Don't forget: You have to be subscribed with notifications and comment to take part in the Giveaway! Good luck to you! Update: Wow, the video gets a lot more responses that I hoped for! That is so great! I will try to react and answer to you all, but if I don't make it, don't be sad. Every comment will be read and every comment will take part in that giveaway. Thanks for your nice comments!!!
Excellent video, many thanks. I'm a luthier and have yet to handle a bad Harley Benton. Sires are very patchy on build quality, Squiers all seem OK but some are stunning. Fenders well, it's all about the romance, nothing more but this costs money. 😎
I've always loved my Fenders (I think pound for pound the CIJs can be among the best of them, though that's also affected by better than average left handed provision for me), but Harley Benton I'm so impressed with from my experiences thus far. Great guitars at a price that is readily justifiable for a bedroom player (and I suspect if I were gigging I'd also be happier slinging them around live than a very pricey ole Fender!), yet also far above the quality you'd usually expect for the price. Thomann's business model does a lot of good here at keeping the price to about half what I'd expect them to be in a traditional distribution setup (and well worth it at that). It' be interesting to see a few head to heads with JHS's Vintage brand.
Sire being patchy? Oh my that makes me more indecisive on my choice. I was pretty much going for a P5, especially for the satin finish (glossy necks get sticky very fast with me) but with Squier being strong contenders. Do you think there's a Harley Benton series on par with, say, Squier Classic Vibe or Sire p5?
The P5 is a wonderful bass. Nothing from Harley Benton could compare with it. Some of the D5 from the first run had a problem with wrong wiring. But as the Lowendlobster and myself got in touch with Sire they immediately took care of the issues. So this is fixed as well. 😀
My order would be Squier, Fender, HB, Sire. I much prefer the clearer more mid-rangey tone of the Squier. The HB and especially the Sire are too dark for my taste.
I'm an old bassist and have accumulated 32 basses in my over 55 years of playing.I always desired a 50s P- Tele bass so your video among others was very helpful.I was very into the Sire but they're hard to find.So the Harley Benton pb 50 was my choice.Even better in red, and the price certainly didn't hurt.I am very pleased.Thanks for a good demo.
Congratulations to Insoma. Finally a fair comparison of several basses. I also found it great that both the DI was presented, as well as the strings that were played with. Last but not least, I think it's great that per pickup not always only 100% tone is tested, but also 50% or 0% of tone aperture, because these sounds are also interesting. All in all, a great comparison. I hope that there will be more of this kind.
We’ve seen hundreds of comparison videos of low cost instruments v Fender. Sure on a one off test, low cost instruments can sound just as good. But for through life costs, residual values, maintenance, playability and consistent delivery gig to gig, for me Fenders or other similarly priced instruments like MusicMan, Mike Lull or Sadowsky will win out in the long run 😎
All of them sound ok, each has it's own "personality", but I can't really say that one is better or worse than the other. You can definitely gig and record with any of them. In the song at the end I almost didn't hear when the basses were switching. I used to play a cheap starter bass exclusively for 8 years, also on a couple of concerts. I still like how it sounds, however it's hardware is problematic after a couple of years. Then I had 2 middle-class basses and decided to buy a MIM Fender - with cheaper copies I would think all the time if I sound good enough.
Yes, they all sound good and you won't have to be ashamed playing any of these. A funny thing that video shows: Even tough the construction is rather simple, this brings out basses with so many different sound charakters.
