A few Bongo questions...

[RocketRalf]

I'd put a black neck on a white bongo

I believe there's no piezo option for left handed instruments, and I'm sure there's no piezo on the 2008LE except on the Petrucci.

 

[Kristopher]

Oops, forgot about the no-piezo. Sorry!

 

[bassmonkeee]

Hmmm....too difficult to match the paint huh? And here I always thought that the Bongo wasn't available in white because it looked too much like a toilet seat...

(Now, don't get nasty here, that toilet seat comment was what I had heard, and is not intended as a slam - I myself would love to get a white Bongo 6 - colour matching of neck and body be damned!!)

From the last batch of white Bongos.

 

[TimSz]

DAMMIT! That thing is fine! If I was right handed, and wanted a five string, I would consider hunting you down and threatening you with spatula related violence unless you sold it to me. Yowza!

I will be pretty happy with the 2008 LE Bongo though. I officially can't wait for it to get here. I also picked out a great Markbass head and cabinet to go along with the Bongo. Ahh, how money is spent as quickly as it is made.

 

[slaine01]

I had a complete Markbass rig - 2x10 combo and ext cab with my Bongo 5.
Sold it and went back to Eden and couldn't be happier - personal thing really but I could never get the sound I liked through the Markbass but the Eden gives it to me with everything set "flat".
( and didn't help that my name is actually Mark - so the logo on the front of the cabs lead me to the idea of putting "Jamie Drums" and "Gabby Vocals" to shield me from the punter flack )

 

[TimSz]

What about the Markbass didn't suit you particularly? I am looking for all kinds of flack and praise for this stuff before I throw down big bucks for it.

 

[slaine01]

I'm not going to knock Markbass as I bought it and played it solidly for about 6 months but I found it to be a little "tinny" to my ears and I was constantly adjusting it to get the sound I was after.
I know heaps of other players who swear by it so it must be a subjective thing.
But after going back to Eden I never have to adjust anything and always pull a good sound (to me)..
Eden, Epifani and Markbass are all top of the range rigs, so lets not turn this into a Talkbass anti- manufacturer rant, but try them out and then decide for yourself. ( you may discover you prefer a Thunderfunk - but whatever makes your ears happy and your Bass shine is your ultimate goal)
The neos in the Epi and Markbass lend themselves to an easy lug though, but apparently Eden are bringing out Neos later this year.
I think its important to talk to people who have actually owned/played the equipment for feedback on the product, as I read so many reports from people who "..saw a gig where the bass player was playing through a ????? rig and it sounded like cr@p...", vibe
Just my 2 cents worth..

 

[PzoLover]

go by the source

hey Tim,last I heard, the single H version was the cat's "Meow" according to Big Poppa, and since he's the main guy around here and the main force behind the BONGO, I'd be hard pressed to question his preference and recommendation = if I had to order a new BONGO today for fresh, it would be a single H version probably in '08 LE form
good luck Eh?
All The Bass,
/PL

 

[TimSz]

I put the call into a sister store of the guitar store I work at... they deal with Music Man, where our store doesn't... and told them everything I was looking for. It should be processed tomorrow morning through them and hopefully fired off to Beth soon after that!

Final decision:

2008 LE Bongo 4 H
Matching headstock
Fretless Lined

I can't wait for it now!

 

[mynan]

Don't let them charge you extra for the MHS...

 

[Big Poppa]

slaine thanks for the intelligent dissenting opinion.....I really enjoy this place when people can express thier opinion with out a sledgehammer or hazmat suit

 

[MK Bass Weed]

No white, No Buttercream...sheesh...What exactly wasn't matching?

 

[silverburst]

Good choice on the single H -- that is my favorite of the Bongo configurations.

As far as MarkBass, I have a couple of their combos, but really like the new Genz shuttle amps. Maybe a bit fuller sounding, more so with my non-EBMM basses.

 

[Green Dragoon]

Good choice on the single H -- that is my favorite of the Bongo configurations.

As far as MarkBass, I have a couple of their combos, but really like the new Genz shuttle amps. Maybe a bit fuller sounding, more so with my non-EBMM basses.

+1 on the GB Shuttle. Full and growly.

