Faithless Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Hey BC folks, I've got this put on sale by my friend locally. I think I held it in my hands for like 30 seconds, all I remember was action was too high.. I'm not an MM expert by any means, so I need Basschat's help - what can I expect from this bass sonic-wise, tech-wise? I'm a session bass-player, doing exclusively pop/rnb stuff, so I need a comfortable ride, modern sound (mid-heavy) and good EQ capabilities on hand. What preamps do these Bongo's usually feature? Can I expect versatility from these pups? How its different from an active Jazz Bass? It is priced at 1400 quid - is the price fair for this instrument? I'm looking forward to your opinions - it will join alongside my trusted Mayones Jabba 5 Jazz Bass! Thank you 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Bottom line is that the price is good. You will be able to sell on again for the same money. The preamp is only available in a Bongo and is super beefy. How would it compare to an active Jazz? Probably crisper? I hate using words to describe sound to will go no further. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Very nice! I like them a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Owen said: Bottom line is that the price is good. You will be able to sell on again for the same money. The preamp is only available in a Bongo and is super beefy. How would it compare to an active Jazz? Probably crisper? I hate using words to describe sound to will go no further. I see. I'm just curious if it will provide me with a different sound pallete than an active J with Aggie OBP-3 can. Having said that, can I expect 3-band eq on Bongo pre? Edited February 21 by Faithless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 1 minute ago, fretmeister said: Very nice! I like them a great deal. What do you like about them in particular? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 3 minutes ago, Faithless said: What do you like about them in particular? Easy to play, versatile sound. I'd put flatwounds on it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) The Bongo is 4-band EQ, I thought? Edit -> Indeed it is. Full specs and plenty of sound samples here https://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses/bongo-4 Edited February 21 by Doctor J 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) The HH (and discontinued HS) basses are 4 band EQ - the rarer H version is 3 band (note the John Myung signature is quite different). That is a very good price and a nice colour. As previously stated, you could easily get your money back and more possibly. Bongos are very versatile basses and can do quite traditional bass sounds (in the right hands with the right technique) and very modern sounds - they’re very versatile and quite the looker, in a live setting. In terms of playability the neck is very similar in feel to a Stingray 5 but with 24 frets. Very nice bass. Edited February 21 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (I have a Bongo 6) Every time I play it, it makes me laugh, but in a good way. They've just got endless headroom from the pickup/EQ combination- Neo, 4 band and 18v to boot. You can get quite old- school tones if you dial back the bass, treble and a bit off the upper-mid. Conversely, it'll djent or slap quite happily. Not sure it can "rip off" any other basses, not even a Ray. It does its own thing. And very well, too. They're well-made, even the six balances ok without it being too heavy. The neck is very quick- they're normally painted, which can be a deal-breaker for some. Frets are stainless and last well. All in all they're underrated, partly because of the aesthetics, which some don't like. £1400 is pretty good, and if you don't like it, you'll likely recoup that if you sell it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 I've had 18v pre's before - I remember them eating batteries for breakfast, but, yeah, they are very versatile things with huge headroom. Thats good. As for shape and colour, I like the quirkyness of it, though, this particular colour is infamous in my country (there's this old infamous singer/bassplayer, who got exact same bass, and everyone already says its 'his' bass.. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Just buy it. Weird looks but superb do almost anything bass. Sonically comparable to a Wal which would be 5x or more the price...just doesn't look as nice. If you don't like it, I'll buy it off you at cost 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 I've owned 4 Bongos (but am currently down to one), so I know them quite well. They're unmistakably Music Man basses. They have that extremely distinctive upper-mid bite that MMs are known for, and solid, wide bottom end you can stand on. The pickups and preamp are extremely powerful, with a ton of headroom and almost every kind of tone you'd ever want is in there somewhere, between the two pickups and the 4-band EQ. Ergonomically, they're a little weird. They don't sit all that well on the knee, but they're well balanced, reasonable in terms of weight, and have slim, comfortable necks. Overall, they're great basses. And that's a good price. I say go for it, you aren't likely to be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 My Bongo 5 had an awful problem with the top string running off the fretboard, which was not only very annoying but apparently quite common. Looks like yours might suffer from this also so could need some work at the nut which is how I corrected mine But as others have said, lovely instruments 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 1 hour ago, Beedster said: My Bongo 5 had an awful problem with the top string running off the fretboard, which was not only very annoying but apparently quite common. Looks like yours might suffer from this also so could need some work at the nut which is how I corrected mine But as others have said, lovely instruments 👍 Could you elaborate on that? You mean the G string just snaps off its place at the nut? My Jabba was also prominent in G string issues (tuning peg, not sitting properly when mounting string) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 6 minutes ago, Faithless said: Could you elaborate on that? You mean the G string just snaps off its place at the nut? My Jabba was also prominent in G string issues (tuning peg, not sitting properly when mounting string) No just too close to the edge of the board and as the bridge allowed no adjustment I had a new nut cut and installed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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