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Bongo or Corvette $$

E

egnartS

Jan 26, 2012
6
0
#1
Hello dear Fellas.

So i'm leaving my 4 string for a 5 one.
I'm about to get a MM Bongo HH or WW Corvette $$.

But here where i live there are no stores to check them out.

I might travel in a city to check those two but i have to make a 500km distance.
So here i am posting for some info.
(my dealers costs corvette $$ 1900 / Bongo 2200 euro)

My plays are mostly rock/grunge..a bit metal and less funk.

Appreciate your opinion.
(sorry if my english aint that good)
 
#2
If you like thinner necks, the Bongo might be better for you. The Bongo will also have slighter wider spacing between the strings. Tone wise, Corvette with J/J pickups have a fairly Fender sort of sound. Bongos are very powerful and can produce a wide variety of tones.

For what it is worth, I owned a Corvette, and I thought it was a solid bass that I could have been happy with if I weren't so prone to GAS. I never owned a Bongo, but I have plpayed a bunch of them, and I think they are great basses.
 
#4
I've tried the Streamer $$, and I really didn't like it one bit. Might just be the Warwick 'thing' not working for me. Those pups were bland, IMO, compared to a Musicman H.

I still want a Bongo because I love Musicman basses. So, for me, it would be a Bongo.
 
#6
I've found the Warwick Corvette $$ to be a great bass for grunge, alternative and hard rock. It can be a bit dark sounding which I personally like. The Bongo is a totally different beast and by far the most flexible tone wise of the two. So knowing that either one is perfectly capable of delivering the tones you're after you might be able to focus more on look, feel, quality and cost.
Looks are always subjective but to me a satin type finish or dark natural wood that you frequently find on the Corvette looks more at home in a grunge, punk, alternative, hard or acid rock setting than a high gloss bright color finish you typically see on the Bongos.
Feel again is subjective but to me the bongo neck feels narrower and quicker than the Corvettes that I've played, but I do tend to lean towards raw wood necks where I can and a number of the Corvettes have that.
Quality is something both these basses excell in. The Warwick Rockbass line is not up to the same level of fit and finish as the German Warwicks or the Bongos so look closely if you go down the Rockbass path.
Cost is an interesting issue since I've seen very different pricing on both these basses in different parts of the world. Since both the Corvette and the Bongo are such well built basses I wouldn't hesitate buying either one used or mail order. That would lower the costs a lot. In the US you can get a high quality mint condition Corvette for around $1000 give or take a couple hundred. A bongo will cost a couple hundred more or in the neighborhood of $1500.
If you go used, check out the Dargie Delight bongo models or the German Corvette bubinga body models - both will hold their resale values better than the other models in the line up. If you go with the Bongo also consider the S/H setup, I think it has even more flexibility than the HH layout.
 
#7
Dr. Cheese said:
Tone wise, Corvette with J/J pickups have a fairly Fender sort of sound.

For what it is worth, I owned a Corvette, and I thought it was a solid bass that I could have been happy with if I weren't so prone to GAS. I never owned a Bongo, but I have plpayed a bunch of them, and I think they are great basses.
Click to expand...

a j/j setup is not the same as a $$ setup

i own a few corvettes, so im bias here, so check out some youtube vids for a feeling the tone. your in the dark in the feel until you pick them both up.
 
#9
Jay Ralston said:
Bongo hands down. I currently own 2 with a 3rd being built right now. These truly are amazing basses!
Click to expand...

+1, And like an Ugly kid, you will actually start appreciating just "how cool" a Bongo looks.... And the sound, unreal...I just got a new pearl blue HH4.

6928799983_8b1e718451_b.png
 
#10
MarkMyWordsXx said:
a j/j setup is not the same as a $$ setup

i own a few corvettes, so im bias here, so check out some youtube vids for a feeling the tone. your in the dark in the feel until you pick them both up.
Click to expand...

+ 1

The $$ is a totally different animal. MM makes some great basses, but if I had to go for something that has a thick and aggressive growl, I'd have to go for the Corvette $$. The necks might be a bit bulky, but that is up to you to decide if that's a dealbreaker or not. As far as tone goes, the $$ has it all day long.
 
#11
hey guys thnx for replies
i have arrange with a guy i met today to get me a corvette std (not $$) to test.
i'm pretty sure the electronics will be far away different but at least i can try it out.

to be honest bongo is more attractive to me so far ;) yet i'm thinkin of takin a trip (bloody 500km away :s) to get one of those in my hands..it prolly help me deside correctly.
(and yes..i prefer thin neck)

[again sorry for bad english ^^]
 
#13
I love warwicks. I love musicmans more. Ive owned a streamer pro m, a streamer jazzman, an active corvette, a fortress one, and a flashback. Sold them all except for the fortresses. Just ordered my 3rd bongo. The bongo is capable of much more than any warwick i ever owned or played. I like the looks, feel, and weight much more also.
 
#15
i am about to get my self the bongo.
But today a fella informed me that he is selling his corvette std (5string active) 600euro.
*** now?
600 for corvette std? / 2.200 for new bongo?...
Hard times (to spend money) here in greece... bongo seems to worth the money...but..dunno...

I'm kinda messed up atm :s
 

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