In praise of the Bongo!

[Psycho Ward]

Well, its in a class of its own BP, an excellent instrument that goes one step further. I'm proud to own mine. Thank you very much!

[laneline]

Deaj, I'm in a similar situation except I have Osteoarthritis and Carpel Tunnel in both hands, in case you haven't heard about it check out a paraffin bath, I used it while doing some physical therapy and found it provides a lot of relief, they are pretty cheap like $40 or so. I got into EB/MM as I was playing 35" scale basses which were not only longer but a lot wider and adding to my hand pain, in regards to the Bongo, I agree 100% with what you stated, I love my SR5's but my Bongo is really addictive. I'm trying to sell my maple neck SR5 to fund another Bongo. Now I truly understand how so many players here have multiple Bongo's, and it really is great that EB/MM products are Mod free, talk about plug in and play. All the best , Rick

[Basstige]

I'm coming up on six months with my 4HH Stealth Bongo. Couldn't be happier. The day I bought it, I took it directly from the store to a recording studio where I had to redo a couple of tracks for an album I had previously recorded with a Stingray. When the producer/engineer, a long-time friend and collaborator, saw the Bongo, he asked, "What's that? Didn't you use a Stingray on those tracks?" I replied that I had traded in the Ray (reluctantly) to get the Bongo. So we set everything dead flat on the Bongo and set the blend in the middle. At the end of the session (two songs) my friend smiled and said, "You wouldn't like to redo EVERY track with that Bongo, would you?"

Since then I actually have redone a couple more tracks on the Bongo. Did it at no charge (was well paid for the initial sessions) just because I wanted to.

Thanks for the Bongo, BP. I have spent decades (yikes!) searching for the ultimate chameleon bass. Nothing I've encountered yet even approaches the versatility of the Bongo. Ray tone? Check. Jaco tone? Check. J neck pickup tone? Check. With a little tweaking I was even able to get a decent Rick impersonation out of the Bongo. As BP has said of the preamp: "All the tones are there."

[Deaj]

Deaj, I'm in a similar situation except I have Osteoarthritis and Carpel Tunnel in both hands, in case you haven't heard about it check out a paraffin bath, I used it while doing some physical therapy and found it provides a lot of relief, they are pretty cheap like $40 or so. I got into EB/MM as I was playing 35" scale basses which were not only longer but a lot wider and adding to my hand pain, in regards to the Bongo, I agree 100% with what you stated, I love my SR5's but my Bongo is really addictive. I'm trying to sell my maple neck SR5 to fund another Bongo. Now I truly understand how so many players here have multiple Bongo's, and it really is great that EB/MM products are Mod free, talk about plug in and play. All the best , Rick

Thanks for the info Rick! I'm open to any suggesttion that might help ease symptoms.

[philthygeezer]

I sold my first HH. Missed it so much I got two single H's to compensate. One with Super Slinkies and one with flats. IMO they are the best all-around basses I've owned.

[liquidbass]

Hi All,
I'm new here to the EB boards (or really any boards for that matter) and if everything works out the way it should, I'll have my Bongo HH this Sunday from a fellow member here. The sale favors either of us: he gets some needed cash for med expenses and I get a one of my dream basses. Been wanting one now that I'm back into playing, and I plan on taking a Bong (hit...sorry, had to reference) next week for a classic rock audition. I expect the Bonger will just as slammin' as an SR5 I used to have that ended up being sold in an emergency. As the time comes, I'll be getting one of those again.
All that said, to the above posters on CTS: I used to be a massage therapist for years, and most of those in the profession usually develop CTS symptoms at one point or another. The paraffin bath work wonders at alleviating the pain and tingling, but I'd also stress mild stretching of your hand's extensors/flexors (easy to look up examples online). You also may want to wear your bass a different way. I noticed some tingling in my right wrist since I've gone to wearing my bass up high to access more notes (ala' Jaco), but have recently been wearing it a bit lower, and the tingles have started to subside. Just a thought, but I'm no doc (don't even play one on TV either).
Anyway, glad to be playing music again and excited about doing it with a Bongo. Cheers all

[Big Poppa]

welcome!

[woody357]

Thank you very much...I am very proud of the Bongo...sad that it is not more accepted.

It's getting there, I'm the only person using it where I live, and everytime someone hears it they lose their mind. A lot of people were not hip, but like I said they are getting there. Thanx for a great bass.

[bovinehost]

I assume that everyone already knows about my little Bongo problem so....I couldn't just let a thread called "In praise of the Bongo" go on without having a post in it!

[CypherArts]

I think it is a matter of time; anyone who plays one becomes convinced. It has been hard to find a retailer that has a 6 string Bongo to try out and play. I play my Bongo infinitely more than my SR5.: