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mammoth

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Nov 12, 2006
Messages
327
Location
Stoke, England
Hello Ladies & Gentlemen!

A little self indulgent story here! It's been a while since i've been around so thought i'd join the gang again & say hi.

Thanks to a bit of random luck & timing I managed to discover the Neptune Blue order window was open again (thanks dudes!)

Within 24 hours of finding out I've managed to score a bonus from work & I'm ordering a Bongo tomorrow.

Guitar Guitar have helped me with pickup options & prices so now I just have to decide on config & order tomorrow. I'm buzzing!

I've waited for this day since falling in love with Bongos (& Musicman in general) some years ago when I took a gamble on a 4H from a guy in Japan. I'm soooooo excited about picking my own personal Bongo with a mahogany body, gorgeous paint job & that delicious maple neck. It's MORE than i could have wished for. Total nerdgasm.

So. It's down to;

Bongo 4HP

or

Bongo 4HS

Also, what are my pick guard options!? Black or black?

Thanks for reading, would appreciate your thoughts!

Peace out

Col
 

sanderhermans

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Nov 5, 2013
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1,091
Location
belgium
I have 0 experience on bongos but with the hog body i would go for a piezo option and i hear the single h is pretty awesome. So i would go for hp.
as for the pg you have the normal choices for the bongo. My guess is that black or white pearl wood look the best.
 

muggsy

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Nov 19, 2004
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Location
Alexandria, VA
Hello Ladies & Gentlemen!

So. It's down to;

Bongo 4HP

or

Bongo 4HS

Also, what are my pick guard options!? Black or black?

I would definitely go for the piezo. I had the same issue and ended up going with 4HSp. You can select any available pickguard but I thought black would look best. Will consider an aftermarket clear guard after I see what the body looks like underneath the black guard.
 

bassmonkeee

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Apr 25, 2004
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4,628
Location
Decatur, GA
I would definitely go for the piezo. I had the same issue and ended up going with 4HSp. You can select any available pickguard but I thought black would look best. Will consider an aftermarket clear guard after I see what the body looks like underneath the black guard.


This is the correct answer with regard to pickup config. Neck single coil and piezo is my personal favorite Bongo tone. And, I've owned every single pickup configuration that the Bongo comes in.
 

muggsy

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Nov 19, 2004
Messages
787
Location
Alexandria, VA
This is the correct answer with regard to pickup config. Neck single coil and piezo is my personal favorite Bongo tone. And, I've owned every single pickup configuration that the Bongo comes in.

And, I should add, my research on the subject mostly involved reading Bassmonkeee's posts in similar threads. He knows.
 

mammoth

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Joined
Nov 12, 2006
Messages
327
Location
Stoke, England
thanks guys, i'm thinking HSP or HP i think! Excited doesn't describe it!

Listened to some online demos, like the S & the P, i'm a messy right hand man & think the extra space vs the warm single coil!
 

MrMusashi

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Mar 26, 2007
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2,840
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69 degrees north
no matter which one you get, it will be an awesome bass!

since you already got a few single h basses maybe its time for "something more" ;)

MrM
 

stu42

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May 18, 2007
Messages
562
Location
Calgary, Alberta
I'd vote for 4HP myself. I had a 5HS previously and now have a couple of 5H models (one fretless with HP). The HS (and HH) is quite a bit different in tone compared to the H. If you love the sound of your 4H and just want a more "special" version of it then the 4HP will give you the same magnetic pickup tone with greater tone control since the HP has the 4-way tone control. Plus, the P pickup will give you an interesting tone with some extra bite on top and also a deeper fundamental and, of course, you can balance the relative prominence of the magnetic vs piezo pickup.

On the other hand, if you want something with a fairly different tone than what you have now then go with the HSP. Some people say you can make an HS sound close to the sound of an H but I disagree with that.
 
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mammoth

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Joined
Nov 12, 2006
Messages
327
Location
Stoke, England
chapter 2 of this story starts with a Bongo HSP Maple Neck order today! I couldn't decide between the S & the P so I listened to some YouTube demos and they both sounded amazing. Why compromise!
 

Golem

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Aug 30, 2005
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2,279
Location
My Place
`
I play a 4HpFL and, maybe cuz it's FL, I haven't got the
love affair with the StingRay location of the single PU ...
not that I dislike it, I just don't use it much humbucker
tone in my mix, I let the piezo predominate.

Mine's a plain basswood body. You have a hog body so
even tho there's frets in the mix, you might find that it
matters very little what magnetic PUs you chose, cuz I
suspect you'll go for a mainly piezo tone, to hear that
cool hog voice predominate :)

So let us know how you wind up dialing it in !
 
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