Recommend me a new bass

[FretRiff]

Hey y'all!

B/L is "letting" me use a Deluxe P/J and a Schecter Diamond Elite 5...I'm intrigued by the multi-scale phenomenon, and I'd love to try one out.... Budget...up to $2,000

How about a sub-$500 5-string Harley Benton multiscale to play with and decide if you want to save your fun money for more fun later?

https://reverb.com/item/87229333-harley-benton-msb-5-black-flame-burl

Thread 'Harley Benton Multiscale 5s'

Jan 28, 2025

I didn't see a thread on these yet.

🎸 Harley Benton MSB-5 ESP

5-String Multiscale Electric Bass Body: Okoume, Top: Flame burl maole, 5-Piece neck: Roasted Canadian maple / okoumé / roasted Canadian maple / okoumé / roasted Canadian maple, Dual Action Truss Rod, Fingerboard: Canadian maple, Fingerboard inlays:...

www.thomannmusic.com

They look solid and they're reasonably priced. They already to be pretty similar to the g4m/redsub basses. Actually almost identical to the old Rondo Brice Freak basses.

It looks like the tone would be too modern for me, but its definitely tempting.

• primussucks9126
• Replies: 72
• Forum: Basses [BG]

• 

 

[romzin]

Does it have to be new?
Not sure the current market prices, but 2k should get you a secondhand Dingwall, especially if you're not in a hurry to buy. And if you later decide don't like it, you'll easily sell it without significant loss.
If shopping for multiscale, you may want to check the scale length, Dingwalls (droc, ng, etc... Except the super series) are typically 34-37 for 5 strings. Ibanez and Harley Benton are often shorter and sometimes the difference between the high string length and low strings length is not as big neither, which may not give you the full positive effects of the extra scale length on the low strings (but probably has the advantage of strings availability and maybe playability if that's an issue).

Note that I personally only played an import droc (which I enjoy a lot) and unfortunately never had the opportunity to try any other shorter multiscale from other manufacturers, so this is based on my theoretical understanding and not backed up by direct playing experience. It may also depend on whether you value the clarity (esp. on the low strings), for which extra long scale length is valuable or whether the string balance is the main point, for which multiscale is the main factor and the actual scale length should be less critical