Harley Benton JB-75MN SB Vintage Series

..you're not paying Fender prices, are you?

Many of the reviews here are slightly hyperbolic and do the JB-75 an injustice. It's very nice (very, very nice) but it's not perfect and you should be aware of this when buying.
Finish is, as others have said, excellent. Removing all the protective plastic was a royal pain in the backside, especially from the control plate. There were a couple of minor scratches on the scratchplate, under the plastic sheet - nothing to cause concern.
The neck is great - thin just as JBs should be but noticeably deep. The satin finish makes it very playable and I have absolutely no issues with this. The slot for the A string was cut too deep which meant that the string buzzed on the first fret. While I have no doubts that Thommann would have addressed this, it was easier just to deal with it here buy very slightly building up the bottom of the slot. Easy to do and problem solved. Likewise a spent ten minutes going along the fret edges with very fine wet and dry as there were sharp edges - nothing major, but just enough to irritate me. On the upside, these minor issues dealt with I have a good low action right up the neck with minimal buzz.

The sound is everything I was looking for - punchy with lots of pop. As with the real thing the tone control does it's job but it isn't spectacular, that's a criticism of passive tone control in general rather than this bass in particular, but fading between the pickups gives everything from majestic lows to real punch with plenty of bite. This is what I was looking for, this is why I bought it and this is exactly what I got.

I have a few basses and this gives nothing away sound-wise. Construction is solid and I have no concerns about longevity. Pickups are great, hardware is simple, solid and does it's job well. D Addario strings are a bonus as they are my choice anyway.

It is unfair to suggest that the JB-75 is equivalent in overall quality to a bass costing several times more, it isn't. For what you pay for it though, I struggle to see how it can be beaten for value. Very solid with a good tonal range, decent (read high) output and that sense of a well-built instrument that will go the distance it remains a mystery how Thommann can offer these at the price they do. I am just glad that they do!

Finally - service from Thommann was absolutely spot on, really cannot fault it in anyway whatsoever, for which they have my thanks and my continuing custom.

I've had one for 2 years now. Mainly used it at home for practice. The sound is quite good although I feel the pickups are not that loud.

Overall the build quality is not bad at all, however the output jack did start going loose after a few days of use in the beginning and there were a good amount of sharp fret ends. Nothing a quick luthier run couldn't fix. After that, used it at practice and at a few shows and it was a very decent player.

Not quite sure I'd call them "better than Squier Affinity", as I own one of those too (elbeit modded, but I remember how it was stock), at least not the one I got, however I can definitely say that it is a much bigger bargain.

A friend got the same one and it was much much better than mine. So I guess it's a hit or miss, but I do recommend for anyone looking for an instrument on the cheap.

This bass has it's flaws- the nut was filed a bit funny, the inlays aren't perfect, the binding isn't perfect, there's a flaw in the finish on the neck, the scratch plate scratches easily, and it weighs a ton.

However, all that aside, the thing plays pretty good out of the box, the action and intoation are fine, and it does sound quite similar to a jazz bass for pennies spent. It's not a jazz bass - it lacks that mid range "honk" that the jazz bass is known for. However, you get a pretty similar sound that's very, very easy to mix when recorded, and it looks cool