Last Updated on February 11, 2024 by Chris
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Harley Benton has really made a name for itself over the years. In the beginning, reviews of the brand fell quite short of spectacular, and their reputation was that they were just another company that made cheap, beginner instruments of varying quality. Some were pretty good and some were terrible.
Ever since those early days, Musikhaus Thomann, who owns the brand, has strived to improve on quality while keeping their costs low and offering musicians recreations of many classic and contemporary designs.
Nowadays, Harley Benton is a very well-respected brand, getting huge numbers of positive reviews from almost everyone who plays them. Many are quite surprised at how good they are, given how little they cost to buy.
Table of Contents
April 2023 Update
Harley Benton has updated their left handed bass guitar range with two new models! These are commemorative models to celebrate Harley Benton’s 25th anniversary. These new models appear first in the list.
Go straight to the left handed Harley Benton bass guitars
For left handed Harley Benton electric guitars, go here
For left handed Harley Benton acoustic guitars, go here
Who Are Harley Benton?
Musikhaus Thomann, the world’s largest musical instruments mail-order company is based in Treppendorf, Bavaria, Germany. They sell pretty much everything related to making music; guitars, amps, digital pianos, studio software, stage lighting, and many others. Harley Benton is Thomann’s own brand of musical instruments and equipment, started by Hans Thomann in 1997.
Harley Benton products are made by a number of well-known manufacturers, who make equipment for many other famous brands. Thomann import these products directly, and as a result, they can sell these instruments under the Harley Benton brand at very low prices.
What Do I Think of Harley Benton?
I love the fact that Harley Benton offers left handed musicians a wide variety of guitars and basses. There are nine different models in the 2022 left handed Harley Benton bass guitar range, the majority of which are inspired by iconic designs from rock history, as well as a couple of modern specced instruments for today’s progressive players.
Does Harley Benton make good guitars?
Yes! Over the last few years, Harley Benton has done everything it can to improve on and maintain its quality levels and at the same time, keep costs very low. As a result, they’re fantastic for beginner and intermediate players, and also a solid base for any mod/upgrade project.
In terms of quality and finish, they obviously won’t compare to the standards of craftmanship of custom shop models and other high-end instruments! For the money though, they’re pretty unbeatable from a bang-for-buck point of view.
These Harley Benton bass guitars aren’t perfect though; most of them cost less than $200, so it’s hard to expect top-notch quality from such inexpensive instruments.
Pros and Cons of Buying a Harley Benton Bass
Here’s a list of pros and cons when thinking about buying a left handed Harley Benton bass guitar.
Pros:
- Some of the cheapest bass guitars available.
- Thomann has a generous 3-year warranty.
- Thomann also has a decent 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked policy.
- Buy as many products from Thomann as you like up to 30kg (or 66lbs), and shipping is free to the UK over £149. Shipping is also free to other parts of Europe (over a certain amount). Check Thomann’s website for details.
- Shipping to the United States is available via UPS Express, again for as many items as you like under 31kg (or 68 lbs). Availability, prices, and shipping times are listed at checkout.
- Great base for modding and upgrading.
- Generally speaking, basses are set up well and play nicely out of the box.
- Most reviews report straight necks and level frets and no sharp fret ends.
- Basses are generally reported to have a nice finish, with some being excellent.
- Many say they have good quality hardware, such as the Wilkinson bridges.
- Bassists generally like the quality of materials, such as wood types and electronics.
Cons:
- Thomann is an online store, so you can’t try before you buy unless you visit their store in Germany.
- If buying outside of the EU, you may have to pay customs duty.
- While many say their basses play very well straight out of the box, some found that they weren’t fully set up properly, and had to make minor adjustments.
- Some say the Thomann returns policy is good but can be slow, so if you need a replacement, you may not get it straight away.
- Some say the pickups are adequate, but nothing special.
- Some players reported uneven finishes or even dings and scratches out of the box.
