Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Series

417

Acoustic Bass

Style: Super Jumbo with cutaway
Top: Spruce
Body: Sapele / mahogany
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Roseacer
Fingerboard inlays: Dot
22 Frets
Scale: 815 mm (medium scale)
Nut width: 42 mm
Double-action truss rod
Bridge: Roseacer
Cream binding
Chrome die-cast machine heads
Factory strings: .045 - .105
Built-in pickup system with 4-band EQ and tuner
Colour: Black, high-gloss
Suitable gig bag available under article no. 121814 (not included)

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

3-Year Thomann Warranty

Available since February 2004

Item number 165299

Sales Unit 1 piece(s)

Colour Black

Top Spruce

Back and Sides Mahogany

Neck Mahogany

Fretboard Roseacer

Incl. Pickup System Yes

Incl. Case No

Includes Gigbag No

Scale Medium scale

£125

Including VAT; Excluding £10 shipping

Sales Rank

in 4-String Acoustic Basses

Bundles & offers

Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Bundle

£146

Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Bundle

£153

Create your own bundle

starting from £149

Up to 8% discount

Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Bundle

£183

Out of the lounge and into the gig

The Harley Benton B-30BK is a four-string acoustic bass with a piezo pickup, active EQ, and integrated tuner. While it can be played unplugged in any sufficiently quiet environment, the integrated pickup also allows for amplification on stage. In terms of sound, it complements the classic solidbody electric bass and offers a sonic alternative for bassists who like to experiment. The B-30BK is rarely used as a main instrument, so its unbeatable price makes it ideal for musicians who want to learn what the acoustic bass is all about, or for those who are looking for a second instrument to practice and travel with but don't want to make too large an investment.

Closeup of the Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Series

Playing unplugged: An option, but not a necessity

Thanks to its guitar-like design with its 22-fret long-scale mahogany neck and roseacer fingerboard, the extremely light B-30BK plays much like a normal electric bass, but its sound is somewhere between its solid-wood siblings and the upright bass. The bidirectionally adjustable truss rod guarantees perfect playability at all times. With its relatively large mahogany body and laminated spruce top, this bass sounds powerful enough for home use and has the advantage of always being at hand without having to waste even a second fussing with cables or amplifiers. Nevertheless, the integrated four-band EQ provides full flexibility when the volume needs to be turned up a notch. So you can think of the B-30BK as a commuter between sofa, veranda, rehearsal room, and festival stage. The built-in tuner will come in handy for ensuring a pitch-perfect sound - but always unplug the cable when the instrument is not in use.

Preamp on the Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Series

Exploring sounds and spaces

The Harley Benton B-30BK is ideal for occasional users who don't want to spend a lot of money on a bass they only use sporadically but still want to rest assured that they can rely on it to perform properly. The instrument is also suitable for electric bass newbies who want to initially get by without an amplifier. However, even seasoned players looking to broaden their musical horizons, to explore new styles, and to work in small ensembles or intimate unplugged settings will appreciate the features of the B-30BK. In fact, this makes it almost perfect for music genres that typically favour an acoustic sound. These include Blues, Folk, Country, and Jazz as well as power ballads.

Headstock on the Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Series

About Harley Benton

Since 1998, the Harley Benton brand has been catering for the needs of numerous guitarists and bassists. In addition to an extensive range of stringed instruments, Thomann's house brand also offers a wide choice of amplifiers, speakers, effect pedals, and other accessories. In total, the range includes over 1,500 products. Built by established names in the industry, all Harley Benton products combine quality and reliability at attractive and affordable prices. The continuous expansion of the range ensures that Harley Benton always provides new, exciting, and innovative products that keep players perfectly in tune with the musical world, day after day.

Intimate yet sociable

From living room performances to live-streamed unplugged sessions or Flower Power festivals: "Acoustic sound" has been in fashion in recent years. If bassists don't want to lug around an upright bass, an acoustic bass offers a truly practical and affordable solution which is much more than "just" an alternative. While it is of course possible to create a certain similarity in sound to the upright bass, it is also possible to take advantage of the instrument's unique features. For instance, typical electric bass techniques can be used in a new creative way on the B-30BK. And what a great feeling it is to be able to make music at home or on the road without ever having to worry about finding a mains power socket.

