SBMM Bongo

[Kev]

5 hours ago, NickA said:

Quite .... why would you buy a downgraded version.  In some cases the east Asian versions are just as good ( or better ..eg Squire in some examples) but when they're using cheaper woods, simpler construction and downgraded parts..... just buy a nice used original, it's not like they wear out ( tho my 23yr old Warwick does need new pots)

 

Not only that, but buy a used original, the way things are now it'll probably be worth more if you move it on in a few years, whereas a SBMM will get you back half your investment maybe.

 

5 hours ago, Russ said:

Used Bongos are quite rare, and not cheap. The people who like them REALLY like them and tend not to part with them. I sold two of mine for the same money I paid for them.  

 

This new SBMM version is probably down to the Bongo having somewhat higher visibility in recent times, with the likes of all-bass Australian prog outfit The Omnific using them.

 

I've seen plenty whilst looking at the Musicman used market around the £1400 mark in the last 12 months, the difficulty is more getting one in the finish you want.  

 

I'd expect they'll probably sell well, at least initially, I just wish we didn't get such a bad end of the deal price wise.  $699 would be fantastic, even with VAT on top.  It wasn't that long ago we used to moan about $=£ and the exchange rate, now that would be a dream!

[NancyJohnson]

I loved my old 5HH, but the EQ was mental on it, which kind of ruined the experience.  Admittedly, I adore the shape, but at £3K+ for a MM, nah.

 

My only real opinion on any Sterling vs Music Man debate is that I've seen a few MM Stingrays live and I've seen a handful of Sterling Stingrays in action and while they look similar, the Sterling models are just missing something tonally; quite thin, not as full and not as burpy as the Music Man models.  Now this might be down to Sterling users not sharing the same level of attention to set up/tone in as much of that curated by Music Man owners, but they just didn't have the oomph/rumble.

 

I suppose if I could coerce my brother-in-law to pick up one at sub-$800, then maybe it could be a decent platform for customisation, but that would obviously come later. 

[horrorshowbass]

Saying $699-899 on website so what are we saying £1200 in UK?🫠

Be nice not have to sell a kidney to try a bongo.

 

[horrorshowbass]

No preamp is saving this G string

 

 

[Twigman]

On 18/01/2025 at 01:51, Russ said:

My big wish is for MM to add the Bongo to their customisation tool. They make far less of them than they do Stingrays, so surely offering them in custom colours should be much easier?

 

Have you tried emailing Ernie Ball?

I'm a huge fan of the EBMM Sterling, having a 4HH with a matching headstock.

Anyway - it seems they've stopped making the Sterling and it's not available via the customisation tool either.

I was curious as to whether I could get myself another Sterling 4HH to my specs so I emailed them.

I got a quote about 4 days later for an ex-works price for what I had specified.

Once I added shipping and import taxes and fees we were looking at north of £3.5k! - a bit rich for me but they did quote and would do it.

Perhaps they'd do the same for a Bongo special.

Edited January 23 by Twigman

[Killerfridge]

1 hour ago, horrorshowbass said:

No preamp is saving this G string

 

 

That's just a feature of all 5 string MusicMans (MusicMen?). A G string you have to hold on to for dear life to stop it slipping off the frets!

[Beedster]

18 minutes ago, Killerfridge said:

That's just a feature of all 5 string MusicMans (MusicMen?). A G string you have to hold on to for dear life to stop it slipping off the frets!

A feature is, for example 4-band EQ

 

That’s not a feature, that’s a design flaw and it’s shocking how many leave the factory like that 

[Russ]

1 hour ago, Twigman said:

 

Have you tried emailing Ernie Ball?

I'm a huge fan of the EBMM Sterling, having a 4HH with a matching headstock.

Anyway - it seems they've stopped making the Sterling and it's not available via the customisation tool either.

I was curious as to whether I could get myself another Sterling 4HH to my specs so I emailed them.

I got a quote about 4 days later for an ex-works price for what I had specified.

Once I added shipping and import taxes and fees we were looking at north of £3.5k! - a bit rich for me but they did quote and would do it.

Perhaps they'd do the same for a Bongo special.

I did, a while ago. They said no, basically.  Even when I offered to buy two! You'd think that might be worth their while. 

 

I also mentioned it on the EB forums - Sterling is known to reply to comments on there from time to time, but tumbleweeds, alas. 

[Killerfridge]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

A feature is, for example 4-band EQ

 

That’s not a feature, that’s a design flaw and it’s shocking how many leave the factory like that 

Sorry, my dry humour once again appears to have been too dry

[drTStingray]

7 hours ago, horrorshowbass said:

No preamp is saving this G string

 

 

And no pre amp or anything else will save such sh*te photography. But also, the strings align over the pick ups on real Bongos, and the pick ups do not have cut outs between the two upper screws like those. So is it a real Bongo at all? Anyway it’s certainly spreading disinformation…….the Bongo is a very well built and designed bass in terms of functionality and sound. 
 

