If you can do mods and touch-ups yourself or have someone around who can, this is an absolute beast just waiting to be revealed.
This is the second MV-4P I have bought, but before buying this one, I ordered a Sire P5 first, sent it back (more on that later), and then bought this second MV-4P.
Since I already had another MV-4P (in pink), I knew what to expect from this one. They are both very consistent in both qualities and defects. I am mainly interested in the "bare bones" of these basses as I tinker and replace most, if not all, of the hardware on them.
Pluses:
-impeccable wood working, fit, and finish
-gorgeous colors
-very consistent neck chape and size
-mostly compatible with aftermarket parts or easily modifiable
-very playable out of the box
-came with a rather low action and properly intonated
-excellent string tree
-trussrod wheel
Subjective pluses:
-Tonewoods, I love alder and roasted maple.
-38mm nut width
-D-shaped neck
Minuses:
-Tuners are really not too great
-came dirty with grease on the neck
-no shielding whatsoever, very noisy for a Pbass
-a few crooked screws on the pickguard and pickups
-a little neck-divy
Misc:
-both are 4,1kg
As I said earlier, before I bought this one, I ordered a Sire P5. The P5 is a great bass, very well finished, but I just couldn't get on board with the neck's width/thickness. Furthermore, since I already had my pink MV-4P, I could compare them.
The MV-4p has been upgraded with Sadowsky tuners, Gotoh bridge, EMG Geezer Buttler pickups, and a gorgeous D'andrea perloid blue pickguard. With all these mods, the MV-4P got to be about the price of the P5, and frankly, the Harley Benton runs laps around the Sire.
Don't get me wrong, out of the box, the Sire P5 is clearly superior (perfect finish, shielded, better hardware) to the Harley Benton, but once upgraded, the balance shifted completely, and for good reason, considering the aftermarket parts that were used. The Sire could just not compete anymore; the EMG pickup alone transformed the MV-4P into a monster. Add to that a better balance and tuning stability from the tuners and bridge, and it is now a pro-level instrument, for less than 500€.
In conclusion, if you are a tinkerer, this bass is a no-brainer. It comes out of the box as an ok P-style bass and can be turned easily into a monster.
On the other hand, if you are not a tinkerer and don't have a problem with thick/wide necks, give the Sire P5 a go; it's definitely worth a try.
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