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To all you Bongo owners out there

Which Bongo PUP config is your favorite?

  • HH

    Votes: 30 62.5%

  • HS

    Votes: 15 31.3%

  • H

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Total voters
    48
homeslice1479

homeslice1479

Jun 23, 2009
25
13
Cheraw, SC
#1
I am seriously considering a Bongo 6, but I'm having a devil of a time trying to compare the HH and HS models side by side. No YouTube videos of anyone doing that, and my local GC is devoid of Bongos of any kind.

To you lucky owners of Bongos, what kind do you have, and do you like it? Has anyone actually compared those two models in person? All I'm looking for is any information/opinions I can get, since I can't really play them myself.

Many thanks, and sorry if this has been asked before. I did search before I posted it.
 
#3
Your purchase should be based on the type of sound you are looking for.

I have a Stealth HH 6 string and I think it sounds awesome. It's a very versatile bass.

H/H are two dual-coil pickups. Thus, based on the natural tone of dual-coil pickups, my HH bongo sounds a bit burpy. (Similar to a Cirrus and a Ken Smith; not exactly but somewhat reminiscent). Explanation: In my observation, the B, E, and A strings have a raw yet modern type of sound. The D, G, and C strings have a burpy type of sound. Therefore, it's almost like having the fretboard split between two different type of basses. Kind of weird yet awesome because it adds to the bass's versatility. Also, the Bongo H/H pickups are quite powerful pickups. Part of that is the fact that each pickup has two coils, thus presumably almost double the output of a single-coil.

The H/S uses a dual-coil pickup and a single-coil pickup. Thus, the sound you would get is a mix of both types of sounds. Here's a video of Ed Friedland demoing an H/S model:

For some reason, Bongo basses have been gathering a lot of attention lately and a lot of people are in the market for them.
 
#4
I also have a HH Stealth 6er, but I didn't vote because I haven't played the other kinds.

Bongostealth said it great when he said the pickups are very powerful. I had to drop them a great deal to get the tone I wanted and EBMM recommends setting them much lower than you would other passive pickups.

I wanted to add that the HH Bongo is VERY sensitive to how you have the pickups set. I thought my bass sounded like crap when I got it. It was all mud and blazing highs with no mids. When I dropped the pickups down a ton and worked on the setup for about a week I finally have it sounding great. I also got some really good advice here on TB about starting with the bass cut. There is way too much bass in the preamp for my tastes and it sounds much clearer and punchier with the bass cut a bit.


Finally, the only thing I wish this bass had was a passive tone control.


They're great basses and I haven't played anything even close for the money.



Michael
 
#5
bongostealth said:
Your purchase should be based on the type of sound you are looking for.

I have a Stealth HH 6 string and I think it sounds awesome. It's a very versatile bass.

H/H are two dual-coil pickups. Thus, based on the natural tone of dual-coil pickups, my HH bongo sounds a bit burpy. (Similar to a Cirrus and a Ken Smith; not exactly but somewhat reminiscent). Explanation: In my observation, the B, E, and A strings have a raw yet modern type of sound. The D, G, and C strings have a burpy type of sound. Therefore, it's almost like having the fretboard split between two different type of basses. Kind of weird yet awesome because it adds to the bass's versatility. Also, the Bongo H/H pickups are quite powerful pickups. Part of that is the fact that each pickup has two coils, thus presumably almost double the output of a single-coil.

The H/S uses a dual-coil pickup and a single-coil pickup. Thus, the sound you would get is a mix of both types of sounds. Here's a video of Ed Friedland demoing an H/S model:

For some reason, Bongo basses have been gathering a lot of attention lately and a lot of people are in the market for them.
Click to expand...


So doesn't it present a musical problem when you're playing lines that encompass one or more of the lower strings, and one or more of the upper strings? Does it not sound disruptive in some sense, when the tonal character of the instrument changes, depending on the strings you play?

(Peavey Cirrus and Ken Smith basses are pretty hi-fi. I had no idea that a Bongo could sound that hi-fi... :hmm:)

MM
 
#6
MysticMichael said:
So doesn't it present a musical problem when you're playing lines that encompass one or more of the lower strings, and one or more of the upper strings? Does it not sound disruptive in some sense, when the tonal character of the instrument changes, depending on the strings you play?

(Peavey Cirrus and Ken Smith basses are pretty hi-fi. I had no idea that a Bongo could sound that hi-fi... :hmm:)

MM
Click to expand...

Although this is a valid concern, curiously enough both types of sounds work very well together. IMHO, the difference in sound really becomes apparent when you are slapping and popping, but, like I said, they work beautifully together.

The bass does sound hi-fi, but in a raw Music Man type of way. It's a great mix of old and new with regards to the Music Man realm.
 
