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Stagg MB-300 vs Harley Benton MB-4

H

HF1600ie

Feb 14, 2020
74
16
#1
Hi,
I´m a bit divided between these two. But new, the Harley Benton MB-4 is half the price and both are entry level basses, so they seem.

I´m looking for a passive stingray kind of bass. And fit a P50s pickup in the middle. Volume + Tone + 4 way switch.

Also, the Harley benton, seems to have 2 versions. Currently it seems the one on sale is the one on the right ! but that pickup placement is wrong. The one on the left is the correct one which doesn´t seem to be sold anymore.

On the other hand, the Stagg MB-300 has a smaller humbucker, but at least it is correcly placed. And the headstock looks more natural. But is it worth twice ? Hmmm...

I don´t mind replacing pickups and wiring. Been doing it for decades. Wood construction is key. One should feel less " cheap " than the other, i guess...
Or maybe not !


upload_2020-3-30_15-11-28.png


upload_2020-3-30_15-12-25.png


Any suggestions ?
 
#2
HF1600ie said:
But is it worth twice ? Hmmm...
Click to expand...
Stagg is a brand name. The price you pay includes store mark up,distributors cut,advertising etc.

Harley Benton is Thomann's own brand, they go direct from the factory to Thomann, no distributor costs and no 3rd party store mark up,also no advertising or trade show PR costs either.

Owned plenty of Bentons,none of the models you want, which I was very happy with. Never owned a Stagg bass so can't offer an opinion.

Advice would be buy the HB on the right,get a MM scratchplate/fit the pickup according to the scratchplate. You'd have noticed the current HB has a smaller slimmer scratchplate.
 
#3
kodiakblair said:
Stagg is a brand name. The price you pay includes store mark up,distributors cut,advertising etc.

Harley Benton is Thomann's own brand, they go direct from the factory to Thomann, no distributor costs and no 3rd party store mark up,also no advertising or trade show PR costs either.

Owned plenty of Bentons,none of the models you want, which I was very happy with. Never owned a Stagg bass so can't offer an opinion.

Advice would be buy the HB on the right,get a MM scratchplate/fit the pickup according to the scratchplate. You'd have noticed the current HB has a smaller slimmer scratchplate.
Click to expand...

Well, i´ve thought about that for the Harley Benton if they can´t get me the left version anymore : Get the right stingray pickguard and get it done. But, I don´t know what´s inside, so maybe I have to enlarge the routing which I was tring to avoid and do just the necessary to install the 50´s Pbass single coil at the usual spot.

I don´t know what´s inside, if the routing already existing at the bridge, but I seriously doubt looking at the pictures.

Otherwise, I understand from your words that the Stagg is defenetely not worth the price against the HB MB-4. Plus, the pickup is the correct to the Stingray model. At least it looks smaller. But everything ele in the Stagg is quite nice.
 
#4
I have no experience with Stagg basses, but I am happy with the wood and hardware on all of 6 my HBs... especially for the price!

I suspect that a change was made on the MB-4 for trademark infringement reasons!

IMGP2619a.jpg
 
#5
I dont know, maybe. But I´m thinking to myself that drilling the cavity to acomodate the humbucker at the new spot is going to leave a big hole inside (old and new holes). I wanted a cheap bass and do some adjustments here and there, but this sounds like a bit too much. :-/

I wish I could find what appears to be the old MB-4 version, but don´t seem to be able...
 
#6
@HF1600ie

What exactly are you trying to achieve. You post a couple of Ray type basses but then mention "left hand" .

Would it not make more sense to buy a left handed PB-50 and fit the humbucker, at least you could choose it's position.
Any rough woodwork can be covered by a Ray type scratchplate.
 
#7
No, when I say "left" I mean the Harley Benton Mb4 on the left of the picture. It has the Humbucker in the correct closer to the bridge position when compared to the right. It seems Harley Benton no longer produces the left version...

I wanted to apply a p50s single coil in the middle and have the Humbucker in the right position as well. Then use a 3 position switch.
 

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