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Bongo 6 H-S?

Gin

Gin

Apr 11, 2008
227
13
Manitoba, Canada
#1
So I've been window shopping on the net for a really good 6. I play progressive rock/metal, I blame John Myung for making me want to buy this brand after I saw him live.:D Most likely some of you own it and was wondering:

How does it play?

Would the Bongo 6 give me a variety of tone?

Do you have to give it frequent maintenance?

Neck feel?

Price?

I know it would be the best thing is to try it out myself, but its a 2hr drive to my nearest Musicman Bass Distributor and for all I know, they might not even have it in stock. So I'am kind trying to get a word of mouth feel for it.;)

I own a 4001 Ric and Fender Jazz, so a Bongo 6 would complete me..
 
#2
Played one at Summer NAMM last year. It does give you a wide variety of tones. The neck felt pretty nice. It's a little pricey, but it's a US built Music Man so that comes with the territory.
I have just played one so I can't comment on durability or maintenance. However, I've had a pre-EB Stingray and with the exception of a preamp chip failure once it was pretty much bullet-proof.
 
#3
Gin said:
So I've been window shopping on the net for a really good 6. I play progressive rock/metal, I blame John Myung for making me want to buy this brand after I saw him live.:D Most likely some of you own it and was wondering:

How does it play?

Would the Bongo 6 give me a variety of tone?

Do you have to give it frequent maintenance?

Neck feel?

Price?

I know it would be the best thing is to try it out myself, but its a 2hr drive to my nearest Musicman Bass Distributor and for all I know, they might not even have it in stock. So I'am kind trying to get a word of mouth feel for it.;)

I own a 4001 Ric and Fender Jazz, so a Bongo 6 would complete me..
Click to expand...

Go ahead and get it.
 
#5
I've had mine 2 years- I play in a rock cover band with a big variety in our set lists....The 4 band EQ is amazing- let's you dial in the right amount of mids to cut through anything. I've played it direct into a PA and it sounds great- The neck is very ergonomic and all the notes are easy to reach. You either like the looks of it or not- I personally think it is a great looking instrument. Pull the trigger - the wheel truss rod adjuster makes tweaking the neck a breeze- just go for it!
:cool:
 
#6
I've had my Bongo 6HH for a year. It plays well and consistently from low string to high - the neck feel is quite ergonomic. I haven't had to maintenance it at all since the initial setup. Comments regarding its tone from bandmates have been uniformly enthusiastic, especially regarding the tone...The 4-band preamp really is a marvel.
Pricewise, it's American built, so a certain premium is factored in but the fit and finish is top notch - I suspect that it can take more abuse than I would care to dish out.

An SH model 'might' be a little more conducive to certain funk styles (specifically snapping the string) due to the increased space between neck pocket and pickup, which is quite tight on the HH - I compensated for this by lowering the neck pickup, however.
 
#12
I'm also a HUGE John Myung and DT Fan (I've got the Yamaha RBXJM2 Sig model he had pre-Bongo). I've been gassing for the HS model for a while, but put it on hold to take care of some other things first (Geddy Lee sig and some pedals).

I like the versatility of the HS configuration, and, as others have said, the preamp is sensational. The feel of the ones I've played has been pretty good, and the neck feels "faster" than the Yamaha did to me. The price I was quoted was about $1600 US.
 
#19
I concur, the H/S is a highly versatile combination. My cheap 6-string has that exact combo and the tone range is out of this world even with a 2-band-eq preamp. I have tried the MM Bongo, and if it wasn't for the rather high price, I'd have bought one long ago.

The fact I'm a Myung fan has nothing to do it. Nope. Nuh-uh.
 

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