• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Harley Benton PB-50 Vintage

Glad you liked it @shoulderpet. Poor SubDude67 was disappointed in the Duncan,for years he'd heard folk rave about them and replacement pickups in general.
Still he has the Wilkinson in there now so he's a happy man.

When your bass arrives check it over and if you think there's a problem contact Thomann,their customer service is second to none.If it has to be returned they will
email you " return labels " so you just hand it into the post office.Best not to destroy the packaging until you're happy.Remember you also have 3 years warranty
unlikely you'll need it:thumbsup:

Hopefully You'll post your Harley Benton experience in the club thread,good bunch of people from all over Europe with a couple from the States and of course subdude67
far afield in Kenya.

I see you've newly joined TalkBass,my apologises for not noticing and saying
welcome (1).jpg
 
Glad you liked it @shoulderpet. Poor SubDude67 was disappointed in the Duncan,for years he'd heard folk rave about them and replacement pickups in general.
Still he has the Wilkinson in there now so he's a happy man.

When your bass arrives check it over and if you think there's a problem contact Thomann,their customer service is second to none.If it has to be returned they will
email you " return labels " so you just hand it into the post office.Best not to destroy the packaging until you're happy.Remember you also have 3 years warranty
unlikely you'll need it:thumbsup:

Hopefully You'll post your Harley Benton experience in the club thread,good bunch of people from all over Europe with a couple from the States and of course subdude67
far afield in Kenya.

I see you've newly joined TalkBass,my apologises for not noticing and saying
View attachment 703039
Thank you for the welcome, yes have just started to play bass again after a long break,am excitedly awaiting delivery of the pb-50 fingers crossed that all is good with the bass. After hearing the sound clips i may well stick with the stock wilkinson pickup but if i do go the route of aftermarket pick ups i would probably go with the vintage seymour duncan.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kodiakblair
Hi shoulderpet,

welcome to TB and the HB thread!
I would leave the stock Wilkinson pickup in, it sounds every bit as good as the Seymour Duncan but has a stronger output signal.
The PB 50 is a great bass, enjoy it!
Thanks, yes listening to the 2 sound clips i was surprised to hear that the wilkinson seemed to have a hotter signal, the wilkinson does seem to be a surprisingly good pickup
 
Congratulations shoulderpet, a nice bass you have chosen, I must get myself one sooner or later.

As kodiakblair said, come join us in the HB thread, and don't forget to bring photos when you get it ;)
 
Glad you liked it @shoulderpet. Poor SubDude67 was disappointed in the Duncan,for years he'd heard folk rave about them and replacement pickups in general.
Still he has the Wilkinson in there now so he's a happy man.

When your bass arrives check it over and if you think there's a problem contact Thomann,their customer service is second to none.If it has to be returned they will
email you " return labels " so you just hand it into the post office.Best not to destroy the packaging until you're happy.Remember you also have 3 years warranty
unlikely you'll need it:thumbsup:

Hopefully You'll post your Harley Benton experience in the club thread,good bunch of people from all over Europe with a couple from the States and of course subdude67
far afield in Kenya.

I see you've newly joined TalkBass,my apologises for not noticing and saying
View attachment 703039
Hi , have received my pb-50 , i opened the control cavity as one of the pots was a little slanted (managed to fix this to an acceptable degree) and was a little concerned to see the wire shown in the picture not connected to either of the pots, i am hoping this is a ground wire and is using the metal of the control cavity as a ground, is anybody able to confirm this, thanks
 

Attachments

  • 1444481624715.jpg
    1444481624715.jpg
    361.5 KB · Views: 146
@shoulderpet

Your right of course,it's a ground wire. On 2 of my PB-50s it's soldered to the volume pot and to the tone on the other. Sure it's an easy fix but frankly
it shouldn't have happened.I suggest you contact Thomann and complain,if you're happy with the bass apart from this keep it but let them know just
how disappointed you are. These may be affordable but that doesn't mean standards should be poor and you should be compensated.Not everybody
has the confidence to open up their bass or access to places like TB to ask for advice or solutions.

I'm sorry this has happened especially after talking up the bass like I did.Please post what your next step will be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JACink
@shoulderpet

Your right of course,it's a ground wire. On 2 of my PB-50s it's soldered to the volume pot and to the tone on the other. Sure it's an easy fix but frankly
it shouldn't have happened.I suggest you contact Thomann and complain,if you're happy with the bass apart from this keep it but let them know just
how disappointed you are. These may be affordable but that doesn't mean standards should be poor and you should be compensated.Not everybody
has the confidence to open up their bass or access to places like TB to ask for advice or solutions.

I'm sorry this has happened especially after talking up the bass like I did.Please post what your next step will be.
Thanks, i don't currently have a soldering iron so i have pushed it between the gap between the control panel and the body so it is touching the metal on the control panel, this should be ok to ground the bass shouldn't it? I will solder it at some point but i hope this is an ok fix until then
 
@shoulderpet

That'll do the trick,any metal part will do. I'd definitely be telling Thomann the trouble they've caused you.
Now I can only hope you like the inspite of this.
Thanks, that's a weight off my mind :) i am happy with my fix for this, i do like the bass so far, i have swapped the stock strings for some chromes and have lowered the action a little and it plays well and sounds great, i like the maple fretboard, adds punch compared to rosewood imo , i will probably upgrade the tuning keys and swap out the bridge saddles for some brass ones
 
  • Like
Reactions: zapped777
Thanks, that's a weight off my mind :) i am happy with my fix for this, i do like the bass so far, i have swapped the stock strings for some chromes and have lowered the action a little and it plays well and sounds great, i like the maple fretboard, adds punch compared to rosewood imo , i will probably upgrade the tuning keys and swap out the bridge saddles for some brass ones

Man it's a relief to hear that:) I like flats on these too,could be the nickels are just too bright for my taste. Hope you enjoy the bass in the years to come:thumbsup:
 
Ah, buy there are always trade offs in life, go ahead, buy it. Certain appendages become less useful later in life, that bass will be a bass until the end of days

I get your point, but I am kind of happy with certain appendages, maybe I will trade them later ;)

The issue is, I was planning on ordering a bass, and was struggling to decide between 5 I had on the list, now it looks like 3 out of the 5 may be making their way to me soon, and this could be number 4!
 
  • Like
Reactions: kodiakblair