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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$983.33
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9.2
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Description:
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Ernie Ball Musicman Bongo 4 HH. Lava Pearl finish, humbucker-humbucker pickups, standard Bongo active electronics (volume/pan/low-high mid/bass/treble) and hardware. Rosewood fretboard with "c" inlays. 24 frets, basswood body (and neck, I think).
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Author
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abngourmet
Registered User
Registered: November 2004
Location: USA
Posts: 821
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Review Date: Sat May 21, 2005
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $850.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Outstanding fit and finish, great electronics, fast playability
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Cons:
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Body shape (for some, not me), action a bit higher than I\'d prefer
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I bought my Bongo off of Ebay, and I got lucky. The previous owner took excellent care of the bass, and it has only two nicks in the headstock. Other than that, it appears brand new. It plays effortlessly - I was amazed at how fast it was, despite action a bit higher than I like. Tones are amazing - the electronics creat a lot of options for the player, and this bass can handle just about every genre out there.
Fit and finish is excellent and the instrument is well put together. It\'s very comfortable standing up or sitting down, and it balances perfectly on a strap. And talk about slap tones - this is the bass for those who love to slap and pop. I\'m not a big slapper, but I was impressed with the slap tones you can get out of the Bongo. Much like my \'79 Stingray, but with much improved electronics for tonal versatility.
The body shape isn\'t for everyone. Some have called it ugly, as I did at one point. But like the ugly duckling, the Bongo has evolved to be the beautiful swan (for me at least).
In short, I think this is one of the best bolt-on basses for the money. You can\'t really go wrong with one. I bought this with the intention of selling it if I didn\'t like it. Well, I\'m keeping it. It\'s that good.
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"I think the end all, be all answer to this would be.. Any band would suck without their bassplayer" - Metalguy 2
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WoollyMammoth
Registered User
Registered: October 2006
Location: Tucson Arizona
Posts: 78
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Review Date: Sat October 14, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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very versatile, STRONG signal, great playability, great finish
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Cons:
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some people don't like the body shape ( I do ), only active mode
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Very versatile all around bass, comfortable, and great sound with strong character and tone has that musicman slap sound.
I would like it to have an active passive switch.
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82Daion
Registered User
Registered: November 2006
Location: 45701
Posts: 1406
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Review Date: Thu January 11, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Playability, versatility, appearance, construction.
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Cons:
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Somewhat artificial tone.
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After having owned my Bongo for about a year now, I feel like I can offer an accurate evaluation of the bass. Mine is the dual-humbucker version.
Let's start with the good here. The Bongo, as is typical of Music Man products, has excellent playability. The action can be cranked down quite low with no buzz, as long as you have a light touch, and the neck feels great. The satin neck finish doesn't impede movement, and gives a little grip, which makes things a little more comfortable. The string tension feels kind of loose compared to my other bass, but that's to be expected, given that the Daion has a 35" scale, an angled headstock, and a string-through bridge. Everything is well put together, and the appearance, although a turnoff for some, is distinctive and attractive in person.
The preamp and pickups make for a very aggressive, versatile tone palette. The slap sounds on hand are good, and there's a wide variety of sounds that can be had just from the pan knob. All of the frequencies are well-centered, and there's plenty of boost on hand. However, this electronics setup is yearning for a more complementary body wood-the basswood doesn't add anything to the tone, and leaves the bass sounding rather "artificial." Something like mahogany that would add some warmth to the overall tone would help, but as-is, fans of a woodier sound may be better served elsewhere.
All in all, though, if you're looking for an aggressive-sounding bass that plays well and looks great, the Bongo's right up your alley.
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quadrogong
Registered User
Registered: July 2006
Location: NYC
Posts: 2176
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Review Date: Wed April 15, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $1,300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very " musical" sounding, almost no tweaking or knob twiddling needed
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Cons:
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No maple fb option, no 1.5 nut width option, no passive mode
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The most incredible and noticable feature IMO is the TONE,
on a typical Jazz or Pbass, you plug in and the bass generally won't sound full,fat and plush right away..unless u tame the treble a bit, dial in a tone and use the fingers and the right hand position to basically get a tone..
With the Bongo 4HH, it's hard to explain, but the thing sounds
"right" the moment u plug in.. It's a phenomenon I've NEVER encountered before.
I own Sadowsky, Lakland,Brubaker,Fender.. I've heard quite a few brands in my 30 plus years of playing.But this differs from the Stingray even..alot.
My manager/soundman put it best,"the most Musical sounding bass I've ever heard" he said, and he does sound for Hall and Oats,Natalie Merchant,& othe acts of this caliber..
