Make the Cheapest Bass on Thomann Sound Amazing
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- I bought this Harley Benton P-Bass originally for gigs where it wasn't really necessary to bring one of my good basses.
But after installing the Emg set this thing really sounds impressive for the price.
Plugin: neuraldsp.com/
Emg Pickup: www.thomann.de...
Bass: www.thomann.de...
comparison starts 5:42
Pozdrav Ljubo
how much were the pickups
The crackling noise is usually fixes by sx
screwing down the pickups to stop overloading them.
Yep, This.
hey man :) What does "sx screwing down" mean? Because i have the same problem...
@@evgenivasilev9986 hey mate, just screw the pickups down with a screwdriver, it'll stop overloading them. Was a typo sorry!!
@@ladgrove thanks :)
Disappointing. I was all ready to do some sx screwing down!!! Damn! 😆 Hey girl, let me fix your bass, baby!😂
The popping will happen on any standard split coil pickup, at least in my experience. Tighten the screws either side of the pickup to move them away from the strings. I use a custom shop fender 63 split coil and that still happens. Also what gauge of labella flats were u using at 0:47? Cheers
lower the dang pickup! It's pretty much impossible to screw up a P-bass pickup at the level of manufacturing that Harley Benton is at. Pickups don't get overloaded, it's a passive circuit, they only output what you are putting down... the input on your preamp might be overloading as well, but it is likely just the harshness in your tone due to the strings being way to close to the magnets in your pickup... all that can be solved by actually setting your pickups to the proper height, this will not only make them sound less harsh when you play harder, it will also even out the overall output from playing intensity. There is a sweet spot, there is a point where pickup height is way too close, and there is also a point that they're too far away as well. KNOW YOUR INSTRUMENT!
Hi Lubo. Are these active pickups? Did you have to make a cavity for the battery?
Really impressed by those EMG's - tight low end and crisp top end response. Pretty balanced tone after all.
Nicola Indjov richtig jut erkannt keule
The slap tone makes a big difference 😱
Yeah your right, I am strange, I like the sound from both pickups...😮
Nice :)
I made the same change, but on the PB-20 SBK version. ( I referenced your video in my video)
The Highs (well, D and G strings especially) are so much better with the EMG P pickup !
I maintain that you had the original pickup way too high for it to clip like that 😏
It sounds better with the new pickups. More versatile, too. You have more tonal range.
I’m very late to the party of seeing this, but consider swapping the battery with a rechargeable and then stick a usb port on to charge it.
The first time i opend up a human i was mortified! It looked all gross and goopy like someone just had a bad day at the human factory and just smushed everything in. But dont worry guys, they all look like that on the inside. :)
Something similar can also be done passively - active EMGs have their own and pretty aggressive sound which is not always what You want. But the neck - the most critical part for tone - is good enogh for more or less any pickup, and most other split coils woud be a reasonable upgrade.
So You might also try something like a Di Marzo Model P - i did that with the shortscale version of that bass. Very powerful tone. Or- if You ant that tone - some vintage sounding split coil.
The pots: like often with those cheap instruments suffer from wrong characteristics - just use the vol pot for tone and the tone pot for vol ... and don't forget to buy a quality output jack.
Expensive pickup usually has more treble, the cheap pickup has more bass, the cheap one usually sounds more vintage!
I like passive pickups more and hope you upgrade those passive pickups into better passive pickups instead of active ones .
That's not the cheapest... that's the cheapest LONG scale, there is a version of this bass in short scale that is even cheaper.
ha-ha!! :)
"looks like somebody's just had a bad day at the cutting machine at the wood store, and just... cut random pieces out of a beautiful guitar"
love this ! @ 3:00
+ @ 5:30 "I don't know if I'm the only one who loves to play around before the guitar is properly tuned up"
LOVE this, too :) :)
It would be funny - if nearly ever electric guitar in the world didn't look like this. Some Gibsons are frightening inside. I can forgive a £70 bass - a £2000 Gibson - paint the ££%&&* cavities damn it!
Great video, point well made, I will try this with my HB. :-0 Good job!
