Harley Benton Bass Guitar Kit P-Style

I bought this kit as a challenge for myself as well as to enter Thomann's diy kit challenge. My plan was to shape the headstock, paint the body and neck. Using no power tools.
I can say that the kit has close to decent quality - with a lot of room to improve. With the provided mechanics, it is a neck diver for sure. Body was 4-piece and neck's single piece. Lots of small holes and dents on the body due to the selected wood. (I wish I could upload photos here) Sealer wasn't applied well. Sanding wasn't even either. So I sanded the whole body to P320 grid. Before starting the paint job with nitrocellulose spray cans.
Neck sealer was a lot better comparing to the body. I am still not sure if the fingerboard is an actual wood or a composite material. But it is dense, dark and has a nice silky feeling to it. Like Ebony... With TV Yellow, it made a nice contrast. It is like an F-brand bass painted in G-style. haha Frets were surprisingly well installed! Kudos! Almost no sharp edges (no more than a short filing/sanding can get rid of). I only needed to polish them to improve playing and look.
Tuning machines are decent, but very heavy. My long term plan is to drill 3-6mm holes to the pegs to provide some weight relief to fight with the neck diving.
No soldering is a plus for peeps are not used to that. No noise or other electro-mechanical issue with the electronics.
Bridge is decent but lightweight. I will change it with a Fender HighMass bridge as I did with my Squier J-Bass.

In short, It was very easy to build, instructions weren't needed. For anyone who is confident with their hand skills and arm muscles, can do the job and enjoy the process, in my honest opinion. (Though, I am an electrical engineer with decent hand skills and my own guitar tech for over 10 years. ) At this price point - though it could be a lot better), It would be great start if you want to understand basics of guitar/bass mechanics, start building your own instrument or just want to make a gift for yourself or a friend/kid.

As soon as I received my P-Bass kit I began to re-shape the neck top. I used a jig saw and after grinding it, it looked cool already. At first I assembled the complete guitar, so that I was able to make alterations if needed. And it was needed. Many pre drilled holes did not correspond. I didn't see this as a problem as I dare to say that I am rather handy working with wood. Especially the holes at the neck, where the tuning knobs are to be placed, didn't all match. So I used cocktail sticks with wood glue. After drying, I grinded it with the machine using graduation 400. This went smoothly and I drilled new holes of 2mm. As the tuning knobs would cover the old holes there was no further problem. Than I had to drill another hole when mounting the pick ups. I found that the black earth lead was too short, so I connected a longer lead with the initial one. It is a personal choice to spray the body or to use oil or varnish. In both cases it needs a very good grinding starting with 240 than 400 and 600. I decided to spray the body glossy black. I started to spray 3 layers of primer (Motip 1 spray can) and when it was dry I grinded it again with 600. Than I was able to spray the body black. I used a (1) Motip spray can. I am not a regular sprayer, so I would advice to take your time and using a flat piece of carton on the ground and make sure the body is placed on 2 or three little objects (like egg cups). This makes spraying easier when starting with the side of the body. When the front was done, (it dries quite quickly) after an hour I could turn the body to do the rear side. Don't spray to fat! Better is to spray several times smoothly. If you would get a drip no problem; DON'T try to wipe it away or using a paint brush - just let it dry and with 600 sandpaper grind it away and spray that part again. After three times spraying the body looked fine to me. Although it might be so that not every part is as glossy as other part of the body. Don't be let down! After drying for three or more days you use some car polish and smoothly rub this in. It will be shining all over. Now it is time to assemble the bass. Make sure not to damage the body when using screws etc. This is why I advice to assemble the guitar at first, so screws go easier.... After tuning the bass I am very pleased with it and it is great fun making your own P-bass. Of course keep in mind that a guitar of this price should not be compared with a real Fender P-Bass. But it sure is a good instrument and also the sound is okay!

Neck is pretty decent, the fretboard is effectively black, like ebony with more grain, does not look like rosewood at all. I think it looks really distinctive. Benefits from oiling. I didn't lacquer the back of the neck, it comes with a satin/matt finish that is very nice.

Would build confidence if they had a guide to which screw goes where, especially as there are enough scratchplate and tuning head screws that you could swap them over. For those unsure:

The larger headed countersunk screws are for the scratchplate.

The four very long screws are for the pickups, beware of screwing them right down as they could pop out the back of the body... put them in a few turns and adjust when the strings are on.
The same screws for the bridge and strap buttons. Personally I think they are a bit short for strap buttons.
String guide uses a scratchplate screw; I reckon if you used a spare bridge screw it could come out the back of the headstock.

The tuning head screw drillings weren't very well positioned. I had to take great care tightening the screws and the heads are all at a very slight angle.

Body wood isn't super hard, but much better than the eBay strat body blank I bought a year ago. If I was redoing the build I would put on a light layer of primer then sand down until it was just left in any depressions, then skim the body with fine filler then sand with fine wet and dry.

