Harley Benton MSB-5 Flip Flop Blue

This is my 5th Harley Benton bass and this one is in a league of it's own. I'm predominantly a 4 string player but have been wanting a multi scale bass for a while now and jumped at the chance when this became available. The finish of this bass is exceptional out of the box the setup was almost perfect. All that was needed was a slight truss rod adjustment and the b saddle lowering a touch. I could probably drop the action a bit more if I wanted but this feels great as it is. The neck is incredible so comfy and I didn't even notice the multi scale frets after a couple of minutes playing. The neck is as good as my Spector NS2 which cost more than 3 times the price of this. The electronics sound fantastic and the EQ is really responsive. Everything feels premium quality the tuners feel great, much better than some of the ones on my other Harley Bentons. I love the paint work and imagine all the other finishes are equally as good. At this price I can't see any other brand (that will be 2 or 3 times more expensive) being better. I can't praise this bass enough for the price it has to be head and shoulders above anything else in this price range.

I play mainly guitar and banjo but took up the bass again after a break of probably 30 years about a year ago. I'm really enjoying the learning curve. I have 4 string basses and I did buy a cheap 5 string which I rewired as it was broken. Saw a review of this on YouTube and had to get one.
Absolutely amazing out of the box. Great shipping BTW and good packaging. No damage from Germany to UK.
The set up was pretty good out of the box. I have only adjusted the action and the intonation slightly. Very easy to do with the supplied tools. I have swapped the strings for some Rotosound ones which feel nicer. The ones it came with were OK though.
The finish is perfect apart from a couple of spots on the neck near the headstock. Easily sorted with some fine wire wool as the neck is a satin finish.
It says the nut is bone but mine is black so not sure what it is. It's very hard though and is fine. The frets are really excellent on mine. The ends have been rounded off and slightly set in from the edge so no fret sprout or sharp ends at all.
Sounds great, I am just using it in passive as I find the active circuitry a bit overpowering.
There is a loud pop when you push or pull the active/passive knob. It stops if the volume is down when you change it.
Don't even notice the fan frets after a few minutes. Access to the top frets is a bit strange/tricky due to the design of the upper horn. But who really plays up there?
Balance on a strap is good. It is slightly heavier than my 4 strings, but that is to be expected I think.
Mine even came with a lead.

On the whole an excellent buy IMHO.

Overall quality is great, no significant visual imperfections.
Pickups seem fine and electronics are surprisingly good, bass-mid-high pots, I doubt I'll ever change them, even for a Darkglass capsule.
Tuners are solid, no squeaking yet.
No adjustments are required for first time players at least for mine. I've yet to tweak the bridge but it seems simple enough to lower the action and change strings.
Fretboard could use a better polish as some frets are gripping on strings on bends, might affect only unusual bass players.
Neck to body area is well shaped and avoids interfering when playing high notes.
Feels higher quality than HB's guitars, at least the 8 string I got from them.
Very curious to see if it can stand 145 strings for F#BEAD for Meshuggah and Vola.