I did the upgrade myself, i didnt dig the low end of the bass after the upgrade, it was a bit boomy for metal tones, but i loved it on jazz mixes! The walking bass tone was sick, i think thats how the P bass works, i sold my P bass upgraded and i ve ordered a stingray 5 strings HB copy along with the EMG mmtw and an emg bcq pre amp looking for that killer mid range punch on my djent mixes. This video made me upgrade my P bass and sound was awesome! But then i realised P bass wasnt the right choice on the first place, maybe my exp will help someone out there!
Thanks a lot for sharing ! :)
the old pickup just sounds way too mid focused or something, I'm not sure. A lot of Cheaper P-Bass pickups can be pretty meh
I got an indio jazz bass for about 80 bucks. Was surprised how well it played. I'm not a pro so it was a great guitar for the money. Did change the strings.
What a great video I am thinking of doing a similar thing to a Ricky bass copy (Rocktile).
I have a stock 2001 fender precision base made in Mexico works perfect. I’m thinking about switching pick ups to Seymour Duncan quarter pounders is this going to affect the value of the guitar
Dude. You are going to have to remove the strings and pickguard to change the battery.
First thing I thought of. Passive all the way.
Hi, yes but on this bass the battery does fit next to output jack. That way I can unscrew just the end of pickguard when changing batteries. No need to remove the strings
@@lubo2260Show have stuck to a passive setup
Great video....you took the fear out of changing cheap pickups!
The stock ones sound like they're about to fail. About time you replaced them 👍
They sound like they're running hot into the interface.
ayeapprove as a owner of one I can say that even with pickup height set quite far away from the strings and low input on the interface te basses have that „clicking“
Great seeing some cheap instrument love. Nice video!
Thanks man
Can you not get a similar sound with just better passive pickups? Should have made a comparison with those to.
A friend of mine brought me that bass with the original pick up and sounds very different from your video.
I have a Fender Bronco amp and seriously, for 88 euros that bass is already amazing. I think im going to buy one for me for my birthday JAJAJA.
Good video bro.
i need to set up speed at 1,75 to watch the beginning of this video xD
I kinda prefer the stock pickups. They are more of an old school p bass sound, which I like.
yeah but if you dig in , the sound breaks, clips
@@MysteriousCactus01 That could be any number of reasons. Pots, pickup height, etc.
@@MysteriousCactus01 this will happen with any pickup if they are too close to the strings
agree 100%
@@alfieharries not only the height of pickups... On my old Ibanez Roadstar II had a similar problem with annoying clips on low E string, I have even replaced the pickups but that not solved the problem..... And the problem was in old crappy potentiometers) When i replaced them, cracks and buzz dissapeared.
How much does the Harley Benton PB-20BK weigh?
In my case the weakest link in the PB-20 was the awful thick neck. Changed the one in mine for a beat up '90s Samick neck I got used (19mm thick front to back @fret 1) and it plays like a dream now. The neck fitted, but shortened the scale so it required to push the bridge a little back. The pickup is not that bad. Still I of course can see the more focused lows and great barking mids in your EMGs.
ua-cam.com/video/6rCU2LCOXdo/v-deo.html
I've recently got to upgrade the (still cheap) P-bass section of my quiver with the addition of a USA Peavey Fury III and a Squier CV '70s Precision. The way I use my basses (highly compressed SansAmp or Darkglass flavors at varying gains) the PB-20+Samick neck hybrid is totally competent compared to those. At the same time the pickup in the Squier CV has the nicest most growling mids.
ua-cam.com/video/V-XyN1ZU9dU/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/j3zsvBGUPyw/v-deo.html
Sounds like you wasted your money. Sound was as good before.
So no ground wire?
with that a new bridge, tuner, nut, strings (i hope theey where new after PU switch) and BAM. awesome!
Might as well buy a proper bass then
As of Dec 30 2021 it is 83.19 Euros / $94 US Dollars.
A shitty P-bass is always going to sound like a shitty P-bass,....no matter what you do to it.
The jack didn't fit so you took out the tone control??? Are you unable to cut a bit of wood so it would fit? Total rookie.
