Torn between a Fender miller bass or a MM Bongo

[slaptone]

New to the forum but am returning to bass after 25 years.I am a sax player but fancy getting my bass chops back.Been looking long and hard and will be getting a Marcus Miller fender sig bass or a MM BONGO.These are the top 2 on my list.Love that slapping sound on bass so hence my choice.I have always loved the sound and look of the musicmans and the bongo is just so sexy.Have not played a bongo but have tested a Miller sig fender and it felt nice.Any info would help.

[Machines]

They're quite different basses - what sound are you after ? You won't get a Bongo to sound like a Miller Jazz and vice versa.

[Bigwan]

Being a jazz and Bongo owner I have to say if I was in your position I'd have a hard time choosing between the two! I think the Bongo would edge it for me - it is SO tonally flexible. But the HH I have is pretty tight for slapping with the humbucket so close to the neck. An HS might be the better option.

[slaptone]

Looking for a versitile bass but also love that funky slap sound.Want a nice fast neck.Looks play a big part also and the 2 i like are the above.A MM Stingray is also on my list.Treating myself in a months time to a bass and an Ashdown combo.Also wanting a 5 string to add to my gear,fancy a peavey or a schecter but that would be no more than £200.00 if possible for now.Keeping my cash for the Miller,Bongo or stingray.

[RichF]

I own a Fender MM jazz with a John East retro fitted. It is absolutely superb, beautiful looking and the greatest Jazz I have played (I have played quite a few Fender vintage, modern and non-Fender boutique Jazzes). I didn't mind the stock Fender pre in MM so much, others hate it, but once I got the John East I was totally sold so I would just recommend you factor in a John East (£200 or so), especially for slap. I have only tried a Bongo once, great sounding (but ugly ) bass. Sounds like you have a win-win choice.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Neither are bad instruments at all.
I fall into the "Don't like the stock Fender pre-amp" camp. Plus, for some reason, I'd like a passive tone control in passive mode. That's part and parcel of what makes a passive Jazz sound the way it does (for me, at least) Otherwise, they're generally good players, if a bit of a hotch-potch aesthetically.
The two Bongos I've played were very good indeed. The combination of the Neodymium pick-ups and 4-band EQ give plenty of clout and flexibility. Fit and finish were to to the usual high EBMM standard. Having bemoaned the aesthetics of the MM, it seems out of sorts for me to say that the Bongo is fine (if a bit of an acquired taste!)
Bongo for me, but I've already got two quite different Jazzes.
Do factor in some decent strings at some point. I'm sure that something like DRs, D'Addarios, Elixirs etc. would constitute an improvement over the stock strings in either case.

[slaptone]

Thanks guys for your indepth thoughts.As i am returning to bass after many years most of the info is new to me so all your opinions helps me great.Got to get to grips with the electronic world now,spent the last 25 years blowing down my saxs.The way it looks i think if i get the miller bass and upgrade the pre amp it would still be less money than the bongo or stingray so that factor might just egde it for me.Leaves more towards an Ashdown combo,strings etc.Just got to wait a month now till funds are there,i hate waiting,hurry up please.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Check out the for sale section. Bongos come up from time to time. Millers less so, though.

[slaptone]

Well put deposit on a Fender Miller in sunburst,looks very retro,got to wait 4 weeks now to get it fully paid for.I hate waiting for gear.Looking forward to getting it for keeps.It played great when i tested it.

[RichF]

[quote name='slaptone' post='1027286' date='Nov 17 2010, 08:34 PM']Well put deposit on a Fender Miller in sunburst,looks very retro,got to wait 4 weeks now to get it fully paid for.I hate waiting for gear.Looking forward to getting it for keeps.It played great when i tested it.[/quote]

great choice - nice bass, even nicer when you get it!

I would be interested in how you get on with the stock pre and whether you decide to upgrade. I am loving the tone of my Marcus more and more each day - I got mine from Gaf on here and he had it set up nice, after a wee tweak it sounded phenomenal, just on the cusp with a touch of fret, lots of grunt. The John East just allowed me to bring out the frequencies I liked just that bit more and tone down the others, esp with the variable mid control. The frequencies are tweaked slightly from the usual jazz retro to give it just a bit more sparkle but TBH i am probably nowhere near good enough to benefit from that kind of subtlety. Anyway, enough about me - enjoy your fabulous new bass.

