Harley Benton PJ-5 HTR Deluxe Series

I was looking for a cheap 5 string for home use, as I play a PJ Bass ( with flats) and a Yamaha BB1500 ( rounds) as my gigging tools but missed having a 5 string around. Having read the reviews, and liking P type basses, I thought I'd give this a go.

Quick delivery from Germany with good communications and no drama!

Build quality is really good, neck pocket is tight, fretting is fine and the finish is flawless. The neck is pretty chunky, but is quite comfy and the satin finish is comfortable and consistent. The colour is very dark, and I can't really discern any grain through the finish. Weight is average for a 5 string.

The hardware is fine, there is no play in the machine heads and the bridge is more than adequate ( certainly as good as a Squier comes with.)

The pots are quiet, and do what they are supposed to do. 2 volumes and a master tone give a really versatile range of sounds. I was really pleased to see a front mounted jack socket!

When the bass arrived it was really well packed ( double boxed, lots of bubble wrap etc) and came with a couple of keys and a cable.

Action was ok - certainly very playable, but I've made some adjustments to bring the action very low without excessive fret buzz.

All good so far!

The main weaknesses are the strings, horrible pickguard and ( possibly) pickups - the low B sounds really weak (despite some pickup height adjustment) , but the EADG strings sound great. I'll replace the B string with a .135 D'Addario before writing the pickups off, and if this sorts the problem I'll restring the bass accordingly.

I've run the bass through my practice rig ( Peavey Max 115 , Aphex Bass Xciter, EBS Octabass and Digitech Chorus) - and it really does sound pretty good. I'm looking forward to trying it with my bigger set up after replacing the low B. If this doesn't sound right, I'll link a compressor up, as the extra tension of the 135 will certainly improve the tone ( if not the output).

Overall I'm very happy with the quality and sound of the bass, and it will certainly fit the bill as a cheap 5 string for occasional use. Just a shame Thomann don't list replacement pickguards for this, as a black one would look so much better!!

If you're after a cheap, passive 5 string you can't go wrong with one of these - just a shame about the strings and pickguard.

If it holds up ok I'll be looking at other Harley Bentons, as the value for money is astonishing.

This bass has amazing build quality and value for the most part except for one major design flaw. The bass feels and plays great, build quality is solid, but the pickups don't match the string spacing of the bridge.

I bought this bass so I can make demos of my songs at home without having to ask other people play bass tracks for me. I'm not really a bass player even though I enjoy playing bass. This is the first bass I've owned (although over the years I've played quite a few) so I can' t really comment if this sounds better or worse than other affordable bass guitars.

Good thing about this bass is how it feels. The neck is nice and smooth and plays well. There are no pointy fret ends and the electronics and hardware feel solid. Nothing instantly feels cheap about the bass. The setup was almost bang on out of the box. I only had to adjust the intonation of the higher strings and it was ready to go.

Then the bad thing. The pickups that were put on this bass do not line up with the string spacing. The string spacing is too narrow so the outer strings don't line up with the pole pieces. And the G string is completely outside the P pickup pole pieces for the string. I was able to make it a little bit better by putting coins between the saddle pieces thus spreading out the strings at the bridge. Still the G string is not even close to being where it should be. But I don't really use the G string that much so it's not a big problem for me.

Another minor issue is that the pickup output on the two lowest strings is noticeably lower than on the others. Might be just a matter of adjusting the pickup height. I'll have to look into it later.

Overall I'm happy with the purchase and I may look into replacing the pick guard along with the pickups to make things sound better. Everything else about the bass is so solid that even if the upgrade ends up costing 3x the price of the host instrument I think it still will be worth it.

I play mostly in my home studio.
For the money you spend, you'll get a VERY nice 5 string Bass.

The wood that makes up the Bass, I got, is very good. The hardware is OK, let me qualify that the bridge and tuners are the OK part, both are more than adequate. The Pickups both sound very much like the pickups they are emulating. (2023 I changed the bridge pickup Vol to a blend knob.The pickup screws are another matter, they seem weak, as I was trying to raise them, they couldn't push hard enough to get the pickups higher and hold them there. As they came from the factory the pickups were decidedly low.

I did a setup (intonation, string height and truss rod) using the strings that came with the Bass, and now the neck is comfortable (though somewhat thicker than the other 5 string necks I've played on) and holds the truss rod adjustment well.

The tuners work as expected as does the bridge (upgrades for the bridge, tuners and pickups depend on your cash flow and whether or not you want to spend at least the cost of the Bass or more for replacements) The fingerboard is well manufactured (as is the complete Bass for that matter) with the frets seated well and no sprout.

I play through a Fender Rumble 100, not a big rig. The Bass is clear with great pitch definition (surprisingly the B string comes through the same, a trick for a 34" scale, but I believe the thickness of the neck has something to do with that !) very old school P Bass sounding (I use the vintage switch in with it out the Bass has a more modern sound) I used to play through a GK 1001RBII and a pair of 1X15 GK neos. I think this Bass would translate through that rig to the concert stage with ease.

If you're thinking of picking up a 5 string but can't afford the cost of a "BIG NAME" Bass... rest assured that this Bass will give you all you need to get playing in a professional manner..... with out shredding your wallet.

My background:
I've been playing for the last 50 years

In the 80's I toured then world with country artist Bobby Bare

I played the largest Country club west of Gillie's in TX in the house bands from 1978 through the 80's when not on the road.

I'm now 71, on a fixed income so a bass like this is a real deal.

How can you make a bass cost 129 euros so that is playable out of the box?! That is the question I still cannot figure out for HB guitars/basses. It is amazing bass to be honest. First I did was replacing the strings because the stock ones are just crap. After some slight neck/bridge adjustments it plays amazing! I am suprised how this can cost so little and be a full playable instrument with great sound quality. I own a 90s japanese made quality bass and I prefer this HB over that one. However, there are some downsides. Fret finishing is not that great. Frets ends definitely need filing. And the bass had some inteferences with other electricity, so I insulated the cavities with copper tape. That did the trick. If you are in for some DIY stuff, don't be afraid of this bass. It delivers a punchy sounds and good playability for some minor DIY work. For the price point, it is unbeatable. If you are just starting up or you are a professional player, try this. You will be amazed how good it is for the money.