Ambassadors Of Bongo-lia....

[cyoungnashville]

since i cant find one to play locally, please tell me what im missing. what makes you guys soooo fanatical, and what tones / vibes am i missing out on considering my current 2 classic stingray 4h, 1 reflex 4hh arsenal? force me to receive it in no uncertain terms, thank you very please.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

If this doesn't work, nothing else will

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS0mQDmQzAs]YouTube - Ernie Ball/Music Man Bongo 6 String Bass[/ame]

 

[bovinehost]

Craig, remind me to tell you what I think I know whenever I'm not up to my neck managing new babies and whatnot.

 

[mmbassplayer]

Try the single H Bongo. By far my favorite and i have tried almost every combo. JOSH

 

[cyoungnashville]

If this doesn't work, nothing else will

....wow, monsterus tone. insanely deep and wide.

 

[AtomicPunk]

It is the first bass I have owned that can literally do it all for me. I've owned Ricks, Rays, many others, and when I played this one, it was dubbed "The Beast". Can't put it down.

 

[Double Agent]

This is my first post here in 3 years and the tone from 2:07-3:19 of the video below is one of the reasons I'm coming back into the fold. The mighty Bongo can not be denied.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rO2K8F5-Xs]Ernie Ball Music Man - Bongo 6 Model - Demo by Dave Marks[/ame]

 

[adouglas]

It really can't be put into words, but I'll try.

Imagine the best tone you've ever heard and multiply it by 1.41456 (approximately). That gets you in the ballpark.

Imagine a bass where, if you turn the lows up, girls will pay you a quarter to sit on your cabinet.

Imagine a bass that can make people who've owned dozens of basses become rabid Bongo fans overnight (this has happened to more than one of us).

Imagine a bass that you KNOW is going to sound good just from the way it resonates when you play it acoustically (this is not unique to the Bongo, but it's definitely there).

Imagine a bass that has ergonomics so good they actually surprise you.

Imagine a bass so good that you don't CARE if it doesn't look like a F*nder.

Imagine a bass that makes the sound in your head every time.

Imagine a bass that makes skeptics shut up the minute they hear it.

Imagine a bass that's more addictive than crack cocaine.

Check what BP said about the Bongo in my signature.

Take a look at what Dudley said about the Bongo (this is the back of his business card... he passed this note up to the stage during a panel discussion and I snagged it afterwards):

And last but definitely not least, Jack loves 'em.

 

[five7]

The bongo made me sell my other basses. It is that good!!!

 

[Alex001]

I was about to link to the same demo as Double Agent - that is, by far, the best demo/presentation of the Bongo out there. Excellent production quality as well (seems to have been made by EBMM for the U.K). Nice.

No offense to Ed, but all his demos just run through various sounds and he plays the same darned lines every time. The Dave Marks demo shows the bass IN THE CONTEXT of a song - a much better approach, and a much better way to get a real idea of how the bass sounds. Running through the different tone settings using the ambient sound of an amp doesn't really give me much to go on.

 

[T-bone]

They're trying to get you to drink the Kool-Aid, Craig. They're tempting you with sounds and posting lists of things people will do. They're even showing videos of someone known as "The Bass Wisperer" playing something with more than 4 strings.

What will they do next?

tbone

 

[21niko21]

You guys are killing me. I've decided to get a bongo with the first couple of paychecks from my new job...I can't wait!

 

[Manfloozy]

Craig, if you ever want to make a day trip to Knoxville, I'll be happy to let you borrow mine to check it out. It doesn't have frets... but you'll definately get the idea!

It puts the boom in the room, and feels almost "too easy" to play the ergonomics are that good. My resident guitard friend wants BP to make a "Bongo guitar"... yeah... that good.

 

[MK Bass Weed]

Craig, remind me to tell you what I think I know whenever I'm not up to my neck managing new babies and whatnot.

Jack, me too, but it's more like up to my wrists.

Bongolicious thoughts.

1. Looking at it - I thought - looks weird - strapping it on - Felt like home.
You know what I mean by home, the back contours, the way your right arm
sits on the front - It's very familiar feeling, like the basses that I grew up with in the 70s, and for a while there was only one.

2. Hearing It - I have the HS. It sounds 'like' my favorite passive basses, but after they've been passed through the expensive DI's and Eq section of the studio, but this bass...it right out of the jack, it's tone city that works.

3. It's damn fun to play -

 

[rizzo9247]

I have gone through 27 basses; in the end I choose Bongo.

 

[Alex001]

Here's another Dave Marks demo where he plays a Stealth 4:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wd7QWMBle0]Ernie Ball Music Man - Bongo 4 Stealth (before Ebony) - Demo by Dave Marks[/ame]

 

[Jim C]

Try the single H Bongo. By far my favorite and i have tried almost every combo. JOSH

Can you compare the tones of a single H bongo to a Ray?

 

[mmbassplayer]

Ok Craig... take two on the Bongo description. Think back to the first time you heard Pink Floyd. It was completely different from anything you had ever seen or heard, but yet it was just right. While all the other bands had sounds very similar, this one stood out. The traditionalists critcized but a small group of people in the know began following them and eventually became obsessed with them. That is the Bongo. Moral of the story, every Pink Floyd fan should buy a Bongo. I use this same story with Tool as the analogy for the young kids. JOSH

 

[Aussie Mark]

As ergonomic as the Bongo is - I've owned 3 and at the time they were the best feeling basses on the market when you are wearing them - the Big Al feels EVEN better from an ergonomic standpoint. And that's saying something.

Craig, before you take the plunge with a Bongo, you owe it to yourself to test drive a Big Al as well. They are both great basses.

 

[Oldtoe]

Craig, I ordered a Bongo from MF right after they came out (2003?) because of some witty bastard's ravings about it on another bass site. Bovinehost was his name. It has been my number one bass ever since. I don't gig without it. My Wal MkIII has quite the layer of dust on it. There is a significant difference in character between the models with different pickup configurations. My personal favorite is the double humbucker. The single coil/humbucker is capable of some AMAZING single-coil tones, and is one hell of a rock and roll bass. The single humbucker model could likely be the one bass guitar anyone might ever need. Very prominent and detailed tone, but able to be dialed back with right hand position changes; not to mention the amazing preamp Mr. Gimpel has gifted us with.

I'm Ben Alsup, and I LOVE the MusicMan Bongo!