Honest Unboxing of the Harley Benton 7 String Bass BZ-7000 II NT from Thomann + Test Drive

Summary

In this video, the host unboxes a Harley Benton BC72 NT, a seven-string bass guitar, from Germany. They discuss the environmentally friendly packaging, the quality of the instrument, and its features, including the neck, frets, and battery compartment. The string spacing is measured, revealing a comfortable range for a seven-string bass. After tuning, the bass is tested for sound quality and playability, with the host expressing satisfaction with the instrument's performance and value for money.

Takeaways

• 🎸 The BC72 NT is a seven-string bass guitar from Harley Benton, purchased after much consideration.
• 🌍 The guitar was shipped from Germany, and the unboxing experience was eagerly anticipated.
• 🔍 The packaging is environmentally friendly, using cardboard instead of Styrofoam.
• 🎁 Inside the box, a basic tool kit is included, which is a thoughtful addition for the user.
• 🏭 The quality of the guitar is attributed to German craftsmanship, which is highly regarded.
• 🔨 The unboxing experience was smooth, with no major issues or surprises encountered.
• 📏 The string spacing is measured to be between 17-18mm, which is wider than some other models and suitable for a seven-string bass.
• 🔋 The battery compartment is conveniently accessible and well-designed.
• 🎵 The guitar is equipped with a three-band EQ and a pickup control for sound adjustments.
• 🎼 The instrument is well-balanced and does not tip over easily, even with the additional weight of the seven strings.
• 🎹 The sound quality is impressive, with the bass having its own unique tone and not just extending the range of a four-string bass.
• 👍 The overall impression of the BC72 NT is very positive, especially considering its low price point.

Q & A

What is the brand and model of the bass guitar featured in the video?

The bass guitar featured is a Harley Benton BC72 NT, a seven-string bass.

Why did the reviewer mention the packaging material used for the bass guitar?

The reviewer mentioned the packaging material because it was made of cardboard instead of Styrofoam, which is considered better for the environment.

Where is the bass guitar shipped from, and what was the delivery time?

The bass guitar was shipped from Germany, and it took a few weeks for delivery and build time.

What was included in the box with the bass guitar?

The box included a basic tool kit and a battery for the bass guitar.

What is the significance of the string spacing measurement for a seven-string bass?

The string spacing is significant because it affects playability. A wider spacing can be more comfortable for certain playing styles and techniques.

What was the reviewer's initial expectation regarding the string spacing of the BC72 NT?

The reviewer expected the string spacing to be 18 mm, which is quite wide for a seven-string bass.

How did the reviewer find the neck and frets of the bass guitar upon unboxing?

The reviewer found the neck and frets to be flawless, with no frets sticking out or causing discomfort.

What was the reviewer's experience with the battery compartment of the bass guitar?

The reviewer found the battery compartment to be very handy and well-designed.

How did the reviewer's experience with the bass guitar compare to other Harley Benton instruments?

The reviewer mentioned having had some surprises with other Harley Benton instruments, but the BC72 NT met their expectations for German quality assurance.

What was the reviewer's opinion on the sound and playability of the bass guitar after plugging it in?

The reviewer was impressed with the sound and playability of the bass guitar, noting that it sounded as expected for an electric bass and had good balance.

What adjustments did the reviewer check on the bass guitar?

The reviewer checked the bridge adjustments to see if the string saddles had been adjusted according to the scale of the seven-string bass.

How did the reviewer find the experience of playing the seven-string bass compared to a six-string bass?

The reviewer, coming from a six-string bass background, found the seven-string bass to be a bit challenging at first but noted that it had a unique sound and was impressed with its performance.

What was the reviewer's impression of the bass guitar's performance under distortion?

The reviewer found that the bass guitar performed well under distortion, maintaining its sound quality and character.

Outlines

00:00

🎸 Unboxing the Harley Benton ABC72 NT Bass Guitar

The video script begins with the excitement of unboxing a Harley Benton ABC72 NT, a 7-string bass guitar that the speaker has been anticipating for a long time. The bass is from Germany and was delivered with environmentally friendly cardboard packaging, a detail that is appreciated by the speaker. The unboxing reveals a basic toolkit and a reminder of the brand's association with Thomann. The bass itself is described as flawless, with a focus on the quality of the neck and frets. The battery compartment is highlighted for its convenience, and the speaker checks the instrument's electronics and tuning capabilities. A key point of interest is the string spacing, which is measured and found to be between 17-18mm, which is considered good for a 7-string bass. The summary ends with the speaker tuning the bass and noting the initial impressions of the instrument's playability and setup.

