles (but guitar is considered to be in a vintage series so be it)
- Because of the neck lentgh it neck-dives but it's easily solved by swapping the strap button to a furniture hook with a carabiner on strap
The whole guitar is awesome for that price. All the changes i made to it were completely optional and not necessarily needed to one that considers it to buying.
I looked at the specs and they weren't that different from what i was looking after.
I bought it and within week and a half it came to local post office i grabbed it and went home unpacking. It was shipped in double box so that no damage is taken during shipping.
The guitar even though is quite affordable ships well-packaged - frets and headstock were covered in foam so that strings can't do any harm by accident.
The first day i immediately re-recorded guitars for my metal track and it was a big wow for me. Since i was working in-the-box with plugins, i had no troubles with single pickups and it's low output. I even preferred that sound over my 8-string active SD-Blackouts guitar. I think because of the tension that this scale lenght provides. All the low notes sounded well-articulated and tight. And i primarily used it at home for writing and learning. The whole guitar is made decent but it needed some minor adjustments such as truss-rod adjustments and saddle moving and few sharp fret edges but nothing critical it didn't cut hands just felt little itchy. I went little too far since i was luthier and i leveled the frets by myself and it become even better. But again, nothing major were done with that.
It's now just over 2 years i own it. And i finally decided to do the only thing that bothered me about this guitar - i've changed electronics.
As been said singles were low output and the guitar coudn't stand live applications such as metal gigs. When adding more and more gain the sound became more hissy.
What i did recently i made another pickguard (with mirror look) which has only Humbucker socket, small 2-way switch for on-off volume and jack. And now i'm finally happy with this guitar. By the way i've never been upset about it. All the regular use cases it went through it performed really well, i just couldn't stand making it little better.
Pros:
- Great shipping packaging
- Well tuned
- Paintjob and varnishing is made perfect
- Tuning stability is awesome because of great tuners used. Guitar literally never came out of tune by itself (note: string tension is way higher than on a regular scale guitar)
- Pretty lightweight for that of a scale length (subjective, my other guitar is an 8-string)
- Price
Cons:
- Few sharp fret edges
- (subjective) Low output singles (but guitar is considered to be in a vintage series so be it)
- Because of the neck lentgh it neck-dives but it's easily solved by swapping the strap button to a furniture hook with a carabiner on strap
The whole guitar is awesome for that price. All the changes i made to it were completely optional and not necessarily needed to one that considers it to buying.
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DL
Fantastic six string VI style bass straight out of the box
I'd been on the lookout for a six string bass for a long time and the Fender VI was top of my list having been played by George Harrison and John Lennon in the Beatles and Jack Bruce in Cream. I liked the idea that it was tuned the same as a regular guitar but an octave lower so I could easily switch from guitar to bass. The VI also had a thin neck. Unfortunately, it was (and still is) way out of my price range. Even the Squier version was priced steeply and having played one in store didn't feel as solid as it should.
So when the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series came out I took a chance I ordered. I'm so glad I did. Straight out of the box, it felt fantastic. The neck was comfortable, the action low without much buzz and even unplugged it sounded great with solid intonation right up its long neck. The finish looks even better in person than on the photos - darker and more subtle with its burst.
Plugged in it gets even better with a good variance of tone from the three pickups - they take effects very, very well. Often a lot of effects can take the depth out of your tone but starting an octave lower with a bass puts you in a great starting position for alt-rock/psychedelic experimentation.
As a standard bass, the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series is more than adequate but as a new voicing for existing electric guitar players it's a revelation. And an absolute bargain.
So when the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series came out I took a chance I ordered. I'm so glad I did. Straight out of the box, it felt fantastic. The neck was comfortable, the action low without much buzz and even unplugged it sounded great with solid intonation right up its long neck. The finish looks even better in person than on the photos - darker and more subtle with its burst.
Plugged in it gets even better with a good variance of tone from the three pickups - they take effects very, very well. Often a lot of effects can take the depth out of your tone but starting an octave lower with a bass puts you in a great starting position for alt-rock/psychedelic experimentation.