You have no battery compartment ,so you lost your tone control!!!!!
Why? No point whatsoever if you replace the whole electronics. Then there is no point in "having the cheapest". Also you intentionally show the originals in bad way, without any effect, no compressor, no EQ. Also you just spent the price of the instrument on the electronics. WTF?! Shameful cheating overall. Anyway, that was a faulty pickup set as it shouldn't "pop" whenever.
Seems like you feel offended by the video. That was certainly not my intention. Just wanted to show that the overall playability of the instrument is fine and by replacing the weakest part of the bass which in my opinion is the electronics you can get a clean solid hum free sound that can take you through any gig. Nothing I show here is meant to be followed religiously, it's just my way of upgrading cheaper instruments. I choose emgs because the installation is simple and doesn't require soldering skills or electrical knowledge.
I have one of these cheap basses. The tone control doesnt do anything until the last 10% of the sweep. Then it just drops out completely. I may just get a cheap loaded pick guard from Ebay. About $16. I'll toss it in the trash before I put hundreds of dollars of electromics and hardware on the bass. Its simply not worth it.
just replace the tone pot with a logarithmic pot AKA audio pot, use 250k for a standard or if you want more tone control range use a 500k pot, don't forget to use linears for volume!
Hello Lubo! Great review! How does the battery lasts? Best regards from Portugal!
Hello, I liked your video. The idea is very good. The only bad thing is that to change the battery you have to disassemble half an electric bass. One question about that Harley Benton bass model, how is the construction in general? It is worth to buy it. Greetings
Something must have been wrong with the original pickup. This is not normal behaviour.
Pickups were too high, resulting in a spike. That resulted in whatever the bass was going through clipping.
Im buy a harley benton diy kit, and made a sameb pickup upgrade, and the result is incredible!
Hi, ( IM using my wifes youtube , so... ) I thought I saw an option of Passiv tone for the EMG,s .. I got tired of all my basses having "boosted" sound so I go mostly passiv now. But otherwise nice review, like it, as you donbt get into all the obvious (Maybe not for all , but..) stuff and spend most of the review there, but stick to the important stuff that a Bass player is interested in; sound, neck. TNX !!
Awesome video! Do you think Seymour Duncan quarter pounder passive pickups would help? Thanks
7:14 nice theme
That was cool , I like the way you play
Badass bridge!
06:28 - shades of 'John Wilson's" playing on Penthouse And Pavements, the first Heaven 17 album. Great demo, great playing and the Fender Precision design at any price scale will give you THE classic bass guitar sound!
Did the same to my 87 vester p bass, but with passive DiMarzio pickups. What a boost! It's my main bass for my rock band!
🤔
So what happened to the tone pot?
So you pay 88 Euro for the bass, and to make it sound "better, you spend another 86 Euro for active pickups and wiring? Seems like putting a hi-tech sound system into a Yugo. For about 1 Euro, you can get a phillips screwdriver and lower the pickup height to get rid of the hot crackle, as well as turn the volume knob to 9 (instead of full 10) so that a bit of resistance can fight off any distortion (you can make up for the loss of output by turning up the amp). For about another 10 Euro, you can get a can of TV tuner cleaner and spray those pots so that dirt crackle will disappear (of course, after a few years, you will have to replace the pots, but if it's brand new, that should help a lot). There! I just saved you about 75 Euro. The bass is 88 Euro for those beginners who can't afford much more starting out, so why wave a bunch more costly items in front of their faces?
Hi, I can see your point but this is just my approach. Lowering the pickups didn't change the overloading behaviour at all when playing hard. I just think that changing out the electronics of cheaper instruments makes them more reliable and with this it's pretty easy to do. I'm sure there are more budget friendly ways but this was not the point of my video. Flashing expensive products in front of someone's eyes was certainly not on my mind. This is just how I've always done it.
great video
I am new to the world of bass guitars and I hate active pups in guitar, in your video they were very convincing and the video was really educational. Thanks.
5:36 you are not the only one, trust me xd
I'd still reattach the ground wire to the bridge, because it will help keep you from getting electrocuted lol
I’m curious about that wood finish 5-string on the left on the wall, what is that ?
