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Musicman Bongos - worth it?

#41
Felken said:
The name is kinda stupid but the bass is anything but. The OP hasn't replied yet, so he is either dead or still undecided. All is not lost!
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OP might still be on the fence, but I'm not. If I could scrape the money together, I'd be all over a Bongo 4. Never paid them any attention until this thread came up, but I am now thoroughly impressed with what I've seen on YouTube. The diversity of sounds, and the "musicality" of the bass, as a previous TB'er described it, has made this my Eleanor.
 
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#42
I own a Bongo 5 HH and a Stingray 5 H. Love 'em both, but the Bongo is by far my favorite. The neck is much faster and the tone/flexibility is crazy good. The mids ring clear and the tone is much more refined. The Stingray has better fundamental lows and girth. It's a great bass and I might put flats on it to get really rootsy. But if I had to chose, I'd take the Bongo without hesitation.
 
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#43
I vote no. I used a friend's at a show, that he let me set up, and the eq was way too boomy, even with a 4-band to "even" things out. Plus, the top three strings felt like rubber bands (could've been the DR Hi-Beams, though). I also bought, briefly, a PDN Bongo 6 in Neptune Blue (w/ roasted neck and mahogany body). I then compared each of these to my Peavey G-V, and the Peavey totally blew them out of the water, action-wise, eveness of the eq, and costing waaaaaaaaay less. So, it's an understatement to say that I wasn't impressed with the Bongos.

Again, after these, like with a number of new and used Stingrays and Sterlings, I do not get the hype about Musicman. Sure, Louis Johnson and others made them sound good, but Jamerson also made a Fender sound good with sky-high action....
 
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#44
Pachap said:
Thanks for sharing that. That is a really cool video.

Un-freakin'-real that Myung is playing a 6 banger on a 5 string neck! I guess that it would be more similar to guitar string spacing, but when you figure in the thickness of the strings it must take some crazy finger accuracy to play his basses.

Stock pickups and off the shelf EB strings, and he is making top-notch prog-rock music. Speaks a lot to his talent. This is really making me want to both hit the woodshed for some more practice and go buy a Bongo!
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Aside from the band mix on Systematic Chaos and the self-titled release, Myung's tone is nowhere near as good as it was on Falling Into Infinity. That's when he had a clean tone (at least sounded that way) that was absolutely like a piano on steroids, courtesy of his first Yamaha signature bass, the RBXJM6.

Listen to these:
(2:40 is when it gets NASTY)

-and-
(5:25, and listen for a little while)
 
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#45
Hey, all - thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like MOST people's experience with them is positive. It seems that liking Ernie Ball/Musicaman tone/feel predisposes you towards them. I already have a Stingray 5 and have a few SUB's (USA), so I know and love that crunch and punch. One of the bands I'm in has two electric players and the Stingray never has an issue cutting through the midrange wall of sound they put out. Sounds like the Bongo will be in the right ballpark....
 
#48
Felken said:
Good to know all is well! When I had appendix removal surgery a few months back, I couldn't play for at least a week. It was a long week.
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Yeah, there's only so much sitting I can take.
But at least at my next gig in a few weeks, I can make the guitarists carry my Hartke head and Markbass cab up the stairs. Serves them right for making me get 500watts just to be heard over the din.... :-)
 
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#50
Pachap said:
Your description of it's capabilities make me want to go find one right now. Problem is, like the OP's, I have never seen one in person.
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I had seen them before I bought one, but never played one. I wanted a 6 string and I didn't want to a cheapo thing but I also didn't want to shell out big bucks for a boutique name. But I do know MM and I found a great deal on a Bongo 6 on clearance, so I grabbed it.
 
#51
CereBassum said:
I had seen them before I bought one, but never played one. I wanted a 6 string and I didn't want to a cheapo thing but I also didn't want to shell out big bucks for a boutique name. But I do know MM and I found a great deal on a Bongo 6 on clearance, so I grabbed it.
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I actually saw two them of this past weekend. I had totally forgot that a small shop about a 45 minute drive from me was a MM dealer. I drove up there on Saturday morning to take my daughter to look at acoustic guitars for a potential Christmas gift to her, and I needed to buy a strap for my bass. Well, I walked in, and it hit me that he probably had a Bongo. He had a 4 string silver sparkly abomination and an orange 5 banger that looked like clown shoes. I didn't play them, but I told the owner I'd be back to order one.
 
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#53
This is my Bongo 6 HS in the PDN Honey Roasted finish. I just got it a few months ago. Between the H and S pickups, the EQ controls, there is a very wide range of tones available to you. It is a pleasure to play.
NqHG7xR.jpg
 
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#57
TolerancEJ said:
This is my Bongo 6 HS in the PDN Honey Roasted finish. I just got it a few months ago. Between the H and S pickups, the EQ controls, there is a very wide range of tones available to you. It is a pleasure to play.
View attachment 2758639
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Adding to this, I brought my Bongo to a jam session this past weekend. The guitarist is presently using one of John Petrucci's EBMM guitars. The sound of both our instruments blended very well.
 
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#58
BlackDog Music said:
Hey all -
OP here again. I took the plunge. Getting a 5 string Bongo with single Humbucker and piezo (Egyptian Smoke 2006). Will let you know my impressions once it arrives (if you're interested).
Thanks for all the feedback.
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Cool you got one with a piezo. I feel the piezo adds more to the Bongo than to a Stingray. Adds a little something extra to the tone.
 
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#59
Well - OP again -
Just got it!
First impressions: absolutely worth every penny. Love the neck, and the single PU puts out a pretty wide variety of tones thanks to the mid/treble/bass knobs. The piezo adds a nice shimmery overtone to the mix, but I haven't found that "it sounds like an upright" - someone had mentioned that in a post at one point. Not sure how they achieved that tone, but nonetheless, I love having the addition of it for variety....I can tell after a few hours with it that it's quickly going to be my number one for gigging. Well, ok - thanks to my double Mono bag, it can share that spot with my 5 string Stingray...
IMG_0896.JPG
 
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