Bongo HHp & a Sterling HH... what tones am I missing?

[tunaman4u2]

I have both a Bongo 5 HHp & a Sterling HH 4
They are awesome. With all those EQ options, a tube amp, a solid state amp, old school cabs & hi-fi neo cabs... I can't help but feel I have everything I need in these 2 basses

I keep wanting to get another EBMM like all you freaks & your crazy stockpiles in your signatures but I just don't know what tone I can't get with these 2

So what can a Reflex, Big A etc do tone wise these 2 cant?
Maybe I should just accept that I'm freaking happy as hell with these two?
I will admit my P gets some warm upper mids these guys can't but I almost never grab that over the EBMMs.

 

[adouglas]

Passive.

 

[five7]

I have a bongo 5 HH and a sterling 5 HS and think the same thing, now when the gamechanger comes out, hmm...
Had a passive and didn't feel like I was missing anything except maybe having to buy batteries.

 

[rutgart]

Tunaman4u2, you've got 2 awesome basses their.
I bet you can hear all the differences between the Basswood and Ash bodies, different Pickups (Neodyn' v Ceramic), Pre-Amps and even neck masses of the Bongo and Sterling.

EBMM's other lines all have a different body/neck timbers, pickup and pre-amp thing going on so they'll all give you something different tonal. Get into your local retailer and a/b/c/d/e them all against each other you'll be blown away with the many, many tonal as well as feel differences there are.

 

[bovinehost]

Passive.

So much wisdom wrapped up in one little word.

Really, with what you have, you can conquer the world. You're really not missing anything. But you want another bass, I can feel it. You're twitchy. You look at other peoples' photos and wonder. I know. I've been there.

A most wise person (sometimes known as The Evil Overlord Dargin) said to me one day when I was thinking about another bass and couldn't decide whether I wanted a Big Al SSS or Big Al H, "How many humbucking basses do you have? Get the single coils." This was very good thinking.

So I pass it on. I mean, you know, just think about the SSS - that's all I'm saying.

 

[Movielife]

Big Al SSS. Seriously awesome. I didnt know what to expect but I loved the quirky look. Guess what, they really knocked it out of the park with the Big Al. Awesome flexibility. Passive option

I'd also have to have a Stingray. Doesn't matter which options, but Rays are brilliant. I'd get HS looking at what you have.

 

[MadMatt]

Since your HH bongo can do the Monster truck thing, I will throw the Reflex/25th into the mix. The HSS gives you a level of finesse and variation that is difficult to find an any other EBMM. I personally find the 4 sting Reflex/25th's to be the most comfortable of all the EBMM's (but that is only my humble opinion)

 

[tunaman4u2]

Thanks guys for the bass suggestions & passive but I guess my question is...

Can you describe the tones I cant get that you can?

 

[husky123]

Big Al and the knob next to the volume

Nice starter collection you have there Tuna.

Without a doubt you're on your way. AD succicntly summed it up with "passive". Wise word indeed.

When you look down at those 3 menacing, cartoon-esque single coils it can be a little intimidating at first. I mean, damn, you have 16 - 2000 different combo's to try. Don't forget about the "secret setting" too.

You see, that's the kicker....while you have that nice little pickup blade on your Sterling and the AWESOME blend knob on the Bongo you're still missing one, small in size but big in sound detail....Passive tone control. It'll change your life.

 

[MadMatt]

Can you describe the tones I cant get that you can?

Sorry, my articulation skills are not capable of doing that and when I read descriptions my comprehending skills cant turn text into a sound that even comes close.

I've gone though several basses in the last 2 years and it cost me a substantial sum of money to learn that you really do have to find out for yourself with your own ears.

 

[husky123]

Can you describe the tones I cant get that you can?

Coil 2 - P bass vibe. Coil 3 - EB3 vibe, add a touch of overdrive and time stands still. You won't ever be able to get those out of the Bongo and Sterling (I know you have a P bass). Also, coils 1 and 2 in series will give you a Sterling vibe but better IMO. Growlier and thicker. With coil 1 closer to the bridge and coil 2 way up the string combined in series gives a thick, big sound
for sure. In active mode it levels buildings, in passive it's like putting a muzzle on the pit bull. Don't make me take this muzzle off!