Videos that show people putting on 3 very thin layers of lacquer are over optimistic. Do more than that. Yes it is worth waiting a week to finally sand and polish, but give yourself enough paint thickness to work at with confidence. Sanding needs to be really light t-cut will take out light marks so you don't need to sand aggressively.

Double acting truss rod needed to be tightend up, probably by 2-3 turns so not a huge amount. I expect it to need revisiting a few times as the bass settles down.

Setting up meant adjusting everything, including the nut (except the A-string intonation was spot on...) Nut was cut very high, this does need care and courage as it's the one adjustment that isn't reversible.

Pickup screw holes weren't ideally positioned, tilting the two halves forward. When I reassemble I'll move them so they are level.

Controls work fine, no buzzes. When I reassemble I will strip a longer section of the bridge earth wire to make the contact more definite, am worried it could slip out but don't want to strip it yet to make threading it back through easier. Would be nice if it was about an inch longer too...

Tuning heads very stiff until oiled with a drop of 3 in 1, get better with use. Not the best ever but I don't think they need replacing.

A neck wedge may be a good idea as the E-saddle is almost at the bottom and I reckon I could drop it buy up to half a mm or more.

Some of the scratchplate screwholes were way off, one or two not even visible. I put all the good ones in first, then fitted the other screws direct into the wood without a hole.

I fitted Fender flatwounds because I can't find the supplied strings - I'm not convinced they were in the box, but as I opened it a couple fo weeks ago...

The sound is nice, rich and rounded, perhaps not as much growl as a Fender Precision.

I decided to purchase this kit because it was reasonably priced and I wasn´t sure I could get a good result for I haven´t done anything compared to this before. So to say - not a big loss if I screwed it up and decided to burn it afterwards.

Looked for reviews on it on the net and found satisfied builders. Took on the challenge and this is my review:

The neck: it was straight as an arrow, no nicks anywhere but the frets needed leveling quite a bit. I bought the Thomann fret file, Göldo fretboard guard and ordered a few Euro´s fret rocker from the net. Did my first fret job ever, took a couple of hours and voila - nice result. Fits the neck pocket very well.

The body: in very good condition and smooth surface. took some splinters away with sanding paper from the grinded parts (neck pocket and pickup/pot holes). Other than that it was ready for paintjob.

Painted the body with acrylic sanding primer, painted with acrylic paint and put some acrylic laquer on the surface - all in garage and with spraypaint. Also put acrylic laquer on the neck. Sanded between different paints and polished.

Pickguard: two plastic covers on the surface and no scratches on it. It would have been aligned well on the screwholes of the body, but the jack was about a 1mm too close to the end of the pothole. A very tight fit and could damage the jack on the long run. These don´t cost much though - so... Had to file a tiny bit of plastic away from the neck end of it to fit well (took about 5 seconds).

The pickups: easy to install ( no soldering needed) and work fine. Surprisingly good tone for cheap pickups.

Pots: they are a bit too "loose" and turn a bit too easily. They work though.

Strings: the set that came along was poorly wound and I decided not to use those. Bought the HB valuestrings and they work well.

Tuning pegs: Look nice, a small loose "gap" when turning to both ways. But they hold the tuning nicely. Easy to install on the neck.

Putting it together after painting: everything went to place ok. Putting all together with tuning the strings and adjusting the trussrod took about 4 hours.

Now I´m using it to play in our band and it performs very well. I´m already looking for a new project and would like to find a Musicman-style kit ( Thomann??) Thank you.

TL:DR- Good kit all around, however you may get unlucky with quality control. At this price, it is expected. Buy new pickups ASAP. If you put time (and some more money) into this bass, you will find it to be genuinely fantastic to play.

This kit is an amazing buy, especially for someone who loves putting things together. I recommend you to buy it, especially if you are in Europe (and don't have to pay almost as much as the instrument for shipping). I, however, must list some gripes I have, which I will proceed with below.

To start, I understand that this kit is $85, so I am not mad, just a little disappointed. My main and most significant gripe is to do with the bridge. A single saddle height adjusting screw was extremely tight, leading to it being stripped, removing my ability to adjust it. I have managed to do fine using only half however seeing the saddle all tilted is irksome. My other issue was with one of the tuners being rough however honestly it isn't a big deal as it doesn't effect tuning.

Now, to some smaller gripes. The volume pot is very cheap, and really is more of an on-off switch than a smooth curve. The neck is very wide and thick which makes it heavy, causing significant neck-dive. I find this very annoying but didn't put it in the above section due to the understanding that this is expected on a cheap instrument. I also found the pickups to be extremely underwhelming. Expected at this price point.

Now, to what I have changed to make this bass truly fantastic. I am fortunate enough to have changed pickups on my other p-bass so I had some genuine fender pickups ready for a swap. I am a novice with soldering, however I managed to get everything hooked up. Small note, I soldered the ground wire to the bridge instead of it being loose like the instructions have it. Since the stock pickups don't require a backing to stay together, I had to find some foam laying around to hold my fender ones properly. Other than the pickups, I also added strap locks, and a new bridge from Hipshot to avoid worrying about the botched screw. Lastly, I put in a neck ship to help with getting the action I wanted.