- Doesn’t necessarily have the prestige of some other more expensive brands.
- Some players say that the quality of the tuners can be inconsistent.
- Quality control on some earlier models may not be so good as there have been some poor reviews for those compared to the more recent models.
- Resale value is very low, as they are super cheap bass guitars in the first place.
Update: Harley Benton now has an Official US Reverb shop! They offer free shipping too. At the time of writing, there are a few lefty guitars available. Keep checking back; you never know what’s in stock in the future.
So today, let’s have a look at the current range of left handed Harley Benton bass guitars.
Click here for Harley Benton electric guitars
Left Handed Harley Benton Bass Guitars
Right now, in the 2023 range, there are twelve different left handed Harley Benton basses. Check ’em out below!
Harley Benton JB-25TH LH – 25th Anniversary Special Edition
This is Harley Benton’s commemorative 25th Anniversary Special Edition ST-25TH LH Firemist!
Comes with matching headstock, a deluxe gig bag, and an exclusive 25th Anniversary lanyard.
Specs:
- STRINGS: 4
- SCALE: 34″ (864 mm)
- BODY: American Alder
- BODY FINISH: Firemist
- NECK: Bolt-on roasted Canadian flame maple
- NECK PROFILE: D
- FINGERBOARD: Dark laurel with white dot inlays
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 12″ (305 mm)
- NUT WIDTH: 38 mm (1.49″)
- NUT TYPE: graphite
- FRETS: 20 stainless steel
- TUNERS: engraved deluxe
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome
- BRIDGE: Wilkinson WBBC with brass saddles and 19mm string spacing
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Roswell JBA-B alnico 5 single coil
- NECK PICKUP: Roswell JBA-N alnico-5 single coil
- CONTROLS: 2x Volume, 1x Tone
Check price/availability at:
Harley Benton Enhanced 25TH LH – 25th Anniversary Special Edition
This is Harley Benton’s commemorative 25th Anniversary Special Edition Enhanced 25TH LH Firemist!
Comes with matching headstock, a deluxe gig bag, and an exclusive 25th Anniversary lanyard.
Specs:
- STRINGS: 4
- SCALE: 34.02″ (864 mm)
- BODY: Alder
- BODY FINISH: Firemist
- NECK: 6x Bolt-on roasted Canadian hard rock maple
- NECK PROFILE: Modern C
- FINGERBOARD: Canadian roasted hard rock maple with black block inlays & glow side dots
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 14″ (355.6 mm)
- NUT WIDTH: 39 mm (1.54″)
- NUT TYPE: Black TUSQ XL
- FRETS: 22 medium Blacksmith stainless steel
- TUNERS: WSC JB45
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome
- BRIDGE: WSC SK4
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Roswell MFR4 ferrite humbucker
- NECK PICKUP: Roswell PM-4 ferrite single coil
- CONTROLS: Volume (push/pull), Balance, Treble & Bass, Roswell GMA2 active/passive 2-band EQ
Check price/availability at:
JB-62 LH CC SFG – Classic Series
Based on the classic Fender Jazz Bass. This version sports a fantastic caramelized Canadian hard rock maple neck, a poplar body with a 20-fret laurel fingerboard, and an eye-catching Seafoam Green finish.
For pickups, we have two Roswell JBA-B Alnico 5 single coils which help recreate those authentic Jazz Bass tones.
- SCALE: 864mm
- BODY: American Ash
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss 3-Tone Sunburst, High Gloss Natural
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian Maple with Double Action Truss Rod and Roseacer Skunk Stripe
- NECK PROFILE: C
- FINGERBOARD: Maple
- NUT WIDTH: 38 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Deluxe Chrome
- TUNERS: Classic PB-style
- NECK PICKUP: Roswell JBA alnico-5 JB style single coil
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Roswell JBA alnico-5 JB style single coil
Check price/availability at:
MB-4LH SBK – Deluxe Series
A new Harley Benton version of the classic Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay bass! Here’s the MB-4LH SBK; yet another black lefty bass, but the satin finish gives it a really cool look.
