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do people really hate ebmm bongo bass?

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#61
I don't have a problem with their looks or body woods. However, it seemed like its preamp had a bunch of EQ notches baked in that I couldn't dial out no matter what I tried. It had that top end grungy sound with fresh strings but it was otherwise quite a mid-shy, polite bass to play.

It also garnered some unfavourable comments from some Habs fans who'd taken it on the chin over the whole "toilet" comment for years... ;-) I didn't really care about it but I found it funny that they noticed.

It just didn't have the same cut or midrange as my Yamaha basses or even my fretless SR5. I was only renting it so when it was time to give it back I didn't even give it a second thought. Back it went and I thought I had a good try with it, but wasn't going to buy one.
 
#64
I'm a huge fan of MusicMan and I play Sabre and Ray basses and consider the Sabre to play and sound as well as anything 2X the cost. Sorry, I don't get it. If you look at the evolution of their brand and the consistent nod to classic convention I'd guess nobody in the meeting had the huevos to vote NO.
Bongo looks cheap in my opinion. But they do sound good.
 
#68
To me they play ALMOST well enough to offset the painful aesthetics. Which is to say they play amazingly well, because those aesthetics are horrific. But dif strokes/folks - no one can tell anyone else what looks good or ghastly on a bass.

I don't love or need all of the options, but there's no denying the Bongo's versatility. Even if it couldn't be LESS for me, they're really good basses and neither they nor their owners deserve any hate.
 
#74
Most folks here who don't like them just don't seem to like the round shape or the goofy headstock. I had an HH and it was the best modern sounding bass I have ever owned. I sold it though and replaced it with an L2K for two reasons, neither of which was the appearance which I actually liked or the ergonomics, which were phenomenal. I liked the fact that the lotsa folks didn't like the way it looked. I don't personally think it looks anything like a toilet seat. But it had to go because...

  1. I needed something that would cop more vintage and modern tones readily in the same instrument. Almost no combo I play with want's only a modern sound all the time from the bass; usually the modern sound is the occasional exception. L2K was better at covering the necessary territory, and it's modern sound is also very good, too. The Bongo can get a lot a wider range of sounds than even the L2K but the Bongo is actually at it's weakest when imitating something like a P-bass, at least in my opinion.
  2. Folks have mentioned that the wood is kinda soft. Really surprising to me when I seemed to ding the damn thing everytime I picked it up. I had an early instrument though, maybe they fixed this.
 
#75
I think the dual humbucker thing is the right idea, but back when I was looking at it, my L2K was significantly more comfortable, cost less and sounded better. So I couldn't come up with a rationale for a more expensive bass that was harder to play and didn't sound as good.
That was many years ago and after I'd gotten my L2K. I was thinking about one as a backup for my L2K, but it just wasn't a better choice than just another L2K. Ultimately I didn't buy another L2K either, though, because by that time I was doing Carvins.

And that's still kind of how I see it now; the L2K still costs a little less and sounds better, so I still can't think of a reason to get one.

when I tried one years ago, I remember it being uncomfortable, but I couldn't put my finger on why exactly it was hurting me when I tried to play it. The body of it just seemed like it was always in the way somehow....

L
 
#77
Like all basses and especially those with what some could perceive as radical designs, there are some people that really like them and others that really don't. They are still being made so there is some market for them. I had to guess, they would have gone the way of other short-lived EBMM basses like the Reflex and the Big Al if not for Sterling Ball's close personal involvement in their development. From everything I have read, the Bongo was a bass near and dear to him.

To each his own. Personally, I wish there was more diversity in the choice of instruments out there so everyone could find their thing. The 80s were they heyday. After that, consolidation took hold in the MI business, like all businesses. Not it's Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and "other." Sigh....
 
#78
I was NOT a fan of their looks when they first came out. However, after seeing a few in the local Sam Ash and Guitar Center and finally trying them out, I was quite impressed by them - the feel and the sound and, at least with respect to the HH models, lots of tonal versatility. It still took a while for me to to accept their looks but I got there.

I’m honestly GAS-free these days, but there’s one specific Bongo I would sell my #2 bass for in a heartbeat to get if I actually found one for sale. I’ve only seen that bass pop up once before and that was quite a while ago.

Based on the couple of them that I played, I think they’re great basses.
 
#79
Volker Kirstein said:
I wonder how one would look in hot pink/maple with a Hello Kitty makeover?
Click to expand...
bowie-service (anim).gif



HK bongo 1.jpg

:whistle:
 
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