05:01

🔊 Testing the Harley Benton ABC72 NT Bass Guitar's Sound

In this paragraph, the speaker proceeds to test the sound of the newly unboxed Harley Benton ABC72 NT bass guitar. The bass is plugged in, and the speaker notes the ease with which the instrument finds the B string, which is often a challenge for other basses. The balance of the instrument is praised, with the speaker noting that it doesn't tip over easily despite the additional weight from the 7-string configuration. The speaker then checks the bridge adjustments and confirms that the strings are well-settled according to the scale. The electronics are left neutral, and the speaker expresses satisfaction with the sound, noting that it doesn't just extend the range of a 4-string bass but has its own unique tonal character. The speaker experiments with the pickups and is particularly impressed with the sound from the bridge pickup. The paragraph concludes with the speaker's first attempts at slap playing, noting the challenges of finding the middle range and the harmonics, but overall expressing satisfaction with the bass's performance under distortion.

10:18

🎵 Initial Impressions and Distortion Test of the ABC72 NT

The final paragraph of the script focuses on the speaker's initial impressions and a distortion test of the Harley Benton ABC72 NT bass guitar. The speaker is impressed with the instrument's performance and the value for money, considering its low price. The speaker looks forward to further exploring the bass's capabilities, particularly with distortion, and the paragraph ends with a musical excerpt that showcases the bass's sound under distorted settings. The overall sentiment is positive, with the speaker expressing excitement and satisfaction with the bass's performance.

Keywords

💡BC72 NT

The 'BC72 NT' refers to a specific model of a seven-string bass guitar produced by Harley Benton. It is a central focus of the video, as the unboxing and review process revolves around this instrument. The term is used to denote the particular product being discussed and evaluated, indicating its significance in the video's theme.

💡Harley Benton

Harley Benton is the brand of the bass guitar featured in the video. The company is known for producing musical instruments, and in this context, it represents the manufacturer of the 'BC72 NT' bass guitar. The brand is significant as it sets the expectation for the quality and characteristics of the instrument being reviewed.

💡Seven-string bass

A 'seven-string bass' is a type of bass guitar with seven strings, as opposed to the standard four or five. It offers a wider range of notes and is typically used by musicians who require additional tonal options. In the video, the seven-string bass is the main subject, and its features, such as string spacing and playability, are discussed in detail.

💡German quality

The term 'German quality' is often associated with precision, durability, and high standards of craftsmanship. In the script, it is used to describe the perceived quality of the Harley Benton 'BC72 NT' bass guitar, suggesting that the product meets the viewer's expectations based on its country of origin.

💡String spacing

String spacing refers to the distance between the strings on a musical instrument, particularly stringed instruments like guitars and basses. In the video, the string spacing of the seven-string bass is measured and discussed as an important feature, with the measurement indicating the instrument's playability and comfort for the musician.

💡Tuners

Tuners are the mechanical devices on stringed instruments used to adjust the tension of the strings, thereby changing the pitch. In the context of the video, the presence of four tuners on the seven-string bass is noted, which is a detail relevant to setting up and playing the instrument.

💡Pickups

Pickups are electronic devices that capture the vibrations of the strings on a guitar or bass and convert them into an electrical signal, which can then be amplified. The script mentions experimenting with the pickups on the bass, indicating that they play a role in the instrument's sound and tone quality.

💡Bridge pickup

A 'bridge pickup' is a type of pickup located near the bridge of a guitar or bass, typically providing a brighter or more 'twangy' sound. The video script describes switching to the bridge pickup to evaluate its sound, which is an important aspect of the bass's tonal characteristics.

💡Distortion

Distortion in music refers to a type of sound effect where the audio signal is modified to include harmonics, creating a 'dirty' or 'overdriven' sound. In the script, the reviewer tests the bass with distortion to see how it performs under this effect, which is a common practice for evaluating electric instruments.

💡Slap

Slap is a technique used in bass playing where the strings are struck with the thumb and fingers to produce a rhythmic, percussive sound. The video mentions the reviewer's attempt to perform slap on the seven-string bass, highlighting the instrument's versatility and playability.

💡Unboxing

Unboxing refers to the process of opening and reviewing a newly purchased product, often for the first time. In the video, the unboxing of the 'BC72 NT' bass guitar is the initial step, setting the stage for the detailed review that follows, and it is a popular format in product demonstration videos.

Highlights

Excitement over unboxing a Harley Benton BC72 NT seven-string bass guitar.

Instrument arrived from Germany with cardboard packaging, eco-friendly and protective.

Initial impressions of the bass guitar's build quality and design.

Inclusion of a basic toolkit and a reminder of the brand's origin.

Expectations of the bass guitar's size and weight based on online reviews.

Unboxing reveals a beautiful bass guitar with no visible flaws.