This left handed bass has a basswood body with a bolt-on D-shaped maple neck. The fingerboard has 21 frets and is made of Roseacer.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Basswood
- BODY FINISH: Satin Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod and matching satin black headstock
- NECK PROFILE: D
- FINGERBOARD: Roseacer
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 350 mm (13.78″)
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 21
- HARDWARE COLOR: Black
- TUNERS: Vintage style tuners
- PICKUP: Humbucker with split coils
- CONTROLS: 2x Volume, 1x Tone
Check price/availability at:
MB-5LH SBK – Deluxe Series
A new Harley Benton 5-string version of the classic Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay5 bass!
This lefty bass has a basswood body with a bolt-on D-shaped maple neck. The fingerboard has 21 frets and is made of Roseacer.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Basswood
- BODY FINISH: Satin Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod and matching satin black headstock
- NECK PROFILE: D
- FINGERBOARD: Roseacer
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 350 mm (13.78″)
- NUT WIDTH: 45 mm
- FRETS: 21
- HARDWARE COLOR: Black
- TUNERS: Vintage style tuners
- PICKUP: Humbucker with split coils
- CONTROLS: 2x Volume, 1x Tone
Check price/availability at:
JB-40FL LH Fretless Bass- Deluxe Series
A new Harley Benton bass guitar inspired by the Fender Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass!
This Harley Benton gives lefty bassists a chance to reproduce the tone of the legendary Jaco Pastorius, one of the most influential bassists ever!
It has an American Ash body with a bolt-on Canadian Maple neck. The fretless fingerboard has 21 fret lines to help with pitch and is made of Laurel.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: American Ash
- BODY FINISH: 3-Tone Sunburst
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian Maple with Pau Ferro skunk strip and Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: D
- FINGERBOARD: Laurel
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 350 mm (13.78″)
- NUT WIDTH: 38 mm
- FRETS: 0 (21 Fret Lines)
- HARDWARE COLOR: Deluxe chrome
- TUNERS: Classic butterfly machine heads
- MIDDLE PICKUP: Roswell JBA Alnico-5 JB-style single coil
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Roswell JBA Alnico-5 JB-style single coil
- CONTROLS: 2x Volume, 1x Tone
Check price/availability at:
PB-20LH SBK – Standard Series
A new Harley Benton version of the classic Fender Precision Bass! Here’s the PB-20LH SBK; another black lefty bass! At least it looks pretty cool with its tortoiseshell pickguard.
This left handed bass has a basswood body with a modern-C profile bolt-on maple neck. The fretboard has 20 frets and is made of amaranth.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Basswood
- BODY FINISH: Satin Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern C
- FINGERBOARD: Amaranth
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Black
- TUNERS: Classic PB-Style machine heads
- PICKUP: 1 PB style split coil
Check price/availability at:
JB-75LH – Vintage Series
This bass is based on the classic Fender Jazz Bass. Available in two different finishes; sunburst and natural, both versions feature an American ash body with a 20 fret maple fretboard and maple neck.
For pickups, we have two Roswell JBA AlNiCo 5 Vintage JB-Style single coils which help recreate those authentic Jazz Bass tones.
- SCALE: 864mm
- BODY: American Ash
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss 3-Tone Sunburst, High Gloss Natural
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian Maple with Double Action Truss Rod and Roseacer Skunk Stripe
- NECK PROFILE: C
- FINGERBOARD: Maple
- NUT WIDTH: 38 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Deluxe Chrome
- TUNERS: Classic PB-style
- NECK PICKUP: Roswell JBA alnico-5 JB style single coil
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Roswell JBA alnico-5 JB style single coil
Check price/availability at:
PB-Shorty LH – Standard Series
A short scale version of the classic Fender Precision Bass. This Harley Benton PB-Shorty has a 762mm scale length, as opposed to the usual 864mm.