[slaptone]

Cheers for your advice.I checked out the J East site and i will be going that route.Will be next year for that setup.I have been checking out a Ashdown Mag 300 combo also.Looked at the electric blue ashdown 180 combo but think i will pay more dosh and get the mag 300 then the power side will be done and dusted.Have you any thoughts on the ashdown range,any help would be great.

[Fat Rich]

I recently got a very beat up Marcus Miller (clear finish) and the Fender preamp is pretty uninspiring.

To get the classic MM sound I think you need:

ANY Fender Jazz bass with vintage pickups although all maple neck may sound a little more snappy
DR Fat Beam or Hi Beam strings (the most important part of his sound IMO)
Sadowsky Preamp (haven't tried the East preamps, heard very good things about them)

And you need to be able to play rather well too!

[Vibrating G String]

Funny how often the Sadowsky pre is mentioned as being part of Marcus' sound as he plays a Bartolini. Sadowsky installed the preamp but I think only a few people can actually hear that

[Maverick]

People who have a Marcus Miller without a Sadowsky pre?

I don't think you can just say it's a case of hearing it straight off record and sayin, 'oh, listen to that lovely preamp', but the only major complaint I regularly read about the bass is that the stock preamp is rubbish and that people have got comparably more 'Miller' tones with a better preamp, be it the East one or a Sadowsky one. It's therefore become pretty much conventional wisdom that the MM needs a preamp upgrade to live up to it's potential.

It may be that people just think it sounds better and automatically assume that it must be a more Miller-esque sound perhaps, I don't know.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Maverick

[RichF]

[quote name='Maverick' post='1030178' date='Nov 20 2010, 09:54 AM']People who have a Marcus Miller without a Sadowsky pre?

I don't think you can just say it's a case of hearing it straight off record and sayin, 'oh, listen to that lovely preamp', but the only major complaint I regularly read about the bass is that the stock preamp is rubbish and that people have got comparably more 'Miller' tones with a better preamp, be it the East one or a Sadowsky one. It's therefore become pretty much conventional wisdom that the MM needs a preamp upgrade to live up to it's potential.

It may be that people just think it sounds better and automatically assume that it must be a more Miller-esque sound perhaps, I don't know.[/quote]

I wasn't that offended by the stock pre in the MM but then again i wouldn't know Marcus Miller's tone if it came up and slapped me in the fizzog. What I do know is that a John East pre in just about any bass is a step up in terms of tone and control. THis was absolutely true with my Marcus.

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='slaptone' post='1027286' date='Nov 17 2010, 08:34 PM']Well put deposit on a Fender Miller in sunburst,looks very retro,got to wait 4 weeks now to get it fully paid for.I hate waiting for gear.Looking forward to getting it for keeps.It played great when i tested it.[/quote]


I think you made the wrong choice there. The Bongo is far superior. I have the Fender Jag which is a wonderful creation, I love it to bits. However the bongo looks, plays and sounds so much better. The Marcus Miller is a decent bass, however as we know its Marcus Miller in name only as the man himself doesnt play this model with the same electrics,,,,,bit of a cop-out if you ask me.

Bongo all the way brother (still love my Jag though).

[Musicman20]

The Bongo slap tone is just....HUGE!!!

[LawrenceH]

Don't listen to them! I'm sure the bongo is lovely but as a multitude of killer funk dancefloor classics will testify, you can't go wrong with a nice ash-bodied jazz. Pre-amp change if necessary is pretty trivial. Plus, let's face it, the jazz is gonna date a lot better

[slaptone]

Well i bought a Bongo today.Dropped out the miller route.Could not resist it.The orange colour bongo it is.Wont have it for a week and a half,cant wait now.The bongo seed was just growing bigger and bigger,they do look very cool indeed and as many say the musicman sound is huge.

