Well, the Harrier Thunder Bass arrived very promptly early this week!
It was bubble-wrap protected fairly well but the cardboard box it came in was very flimsy and luckily the carriers were very careful with it.
Bearing in mind these basses only cost just under £ 60 (that's around $118 for our USA cousins across the pond), first impressions were very good indeed. On closer inspection there are a few cosmetic faults, the routing around the ends of the bridge pickup are a bit messy and weren't made good before spraying, and there is a slight ding on the back of the bass. I believe the body is made of Alder. Also I notice the fingerboard looks like it has a stained finish onto a pale wood and a couple of small areas have been missed (only a very narrow strip mind). The fingerboard is fairly smooth and there are no deadspots or string rattles on any of the notes. The chrome tuners operate reasonably well, the strings had been loosened for transit and Harrier Guitars do state this. The intonation was way out though and I need to sort this out. Thes basses are mass produced in China.
Having said this and taken into account the very low cost of these basses it does look really smart, the paintwork is generally very good and the neck isn't too bad at all, it is tapered like a Jazz Bass but seems to have the depth of say a P Bass. The combination does feel very comfortable though and the action is unbelievable for such a budget instrument! Really easy to play although the strings fitted are very rough to the fingers. Frets seem to be fairly well laid, they are quite low and have no rough edges or gaps. The neck has a satin finish to it and the headstock has the 'Harrier' logo on it - to me this spoils it a bit as I feel it is not in very attractive lettering. If it were me I would have done it in Fender type lettering - not quite sure on the legality of that though although Antoria used to do it some years ago and I believe they got away with it!
The scratchplate is standard white 3 ply and comes with a protective film - I always remove this although some people prefer to keep them on - but hey on a £60 bass I'm not that worried about it getting scratched, although I will look after it as carefully as my other basses.
The chrome control plate is fairly standard as are the knobs, the volumes and tone control knobs all operate reasonably well given the price, there is a bit of noise near the full on position but is acceptable. One minor criticism is that this bass is a Left Hand version and the controls have been wired for Right Hand, therefore the volumes and tone knobs work in the opposite direction to what you might expect. As I say, a minor thing and if I feel bored one day I might re-wire them.
The Jazz pickups I imagine are a pretty basic generic set although they don't look too bad and seem to be adjusted fairly well in height position.
Truss rod adjustment is by an allen screw at the top of the neck on the headstock, they even supply the allen key in a nice little storage bag.
The bridge is the usual Jazz/Precision standard chrome type and it seems ok to me.
Soundwise it knocked me back a bit, this thing sounds really good! Although I've never owned a Jazz it does seem to give a good replication of those Jazz sounds and the neck pickup is particularly growly! If I had to make an assumption (and bearing in mind I don't have a Jazz bass) I would say that if anything a Fender Jazz may have a slightly warmer sound? I spent about 5 hours on it on the first day I had it and couldn't put it down, what an amazing little find.
Before it arrived I had thought about buying some Fender or similar replacement pickups for it as I had doubts that it would be very good, but I needn't have worried as they sound pretty good to me. The tone control is quite effective as well.
I'm not sure whether these are available in the USA or for any country other than GB, but for anyone in the UK it's probably the best £60 you'll ever spend in getting one of these! How much is a set of strings these days? Harrier Guitars also sell soft gig bags for £9.99, I think thay ought to sell the basses at £70 and include the gig bag. Luckily I have a spare hard case for mine.
I was also very impressed with the staff at Harrier Guitars and contacted them several times before my purchase and they seem very helpful and friendly.
To summarise, a very worthwhile purchase, an excellent bass given the price. I bought mine for practice purposes mainly, but I do intend on trying it out at gigs now.
I'll post some pictures shortly.
Moderators - you may wish to move this to the Reviews Section?