- SCALE: 762 mm
- BODY: Poplar
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern C
- FINGERBOARD: Amaranth
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 19
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome
- TUNERS: Classic PB-Style machine heads
- PICKUP: PB style split coil
Check price/availability at:
B-450LH – Progressive Series
As part of Harley Benton’s Progressive series, this left handed bass features two active humbucking pickups, plus a classic tone wood combination of a Canadian maple neck and an alder body.
There’s also a push/pull function on the volume knob to switch between active and passive electronics.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Alder
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern D
- FINGERBOARD: Black Walnut
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 24
- HARDWARE COLOR: Black
- TUNERS: Die-cast machine heads
- NECK PICKUP: Humbucker with active preamp
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Humbucker with active preamp
Check price/availability at:
B-550LH – Progressive series
As part of Harley Benton’s Progressive series, this left handed 5 string bass guitar features two active humbucking pickups, plus a classic tone wood combination of a Canadian maple neck and alder body.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Alder
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern D
- FINGERBOARD: Black walnut
- NUT WIDTH: 45 mm
- FRETS: 24
- HARDWARE COLOR: Black
- TUNERS: Diecast machine heads
- NECK PICKUP: Humbucker
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Humbucker
Check price/availability at:
PB-20LH – Standard Series
The Fender Precision Bass is another classic! Here is HB’s version, the PB-20. It’s available in only one color. Yep, you guessed it; Black! At least there is another variation of the PB-20 (also black).
This left handed bass has a lightweight poplar body with a modern-C profile bolt-on maple neck. The fretboard has 20 frets and is made of amaranth.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Poplar
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss Black
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern C
- FINGERBOARD: Amaranth
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome Plated
- TUNERS: Classic PB-Style machine heads
- PICKUP: 1 PB style split coil
Check price/availability at:
RB-414LH – Classic Series
Styled after the solid-bodied Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar, favored by bassists such as Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Chris Squire (Yes), and Mike Rutherford (Genesis); this is the semi-hollow Harley Benton RB-414LH BK Classic Series bass.
The body and set-in neck are both made of mahogany and the amaranth fretboard has 22 frets. It has two pickups; an Artec mini humbucker at the neck and a single coil at the bridge. The bass also features chrome hardware.
- SCALE: 864 mm (34.02″)
- BODY: Mahogany – Semi-hollow
- BODY FINISH: Black, Cherry Sunburst
- NECK: Set-In Mahogany with Double Action Truss Rod
- FINGERBOARD: Amaranth
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 350 mm (13.78″)
- NUT WIDTH: 43.6 mm (1.72″)
- FRETS: 22
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome
- TUNERS: DLX machine heads
- NECK PICKUP: Artec mini humbucker
- BRIDGE PICKUP: Artec Single coil
Check price/availability at:
PB-50 LH – Vintage Series
Based on Fender’s ’50s Precision Bass, the Harley Benton PB-50 LH is very capable in producing those classic vintage style single coil tones we know and love.
It has a lightweight basswood body, with a bolt-on Canadian maple neck, featuring a maple fretboard.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Basswood
- BODY FINISH: Fiesta Red, 2-Tone Sunburst
- NECK: Bolt-On Canadian maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: C
- FINGERBOARD: Maple
- NUT WIDTH: 42 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Deluxe Chrome
- TUNERS: Classic PB-Style
- PICKUP: Roswell VTN4 Vista AlNiCo-5 PB-style single coil
Check price/availability at:
JB-20LH – Standard Series
This one is based on Fender’s ’60s Jazz Bass, played by the likes of Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report), Noel Redding (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna).
The Harley Benton JB-20LH nicely recreates the classic tones of its inspiration with its JB-style single coil pickups.
