Budget Bass vs Pro Bass | Harley Benton Enhanced MJ-5MN vs Sandberg California TM5 MN 

Sound wise yes, not sure yet about stability, fret ends etc. but would I say Sandberg is 5 times better? Absolutely not.

reese davis truth. Thing is with instruments (as with almost everything else in existence), you pay for the name slapped on it. Sure people will say (and will be right to an extent) “oh but the feel”, but in reality, you can find nice “feeling” Basses nowadays from brands like HB, for way cheaper that other “name brands”. Also the gap in sound quality seems to be closing too. The HB sounds lovely considering the cost and even compares quite nicely with the other.

@@CatPickStudios pls don't forget the fact, that even a small increase in quality lot of time means exponential increase on price. The "charm" of these Chinese guitars are, that if you got a lucky piece it is great. And then, you can get also a weak piece...

Toxic Potato I agree. Which is why I said that these days you can find nice “feeling” Basses for accesible prices. Companies just charge an extra for the “brand” slapped on the headstock.

@Toxic Potato I don't know if I agree about value of sound in basses. I play guitar more than bass, but I notice differences in bass quality and tone much more, specifically in jazz basses.

I've been really happy with that bass, I've both recorded and played live with it already. For the money it's great! Full review coming out soon!

Sound is not the only important thing in instrument

True! But for me , it is the most important thing.

Thanks!

Thanks! I still use mine all the the for recording and I think it's time to start upgrading it. Maybe some better electronics, possibly different pickups etc. Fort the money it's a killer bass but it definitely could use some upgrades here and there.

Ooh interesting, you made me want to modify mine now.

Thanks! Not sure how much the electronics upgrade would change that. I feel Sandberg has a more focused midrange which makes it an awesome bass for live situations (I've mixed it live several times) where as HB has a more traditional Jazz bass sound. My guess is that upgrading it would bring them even closer sound wise but they would still sound different and especially feel different.

I have the 150€ J one, fretless. With Rotosound flats. Now it has Gotoh hardware, DiMarzio will power pups & Emerson electronics. All the above & the boat anchor weight guarantees a decent sound :3

I owned both, still have the Sandberg but for as much as I’m playing needed a comparable bass. Sold the HB and bought a used Sire v9

It's a killer bass!

Yep, the HB stayed and I've been using it a lot! It certainly has it's flaws but overall I think it's still great for the money. I might start upgrading it at some point, most like by swapping the wobbly pots first. :)

Thanks!

Daddario XL Nickel 40-130 (40/60/80/100/130)

This is what you find on cheap bass. Maybe all the frets are not even.. The quality control overall is lower

I'd say HB neck profile is more flat and Sandberg a bit rounder and to my hands, more comfortable.

The guy playing the bass in the video gave both of the basses the setup he liked. I do think there was more "clanking" happening with the Harley Benton, maybe raising the strings a tiny bit could take some of that away. And thank you! :)

The Harley Benton had slightly lower action than the Sandberg, the difference was quite minimal. Both were very comfortable basses to play. -the guy who played the bass

Thanks, appreciate the a well written comment with actual points. You don't see that too often! I'm honestly really curious how the neck on the Harley Benton will behave over a year. As I mentioned, we go through huge humidity and temperature changes over the course of a year and some instruments don't take it well. But so far it's been good so I'm optimistic. :)

@@CatPickStudios So it's over 8 months now. Can you say something about the stability yet? I'm curious :)

@@leo.nordmann Well I'm happy to tell you the bass has become more stable over time. Played it with a band this Friday and noticed I had to tune it less often than what I was used to. Haven't touched the truss rod, thought it could use a tiny bit of tightening. I'm super impressed with this bass when you consider the price.

@@CatPickStudios Awesome. Thanks for the fast answer. I just bought this bass as a 4 string ind blue. They don't have it in stock so I'm just waiting for it to finally being shipped.

@@CatPickStudios how about now?

Oh definitely. I think I'll swap the electronics at some point.

Yep, it's just more focused. I've been playing that Harley Benton a lot since I got it and while it's really good for the money, I would love to get that Sandberg.