As a standard bass, the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS Vintage Series is more than adequate but as a new voicing for existing electric guitar players it's a revelation. And an absolute bargain.
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F
Incredible quality for under $200 USD
I have been buying guitars since 1985, and I have never taken the dive for an instrument I never handled. But I have been dying to own a Branded Bass VI for about 4 years, and I was completely seduced by Thomann’s price on the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS. When I ordered the guitar was out of stock but Thomann was able to correctly predict how soon they would be back in stock — an unusually-good act of supply chain management for an online seller.
When the guitar came back in stock, my order status changed to “in process” for 2 days. I thought there was a glitch in the system, so I reached out to Thomann on-line support. They informed me that the guitar was in Quality Control to make sure that it was in brand new condition and met all the Thomann standards for instrument quality - a great service when you are buying a guitar without seeing it first. That said, from the time my order status changed to the time the guitar landed at my front door, only 4 business days elapsed — and this guitar was coming from Germany to Central Time USA.
When I unpacked the guitar, it was in excellent condition. I tuned the guitar and plugged it in, and all the wiring and switches seem to be working fine. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the various 5-way settings all produced all the tone variations I had seen on videos of Bass VI performance — I expected the generic pickups to need replacement. (which was in the budget based on the original price of the guitar - it's a huge upside that I won't have to replace them)
A couple of technical things:
— Realistically, any guitar needs to be set up after tuning and allowing the neck to settle in. It is going to need a normal amount of set-up work (neck adjustment, intonation, etc.), not anything exceptional. The fretwork seems to be quite good.
— The action out of the box was incredible - 5/64 at the 12th fret after 24 hours of settling in.
— There are some comments in some reviews about the tuning machines. My opinion is that they seem adequate, but because I am picky I’m likely to replace them. However, I haven’t had any issues so far with anything but the strings stretching as new strings often do.
— The only negative comment I have is that the quality of the strings out of the box was very cheap. If this was my first guitar, I’d never have noticed, but anyone who wants to play this instrument like a bass will want something better than these steel strings which are noisy and very bright.
Listen: if you have always wanted a Bass VI, and you don’t want to drop $600 (or a lot more for a classic Branded model from the late 60’s), this is a great buy. You really cannot go wrong. Even the price of shipping makes this guitar half the price of the reissue Branded version.
When the guitar came back in stock, my order status changed to “in process” for 2 days. I thought there was a glitch in the system, so I reached out to Thomann on-line support. They informed me that the guitar was in Quality Control to make sure that it was in brand new condition and met all the Thomann standards for instrument quality - a great service when you are buying a guitar without seeing it first. That said, from the time my order status changed to the time the guitar landed at my front door, only 4 business days elapsed — and this guitar was coming from Germany to Central Time USA.
When I unpacked the guitar, it was in excellent condition. I tuned the guitar and plugged it in, and all the wiring and switches seem to be working fine. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the various 5-way settings all produced all the tone variations I had seen on videos of Bass VI performance — I expected the generic pickups to need replacement. (which was in the budget based on the original price of the guitar - it's a huge upside that I won't have to replace them)
A couple of technical things:
— Realistically, any guitar needs to be set up after tuning and allowing the neck to settle in. It is going to need a normal amount of set-up work (neck adjustment, intonation, etc.), not anything exceptional. The fretwork seems to be quite good.
— The action out of the box was incredible - 5/64 at the 12th fret after 24 hours of settling in.
— There are some comments in some reviews about the tuning machines. My opinion is that they seem adequate, but because I am picky I’m likely to replace them. However, I haven’t had any issues so far with anything but the strings stretching as new strings often do.
— The only negative comment I have is that the quality of the strings out of the box was very cheap. If this was my first guitar, I’d never have noticed, but anyone who wants to play this instrument like a bass will want something better than these steel strings which are noisy and very bright.
Listen: if you have always wanted a Bass VI, and you don’t want to drop $600 (or a lot more for a classic Branded model from the late 60’s), this is a great buy. You really cannot go wrong. Even the price of shipping makes this guitar half the price of the reissue Branded version.
