Another Great Harley Benton Coming Soon

[Neck Diver]

Gregor did not mention weight and Harley Benton basses definitely lean into heavy territory. And isn’t this one with an ash body?
$750 or so plus shipping and tarrifs plus I would likely have a hard time reselling it unless I listed it here on Talk Bass and was willing to ship. No thank you.
I reserve my opinion on the other new model until it comes out. I could choose my pickups.
Please if someone buys one of these give us a review including weight and balance.

 

[SpankBazz]

I had to sit down and think about the why vs. why not.
Between sales tax, shipping, and the t-word, you're looking at close to $1000.
When conceiving this bass they probably didn't see the t-word coming.
We knew the Kloppmanns would jump the price, but for that much you can order a bass equivalent or better, like a Sire, from Sweetwater.

I don't need $400 pickups. I'm sure you can achieve that sound with pickups that cost less than $400.
Even if you like "premium" pickups, they can be had for way less.
I know Kloppmanns are supposed to be handmade and thus the price but at the end of the day, all that matters is the sound.

Nobody needs another horse in the "premium" bass race, especially in this economy.
Harley Benton's magic is great instruments for not a lot of money.
They could have done a "Kloppman designed" type of thing. The sweet spot price wise should have been in the $400-500 range.

The color is not my cup of tea, but I do like the block inlays, rosewood fretboard, and binding.
I suppose the pink one is gonna be a normal MV-4JB with the cosmetic touches. If it has pickups better than the stock Harley Bentons, that may interest me.
We'll see what other finishes they do in the future.

 

[TeeSee]

I had to sit down and think about the why vs. why not.
Between sales tax, shipping, and the t-word, you're looking at close to $1000.
When conceiving this bass they probably didn't see the t-word coming.
We knew the Kloppmanns would jump the price, but for that much you can order a bass equivalent or better, like a Sire, from Sweetwater.

I don't need $400 pickups. I'm sure you can achieve that sound with pickups that cost less than $400.
Even if you like "premium" pickups, they can be had for way less.
I know Kloppmanns are supposed to be handmade and thus the price but at the end of the day, all that matters is the sound.

Nobody needs another horse in the "premium" bass race, especially in this economy.
Harley Benton's magic is great instruments for not a lot of money.
They could have done a "Kloppman designed" type of thing. The sweet spot price wise should have been in the $400-500 range.

The color is not my cup of tea, but I do like the block inlays, rosewood fretboard, and binding.
I suppose the pink one is gonna be a normal MV-4JB with the cosmetic touches. If it has pickups better than the stock Harley Bentons, that may interest me.
We'll see what other finishes they do in the future.

When this plus was floated at the show last year there was also a watered down version planned to release at same time without the Klopmanns, that doesn't seemed to have materialised yet?

Agree with what you say, it's a premium(ish) bass for a fairly high price for budget conscious folk like us, that would prefer to bolt our own goodies on as and when we can afford them. I usually put on CTS pots and different caps with any new guitar I buy and copper shield too. I personally don't see the value in this for me, but I can understand the draw it may have to others who have more disposable income and less technical skill.

 

[Micha84]

The thing that turns me off is the unshakeable feeling that this is just a "dressed up" $200 instrument. They gave it fancy woods, inlays, pickups and everything, but what's "underneath"? If it is otherwise the same level of craftsmanship and component quality as their other basses, than that is cool for their budget instruments, but not for this price tag.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The thing that turns me off is the unshakeable feeling that this is just a "dressed up" $200 instrument. They gave it fancy woods, inlays, pickups and everything, but what's "underneath"? If it is otherwise the same level of craftsmanship and component quality as their other basses, than that is cool for their budget instruments, but not for this price tag.

Ever look at the Fender line and all of its permutations

 

[Naviiin]

The thing that turns me off is the unshakeable feeling that this is just a "dressed up" $200 instrument. They gave it fancy woods, inlays, pickups and everything, but what's "underneath"? If it is otherwise the same level of craftsmanship and component quality as their other basses, than that is cool for their budget instruments, but not for this price tag.

This feels like saying Fenders are just dressed up Squiers.

This BTW version upgrades everything when it comes to components over the base model. We're talking capacitors, pots, pickups, wood choice, tuners, bridge and string tree. When are we at the point that we can call it different from the 200 dollar model?

