Getting a Jazz Bass "Growl" from a Bongo

[RangerMoose]

I've been listening to Marcus Miller a lot lately, as well as trying to emulate his style and sound. I play a MusicMan Bongo with a humbucker bridge and single coil neck, and I've been struggling with the tone, which seems to happen every other week. For a couple of months I had the strings (ErnieBall Super Slinkies 45-100) set very low, but I got sick of straddling the line between a clean sound and fret buzz. When I set the strings too high I (foreseeably) get the opposite effect, and I feel it sounds sterile and I don't really get the pop of having easy-playing strings. I love Marcus's finger tone on the Jazz Bass, and I'm trying to get closer to it with my Bongo, suggestions?

 

[GassieBall]

I have a Bongo HH and have never been able to really emulate my Lakland Darryl Jones jazz bass tone. The Bongo is a much cleaner sounding instrument that does pack a lot of punch but doesn't have that dirty passive j-bass growl. I have a HS Sterling and even that, when rolled into the single-single mode still sounds like an EBMM, not a Fender. Of course, this is only IME. I'd love to hear other's suggestions.

 

[RangerMoose]

I love my Bongo, but there are times when I absolutely cannot stand how "clean" it sounds. What are the contributing factors to that quality? But I don't want to derail the thread from any possible suggestions to getting a J-bass growl from it.

 

[Disco Batman]

I wish I could give you some kind of idea on getting that growl. As far as I know the only way to get JBass growl is with a JBass.

You could always try a pre-amp such as a Sansamp RBI or RPM. The VT pedal may get you what you want as well.

Not sure what amp you are playing through. That always makes a difference.

 

[RangerMoose]

I'm using an SWR Super Redhead, are there any tonal adjustments you could suggest there? And what kind of difference does a preamp make?

 

[GassieBall]

Perhaps I should rephrase my answer with a rhetorical question

"How do I turn my apple into an orange?"

I see you're pretty new here. May I suggest you search under the terms Bongo or Preamp. Sometimes, it's hard to search for short phrases like "VT" so use the Google search function.

Unless you get some emulator (Line6) or effect (VT Bass) you're SOL with a clean Bongo and a clean SWR amp. Time to save up for a Marcus Miller Jazz and Marcus Miller SWR amp, LOL.

 

[MPica]

Sounds like you need a jazz bass.

 

[trunkshope6]

dont worry guys my j bass has lacks the balls and punch that ur bongo has,does that make u feel better?

 

[faulknersj]

I'm with Disco Batman on this. U need a jazz bass. For killer fingerstyle growl, I highly recommend trying a passive 70's or 70's reissue jazz with the bridge pup closer to the bridge. I know the point of the thread is how to get a bongo to sound like a Marcus M. Jazz Bass, but a jazz and a Bongo are like apples and oranges imo.

 

[trunkshope6]

yeah with the bongo being the sweet suculent orange and the jazz being the ****** crab apples!jk i want a bongo!

 

[cellkirk74]

Try keeping the blend in center position, then boost the low and high mids and cut the bass with the Bongo preamp. Now blend a bit towards the bridge.

Change the strings from nickle plated to steel rounds, like the LaBella HRS or D'Angelico Steel concepts or DR HiBEams.

You may not get the dirt, but you should get close.

 

[sonicnuance]

I too would like to emulate a jazz but have been unsuccessful

As much as people say "the Bongo can get any sound", I think a jazz is a very distinct and peculiar sound that the Bongo may not be able to emulate. I think the Bongo can get very close to a P and a Stingray though.

I fear the two basses are mutually exclusive. A jazz can't sound as massive as a Bongo and a Bongo can't get a clear as a jazz (I know people have described the jazz as dirty, but to me there is a clarity in figerstyle notes that is the defining characteristic)

The suggestion for boosting the mids, cutting the bass and using more bridge pickup on the Bongo sounds to me to be in the right direction... I'll give it a try

Thanks

 

[Disco Batman]

I haven't yet had the option of playing a Bongo but I just threw some DR Hi Beams Medium Lite guage on my Geddy Lee Jazz and they have taken the growl factor to a whole nother level.

You could always give those a try.

I'm not really a fan of the Marcus Jazz so I wouldn't go saving up for one of those.

 

[hachi kid]

try rotosounds...those strings are plenty "growly". I think why the Bongo is so clean all the time, though, is because it's active. active basses are really clean sounding, and that's why I pretty much don't like them. passive dimarzio's ftw.

 

[Hippos Melas]

You want your bass with active humbuckers to sound like a passive single coil based bass? Good luck. If you can figure out how to do it (and well, at that), you may have found a Lakland killer.

Although, IMO, nothing gets a better jazz bass growl than a jazz bass. Just sayin'.