Harley Benton HBZ-2004 Deluxe Series

OK to start off, i want to say that i wish more than anything else that i could give the instrument a perfect 5/5 in all categories. However, there are some problems that need to be adressed.
Good things first (and they are plenty). This bass looks AMAZING! I love the natural finish, the inlays are a nice change to your classic white inlays. It really is a beautiful bass and it is just so inspiring to pick up and play, and for me that is always the most important.
Sound wise i think it really delivers. Great tone and sustain. I think it can go against competition from higher price ranges with ease.
Combine those with the active electronics and neckthrough construction and you get a solid instrument capable of much more than being a stepping stone for begginers. I would easily take it to a gig, without second thought.
Having said all that, mine came with quite a few toolmarks and scratches. on the fretboard, on the neck and on the body. particularly 2 of the scratches are somewhat large and noticeable, and i am a bit worried that they ll grow with temperature/humidity change. I dont care about the visuals in that aspect, so i dont mind them now, i just dont want to think that i might need to spend more money on a new instrument.
Lastly, the ceramic pickups do absolutely fine, but perhaps for next generation Thomann could go for an eponymous brand and that would lead the already amazing sound that the HBZ-2004 has to skyhigh levels.
No matter what, we can be thankful that we can have instruments so good at such a great price! Thanks Thomann and Harley Benton

Im a guitarist for 30 years but this is also the 4th bass I've owned in that time. I've played bass in a few bands and now I've settled down in a new country, I'm building my gear back up and wanted to buy a bass again. I've been playing this via amp, DI into DAW, rehearsal rooms and live over PA. I'm reviewing this bass according to its price and therefore expectations at that point.

Firstly this guitar looks great but thats obvious in the photos.

The build, while structurally solid has a few very minor cosmetic flaws in the finish but you really need to look to see them. a small tool burn when routing the top horn, it could be sanded out easily as there is zero lacquer finish but I wont bother with that, maybe one day if Im bored. The back plate doesnt quite fit the hole at one corner, its short by about 5mm but it is completely shielded inside, I may make my own wooden backplate to match the guitar. The inlays on the fretboard arent perfect when you look up close. Nothing major!



It plays very well, after an adjustment of the truss and bridge, the action is low, no buzz, the neck is slim and thin. The frets stop about half a mil before the end of the fretboard and are clean and smooth.

Sound is very versatile, having the active controls is extremely useful when you want to ease or apply more treble/bass depending on style. The tone between the two pickups is matched well. There is a small notch you can feel when the pickup and bass/treble pots are in the center positions.

The only con I can find with the bass is that I have nowhere suitable for me to rest my thumb when playing as the pickups come quite high outside the string width so I may add a wooden thumb rest if I cant get used to it.

I've been playing other low cost / big brand basses since I got this and this HBZ just feels far superior in every way.

Active, through neck with this versatility, playability and looks at this price is a strong 5/5. Even at twice the price id give it a 5/5. three times the price id expect the minor flaws to not be there and then give it 5/5.

The HB bass is Thomanns's own brand. How they make a thru neck for this price is beyond me. It is well built and rugged and surprisingly light but not in a detrimental way. The finish is great and the matt look on this will appeal to anyone who likes a natural look rather than a high gloss finish. The finish isn't perfect, with one or two minor imperfections, mine has a small crack near the battery compartment but you really have to look to see it, but you can't expect perfection on an instrument this good for this amount of money.

It plays well and was we'll set up on arrival. I've just changed the strings to flat wounds and the small alterations i had to make to the bridge were quick and easy. It has 24 frets, great intonation and keeps tuned well. The action is great and the frets sit nicely with no problems. The socket clicks a jack into place firmly and will ideally suit a right-angle plug. The 9v battery compartment is well designed and the tuners move without effort. The simplicity of the bridge makes adjusting it really easy although I didn't need to until I changed strings. It looks beautiful, is well made and the centre-notched treble, bass and pickup mix controls, along with the volume, have a great feel. The pickups are powerful and sound great with only minor EQ adjustments needed.

