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THE BONGO CLUB (Part 2, 3 and infinity)

#121
Keeping the Bongo... especially since I didn't like the HSS Reflex as much as I thought, plus it didn't hit the price in my head.

P bass is pending a local sale but I'm making a last day push today to sell it to a TBer

BONGO ADJUSTMENTS
So I figured out why my Bongo wasn't like the other one...

1st. The different amp... the Streamliner & GK cab I'm more used to & brings some serious low end that works perfectly with the Bongo

2nd. Pickup placement. My neck pickup was very low. I moved it to flush with the body vs recessed... also I raised the bridge pickup on the neck side & lowered the bridge side to emphasize the poles in the "better" position. WOW what a difference! Made it much more warm & I can favor the rear pickup more often as the tone is much more pleasing.

Did some intonation, saddle, truss work & its singing like a champ! Pumped
 
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#122
Man, this decision is so hard P Bass vs Bongo. Im not in the greatest financial position but they are both there and I have credit with the store to get one and add the rest of the money...they are both such a good price and the Bongo is so freaking cool....(but ive never played one).
 
#123
The Bongo HH is as versatile as the P bass... don't get fooled there. I dont consider the Bongo HH versatile as your window of "good tones" using the bend is rather small. The 4 band EQ is nice... but all in all the tone knob on the P is pretty versatile.

I'll take a Bongo over a P bass though...

I was rocking my cover band list with the Bongo last night (Pre-adjustments) & it was great... especially as a 5er.
 
#124
So as I mentioned in the Montreal thread, the other day I dropped by Italmélodie to try that Bongo 6 HS they had... And ended up taking it home. Which I'd been expecting, to be honest. Tone-wise, I knew that Bongos were very impressive beasts already: on Youtube, guys like Dave Marks and Felipe Campos had already made that very obvious, and trying it out myself I especially loved how you can max out the treble on the onboard EQ and get a tone that not only is usable, but even sounds great (it gets Stingray-ish edge, perhaps unsurprisingly).

But what really sold me is the playability. The bass was set up with a really high action so I didn't venture far in the higher frets (I dropped it off at a luthier's today to fix that) but in the lower registers, the neck is thin and narrow, just the way I like it. It's my first 6-string so I don't have much of a point of reference, but I did try out the 5-string version while the salesman was getting everything ready and this one's neck felt very similar to my Ibanez SR, except with a better B string (Ed Friedland was right, MusicMan B strings are excellent). And since that Ibanez is the most comfortable bass I've ever touched (seriously, it plays itself), it's a good sign.

Anyway, expect pics and maybe sound samples once I get it back with the Ibanez-low action I crave, and probably an in-mix full example the next time I do a video game arrangement collab with someone (yeah, I'm gonna spam this thread just like I did the Ibanez club, if that's fine by you ;) ).

May I have a number, or do you prefer to wait until I provide pictures?


(in related news, I tried both basses through a Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0 into a 2x10, and I loved that too)
 
#126
Tunaman said:
The Bongo HH is as versatile as the P bass... don't get fooled there. I dont consider the Bongo HH versatile as your window of "good tones" using the bend is rather small. The 4 band EQ is nice... but all in all the tone knob on the P is pretty versatile.

I'll take a Bongo over a P bass though...

I was rocking my cover band list with the Bongo last night (Pre-adjustments) & it was great... especially as a 5er.
Click to expand...

That's tough...the P bass is that old classic...a tone that "works" but if I could only have 1 bass...I'd take my HS Bongo. I think I much prefer a single coil in the neck position rather than the humbucker.

Glad to hear you've got a sale pending on the P bass.
 
#127
I could see liking the single coil at the neck. I don't think any EBMM neck pickup soloed sounds great to me IMO. I'm excited for a MIA J bass. Just gotta sell this P, buyer disappeared! Oh well

My 2nd Epifani 310 is coming in so I can't wait to hear the Epifani stack & the Bongo low B now that its been setup
 
#128
Tunaman said:
I could see liking the single coil at the neck. I don't think any EBMM neck pickup soloed sounds great to me IMO. I'm excited for a MIA J bass. Just gotta sell this P, buyer disappeared! Oh well

My 2nd Epifani 310 is coming in so I can't wait to hear the Epifani stack & the Bongo low B now that its been setup
Click to expand...

I'll disagree with you on the neck pickup comment...but not completely...I think they have a nice tone, especially on the Sterling HS and Stingray HS models, but the output isn't as good as the humbucker.

Congrats on getting another "nice" cab.
 
#133
I'm not far off of flat for anything. Just a subtle move in the EQ & you get a big tone change usually nailing exactly what you want in your mind.