Assessment of the neck and frets for any issues.

Battery compartment is easily accessible and well-designed.

String spacing measurement confirms it's slightly over 17mm, which is good for a seven-string bass.

Tuning the bass guitar with a clip-on tuner, which works well.

String tension is found to be about half a step low, possibly due to the journey.

The bass guitar's balance is good, with minimal tip-over despite the additional strings.

Testing the bass guitar's sound and playability, including the bridge pickup.

Experimenting with different pickup settings and their impact on sound.

The bass guitar's performance with distortion and its suitability for various playing styles.

Final thoughts on the bass guitar's impressive sound quality and value for money.

Transcripts

so hi everyone this is the exciting

moment in here I got a

bc72 NT from Harley Benton a seven

string base thought about for a very

long time to buy it now it's finally

here I came all the way from

Germany had a few weeks of delivery and

build time so let's get crack and I hope

I get it out of here in one piece I hope

it plays and I also hope it plays well

so let's get going let's cut the Box

open so what I like about this

straightway is it's all cardboard it's

not Styrofoam so it's better for the

environment that's good that alone it

came all the way from

Germany but at least it f

c good pening all together

from what I've heard from online reever

it must be quite a monster quite big uh

long scaling large spacing very

heavy the Box seems a bit small for that

so I'm hope I'm not in for a bad

surprise

here now we got it all wrapped up like

for Christmas let's get it out of there

here we have a very basic tool kit uh at

least you know which key is good for the

truss

rod be a little reminder where it came

from like how Bon is the house brand of

tomen from what I know you can still

only buy it from

there okay

all right here it

is it is

beautiful and let's have a closer

look

it's Flawless I've been unboxing some

Harley Express

faes and I had some surprises there but

this one is as you would expect German

quality German quality

assurance looking quite

good perfect just feeling the

neck all the the Frets are okay nothing

sticking out nothing

hurting battery let's see if if one's in

there my CAU me the wrong

foot batter is in

so very handy battery compartment and

seen some worst some bad ones over the

years but this one is great nicey quick

okay hope it also has a

charge all right so I'm assuming three

bandic

Q I already put it all in the

middle and I'm assuming this is the main

balum and this is the pickup

control so now what I'm most interesting

in is the string spacing here which I'm

going to measure right now cuz I heard

it is 18 mm of strings racing which

would be

super but you never know until you

measure yeah I would say it's slightly

on the 17 range but it's sort of in

between 17 and 18 and for a seven string

that's actually very good for example

aoness has

15.5 mm which is very narrow and pretty

much a getar but this one so far

is pro keeping what it's

promised is it inun already not quite

but it

is feels

good let's tune

it clip on tuner

has not disappointed me

far all

right and

Serv I come from a six string base so I

was going for that a string but it's

actually a d we have four tuners here so

that was quite

funny

already the strings are about half c t

low probably from the trip or the

journey or the strings have given

way surprising how easily it finds the

be string usually that's more difficult

some bases have problems with E string

this one finds the B string quite well

so I hope that's a good sign for the

Bas

right and we are six

okay I'm going to use a belt here

because I want it to follow the

accidentally now here's the big moment

we're going to plug it

in so there was there is a tone coming

out though which

is not a given with Alex Express

instruments for example

the instrument hangs quite well so it's

quite well balanced so you don't have

the strong tip over of course you have

more of a tip over because there's a lot

Happening Here on the head

but it's actually

CL oh beautiful

just checking the bridge adjustments to

see if the string settles have been

adjusted according to

[Music]

scale that's a seven string base we got

to compare to the four string brace we

got an extra B and we got two high

strings so the full strings sit here

from string two through five so I left

Electronics all neutral and I have no

desire to change it in anyway so that's

a very good sign

[Music]

some beautiful

cles going to experiment with the

pickups a little bit now I go to the

bridge pickup let's see how that

[Music]

goes strings are a bit harder to control

harder to keep them

[Music]

quiet but that's not a hary bent issue

that's a seven string

[Music]

issue apart from

that again

[Music]

and it sounds as it should it's not like

it's a seven string base it only sounds

good and gets the normal four string

range a special color that's not the

case at all it actually sounds as you

would expect it from an electric

[Music]

base home impressed and slap the single

not yet

let's see how that's

going it's a bit like walking on

eggshells because I'm not used to the

instrument but there's the slap sound

coming

out without a doubt just harder to find

the middle range the middle four

[Music]

string the harmonics are a bit

[Music]

of course not as strong as on thick Bas

[Music]

strings let's try Distortion a little

bit

[Music]

so together I would say really good test

drive it's very very impressive

instrument insanely low price and I'm

looking forward forward to controlling

it in

[Music]

[Music]