#7
I've OWNED a Bongo HS..I know OWN a BONGO H

I find the H MORE versatile than the HS...that's Me

HOW?

I really didn't dig the HS...Humbucker sound soloed...To ME..again, my experience, and not 'the law'...was that i HAD to blend both pickups...the Neck pickup was killer..the bucker was just very barky, so I would never use it soled..it wasn't the MusicMan sound at all, to my ears. I like that sound

The HS to me was very cool..has a RIC like sound to it...if you know how to use the EQ...and it does take time to figure it out.

The H has been described as 'point and shoot', which seems oversimplified...Every sound is useable and great.

My Bongo H sounds like a SUPER P bass...all that's good, everything you love about the P sound..and you get a little bit more.

But that's my opinion.
 
#8
Thanks for all the great feedback. I'm leaning more towards the HS, since I'm a fan of single-coils over humbuckers, but I'm hearing good things about the HH's so I'll do my best to look into those. As for the H, if it's anything like Stingrays, I would hate it. I just can't get over where that pup is positioned on the body, and I don't like resting my thumb on it and having to play that far down. That might sound like a nit-picky complaint, but it REALLY throws my groove off, so I've just chosen to let them be; no offense of course to owners of single H basses.
 
#10
I had a a 4HH. The one thing that really bugged me: on the HH (and maybe the HS), bridge pickup is closer to the bridge than on the H. This means, on the H model you can get very close to the Stingray sound. On the HH and maybe HS, you can't. The bridge pickup soloed is thin sounding compared to the sound of the H model.

These days I go for a more old-school sound, but if I were to get another Bongo it would be an H model, for the sweet-spot pickup placement.
 
#11
My first Bongo was an HH4. Then I ordered an HS 5. To my ears it had a lot more versatility than the HH, and was able to get more traditional tones than the HH Bongo. Alas, there was an issue with that bass, and I wound up exchanging it for an HH. Regretted doing that for the entire time I owned the HH. The HH has a lot of output, and at times it was difficult to tame.

Got myself another HS about a year ago and couldn't be happier. For me there are are more usuable tone in the HS, and it I just like the palette of sounds better than the HH. Think it looks cooler too.

Never played a single H, but agree that bridge pickup on the others doesn't really put out the burpy Stingray sound. Definitely more barky, but I like barky. :) Would love to have a go at a single H, but I really need to thin my herd over here.

Last note, while I can understand somebody possibly preferring the sound of a single H to an HH or HS, I have a rough time believing it to be more versatile. But again, I never played one.
 
#12
Playing around with the pickup height does make a difference, in fact I'll tilt my pickup to change my tone.

I got a killer deal on a 5HH & never looked back but if I was buying new I would most likely go HS or maybe H but only if I could try it first.
 
#16
smeet said:
So why didn't they leave the bridge pickup in the sweet spot for HH and HS models??? They did for the stingray...
Click to expand...

Probably because in the dual-pickup models, the pair of pickups is intended to function as a complete system, with the front pickup complementing the rear pickup, and vice-versa.

Think about it: If you've got all that phat, deep, powerful tone of the front pickup, then the crisper, brighter tone of the rear pickup, positioned relatively closer to the bridge, is a much better complement than is the "little of this, little of that" positioning of the single H pickup. EBMM actually got it right, so far as I can see.

That said, if I were in the market for a fretted Bongo, my choice would be the HH model. And if I were in the market for a fretless Bongo, my choice would be the single H + piezo model. :cool:

MM
 
#17
For me, they didn't get it right.
The neck H was too fat, I would like it a bit closer to the bridge.
The bridge pickup was too thin, I would like it a bit farther from the bridge.

I feel they got a good "both pickups full on" sound, but they lost 2 really good single pickup sounds.

But unlike a lot of people, I don't usually run a 2-pickup bass with both pickups full on, so maybe I'm in the minority.
 
#19
I have the 4 HH and yes you do have to tame the beast. I roll off a bit of the highs and lows on the amp EQ and give a slight boost to the mids on the bass itself with the high an low at mid position. Gives me my main tone with my rig that satisfies. It took me some time to get it right.

I was primarily a passive player before the Bongo and it is a different thought process than with the P where you just dime the volume and off you go. Running the Bongo wide open is dangerous!
 
#20
smeet said:
But unlike a lot of people, I don't usually run a 2-pickup bass with both pickups full on, so maybe I'm in the minority.
Click to expand...

All my bass guitars are two-pickup models, and while I almost always use both pickups simultaneously, I don't always run them both "full on". There is a difference, after all, between "on" and "full on".

Runnerman said:
Running the Bongo wide open is dangerous!
Click to expand...

Exactamundo...

MM
 

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