- SCALE: 864 mm
- BODY: Poplar
- BODY FINISH: High Gloss 3-Tone Sunburst
- NECK: Bolt-On Maple with Double Action Truss Rod
- NECK PROFILE: Modern C
- FINGERBOARD: Amaranth
- NUT WIDTH: 38 mm
- FRETS: 20
- HARDWARE COLOR: Chrome
- TUNERS: Classic JB-style machine heads
- NECK PICKUP: JB style single coil
- BRIDGE PICKUP: JB style single coil
Check price/availability at:
Final Thoughts
As with Harley Benton’s electric guitar range, there is a decent number of good quality, yet inexpensive lefty basses available!
I think they’re definitely worth trying; these are fantastic instruments, especially for those on a tight budget, or wanting something to upgrade or mod.
These left handed Harley Benton bass guitars are also a perfect place to start for beginner players, as they’re excellent for the price, and most players who try them really seem to sing their praises.
Do you have any left handed Harley Benton bass guitars? What do you think of them and which do you recommend, if any? Please comment below.
Image credits: harleybenton.com
I have the 414 Ricky copy bass lefty in sunburst, and am very happy with it. It’s a lot of guitar for the money. In fact, I’ve had a few HB basses. I had the vintage PB50 precision type, the red one with the white scratch plate, and it was good as well, but for me the Ricky inspired one, the RB414LH is the one I really love, it’s just a great instrument really. I use it in the studio, and it delivers. I’m thinking about the JA60LH guitars now. I’ll probably pull the tigger soon on one. They have solid reviews. One thing: I find it odd that the mustang type copy has a Jazzmaster style tremelo, while the JA60 jazzmaster inspired have the hard tail. I’d love to see a trem on the JA guitars. I wonder what the reasoning was to omit the trem……..?
Hey Mark,
Yeah, that RB is pretty popular and everyone seems to like it. In fact, it’s the same with most Harley Benton instruments. You seem to get an awful lot for the money.
The PB50 is also quite a cool bass; I was always more of a fan of the standard P-bass look, rather than the Telecaster-bass stylings, but I must admit, it’s kinda grown on me. It’s cool to see that Harley Benton has their version of this as well as the traditional P-bass look.
As for the JA and MS guitars, it really is a bit odd it’s that way around. The Tune-O-Matic on a Jazzmaster style guitar is still pretty cool, but you’d think it would have the trem. I guess it’s a bit more rock than the original Fender, but it depends what sound you want. On the Thomann website, it says that the TOM is for extra sustain, so I guess that’s why they put it there…
I really like that you get a roasted maple neck with those JA guitar; I’m a fan of roasted maple necks! I also read at some point that Squier Jazzmasters have the same Roswell pickups as the Harley Benton JA. Not sure how true that is. Either way, they sound pretty good to me.
Thanks for commenting!
Chris
I’m a total noob, but the 5 string left-handed bass I’m holding (the B-550) is great. I’m so very pleased with the quality. The setup seems solid (the B string might be too high, but I think I dare try to adjust that after I watch a few more guides online..) and I’ve seen no blemishes of any kind.
Note: Shipping to the US was $80 (half-again the cost of the bass itself). Hell, the hard case I bought for this was almost as much as I spent on the bass itself. To get such quality at such a price? I’m over the moon.
I apologized to my local shop for purchasing online, but when I described that I wanted a left-handed 5 string, he only nodded and said, “ah, the unicorn.”
Well, I’m holding a unicorn, and I couldn’t be happier.
Yeah, the B-550 seems to be a nice guitar, although Harley Benton guitars seem to be fairly highly rated across the board.
$160 is a fantastic price for a decent quality bass; you’ll find that they’re as good as quite a number of more expensive basses out there.
Haha, yeah it’s pretty unlikely you’d find many lefty 5-strings in a local shop. Kudos to you for starting on a 5-string though! I do hear it’s easier to start with the five, rather than start with the standard four, and then move up.
Thanks for reading!