It feels as if they designed the preamp with a perfect EQ curve..it indeed gives off a "musical" vibe..sounds like a bass should sound,good fundamental, not too "active" feeling..warm and very organic for a preamp.
it has a very pro sounding thump that inspired me to play more bass- very "bass player-ish",if that makes sense,
I don't have to devote much energy towards getting a good tone, it's already there.
I mostly use the bass, treble and blend controls..
The low mid and hi mid controls are a lot to think about while playing live,
Although, they can come in handy..( I double on acoustic guitar alot, and often use a DI the PA and no bass rig, here's where the 4 band EQ shines..when I'm plugged directly into the PA,I need all the EQ I can get. A lifesaver in these situations.
the 1 5/8" nut feels thin, if u play a jazz width, you'll be okay on these.I'm very wary of wider necks and spacing,but this is just a hair wider than a jazz,
Some 1 5/8" nuts feel fat.. Not the Bongo.
I only get comments on how cool it looks, the body style is a non-issue..so much time has been devoted to the subject,ridiculous..She's a Hi-tech,BMW-designed hot rod,
Mine is olive-gold( like forest green sparkle)
It has a rainbowy colored abalone guard and green fretfx LED's.
No issues with weight or balance.
If u were wondering,this will do the stingray slap sound? yes..
And it has the Ray's power and punch,not as aggressive,maybe,it's powerful yet smooth...I see tons of youtube videos of folks slapping on Bongos, but to me,she's more of an amazingly versatile fingerstyle bass to me. A good, basic, supportive tone is just so easy to get! It's always there!
..which leaves me enough "mental real estate" to concentrate on playing cool stuff..
It made me realize just how much time I was spending(on other basses) just getting a good tone!..
These are THAT GOOD. My Sadowsky gets comments from listeners, engineers, producers.. But this Bongo 4HH gets consistant comments almost every time I take it out..'"wow!.. Is that a Musicman?.. What IS that?.. It sounded SO fat!"
it's comfortable, solid and always reliable.. Made in USA,built like a rock,(like most Musicman stuff) and they will even pop up for $750-800 used,(almost always in Saphire Black for some reason)
In my eyes, that makes it one of the best deals out there.The attention to detail and lack of "corner-cutting"....so many thoughtful features..!
.the interesting inlays,easily accessed batteries,easily adjusted trussrod, cool hard case w metal Bongo badge on the side,
the little rounded thumb-rest surface on top of the pu's..
Ernie Ball has fantastic customer service too, I bought mine used/ but brand new(A month or two old) from the Ernie Ball forum.I took the olive swirl pickguard off,it looked cheap to me..I switched for an abalone one..Ernie Ball sells parts online,spoke to them over the phone,very helpful and efficient.
if u are unsure, just try it!.. The resale value is great, they don't really depreciate in value much, u can always sell(but u won't!)
Take a risk, If you want passive,go with a P or a J..
If you want a thick,active tone "right out of the package",this is a bass that will never sound thin or twangy..whether you're going for a fat,traditional tone,or a brighter,more modern,slap thing..she gets the tones,with little effort.
I'm one of those guys who buys tons of different basses and tries all types of things..The only basses I've held onto all these years were my Sadowskys and Bongo..in fact,I want more of both!
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Roscoe LG3000 #5494
Ibanez Mikro Custom (Sadowsky pups & pre)
Fenderbird 5
Markbass LMII
Aguilar DB112
Frequency Central fx
Mikrobass Club #22 Tbird Club #186
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250GBsOfAwesome
Registered User
Registered: July 2008
Posts: 205
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Review Date: Thu August 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $800.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Can coax out any tone you want, awesome neck, finish is great
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Cons:
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none that I can think of
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Awesome bass. Like I mentioned, you can get any tone under the sun from this bass, it has a killer preamp and amazing pickups. The pickup blend knob is great, I prefer it to a switch any day. The neck is awesome, it's a bit thicker then a Jazz neck, but a little slimmer then a P, so it's just perfect. There are no dead spots and it plays very fast. One thing that I was a little wary of before I bought it was that the neck was painted, this turned out to not be a problem. I heard one person say it feels a bit like a pool cue, which is a perfect description.
The finish is wonderful, mine is Sapphire Black and it's flawless. The previous owner did a great job with keeping it in great condition. The only think that I have noticed is that it's quite easy for the finish to wear on the very tip of the headstock because it's so sharp.
This thing is also very comfortable to play standing up or sitting down. It's much lighter then you would think as well, I don't know exactly how much it weighs but it's not heavy at all.
This thing is really a joy to play, you can get virtually any tone you want out of it and it feels great. I recommend this bass to anyone.
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Praise and Worship Bassist Club #373, Fender Jazz Bass Club #184, MXR Club #43, βΘИΞКЯŲŜĦÏИĞ® Tone # 43
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