Coil tapping a Bongo HH?

[nicjimbass]

Hey guys (and gals),

I've been thinking a bit the past several days about my Bongo (which I am in love with at the moment). I love the versatility, but I'm wondering 'what if there where a way to add to that versatility'?

I believe I read that the Bongo pups are wired in parallel (correct me if I'm wrong). Would it be possible to wire a 3 way toggle switch for each pup, with N coil on, Both on, S coil on, essentially giving the option of running both humbuckers in single coil mode, giving it more of a J sound?

I know that it may be a dumb thing to do, and I'm not planning on doing so at all, just curious. What would the sonic benefits and cons be? Are the pups wired so that this is even possible? I also understand that mounting the toggle might prove challenging, if not impossible, without modifying the control cavity and body. Any thoughts?

 

[bdgotoh]

Bongo pickups are wired in parallel with only two wires so it would be difficult to do. After hearing the HH Sterling and HH Stingray, I've always wondered the same thing.

 

[nicjimbass]

Well if that's the case, I can stop wondering...lol. Thanks!

 

[strummer]

Been playing HH Bongos for 3 years now, and i can't say I crave more versatility
But, if you remove your pick ups you'll see the li'l wire connecting the colis on the underside, and if you sever that connection and add long leads you'll be able to do all the switching you can imagine; single coil, parallell, series, put of phase, whatever
BUT
As you won't be able to get a replacement if you mess things up, I would not recommend that you try the above, unless of course you are real skilled with a soldering iron, have in depth knowledge about pick ups and really really want to hear what the H pick up would sound like in single coil or whatever mode.

Why mess with perfection?

Otoh, I believe the reason for not having those exact switching options (3 way toggle series/single coil/parallell) is that the Bongo would just be plain confusing to use

 

[nicjimbass]

Believe me, I've ruined enough stuff in my lifetime, including certain aspects of my SR5 (which I won't go into detail about, for the sake of everyone's sanity) to know when I'm not experienced enough to tackle a project. I think I could easily do the mods I talked about, but like you said, it'd be confusing... even more so than it is already! And I don't want to mess with perfection, which I think this bass is, truly.