cassius
New member
Hi everyone! I'll go ahead and say I'm here because I'm interested in Bongo basses, but you probably want some backstory as well. I'll try my best to keep it short, but it should inform the discussion! 
I've been playing bass for almost seven years, and if you want an idea of what I do, you can check me out at Joshua on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads . I am in the middle of moving to Denver, CO and have been revamping that page a bit so sorry if anything is goofed up.
One of my very first basses was a Stingray, c. 2001 that I got using the money from a summer job. I gigged on it for around four years in some hard rock groups and for my first year of my jazz scholarship at my hometown university. Then I picked up a Fender Jazz which I came to like better, but neither of them totally did it for me in terms of tone--the Ray was probably my favorite but something about the Jazz kept me coming back. One day I finally picked up a Rickenbacker bass and loved the tone and my fretless 4003 that you can see in my avatar is now, far and away, my favorite bass. Tone of the gods, at least for me.
So my thoughts never really went back to the Stringray, although every now and then I'd play one and kind of jones for another. Still, I didn't feel I NEEDED one--the GAS wasn't there. At last I heard about the Bongo and checked out some reviews on YouTube and MY GOD! What a bass! THAT is what I was wanting out of my Stingray all that time, that full-bodied, wonderful tone. Maybe it was just the way these recordings were made, but it sounded perfect to me and called out like no Stingray ever had... Unfortunately I haven't gotten to play one in person yet.
Anyways, I think they make a logical choice for me. I have to say, the Bongo 5er looks like it's everything I could want and more. And I doubt RIC could do it much better, even if they did have a 5er in the works.
But all that said, even though I owned a Stingray back in the day, I really don't know half as much about EBMM as I do about RIC or Fender stuff. And I think it's important to know all the juicy bits--by knowing a lot about RIC instruments and prowling their forums, that's how I snagged some choice fish. Similarly I'd like to do that here, per the Bongo. What exactly do I need to know about these basses? Have there been any issues? I'm sure QC is great but sometimes word on the street about it is critical.
Also, if I play one in person, how should I mess with the controls to try to get the full scope of what they can do? Is the preamp good? It sure seems like a huge leap forward, to me.
I'm also excited about the proprietary nut... do Bongos have it?
Any good words about FRETLESS bongos? I prefer fretless.
I see there are some used Bongos for sale here; maybe I can snag one of those? I know as a newb, though, I may not be trustworthy yet. I'll try to prove myself a good guy, though.
Alright, thanks! I am really fascinated by the Bongos... they're driving me back the EBMM way. Let me know what you all think. Obviously some bias here... but I'm still interested to hear it!
I've been playing bass for almost seven years, and if you want an idea of what I do, you can check me out at Joshua on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads . I am in the middle of moving to Denver, CO and have been revamping that page a bit so sorry if anything is goofed up.
One of my very first basses was a Stingray, c. 2001 that I got using the money from a summer job. I gigged on it for around four years in some hard rock groups and for my first year of my jazz scholarship at my hometown university. Then I picked up a Fender Jazz which I came to like better, but neither of them totally did it for me in terms of tone--the Ray was probably my favorite but something about the Jazz kept me coming back. One day I finally picked up a Rickenbacker bass and loved the tone and my fretless 4003 that you can see in my avatar is now, far and away, my favorite bass. Tone of the gods, at least for me.
So my thoughts never really went back to the Stringray, although every now and then I'd play one and kind of jones for another. Still, I didn't feel I NEEDED one--the GAS wasn't there. At last I heard about the Bongo and checked out some reviews on YouTube and MY GOD! What a bass! THAT is what I was wanting out of my Stingray all that time, that full-bodied, wonderful tone. Maybe it was just the way these recordings were made, but it sounded perfect to me and called out like no Stingray ever had... Unfortunately I haven't gotten to play one in person yet.
Anyways, I think they make a logical choice for me. I have to say, the Bongo 5er looks like it's everything I could want and more. And I doubt RIC could do it much better, even if they did have a 5er in the works.
But all that said, even though I owned a Stingray back in the day, I really don't know half as much about EBMM as I do about RIC or Fender stuff. And I think it's important to know all the juicy bits--by knowing a lot about RIC instruments and prowling their forums, that's how I snagged some choice fish. Similarly I'd like to do that here, per the Bongo. What exactly do I need to know about these basses? Have there been any issues? I'm sure QC is great but sometimes word on the street about it is critical.
Also, if I play one in person, how should I mess with the controls to try to get the full scope of what they can do? Is the preamp good? It sure seems like a huge leap forward, to me.
I'm also excited about the proprietary nut... do Bongos have it?
Any good words about FRETLESS bongos? I prefer fretless.
I see there are some used Bongos for sale here; maybe I can snag one of those? I know as a newb, though, I may not be trustworthy yet. I'll try to prove myself a good guy, though.
Alright, thanks! I am really fascinated by the Bongos... they're driving me back the EBMM way. Let me know what you all think. Obviously some bias here... but I'm still interested to hear it!
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