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B
Harley Benton Guitar Bass VS
I just received my Harley Benton Guitar Bass VS. Firstly, I'm very impressed with the instrument. It exceeds my expectations in almost every way. I bought it with the understanding that I'd likely have to do some fret leveling and end filing, etc. To my complete surprise, it's nearly perfect out of the very well packed box. It will require intonation and minor setup especially after the replacement strings are put on.
Secondly, Thomann did an extraordinary job of communicating with me throughout the process of pre-ordering through delivery from Germany to the USA. An included tag gave me a hand numbered indication that the product was inspected and quality checked before dispatch. Nice touch! Item made the trip across the Atlantic really quickly and only spent a day in customs.
This was my first purchase from Thomann and I will enthusiastically recommend them. Shipping was reasonable considering the distance and I had tracking the whole way.
Great job Harley Benton and Thomann! Thanks
Secondly, Thomann did an extraordinary job of communicating with me throughout the process of pre-ordering through delivery from Germany to the USA. An included tag gave me a hand numbered indication that the product was inspected and quality checked before dispatch. Nice touch! Item made the trip across the Atlantic really quickly and only spent a day in customs.
This was my first purchase from Thomann and I will enthusiastically recommend them. Shipping was reasonable considering the distance and I had tracking the whole way.
Great job Harley Benton and Thomann! Thanks
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R
DEEP, RICH TONES LIKE JAMES EARL JONES
Harley Benton have provided an incredible, six string bass to rival the overpriced EASTWOOD HOOKY 6, which comfortably produces deep, rich tones and pleasing high-end. The factory strings are absolutely fine for your initial play through, but you may find that you need to raise the action to remove some of the fret-buzz from the high end of the neck.
Overall, I love this bass. It’s just a shame that there aren’t more colour options.
Overall, I love this bass. It’s just a shame that there aren’t more colour options.
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T
Great instrument. Great bargain!
I have had this Bass VI for over a week and I continue to be amazed by the fit, finish, setup, and overall quality you get for so little money. The other options on the market for this unique type of bass/guitar cost a lot more and don't seem to get a lot of positive reviews, so I took a chance with the Harley Benton-- and I couldn't be more pleased.
Out of the box, the instrument is well-intonated (i verified this with a strobe tuner-- I am really fussy about intonation) and the nut was cut perfectly. Great action and a ringing resonance all the way up and down the neck.
Plugged in, the three pickups offer a wide variety of tones, but I will be replacing them with noiseless pickups as I prefer those to traditional single-coils.
This is one of the only instruments I have ever purchased that required literally zero remediation/tweaking in order to sound and play great.
10/10 Highly recommended. Unbeatable value.
Out of the box, the instrument is well-intonated (i verified this with a strobe tuner-- I am really fussy about intonation) and the nut was cut perfectly. Great action and a ringing resonance all the way up and down the neck.
Plugged in, the three pickups offer a wide variety of tones, but I will be replacing them with noiseless pickups as I prefer those to traditional single-coils.
This is one of the only instruments I have ever purchased that required literally zero remediation/tweaking in order to sound and play great.
10/10 Highly recommended. Unbeatable value.
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K
Great setup, right out of the box
This thing is a winner, excellent paint, solid components, and mine even has Birdseye in the maple neck! Since I purchased this. I've played the Sq version , and I have to say, the Harley Benton is much more playable, and has better tone.
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DV
Better than expected - tons of fun for the price
I was pleasantly surprised with all aspects of this affordable bass VI. The guitar I received looked nothing like display photo, but its got a good looking finish. Basic set-up was done before shipping to US (VERY fast!). All elecs work well with no crackles or signal drops while switching, pickups are ok for price, 5way strat switching is kind'a fun, stock strings sound ok as well. The neck is a good profile, not too fat or slim, its straight and adjusts correctly w truss rod. Its hard tail is more stable than vibrato style + slightly smaller body is comfortable to play. *VERY important to put correct strings on a bass VI - IT IS NOT A 6 STRING BASS* (Heavy bass strings will warp your neck) Realistically, buyers should expect to set-up according to preference - I do this with all new guitars so it does not affect my assessment of an instrument.
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