5 string Musicman basses have 17.5 mm string spacing - the strings are relatively close to the edge of the fretboard but this doesn’t trouble people who don’t have the sort of technique that involves grabbing the neck like it’s a club and pulling down on the strings thus pulling the G string over the edge of the frets - I’ve always wondered how people blessed with such technique manage to play the other strings pulled downwards in tune - perhaps they only thump the strings without any discernible note so it’s not noticeable 😂🥴

[dub_junkie]

I've had a fair number of ebmm 5 string basses and I've only ever pulled the G off the board once iirc. Was after a couple of years away being seduced by multi laminate woods, fan frets, single cuts and the like I came back to a Stingray 5 and managed it. Only the once mind but I play with a fairly light touch anyway. 

[horrorshowbass]

On 23/01/2025 at 22:56, drTStingray said:

And no pre amp or anything else will save such sh*te photography. But also, the strings align over the pick ups on real Bongos, and the pick ups do not have cut outs between the two upper screws like those. So is it a real Bongo at all? Anyway it’s certainly spreading disinformation…….the Bongo is a very well built and designed bass in terms of functionality and sound. 
 

5 string Musicman basses have 17.5 mm string spacing - the strings are relatively close to the edge of the fretboard but this doesn’t trouble people who don’t have the sort of technique that involves grabbing the neck like it’s a club and pulling down on the strings thus pulling the G string over the edge of the frets - I’ve always wondered how people blessed with such technique manage to play the other strings pulled downwards in tune - perhaps they only thump the strings without any discernible note so it’s not noticeable 😂🥴

My post had absolutely nothing to do with pulling off G strings off necks, merely their alignment with the pickups which to be fair is an issue on a lot of stingray 4s as well so maybe more forgiveable in a budget brand.

The 4 is actually fine and will probably get one but I'll not offend @drTStingrayeyes with a photo.

[Woodinblack]

I never pulled the string off the bongo, but not sure why you would do that anyway, its not close enough to the edge unless you were playing with quite a lot of sideways force -I guess intentionally bending the string out, and as I played guitar before I know you bend the string up when bending on that side

[Beedster]

On 23/01/2025 at 22:56, drTStingray said:

But also, the strings align over the pick ups on real Bongos

 

Well, they certainly didn't on mine. I took it to a tech - a member here - to look at and we decided in cutting and installing a new nut to keep the G string on the board and to get it closer to the pole pieces, which is far from ideal on a bass at that price point. OK, this was a fair while back (2010ish) and I imagine they got on top of it, but I remember at the time there were a few people here and on TB said they'd had similar issues. 

 

But yes, they are otherwise beautifully designed and engineered instruments, it always seemed very odd that despite the evident quality in 99% of the instrument, that more than a few of them had this issue. 

[acidbass]

How did EBMM finally get string alignment right after 40 years of negligence, yet persist with poor alignment on these designs? Woeful.

[drTStingray]

10 hours ago, acidbass said:

How did EBMM finally get string alignment right after 40 years of negligence, yet persist with poor alignment on these designs? Woeful.

I find some of these posts quite extraordinary - I’ve got 15 Musicman basses and only two have any semblance of strings not aligning across the centre of pole pieces.

 

One is a 2 pick up Stingray from 2007 where the strings don’t align exactly across the centres of the poles on the neck pick up. I suspect it’s because the pick up is the same as the bridge one but as the neck one is closer to the nut than the bridge one the strings can’t align in the same way - however for the Stingray Specials they align centrally on the pole pieces on both pick ups….. excellent for the OCD bassist but frankly not making an iota of difference sonically. As noted below….

 

The second one is an Old Smoothy which has the strings aligned between the pole pieces as a deliberate part of the design and works fine - can still be shrill if you want it to be.

 

My basses have generally all been bought new and have thus not had excessive tinkering!! However tinkering with things like alignment or relative height of bridge saddles, pick up heights or slants etc can have a marked effect on how the strings appear to travel across pole pieces - and make sure you view them from directly above as viewing angle makes a difference.

 

For those of us old guys, it’s a bit like cars in the 70s and 80s - most people couldn’t afford to have them professionally maintained so did it themselves - sometimes very badly - I lost count of the number of badly adjusted pairs of carburettors I came across……. not wishing to suggest everyone is like this, but frankly people tinkering with musical instruments can result in very similar effects. 
 

As for OCD people, I find it extraordinary they can moan about design errors (which arguably are not, and in some cases are most certainly user error - to put it mildly) whilst everyone’s favourite two pick up single coil guitars and basses demonstrate that appalling hum when you turn the treble up - but no one bats an eyelid!!! Talk about design errors 😂😂😀