Got my Bongo - help with settings?

[Koch Sanchez]

Got my used Bongo 5 HSC (carbon blue) - I love the neck on this thing and the weight is awesome. Really like some of the tones I can get out of the rear H but I haven't been able to find any usable tones when soloing the front S pickup. Any recommendations.

Also two other questions - it tends to hum when I roll the PU blend knob to the back pickup - is this normal? Also - got a ton of fret buzz on the lower frets out of the box - could it be because the dealer loosened strings to ship as well as changing climates? Something a pro setup can fix?

 

[Koch Sanchez]

Also - would the fret buzz issue plus the fact that it has some light scratches/scuff marks on the side of the neck cause you to return the bass?

 

[Psycho Ward]

OK, I'll tell ya all I know...

The single coil, like all single coils will be a little noisey. Start with all eq knobs set to the center indent and your amp set flat. The Bongo preamp is very powerful and a little goes a long way. I personally love the EBMM single coil, it's got a sound that I love!

Good luck and let the bass get use to your climate before you adjust anything.

 

[tkarter]

Used basses with scratches are fairly common.

What Chuck said on the settings.

tk

 

[HELLonWHEELS]

My favorite setting on my Bongo is

Piezo- 55%

Blend- 55% of rear

Treble- Flat

High mid- Boosted a bit

Low mid- rolled off a tiny bit

Bass- Rolled off a tiny bit


Since i have the piezo you might want to compensate by upping the low mids.

 

[Koch Sanchez]

Here are some pics - including a pic of the action to see what you guys think.

 

[Koch Sanchez]

How can I tell if the neck is warped or if it just needs a setup. I have two days to return it and I want to make sure I'm not overlooking something. The action is quite high.

 

[timmy5strings]

If you point the neck away from you and look down the body (like holding a rifle) at the neck, you can see if the the neck is true or of it has a bow to it. A 1/8 to a quarter turn in the right direction should straighten it out. The couple of bongo's I've played had really low action and buzzed a little too. I think I'm starting to like them.

 

[Koch Sanchez]

I adjusted the truss - it plays pretty good now but it buzzes pretty bad at the 3rd fret. If I apply reverse pressure on the neck (ie pull back slightly) the buzz is more pronounced. Is this an issue?

 

[mynan]

This problem is going to be almost impossible to solve via this venue. If you don't know, find someone who does...preferably someone that can get their hands on the bass. If not, find someone you can get on the phone. Maybe EBMM Customer Service.

 

[1Echo]

Congratulations on the Carbon Blue Bongo5 HS --- I love mine.

There are a ton of usable tones not just with pickup options but with where the string is plucked. The Bongo is very usuable whether played near the bridge or over the 24th fret. Most of the time I keep the pickup balance just a bit towards the bridge (but not by much) and play just in front of the bridge pickup. However, soloing the single coil and playing with a pick towards the neck makes for a killer tone when playing harder modern rock. Have fun exploring the possibilities!

 

[adouglas]

This problem is going to be almost impossible to solve via this venue. If you don't know, find someone who does...preferably someone that can get their hands on the bass. If not, find someone you can get on the phone. Maybe EBMM Customer Service.

+1. Go find a good tech. EBMM basses are of the finest quality, and chances are very good that it is not defective in any way.

Also, understand that fret buzz is something that is, to a certain limited extent, normal. A little bit of buzz is not audible when you plug in. I have my bass set up per factory spec, it is not defective in any way, and if I play it unplugged, I can get it to buzz.

If you play really hard, you can get buzz no matter how high you have the action set. If you have a light touch, you can set the action really low and not have any trouble, but it'll buzz like mad if you dig in. It's a balance. This is true of any fretted instrument, from any manufacturer.

FYI, all the factory specs for setup are in the bass FAQ, which is on the main EB website.

Regarding the hum, are you sure you get it when you select the BRIDGE pickup? As Chuck said, it's normal for the single coil NECK pickup to hum a bit if soloed.

 

[Koch Sanchez]

I just checked - it is the single coil that hums when I blend the knob toward the neck.