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Call me crazy but....

TSanders

TSanders

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
3,535
Location
Columbus, GA
I cant help but be confused and very much in disagreement with some posts Ive read, maybe here, but I know for a fact at other fourms. Ive heard some say that their Bongos nail the StingRay tone. Ive owned 2 Bongos, a Dual H, and now a Single H, and neither one Ive owned has nailed the StingRay tone. Were they even designed to do that?? I mean I thought the Bongos were just supposed to be different animals all together, which makes since being as they have a completely different preamp. My Bongos have sounded a good bit different than a StingRay although there are similarities.

Please feel free to let me know what you think about this. And if you know how to get a Bongo to get the StingRay tone, please let me know how to do so. I could use that info.
 
im pretty sure the general consensus is that the bongo can do the stingray tone somewhat, but not really. ya know? its kinda generalized stingray tone. the bongo was not meant to be a stingray. its a different beast all together.

feel free to correct me if im wrong.
 
I do not play bass, but you are right about one thing. The Bongo was not designed to be another SR or Sterling. Not only is the preamp different, the p/ups are WAY different. Now as far as getting an SR sound, someone who plays both could answer better than me.
 
My Sterling and SR5 don't sound like my SR4.
Only played a amplified Bongo once and it
didn't sound like any one of them; However,
I was not intimate with the Bongo, using an
unfamiliar amp, & not trying to sound like a Ray.
It did sound very, very good tho
 
I just bought a bongo w/ the 2h set up. I also own an sr5. Even though they are cousins, they are two totally different beast. I don't find the tone at all the same. But then again, i'm a tone freak.
 
The dual humbucker Bongos I have can, with some careful tweaking of the knobs and with the pickup selector faded all the way to the bridge, get a very nice Stingray-ish tone.

So close, in fact, that I doubt anyone (blindfolded) could tell the difference. I am intimately familiar with the Stingray tone, as I've been playing them for the better part of three decades, and while that may not qualify me as an expert, I do know the tone.

The Bongo can do that. But what I like about the Bongo is that it does so much more than that.

Musicman basses have a "sound", which I think of as a Tone Family. The Sterling, the Stingray 5 and now the Bongo are all members of that Tone Family, but of course are invidividuals and have their own personalities.

I didn't buy a Bongo (or two or three or four) because I wanted a Stingray. I wanted it to do Bongo Things.

Make sense?
 
I spent an afternoon with a friend comparing his dual humbucker Bongo 4 to my 2 band SR and we were unable to get a SR tone out of the Bongo. A gazillion great tones? Yes. A Stingray tone? Beyond our abilities.

Of course that might not be saying much...

:D
 
My SR5 can get a decent Stingray type tone, but it does not NAIL the tone. I haven't played the Bongo yet -- none in my neck of the woods -- but I'll bet it can get close. However, there is only one Stingray, and I've never heard another bass that REALLY nails its tone and vibe. I'm quite sure that the Stingray can't even get close to all the tones of a two pickup Bongo, though -- if that's your thing. Me, I'd rather have one perfect tone, and that, for me, is the classic Stingray tone.

For anyone who knows, does the Bongo have ceramic or alnico magnets?
 
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As I posted in another thread, I spent a week with the StringRay and then the Bongo. The StringRay has a signature sound and the Bongo comes so close you really can't tell. I would say, if you want the exact SR tone then get the SR. If you want more options then the Bongo is the choice.

my .02 :)
 
TheAntMan said:
I would say, if you want the exact SR tone then get the SR. If you want more options then the Bongo is the choice.

my .02 :)
Click to expand...

A good reason why I swapped my Bonger for a Sterling :D
 
ya i figure EB wouldnt design and build a new bass just to have it sound like a product they already have. with that said the bongo has a crazy preamp that can do a lot of crazy things ... but its not a SR replacement ... its a Bongo. Not harshing on anyone, but if you want a bass that sounds like an SR4 you should probably get an SR4 :)
 
You ain't crazy...

As a SR, SR5, Sterling and now Bongo player and preEB and EBMM tone lover, the Bovinehost is right on the money. However, your ears probably play tricks on you because of what you want to hear. Most of my ensemble performing is with a nine piece (no peace) horn band, and as a vocalist- bassist, I need to hear, and have a definable signal to the outside sound man. He actually prefers the SR5 for clarity, the SR's (both pre EB) for "vintage" tone (whatever that means) and of course, I love the Bongo as well, because of the onboard flexibility and unlimited 'cool'. I use a Sterling mainly for quieter gigs although I did play one for festival work for a few years because of the curb appeal. Man I just love them all. You could preform with any EB product and not go wrong. They are all designed for the working bassist. Kudos.
 
At the risk of getting back on topic ;) , I very unexpectedly picked up a Stingray 4 this morning, and am due to receive my Bongo this Friday.

That being said, with the Bongo's I've auditioned, while you can get pretty close to the SR sound with the bridge pickup of the bongo, overall it seems like a bigger and rounder sounding bass. The Stingray comes across as a bit more focused sounding.

I'll post my next 2 cents this weekend.
 
I've played the Bongo Dual H and the Single H, and I currently own a SR5. I have to say that the tone is different in comparison from one to the other. The Bongo had more sustain than the SR5 and seem to have a little more punch on the lower end, these two basses were played through an SWR 350 and the Ampeg SVT Classic. I am by no means a tone expert, but I did notice a difference.
 
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