Harley Benton 5-String Marquess Bass | Flame Maple Top | Custom Wiring with 2x Push-Pull Pots | 35"-Scale 24-Fret 5-pc Maple/Walnut Neck

Harley Benton 35"-Scale 5-String Marquess Bass with Flame Maple Top & Custom Wiring with 2x Push-Pull Pots for Coil-Taps & Series/Parallel Switching.

This bass is awesome! The shape is definitely polarizing. When I first saw them, I hated the shape and it bugged me. Over time I kept seeing these basses and it grew on me. After getting hands on it, I found that it was very comfortable and surprisingly ergonomic and practical. Much like the highly-revered BC Rich Eagle and Mockingbird, its shape fits perfectly & comfortably on your leg when sitting down and accommodates your forearm across the body.

I'm sad to see this one go, as they are out of production & relatively hard to find, but sacrifices must be made to accomplish larger goals in life. My loss is your gain!

Pickups/Custom Wiring/Controls:

It has a 9V battery box installed on the backside as it originally had an active preamp installed. It is currently running passive with 2 humbucking soap-bar pickups. The wires to the battery box are coiled up and taped down in the control cavity so it would be a simple matter to hook it up again if you elected to install an active preamp.

Controls are setup VVT + 3-way toggle pickup selector. The volumes are independent so you can turn one pickup all the way down without affecting the other. You can think of it as wired like a Fender Jazz Bass with the addition of an LP 3-way toggle for quick changes.

Each of the Volume controls has a Push/Pull switch.

The Neck Pickup Volume is a coil-tap for both pickups at the same time. This gives you neck pickup - coil closest to the neck and bridge pickup - coil closest to the bridge. They are hum-cancelling when they're both selected.

The Bridge Pickup Volume is Series/Parallel between the pickups. It's wired reverse of how it normally would be, because I wanted the default tone setup to be the more aggressive-sounding '2 humbuckers in series' pickup combination. This approximates the sound of one BIG FAT Humbucker like a Music Man Stingray pickup or Ibanez ATK pickup.

Alternatively, when you pull up both Volumes at the same time, you get the 2 single-coils in parallel, which approximates a Fender Jazz Bass tone because that's exactly how a Jazz Bass's pickups are arranged.

Using one of the Push-Pulls at a time, other available options are: 2 humbuckers in parallel or 2 single-coils in series.

Using the 3-way toggle pickup selector and/or the volume controls you can get either the neck of bridge pickup solo in humbucker or single-coil mode. Solo the neck pickup & roll off all the treble for an EB-0 Mudbucker-like thick tone or solo the bridge pickup with the tone control dimed for a treble-y Rickenbacker Roundabout tone.

Specs:

• Ash body with Flame veneer top
• 5-piece Maple/Walnut bolt-on neck
• 24 Jumbo Frets on a 35"-scale Rosewood-ish fretboard. Not sure of the exact wood.
• Sung-Il (Korean) Top-Load, High-Mass Hipshot Style Bridge with Locking Saddles
• Jin-Ho (Korean) Hipshot Style Y-Key Tuners
• Made in Indonesia

This bass is in Excellent Condition overall. It plays well, has a deep tone & a much wider variety of tones than a typical production bass It definitely has stand-out looks and a unique body shape. It has one ding worth mentioning that is on the face of the instrument right below the bridge pickup. It's a star-shaped impression that you can see up-close but from a foot or more away, it blends in with the blue-burst color and the mildly flamey grain pattern and it is not really noticeable.

I ship FAST!! Typically within 48-hrs of receiving payment. Check back often and follow my shop!

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

Applicable to Instruments: The action on my instruments is setup medium-low & adjusted to my own preferences but generally meets or exceeds factory specs. It should be acceptable to most players, but your mileage may vary.

As a result of many potential factors including the handling involved in transport, the speed and degree of changes in humidity & temperature, etc. it is possible that once your instrument is unpacked, it may need some minor adjustment to play its best, despite the attention paid to setup prior to it being packed up for shipment.

If your instrument does end up needing adjustment, I recommend supporting your local guitar shop. Get acquainted with the guitar tech/luthier/wizard, buy a set of strings & have them installed or even consider getting a complete setup. Alternatively, it's well worth investing a little time, acquiring a few tools and learning to do pro-level setups yourself. It's easier than ever with tons of videos from reputable sources on YouTube.