Harley Benton PB-50 Vintage

[JACink]

There is always something left to aspire for, but I guess you are right about the dead part Especially as I just got the 400 back and will need to hang that as soon as it is refinished, so it will look like I bought 6 basses all at once... that may be a little too much to explain

 

[kodiakblair]

But then getting the PB-50 now only makes 5 if you include the 400.
You're halfway home One bass !! it's easy. She'll never know. You need a bass with flats. An it's a bargain.

More reasons added as they come to me Brother.

 

[kodiakblair]

The cat will love it !! There you go best reason there is

I run that by the Ginger an he agreed

 

[JACink]

LOL!

 

[shoulderpet]

Ive only just received my pb-50 and im already gassing for the jb-75 hb jazz bass , maybe after the new year

 

[shoulderpet]

Apologies for slight thread derailment but just wanted to ask how much neck relief you should have, i checked the neck relief today with the assistance of my lovely wife holding the 1st and last fret and i could not slide a credit card between the gap without moving the strings,i am guessing this means i probably need to loosen the truss rod slightly? How much of a gap should i have with the 1st and v last fret held down? For what its worth there is no buzz unless i use quite an aggressive attack , thanks

 

[kodiakblair]

The Fender guide says .14mm - .25mm but it's just that ! a guide. Where are you getting the buzz ? high or low frets ?

Would raising the action a wee bit help.

 

[shoulderpet]

The Fender guide says .14mm - .25mm but it's just that ! a guide. Where are you getting the buzz ? high or low frets ?

Would raising the action a wee bit help.

Wow that seems very small (a credit card is .76mm thick) i think i may leave the relief where it is at for the time being as the buzz is only if i really dig in and even then it is barely audible , thanks for the info

 

[JACink]

Wow that seems very small (a credit card is .76mm thick) i think i may leave the relief where it is at for the time being as the buzz is only if i really dig in and even then it is barely audible , thanks for the info

I always used a business card, not a credit card, which is thinner.

In my (limited) experience, find the lowest point that doesn't have buzz, and then tweak to your preference (not everyone likes super low action).

 

[vdub75]

ditched the project. gonna sell body and neck... need funds to mod my bird.

I have 2 PB50s necks at the Moment, one on a hotrod Body (Harley benton p/j) and one is going on my bird... still very positively surprised with the Quality of These necks!

 

[JACink]

Did you buy the two PB50s or did you buy the necks from somewhere?

 

[vdub75]

I bought the necks via ebay classifieds ads (like german craigslist), i bougt 3 PCs total but traded one for a p splitcoil for another Project.

 

[JACink]

I bought the necks via ebay classifieds ads (like german craigslist), i bougt 3 PCs total but traded one for a p splitcoil for another Project.

If you ever accidently come accross another one (that you don't want/need) please let me know!

 

[shoulderpet]

@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.

Have emailed Thomann to let them know , i am considering soldering the ground wire myself but am a little nervous about it, i don't want to end up accidentally cooking the pots, i have read that you need to heat the item you ate soldering to a little, is this correct?

 

[JACink]

Here's a (not so) short video that gives you the basics:

 

[shoulderpet]

Here's a (not so) short video that gives you the basics:

Thanks, that's great

 

[Joybass]

I have a Harley Benton PB-50 since 6/2014. For the price it is a great bass. Especially the neck, smooth, straight, really good fretwork. Still, I could not resist modding it. I replaced the Wilkinson single coil pickup with a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 split coil, and replaced the scratchplate. Now it is a killer precision bass, IMO as good or better as a Squier (or even a Fender Mexican PB )

O yeah, the PB-50 came with a bridge with string-through holes behind the saddles, so I bought 4 ferrules, picked up my electric drill and made it string-through. Bigger tone, more sustain and no more dead spots on the G string. Killer.

 

[JACink]

Nice bass @Joybass , swing by the Harley Benton club thread, the photo will fit right in

 

[kodiakblair]

Still a lot of interest in the PB-50. See what you're missing out on JACink

As it too late here to be using power tools I've busied myself by trimming the scratchplate and marking the new rout holes.
Two holes and 3 wires to solder. What can go wrong ?

 

[vdub75]

I'm still considering modding one with a Thunderbird pickup and a new paint Job. but the expensive bass i want to sell Needs to go first :-D