In terms of physical work I have done, I have leveled the frets which also included polishing, along with shaping the headstock. I recommend anyone who does it, gets some nice small files (I managed to mess up my fretboard's edge using a large one). That's why we buy these instruments, though, right?

Another thing, is setup. I nearly completely compressed the spring on the E string with how far I had to adjust for intonation, however the whole instrument was properly intonated within the reach of the stock bridge. Now with my relief and action set right, along with good intonation, my bass feels and sounds amazing to play.

I genuinely love my bass, which I lovingly named rattle-can for how much it buzzed before I did the fretwork. I recommend that anyone with the means to do so, pick one of these up. It is a great time and super rewarding to see it when you are done.

Wasn't out to get the P of my life, just wanted to get a P width rosewood neck in the house, also not bad to have some fun putting it together with my son. the package came fast, all there as expected, easy to assemble, the screws are bad and most of the holes are off, that could be better. the neck and the frets are nice, the body has a protective coating which is great, there's a neck dive but it's easily fixed with a good strap. For the money invested it's a lot of bass, i've put on a set of heavy flatwounds, using it unplugged at night to get some muscles working. doesn't sound bad plugged in either, but doesn't get a chance, since there's so many others for the stage and studio... All in i think it's fun and for the amount of money you guys are asking it's unbeatable.

This guitar is no match for the Fender Custom Shop, but let's be realistic....for the price it's AMAZING!

I notice that a few other reviews have said that some of the pre-drilled holes were misplaced, but I didn't find this. Everything was pretty much bang on and the finished guitar is well aligned. I used Fender's online guide for set up, and it plays well, with good intonation.

Body is really light, which is good on the shoulder but it makes it a bit head heavy. If balance is an issue for you then the body may be too light.

Acoustically it seems to resonate really well, but plugged in it initially sounded weak compared to my other bass (which cost x10 more). I swapped the strings for flatwounds and this totally fixed the 'weak' sound. It's both full and open, and I'm so impressed at this price range. The volume pot has a terrible taper that is pretty much all or nothing, but this is a simply cheap swap out.

The only thing that feels cheap (weight aside) is the tuning heads, which are a bit light and not as smooth as more expensive ones, but for the price they are not below expectations.

Time will tell how stable it is, but first impressions are that it is very useable, and I would happily gig with it. So much better than the cheap guitars of my youth.

Highly recommended!

I will use this bass for playing at home and recording.
What I liked:
Neck seems very good, frets also. There were no sharp ends. Grain on the back side (maple) is really nice. Fretboard also came in a very nice color. Body is very light (and very soft, prone to bruises), finish is great. Hadrware is also good: tuners are solid, pickup sounds really decent, bridge is nice, pickguard is prewired wich was nice. It?s all nice and neat.
What I didn?t like:
prewired holes for tuner screws missaligned. This meant that I had to refill all the screw holes and drill new ones. Also, predrilled holes for the pickup were not good as one hole was drilled too close to the upper edge of the pickup hole and when inserted like that, pickup could not fit. So again, I refilled the holes and drilled new ones. I had to sand the pickguard a little to fit the pickups through a little bit.
If the holes alligned I would have given 5 stars.

When I assembled the bass I was able to get good medium action (little below 3 mm) without fretbuzz. Only fretbuzz was at the last fret which needs to be sanded down a little bit (but that is not a minus, I?ve had much worse on much more expensive basses). Neck needed a fair bit of adjustment as it had quite an up-bow, but it was easiliy fixed.

Sound is really good, and the tone pot is good. There?s quite a difference with tone closed and fully opened.

Anyways I would reccomend this kit, but only to people who don?t have problems in patching missaligned holes and drilling new ones due to chance of holes being drilled wrong. For the price you get a really nice p bas.

Oh yeah strings that come with the bass are sh**, you can use them to set up the bass and see how it sounds.

NECK AND BODY:
The first thing I noticed was how well the neck was fretted. Incredible job, zero complaints. Perfect fret ends and perfectly level across the board.
Next, the body - you'll always need to do a bit of sanding whenever you get a DIY kit and this is no exception. It's not the prettiest wood, but I wasn't expecting a beautifully grained swamp ash body - and if you are expecting that, do yourself a favor and be realistic.
All the pieces fit perfectly - there's no need to adjust even any of the holes on the pickguard.

HARDWARE:
Very solid hardware. Everything works, the tuners tune, the bridge saddles move forwards and back, up and down... Nothing to complain about whatsoever.

ELECTRONICS:
The kit comes with a prewired split-coil P-bass pickup that sounds incredibly decent and plugs right into the wiring.
I'm not thrilled about the pots used, but that's my personal preference - the stock pots work perfectly fine.

PROS:
Price, build and very decent quality components.

CONS:
Not a fan of the potentiometers that come stock. The shielding on the pickguard could cover a larger area - but really isn't necessary.

GENERAL:
All in all - a fantastic DIY kit I highly recommend and will be buying more of for myself. The pros outweigh the negligible cons, and the value is incredible. 5 stars.