 

[Marihino]

Sold out

 

[frankie5string]

The thing that turns me off is the unshakeable feeling that this is just a "dressed up" $200 instrument. They gave it fancy woods, inlays, pickups and everything, but what's "underneath"? If it is otherwise the same level of craftsmanship and component quality as their other basses, than that is cool for their budget instruments, but not for this price tag.

What do you think a Fender bass is?

 

[frankie5string]

This feels like saying Fenders are just dressed up Squiers.

This BTW version upgrades everything when it comes to components over the base model. We're talking capacitors, pots, pickups, wood choice, tuners, bridge and string tree. When are we at the point that we can call it different from the 200 dollar model?

Ok, to reframe it in that sense - You can get a Squier bass for $200, and you can get a Squier CV 5 Active for nearly $620.

 

[frankie5string]

Ever look at the Fender line and all of its permutations

Hahahha...sorry I didn't see your reply before I replied!

 

[SpankBazz]

When this plus was floated at the show last year there was also a watered down version planned to release at same time without the Klopmanns, that doesn't seemed to have materialised yet?

Gregor says in the video a few posts above that the Kloppmann-less version is coming in a few weeks.

 

[SpankBazz]

This feels like saying Fenders are just dressed up Squiers.

This BTW version upgrades everything when it comes to components over the base model. We're talking capacitors, pots, pickups, wood choice, tuners, bridge and string tree. When are we at the point that we can call it different from the 200 dollar model?

You're right. It's not just pickups. Everything is upgraded.
With the exception of the string tree. They had that in the last iteration of the MV series.
I have a MV 5 string with that Sandberg style string tree.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Can't read every pro or con in this thread, just don't have the time. I don't see H B doing anything any other company in their position wouldn't do. They have a very solid business model with an enviable reputation. I think that this bass compares well to high end (!) Squiers, Corts, Ibbys and Sires. I say, more power to em'.

 

[kodiakblair]

Please if someone buys one of these give us a review including weight and balance.

Commission money made, exposure for channel received and viewing figures up; Gregor has listed his for sale on bassic.de.

He says very little, but gives the weight 4.5Kg so 9.9lbs

 

[jd56hawk]

Reminds me of the "affordable for all Sire basses" with that price.
Although HB still makes some very affordable basses for beginners.
Other than that, I wish someone would forget about Shell Pink and offer a pink that isn't so pale.

 

[TeeSee]

Commission money made, exposure for channel received and viewing figures up; Gregor has listed his for sale on bassic.de.

Commission money made, exposure for channel received and viewing figures up; Gregor has listed his for sale on bassic.de.

He says very little, but gives the weight 4.5Kg so 9.9lbs

They can't be all that if he's selling off his very own creation just having released them.

 

[kodiakblair]

@TeeSee

They'll be just fine Tony

All You Tubers sell off featured basses, they're just content items.


This whole thing is a PR exercise, it's not about any lasting legacy.

Gregor is pretty savvy regards social media and has a good relationship with Thomann so this BTW/HB co-lab was inevitable. Gregor gets forum discussions, which direct folks to his channel; his revenue gets a bump and he gets a cut of sales. If his cut is 15% then he nets €12,000.

Thomann gets free exposure, and folks talking about a "Premium" line, for doing their normal job

Real winner here is Kloppmann.

Those folks are virtually unheard of outside of Germany. The BTW video has had 231,000 views, closest to that Kloppmann have had before was 114,000 views for strat pickups; 14 years ago. They are not a household name so I wouldn't be surprised if they provided the pickups for cost; just for the exposure

 

[Pep]

Commission money made, exposure for channel received and viewing figures up; Gregor has listed his for sale on bassic.de.

He says very little, but gives the weight 4.5Kg so 9.9lbs

I was interested in one of these but that’s over 1 lb too heavy for me.

 

[Joybass]

I received my 'regular' mv-4jb (burgundy mist) yesterday. This is the first bass I got that was near perfect out of the box. It only needed a slight adjustment at the bridge, which could as well be a matter of personal preference. Other than that a thorough inspection revealed, uhm, nothing specific. Neck and frets have no issues, Tuners are fine. Finish is great. I was surprised by pickups branded as 'isOla', never heard of those before, but the sound is very OK. No shielding, but also no surprise that. Small pots, but working fine. So, Harley Benton, I have heard of established brands having more dire QC issues on their $2000+ instruments. You can proud of yourself. Judging this the BTW version should be a real gem.