Anyone have a Harley Benton guitar?

[CrowsofFritz]

Thinking of getting their Rickenbacker bass (surprise, surprise, right? )

I’ve heard they’re good but requires a little bit of a setup.

[WhiskeyJack]

I think @rayc has an HB.

[Greg_L]

I’ve heard they’re good but requires a little bit of a setup.

That could be literally any guitar

[CrowsofFritz]

I’ve heard they’re good but requires a little bit of a setup.

That could be literally any guitar

Sure, but I’ve read that almost all of them requires one. I’ve never had to do a setup in the past on any of my guitars. I’m sort of expecting to do one for this bass.

[Greg_L]

Sure, but I’ve read that almost all of them requires one. I’ve never had to do a setup in the past on any of my guitars. I’m sort of expecting to do one for this bass.

But what does that mean? It needs a setup as it's totally unplayable by anyone? Or it needs a setup to suit your particular needs?

[rayc]

HB aren't bad. Like all mass produced it's a luck of the draw thing.
I bought a 12 string Rickenbacker clone. Absolutely nothing wrong with it except for a spot of white trim about 2mm out of place.
The RB 414CS has the same look as my 12 string.
You'll probably find the cover over the bridge pick up annoying for a variety of reasons. I'm sure it can be removed and not look too shabby.
I bought from Tohman diretcly.
That bass at 195 pounds or AUS$350 or about US$250 isn't particularly cheap and postage will add more.
My HB is well built, doesn't have tuning issues and is great fun. Mind you I was after an electric 12 string not a Rick clone or an alternative to the McHof. Any decent full sized bass can give you the Mc Rick sound with very little effort.
They look nice, the sounds samples sound okay and, from my limited experience, the build is fine.

[CrowsofFritz]

Sure, but I’ve read that almost all of them requires one. I’ve never had to do a setup in the past on any of my guitars. I’m sort of expecting to do one for this bass.

But what does that mean? It needs a setup as it's totally unplayable by anyone? Or it needs a setup to suit your particular needs?

I’ve heard the frets usually need to be filed.

HB aren't bad. Like all mass produced it's a luck of the draw thing.
I bought a 12 string Rickenbacker clone. Absolutely nothing wrong with it except for a spot of white trim about 2mm out of place.
The RB 414CS has the same look as my 12 string.
You'll probably find the cover over the bridge pick up annoying for a variety of reasons. I'm sure it can be removed and not look too shabby.
I bought from Tohman diretcly.
That bass at 195 pounds or AUS$350 or about US$250 isn't particularly cheap and postage will add more.
My HB is well built, doesn't have tuning issues and is great fun. Mind you I was after an electric 12 string not a Rick clone or an alternative to the McHof. Any decent full sized bass can give you the Mc Rick sound with very little effort.
They look nice, the sounds samples sound okay and, from my limited experience, the build is fine.

Thanks ray! This is good info.

[Greg_L]

I’ve heard the frets usually need to be filed.

Okay well that's not acceptable on a new guitar.

[Armistice]

I think most quality guitars, out of the box, are set up quite well - provided your playing style matches that style of set up, and mine generally does.

Over the last 6 or 7 years I've bought a brand new Gibson Les Paul, Fender Telecaster and Duesenberg Starplayer TV* and haven't felt I needed to do anything much to any of them, out of the box. But then, I work mainly in cleanish tones and there's a certain type of set up for that - if I was a shredder and/or playing with a lot of overdrive it'd be straight onto the workbench for all of them and I might try and get the action down just a smidge...



* I have no idea what a "Starplayer TV" is meant to represent as a name, but then again I guess you could say the same about all the Fender names.

[CrowsofFritz]

Yeah, from what I’ve read, the setup on the guitar shouldn’t be too big of a project. I mean, for $200, I don’t expect it to play the way I want it to right out of the box.

[rayc]

Starplayer TV is a Dusenberg axe.
My 12 needed a very slight tune out of the box everything else was dandy - MUCH easier to play than a 12 string acoustic too. action was good, strings were/still are good, electronics work, tone suited me.
When that odd fellow, Henning Pauly, reviewed a big batch of HB guitars he took them from the box and played them as they were, tuned after a minute of two and then proceeded with the review. His position was that the guitar should come ready to play...they usually were.
If it needs a fret file, I presume you mean fret ends, then the odd guitar will need it common across almost all brands.
If it needs frets dressed etc. then it's a return jobbie.

[vomitHatSteve]

Oh... I had been just considering pulling the trigger on an actual rick bass (I don't love my fretted kramer, and my vocalist keeps complaining about my fretless)

If there's a passable $200 clone I could use for gigging, that would be pretty neat!

[CrowsofFritz]

Oh... I had been just considering pulling the trigger on an actual rick bass (I don't love my fretted kramer, and my vocalist keeps complaining about my fretless)

If there's a passable $200 clone I could use for gigging, that would be pretty neat!

Yeah here’s what I’m looking at.

https://harleybenton.com/product/rb-414cs/#

I wish I could get the real thing, but alas!

[vomitHatSteve]

So i asked a friend who's a bassist and luthier.

He says they're pretty good but benefit from an electronics upgrade. (At which point they sound like gibsons)

[CrowsofFritz]

So i asked a friend who's a bassist and luthier.

He says they're pretty good but benefit from an electronics upgrade. (At which point they sound like gibsons)

Well, I’m selling my most expensive Magic deck so I can buy the real thing. My Magic cards are collecting dust, anyway.

[vomitHatSteve]

Is dust a new color of mana or something?

[stratmonkee]

just checking out the thomann site, man, those are some low prices! Have wanted a mosrite guitar forever...this copy for $222 seems like a cool deal
mosrite copy
...if I can just sneak it past the accountant (wife) and mix it with the rest of the herd...it looks quite different then the rest of my guitars though, think she would notice :>)

[vomitHatSteve]

Alright. i went ahead and pulled the trigger on the RB-414. I guess I'll let y'all know what I think in a couple weeks when it arrives.

[JD01]

just checking out the thomann site, man, those are some low prices! Have wanted a mosrite guitar forever...this copy for $222 seems like a cool deal
mosrite copy
...if I can just sneak it past the accountant (wife) and mix it with the rest of the herd...it looks quite different then the rest of my guitars though, think she would notice :>)

Bloody hell... thats like the price of a good pedal!

[Lt. Bob]

can I get Thomann stuff here in the gunnie world?