Harley Benton PJ-4 HTR Deluxe Series

OK first I'll start with the bad stuff, when the bass arrived the "E" string was damaged and the guitar needed setting up properly, the bridge as the height adjustment screws on the "D" set at a slight angle. Thomann's where contacted and promptly sent me a new set of strings, not just the "E" string but the whole set! So top marks there to the crew at Thomann's. New strings fitted, truss rod and neck adjusted, intonation and action set and I now have a superb bass guitar that is every bit as good as some of the more expensive basses I've owned and played! It sounds good, there is a good variety of sounds to be had just by adjusting the volume and tone pots. I intend to use it next time I'm out with the band I play in. Would I recommend this bass? I certainly would, but you will need to be prepared to set the bass up and for the money the bass costs, its well worth the effort. You will have to spend a lot more money, probably 10 times more to get one better, a superb bass at a bargain basement price - brilliant!

Bought this as a gift, and as a pro guitar player/ luthier, I was amazed by this instrument. A great looking and sounding bass for a 100€? I'll get one for myself.
This combined with HB-40B Combo amp, sounds killer!

Few things I noticed straight away, we're few small blemishes in the finish, scratches, and looks like it was finished in a rush, but hey, no beginner is going to complain about it.

Giving it a small truss rod adjustment, and action setup (although it was good from the Thomann, it felt like a pro instrument.

Body is very light (little bit of neck dive), 1 piece maple neck, and perfect fret job. Comfortable neck, I could play it for days. Nut is cut correctly, hardware feels solid.

I really recommend this bass for beginners/or home studio players. PJ combo sounds fantastic!

This thing of beauty arrived today (just over a week in transit). I was a little dubious about the colour, as I don’t generally like red, but it’s slightly darker than the website pictures and with the ‘tortoiseshell’ (ahem, yes I know it’s possibly a photo) pick guard it’s gorgeous, looking far more expensive than the £105 I paid. All it needed from out of the box was a tune up, as it was set up pretty much how I’d do it. Hardware seems good for such a cheapy, and the pickups and electronics work fine (much more ‘bass’ than my old Squier Bronco…) so overall I’m very satisfied. Ta muchly Thomann folks

I took a bass straight out of a box, tuned it, plugged it and played it for 20 minutes without giving her a proper look. It was playable out of the box. Action should be little adjusted (lowered). Only set up I did, I lowered strings on saddle for a half turn and truss rod for a 1/4 of turn.

I like the tone. The neck has very enjoyable profile and hand just slides wherever you want your hand to be. And of course she looks gorgeous.

What I didn't like is a little neck dive. Any decent strap will correct that, but I have to mention it. Pickups screws are weird to adjust pickup height. Right P-pickup was a third of centimetre too high and I realised that screws were kinda weird but I adjsuted a height without any problems. Tuners feel cheap but the bass stayed in tune since I initially tuned it so no need to get picky.

I think this bass proves that there is a difference between “cheap” and “inexpensive or affordable “.
It's a GREAT instruments for everybody.
Of course, she has few flaws but even 15 time more expensive guitar has some other flaws.

I've been playing giutars for 15 years and I'll tell you this is really good bass.I will play her live.

I got one of these for two reasons, I don't have a PJ bass and the price.

The bass is a vibrant red colour and the scratch plate is nice too, it has a satin neck varnish and mine had a small mark I could feel but that was easily removed.

The frets were smooth along the edge and the machine heads are ok. It took a quarter turn on the truss rod to straighten the neck and after some nut filing and lowering the action, the bass now feels like one three of four times the price.

I wouldn't do this if you are unsure of what you are doing but a professional Luthier could set this up to play as well as a Fender worth a lot more.

I found the pickup setup easy too, the J bass pickup needed to be raised a little to level out the pickup volumes but once that was done it was fine.

Now to the sound, which despite some of the reviews I have seen, the pickups are good and powerful, I used a wireless system so I couldn't judge any earth buzz.

The only problem I really found was the scratch plate was not fully screwed down but that's easy to fix, also the knobs were a bit stiff but taking the covers off and reseating them solved that.

For some reason Cheap basses get looked at with the stigma from many years ago but this Bass is worth every single penny I spent on it, in fact if you bought it for double the price it was at, it would still be good value for money, but at the price of £102, it's a steal. I bought this myself, it wasn't sponsored or discounted and this is an honest review.

I was going to join a rock band and wanted a P-J just for that. I could've got the 5 string for a few extra shillings but wanted the 4 to make myself work harder, but it's anything but hard work, this bass is a joy to play.

straight out of the box, good set up, good balance, no LX problems, both pick-ups being very lively and a great, big sound from both - I use the J up full with the P dialled in a little for warmth and it's right there, the exact sound I want.

looks cool, good weight, put together very well, no faults with the finish or build, love it. tres happy.