First thoughts on my new Bongo

**lebowsky** · 05-24-2007, 06:42 PM

Hey people!

I finally pulled the trigger and got my first Bongo!

4HSP, Teal w/black pg... pics to follow when I can get some decent ones, mobile phone is teh crap and she doesn't deserve it

Anyways, I played it 4 hours this evening and here's how it felt:

Playing:
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OMGTHISWASNICE!!!!!!!! Sweetest neck I ever played. Fast, easy to play, got used to the 2 octaves pretty easily. The shaps is hella cool, the body feels good. Weight balance is just perfect. I can't say how much I am pleased with it at his point.

Sound:
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This where it hurts a little more. Well I doubt it's a problem with the bass, but anyway. My rig is an Eden WT-400, with a 2x12'' + tweeter cab. But after 4 hours of playing and fiddling with the various knobs, I haven't been able to find a sound that I like yet. I first tried with everything on both the amp and the bass flat. Then adjusted the Bongo knobs a little (I have started by using both magnet pickups at full, ignoring the piezo for now). But it was really hard to find _the_ sound in my head. I managed to find a rather good adjustment between my amp EQ and bass treble for the G an D strings, but the E and A ones were just not satisfactory. Either too low, too flat, no "balls". Dunno how to say it. I played it at the shop firs,t with a much crappier amp, and it's actually sounded much better!! lol. So.... I don't know. Maybe I'm an idiot at EQing hehe

.

If anyone has any EQ suggestion, you are welcome to do so. For now, I have been trying with treble at max, bass at 80%, and flat mids on the bongo.

I have to admit I had much less trouble finding a good sound quickly when playing passive instruments. Just a couple knob turns on the amp and it was fine - but it seems just not work easily for the moment.

Got band practice tomorrow, will see what this beast holds

**HELLonWHEELS** · 05-24-2007, 08:04 PM

i have a 5HSP and this is my favorite EQ

Peizo- Up down(past flat)

Pick ups- A bit to the rear

Treble- Flat

High Mids- Boosted 1/4

Low Mids- Flat

Bass- Flat( boost for a warmer sound)

On my GK amp my settings are

Bass- Down a bit

Low Mid- Up a bit

High Mid- Up about 1/8

treble- down a bit

**tkarter** · 05-24-2007, 08:32 PM

Leave everything flat on the amp and bongo. Set the knobs on it to the detent. The E string will growl and have sound for days.

imho

tk

**Big Poppa** · 05-24-2007, 08:35 PM

First off play it with a band and secondly if this is your first active bass you will have to get used to the extra gobs of eq you have never had before.

**bovinehost** · 05-24-2007, 11:23 PM

My rig is an Eden WT-400, with a 2x12'' + tweeter cab.

I have tried to love Eden stuff, I really have. I had a WT-400 and I think a 550, I can't remember now, but I have a friend who swears by Eden, so I tried.

But those heads have some weird low-mid bump that I just can't deal with, and I've had my fair share of amplifiers, to be sure.

All I can say is if Eden works for you, I won't argue. But I could never get MY sound from an Eden head, and I really wanted to.

Jack

**lebowsky** · 05-25-2007, 03:15 AM

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yeah I guess it's a mix between getting used to all the given possibilities and not being impatient

I have tried to love Eden stuff, I really have. I had a WT-400 and I think a 550, I can't remember now, but I have a friend who swears by Eden, so I tried.

But those heads have some weird low-mid bump that I just can't deal with, and I've had my fair share of amplifiers, to be sure.

All I can say is if Eden works for you, I won't argue. But I could never get MY sound from an Eden head, and I really wanted to.

Jack

yeah, I had no problem with it at the beginning, but when it also took me quite some hours to find a good EQ setting with my passive bass actually. usually I leave it to my awesome tech to deal with that stuff during gigs, but now that I got a beast in my hands I want to have a city-wiper sound in my jam place as well... band mates are not gonna be happy haha

If I can't find a satisfactory sound within the next weeks I'll investigate the possibility to get another head. Cause I don't think a 2x12" cab isn't enough to play in a rehearsal place.

**adouglas** · 05-25-2007, 03:28 AM

Originally Posted by lebowsky

Cause I don't think a 2x12" cab isn't enough to play in a rehearsal place.

Don't you dare not report that to your Department of Double Negativity.

BP is spot on...play it with the band and make your EQ adjustments based on what makes the whole band sound good.

You can go nuts and spend many hours on your own looking for perfect tone, only to find out that it gets lost in the band mix. What sounds good soloed often (I'd go so far as to say "usually") does not sound good in the mix...and (this is the important part) vice versa. When you nail that mix with the band, you may find that the solo tone isn't as pleasing as you'd like. It took me years to realize this.

What's important is how you sound in the mix.

FWIW, my settings (Bongo 5 HHP):

Magnetic pickups centered
About 25 percent piezo, maybe a touch more
Low mids boosted, maybe 20 percent
Everything else flat most of the time

These vary a bit, but most of the time it's in that neighborhood.

A bit of mid boost on the amp to taste, otherwise flat. I have a *very* different amp, so I won't bore you with details on that front.

You can see a pattern here...most people are leaving things flat except for the mids, and those get boosted. Mids are important for cutting through the mix. Too much bass makes mud. Too much treble makes your teeth hurt. Not enough mids makes your sound to a magical vanishing act when the band starts playing. Mids are where it's at, baby.

**meeder2** · 05-25-2007, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by Big Poppa

First off play it with a band and secondly if this is your first active bass you will have to get used to the extra gobs of eq you have never had before.

I second that, sometimes I don't like the tone I'm getting until soundcheck starts.
Certain amps don't sound invigorating to me when I plug the bongo into them .
Hang in there with it. Like BP said: bongos are for secure players.

**lebowsky** · 05-28-2007, 08:58 AM

Well I spent the whole week-end playing. First conclusion: I was waaaay too loud the first time lol. Also took your advice adouglas, and conetrated on the mids - could see the difference quite quickly.

The only thing I wasn't able to achieve (yet?) was to find a tone that would work for both finger play as well as slapping without having to change any knobs.

Nevertheless I am sooo glad to have made that move. This Bongo is just pure awesomeness to play!!