I wasn’t surprised the HB was so good, as I own 2 different HB basses myself, but was shocked that they beat makes like sire and squire to be number 2. Loved the review and thought you were very fair even though like me you have your favourites in the mix…
Thank you for your kind words! I own 3 HBs myself, and from experience the passive HBs are always top notch (if the QC doesn't sleep). But two things: He was even better than expected and Sire and Squier were underwhelming for what I expected them to be. And you are right. Out of those 4, Sire is my favourite (I own a V10, P10, V5, U5, M7 and D5) and normally I take a turn from Fenders. But things are as they are. I know they can do better and the P5 (I played one but haven't received my own) really is a killer, which puts a lot of 1000+€ basses to rest. :) but you can't always win. :)
@@Insoma I’m just a beginner, I’ve gone the short scale route (30in scale), I own a Harley Benton B-Bass and a Harley Benton Shorty and I love the feel and the quality of both, I’ve tried a few different squires but always come back to my HB’s.. my next venture is a Marcus Miller P10 but that’s mega pounds lol
Thank you so much! I hope you stay subscribed ;) Yes, indeed they all sound good, even tough I somehow ranked them. The MIJ really is a very good bass no questions asked. The extra weight of the Squier is almost a deal breaker for me, even if mine had not a broken neck. The Harley Benton really is a powerhouse which I didn't expect. But I am on a side with the Lowendlobster. Harley Bentons passive basses are exceptionally good, while the active ones can get a bit meh. I am a little bit heartbroken abou the Sire though. That really is one of my favourite brands and the bass feels very very very good. But the sound...is a bit lacking. And the shoddy wiring job (it seems as if a wire is soldered at the wrong place. And not only on my D5) is suprising in the wrong way.
@@Insoma oh of course I will stay subscribed. I have to completely agree with everything you wrote! I have gotten rid of instruments for being too heavy. Most recently the classic vibe telecaster, and the main issue was the weight. The guitar itself sounded amazing!
@@stevebadachmusic But Squier seems to have it with heavy instruments. I have the Active Jazz V. And this thing clocks in at 5.7kg. The heaviest bass I ever had. Maybe just rivaled by my SRAS7.
harley benton sounds unexpectedly very good for the price range. most likely one of the best stamps you can find on the market at that price, if not the best!
Sounds-wise it was Sire then HB. Looks-wise I don't know - maybe the Squier wins. But actually playing them one after the other is absolutely necessary for good comparison.
I used to have Fender Sting signature and it's soooo goood. I played the Squier one but not impressed at all. Never play the Sire one, but I have first gen V7 and I tell you, it's a good bass. So, it might be better bass. Never play single Harley Benton at all. But for what I heard, it's better for value than the Squier one. If it's me, it will be Fender -> Sire -> Harley Benton -> Squier
My chart, based on my sound impression: 1. Fender 2. Harley Benton 3. Squier 4. Sire Although, one has to feel how it plays, how heavy it is, etc. to give proper judgment ...
I cane almost to the same conclusion. Altough neither really is bad and the opinios are really diversed. So it seems that every bass hits the nerve of someone. I tried to give my impressions of weight and well, but that of course is highly subjective. The Squier is by far the heaviest one.
I am a big Barley Benton fan and have 2 HB guitars and 1 HB (Modern) Bass. I've never played a Precision type Bass . I am extremely happy with each one of them
That Harley Benton kept up with all of them, it wasn't a big night and day difference from the HB to the Fender. Now for me the feel would make a big difference, I've tired a Sire P-Bass and i didn't like the weight because it sat weird.
Great video and very helpful! It's a tie for me between Sire and Fender but still not enough to justify 4x or 12x the price respectively compared to the HB which is very good and to me sounds better than the Squier (also 4x it's price!).
nice playing, in the final song I totally agree with your assessment. Fender, then HB, then Sire, then Squier. Fender and HB sounded the best in the mix to me.
I had the squire I sold it for a hb 50s style p bass. The squire weighs a ton. I sold it and bought this hb in the video, it was the best thing I ever did, the hb is much lighter and better tone, I did however changed the pickup to lollar . Get the hb !!!!
Hiya - saw your link on talkbass.... great video! Added my comment in that forum, but in brief: Based on sounding like the fender, the sire is closest and would be my choice based on tone alone, regardless of the buzz (which lots of basses have and I'm used to touching strings for silence while recording). For my personal preference I woudl choose the squier's tone, I like bright and I can boost lows with eq to make up for it being slightly thinner, but I love it's high end tone... excellent and almost processed sounding. The HB though of course is a steal - adore the pricetags of those instruments, and that one is close enough that with some eqing, and possibly a bit more setup work to get it how I like it, that instrument would be an excellent 50s P bass filling a void for me, since I don't own a 50s P and love the sound. Police covers, here we come!
La mejor comparación de bajos que he visto,Harley Benton es grandioso para el precio y Sire es para mi un lujo de instrumento sin desmerecer a Squier y Fender obviamente.
