Harley Benton P-Bass kit!

 Here is a new easy project I recently finished. I bought a Harley Benton P-bass kit in order to build a natural "fender style" precision bass for a small amount of money (89euros).

   Most cheap P-basses out there, are painted black and I couldn't find a natural one. Moreover, the headstock of these cheap copies is usually not even close to the fender style shape. Since I am into DIY stuff, I ordered this bass kit from thomann.de and here is how I built a very nice and solid p-bass out of this kit:


www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm?partner_id=73786

(There's also a Jazz Bass kit available here for 88 Euros: www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bass_guitar_kit_jb_style.htm?partner_id=73786 )


 Step1, body painting!
As soon as I received the kit, I prepared the body for a natural finish. First,  I sanded down the body surface with a fine grit sandpaper to make any scratches or sharp points disappear. Then, I hung up the body and sprayed a clear coat of acrylic matt lacquer. The first attempt was not really successful as the surface wasn't smooth enough. So I sanded down the rough areas and resprayed the body. Then, I let it dry and voila! A nicely finished p-bass body was ready to receive the pickguard and electronics.
 Step2, the headstock shape
 The neck comes unfinished as well and the headstock is not shaped. So you got to shape the headstock to whatever style you like and then finish the neck. I wanted to build a traditional looking p-bass, so I drew a "fender style" guideline and cut it with a jigsaw. The result was rough so I sanded down the areas that weren't accurately cut with a dremmel tool and a few sandpaper tips.
 Once I have shaped the headstock, I sprayed a clear coat of matt lacquer on the neck. I sanded down and resprayed the rough spots to achieve a nice and smooth finish. Be sure to mask with tape the rosewood fretboard before you apply any lacquer on the neck. The fretboard will be treated with some lemon oil at the end.
 Step3, Let's put it all together
 This step is quite easy as all you got to do is to assemble the kit. First, bolt the neck on the body to form a tight neck joint. Then, place the bridge and prewired pickguard on the body, connect the precision pickup and screw it on the pickup cavity. Bolt the tuning keys and string tree on the neck and finally, bolt the strap buttons on the body. That's it! All you got to do now is set up the bass with a new set of strings!
 Step4, The set-up
  The last but not least step you got to take, is to set up the bass properly. Action, intonation, neck relief and pickup height are important adjustments and the overall set up will make your bass feel and sound the way it should be.A fret level might also be required should you like to set the action low. A poorly set up bass will not sound good and you probably won't enjoy it, so it's very useful to understand how set up works for your guitar or bass.

  Here it is then! A very nice, punchy sounding P-bass for less than 100euros. It sounds pretty hot and punchy trough my amp and it's really fun to play. It feels as if you re playing with a much more expensive instrument as it is heavier and fuller sounding than most cheap p bass copies. If you are into diy stuff, it's definitely worth checking these low cost kits out.
                                                           

Here are some photos:

Cheers,
Thanos