Bongoloid thread - You like your Bongo because...?

[Grand Wazoo]

If you are like me, having owned other EBMM basses before, like the Stingray for example, or a Sterling (I never had one of these myself) and have experienced a complete culture shock once you have tried and owned a Bongo, please describe in a few sentences why you love your Bongo and what exactly does it do for you.

Here is my piece:

Well personally due to work commitment, I am not a very busy gigging musician, I do play some rare and far in between gigs but mostly I get together with musician friends and we play in a small studio for fun, however the last 10 years I have only ever played Stingray’s and while it’s a great instrument in its own right which I will always respect, the Bongo is a badass killer compared to it.

No matter how muddy or filled with all different frequencies our band sound is, that monster always manages to cut through, so much so that the 2 guitar players have made a very interesting comment, saying that up to that point they would have to play the parts they knew by heart and follow the (loud) drummer’s tempo to continue to be in sync with the band, but now they are saying that they can finally follow the harmonic direction of my bass and that it is making them play better because they are finding it easy to follow chord changes and harmonies whereas before they were just going by the thump/tish-tish / thump / tish of the drummer

It’s true the Bongo is Godzilla, difficult to beat, I love it.

What is your opinion?

[strummer]

I love my Bongos because they look real good, sound even better and are superbly built.

I'm not a "safe" kind of guy

[Duarte]

I like mine because it's BADASS.

There's more to it than my Ray (which I love, don't get me wrong!) There is a clearer, smoother, broader sound which still has all the character. I love it because it does a better P bass than my P bass, a better stingray than my stingray and all with a bongoey twist, which is just awesome. It smells nice too.

The Bongo will **** your **** up.

[five7]

You bongo guys just won't give up trying to get me to go to the dark side. If that 6 string bongo I tried the other day would have been a 5 string, who knows what would have happened.

[Grand Wazoo]

You bongo guys just won't give up trying to get me to go to the dark side. If that 6 string bongo I tried the other day would have been a 5 string, who knows what would have happened.

neener neener it's the wrong answer, you don't have one yet so you don't qualify

Come back to "us" when you are entitled to the "rank" haha, fair point

[fidooda]

bongos....welcome to the mothership. i still haven't had the chance to play my new one in a band (that will be fixed saturday). Still, it's got more rumble, growl, sweet bass goodness all in a p-funk package than anything i've played before and that includes my other EBMM basses. love it. lighter than my sterling with more balls than my 20th SR5. i got a fever and the only prescription is more bongos!

[OldManMusic]

I've been a Stingray player since 1978. My 78 SR4 got me through lots of bands in lots of styles of music. But my Bongo is the tone king. Amplified at gigs or straight into the board of the studio, it reigns supreme. It creates such a presence that its forcing me to be a better bass player. The feel of my Bongo 5 neck fits my hand perfectly. And the looks have mojo right out of the box. Nuff said...

[laneline]

I love the 24 frets, and even though it's only a fractional difference in width at
the last fret, and the same 11" radius, I find the neck feel just kills. The tonal variation is huge, I can get every type of tone I need. I like the blend pot approach also as my previous basses all had blend pots so I gravitate to that feature. BUT after playing only a Bongo for awhile and I go back to one of my
SR5's I have to say I still get the mental yell of "oh yeah". It will be interesting to see what impact the 25th has, since it has the neck profile and EQ (I believe) of the Bongo with new pickup configurations, man I love this company, and the beauty it of all is the Bongo will still be turning heads around both playing it and listening to it. Yup, I love this company.

[RobertB]

I like my Bongo because it has the best tone and feel of any bass I've played in 15 years, including the "boutique" stuff. Simple as that. And it looks effin cool.

[SharonG]

It is by far and away the most responsive bass I have ever played. Doesn't matter who I'm playing with or what I'm doing, it just cuts right through with killer tone. The low end on my 5'er is to die for........

[7broccos]

First off, the wide range of tone is amazing.Being able to boost and cut both high and low mids is the key. Crank the low mids all the way with the bridge p/u and talk about bark,WOW.Or roll off low mids and boost the hi mids and split the p/u's she sounds smooth & chunky with a nice little growl.Any tone you want with just minor tweeks.Example:I played in a big room(church) with a big crowd(400+) Big praise team,about 10 musicians and vocalist.Our pro sound man asked asked me to turn my stage rig down,because I was killing the first 5 rows,he also said it was a little muddy so I boosted low mids just a bit and, perfection.Been playing my stingray 5's in this church for years,but I have gotten twice the compliments on sound and looks on my bongo5hh in just one month.Craftsmanship,finish,the Neck!....... BP and the crew are the best.When non-musician friends are giving compliments along with musicians alike, that's enough for me

[oddjob]

First bass I have ever had that has had the right tone and playability everytime. Feels,looks and sounds great. I have owned over 50 basses and all (almost) are gone... and I only miss 2 of my non-Bongos and that is more beacause of the sentiment than the tone. I have had other EBMMs and they weren't me. The Bongo is a perfect fit (okay, the back side would have to be contoured for my gut - but other than that )

[Eggman]

I agree with everyone's comments. To me the Bongo feels right - good fit, good balance, great tone, 24 frets, cool looks, exceptional build quality, superior company support and service.

All my basses are Bongos. I don't see that changing.

[Aussie Mark]

I like my Bongo because it pwns Marshall stack playing guitarists.

[adouglas]

- Because it makes the sound I've got in my head.

Secondarily....

- It's ideal ergonomically. Most comfortable bass I've ever played. I've owned over a dozen.

- It's got a unique and distinctive appearance, while still being a beautiful piece of industrial design. This really appeals to me... vive la difference!


This last bit... the weirdness... is part of my character. You wouldn't know it to look at me, but I'm way out on the end of the bell curve in most respects and I really appreciate stuff that is different while being of superior quality.

Well, maybe you WOULD know it to look at me....

(insert infamous turkey leg photo here...not linked in the interest of domestic tranquility)

Chevy trucks, Budweiser, NASCAR, Harleys.... all that solid, mainstream, American stuff... doesn't get me excited.

Weird, efficient, brilliant, bizarre stuff that actually works better really gets me up in the morning. I play a strange and awesome bass through a strange and awesome amp and I love it. People look at me funny and I like that too.

My heroes are all people who had (or have) a different take on the mundane. Burt Rutan. Buckminster Fuller. Frank Lloyd Wright. Colin Chapman. The list goes on.....

When I heard the (possibly apocryphal?) story about BP showing up to a panel discussion with a bunch of music industry CEOs, all of whom were wearing suits, in a Hawaiian shirt and sandals I knew I'd like the guy's point of view.

Being conventional is stultifying.