Works on both basses. Is there a bass that requires you to have battery inserted even when using passive mode?

@@CatPickStudios thanks for reply! sadly yes, my Cort B5's active/passive switch only flattens the eq, but still uses the preamp.

@@PiotrOjrzynski Oh that sucks, sorry to hear that.

At least in the last few years, HB has had excellent QC when it comes to the fretboard. Very rarely do you hear reports of fret sprouting during aging/drying. I have three of their basses, all three have impeccable fretboards. Note that this wasn't always the case - if you go back a decade or a bit more, there have been cheaper models that had problems with the freatboard. I have acquired a used HB Shorty (that would be my 4th HB bass) which required a lot of fret dressing, which was partially done by the previous owners. But for the past 4-5 years at least, the HB basses are an amazing value.

Thanks!

HB is a good bass, but I'm thinking I might want to do something with the electronics. They are a bit noisy and the pots feel loose. But overall I've still been pretty happy with it. :)

@@CatPickStudios It's a $300 bass, and the specs look even better than the Squier CV's. If the electronics are the issue, the simple solution would be to start with replaceing them with something like an Audere preamp. In the US a basic drop-in Audere preamp costs under $100, a bit more for Intl. www.audereaudio.com/jazz-4b-chrome.html Based in the UK is the John East preamp. One of the advantages of one of their models is the ability to have passive or active modes or even blend them. www.east-uk.com/index.php/all-products/j-retro-01-deluxe.html I suppose at this price point it is easy to "over-improve" this bass. As I noted, I found the clarity the issue with the HB compared to the Sandberg. But it has to be mentioned that they had the same strings, a string set that may be less than ideal on the HB. I'd love to hear the comparison again, once a set of strings were found that brought out the best characteristics of this bass.

@@CatPickStudios how about the nut on the HB?

@@JeezVince it's a tusq nut

I've been really happy with mine, does the job well and is fun to play.

@@CatPickStudios was planing on getting the 5 string progressive series but this one sounds better.

But I don't want to be challenged in my precoseptions! ;D

@@CatPickStudios , then only let the viewer decide :) greetz ps, the HB is a great bass , and yess Both are

Thank you! Yes it is, check out my EP here on the channel called "The First Four" or on streaming platforms "Vladimir Halinen - The First Four" :)

I'll ask if Ville could provide it!

Unfortunately the preset we used is gone and I have no idea what it included :D But if you want to try something close to that sound I suggest you to try following setup: 1) Split the signal with split crossover somewhere around 200-300Hz 2) Path A (below 200Hz), Ampeg SVT4 Pro/similar 3) Path B (over 200Hz) Obsidian 7000 or Stupor OD + cab sim. I use 3 sigma audio cab IR:s, but Helix's own 4x10 or 2x15 do the job quite well too.

@@villetuukkanen : Thank you! That's pretty much what I assumed.

I didn't weight mine but it was roughly the same weight as the Sandberg, which I also found a bit heavier than an average bass of the same size. Also please note that with budget friendly basses like HB the weight of the instrument may vary quite a lot from bass to bass.

I might be stating the obvious but did you swap the strings? I've had bunch of Harley Bentons come through my studio and most of them ship with absolutely horrible strings that don't stay in tune and sound bad. The guy playing the bass in this video swapped the same string set on both of the basses and I feel that brought them way closer sound wise.

@@CatPickStudios The first thing I did was to put on Fodera Ultra Light strings and my HD sounds great!

Hmm the one I had in this video didn't have SS frets, but they might have upgraded it since. I would encourage you to email Thomann and ask about different options they might have.

@@CatPickStudios That's strange. I bought the same model (MJ-5MN) and on their website it says "22 Medium Jumbo Blacksmith stainless steel frets".

It's really interesting what kind of differences people hear. I personally feel Sandberg is a bit more focused sounding but that might be due to how the bass feels to play.

Calculating for inflation a Fender bass from the 70's would be $1,603 to $1,804 in todays money. New fenders are also around the same range. So I'm not sure what your point is?

Might be, he had played the Sandberg a lot both live and in the studio at this point!