Great comparison, love the sound of the Sire D5 ! The sound of the Harley Benton is definetly more balanced and warmer compared to the Squier Classic Vibe, thats amazing for a low budget !
Thank you so much for this video. I'm a PB fan and really love the 51 model. The HB is really astonishing compared to the price. But my favourite one is still the Japanese reissue. Keep up the good work 👍
great comparison, wow! The Fender won for me but it has its price tag =( But I was suprised that the Harley Benton did so well, wow! Sincerely it came closest to my imagination how such a vintage Pbass should sound =) the Squier was quite fret buzzing (you explained the neck problem) but wins the beauty price, great video, thanks a lot😊
I've been looking at the Harley Benton as a first bass guitar and this video is the most helpful I've watched. Loved the comparison song at the end for getting an immediate feel for the differences between each bass in a mix. Great stuff!
I bought the HB,(based on price). Dropped a Nordy 51 pup in, upgraded the wiring harness, properly shielded all cavities,upgraded to a goto bridge, changed out the nut to a bone nut,changed the tuners to hipshot ultra lites.......and did surgery on the ugly headstock,(I cut it down to a reasonable facsimile of a tele bass. Oh I got the tobacco sunburst version.....so I sanded down the headstock and matched the body. Looks,sounds and plays excellent at a little over maybe a 1/3 of the Fender !
Yet another great video. I've been seriously considering either the Sire or Squire for a while so this video will go a long way to helping me make up my mind.
Thank you very much! You may have heard that Sire has solved the wiring issue by now. So that was a bigger point in my review you might not care anymore :)
Thank you so much! Yes, the basses - altough a simple concept - are sounding very different. Which I think is cool! There is a 50s P Bass for everyone :)
Found this video on a google search looking to compare the Sire and the Harley Benton. I've been keen on a bass in this style for some time. I would have bought the Squier CV 50s P Bass long ago, but they never came left-handed, and being a southpaw is an unalterable, factory default for me. Thomann are offering both the HB and the Sire as lefties, so it came down to comparing those. The video is great- lovely comparison. I enjoyed how you review the instruments - you've got a great way of giving your own opinion while also giving enough information that it leave the viewer very able to take that on board as well as free to reach their own conclusion as well. All things balanced, as a bedroom player who is unlikely to be gigging out any time soon, it looks like the HB will be the right one for me.... Thank-you!
Fellow Lefty here. The price of the Lefty Site is around £330 at the moment. I'll take the sire over the HB as the DIY upgrades needed to get the HB up to scratch would outweigh the cost of buying the Sire. I'm told the D5 issues are now sorted.
Great comparison! I love the Sire tone personally. I'd like to see how it responds in a more rock setting. I think the HB is best for that classic 50s tone
The decision to learn the bass is a true achievement! I wish you joy and fun and creativity with every step you take playing your bass. I am very happy that I could help you!
The thing that shocked me about this was how little I liked the Squier Classic Vibe. I have two CVs and they’re both fantastic. This one sounded anemic. I think your assessment of the Sire was spot on. I have a P7 that is excellent, but this one seems a bit polite for this style of bass. Great takes all around. Other than the Squier, I’d be happy to play any of them.
Great Video and good choice for comparison. Very helpful, thanks. I love the touch and feel of the Sire roasted necks. I own a V5 and it's my favorite.
Thank you so much for this great, informative post! Nicely done video. After lusting after a '50s Pbass for years but not having the $$$ to go with the real deal, I ordered a Sire D5 through Sweetwater, but delivery in the U.S. isn't expected until mid-January 2022. Against the Squier, seems like bigger bang for the buck in terms of build and hardware. Great to see one in action here. Very much looking forward to the delivery date!
You are very welcome! I am glad you liked the video. The D5 is a great bass. The neck is superb! And if you liked the sound in my video, you will like it at your home, too :)
I really liked the Harley Benton and I thought the Sire was really good looking. The Fender, of course, nailed the look and tone, but it certainly has a big price tag compared to the others.
Think I order the HB tomorrow. I can get two HB's a Jazz and the PB50 for less than the price of a Squire . That's a no lose to me even if I need to change some of the hardware out. It's hard to beat the value of the Benton's . I'd love to have ghe Fendrr but can't justify it. I've owned a lot of high end really nice basses but my favorite older bass was a Yamaha. I've had Tobias , Music Mans, Rics , Fender American Jazz and a few others but my Yamaha was a inexpensive model that sounded and played great. I just sold a couple and just want to try the HB's myself after watching a ton of videos. The shipping for two is sctually cheaper than for one so to me it's a can't loose deal !
