Harley Benton B-35BK Acoustic Bass Series

This is my third acoustic bass, which I use for practising at home and for jamming in my buddy's basement. This is definitely the best! I've already sold one other. I would love to give it five stars across the board but there were a few unfortunate deficiencies.
PROS:
- overall look is lovely
- nice binding, rosette and stripe down the back
- acoustic volume is better than my others, especially the E-string
- amplified sound is nice & seems even across all strings
CONS:
- the strings were unbelievably squeaky; I had to immediately replace them with D'Addario tapewounds; now the sound is awesome
- the fret ends are quite rough; I'll need to do some sanding
- there are a number of finishing flaws that aren't obvious from any distance but do indicate quality control issues:
- extra glue seeping from binding on the back and where the neck meets the body on the front
- the binding is nicely highlighted with two pin stripes but in a few places, there are short bursts of three stripes
- the edge of the sound hole is rough
- the hard coat is blobby by the sound hole where it meets the neck
Despite the CONS, I love this bass and hope it will hold up for many years.

For my money, yes. I've tried plenty, owned a couple, and none have brought a smile to my face like this black beauty. Good for jazzy faux-double bass sounds, but I really like the way it blends in with different styles.

A nice folksy platform to go under hammered dulcimer and harp.

A smooth organic tone that blends in with singer-songwriter guitars the way that dirty electric bass blends with heavier music.

And on the topic of heavier music, I like to use acoustic bass for the "clang" side of a dual-mono bass sound. It adds a very different sort of percussive element to the low end.

So yeah. This has replaced much more expensive basses in my playing rotation.

Plus, it's fun to play.

I was skeptical on the Harley Benton thing before. I get it now: this thing SLAPS.

I like this instrument and I wish I invested in an acoustic bass much earlier as for me it is perfect for practicing. First, I like the sound of acoustic basses and I like the sound of this one. But I was thinking that acoustic basses are not the best choice for recording or performing, so I didn't let myself to buy one. But now having it I see how inspirational and useful it is to have one for improvising my own music. Second, with electric basses or guitars I often spend too much time tweaking the sound and playing with knobs and effects. It is useful as I learned a lot and now I know enough to set up my tone for the job, but it often hijacked my attention from practicing playing the instrument. Sometimes, more limitations are good for your goals. With this bass I can forget about everything and focus on one thing. It is meditative, liberating and stimulating. And affordable!
The only problem I can complain about, which was obvious upon unboxing is that the tuning pegs of my B-35BK were a bit scratched. Maybe it was done by using a hard stringwinder on HB QC line or they are like this from the factory, but the chrome finish is visibly scratched and worn. Also there is a light but notable scratch on the back of the B-35BK. It is not affecting functionality and besides that the bass is very good and totally worth a buy. Also Thomann nicely provided me a discount for my next purchase to compensate for the scratched tuning pegs, so I can confidently recommend both the bass and the music e-store we're now on.