I have a Sterling HH & dont use the neck H there either. Wondering about the HS but the Sterling was played all night last night & sounded fantastic. I used the Bongo 5 HH for some 5 string covers (Just a girl, Summer of 69) nice
 
#134
I have a Ray HH, Ray 5 HS and Sterling 5 HS...(along with another Ray H and a Big Al 5 SSS). The S coils on those basses are fantastic, but more so on the Big Al 5.

Most of my basses, apart from a P and J, are Musicman.

I must say, the setup on my new Stingray HH is killer (the pickups must be set exactly at the right spot because they sound perfect). I like the outer coils setting which you can't really get with a HS.

What the HS DOES have which is fantastic is the option of a neck S or a bridge S (almost Jaco-ish Jazz type tone).

Every Musicman bassist needs a HS in their arsenal.

The neck H solo'd can do that deep rootsy motown thump if you EQ correctly.

For Bongo I want a HH...just to have a tighter bridge burp.
 
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#136
This is from another thread I started...but pertains to me ordering a clear pickguard for my HS.

With my Bongo being silver...and it already having a unique appearance, I came up with a "space theme."
My wife was nice enough to draw it up, and started coloring it in...until she caught the flu...or it caught her. No rush though...the pickguard just shipped out a couple of days ago.

The Russian nesting dolls idea came to me because when I was younger I always played with the ones that my godmother had. I happened to mention this in conversation with my mother-in-law, who surprisingly bought me a very nice one that she ordered & purchased from a Russian community in the UK.

....and no...I don't have a lick of Russian in me.

pickguardonethirddone.gif
 
#137
VERY COOL! Truly one in ten zillion :)
Hope the Mrs gets well soon.

RaginRog said:
This is from another thread I started...but pertains to me ordering a clear pickguard for my HS.

With my Bongo being silver...and it already having a unique appearance, I came up with a "space theme."
My wife was nice enough to draw it up, and started coloring it in...until she caught the flu...or it caught her. No rush though...the pickguard just shipped out a couple of days ago.

The Russian nesting dolls idea came to me because when I was younger I always played with the ones that my godmother had. I happened to mention this in conversation with my mother-in-law, who surprisingly bought me a very nice one that she ordered & purchased from a Russian community in the UK.

....and no...I don't have a lick of Russian in me.

pickguardonethirddone.gif
Click to expand...
 
#139
Musicman20 said:
I have a Ray HH, Ray 5 HS and Sterling 5 HS...(along with another Ray H and a Big Al 5 SSS). The S coils on those basses are fantastic, but more so on the Big Al 5.

Most of my basses, apart from a P and J, are Musicman.

I must say, the setup on my new Stingray HH is killer (the pickups must be set exactly at the right spot because they sound perfect). I like the outer coils setting which you can't really get with a HS.

What the HS DOES have which is fantastic is the option of a neck S or a bridge S (almost Jaco-ish Jazz type tone).

Every Musicman bassist needs a HS in their arsenal.

The neck H solo'd can do that deep rootsy motown thump if you EQ correctly.

For Bongo I want a HH...just to have a tighter bridge burp.
Click to expand...

I don't like the neck humbuckets on any musician bass, though the Bongo HH is the best of the bunch.

The neck single coils on the other hand are quite good, though relative to the standard MM bridge sound makes a lot of things sound bad in comparison.
 
#140
Fellow Bongo lovers, I politely request your help! I've recently falling in love with the jazz bass tone, and while I love my Bongo dearly for most of the tones it gets, I've always been somewhat disappointed with the high end. It's hard to describe, especially as I don't have the greatest ear or experience, but my favorite tone on my 5HH is with the pickups both at 100% (middle in the blend). It just seems, though, that there isn't much high end, and I'm not a huge fan of the dialed in artificial high end you get by increasing the treble. The best I can describe is on my Warwick Stage II, it has a natural midrange and high end that, even when the treble cut back, it's very present yet warm. Does anyone know how to dial that tone in on a Bongo? Am I even making any sense here? The closest I've come is by boosting the treble and high mids while dialing back the low mids a bit and either level the bass flat or boosted ever so slightly. It's a good tone, just still missing the warm high end I am craving. Any tips?

Also, going back on the jazz bass bit...I've recently put my bongo up for trade for a nice jazz, but I do love the way the bongo plays (at least while standing, not super comfortable when sitting), and it would obviously be cheaper to just stick with what I have. Is it possible to cop at least a semi-decent jazz growl out of a bongo HH? I know I know, totally different pickups and placement and everything, so I'm not going for absolute perfection, just something similar to maybe tide me over and help me keep the bongo and not try and change things around. Help is greatly appreciated!
 

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