Harley Benton JB-75-5MN NA Vintage Series

I bought this to finally try my hand at a 5 string and it left quite an impression. Here's are my thoughts on this:
Pros:
- Price. It's crazy low for a brand new bass. You could get a nice 5 string in 2005 for this money also, but most of them were either stolen or snapped in half ...
- Fit and finish is great. Plastics are cut neatly, everything is straight and aligned, the body lacquer is spotless.
- Great neck. Perfect satin finish, binding looks nice and straight, frets are astoundingly well done. Seriously, guitars and basses priced 3 times as much as this needed fretwork out of the box. All I did for the HB was tweak the trussrod and lower the saddles and marveled at the lack of fret buzz ...
- Stability. It stays in tune and the neck doesn't bend much over time.

Cons:
- Weight. It's quite heavy. Not something I'd recommend playing for an entire show ... Get a good strap!
- Sound. It's ... okay ... 'ish. It sounds "jazz bassy" enough for what it is, but I'd probably swap those pickups, pots, saddles and nut for something a bit better.
- Woodgrain. It's made to a certain price point so you can imagine they don't handpick their woods. Mine has a swirly bit on it, but I think that just gives it character, so I don't mind. If you're the picky type, you can only hope they send you a perfect example.

To sum up, this is an exceptional choice if you're just starting out, need a backup, transitioning from a 4 to a 5 ... the quality of craftsmanship is high enough that it deserves further investment in better hardware and such. Really didn't expect this much for so little.

I ordered the JB-75 as I needed a quick replacement for my main bass which broke, and I wanted to try out a 5 string J style bass. I did not expect much, but now I see this JB-75 quickly becoming my go-to bass. The construction quality and overall looks are impeccable, but it's the sound and feel that brought joy to my playing that I've last felt many years ago. It's super versatile, the pickups are nice and growly when they need to be, with no hum. Since this is my first 5 string I really appreciate the narrow nut and surprisingly, the neck feels much more comfortable than the other 4 string basses in my collection (I really enjoy the tighter string spacing for more technical playing). All in all, this might be the best bass purchase I ever made. The only downside is that it's quite heavy (5.3 kg in my case), but since I play mostly sitting down, it's no issue. Also, the balance is quite good, so with a nice padded strap, it should be OK for rehearsals or gigs. Highly recommended!