Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series

104

Electric Bass

Body: Basswood
Bolt-on neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Roseacer
Dot fretboard inlays
Neck profile: modern C
Double-Action truss rod
Nut width: 42 mm
Scale: 864 mm
Frets: 20
Pickups: J-style single coil (bridge) and P-style split coil (middle)
2 Volume controls
1 Tone control
Black hardware
PJ-style machine heads
Original strings: .045 - .105
Colour: Matte Black

30 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

3 3-Year Thomann Warranty

Available since June 2022

Item number 518502

Sales Unit 1 piece(s)

Colour Black

Soundboard Basswood

Neck Maple

Fretboard Roseacer

Frets 20

Scale Long Scale

Pickup System PJ

Elektronic Passive

Incl. Case No

Incl. Gigbag No

£119

Including VAT; Excluding £10 shipping

Sales Rank

in 4-String P-Basses

Bundles & offers

Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series Bundle

£137

Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series Bundle

£137

Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series Bundle

£203

An affordable hybrid

Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series E-Bass

At first glance, the Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series electric bass looks like a typical P-style bass. The design is spot on: An basswood body with a Matte Black finish. This passive bass's maple neck with its 20 frets seems quite ordinary at first, the fingerboard is what makes it special. This is made of dark baked maple called roseacer - a great substitute for rosewood, which is now protected by conservation law and for which alternatives need to be found. But the most convincing feature is the combination of pickups. The "PJ" in the name stands for the combination of the very best of both worlds - a P-style split coil with a J-style single coil. A wide range of sounds is thus available, and at an unbeatable price to boot.

Pickups of the electric bass Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series

P-style design with an added extra

At first sight, the PJ-4 SBK resembles a P-style bass in terms of feel - but there are differences when it comes to the hardware. In addition to the typical P-style split coil, there is also a J-style single coil, and each pickup has its own volume control. This way, bassists can get the typical full-bodied, growly mid-range Rock sound from the split coil, but they can also look forward to a punchy sound with plenty of high-end twang from the single coil. Given this combination, the sound will definitely stand out in a mix. If that's not enough, the passive tone control provides a more muffled, vintage-like sound, so the tonal options are many and varied. The chrome-plated machine heads come in their own design and are much smaller than the classic P-style ones, which means that the bass is not top-heavy at all and maintains the optimum weight.

Neck transition of the electric bass Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK

A bargain for more than just beginners

The PJ-4 SBK is an interesting option for smart spenders in general, since they get an affordable bass that provides plenty of sonic options. That of course makes this bass the perfect choice for beginners who want to find their own sound and get a lot of practice in. The modern C-profile of the neck is also a helpful feature, as it fits the player's hand perfectly. However, the Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK is not only an instrument for total beginners: It also gives guitarists a budget-friendly opportunity to try their hand at playing bass, so they can also double up as the bassist during recording sessions if necessary.

About Harley Benton

Since 1998, the Harley Benton brand has been catering for the needs of numerous guitarists and bassists. In addition to an extensive range of stringed instruments, Thomann's house brand also offers a wide choice of amplifiers, speakers, effect pedals, and other accessories. In total, the range includes over 1,500 products. Built by established names in the industry, all Harley Benton products combine quality and reliability at attractive and affordable prices. The continuous expansion of the range ensures that Harley Benton always provides new, exciting, and innovative products that keep players perfectly in tune with the musical world, day after day.

The best of both worlds

The Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK is the ideal point of entry for beginners, but it can also serve as a backup instrument for more advanced bassists. After all, it's an all-rounder and can therefore be used in all situations - so the musical direction of your next band won't cause any problems, since most styles can be covered with this bass. Whether it's something modern or rocky with powerful mids and lots of sustain or something funky with crisp highs - you can try it all with this exceptionally-priced instrument thanks to its combination of P-style and J-style pickups.

104 Customer ratings

5 88 Customers 4 14 Customers 3 2 Customers 2 0 Customers 1 0 Customers

4.8 / 5

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Review guidelines

76 Reviews

Fantastic for its price!

