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THE BONGO CLUB (Part 2, 3 and infinity)

#2,421
dave64o said:
My wife retires in February. She'll be 62 and we're in decent enough financial shape to do it, but it's mostly to be able to care for her parents . She's an only child and they're needing a lot more time and care these days. I'm doing the same with my Dad (he turns 98 next weekend :jawdrop:) but at least I have three other siblings who all split that responsibility.

I'd like to retire sooner, but I'm a little concerned about how things go over in the next few years, do things improve or not, so I'm waiting a couple of years rather than adding my retirement to our situation. Maybe that new bass will be my reward for being financially responsible. :laugh:

Regarding buying used, I'm extremely patient. I haven't "needed" any of the basses I've bought, especially my Musicman's, so I was patient and waited until I found exactly what I wanted - and then bought them as soon as they popped up. You risk paying a little too much when you do that, but I was really lucky that all three were really good deals.
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I think being patient when it comes to retiring is good too... We live in such uncertain times
 
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#2,422
Repost from my NBD thread, but holy heck. I couldn’t pass up on trading for this 4HH Bongo locally. It’s one of the most comfortable instruments I’ve played, and that’s saying a lot. Side bonus is that my wife thinks it looks cool as hell. The cat, though? Lol maybe she’ll come around.
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#2,423
cataract said:
Repost from my NBD thread, but holy heck. I couldn’t pass up on trading for this 4HH Bongo locally. It’s one of the most comfortable instruments I’ve played, and that’s saying a lot. Side bonus is that my wife thinks it looks cool as hell. The cat, though? Lol maybe she’ll come around.
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Nice score! I was watching that one on Reverb. Nice to have an unpainted neck on a Bongo
 
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#2,424
cataract said:
Repost from my NBD thread, but holy heck. I couldn’t pass up on trading for this 4HH Bongo locally. It’s one of the most comfortable instruments I’ve played, and that’s saying a lot. Side bonus is that my wife thinks it looks cool as hell. The cat, though? Lol maybe she’ll come around.
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cataract - You are #42 - Welcome to the club!!
 
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#2,425
I would love to join your group if SBMM Bongos count! I've been intrigued by Bongo basses since they came out and all I can say is, I'm glad I went w/ my inner voice (never lets me down) and purchased this bass. I typically shy away from active basses and this one is "just active enough"...what an amazing bass! The comfort level is beyond anything I've ever played in 5 decades. Great neck, great sound...and now the heresy...dare I put flats on it? In any case, I look forward to reading and hearing from other Bongo bass players. Here's a pic of mine (sorry...it's the only one I have so far)~
Bongo squat.webp
 
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#2,426
pyrat56host said:
I would love to join your group if SBMM Bongos count! I've been intrigued by Bongo basses since they came out and all I can say is, I'm glad I went w/ my inner voice (never lets me down) and purchased this bass. I typically shy away from active basses and this one is "just active enough"...what an amazing bass! The comfort level is beyond anything I've ever played in 5 decades. Great neck, great sound...and now the heresy...dare I put flats on it? In any case, I look forward to reading and hearing from other Bongo bass players. Here's a pic of mine (sorry...it's the only one I have so far)~View attachment 7360671
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Nice! Lots of folks like flats on their Bongos so I say go for it if you like flats. My fav strings on my USA Bongo are Sadowsky Blue Label Stainless.
 
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#2,427
cataract said:
Repost from my NBD thread, but holy heck. I couldn’t pass up on trading for this 4HH Bongo locally. It’s one of the most comfortable instruments I’ve played, and that’s saying a lot. Side bonus is that my wife thinks it looks cool as hell. The cat, though? Lol maybe she’ll come around.
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I apologize, I was looking at the wrong list earlier - You are actually #276 in this club! Disregard my last post
 
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#2,429
pyrat56host said:
I would love to join your group if SBMM Bongos count! I've been intrigued by Bongo basses since they came out and all I can say is, I'm glad I went w/ my inner voice (never lets me down) and purchased this bass. I typically shy away from active basses and this one is "just active enough"...what an amazing bass! The comfort level is beyond anything I've ever played in 5 decades. Great neck, great sound...and now the heresy...dare I put flats on it? In any case, I look forward to reading and hearing from other Bongo bass players. Here's a pic of mine (sorry...it's the only one I have so far)~View attachment 7360671
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I have Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my Bongo 6's. Unfortunately EB does not make a 6 string set...no C strings so I use a D'Adarrio Chrome C string and the strings match well. I have D'Adarrio Chromes and TI Flats on some of my other basses. Flats work very well for me.
 