Mi chiedo, perchè acquistarte un basso super economico e poi modificarlo cambiando i pick up con altri di qualità superiore? Tanto vale acquistare fin da subito un basso con qualità migliori o no?
Es mejor el sonido natural ( pasive sound )
cool video, thanks!!
impressive
What pickups do you suggest
ow does the Kemper work on bass?
Nice wall
Cheers dude
Loved the new the sound of it ☺️
cool, thanks for letting me know!
Cracking video Lubo!!
is it okey for low tunings.. something like two steps down ?
Are active pickups just for heavy metal stuff or not
I wouldn't say it's genre specific but they have a very clear upfront character to them. Might not be for everyone so try them if you can
Not at all. For example: Guys like Victor Wooten and Bootsy Collins are playing almost only active basses. On the other hand Steve Harris and Geezer Butler play passive basses only. (as far as I know)
@@AlexAnder-ri8ns Keep in mind that there is a difference beetween active pickups and active electronics. Those are two completely different things.
i wish i'd seen this before
great job dude!!
thanks!
excellent job ! thanx
if it sounds like that right out of the box,it's pretty useless even for gigging.
Why you dont put the other pot ??, The tone pot ??
having an expensive amp helps too
Awesome change !!!
Active pickups without a battery?
There was definitely a 9v in there
Awesome video! Amazing how a pair of good pickups make such a difference. Sounds solid!
Sioux Bass at eBay !
"I hate tone knobs" is like saying I have no requirement of nuance or control of my bass fundamentals whatsoever, despite having paid for the circuit! Also EMG tone controls are highly musical in range.
It's just my preference. The only time I touch a tone knob is to check if it's fully open. I never found that it changes the bass fundamentals and I think there are tons of ways to manipulate the high end with the playing style. Nothing against tone knobs man, it's just my opinion.
@
Martin Heath Most players that I know max instrument knobs and control tone with amp settings. Easy sound check to make, to check out how your electronics function. Notice how much fuller your sound is when you control on the amp. Normally its only the volume knob we turn for dramatic effect. Scott Grove has a video on it "how to set you amp settings" or something like that, meant for someone at beginning level. He talks slow, no fast moves. You should check it out.
Great vid 👍
thanks dude!
Brilliant brother, loved the vid
Thanks mate!
Whats the track used for comparison?
Just a random idea I made up on the spot. Thanks for watching!
@@lubo2260 and 7:13? Nice chops man
Same thing, I just made up the bass line and recorded guitars later. Thanks!
@@lubo2260 Radical sound 😎
Surely the who point of active circuitry is there to gain tone control. So why not fit the tone knob. The pick ups are always the weak point on basses and an easy cheap upgrade on a precision type bass. Lots of choice.
Good point! It's just a personal preference for me since I never touch the tone knob anyway. I think upper frequencies are pretty essential to make the bass cut through in a mix.
@@lubo2260 I do agree as I turn mine fully off. Probably my OCD. Still nice to have the option. I have two MIM p basses and fitted quarter pounders and a Domingers to each one. Both sound very different.
It doesn't look like the pickups are properly spaced. I noticed this more w/ the EMGs but the largest string almost crosses the pickup at its halfway point and the other split pickup is spanning 3 strings. The bass sounds great, but I'm going to assume this is an issue with the fact that it's an inexpensive instrument.
Hello! Would you recommend this short scale for a beginner? or is it better normal scale?
Thank you!
Spent all that money and it still sounds crap, well done!
If you're going to make a bunch of mods to these basses then it's better to just save up for a CV or VM Squier Bass. The pickups with these basses are good enough. Inexpensive fixes like shielding or swapping the pots for something higher quality can go a long way. Take a file to the fret ends, etc.
Yes and no. I've seen guys take squiers and still basically strip/gut the things.
dude its not all about brands, its all about the fun modding them to make them perform better! this is just like modding a civic to beat much expensive and powerful cars.
@@PSXBOX-lz1zq I can dig that
thanks...i am going to try this ! good video !