Been wanting to a bass for a long time and your video really helps with an unbiased view.. Yes the fanboy in me would choose the Sire but the Harley Benton really has a lot going for it.. your choice is right to me.. Many thanks
Oooohhhh, I think I am one of the biggest Sire fanboys around. But this time...besides the easy soldering fix, he really sounds great, very defined. But I prefer the more clean approach the Benton or the Fender with opened toneknob have. But at least...he still has the best neck of the bunch. :)
Super comparison, you were spot on on your reviews. I was going to buy the Squier 50s P bass but wanted 38m nut. Bought the Squier 54 J Bass Hybrid, very happy with it. Hope you review it someday. Thanks
Thank you very much, my friend. The 1mm more on the Squier neck isn't a deal breaker, though noticable. But the added weight is very unfortunate. Are you talking about the Paranormal Squier 54? That thing sure is interesting! :)
@@Insoma yes, and I believe they change the pickups from standard J Bass. Also the stacked knobs gives tone control on both pickups for better variations of tone. I will be watching any new vids you post.
@@johndelong9230 I will definitely try a Paranormal some day! Thank you so much. I am a dad if a 4 year old and a full time worker, so I can't rapid fire content, but I try to make good ones :)
@@Insoma Anyone could tell the time it took to produce that solid comparison vid. Someone looking for a 50s style bass would find your effort most helpful.
Having owned a Sire V7 and a customized Fender, I ended up making my own custom bass to get that sound that I was after. It has a Nordstrand big rig, which is essentially 2 ‘51 precision pickups in one, giving a wide range of tonal possibilities. Having said that, I hope I win it! 🤘🏽😬🤘🏽
I have the classic vibe 50s P Bass in sunburst and it is a fantastic bass for the money. I added the genuine Fender chrome pickup & bridge covers and now it looks more authentic.
Hi Folks. I'm not sure if I like the Haley Benton PB50 or the Sire D5 better, but for the price/performance ratio the Harley Benton is absolutely unbeatable.
Great comparison! I'm a huge fan of Sires and the owner of V5, I think the whole vintage line is amazing for their prices. Thanks for that video, take care!
Interesting. I'm not a big fan of the original P, preferring the the post '55 style, but those all sound pretty good. The Benton is by far the "fullest" but the Squire was a surprise in that it sounds the closest to a real Fender. The Sire was a bit too "hi fi" for what the vibe of that bass should be. The thin neck and headstock would bug me too. Squire for the win -- at least for "best bang for the buck."
Nice observations! Sadly the Squier came with an insane neck bow. I did my best but he has still some serious rattle. A Squier with a straight neck would be even better. Sadly the Squier is by far the heaviest of those four, which is a bit sad.
Ich habe gerade ein Short von Dir gesehen, in dem Du daraufhin gewiesen hast, dass Sire festgestellt hat, dass die ersten 60 Sire5D falsch verkabelt oder falsch gewickelt waren. Ist dies auch der Grund für das fehlende LowEnd des Sire in Deinem Test bzw. für das niedrige Output des Sire5D in Deinem Test?
This is great! I’ve been wanting a p-bass. The HB is really something to consider…I listened without looking at the basses to see which sound I’d prefer w/o my bias and thought the following: The HB was a solid all rounder. Hitting a great tone and played well with all the play styles. The Squier was punchy and clear but lacks bottom. Almost too much sizzle at times. The Sire was less dynamic but took the best of 1&2 as far as tone character goes…and dead silent, excellent for recording…almost reference if that makes sense. The last Fender has the most growl and presence and is good sounding. Thanks for the vid!
Hey, thank you for your nice comment and your thoughts on the basses! I am glad you liked it :) My next video is already in the works: Music Man style basses comparison ;)
Thanks for another really great comparison video! While you were introducing the basses with various techniques in the first half of the video, I noticed that I liked the Sire and the Japanese Fender the best out of the 4. I suppose that it all really comes down to how they feel in your hands, and how they sound to you in person. And I am sure that you have helped quite a few people out there who are looking into getting one of these.
