...and not for lack of trying, mind you. No store in the greater Lexington area carries EBMM, and every time I've been up to the in-laws in Cincinnati the Guitar Center there has never had any in stock.
Until today, that is. There was a Sapphire Black H/H four-string, and a Carbon Blue Pearl H/SC fiver. I played the 4 just to get a feel of it, but easily 80% of my time was with the five-string (with the rest of the time going towards a Spector ReBop DLX, a great bass in its own right) and all I can say is... well, not much, but the drooling should indicate how I stood.
I'd always very much been a supporter of the Bongo for the simple facts that I admire a company willing to take a chance with a bold, modern design, especially one of the larger ones in the industry... as well as honestly liking it. No "Bongo Martyr" here, I very much liked the shape, and in addition all of the features (various pickups and the 4-band electronics, Earvana nut, etc.) were quite intriguing to me.
Well, color me completely converted. The neck was like butter in my hands, and as a player who actually prefers tighter string spacing it was amazingly easy to play even when you consider the notorious "Guitar Center setup".
There have been very few basses I've played since starting that have immediately had me thinking "I'm physically a better player on this", and the Bongo has made that short list. Add to that the simply stunning amount of tones available from the electronics and the ergonomics and comfortable playing positioning with a strap, and yet another bass has been added to the GAS list
I'm not sure if anything can top the Mike Lull Modern 5 in "Fire" Finish as the "dream bass", but I'd certainly never turn down a Bongo for "the toolkit" for the right price.
Until today, that is. There was a Sapphire Black H/H four-string, and a Carbon Blue Pearl H/SC fiver. I played the 4 just to get a feel of it, but easily 80% of my time was with the five-string (with the rest of the time going towards a Spector ReBop DLX, a great bass in its own right) and all I can say is... well, not much, but the drooling should indicate how I stood.
I'd always very much been a supporter of the Bongo for the simple facts that I admire a company willing to take a chance with a bold, modern design, especially one of the larger ones in the industry... as well as honestly liking it. No "Bongo Martyr" here, I very much liked the shape, and in addition all of the features (various pickups and the 4-band electronics, Earvana nut, etc.) were quite intriguing to me.
Well, color me completely converted. The neck was like butter in my hands, and as a player who actually prefers tighter string spacing it was amazingly easy to play even when you consider the notorious "Guitar Center setup".
There have been very few basses I've played since starting that have immediately had me thinking "I'm physically a better player on this", and the Bongo has made that short list. Add to that the simply stunning amount of tones available from the electronics and the ergonomics and comfortable playing positioning with a strap, and yet another bass has been added to the GAS listI'm not sure if anything can top the Mike Lull Modern 5 in "Fire" Finish as the "dream bass", but I'd certainly never turn down a Bongo for "the toolkit" for the right price.