Other interesting tones that I don't use much are coils 2 and 3. Bit of a jazz cop. Also coils 1 and 3 can give you some different "jazz-esque" sounds that I haven't heard before.

That's all I got for now....continue on with your mental anquish.

 

[tunaman4u2]

Thanks Husky... do you have a Sterling HH or just an H? Thick & growly certainly can explain my Sterling HH but NEVER my Sterling H. The pickup selectors on that bad boy gives tons of options.

I need to hear a good passive. I may go down to that Rhode Island bass get together & hopefully someone has a passive EBMM

 

[jlepre]

Passive.

+1000

 

[adouglas]

Okay, so this won't help but it's absolutely true.

Verbal descriptions of tone are always misleading and inaccurate.

See, there's this complex neural matrix created by your brainwaves, the acoustic environment, the freshness of the strings, the amp you're playing through, EQ/selector settings on both the amp and bass, ambient noise, distracting elements, whether you're sitting on-axis with the speaker or off to the side, whether you've clipped your fingernails lately, how much wax is in your ears and how much you've had to drink.

Not to mention the subtle but undeniable effect of the Bongo Mind Control Ray Generator in my basement.

All of this, combined with your own personal preferences on that particular day, will result in a neurological/emotional response when you play the bass. This may range from "meh" to "ooOOOOoooohhhhhyummmmmm."

All of which basically means, "it depends."



Here's what exploring the sounds that the SSS is like. Seriously.

"Hey, that's different. Not like what my Bongo can do. That sounds pretty cool."

 

[tunaman4u2]

Fair enough boys, I'll have to grab one to try but its SO hard now (No inventory). You haven't given me enough to grab one sight unseen (Like I did with the Bongo & that was a great call). Time to hit more youtube videos

 

[jlepre]

Remember tone is all in the hands.

 

[Golem]

I have both a Bongo 5 HHp & a Sterling HH 4
They are awesome. With all those EQ options, a tube amp, a solid state amp,
old school cabs & hi-fi neo cabs... I can't help but feel I have everything I need
in these 2 basses

I keep wanting to get another EBMM like all you freaks & your crazy stockpiles in
your signatures but I just don't know what tone I can't get with these 2

I see you're a "double humbucker" type ... and so am I, bassically, and have a
huge variety of them [not all MM's]. So, have I personally found that there is a
form of semi-intelligent life outside the double bucker galaxy ? Yup.

What your two basses lack is single coil tone. That is the agreeable and friendly
life form I've met outside the HH galaxy. You can go for a Boingo, Sterling or SR
with the HS PU config. The Sterling and SR can play either the front of rear SC
by itself. The Boingo cannot split its rear PU so the only SC it offers is the front
[aka 'neck'] SC. I'm not up on the newer models in detail ... but I do know that
there's plenty of SC and coil splitting options on that menu.

Not that I have any way of knowing that you NEED a SC tone in your bag, but
you did inquire as to what you might next acquire that you don't already have.


`

 

[Golem]

Remember tone is all in the hands.

Uhhmnnn yeah, well, pretty much true but .....

"In my hands" I can put, frinstintz, my Wendler MagPi or my Sterling
HS. The tone will be in my hands, but they will not sound alike at all.

About the only way they can sound alike is if their individual identity
tones are defeated, say by running huge doses of gain and and power
and playing them real slap happy. But if their individual qualities are
allowed to be heard, they are going to sound quite different no matter
whose hands they are in.

I picked those 2 basses for examples, but others could be substituted.
I agree that Tonal Variety and Tonal Versatility are in-the-hands, but
you CAN choose basses for the tones they can deliver that differ from
the tones you'd get if you chose a different bass [not mention strings,
amps, cabs, etc].


`

 

[tunaman4u2]

Golem: Maybe you can take a shot at describing the tone a single coil can get that I cant?

 

[Aussie Mark]

Golem: Maybe you can take a shot at describing the tone a single coil can get that I cant?

Ed does a better job than any of us could in describing the Big Al ....