Can the Bongo bass do anything?

[tj1]

After a deal for a cutlass bass fell thru, am flirting with the idea of bankrupting myself and buying a really top class bass.

I had heard that the Stingray has quite a unique and distinctive sound, so that puts me off, given I will need all round versatility.

The Fender precision bass is, well..just too obvious.

But the music man site claims that the Bongo is basically an all round bass, suited too many different styles.

Could any Bongo players please confirm whether this is their experience?... because the name itself implies quite specific funky roots.

Not that I've got anything against this musical genre, just need something wider.

They are quite rare in the Uk so some difficulty in getting to play one.

 

[Samoht]

Yes, it’s my experience that the Bongo 5HH is the most versatile bass I’ve played. Check out Dave Larue, who flips between rock, funk, country and fusion while playing with Steve Morse.

I also own a Stingray 5H and love it just as much, but that’s because I love the signature tone of it. To me, the Bongo HH is just a more neutral bass...not to mention the crazy 4 band eq onboard.

 

[ohbugger]

Speaking from my perspective, as someone who has primarily played guitar but been around many bass players and different basses, when I went shopping for a bass last year I quickly gravitated toward the Bongo... as I wanted one bass that could cover a lot of ground.

It is a naturally "neutral" bass as Samoht said. With the onboard EQ, it is so versatile that you can reach many different sounds as needed. Getting a dual pickup version so you can blend between the pickups will be as close to the ultimate "all around" bass as one could reasonably imagine.

Good luck with your search!

 

[dave1812]

I’ve got a Bongo 5HH and I play basically everything from Funk to Pop to Rock to Metal on it.
The Pickup Blend already gives you a Huge Blend of Sound even with the EQ flat.
Adding the 4 Band EQ gives you pretty much any sound you would want.

 

[danny-79]

Still getting to know my 5HH and I know it’s not going to be a quick job figuring it all out.
Not got anything bad to say about it that’s for sure!
My 4H is my main go to bass. Just starting to feel bad for my StingRays ! (That’s Just today’s opinion though. SRs will soon be back in favour)

 

[tj1]

thanks for the replies, the Dave Larue videos have sold me, just need to work out how not to spend any money for two months.

 

[bovinehost]

thanks for the replies, the Dave Larue videos have sold me, just need to work out how not to spend any money for two months.

And Dave uses roundwound strings, which I think is extremely weird. (Hah!)

I have used my Bongo(s) for every conceivable genre, including in my once-busy-but-now-pandemically-challenged live band, 'coWpilot'. I would call us "wise-ass country rockers" but I have to admit it, I'm not sure how to characterize what we do.

If you get a chance and have five dollars to spare, I would recommend a relatively new EP by artist Tee Fitch, an album (EP) called "As If". I used a Bongo on almost all of that and I'm happy with the bass tone (and love that engineer). If you don't have five dollars, you can also stream it.

The Bongo is the swiss army knife of basses. I prefer the single H most of the time because I'm just not very fancy, but I do have a couple of HH models for when I feel like being more interesting. Which probably means "interesting only to myself" but it is what it is.

Good luck! Let us know what you get!

Jack

 

[steevo]

The sterling HH takes some beating. Does pretty much everything.


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[bovinehost]

Those Sterling 5s are amazing.

 

[tj1]

Those Sterling 5s are amazing.

Where are they made?

 

[danny-79]

The sterling HH takes some beating. Does pretty much everything.


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I think I’ve just found my next want !!! That looks amazing

 

[bovinehost]

The Sterling 5s are USA made in beautiful downtown SLO.

 

[tj1]

The Sterling 5s are USA made in beautiful downtown SLO.

Many thanks. And thanks for pointing tothe excellent tunes by Tee Fitch.

But I've got to say I find the Sterling nomenclature a bit confusing, it seems that some Sterling's are made in the Far East and some in the USA, and it is not immediately clear which is is which.

Thats not to say Asian made guitars are bad, I've got to a Sterling SB14 which plays well and looks a lot like the above picture.