Interesting, what is it about the 6 piece body that bothers you? Are the pieces unevenly colored or something else?

@@CatPickStudios The front and back match very well. Around the edges it is more noticable. I suppose I just associate one-piece bodies with quality and multi-piece as being 'budget'. It doesn't seem to effect the sound though, unplugged the bass sounds very solid and authoritive, plenty of sustain. Given the price Im overall very happy with it. Great vid btw. 👍

@@Killadey Yeah I totally get that multi-piece thing! Though as you said, it's not really an indicator of quality. If I had the money I'd go for the Sandberg just because it's such a solid instrument, but I do still enjoy my HB as well. And thanks, much appreciated!

@@Killadey Almost no bass bodies are single piece. Two or three is pretty normal.

Yep. Any suggestions? I've been recording with it a lot lately and I feel it's time to upgrade.

@@CatPickStudios what about Sandberg pickups? That would be interesting

Do they sell aftermarket pickups?

@@CatPickStudios sandbergshop.gambiocloud.com/Sandberg-Pickup/

@@CatPickStudios whom do you mean?

Haha I totally agree. The HB was really impressive, but I'd pick the Sandberg every time.

The first part was in a mix.

@@wbertie2604 live mix, not mixed for web content, two different universes.

It's definitely on the heavier side. Not sure about the exact weight but pretty sure it's over 4kg. The Sandberg isn't light either but HB is heavier.

Well you can get several Harley Bentons for the price of one Sandberg which means you have backups if your weapon breaks. Completely forgot to mention that in the video, I'm sorry.

@@CatPickStudios its ok we all forget some things but at least now your aware :) have a great weekend Sir!

Well that's great then, you get the tone you like more for WAAAAY less money!

Well it's not that simple to be honest. I've had the HB for a while now and while I think it's incredible value for the money, the cost savings do show here and there. I've played it live several times and tuning stability has been an issue in those situations. If I would play the bass live regularly I would probably want to upgrade the electronics as well because they seem to be prone to all kinds of buzz and noise. But again, for the money you get a lot.

CatPick Studios Thanks for the input. I’m just a “bedroom hero” and play occasionally in the church band (we don’t exactly rock lol) I have a Fender Highway 1 for that anyway.

Well that's where I've played mine as well: at the church. For that the bass has been great but if I would gig more, I would probably want to upgrade it a bit. :)

CatPick Studios No doubt. But, it does sound good, especially for the price.

I find the Sandberg more focused and punchier. For the money HB is very good. (Still use it all the time)

@@CatPickStudios In a context of a live mix you are the only person concerned with the brand on your headstock. I would swap the bridge pickup tho, then it would be realy good!

Totally agree!

@@CatPickStudiosalso thanks for the videos, I really enjoy your conent

It's a nice looking bass.

@Toxic Potato Like dark sounding (no treble and no presence) and with a pronounced dip in response at about 600hz, no punch and totally lost in a mix. Hear this clip, then go compare with other bass clips amongst my videos... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OQ0SKH3a-0U.html&t=31s

Haha I know, I think at the time I was traumatised by shooting bunch of videos that were out of focus and decided to use autofocus just to make sure it's in focust most of the time. Two years later I have better gear and don't use it anymore for the reasons you just mentioned.

That's kind of true unfortunately. Lighter woods are usually saved for the more expensive instruments.

I'm thinking about replacing the pickups at some point. I mean for the 333€ you can't expect everything to be perfect.

Of course. What i wanted to say, is that this noise is probably the only thing, that stops Harley Benton to be a no brainer for me

I Hope you'll upload video with changed pickups ;)

If I end up changing them, absolutely!

What are you listening through?

@@CatPickStudios the speakers of my car while the engine was off, so almost no background noise

Yes and no. They might sound similar, but the Sandberg feels way more high quality, it has better fret work, nut, tuners and electronics and stays in tune way better. But if you're willing to put in a bit of work on the HB, it's killer bass for the money. (I still use mine)

Yeah maybe you shouldn’t. The HB is great for the money but it’s nowhere near MusicMan quality.

I’m guessing you didn’t watch any further where there’s just the bass soloed out?