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#2,433
triviani said:
Would you have a Bongo as your only bass? In the context of a rock band.

My current Stingray is especially clanky for some reason, and I want to replace it. I would get another Stingray, but I found a Bongo (HH) at a good price, but it's an online purchase and I can't try it out first.

I can't find good Bongo demos, or stage pics for that matter (I wear basses quite low and I was trying to imagine using a Bongo on stage). The Dart video is ok, but the bass sounds a bit muffled.
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After playing my BONGO for a few months (SBMM Bongo 4), I can say definitely, yes. It is so versatile and comfortable, the neck is a dream, FOR ME. Rehearsed w/ my oldest band (35 years/hard rock w/ which I have played a variety of basses) assuming my bandmates would utterly hate it and surprisingly no one did hate it and it sounded SO good in the mix. I TRY to play my other basses but always end up grabbing the BONGO because it covers everything and more, FOR ME. I'd love to eventually try and perhaps own a BONGO 5 but if I have to grab and pick one...the BONGO wins out. Really great basses.
 
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#2,434
pyrat56host said:
After playing my BONGO for a few months (SBMM Bongo 4), I can say definitely, yes. It is so versatile and comfortable, the neck is a dream, FOR ME. Rehearsed w/ my oldest band (35 years/hard rock w/ which I have played a variety of basses) assuming my bandmates would utterly hate it and surprisingly no one did hate it and it sounded SO good in the mix. I TRY to play my other basses but always end up grabbing the BONGO because it covers everything and more, FOR ME. I'd love to eventually try and perhaps own a BONGO 5 but if I have to grab and pick one...the BONGO wins out. Really great basses.
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:thumbsup:
Is it one of the newer, oil-finished necks or the older, painted one?

The Bongo I tried a few months ago didn't work for me because, for some reason, the neck paint was too sticky. But, coincidentally, as I write this I'm waiting for another Bongo 4 to arrive. Let's see how it goes this time.
 
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#2,436
triviani said:
:thumbsup:
Is it one of the newer, oil-finished necks or the older, painted one?

The Bongo I tried a few months ago didn't work for me because, for some reason, the neck paint was too sticky. But, coincidentally, as I write this I'm waiting for another Bongo 4 to arrive. Let's see how it goes this time.
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Mine is the SBMM BONGO 4, roasted neck w/ whatever finish it has (feels nude but I'd bet it's some kind of satin finish). I am curious to try an EBMM BONGO, I'm fairly sure I would love them~
 
#2,437
I have two Bongo 6's in gloss black. The necks have a matte finish but one has been polished to a high gloss to match the body. Both necks feel great to me and are fast to play on. I also have a 6 in Blood Orange and it has an unpainted neck with the oil finish. It is similar to my Barolo Purple 5 that has a highly flamed Maple neck with the oil finish. They all feel great.

I prefer the unpainted necks because they are easy to take care of. Dents can be steamed out and the oil finish easily reapplied.

Mostly what I love about the necks is that they have no fret sprout, wonderful fret work, are stable and so easy to adjust should they need it.
 
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#2,440
Heya, fellow BONGO-nauts. I am wondering if any of you own both the EBMM BONGO and the SBMM BONGO. Aside for the obvious sound differences...what about the NECK? I got the SBMM BONGO 4 to satisfy my curiosity...I was not prepared for how this bass would change my bass world. I am in a rural area and far from any music store that would have an EBMM BONGO for me to try out...and I've playing long enough (some might say TOO long) to know when I have found "my thing". The last bass that hooked me like this was my Steinberger L2-5 in 1985. When you get one of these in your hands, you know. My question is...how different are they in feel (tactilely)? I am happy to dole out the dosh, if the feel is similar or even better. Sorry for the ramble...BONGO on~
 
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