Bongo EQ

[DTG]

I had my first run through with my Bongo last night,man this thing is "bright".When i try to fatten it up by add a touch of bass it sounds like mud!!.
I am going to use it tonight at a christmas paty for around 500 people and see how i get on.I love the fast action and the HH pick ups,but i am not getting the sound i want from it.I know it will take a bit of time to get it right.

Its just the first time i picked up my SR5,plugged it in i had a great sound in minutes.
With the sr5 i run everything on the amp flat and boost the bass and mid on the guitar a touch and get a killer sound from my Mark Bass rig.I tried to do the same with the Bongo but it just sounded too birght too much tone.

So I could use a bit of help here with the settings,we do a full rang of music from country to disco to rock,however once i find a tone with my SR5 i never really change it.

Any help would be great guys

Cheers

 

[AnthonyD]

Both of my Bongos are HSp and I generally run them flat with a 50/50/50 blend.

Like you, I prefer "my tone" and generally do not change my sound for different songs.

My LMII is primarily used for practice these days and it's flat with a bit of VLE and VPF dialed in (just a bit!).

My Ampeg is generally tweaked a bit from flat based on where we're playing - but not too far from flat.

Morale of the story - for me - pure Bongo tone is exactly what I love. I've played with the on-board controls, more so to leverage different pick-ups than the EQing but I generally go back to flat.

 

[DTG]

cheers dude thanks for that,it might just take me a bit of time to get used to the Bongo.I will use it tonight and see.
Thanks again!

 

[AnthonyD]

I've an HHp on the way to me and I am looking forward to an HSp and an HHp side-by-side comparison.

There are more than a few SR5/Bongo5 players here (Jack?) that may provide some specific insight and compare and contrast the two models.

Good luck with it!

 

[Oldtoe]

On my Bongo 4HH I use this setting almost all the time:

Pickups 50/50
Hi-mid about 70%
Low-mid about 60%
Treble just a hair above zero
Bass at 50% (center detent) or just a *touch* higher

Really cuts through without being harsh.

 

[Big Poppa]

DTG

the stingray is kind of a point and shoot and the bongo is more like a slr to use camera speak. There are so many combinations that you should start flat if it is too bright back off the treble first and then the upper mid....the brightness wont go away because you added bass

your mindset is correct for an old school instruemnt..for the bongo adjust it based on what you hear

with the bongo you are hearing too many highs so you are adding bass.....add bass when you dont hear enough bass....follow?

 

[asianjeff]

I have a HH and the way I set my EQ is everything flat on the SM-900 and the Bongo:

5% on treble (barely any)
20% mid highs
60% mid lows (a tad boost from the center indent),
70% bass

I leave the blend on 50% most of the time... I've found if you feel your mix is too muddy favor the bridge pickup more will give it more focus... If you want punch and growl... I think boosting low mids is where it's at... Variation between a warm bassy tone and clear focus tone is switching the blends for the two pickups, neck vs. bridge. Hope that helps.

PS - Try some power slinkies... thats what my Bongo is wearing now.

 

[MrMusashi]

you could try flats on it too.. sounds killer on my bongo!

so much thump, just enough zing

MrM

 

[nashman]

Check your gain? Maybe the 18v Bongo output is hotter than your ray ...

 

[DTG]

guys thanks for all this,the gig went very well !!

i really really have to say that my first post was a bit of a panic as i had just done a sound check in an empty hall where everything will always sound "bright" when it came to the gig it was perfect.

I also have a big SORRY the all the bongo players out there my motto of "say no to the bongo " is pretty much out the window now....... I am hooked

i have read so many people say "my band mates could not get over the sound of my bongo " and i always taught it was cr@p,untill last night when our singer turned around in the middle of the gig and said "that weird looking thing sounds great".

Pops, you really are a dude that never fails to impress me.I love the way you always step back from a post and give a reply that is fill with with logic. if the sound has too much tone then adding more bass will not fix it just make it worse..........you sir make me want to be a better player.

My whole band loved the Bongo, i could not put it down after the gig and even sat up watching TV and playing my bongo for an hour after I got home.

I will always love my SR5, but I will always need a bongo in my life !!

thanks again for all the help guys

Dave.

 

[MingusBASS]

*tear*

I knew you'd come around.

The Bongoloids never gave up on you.

 

[AnthonyD]

No Apologies Necessary...

Most of us have been EXACTLY through what you've just described!


Some of my favorite quotes from my initial Bongo exposure to various Band mates:

"God, I LOVE that thing!"

"Whoa, I'm scared of that thing!"

"I love the way that thing growls!"



...and my personal favorite...


"I think it's beautiful!" (from my wife!)

 

[high mileage]

Use a light touch on the Bongo's EQ. I have a 5H so my settings are different but bass and treble is flat; mid is at +1 I guess. My amp is pretty much flat (Ashdown pre, Ampeg 810).

The first time I used mine was with a simple (as in straight signal, no EQ) Cafe Walter headphone amp and I was blown away by the sound. The 3-band EQ of the H basses is probably a little simpler to set up than the 4-band of the two pickup Bongos, but after 30 seconds I was set! Hey, call me fanboy but I hadn't been that excited about a new bass in years...

 

[bovinehost]

I also have a big SORRY the all the bongo players out there my motto of "say no to the bongo " is pretty much out the window now....... I am hooked

We knew you'd be okay.

 

[DTG]

played another gig last night with the bongo.....man this thing is incredible, left everything flat on the amp again, and put a wee tiny bit of low mid and just a tad of bass........amazing.
hooked.line and sinker.....and copy of fishermans weekly!!

 

[daangroen]

the bongo has just some...life in it..when u press down on a fret u know its right, diggin me?

 

[Big Poppa]

THese are the threads I like the best.....
I get a chance to explain the bongo and eq concepts ande it works and we are all happy!

 

[oddjob]

BP you are sooo right about it working. I did a setup on my R Red up for a show Friday. Did the sound check with everything flat and just tweaked the bass eq. By far the best I've sounded. Filled the room but wasn't obnoxious (except when I wanted to be).

Great thread!

 

[tiffles]

i love showing off my bongo in band rehearsals etc its a beautiful thing!! peoples jaws drop. cant wait to get mine over to the UK with me

 

[KennethB]

This is kind of hard to admit since I'm such a Stingray-whore, but a friend that is a guitarist, has a Bongo5H and when I go over there and play the Bongo, I sit there and listen and ........Damn it! This guy that is a guitar player, has a better sounding bass than I do in many ways. It's the damn mids in that bass! They just fills a track in the most amazing way. But it's not better than my 20th SR5. No way! Never!!!