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THE BONGO CLUB (Part 2, 3 and infinity)

#2,463
Didn't see if pyrat56host was able to join with his Sterling, so I'm not sure if I can either? Love the look of this bass, love the fat neck... and that's about it so far unfortunately 😆
PXL_20251125_203934888.jpg
 
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#2,464
ninjatanzen said:
Didn't see if pyrat56host was able to join with his Sterling, so I'm not sure if I can either? Love the look of this bass, love the fat neck... and that's about it so far unfortunately 😆View attachment 7413949
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Looks great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine!! Still no official OK from the club...perhaps I have to post more pictures (I don't have a fancy phone for photos)...in any case, I'm a BONGO-naut~
 
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#2,465
pyrat56host said:
Looks great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine!! Still no official OK from the club...perhaps I have to post more pictures (I don't have a fancy phone for photos)...in any case, I'm a BONGO-naut~
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I actually regret this bass purchase, but am hoping I can like it in time. It might be what I use to justify better tools for setting up basses. I'm not a pro and am sure most can do a better setup than me. On most basses I've owned (and guitars) I've been able to setup to my liking. This one... not so much. Biggest issues being fret buzz, poor action, terrible neck dive, doesn't stay in tune, black hardware tuners having issues already, and hard to play in a seated position (wants to slide off my leg to the right).

What I DO like about the bass. Looks nice, the neck is fat and smooth, I had no interest from local resale so I plan to not worry about "abusing" this bass. Aka, play it and have fun without worrying about accidental damage.
 
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#2,466
ninjatanzen said:
Didn't see if pyrat56host was able to join with his Sterling, so I'm not sure if I can either? Love the look of this bass, love the fat neck... and that's about it so far unfortunately 😆View attachment 7413949
Click to expand...

From my understanding when I took over the numbering assignments, this is for Ernie Ball MusicMan Bongo only. I would have to defer to the other members of the club if it's OK to add Sterling models to this club but from what I've seen, the Sterlings normally have their own separate clubs.

Perhaps it's a good time if you or pyrat56host want to start a Sterling Bongo club :)
 
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#2,467
Crusher47 said:
From my understanding when I took over the numbering assignments, this is for Ernie Ball MusicMan Bongo only. I would have to defer to the other members of the club if it's OK to add Sterling models to this club but from what I've seen, the Sterlings normally have their own separate clubs.

Perhaps it's a good time if you or pyrat56host want to start a Sterling Bongo club :)
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That seems reasonable. From what I hear our Sterlings aren't anything close to the real thing. I'll stay in my lane ;)
 
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#2,468
Crusher47 said:
From my understanding when I took over the numbering assignments, this is for Ernie Ball MusicMan Bongo only. I would have to defer to the other members of the club if it's OK to add Sterling models to this club but from what I've seen, the Sterlings normally have their own separate clubs.

Perhaps it's a good time if you or pyrat56host want to start a Sterling Bongo club :)
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I am certain I'll have an EBMM BONGO at some point. I certainly didn't mean to try and shove my way into this club...it's just great to see and share w/ those that belong to such a small group. My apologies~
 
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#2,473
PrimitiveMan said:
I'd love to try the new totally maple neck Bongos
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I first got a new Bongo two weeks ago from Alto Music - but it had some problems, and ended up being used or returned, sold as new. The neck had some problems, namely fret sprout and the back of the neck felt very raw, like it never received the tru-oil / wax treatment at the factory.

I returned it and got this one from Musicians Friend, and it arrived yesterday. The neck feels much nicer on this one. I have ten EBMM guitars & basses, most with roasted maple necks and those necks feel slightly better. The only other un-roasted maple neck I have is on a EMBB Reflex guitar, which also feels slightly better. I'm tempted to put on another layer of Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax like they use at the factory, but will probably play it for a while first before deciding. Don't get me wrong; if the average EBMM neck feels like a '10', this feels like a 8 to 9, still damn good.

I understand the aesthetic look they were going for on the Mantis Green / raw maple combination, but I would have preferred roasted maple.
 
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#2,474
MarkF786 said:
I first got a new Bongo two weeks ago from Alto Music - but it had some problems, and ended up being used or returned, sold as new. The neck had some problems, namely fret sprout and the back of the neck felt very raw, like it never received the tru-oil / wax treatment at the factory.

I returned it and got this one from Musicians Friend, and it arrived yesterday. The neck feels much nicer on this one. I have ten EBMM guitars & basses, most with roasted maple necks and those necks feel slightly better. The only other un-roasted maple neck I have is on a EMBB Reflex guitar, which also feels slightly better. I'm tempted to put on another layer of Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax like they use at the factory, but will probably play it for a while first before deciding. Don't get me wrong; if the average EBMM neck feels like a '10', this feels like a 8 to 9, still damn good.

I understand the aesthetic look they were going for on the Mantis Green / raw maple combination, but I would have preferred roasted maple.
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Glad you got a better one! It's frustrating to spend so much on a bass and it have a QC issue. Generally ebmm is very good but I've seen a few lemons. Still better than most production basses

I'm more curious about the maple fingerboard, I've had rosewood and ebony board Bongos, but never maple
 
#2,475
For those that own both, how’s the action on a Bongo in comparison to a Stingray Special?

For the two special 5s that I own the action as a wee bit high and that’s as low as it’s gonna go without shimming… is it the same for the Bongos or can the action be nice and low?
 
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#2,477
Barticus said:
For those that own both, how’s the action on a Bongo in comparison to a Stingray Special?

For the two special 5s that I own the action as a wee bit high and that’s as low as it’s gonna go without shimming… is it the same for the Bongos or can the action be nice and low?
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All my EBMM 5-string basses have similar action: StingRays, StingRay Specials, StingRay Classic and Bongo. None have required shims.
 
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#2,479
Barticus said:
For those that own both, how’s the action on a Bongo in comparison to a Stingray Special?

For the two special 5s that I own the action as a wee bit high and that’s as low as it’s gonna go without shimming… is it the same for the Bongos or can the action be nice and low?
Click to expand...

I have had a few of both the Specials and Bongos, it varies a little from bass to bass, but mine all setup pretty similar. I've never needed a shim thankfully.
 
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