In the spotlight

Roseacer

Rosewood is a particularly hard wood that has long been popular as a material for making guitar and bass fretboards. This wood is now considered endangered, however, and resources are scarce and expensive – which is why guitar makers have already spent several years searching for alternatives. The wood that Harley Benton has chosen as a fretboard material for its ST Acoustic series and many other guitars is a type of thermally treated maple known as “roseacer” (a word coined from “acer”, the name of the genus to which maple belongs). The heat treatment to which the wood is subjected reduces its water content to around three percent, which prevents subsequent shifting or warping and increases the wood’s stability while also giving it a visual appearance similar to that of rosewood.

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417 Customer ratings

5 163 Customers 4 185 Customers 3 54 Customers 2 12 Customers 1 3 Customers

4.2 / 5

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Review guidelines

228 Reviews

Great budget acoustic Bass.

Andy739 24.06.2013

I bought this Bass in 2005 initially so i could reherse material at home easily without upsetting the wife by dragging an amp into the lounge. More recently i've been doing some work with an accoustic guitarist so have played a few shows with this beast and to be honest it's more than up to the challenge. It looks great with a high gloss black finish edged in cream and has the look and feel of a much bigger budget bass. The neck is quite chunky but feels good and the action suprisingly low. The EQ, presence and volume sliders do the job. A 9v battery slides in behind the electrics which has a red battery low LED but to be fair if you use a good quality battery it won't need changing much.
When I work live with the acoustic bass it goes straight into the PA via a Behringer BDI 21 modelling DI box which gives me a bit of extra control over the tone and drive and that set up works really well for the small gigs i use it for. I'm really impressed with the build quality of this Bass for the price. My only gripe was there was only one strap button on the bass meaning that unless you want to play seated you will need to buy another one. I fit all my basses with strap locks so not a big deal for me but something to bear in mind. My verdict overall, for the price faultless!

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Looks and plays great!

Anonymous 20.03.2017

I bought this bass to play in a small acoustic setting and mainly use it with a small warwick amp. The guitar looks really impressive and seems well made. Mine had a slight problem with one of the machine heads but Thomann sent me a replacement straight away. I have Thomastik Flats on it and I think the amplified sound of the guitar sounds really nice now. Unamplified it is quite quiet, as with most acoustic basses (fine if I am just practicing though), and in my view you only really get a deep bass sound with the help of a small amp. I play just with my fingers so that probably has something to do with it. The preamp is quite mid/high tone biased and I keep all the treble high mid sliders to zero and the bass one at the highest setting. As I say - with that setup, I think it looks and sounds great- definitely warmer and more woody compared to my electric basses. Over time I may change the preamp but with the built-in chromatic tuner and the DI out and phase switch, it's such good value and does the job fine. It has quite a high output so I use the active (-15db) setting on the amp. I have lowered the action slightly - something I wouldn't have dared to do myself on a more expensive bass.
Overall - highly recommended and it's such good value.

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Cheap but works

Harry345 28.04.2017

Beware that this bass is a shorter 32" scale, I was not aware of that before I bought it because the scale length is written in centimeters instead of inches on the website. Not a big problem for me though

The bass is loud enough to be easily heard when playing with fingers without plugging it in, which is the main reason I bought it. It's easy to pick it up and just play it.

It's loud enough to play together with an acoustic guitar if you play with pick. If you play with fingers it won't be loud enough unless the guitarist is playing quietly or also with fingers.

The finishing is obviously not perfect as it's a very cheap guitar, but it's not noticeable unless you look very closely. Overall it's good for the price

The piezo pickup in the guitar does not seem to be pick up the low E-string at all. The other 3 strings are picked up fine.

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Perfect for practice

odemeijer 21.07.2020

Bought some years ago now, mainly for practicing or playing outside in the summer, mostly alone : does this job perfectly. I've used it a few times in rehearsal or small gigs, amplified through my Ampeg BA115HP, it sounds very good too.
Finish is really nice, electronic is reliable (battery last ... since i bought it !), confortable to play, ... Only problem is one of the machine head that have a tendency to "lock" when tuning since day one, not really important.

I hesitated between an HB B-30 and the Ibanez AEB8E at the time : i'm sure the difference isn't worth the difference in price.
Happy with my buying.

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Harley Benton B-30BK Acoustic Bass Series

Acoustic Bass

Out of the lounge and into the gig