Bongo 5 replacement pickup?

[ggunn]

I've got a Bongo 5 HHP, and I'm wondering how it would sound with a S in the bridge position. I can get a HS pickguard pretty easily, and it looks like the S would fit in the rout for the H and drop in with the addition of a single screw hole.

Will EB sell me a single coil Bongo 5 pickup?

 

[Smakbass]

I would say not, your probably best trying to find a HS in a store to try, then decide which you prefer. EB does not sell their pick ups.

 

[Kirby]

No, they will not sell their pickups sorry. The only way to get a new one is by exchanging a faulty one. Best bet is to go try out an HS and then see if you cannot find a way to get one of those as well. Many places are offering layaway as an option too.

 

[ggunn]

No, they will not sell their pickups sorry. The only way to get a new one is by exchanging a faulty one. Best bet is to go try out an HS and then see if you cannot find a way to get one of those as well. Many places are offering layaway as an option too.

Thanks, but buying another bass at this time just isn't in the cards for me.

 

[Duarte]

An S in the bridge position?

I'm intrigued.

 

[ggunn]

An S in the bridge position?

I'm intrigued.

Oops. I mistyped; I meant the neck position.

Sorry to misintrigue you. ;^)

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I've got a Bongo 5 HHP, and I'm wondering how it would sound with a S in the bridge position. I can get a HS pickguard pretty easily, and it looks like the S would fit in the rout for the H and drop in with the addition of a single screw hole.

Will EB sell me a single coil Bongo 5 pickup?

Ok I might have a suggestion for you, which will not require any estetical surgery, bear in mind that I have read your later post in which you said you mistyped and that you meant you actually want a single coil in the neck position and not at the bridge, well all you have to do is short out one of the humbucker coils and you are done.

If you can't do it yourself take it to a repairman you trust and ask him to "kill" one of the coils or better still fit a push/pull pot on your volume that cuts one of those coils on / off.

*EDIT* I want to add that mine was only a suggestion to a possible solution and you have to appreciate that your instrument might have a warranty with EB (which I am not aware of the conditions thereof) and by doing any work which consists in modyfing the original instrument, that such "modifications" might void your warranty.

 

[73jbass]

Can't he just select one of the outer or inner coil settings,and pan to the front one?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Can't he just select one of the outer or inner coil settings,and pan to the front one?

How? The Bongo doesn't have a pickup selector but instead it has a blend pot which lets you pan either one of the p/u's or both together and to the best of my knowledge there is no coil tap switch either.

 

[strummer]

cap is right, no coil tap on the bongos...

But I don't understand the reluctance to just go to a shop and try a HS and compare it to your HH? I have both and I really prefer the HH, but many here swear by the HS, especially the newer ones with the redesigned pick up (can't remember when that happened or what was done, but there was some excitement over it and info can porlly be found with the search function.)

 

[adouglas]

better still fit a push/pull pot on your volume that cuts one of those coils on / off.

That's not going to happen without radical surgery, because the pots used on the Bongo are special surface-mount units that are completely unlike "standard" pots.

I don't know if it's possible to find a push-pull pot from the manufacturer who made them, but I kind of doubt it.

Given that the bass in question is an HHp, I'd really, really recommend against surgery that cannot be completely reversed. Piezo models are relatively rare and worth considerably more than standard instruments.

But hey, it's your bass. Frankenstein it if you must.

I understand the urge to find out what lies on the other side of the fence (I too have a yen for an HSp Bongo, just because), but look at it this way...the Bongo HHp is, tone-wise, arguably one of the most versatile basses on the planet.

It's a safe bet that you can find a tone that will suit any need in there. IMHO a better way to channel your energy is to spend some quality time playing with that preamp and the three pickups you have now.

 

[oli@bass]

You can find some sound examples for the Bongo 5 HS on the German Music Man distributor's website

Ernieball

 

[Big Poppa]

THis is another reason why I hate customer service threads. Please do not do it yourself try to install a push pull shorting out one coil...please do not do anything that has been suggested...it is well meaning but lacks the understanding of how a bongo is made and the fact that these types of experiments only cause our customer service more problems. Can a Bongo be modified? Yes. Is it an integrated design that will more than likely suffer by shorting coils or installing switches? Yes

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Thanks BP for explaining. I learn more every day.

 

[bassmonkeee]

You've got 2 mag pickups, piezos in the bridge, two blend knobs and 4 bands of EQ. I'm not entirely sure what you hope to gain by gimping the bass by swapping out the pickup for an aftermarket single coil.

I've had no problem emulating a decent Jazz Bass bridge pickup tone with my HHp Bongo. Solo the bridge pickup, boost the low mids, cut the bass a little--viola! Instant Jazz Bass--especially if the rest of the band is playing.

 

[ggunn]

You've got 2 mag pickups, piezos in the bridge, two blend knobs and 4 bands of EQ. I'm not entirely sure what you hope to gain by gimping the bass by swapping out the pickup for an aftermarket single coil.

