Harley Benton JA-Baritone 30"-Scale Bass VI Style Blackout Dark Jaguar Jazzmaster

Here we have the elusive Harley Benton JA-Baritone, based on the highly-regarded Squier Vintage Modified Baritone Jazzmaster that has become price-prohibitive of late, regularly selling for around $900 on the low side, up to $1300 or so on the high side.

As with a lot of Harley Benton offerings, this version of the iconic 30"-scale Bass VI type instrument is a high-quality, worthy alternative and can be had for a fraction of the price.

This guitar is brand new and has only been played for evaluation & setup purposes. It has been given some TLC to ensures that it will play well. The fret edges have been cleaned up to ensure there is no fret sprout or sharp edges and the frets have been dressed & polished. The fretboard has been treated with lemon oil, the neck relief has been adjusted, the action has been adjusted and its been intonated to play in tune with itself. This setup is with the factory installed string set. It plays with ease & satisfaction. It's fun to play!

It sounds good played through either a guitar amp or a bass amp. Whynot both? Using an ABY box you can play through both simultaneously. A good time can be had by all!

With the terms 'Baritone' and 'Bass VI' thrown around so much in recent times, let me clarify what I mean. To me, a Baritone guitar is any guitar with a scale length longer than your standard 25.5" Fender scale length that is tuned lower than E standard.

Typically a baritone guitar would have a scale length of at least 27" but may be longer and would be tuned down a Fourth from E standard to B standard: BEADF#B but could be tuned to Drop A, Standard A or anything below your standard E tuning.

A Bass VI would have a 30"-scale, the same as a short-scale bass, have noticeably heavier string gauges and be tuned EADGBE a whole octave below E standard for a regular electric guitar which is the same octave of a standard bass guitar, hence the name Bass VI.

A Fender article I read recently says a Bass VI is a bass and *not* a baritone guitar. Sure, Fender, whatever you say. I look at it like the old rectangle vs square. Every square is a rectangle but every rectangle is not a square. => Every Bass VI is a baritone, but not every baritone is a Bass VI.

This guitar comes with factory Baritone strings installed, gauges: .014 - .068 and tunes BEADF#B. Since it is a 30"-scale it can be setup as a Bass VI instrument by installing heavier gauge strings and tuning to EADGBE down an octave. Personally, I prefer flat-wounds but they can be price prohibitive at upwards of $30/set.

I have have good results using round-wounds, both Fender Bass VI strings and Ernie Ball Short-Scale 6-String Bass (Bass VI) Strings. The Ernie Balls are a little heavier, better balanced and cheaper at ~$10/set.

I have added pics to the aforementioned string sets and Ernie Ball's Baritone 6-String Guitar sets for reference. Your mileage may vary. There are any number of brands / sets / gauges available, so do what works best for you. I've included this info as I thought it might be helpful to someone relatively new to baritone & Bass VI instruments.

Official description & specs from HarleyBenton.com:

The JA-Baritone: Perfect for stoner rock and surf music! This design extends the JA concept with a longer, 30" scale-length to add even more contour and power to your riffs. Loaded with two P-90 pickups, you get all the clarity of single-coil pickups, but with a more ferocious and powerful sound. Thanks to the fixed bridge the JA-Baritone can take all of the beating without going out of tune. The classic black gloss finish is just the icing on top!

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Vintage series
• Body: Poplar
• Bolt-on neck: Maple
• Fretboard: Purple heart
• Block fretboard inlays
• Neck profile: C
• Matched headstock
• Scale length: 30" / 762 mm
• Nut width: 1.65" / 42 mm
• 21 Frets
• Pickups: 2 P-90 AlNiCo Vintage Style Single Coils
• Volume and tone controls
• 3-Way switch
• Black deluxe hardware
• Solid bridge
• Kluson style machine heads
• Factory string gauge: .014 - .068
• Colour: Black high gloss

I ship FAST!! See my feedback. Check back often and follow my shop. Lots more prime picks posting soon!

Regarding Shipping: No case or gig-bag is included with this instrument, but it will be well-packed for shipping and covered by Reverb Safe-Shipping.

Applicable to Instruments: The action on my instruments is setup medium-low & adjusted to my own playing preferences. Your mileage may vary.

Between the handling involved in shipment & the differences in climate across the country, your instrument may need some minor adjustment to play its best, despite the attention paid to setup prior to it being packed up for shipment. 

To ensure the best playing experience, I recommend either getting a pro setup at your local guitar shop or for the best long-term experience, invest a small but meaningful amount of time & money to cultivate the skills & acquire a few basic tools to be able to do pro-level setups yourself. This investment will pay dividends to you in the form of time & money saved, along with the confidence that you can setup any instrument you encounter to your own specific preferences.