It comes shipped with the Allen keys for the bridge and neck and fitted with D'Addario roundwounds.

A great all round bass with a jazzy feel. You won't find better in this price range.

I ordered this one just on the looks! I just felt it was the one to get. The box arrived and soon as it was in my hands and plugged in. The bass has a great sound. The wood is dense and gives a rich tone, the neck is narrow, well contoured shape easy to hold. Just what I wanted, the 24 frets are a dream to plan upon.

The pickups are mounted slightly tilted, this allows for big magnets and spacing between them, this gives an overall good clear active sound, with good definition between strings. The tonal range is very good. The sound is modern, suited to jazz, jazz-fusion, rock, as it gives a very good range of tonal sounds and a wide output range to suit many needs.

The active pre-amp gives a high output, tonal range is good. The wiring I found needed a fix, easy to fix. I found most low cost guitars I buy need the electrics fixing. A guitarist has to be prepared to adjust and fix a low cost guitar to get the best out of it.

This is a bargain, the price is low, yet this is a high quality guitar. It is easy to adjust the truss road to get the correct intonation.

I have upgraded the bridge with a 'Schaller 2000' to be able to adjust the string spacing, and to make fast string adjustments to suit the playing style changes that I need to do.

A high quality bass, with the basics in place. Upgrading of the bridge gives a total cost that I had in mind.

Dream bass for sure.

Being a beginner bassist, I was on the prowl for my first 'professional' bass guitar, and when I first saw this I was amazed at the design, and at that price it seemed almost too good to be true. Once it arrived, I was impressed with the sleek body and thin neck, with some quality strings with it... There was only problem.
Yes, there is one thing, the electronics cover plate is badly fitted. Although this was a disappointment, especially given that it passed a QA inspection, I did not think it merited sending it back, as I can fix it myself.

The wood finish is as good as it looks in the pictures - solid but light, well balanced, a joy to play, genuinley impressive, great handling and playability with a thin fast neck... Everything about it oozes quality, and at this price, it is a steal!

I might come back and revise later but this is my initial impression of the guitar. I've held in my mind what I paid for the guitar, I'm not expecting Custom Shop quality

It looks great, it seems to be put together well and it's a weighty block. Exactly what I wanted. The fretwork let it down as a number if the frets were dented by string marks suggesting that the fretboard had has some weight on it. The frets need a polish. The fret sprout was painfully obvious, a paper cut within minutes from a light test. A fret dress is needed and what it'll get. The action is a little high at the bridge, all HB's seem to have this trait and once I've tacked the frets, I'll address the action as well.

Pickup wise, its fine, the tonal range works if you adjust at the amp as well.

If you're happy with a basic setup then this is acceptable for the price. A couple of hours and I'll have a great bass. I personally love setting up guitars, I've bought a few HB's purely to practice setups on so there is nothing scary for me.

If you're not happy changing strings as you're a newbie, someone will be able to help or your local luthier could quickly run through this for you.

Despite the issues, it's still overall a great buy as it's a serious bargain for a great looking, neck-through bass.

Sounds amazing paired with my Orange 50W amp.
Deep heavy bass. I am bass head in general and got that "damnnn" :)

The only -1 point is for built quality... could be better, some screws on the magnets were not fully screwed in, some frets could have been placed better to avoid rattles, but these were only minor details, haven't stopped me from enjoying it since December and never bothered to even fix them...so no real issues.

I will avoid saying "for the price" because even if I had paid more it would have still been my favorite.

Recommended for beginners 100%.

I was searching for a J-bass, or something that sounds comprehensively like a J-bass. When I heard the sample audio, saw the price and the design, there was no way I wasn't buying this product.
Right out of the box, I noticed the quality of finish, which I could never complain about, considering the cost was less than 300. It comes with allen keys for any adjustments you might want to make, but the action was pretty much perfect for me right out of the box.
The sound is phenomenal. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I am not a fan of most P-bass sounds, as I find them a little too overbearing sometimes. In my taste, this bass is on the perfectly balanced side of woody and percussive.
Overall, it is a great product, and I fully recommend it to beginner to intermediate players.