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I...like... a..bongo?

#21
i like the Bongo,,, had one for awhile, a HH with the 4 band pre. it is true, you can get MANY tones out of it, & that in itself can be a problem if you're not a tweaker. i mean sittin around wankin at home, tweakin is fine, but for me, on stage, that 4 band had just way too many tones, & i never had it just right for the tune at hand :mad:

so it went bye bye :crying:

then i picked up a '96 STERLING :hyper::hyper::hyper:

PROBLEM SOLVED

much more user friendly live, for me anyways, while ymmv

:bassist:
 
#22
NorCal Dog said:
... had one for awhile, a HH with the 4 band pre. it is true, you can get MANY tones out of it, & that in itself can be a problem if you're not a tweaker. i mean sittin around wankin at home, tweakin is fine, but for me, on stage, that 4 band had just way too many tones, & i never had it just right for the tune at hand..
Click to expand...

+1

I just can't sit here and let everyone make the Bongo sound like the be-all, end-all of basses. While the Bongo is a fine instrument, there is also a great deal of hype surrounding it. I was allured by it, GAS took over and I bought one. It's now gone and my Fender-type instruments remain. As with any instrument (just look around for threads that center upon being unhappy with a very expensive custom instrument) some will like or even love it, and others will have lived and learned.
 
#23
I had a Bongo for a while too and it wasn't for me. I prefer Jazz basses. But, if you want deep, thumpy tone then the Bongo should be fine for the OP. Which is all that matters for this thread.

Jack...I think Chris was just weighing in with an opinion. I don't think it was "thread crapping" as you so artfully put it :P ;) . Being a former Bongo owner, his post is relevant and might be of interest to the OP. I think his statement was fair and you might be getting a little over-defensive. Given the uproar that usually occurs in Bongo thread (toilet seat/looks jokes and whatnot), I can understand and relate to it. But, not everyone who doesn't love the Bongo is trying rain on the parade of those who do.
 
#24
bovinehost said:
Do you also police up all the Sadowsky, Modulus, Elrick, Roscoe and whatever threads?

"Let's make sure that we don't give anyone the impression that the Sadowsky J is the be-all and end-all of basses." Hmmm?

"Let's not pretend that the Fender Jazz is really the best Jazz available."

"I hope people know that those Elricks are not really the best bass for the money."

Thinly veiled thread-crapping is still crapping on a thread.



There's some novel advice.

But thanks! Is it okay with you if we go ahead with our favorite basses?

Jack
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, there are some people that don't like bongos. They're allowed to voice their opinion, even if Bongophiles get uppity every time that they do. I don't like bongos. You are welcome to love them and gush over them all you want. Similarly, the rest of the world is free to say that they don't like them.

Lots of people bash Sadowskys. There are plenty of gabillion-page threads with people saying that they don't like Sadowksys.

Lots of people bash Fenders. There are plenty of gabillion-page threads going back and forth of people that love Fender and people that hate them.

Bongos are not immune. They are a polarizing bass. Don't throw a hissy fit when people say they don't like your bass of choice.
 
#27
Man I played a bongo HH last night. I've never been in the same store as one, but Elderly had one sitting on the rack when I went in for strings last night. So I grabbed it and plugged it into a WT550 and a SVT-810E.

First off, holy mother it was light. I mean really REALLY light. In person the looks did not bother me. Plus to mention that it balances on your knee just perfectly. Never have i had such a comfortable experience with a bass sitting down.

24 frets. Not a big deal to me really, but with this bass your talking a world of playing possibility because you can reach EVERY fret. Every string toO! 24th on the E. No problem!

So It took me a minute to figure out the 4-band EQ. But once I found the obligatory bass/treble knobs and that it was not VOL/VOL but VOL/Blend, i was in business. I dialed the bridge.. Sounded like a more hi-fi Stingray. Dialed the neck, sounded a little thumpy. Dialed in both and HOLY MOTHER, that was my tone, Both pickups, bass/treble all up, with a bump of low mids.

I spent about 30 minutes just funkin it up and enjoying every minute of it. So, I was thinking I was going to have a Stingray for my next bass but obviously now its going to (gasp) be a bongo 4 HH.

Sterling Ball sure knows his stuff man. That is a great bass.
 
#29
I'm a believer. I got my Bongo 5 HH+p (Desert gold with white pickguard) last week, and I just can't put it down. It has narrower string spacing than what I am accustomed to, which was a surprise, but has been a positive thing; my hands aren't that big and now I find the B string easier to reach. I love the extensive pallet of tones I can get from the 4 band ED and the piezo blend with the magnetics. The Bongo may not be everyone's panacea, but I sure like mine.
 
#31
The single humbucker Bongos do come with a three band EQ versus the four band.

I don't think I give up a thing, however, by mostly using my single hummer Bongos. I love the dual humbuckers, always will, and they will move mountains through the proper rig, but the first bass I look for is my single hummer.
 

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