I've had no problem emulating a decent Jazz Bass bridge pickup tone with my HHp Bongo. Solo the bridge pickup, boost the low mids, cut the bass a little--viola! Instant Jazz Bass--especially if the rest of the band is playing.

Not to pick on you exclusively, but I'll use a reply to your post to reply to some others as well.

A single coil pickup is inherently clearer speaking than a humbucker because it accesses the string at one point instead of two, and therefore does not have the high freq cancellation that a dual coil pickup has. EQing cannot fix this; you cannot boost what isn't there. I played a Strat and a Les Paul for many years and I know the phenomenon well. I didn't think it would affect the sound of a bass appreciably, but after playing a friend's bass which has a S in the neck position, I find that I may have been mistaken.

I agree with the folks who advised me not to do anything irreversible to my bass, but HS pick guards are easily had and a S would fit into the H rout and would install with the mere addition of a small screw hole that would not be visible. I will not be hacking the H, either, for the same reason. That, and IME a single pickup is not the same as half a humbucker, not in guitar pickups, anyway.

To acquire a comparable HSP Bongo 5 to the bass I have now (which is what I would like to have, experimentally at least) would be prohibitively expensive for me. I had to special order my bass and I'd take a big loss if I sold it. I won't find a HHP Bongo 5 to test drive on the rack in any music store, either.

But it's all moot, anyway; my contact at my local bass specialty shop has told me that EB flatly refuses to sell me (or them, even) a pickup for my bass without swapping it for a defective pickup, and even then it would have to be the same pickup (no swapping a S for a H). I'm not happy about it, but that's their position.

 

[Big Poppa]

Im sorry you dont like our policy. We do not do it to be punitive. We have several reasons the first of which is that that pick up represents us. If a hack does the work (more times than not) people dont know that...they think we are hacks. The reason for the replacement only policy is that people were less than honorable and caused that rule to be there. I hate rules...I have a problem with authority...when we have to make a rule you can thank others before you.

NOw the hsp does sound differently. to say that the HH cannot get real close to the jazz sound you are searching for my not be a fair comment as Bassmonkee pointed out. The bottom line is that everybody tried to help you and it seems like you only wanted give creedence to your original idea.

I hope you can find what you want. Maybe you can post in the For Sale thread that you would like to trade your HHP for a HSP?

 

[bassmonkeee]

Not to pick on you exclusively, but I'll use a reply to your post to reply to some others as well.

A single coil pickup is inherently clearer speaking than a humbucker because it accesses the string at one point instead of two, and therefore does not have the high freq cancellation that a dual coil pickup has. EQing cannot fix this; you cannot boost what isn't there. I played a Strat and a Les Paul for many years and I know the phenomenon well. I didn't think it would affect the sound of a bass appreciably, but after playing a friend's bass which has a S in the neck position, I find that I may have been mistaken.

I agree with the folks who advised me not to do anything irreversible to my bass, but HS pick guards are easily had and a S would fit into the H rout and would install with the mere addition of a small screw hole that would not be visible. I will not be hacking the H, either, for the same reason. That, and IME a single pickup is not the same as half a humbucker, not in guitar pickups, anyway.

To acquire a comparable HSP Bongo 5 to the bass I have now (which is what I would like to have, experimentally at least) would be prohibitively expensive for me. I had to special order my bass and I'd take a big loss if I sold it. I won't find a HHP Bongo 5 to test drive on the rack in any music store, either.

But it's all moot, anyway; my contact at my local bass specialty shop has told me that EB flatly refuses to sell me (or them, even) a pickup for my bass without swapping it for a defective pickup, and even then it would have to be the same pickup (no swapping a S for a H). I'm not happy about it, but that's their position.

That's all well and good, but I still think you can get close enough with the 4 band EQ--especially if you have piezos. A humbucker might not have the same exact frequency response as a single coil (well, of course not--that's why they have different models), but you can get a reasonable facsimile using what you already have.

 

[ggunn]

The bottom line is that everybody tried to help you and it seems like you only wanted give creedence to your original idea.

I appreciate all the input, but none of it gets me where I want to go. I'd like to be able to change my HHP to a HSP, and back if I so desire. Your solution, which is perfectly understandable from someone who sells basses, is for me to buy another bass. Unfortunately for both of us, I cannot afford to do that.

You guys certainly have the right to make your own rules as to what you will and will not sell, and to whom. It's a little frustrating to me to encounter this, though; I can go down the street and buy factory replacement pickups for my Les Paul or my Strat with no problem.

 

[mynan]

Maybe the 30th anniversary bass could be a MoBass like the MoMark amps, but with interchangeable pickups, preamps, necks, bodies, hardware...buying a bass from GC would be like ordering a sandwich at Subway...

Funny how we always want what we can't have.