I have a HB 5-string PJ -bass in my collection, sadly i can't get used to the wide neck. that said, bang for buck it's most likely "the best" in it's pricerange(s) in the EU at the time of this writing. that or i got lucky on mine, but seeing this video, i think it might just be the company doing a bang-up job overall (which is good). it required almost no set-up too which for new players dipping their feet into bass for the first time is a major plus. I mean at this price it should be nowhere near where you place it, yet I feel the placement is fair. I wonder though how other manufacturers like schecter, lakland, sandberg, charvel (owned by fender) would compare in the same pricerange as a fender sadly i don't have the money or the musicshops nearby that carry those kind of higher end basses. best of luck, and as for the giveaway, anything and everything is welcome i guess ;) having an instrument to play is more important then which instrument you have to play. If i'd win a bass it would go to a local kid who doesn't have money for something decent though (i'll manage with the gear i have ;) )
Hi! Yeah, those HB are getting better and better! 20 years ago...they were barely playable, but nowadays especially the passive only ones are almost always great. Quality Control can be a hit or miss though. I do have some videos on my channel were I play G&L vs. Rickenbacker vs. MusicMan vs. Fender...but just with a song like the end of this video. Look for it! :) I cross my fingers for you...and the kid :)
@@Insoma G&L Rickenbacker, MM are all wildly different in sound and pickups. what i ment was more in the sense of different brands with a similar set-up like all 60's P-basses or all 70's jazz basses, my thinking is that even though fender makes great basses, they have been making the same basses for 50-+ years where as many other brands have been trying to innovate it would be fun to compare those and see if fender realy gotr it best from the get-go or if it's time to move on At any rate, have a good day.
I think it would be the sire or Harley Benton for me. Love the look of the sire but the value and tone of the Harley Benton is amazing. I’m not a person who buys a bass for the name on the headstock. I have a hb fret less and love it.
To start. They all seem to have distinctive tones and personality. I don’t think I’d kick any of them out of bed. The HB does sound surprisingly good. Sire, please do something about that Fugly cross between a hockey stick and smashed vulture Kopf head stock! Did any of them need a lot of set up? Your still going to be the second sexiest bass player
Yes, bottomline is that all of them are good. And destinct. The reaction here and on Facebook also shows, that they are quite evenly spread in the likings of the bass players. About the setup: The Squier was a nightmare. As I opened the box i saw a upwards bow on the neck...with my plain eye...from above....without aiming over the frets to the nut. I tried my very best...but he still rattles insanely. The Sire had a wrongly soldered cable which caused the noise I mentioned. Sire and Harley Benton surely could be setup better, but were quite good playable out of the Box. The MIJ was out of the box like the basses I get back from the luthier. Perfect! (To my luck...because I wouldn't know how to set up that shitty vintage bridge)
I got a Squire vibe `60`s and liked it so much I got the `50`s also. I love both. These basses do need neck and bridge adjustments but easy to do. The `50`s is heavy though. I put Roto-sound flat strings on and I am keeping these two basses.
Wow, the Harley Benton PB-50 sounds really great! I'm looking which is the best option and, although I have the PJ-4 as one cool option, this one has amazing reviews.
It is really interesting. I have now listened to the comparison song several times and you can really hear the small but subtle differences in sound. Even though the Fender produces a bit more overtones than the rest of the basses, the Harley Benton PB50 has the absolute best punch, at least from my subjective point of view.
Great video !!! Really well done.I think the Fender did sound the best but I think the Squier would be 2nd at least the one I own has a great neck.But I will say it does suffer from the dreaded dead spot on the G string 7th fret.I think the string choice makes a huge difference with these basses.I was almost going to change the pickup on my CV50s Squier until I put some flats on it.It made it sound closer to what I was looking for.I really hate to hear that about the Sire but the output difference was quite noticeable & hate to hear of the grounding issues. I almost bought on of the HBs because I love the color !!! Good to know the quality is there in that price range.It was a bit boomy but that can be fixed with amp eq. Thanks for doing this video & once again great job
Thank you so much! Yes, the HB had the most output. I was at 60% gain on the DI, because on higher gain, the HB would have overdrive my DI, so I set the other the same way to have that comparison. The Sire fix was easy afterwards but a strange mistake. I contacted Sire about that and we are in exchange. So maybe that video helped to make future D5s as great sounding as they feel. Yeah...HBs are really great. Especially passive only ones. QC can be a biot of a problem mind you. But if you get one, that hasn't any issues (and the most haven't) you are in for great fun!