[RichF]

[quote name='slaptone' post='1031093' date='Nov 21 2010, 01:24 AM']Well i bought a Bongo today.Dropped out the miller route.Could not resist it.The orange colour bongo it is.Wont have it for a week and a half,cant wait now.The bongo seed was just growing bigger and bigger,they do look very cool indeed and as many say the musicman sound is huge.[/quote]

as i said above, bongo or MM? win-win. You will love your Bongo - huge tone, also ensures the new Bongo police dont get too upset. when you get it post some pics so i can check out the orange!!

Edited November 21, 2010 by RichardFoggo

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1029965' date='Nov 19 2010, 10:08 PM']Funny how often the Sadowsky pre is mentioned as being part of Marcus' sound as he plays a Bartolini. Sadowsky installed the preamp but I think only a few people can actually hear that [/quote]

Odd, I'm sure I read somewhere his main bass has a Sadowsky onboard and he runs his more collectable unmodded jazzes through the outboard version.

Either way, both the Sadowsky and Bartolini preamps have a much warmer fatter sound than the Fender version.

Back on topic, congrats on getting the Bongo, should be fantastic!

Edited November 21, 2010 by Fat Rich

[Vibrating G String]

People will say anything on the internet

Here's Marcus' take

[url="http://www.marcusmiller.com/faq.html?category=2&faqid=22&color=2"]http://www.marcusmiller.com/faq.html?categ...=22&color=2[/url]

What modifications have you made to your Jazz Bass?

I have a pre-amp installed in my Jazz - a Bartollini installed by Roger Sadowsky. Roger also installed a Bad-ass bridge.
The rest of the bass is stock.

[Busterrabbit]

Roger Sadowsky made a refinement of a preamp used by Marcus Miller which later became the "standard" Sadowsky preamp.

Of course Marcus has probably changed his setup since then, and there is no doubt that he will get bespoke basses and electronics which will probably never be available to the public.

He used to endorse EBS until last year and now he's endorsing SWR, has anyone noticed a huge difference in his sound? I haven't heard him live on anything other than Youtube so have no idea, and you simply can't tell by listening to a recording.

Most of his sound comes from his fingers and talent, get a bass you're happy with, feels right and sounds right, [i]to you[/i].

I had a couple of Wal basses back in the 80's (sold them for £500 each, ouch!!) they sounded great, once I'd mastered the dreaded paramatric tone controls, BUT, the whole thing was two frets too far to the left and is was a pain to reach octaves on the F and F#.

I bought a Levinson Blade which I thought was fantastic, it still is the best feeling/playing bass I've ever owned. When the pickups started playing up I fitted a Sadowsky preamp and my sound immediately became clearer and really stood out in the mix.

The original question basically compares basses with single coils with humbuckers/twin coils, they are different and will always be different. I have a couple of the best single coil basses ever made, and I'm now looking for one of the best with twin coils for a fatter sound, not better, just different. Rossoe or Dingwall are on the shortlist, I love the playability of the Dingwall, with it's slim neck, but the cleaner tighter sound of the Roscoe, although I'm not impressed by the feel of the neck.

Try them both, Bass Direct will usually have them in stock, and take your pick you won't be disappointed with either, but I bet you'd love both!!

[munkonthehill]

[quote name='slaptone' post='1031093' date='Nov 21 2010, 01:24 AM']Well i bought a Bongo today.Dropped out the miller route.Could not resist it.The orange colour bongo it is.Wont have it for a week and a half,cant wait now.The bongo seed was just growing bigger and bigger,they do look very cool indeed and as many say the musicman sound is huge.[/quote]

bravo sir, the bongo is a monster of a bass. Now can i also persuade you to purchase a fender jag hahahaha.

so whats the config on the bongo???? 'i have the 4 string HS. I have been wanting a Ric for ages now however I can only have 1 high end bass at a time. So the Ric is on hold as the bongo is just too good.

[danny-79]

Good choice on the Bongo!
Ive got a Bongo 5HH thats on loan to me at the minute an gotta say that i love it, apart from the four band EQ with what seems like endless possibility's of tones, with everything set flat the pick up blend alone is something else, your gonna love it !
Looking forward to pics an congrats on your score !