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Flats on Bongo Hp or HHp?
- Thread starter Edmang
- Start date
bassmonkeee
Well-known member
I've had flats on all manner of Bongos with piezos. Given the choice between the two you mention, I'd go with the HHp. I Ann a huge, huge fan of the neck pickups on Bongos with piezos with flats. But, you really can't go wrong with either of them. Assuming you like flats.
If you only pick one for flats you still have RW
on one Boingo ..... and that is soooo not right.
Essential question here is which one to de-fret,
and I recommend the single H with piezo. You
don't need a neck PU on a FL
on one Boingo ..... and that is soooo not right.
Essential question here is which one to de-fret,
and I recommend the single H with piezo. You
don't need a neck PU on a FL
Last edited:
MrMusashi
Well-known member
flats on both of them!!
the new cobalt ones are great!
MrM
the new cobalt ones are great!
MrM
Thanks for the replies.
@MrMsashi Question on the cobalt flats. I thought I read somewhere that they feel like flats but sound more like round wounds? Is that the case or am I mistaken?
@Golem Interesting suggestion on the de-fret. I suppose if I get good at fretless, may be something to consider in the future. Provided I don't find a fretless Hp before then!
Love the piezo option. Sad that will have to rely on the used market for any future purchase. Hopefully will have funds available at the time any opportunity presents itself in the future.
@MrMsashi Question on the cobalt flats. I thought I read somewhere that they feel like flats but sound more like round wounds? Is that the case or am I mistaken?
@Golem Interesting suggestion on the de-fret. I suppose if I get good at fretless, may be something to consider in the future. Provided I don't find a fretless Hp before then!
Love the piezo option. Sad that will have to rely on the used market for any future purchase. Hopefully will have funds available at the time any opportunity presents itself in the future.
MrMusashi
Well-known member
they still have that flats feeling but are very lively at the top. you can actually slap on them and it doesnt sound too dull
MrM
MrM
flats on both of them!!
the new cobalt ones are great!
MrM
So far, I have not put cobalts on any bass with
piezos. It would only affect the mag PU, and I
heavily favor the piezo on the balance knob ...
Acoarst as a devotee of flats, it's a very major
decision to go with a newly introduced string.
Since flats last forever I consider them to be a
fully integral permanent part of the instrument.
Therefore my approach is to get a new bass to
string up with any new type of strings. Acoarst
it's best to exactly duplicate one of the basses
that's already on hand ... otherwise I have no
basis on which to compare the new sound. It's
not easy being me
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Kong
Well-known member
Back to the OP query, I spoze the piezo Bongo more
"deserving" of the Cobalt flats would be the one with
more magnetic PUs, since Cobalt is about magnetism
and has no added benefit for the piezo saddle PUs.
Consider radically lowering the mag PUs when you
switch to Cobalt. It allows you to do that and still get
a healthy signal. There's a cool sonic effect to having
more distance in there, but most strings and PUs will
lose too much output. With Cobalts on a Bongo you
can do it with very little output loss [as compared to
same bass with conventional strings] cuz you got the
neodymium PUs, the Cobalt strings, and the Bongo's
powerful, and quite clean, 18 volt EQ-pre.
Admittedly, I'm piezo oriented. Many of my basses
have no mag PUs at all. So realize you're reading a
suggestion from someone who treats the piezos as a
primary voice and the mag PUs as added coloration ...
prolly the reverse of the more typical approach. But
the flats do enable this approach. If you play fretted
bass and favor the piezos, you can get far more fret
noise than you'd want when playing RW. Flats, any
type, will reduce fret noise [vs RW]. Acoarst most of
my basses are 200% fully immune to fret noise
"deserving" of the Cobalt flats would be the one with
more magnetic PUs, since Cobalt is about magnetism
and has no added benefit for the piezo saddle PUs.
Consider radically lowering the mag PUs when you
switch to Cobalt. It allows you to do that and still get
a healthy signal. There's a cool sonic effect to having
more distance in there, but most strings and PUs will
lose too much output. With Cobalts on a Bongo you
can do it with very little output loss [as compared to
same bass with conventional strings] cuz you got the
neodymium PUs, the Cobalt strings, and the Bongo's
powerful, and quite clean, 18 volt EQ-pre.
Admittedly, I'm piezo oriented. Many of my basses
have no mag PUs at all. So realize you're reading a
suggestion from someone who treats the piezos as a
primary voice and the mag PUs as added coloration ...
prolly the reverse of the more typical approach. But
the flats do enable this approach. If you play fretted
bass and favor the piezos, you can get far more fret
noise than you'd want when playing RW. Flats, any
type, will reduce fret noise [vs RW]. Acoarst most of
my basses are 200% fully immune to fret noise
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