Harley Benton Fretless BL-550 - a surprisingly good bass for pocket money

Started by Antonuzzo, November 21, 2017, 09:53:42 AM

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Antonuzzo

I'll be honest - I'd written this entire brand off when I saw the price point. At first glance they appear to be a jack-of-all-trades, selling lookalike Strats, Telecasters, even doublenecks for silly money; most are also available in kit form. But I had been pondering giving fretless a go, and was vaguely looking around for a five-string, preferably unlined - the latter I will admit was as much for the look as the challenge.

So I came across one of these in a shop in London, going for £100, including a gig bag. What the hell, I thought, and gave it a go. I pretty much bought it on the spot.

First up, it looks the business. The finish is excellent, the shape is modern with easy access to the top of the neck, and it's well-balanced and quite light. The hardware isn't bad - solid tuners, and an active circuit with a pull-pot. Access to the battery is quite neat, with a clever little trapdoor.

The sounds are also surprisingly convincing. Acoustically, it's got a warm tone, and the passive tone is punchy enough, albeit lacking in variety. The active circuit does provide a fair kick, and whilst it'll never compete with a Warwick, the tones are absolutely usable. I put a GK-3 on it with no problems, and it plays very nicely with the VB-99 - I just had to remember to turn of the defret option on my Pino & Jaco patches.

It plays really nicely. The action was a little high, but it's a comfortable instrument with decent sustain, and no dead spots. The upright patches on the VB-99 have never sounded more convincing, and a touch (ie a lot) of chorus puts you straight into full '80s mode, jamming along to those old Paul Young songs.

it's not perfect. It ships with fairly ropey roundwounds that would chew up the board in no time, so switching to flatwounds is pretty much essential. The nut could be more generous in terms of fitting a fatter low B, and the active circuit will drain the battery whether or not it's actually in use - you need to remove the battery when you're not using it.

I was really impressed by this, and feel suitably chastised in writing off the brand. I fully remember the old days of Encore and Marlin, when budget meant just that. Things have come a long way, and this could comfortably retail for £350 or thereabouts. As it stands, it's a steal.