Stealth Bongo Finish: how does it hold up?

[Zippydog]

Am seriously considering this bass but given the matte finish, wondering how well it wears.

I'm a gentle user and take good care of my instruements, but have the following questions.

Is it more or less prone to surface scratches vs. "normal" finishes?

Is the black hardware painted or annodized?

Any special care required?

Awesome looking bass, I just want to ensure it'll stay that way!

Particularly interested in hearing from owners. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Oldtoe]

The hardware is anodized and the finish holds up well.

It's also hard to spot on radar.

 

[muggsy]

I've had mine for a few years now and it looks great. The finish holds up extremely well. I find the stealth actually needs less care and attention than my other basses, with more typical finishes, to look its best.

 

[adouglas]

I don't have a Stealth, but here's some food for thought:

The neck on all Bongos has a matte finish.

With a lot of use, this wears smooth and glossy.

Since, unlike Jack, I use the neck above the fifth fret all the time , and also unlike Jack I have only one fretted Bongo , the entire back of my Bongo's neck is glossy at this point (two and a half years after purchase).

So it seems reasonable to speculate that the Stealth finish can conceivably wear smooth over time in places where it gets rubbed a lot. Like where your forearm rests, for example.

I have no idea if this has ever happened. For all I know, the paint that EBMM uses on the bodies is different somehow from the paint used on the neck and will remain perfectly matte forever. But if it's the same, then it can probably get polished smooth, just like the back of the neck.

Some photos to show (by reflection) that the back of the neck does indeed get just about as glossy as the body:

 

[Zippydog]

So it seems reasonable to speculate that the Stealth finish can conceivably wear smooth over time in places where it gets rubbed a lot. Like where your forearm rests, for example.


I have no idea if this has ever happened. For all I know, the paint that EBMM uses on the bodies is different somehow from the paint used on the neck and will remain perfectly matte forever. But if it's the same, then it can probably get polished smooth, just like the back of the neck.

Thanks, Adouglas.

YIKES!

Can any of you Stealth owners speak to this from experience?


Thanks!

 

[adouglas]

Thanks, Adouglas.

YIKES!

Remain calm. I've never seen it, never heard of it, and you've already got Ben and muggsy saying the finish holds up well, and they should know because they own Stealths.

I don't know how much they play their Stealths (both of them have more than one fretted bass to play...I don't) or what they do to care for the finish, but the observations of those who actually own a Stealth should be listened to first and foremost.

I'm just giving you an extra bit of info based on what I actually do know and have experienced with my own bass.

 

[koogie2k]

I play mine religiously every day, at band practice and at shows. The finish holds up just fine. However, mine gets dinged up and what not due to my rough nature.

 

[LoEnd]

I've had my stealth Bongo for almost a year now, gigging and practicing and I have to say that it holds up pretty well for not having a gloss finish. Usually after a gig I just get a damp/dry towel to clean it, good as new.

 

[5Stringer]

My dime's worth as an EBMM CS rep is .....

.... I have to admit that that this is a very good question - I don't recall anybody asking about this before. We have been making Stealth Bongos since 2005. Out of hundreds we have shipped since I have heard no one mention that their finish had somehow gone smooth or worn down in any way. Not to say it hasn't happened or couldn't happen - just that if it has we haven't heard (and believe me, we usually hear of these types of things) Also - any one that I have been able to see that are older have shown no visible signs of wear on the mattes finish whatsoever.

We also were using matte finish in the last half of the 90's on the other basses in the Natural (we called the finish Natural Velvet). No known problems there either, and you think we'd have known by now.

Dan

 

[Kristopher]

Natural velvet?? Hmmm, sounds pretty awesome. I'd like to put my hands on one of those.

I've always wondered what a natural EB bass would feel like if it were finished the same way as the back of the neck.

 

[vcs700s]

I've had mine for a few years now and it looks great. The finish holds up extremely well. I find the stealth actually needs less care and attention than my other basses, with more typical finishes, to look its best.

Ditto, except I only bought mine last year.

 

[Zippydog]

GREAT - Thanks All!!

 

[bovinehost]

Oldtoe's Stealth Bongo turned white!

No, I saw it.

Really.

 

[adouglas]

I need to make something clear here lest anyone get any wrong ideas.

As you can see in the photos, the matte finish on my Desert Gold Bongo's neck has smoothed to a gloss nearly as perfect as that on the body (which has, hands down, the nicest finish I've ever seen on a painted instrument with the exception of my Blue Dawn fretless, which is even better).

I do NOT consider this to be a problem at all. It's absolutely normal wear as far as I'm concerned. Instruments change with age and play. Natural necks darken, matte finishes get smoothed from hundreds of hours of handling, etc. It's all just part of what makes the bass uniquely mine.

I think it's cool.

 

[SharonG]

I've had my Stealth for almost 2 years. I'm not particularly soft on my basses, and other than headstock dings (that are completely operator error ), the finish is as perfect as when I first bought it. I find it easier to maintain than my other basses - a microfiber cloth and some EB polish and it's good to go!

 

[MrMusashi]

my stealth was a demo bass for the norwegian distributor before it ended up with me and i cant see any flaws in the finish. hehe.. only finger marks from the kids. they love to go pluck on the strings
but a touchup with the neat wonder wipes solves that easily!

go get one, its one mean machine!

MrM

 

[agplate]

Here are a couple of photos of my Stealth showing what I assume to be normal wear of the matte finish- you can see my reflection in the "corner" of the body where my arm rests while playing. In the other photo you hopefully can tell where the affected area begins in relation to the unaffected finish. Also, the neck has definitely become glossy too which is most common.

This is an incredible bass, and I use it alot (even though I have many others!). I'm not hard on my basses, and clean and detail them after each gig (and no, I don't use a buffer!). That said, I would have to tell you that I believe that the paint on my bass has been a little more fragile and prone to chips than on my others EBMMs. But it might just be normal wear since I've used it alot over the past 2 (or is it 3?) years.

Anyway, this is just my experience and I would in no way deter you from the Stealth Bongo- I get lots of compliments on it's look and tone. EBMM is a great company.

 

[adouglas]

That's exactly what I was assuming could happen to the matte body finish under the right circumstances when I made my first post in this thread. Turns out I'm not crazy, after all.

I like it, actually. Mucho mojo.

 

[Zippydog]

Great insights here, for sure!

Here's how this one ends for me...

Yesterday I bought a gloss black Bongo 5HH, black pg

 

[ekb16b]

awesome.. so sooner or later the stealth is going to be like sapphire black, its like a gobstopper, another colour under the original colour.. brilliant