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StingRay 2026 Collection

Bongo neck pickup useage?

Darth Tater

Darth Tater

Well-known member
Just wondering how you guys with the HH Bongo are using your neck pickup? I've got an HH home for a trial, and I can't seem to get any really useful tones from just the neck pickup alone. By itself it seems to bloated and not clear at all. I'm not overloading the amp input (but that's what it sounds like), as I've actually got basses with higer output on the same amp and it actually sounds the same with the bass volume turned down.

There's just such a huge difference in the sound of the neck and bridge pickups, I found it kind of odd but then again I don't think I've ever had a bass with a humbucker at the neck now that I think of it so it could just be me.

So I just wanted to see if this is normal for the Bongo? Is it recommended that the neck p/u just simply be blended with the bridge just a little to give it some thickness?

Should I get the HS model instead of the HH model?

I hope nobody reads any dissatisfaction into this about the Bongo, it's just new to me and I'm curious. For this one thing I find odd, there are a HUNDRED things that I love about it :D
 
I have mine blended evenly(at the center detent) for thickness, but my bridge pickup is lowered so I can pluck easier when I do slap bass because otherwise it would be in the way..
 
Darth! Dude! I've said itt in a couple of other threads but I've really been diggin' the neck humbucker soloed to get a really wild / bold P-Bass kind of sound. Try soloing the neck humbucker and putting your thumb on the bridge p/u and pluck back there and then roll off all of the highs and boost a bit of the high mid and let 'er rip.
keep in mind it's NOT a Marcus tone or Fieldy or anything like that but just let it grow on you a bit and see if it doesn't inspire some Jamerson.
 
I have the pups blended on the center detent most of the time, to get the full impact of dual humbuckers and 18 volts. Sounds huge in a band with only guitar.
 
The neck H does sound like a "P on steroids" - I like it. :D But lately I've left the pan on the center. In the praise team context, the pan will usually go towards the bridge, if it's moved at all.
 
Yep, it does fine at the center detent but rolling it towards the neck from there gets a little 'thick' for me.

Psychicpet, other than the plucking at the bridge you've got my settings down. I keep the treble almost all the way down and the high mid turned up! I'll play around with this bad boy some more tomorrow when I have the house to myself :p
 
Oh, if anyone cares..here's a quick snapshot of the Bongo. Hopefully tomorrow it won't be raining and I can get some outside shots!

I'm loving the Lava Pearl. I'm glad I went with it over the Stealth actually. Now I'm wondering how a tort pickguard would look....

bong11.jpg
 
Gotta say, you're making me a believer in that Lava Pearl. For a while I had seen too much of it and got sick of it, but that picks reminds me just how good it is.

Back to Bongos, I haven't had my newest addition long enough to say I 'leave it in the middle' or anything along those lines, but I remember on my old carbon blue one I found myself favouring the bridge P'up. In either case, I don't have a personal preference, it all depends on what I'm doing, and as far as I'm concerned each setting sounds good. Though I will agree with some of the others here.

I'm a big fan of that rich and full precision tone, I like to roll to the neck P'up entirely, then drop the treble, push the Bass almost to full and the Low Mid to about half, and leave the High Mid where it is. I discovered just a few hours ago that gives me a really nice and full precision sound. As if you turned the 'tone' knob on the precision all teh way to the bass end. So to answer your question more precisely; Yes, I get equall use out of my neck pick up at least.
 
Aussie Mark said:
I have the pups blended on the center detent most of the time, to get the full impact of dual humbuckers and 18 volts. Sounds huge in a band with only guitar.
Click to expand...
absolutely Mark, my settings are almost always at noon on everything but I've gotta say, the Bongo is the only bass that's got me tweaking the onboard stuff, and besides, sometimes when you're playing fairly basic church tunes at times, it takes a little eq tweaking to 'stay in the game' :o

p.
 
Like Mark, I mostly use neck and bridge Pu mixed, to get a powerfull sound. But you'll find out that the neck Pu used without the bridge one mixed in can bring you usefull sounds. I can get a really good jazz tone (a bit upright wise) using the neck Pu with not so much bass on it and more highs and high mids. Of course, if you cut all the highs and boost all the bass, the sound is gonna be like just a vib without high end sound ; maybe this could be usefull for some reggea stuff with a 5'er on a 21" cab (but the room has to be large enough) !
It's all a matter of what kind of music you play. I never tried an H/s, so i cant say if there's a big difference and if the S used without the H would be more usefull for you. Continue to play with the neck H alone and torture the preamp and amp eq, you'll see what range of interesting sounds you can get !

And hey Darth...


...clean up your desk ! :D

MNF
 
I guess I'm the odd man out, then. I tend to use the neck pickup soloed on my HHp 5 string. I'll roll off a little bit of bass, bump low mids, and I get an amazing tone that sits great under the guitar. I'll usually dial in a little bit of piezo to add some transparency, but for the most part it's all neck humbucker.

The beauty of the Bongo EQ is that it is extrememly versatile. If your sound is muddy, then EQ some of the mud out. If you want more burp, add some high mids. Don't be afraid to use the EQ to cut out what you don't want in addition to emphasising what you do want.
 
I think some people think it's a sin to cut some of their lows on a bass guitar. Well, the bongo isn't just any bass guitar, it's a freak'n monster as we all know. Sometimes it is absolutley necessary to tame the bass a bit so people can hear the bass but not be killed by it.

Andrew
 
Mr. Bovine has touched on this before: The tone that I dial in at home is not the one I use in a live band setting. I personally like a scooped mids sound at home practicing. But on stage, to cut throught the mix, I have to bump up the mids to get heard. With the pan at center, I get the full potential from the 18v preamp.
 
MingusBASS said:
I think some people think it's a sin to cut some of their lows on a bass guitar. Well, the bongo isn't just any bass guitar, it's a freak'n monster as we all know. Sometimes it is absolutley necessary to tame the bass a bit so people can hear the bass but not be killed by it.

Andrew
Click to expand...

Yep. I agree 100%. On my fretted bass, I can get "hi fi boutique bass" with ease simply by bumping the mids, and cutting the bass.

And, on my fretless, if I solo the neck pickup and cut the bass, I can get a great Hofner sound.

It truly is a master of all sounds as long as you have an idea of what to expect from the preamp.
 
Well I lowered the neck pickup a few screw turns and it made a world of difference. The BLAAAAP is gone now, replaced with a nice smooth fat tone :cool:

It didn't take much..probably 1/8 inch or so to make a huge difference.
 
Glad to hear of your progress Darth! And remember, if it didn't have a purpose, the fine people at EB would not have given it to us. So if you're in doubt, keep trying. That's one thing I've surely learned with these basses.
 
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