Harley Benton HBZ-2005FL NT Deluxe Series

51

5-String Fretless Electric Bass

  • Body: Mahogany
  • 7-Piece continuous ovangkol / maple / nato neck
  • Fingerboard: Black Walnut
  • Nut width: 45 mm
  • Scale: 864 mm (Long Scale)
  • Pickups: 2 Ceramic Bar Single Coils
  • Active sound control
  • Black hardware
  • Die-cast machine heads
  • Bridge with 5 individual saddles
  • Colour: Natural satin
Available since November 2017
Item number 411698
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Lefthand Model No
Colour Natural
Number of strings 5
Body Mahogany
Neck Maple, Nato
Fretboard Black Walnut
Scale Long Scale
Pickup System JJ
Elektronic Active
Incl. Case No
Incl. Gigbag No
B-Stock from $231 available
$290
The shipping costs are calculated on the checkout page.
In stock
In stock

This product is in stock and can be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
1

51 Customer ratings

4.5 / 5

You have to be logged in to rate products.

Note: To prevent ratings from being based on hearsay, smattering or surreptitious advertising we only allow ratings from real users on our website, who have bought the equipment from us.

After logging in you will also find all items you can rate under rate products in the customer centre.

features

sound

quality

41 Reviews

e
HBZ-2005FL NT Deluxe
erezs 06.09.2020
Note that this review is for the fretless version.
I'm an intermediate player, I've got it 4 days ago, it's my first fretless and 5-stringer, first impressions is that it sounds great, it's BEAUTIFUL and the neck is very comfortable to play on. I love the wood grain of the Mahagony and 7 piece neck through ! It feels built sturdy and robust but only wear of time and use will tell.
The 5th string sounds tensed, growly and good to my taste.
It's stringed with D'addario roundwound, I like them very much, the bass is growly with them, and I will try to wear them out before I try the Pyramid black nylon tape wound I bought with it.
It came with some minor wood flaws in the finish, one in the back, a very small tear, one on the neck - a 3 cmx0.5cm missed finish stripe, some others which are less important and the most important one, is a very small but nudging bump on the back of the neck, and the left hand thumb sometimes feel it, but I will get use to it, and if not, I'll sand down it myself...
There is no passive mode for the pickups and It has a modern kind of sound (others would simply call it active sound), I couldn't really get to that Jazz bass Jaco type of bridge sound (at least not with a flat amp), but I have it in my fretted Jazz bass so I don't care for it too much.
I got it with that comfortable higher action which gives me that typical jazzy "fretless envelope" only on the first 2 strings, I guess I have to lower the action a bit to get more of that vibe which I like.
Intonation seems correct out of the box (+-2 cents for the 12 fret harmonics compared to open strings at least according to my phone which has its microphone limitations).
Overall VERY GOOD value for the money, and I also think it's a great fretless 5-stringer instrument to begin with as an intermediate player, I'm not a pro though.
It took its time to arrive from Germany to Israel but it was late only by a few days from Thomann estimations. Thomann service were very kind and explained patiently what might cause the delay, and opened an investigation with DHL, but it wasn't required in the end.
Notice is not lined in the frets, there are only marks on the upper side of the neck - but that was good enough for me for now, time will tell, as I still don't play it well.

Pros:
Sounds great
Good 5th string sound
Beautiful
Comfortable neck
Sturdy built
Relatively not expensive
Good play-abiliy out of the box
Nice strings though some would rather something flatter wound for fretless

Cons:
No passive/active switch, I might add it one day myself
Minor wood flaws
Less versatile sound than a Jazz Bass (not sure it's a con...)
features
sound
quality
14
3
Report

Report

SK
Good instrument, needed heavy setup
Shahar Klinger 18.06.2021
Construction is very good - couldn't find any flaws or defects. Sounds excellent and packs quite a punch. Pickups buzz when the selector is set to 100% of either one. When in the middle the buzz is gone, and I like the tone in that position anyway so that is where I play most of the time.

The only real problem I had was the condition of the instrument upon arrival. I don't know if it was intentional, but the bass came virtually unplayable: the neck had such a strong back-bow that I was afraid it would break in half if I touch it. I needed to loosen the truss-rod considerably before the first string would even play an audible note. Intonation was abysmal, and even after adjustment it's not perfect.

If you don't know how to setup your instrument, be prepared to spend extra money for a setup at a guitar shop or luthier.

Overall I really like this bass and recommend it. I hope your order comes in better shape than mine.
features
sound
quality
12
0
Report

Report

D
I wanted to love this bass but...
DrWats 15.08.2022
I ordered this bass due in part to the overwhelming amount of stellar reviews HB has been getting on all their instruments (not just basses!). After waiting much longer than the "3 day shipping", it finally arrived. While the bass was playable, the construction left ALOT to be desired. You could feel all the stripes of wood as they had not been sanded flush (from the top of the neck all the way down the body, front and back!) and the fit and finish was very mediocre (lots of spots needing touch ups). I should have sent it back but it would be such a hassle and I decided it would become my summer project bass (complete the sanding, radius and coat the fingerboard with ca glue, replace electronics, tuners etc..). To say I am disappointed is an understatement and I cannot recommend this bass at all. It makes me wonder if an actual human gives the bass a once over before it is shipped as this one should never have been sent out. You can do better Thomann!!
features
sound
quality
8
3
Report

Report

D
Fantastic 5 string for the price
DaffidTrumpet 20.03.2022
Have been wanting to try a 5 string for a long time and also fancied returning to a fretless. This ticks both boxes and sounds terrific art the same time. There are not many 5 strings or fretless bases on the UK market (at least not compared to 4 string fretted) and prices tend to be quite high. This played really well straight from the box. only reason for not giving five stars all round is that I can't understand why they don't come with flat wound strings as standard?
features
sound
quality
2
0
Report

Report