Bongo Question for Derek

[bovinehost]

Well, traipsed on down to my local EBMM Dealer and even though they didn't immediately know WTF I was talking about ("A pickguard for a Bongo? Isn't that a little drum?") , I eventually convinced them to order me two white pearloid Bongo guards, a four and a five.

We'll see if they get it right.

I'm thinking about another Bongo....a martini olive green one! Dammit, I should never have been allowed to see that photo from NAMM!

On the other hand, the Lava Pearl 5 with H/SC at Bass Central looks really nice...........

 

[easelkillya]

I'm partial to that Egyptian Smoke one at Bass Central. That's the color I originally wanted... I'm not sure why I went with Graphite Pearl instead. Weird!

 

[bovinehost]

Two might well be enough.....I don't know.

There may be a Wal in my future, too.

I just can't decide!

 

[easelkillya]

Hey Bovine... Have you seen those new Fender American Deluxe Precision Basses yet? It has an 18-volt 4-band preamp, split humbucker in the mid position, and a stacked jazz pickup at the bridge. Sounds pretty interesting, yesno?

 

[bovinehost]

I've seen them, but Precision necks feel clunky to me now. Played them for years, but now - after re-discovering the Jazz bass, not to mention all these MM basses - just can't dig them.

Love that tone though.

 

[mesavox]

Bumping this back up to ask if Ernie Ball has any plans for a 6 string Bongo. Um, so will there ever be a 6 string Music Man Bass besides the Sillouette Bass?

The Music Man basses are by far the best sounding basses for hard rock that I have ever heard and I'd love be see them compete with the six strings out there.

 

[midopa]

Speaking of the Sillouette, has anybody ever played that? I haven't had the chance to come across any of those at the stores I go to. Is it like a baritone spin on the bass (I'm refering to the baritone spins on guitars, if anybody was wondering)?

But anyway, a Bongo Sixer would be really funky! With the sound controls on that thing, I bet you can get an awesome sound with that added high C.

 

[mesavox]

I've played the OLP version. They are just 30" scale baritones really. Like the Old Fender 6 string bass.

The applications I have seen are as a bari tuned A to A. John Petrucci used one on the Dream Theater song "Blind Faith." It sounds amazing. Almost like an overdriven piano meets Van Halen's baritone sound.

They basically feel like a long guitar with very heavy strings and a strong tension. If you play one like a guitar for a few days and then go back to a guitar you will feel like Steve Vai the thing will feel so small. LOL

edit: Oh, I forgot to add. The other way to tune it is one octive lower than a guitar E to E. This tuning uses even heavier string gauge and I've never played it that way. Even with the heavier strings it would feel quite a bit looser than tuned A to A.

I've also heard of guitarists who like the 7 string sound but don't like the extra width in the neck tuning a baritone to B like a 7 string without the high E.

 

[midopa]

That's really interesting! Sometimes I find myself having the mentality of a guitarist more than a bassist sometimes! An evil plan is unfoiling inside my cooky head! Mwahaha

Time to take the world by surprise with chords on bass!

(not really an innovative thought, but very evil. )

 

[Psychicpet]

a "sort-of" option to an EBMM 6 string bass is to restring an SR5 or Bongo 5 from lo E to hi C , I've done this on my other 5 string and it's a blast, not quite the same but having the added range up hi means the ability to do some cool little fills in 1/2 and 1st position rather than having to slide up to the 12th on the G string......

 

[midopa]

... restring an SR5 or Bongo 5 from lo E to hi C , I've done this on my other 5 string and it's a blast ...

Hmm... Wouldn't this pose some problems with the string gauges and the nut? In the past I've heard that string gauges that don't fit nut slots well can cause fret buzz.