Rushfan2112 10.08.2022

To be 100% honest, I bought this bass as I was looking around for a P bass body with a J bass pickup rout to fit to a fretless bass neck that I bought a while ago. The prices for the bodies alone were quite restrictive. After some thought and research, I looked up what Harley Benton P basses were available with the thought of removing it's neck and fitting the fretless neck in it's place. Luckily, the PJ variant of this bass recently became available on Thomann. This is one of many Harley Benton products I've bought. This is probably the best set up "out of the box" that I've bought. The truss rod and intonation were spot on. The only adjustments I've made so far is to lower the bridge saddles a turn or so. I'm very pleased with the sounds on offer. Pickups seem to be pretty good so far. I like the sound of a P bass, but the added tones with the J bass pickup offer a wide array of tones. The looks of this bass are the most surprising of all. The almost all black satin finish is well applied and looks nicer than in the websites photographs. The tortoiseshell pickguard is a nice touch, although I think I'll be fitting a black pickguard at a later date. All in all a great purchase at a great price. I'm not snobbish about the gear I use, these Harley Benton guitars and basses are fantastic value for money, and are great if you are starting out or if like me, you have a certain project or idea in mind. Well done Thomann. This is another winner in my book.

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Amazing instrument

Pako79 22.10.2022

I´m a guitarist with already a few HB guitars and am very happy with them. So far I hadn't tried to play bass and didn't want to because you know, "bass does not sound". I decided to experiment so I bought this bass after watching some videos on youtube and reading some posts on bass player blogs. Best choice ever. A month later I´m still amazed by the quality of this bass. It´s so much fun to play it that I´m already playing songs with a level that never crossed my mind. If you are new, don't want to spend a lot of money and want a sure bet, this is your bass. The sound is very good (I may change the pups in the future and strings for sure, but no rush at all), it came almost ready to play just out of the box, it s very beautiful and very comfortable (now my guitars feel weird!), and keeps the tunning very well. Have fun!

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Perfect Match!

Anonymous 22.01.2023

As a guitarist I was searching for a bass guitar to add to my home studio setup. I wasn't sure if I should go for a J-Bass or a P-Bass. And fortunately and surprisingly this bass has the best of both worlds. I'm relative new to bass guitars and this is my first bass guitar I've bought so far.

The bass came in very well packed and in a perfect condition, the job of the matte black paint and finish is amazing and very well done. The also matte black hardware and the turtle-red pick-guard is just candy for the eye. The black roseace fretboard is a great match and the fret job is surprisingly well done.

After the basic checking and tuning the strings the bass guitar was good to go. No need for extreme fine-tuning on the action/stringheight and/or intonation. After playing for a while, the mix of the P & J style pickups where sounding incredible. This was above my exceptation.

So, if you are a beginner bass guitarist like me and don't know to choose between a J or P Bass, I would highly recommend this bass guitar. Aside of that you will get a goodlooking and great sounding all-round bass with a relative good (surprising) quality for a very nice price.

Last but not least: Big thumbs up for Harley Benton for producing this amazing bass guitar and for the great transport caring and customer services.
And of course I greatly want to thank Thomann for a perfect delivery, their customer care and support. Very satisfying! Keep up the great work!

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Amazing value for a beginner player

Paulo Duarte 19.07.2022

This is my first bass guitar.
Before I pulled the trigger, I read and watched reviews on beginner basses and these, actually their sibling the Standard series, came recommended. I decided to go with these for a few € extra.
I am learning to play it and I freaking love it.
I had never hold a bass guitar before but I had picked a few cheap electric guitars and this does NOT have that feel.
Feels heavy and sturdy. Checked for any noticeable bend on the arm and looked fine to me.
The body, beautifully painted black matte, smooth, feels premium even though it was on the cheaper side.
Being able to switch between the P-style and the J-style pickups is pretty neat.
If I have to nitpick negatives for this bass is that turners do have a kind of loose feeling when you're turning and that the neck is kinda heavy and pulls downward when youre using a strap and not holding the bass.
Nonetheless, I'm very satisfied with my first purchase at Thomann and this Harley Benton bass.

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Harley Benton PJ-4 SBK Deluxe Series

Electric Bass