Harley Benton MV-4P Burgundy Mist

this bass costs less than 250 euro and is easily better in finish and quality of manufacture than pretty much anything i have bought in the time since 2012.

I briefly owned the gotoh version of the jazz bass. total boat anchor, massively heavy and with a neck profile that makes no sense on a jazz bass. but HB im assuming only manufacture one neck per series to keep costs down, and for XYZ reason on a P bass it just works.

this is a pleasing weight of the not too heavy, not too light category.

the fretwork is perfect - polished tips ends, rounded to perfection all the way up the board. no raised frets, no buzzing frets. the neck is perfectly straight, plenty of action both ways on the truss rod. the finish of this weird, beguiling lavender colour is also without dint, dent or imperfection. the neck is a wonderfully smooth roasted maple with a very slight flame.

the setup out of the box was very good, requiring only a small lowering of the saddle action, no doubt to account for the pickup height. simply lowering the action, even with these HBZ custom wound pups, was fine. a little clanky but fine.

a split coil P bass pickup isnt difficult to get right. aftermarket pickups make mild to indestiguishable differences. these are no exception. it sounds like a split coil P bass should. its not particularly refined or detailed, but its not going to make much difference. its a P bass. If you feel like it, stick a dimarzio in it. its still cheaper than the competition, rolled edges gimmick or not.

the only weak points i could mention are the knobs, yucky plastic J bass copies and the afore mentioned saddle adjustment.

along with the Harley Benton PB50 SC bass, this bass is as close to perfect as you could wish for. the fact that it costs so little money is exacly the perfect answer to *other manufacturers* being so out of touch with reality for a sticker on the headstock

bravo indeed.

I'm a new bass player & I have been in lust with burgundy mist basses since the gotohs arrived last year. Such is my infatuation I would have bought any of them including the 5 string which I haven't a hope in hell of playing. My 4 string beauty arrived this morning and she is sweet!
Well setup out of the box, no pokey fret ends and she purrs and growls like I like it. Tuners are functional but not smooth like the originals, silly tug bar remains and I'd prefer 42-43 mm nut width on a P bass (not 38), but what's a few millimetres between friends.
I'm over the moon with it and if Mr Thomann had to recall them because they were accidentally irradiated with plutonium, I would keep mine till my last finger shrivelled up and fell off!
P.S. Get someone to do a proper online review on these.

A very good guitar. I bought it because I saw reviews on YouTube and was skeptical, considering I have high-end guitars. I was shocked when I received it. The appearance is fantastic; the frets were a bit sharp, but after a few days, the wood adjusted. The fluorescent inlays surprised me, just like on the Ultra 2 bass. The sound is very good, the neck is very pleasant to play, and it feels great. I decided to shield the guitar, and now it sounds fantastic. The only thing I want to do is change the pickups, but that's just my taste. If anyone's looking for a good bass for a small price, I recommend it. I've changed my mind about HB guitars; this bass is on par with guitars from higher price ranges.