Ebay DIY bongo bass kit? $199?

[Meddle]

I bought a Steinberger style kit from Ebay a couple of months back. The irony of buying a copy of Ned Steinberger's famous carbon-graphite design as rendered in cheap basswood was not lost on me...

Anyway, I would say don't bother. Everything was routed crooked on the bass. Every single route. The neck pocket was especially bad and needed shimming prior to glueing. The copy of Steinberger's tail piece was also poorly machined (two stiff tuners that needed much work to free up). Basically for $199 you could get a whole lot more bass.

I have a hunch that these kits are basically copies that fail the inspection stage. My headless kit is exactly the same as various cheap headless basses you find on Ebay (sometimes under the "Riverside" brand). If it is not cost effective to spend time in the factory correcting wonky routing I wager they just leave them unpainted and sell them as "fun" kits.

 

[BruceBass3901]

Just my $0.02 here, but I actually have one of the BYO Rickenbacker kits (not yet assembled) and the quality is actually fairly good. I have to admit that any kind of clear finish on it would result in a horrible looking instrument, but that is not the point. Whack an opaque solid or burst finish over this and nobody will ever know. The quality of the tuning heads etc is not that of Hipshot, but those could easily be replaced down the road if you find that you like the guitar.

If somebody wants to spend $200 on a kit like this and use it as a learning experience, then good for them. If at the end of it, they aren't keen on what they have produced, then they will still have learnt many of the fundamentals of instrument construction and for much less cash than a Warmoth kit. The quality will of course be lower, but this isn't being advertised as a boutique kit

 

[IronLung1986]

Even better,
Go on the EBMM forum and ask them for some advice about it.
I'm sure they will be very helpful.....

ya, ask Big Poppa what color you should paint it lol.

 

[Baird6869]

Look at the placement of the bridge PU....oops!

Also, the neck screws are kinds close together.

$200 is cheap though if it is playable. Worth it alone just to finish the build and then post pics of your "new Bongo" on the EBMM Forum.

 

[FerK]

It's a bass kit that obviously is supposed to look like a bongo but i woudnt call it fake. It's not as if they're advertising an unassembled and unfinished Musicman Bongo for 200 bucks.

I'm sure it's a fake, as they surely have a fair amount of trademark protection on the shape. It's illegal, it's wrong and people shouldn't buy them. On the other hand, they could just go ahead and buy Telecaster-shaped, Stratocaster-shaped and Precision-bass-shaped instruments as much as they want, as Fender never trademarked them.

 

[jim777]

If it doesn't have that 4 band pre it will sound nothing at all like a Bongo. The whole appeal to me of the Bongo (and I LOVE Bongos) is that awesome pre. If I could get the pre for 200 i would rather do that, heck I might buy the pre for 300 if it was offered! But a Bongo shaped anything without that pre has no worth to me at all.

 

[WoodyG3]

This is poop, don't buy it.

 

[lordraptor1]

im going to jump on this subject here simply because I have personally built a few of the guitar and bass kits. these are not fakes they are merely unassembled kits manufactured to look like a high end bass, they are NOT meant to be high end, they are basically a craft/hobby to build and learn some of the guitar building assembly process nothing more.

now with that said some of them are crap and some are not had one that the frets were so bad they had to be pulled out and replaced, the wiring and swiches suck on all of them but oddly enough I have gotten some of these kits ( one lp style comes to mind) that the pups actually sounded better than the pups in a US Gibson les paul. keep in mind if you buy one and expect the worst then you wont be disappointed, if you buy it just to assemble it for fun again you wont be disappointed now if you are buying one of these kits to have a top of the line name brand instrument without paying th eprice you are an idiot.

last one of these kits I bought was a strat copy for 109.00 and it was fine except for the electronics but I had electronics I was going to put into it from a trashed strat and it turned out quite nice, as far as I know the kid I gave it to still has it and uses it to this day.

if I had the funds I would buy one of the bongo DIY kits, although I would rather see and get a 6 string version LOL.

you can also customize these like putting on a veneer ( picture a bongo bass with a birdseye maple veneer top ).

one more thing to note and that is if you just get it and do a quick paint job and slap it together of course it will end up being junk but if you tke your time and do it right it will give you hours of enjoyment building and finishing and with the right cre during building it could turn into a damned fine playing instrument.

do avoid any of the basswood body ones though, you can go get a warlock bronze series bass or guitar for about the same price as one of the kits.

sometimes you can find strat guitar DIY kits for 80 to 109.00 so you can always start with one of those to see what the worst case scenario would be .

 

[bholder]

Is this going to turn into one of those thread derail's?

Given enough time, all threads derail. It's the online version of the 2nd law of Thermodynamics. Entropy is a sore loser!