I have played that HB earlier, and I've recommended it for several players looking for a cheap P bass. Also used it in live settings with great results. Great basses at next to no money :-)
Amen! 20 years ago they were barely playable, but nowadays they are really good axes. QC can be a problem, but if you get a good one, you are in for fun. And those are great for the modding community!
Danke für den Test! Meine persönliche Meinung: Sound: Platz 1 Japan Fender, Platz 2 Sire - der Rest wohlwollend teilen sich Platz 5 ;-) | Preisleistung: Platz 1 Sire. Erstaunlich wie gut er für den Preis klingt, Platz 2 Fender da fast 3x so teuer wie der Sire .
Thanks a lot for this comparison. It was very well done. Unfortunatly I heard this a year too late... That´s a pity. Although I write my opinion. I think the Sire D5 is a real winner: more expressivity and punchs.
I just found your channel. I really appreciate the way you did the comparisons. Very easy to keep track of how each one sounds.. and I like them all in their own way. Maybe it's because you made them all sound good. I need to play them all now! Great video!
Thank you very much! As a Dad of a 4 year old and fulltime worker, I can't make much content. But I try to make interessting one if I have the time to :) The basses are indeed all great and the sound ranking mirrors my own very personal favor. You should play them all :)
Thanks! This was fun and informative. I'm glad you play riffs in a variety of styles rather than just one or two - it gives a better idea of the various sound capabilities/ The Fender did sound the best, but not 11 times better than the Harley Benton - maybe 30 % better, and most of that could be bridged by EQ-ing the bass and putting in a better pick-up for a $80-$100, although the HB pick=up isn't bad by any means.
Thank you so much for your comment. As a father of a 4 year old and a fulltime worker I can't put out as much content, so I try to say as much as I can in the content I am able to release :) The HB pickup really isn't bad. A bit muddy in the lows, but not distracting. Only thing which is noticable of less quality is the unfinished neck. It feels ok, but once you felt a finished like the Squier or the Fender, or a roasted like the Sire, you know what you are missing.
Thanks! Yeah, all of them are definitely worth to own. The Sire...in my opinion had very clear nuances but neither reached the pumping lowend of the Squier nor the punching mid/hights of the HB. That effect is multiplied when using a pick. But what I can't show on such a video: How good the neck on that Sire is!
I thought this was a very fair comparison and pretty much was in line with what I thought. Very helpful because I have been curious about how these stack up.
Moin. Ich bin echt am überlegen mir den MIJ zu kaufen. Ist der Hals sehr unkomfortabel dick? Intonationsprobleme mit der Brücke? Halsstab unten schwierig? Fehlende Kontur für den Unterarm störend?
Thanks for watching! Yes, the Sire has the best feel. There might be some with an electronics issues...I don't know if this is just the first batch or my fellow content creators and I are just unlucky, but I had to take the issue with the electronics into account. If you can test yourd beforehand, see if you have static noise, when not touching the strings and nonstatic noise when touching the strings. Even if you get one of those with the issue, it would take a luthier (or even yourself) just 2 minutes to solve that problem. It seems like one of the wires is soldered onto the wrong spot. Not a big deal.
That's true. It was clearly the best in feel and sound. But the video shows, even if you are a beginner or you can't invest that much money in an instrument, you can do beautiful things with a Sire and Harley Benton, too. Squier also normally, but this one was awful.
Hey that's probably the best comparison video I've seen on youtube. Well done. I found this video because I was looking for reviews of the Squire. Keep up the great work. I'll go check out your other videos now.
Oh, that is so nice to read. :) I really appreciate your kind words :) I am waiting for the nect batch of basses to be delivered. This time I will take on Singlehumbucker MusicMan Style basses from Harley Benton, Sterling SUB, G&L and Sterling. Doing a comparison in the same style. Will be interesting but I think it will take 2 - 3 weeks till it is finished. Stay tuned :(