 

[TimSz]

Thanks for the review on the Markbass stuff, Slaine.

Due to my getting a really great deal on Markbass, I imagine I'm going to be going for the F1 head and a 115 cabinet, but am going to now go out and check into the other stuff you suggested.

I'll keep y'all informed!

 

[slaine01]

No prob, mate,
Thanks for the feed back too Big Poppa. I seems that some people ,when they buy new gear, climb Mt Everest to tell the world this is THE only gear to own and everythng else is cr@p, but as inveritably happens they eventually sell it and slag it off as not being so great after all.
Everybody gets G.A.S ( I am a tragic at this - as my wife will tell you) but honestly in relation to amps/cabs, when you get into the higher range configs ie: Eden, Epifani,Markbass etc I have always found them to be fairly much "on par" with each other so it really came down , to me , with what I found to be the best sonic setup with my Bongo 5.
I tried/owned all the rigs before finding my "perfect" complete setup - which is what I have now but that doesn't mean that you won't find the Markbass etc rig "perfect" for you.
I've been playing for over 30 years now and my way of "digging in" to the strings will be different to you, my way of slapping (more Larry Graham that perhaps Louis Johnson-ish) will be different than you, my EQ settings on the onboard Bongo preamp and Amp/cab will be different to you, even my choice of strings may be different to you.
We are all on this forum because our instrument of choice is MM so what ever gives you that MM sound in choice of amplification is the right choice.
I heard an older guy about 2 years ago at a Blues festival playing a Stingray 4 (he bought it new in the early 70"s) through an old battered Fender Bassman 50 with an even older 15" EV cab and I asked him, in that ".. I"ve got a $7000 rig..." kind of tone, why he was using that rig.
He just looked at me with that "..listen here you young pup..." glare, and said "..it took me 20 years to find this sound why would I change it?..."
Here endeath the lesson.

Sorry for the rant - I'm up to 3 cents worth now

 

[captcolour]

Last time I bought a new cabinet (well before Markbass), I brought two of my own basses to the store -- one active, one passive. Took one of their heads, set it flat, and carried the one head around to try out all of the different cabinets with my basses. Probably one of the smartest things I ever did when buying gear. I ended up buying a Classic Ampeg 4x10 over Eden, the higher end Ampeg, Mesa, etc. I was prepared to buy the higher priced stuff, but for me, just liked the tone of the classic so much better.

My advice -- get your Bongo first and take that bass to try out amps.

 

[DTG]

i have to say i really love my mark bass rigs,i also wont climb over mountains,but thats down to my fear of heights !!

for me the mark bass is perfect LMII head and a 4 ohm 4x10 so i get the full 500w from it.My head is always set flat and i can always get the right sound now matter what size or shape the gig is.It really is loud when i play with a rock band but it also sounds sweet at low volume when playing in my wedding band.my rigs before were trace,fender,swr,peavy.i tried some eden stuff but was not crazy about it,i always like ampeg too

My advice would be get the bongo and bring it into a store or two and try everything you can.

i am thinking of getting the same rig again for 2 reasons,one venue i play is a bit big and i would love to have 1000w of mark bass !! the other reason is i play a few gigs a month that is a 300 mile round trip away and it would be handy to have a rig there so i dont have to lug the same one around.

 

[strummer]

hey Tim,last I heard, the single H version was the cat's "Meow" according to Big Poppa, and since he's the main guy around here and the main force behind the BONGO, I'd be hard pressed to question his preference and recommendation = if I had to order a new BONGO today for fresh, it would be a single H version probably in '08 LE form
good luck Eh?
All The Bass,
/PL

Bah!
That guy also thinks 4 strings rule, he's just old

More is better, so get a HH Bongo and go annihilation style

 

[tkozal]

I have been playing my new Stealth HH Bongo 5 through a MarkBass, a Little Mark II. I am a Manhattan, car less, apartment dweller. The LMII fit the bill for size.

I found that with the Bongo, through a 15 inch cabinet, I needed to boost the VLE control to take some of the tinniness out. My Bongo is set for low action, which is a large part of the cause. I also roll off some of the treble on the instrument.

The Bongo's control are great for me, because in actual gigs around the city I frequently have to use the house amp.