 

[bholder]

Yeah get in touch with MM, Im sure theyll really encourage you to get this kit

Yeah, they'll suggest you buy it and burn it in the fireplace!

 

[Philonius]

Given enough time, all threads derail. It's the online version of the 2nd law of Thermodynamics. Entropy is a sore loser!

I think you misread my intention's.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

im going to jump on this subject here simply because I have personally built a few of the guitar and bass kits. these are not fakes they are merely unassembled kits manufactured to look like a high end bass, they are NOT meant to be high end, they are basically a craft/hobby to build and learn some of the guitar building assembly process nothing more.

now with that said some of them are crap and some are not had one that the frets were so bad they had to be pulled out and replaced, the wiring and swiches suck on all of them but oddly enough I have gotten some of these kits ( one lp style comes to mind) that the pups actually sounded better than the pups in a US Gibson les paul. keep in mind if you buy one and expect the worst then you wont be disappointed, if you buy it just to assemble it for fun again you wont be disappointed now if you are buying one of these kits to have a top of the line name brand instrument without paying th eprice you are an idiot.

last one of these kits I bought was a strat copy for 109.00 and it was fine except for the electronics but I had electronics I was going to put into it from a trashed strat and it turned out quite nice, as far as I know the kid I gave it to still has it and uses it to this day.

if I had the funds I would buy one of the bongo DIY kits, although I would rather see and get a 6 string version LOL.

you can also customize these like putting on a veneer ( picture a bongo bass with a birdseye maple veneer top ).

one more thing to note and that is if you just get it and do a quick paint job and slap it together of course it will end up being junk but if you tke your time and do it right it will give you hours of enjoyment building and finishing and with the right cre during building it could turn into a damned fine playing instrument.

do avoid any of the basswood body ones though, you can go get a warlock bronze series bass or guitar for about the same price as one of the kits.

sometimes you can find strat guitar DIY kits for 80 to 109.00 so you can always start with one of those to see what the worst case scenario would be .

Yeah... I am sure these are officially licensed, that is why they can use the headstock and body shape.

If people go bat crap about a pre-assembled counterfeit I cannot imagine a counterfeit you need to assemble being any more popular. I am also in the camp that these are just Aliexpress basses sold unfinished (no label) to get around copyright laws.

 

[bholder]

I think you misread my intention's.

My guess is you were trying to un-derail it. My natural tendencies are in the other direction, unfortunately - sorry.

 

[Philonius]

I was having fun at apostrophes' expense. Derails are the mayonnaise of internet forums; why mess with a good thing?

 

[lordraptor1]

Yeah... I am sure these are officially licensed, that is why they can use the headstock and body shape.

If people go bat crap about a pre-assembled counterfeit I cannot imagine a counterfeit you need to assemble being any more popular. I am also in the camp that these are just Aliexpress basses sold unfinished (no label) to get around copyright laws.

sadly these companies keep catching flak from the anti counterfit goon squads when MOST of these diy guitar makers are legit and are making diy kits for educational purposes. I wonder why it is only with guitars and basses that the copyright goon squad gets riled up? why not with amps and effect pedals ( yep there are DIY/BYO of those as well, of course I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those screaming copyright violation doesn't have some sort of a BYO or "Boutique" amp or pedal. now their are some out there that have clones and clone kits like BYOC build your own clone, I give you the example: http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/amps-cabs-1/products/tweedroyalcombo

but just because you can get a diy unfinished bass or guitar kit doesn't mean the copany is actually trying to violate copyrights.

 

[TheAnalogKid]

Ehh, might be worth it just for S&G. It could have potential or it can end up a total GOOCH! The kit lacks obvious details that a true Bongo does: different bridge, chrome knobs (non-recessed), and pickguard has 7 screws, instead of 8. Most glaring is the location of truss rod adjustment. Oh, yeah...where's the neckplate for the kit?

 

[lordraptor1]

Ehh, might be worth it just for S&G. It could have potential or it can end up a total GOOCH! The kit lacks obvious details that a true Bongo does: different bridge, chrome knobs (non-recessed), and pickguard has 7 screws, instead of 8. Most glaring is the location of truss rod adjustment. Oh, yeah...where's the neckplate for the kit?

yeah, it is like the copyright goon squad picks and chooses what they want to go after or complain about ( even in guitar circles). I submit the following pics, notice the control area on both of theses guitar amps and the speaker size ( if you cant tell speakers size is identical in both):

this pic is of my personal epi studio 10 that I use for testing guitar electronic repairs:

this pic is a stock pic of a dean amp, but I have actually seen one of these in person and picked up right away on the control panel face and how it was an identical layout to the epi studio 10:

now where is the copyright goon patrol to flame dean for copying the epiphone studio 10 electronics to put in their own cab?

