Harley Benton B-450FL BK Progressive Series

this is a really good bass guitar for 150eu.

i wanted to try fretless bass out and i wanted one with both humbuckers and no fret lines, so this fitted my wish perfectly. i love the way it sounds with flatwound strings, it's very similar to a double bass with a magnetic pickup.

i like that it can be used in passive, because i never use my basses in active mode.

it can with a decent setup, although there was fret buzz on the first "fret", so i had to raise the action.

i highly recommend it if you are searching for a cheap workhorse fretless bass.

First and foremost my opinion of the guitar, then some notes on what you might expect on receipt. I was very pleased with how it looked and the build quality. The action adjustment at the bridge could be more robust but to be fair it does the job. And the nut does look cheap and of simple manufacture, so could easily be remedied for a marginally higher quality component, but again does the job. I upgraded the strings to La Bella deep talking bass and I think this is a significant thing to do. They are beautiful strings that enhance any guitar. In this case the tonal difference is radical, I couldn't have played it with the original roundwound strings. Well I say that, it would play, but just not the same experience. So, for under 200 Euro I have a nice sounding fretless bass, a strap (I added that myself) and some very good strings. I have a 1980 Fender Precision and a Double bass so it was up against some stiff opposition, but it does compare very favourably. Some people might say, its an in-house, not a well known Brand, like Fender or Yamaha etc but does that matter if you are getting a good guitar for very little outlay. The HB badge might affect resale value, but I was never planning to sell mine. That's the good. The bad! Out of the box it is unplayable and if you've never set up a guitar there is no guidance, so its necessary to watch Youtube tutorials, But when I asked Thomann did send links to their site with advice on essential setup I have suggested a single page of set-up guidance notes to accompany deliveries would be a good idea, details of the transcript I sent is as below. In summary for the money quite exceptional, but my proviso would be with upgraded strings and perfect for a first foray into the world of Fretless bass.
I have suggested that at least a single page of advice notes are issued with each sale. It is unplayable, (out of the box) as received and not everyone will understand that it needs a proper setup.
> Just some guidance notes; Important Information. Truss Rod adjustment maybe required... do it like this and action set -up, like this... then intonation, like this, even if only a paragraph on each subject.

I ordered this bass just to mess around with a fretless out of curiosity. In Czech Republic you can get cheapest fretless bass for double the money (Squier JB). So I had basically no expectations. Also I own Harley Benton PB-50 which is fair but not a well made instrument.

When the fretless arrived, I was surprised. The build quality was significantly better then PB-50. The fingerboard was dry af, so I used fretboard conditioner oil when changing strings. The original roundwounds were nothing fancy and I was afraid of the damage they could do to the fretboard. Immediately I switched to fender flatwounds and the improvement was unbelievable. The sound is smooth, not limp, clear, the output on the thinner strings is higher than I'm used to which is nice. You don't get much high frequencies even if you try, The active treble pot makes zero to none difference.

What I don't like is the bridge. You have to take off the string in order to set it up and then see whether it's ok. If not, you have to take the string down again. Also the metal which it is made out of is cheap and soft.

The battery drains fast if you leave it on active mode and keep the jack in.

It is also very light compared to my jazz bass copy, which is nice af. Still it's balanced, it doesn't fall on the neck.

Great thing is that there are no lines on the fretboard. It's a bit more difficult to find the tones but as the wood hasn't been cut, the delivered tone is full and has a long sustain as the wood resonates better then fretboards with lines.

The neck is very comfortable to play. It's got satin finish and thin profile, ideal for fast playing.

For the price I think this is unbelievable instrument.

Very impressed with this! The build quality is simply amazing on both the neck and body. It doesn't feel like an entry level instrument. This is a quality item.

The only reservation I have (which would be simply remedied) is that the pots don't feel perfectly smooth in use. They don't crackle though, they sound smooth, but I'd probably want to upgrade them at some time, maybe.

The other hardware is decent enough. The tuners and bridge pieces are smooth to operate and the pick-ups seem fine. The battery box is much better than the one on my Ibanez SR500. The modern D-shape neck is comfortable and encouraging to play. Its a little wider at the nut than my SR-500 (which is more of a jazz style profile), but its still easy to get around.

As a playing instrument, this bass is amazing. It also has a really good tone range. You could pretty much play any style of music with this.

Well done for Thomann for package and delivery too. Came well packed and reached me in the UK in less than four days. Excellent service.