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Why do I suddenly want a Bongo?

D

dje31

Dec 10, 2008
622
365
Third rock from the sun
#1
Lately I've been GASsing for a Sterling 4HS, in the now-discontinued transparent orange.

Never felt the love for the Bongo...thought it was ugly as homemade sin.

Then it became like a train wreck, and I couldn't avert my gaze.

Now, for reasons I can't quite figure out, I'm compelled to have one...and have never even seen one in the flesh.

What the dilly?
 
#3
H1N1?















Just MY $0.000000000000000000002
I just don't find them comfortable - something about the geometry of the bass makes me work harder than others. I've tried comparing them to other MM bodies and they are not *that* different - but just enought different, I guess.

Dan K.
 
#4
I went through this, too. I'm still having a GAS-affair with Bongos, but as good as they sound, and as unique as they are in a world full of P- and J- clones (of wildly varying quality), I just can't see myself shelling out the cash for one, though a Stealth HH is waaaay up on my list of "If I had the $$" basses.

Point of recommendation - DON'T go and play one. It only gets worse. :-D
 
#7
compositeDec09.jpg


Does that help at all?

:p
 
#10
I have gone throught this gas(ous) phase myself. Continued to play my Sadowsky and SR5 and it went away. Still.......................:eyebrow:


dje31 said:
Lately I've been GASsing for a Sterling 4HS, in the now-discontinued transparent orange.

Never felt the love for the Bongo...thought it was ugly as homemade sin.

Then it became like a train wreck, and I couldn't avert my gaze.

Now, for reasons I can't quite figure out, I'm compelled to have one...and have never even seen one in the flesh.

What the dilly?
Click to expand...
 
#17
get it
they are soooooo cleverly designed.
they never need tweaking like a passive p or j,
hard to explain,
for me...I always had to tame the highs, use my knobs to dial I'm a sound( on most basses)
when my first bongo arrived,
I marveled at the way it sounded as soon as I plugged in.
(flat,both pickups)
from there, you are able to boost the low mids, or simply ride the pickup pan..
every recording engineer or guitar tech who's worked with it will let me know what a good bass it is. a workhorse.It honestly seems like it was designed by a bassist,the neck is a dream, I'm not crazy about the jumbo frets, that's my taste..get it, keep it. always.
i'm looking for amother color,there will always be a 4HH in my arsenal though.
 
#18
I bought a Bongo 5 HHp last summer and, in a single show, it replaced my (still very much loved) Stingray 5 HH bass as my main live 5-string.

I used to be one of these guys who originally didn't care for the aesthetics, but it's a whole different ball game as soon as you pick it up and play it. It is among the most comfortable instruments I've ever played.
 

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