 

[TheAnalogKid]

yeah, it is like the copyright goon squad picks and chooses what they want to go after or complain about ( even in guitar circles). I submit the following pics, notice the control area on both of theses guitar amps and the speaker size ( if you cant tell speakers size is identical in both):

this pic is of my personal epi studio 10 that I use for testing guitar electronic repairs:

this pic is a stock pic of a dean amp, but I have actually seen one of these in person and picked up right away on the control panel face and how it was an identical layout to the epi studio 10:

now where is the copyright goon patrol to flame dean for copying the epiphone studio 10 electronics to put in their own cab?

I find fault with obvious counterfeit products with US-brand names, e.g., Rickenbackers that came from east Asia with "Rickenbacker" and "Made in USA" on the TRC, like the actual thing . I have no qualms about "copies" or similarly styled gear that is authorized (Squier) or the kit, because it has too many dissimilarities from an actual EBMM Bongo, and, well...it's in pieces.

Moreover, these amps depicted, are of a low-cost variety and likely pressed out of the same factory and afterwards have the respective "Epiphone" and "Dean" nameplates attached. This practice is called "re-branding" or "re-badging". It's pretty common in consumer electronics - lest we forget, that's what guitar/bass/keybd amplifiers really are.

 

[lordraptor1]

I find fault with obvious counterfeit products with US-brand names, e.g., Rickenbackers that came from east Asia with "Rickenbacker" and "Made in USA" on the TRC, like the actual thing . I have no qualms about "copies" or similarly styled gear that is authorized (Squier) or the kit, because it has too many dissimilarities from an actual EBMM Bongo, and, well...it's in pieces.

Moreover, these amps depicted, are of a low-cost variety and likely pressed out of the same factory and afterwards have the respective "Epiphone" and "Dean" nameplates attached. This practice is called "re-branding" or "re-badging". It's pretty common in consumer electronics - lest we forget, that's what guitar/bass/keybd amplifiers really are.

ok so what you are saying is if someone else does it then it is acceptable as long as they use the word "rebranded" or "rebadged"??, ok then I have a main street guitars which is a "re-branded" USA fender telecaster. ( sounds stupid doesn't it). as far as squire that is not a good case for your argument, fender and squire are the same company whereas dean is NOT part of Gibson. however, Gibson does own a few brands among them epiphone, and Kramer for a complete list see their website.

with that said these don't have any logos, badges, made in tags or anything. if those type of things do end up on one of those then it is the builder not the kit. I understand what you are saying though like Chinese companies making a "Gibson lp" or as they are known CHIbsons LOL, keep in mind though that both of the amps I pictured are made in china and they are not exactly identical the cabinets are different it is the electronics and speakers that are the exact same so rebranding or rebadging really doesn't apply in my example

I still think it is a good idea to have these around because I like to tinker and I have built several of these DIY kits myself even building one of the DIY les paul guitar kits with actual epiphone les paul pups, cts pots Sprague orange drop caps switchcraft jack and pots and vintage metal braided cable and wired it up vintage 50's style and it sounded just as good as my actual epiphone les paul and actually after the upgraded parts it did cost about as much as my lp standard + top pro, but I don't buy them to get one over on the company whos instruments they look like I get them because I get to assemble and finish it like I want, I get something that LOOKS like n expensive one and I don't feel like I have to baby it ( like I do my actual epi LP) and I can customize it my way without calling a company and paying them a crapload extra to custom build something for me.

 

[TheAnalogKid]

ok so what you are saying is if someone else does it then it is acceptable as long as they use the word "rebranded" or "rebadged"??, ok then I have a main street guitars which is a "re-branded" USA fender telecaster. ( sounds stupid doesn't it). as far as squire that is not a good case for your argument, fender and squire are the same company whereas dean is NOT part of Gibson. however, Gibson does own a few brands among them epiphone, and Kramer for a complete list see their website.

I think you misunderstood how I defined re-branding. It's typical for instrument manufacturers to contract the construction of instruments and amplifiers out to other companies, then market them under the respective brand names. This is why so many products, inside and outside the musical instrument realm, resemble each other. Stereos, televisions, microwave ovens and office equipment are largely built by a scant few actual manufacturers, but done to an OEM specification, then the brand label slapped on it.

In other words, Gibson/Epiphone likely spent no capital nor time on building little 10-watt practice amps, so they farmed it out to somebody else. Those amps ended up as "add-ons" to inexpensive starter package sets you see at GC and other retailers. I'm just referring to the cheap stuff; I'm not insinuating that Ampeg or Marshall farms out production of $1000+ amps to no-name factories, though they do manufacture overseas (no secret there), but it's all done under the brand name's specifications, even ownership, as far as I can tell.