Harley Benton JB-75FL SB Vintage Series

Decided to give a fretless a try for the first time and have read generally positive reviews about Harley Benton so thought it made perfect sense to give one a try.

Everything about the purchasing experience was excellent. Thomann does it right. Excellent communication and I received the bass 3 days after purchasing it. The bass was packed extremely well. Double boxed, plenty of foam packing, the fingerboard was protected, the pickguard, chrome cover-plate and pick-ups were also protected. I was genuinely surprised how well it was packed.

The action was very low out of the box and I've kept it that way. Had to do some minor saddle adjustments to get the intonation right and the bridge is definitely a place where an upgrade would probably be worth it. Its not terrible but the saddles are a little sticky . But I was able to get spot-on intonation without having to adjust the truss rod so a bridge upgrade isn't a priority for me.

Playing a fretless for the first time was pretty awesome. Should have picked one up sooner. Took a little getting used to but in a cool way as I immediately started liking how easily I could manipulate pitch with my left-hand. The pick-ups on the Harley Benton are pretty lively, seem a bit hotter than my Geddy jazz stock pick-ups. Pick-up volume and tone pots are all smooth and responsive. Love the overall sound of the bass and the neck is smooth and easy to play.

The bass is heavy (mine is about 12 pounds) so a wide, padded strap is helpful. It plays unbelievably well given this price point.

Bottom line, the Harley Benton impressed me completely. Extreme bang for the buck. Its almost hard to believe how good this instrument is for this price. This was also my first purchase with Thomann and I'm completely satisfied with the purchasing experience. So satisfied in fact, that I just ordered another bass.

Really enjoying this guitar. The neck feels wonderful and mine has a lovely flamed maple back that I really wasn't expecting. Bought as a mod project and will probably swap out the pickguard, which does feel cheap, but there's really not much room for improvement otherwise. The pickups are better than I expected, but could easily be upgraded. Gears feel basic, but it holds tune fine. Truss rod needed a tweak because the neck was too straight and the fingerboard needs a bit of oil to darken and and moisturise it. Fit and finish is perfect though. If you want an inexpensive fretless bass, this is a great pick. Going to have to seriously consider buying more HB guitars...

Purchased as I fancied having a go at fretless and didn't want to go to deep in my pockets. Reviews decided the matter.
Excellent buying experience with Thomann and courier. Well packaged and had obviously been handled with respect, arrived when scheduled .
First impressions on unboxing, really nice finish and nicely put together. Packed with the strings backed off a bit, as they should be. No lacquer cracks, buzzes or rattles. So far so good,tune up and give it a go. The action is low out the box, but a little buzzy in the middle of the neck particularly on the G, but playable with a gentle touch. Lived with it for a few days, then got a rainy Saturday so had a proper look.
I knew it would come with round wounds on it, so ordered a set of flats with it and put them on. Tuned up and had a look at the neck relief on the E string, on mine it was zero, maybe even a little convex, a half turn or so anti clockwise of the truss rod with Allen key supplied and that looks good. Now the action looks a bit high overall, a quick tweek of the bridge saddles gets us 2mm on G and 2.4mm on E. For me it feels about right for a small amount of effort setting it up, set up is personal preference after all.
A connoisseur could probably pick holes in the hardware and pick ups, but they'll probably outperform my playing ability.
Overall, outstanding value. Just be prepared to get it set up either by a tech or find out how to do it yourself. The information is out there and you'll understand your instrument better. Based on this guitar alone, I would recommend anyone on a budget to have a look at any of the Harley Benton range.

I am absolutely chuffed with this bass, only needed a quick set up with the truss rod and it plays amazingly and sounds great, lovely sustain with the roundwound stock strings, looking forward to hearing how it sounds with flatwounds. It's definitely a heavy instrument which could put some people off, but for the price and quality it's certainly worth it, even after paying a hefty import tax to the UK (cheers brexit).