If I could only own one MM bass...

[azzy_wazzy]

... what should it be?

What can I say - I'm a woman and I can't make up my mind on ANYTHING. First when I join here, I want a Sterling. Then I want a Bongo. Now I just don't know - never mind the different pickup configs and colours to choose from.

So, what I want to know from you lot, is what is the single most versatile bass in terms of Sterling/Bongo and pickup config? Stingray isn't really a go for me as it would probably be too heavy, and I can cope with the wider neck of the Bongo as it hopefully wouldn't break my back.

Anyhow, I've heard some of you say taht the H Bongo is all you'd ever need, some of you swear by the HH Sterling etc. Unfortunately my coming back on here has reignited the mister's desire for an Albert Lee, so I'll probably only have the cash to get just the one MM bass in the forseeable future - so what is the best option?

Prob we have here in the UK is that no music shop seems to hold stock of MM basses - I got ridiculed when I asked if my local store who deals in MM had any I could come in and play ("You think we'd let you "test" a bass like that" - my response, "Yet you expect me to shell out for one without seeing if I like the damn thing first? Sorry mate!") so I'll have to go from advice from people - plus I'm too rubbish to brave playing in a store anyway

We play a bit of everything - but our influences are very English and punkish - Beatles, Stones, The Clash, Oasis, Greenday, and a lot of modern stuff such as Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight etc (for those of you who've heard of them!).

I know the forum gets clogged up with these posts, but I need help!

(Yes, I know that's nothing new)

Thanks chaps - and the odd chappess

 

[Golem]

... what should it be?

What can I say - I'm a woman and I can't make up my mind on ANYTHING. First when I join here, I want a Sterling. Then I want a Bongo. Now I just don't know - .........

Pouncing on the "I'm a woman" thing .... What if you could only have one piece of furniture, or one pair of shoes, or one piece bling?

Why not parabalize this: "How many angels can dance on a pinhead?"

Well, if the pinhead's initials are GWB, I'm not sure any angels at all would care to soil their soles!

But, in theory, if we lay the pinhead out face down, and if angels are roughly human in size, and dance really cheek to cheek .......

What if the angels form a huge inverted 'human' pyramid, with a base of about 4 angels on the bottom, and the whole pyramid pogos wildly up and down until the pinhead is *securely* embedded in the soil of *The HomeLand* .......

Uhmnnn, so ... What *IF* you could only have one MM bass. I mean, What IF ? What is the sound of one hand clapping ?

 

[strummer]

My opinion: You should get a Bongo 5 HH of course!
The reason I like the HH over the H (which is obviously also very, very nice) is the kind of compressed, very focused and super tight sound you get with the two pick ups on full. From there you can open up towards bridge or neck, and find a plethora of great sounds just by blending.
Then start twiddling the four eq knobs, and I cannot understand anyone not able to get "their" sound out of a Bongo HH.
Can't you pop by Arrowhead? I think he's got a Bongo or two...

Or take a cheap Ryanair flight to Stockholm and try mine?

 

[Figjam]

Well, i wont try to convince you to get more than one (yet), but.. if you can only get one, I would recomend a sterling of some sort for sure. Pickup configuration is up to you. I tihnk a HS would be the way to go, actually.

 

[shamus63]

Bongo-4 H CR w/Black Ice PG.

Your color/pickguard choices may vary, but definitely the single-H Bongo!

 

[Oldtoe]

If I could only own one MM bass...

Then that would SUCK.

No, seriously...I have to vote for the Bongo 4HH. I can use that bass in any musical situation and be perfectly jiving with the band's sound due to the fantastic preamp. In fact, I'm experiencing my first lack of G.A.S. in years as a result of owning an HH Bongo.

Having said that, my next bass will be a Sterling HH because of its pickup-selection palette.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

Forgot to add that I don't "do" fivers yet

Golem - I'm not actually a "shoe" woman - I can count on one hand the number of pairs I own!

 

[strummer]

Forgot to add that I don't "do" fivers yet

Then I'm with Oldtoe: Bongo 4 HH!

 

[maddog]

I think a Bongo 4HH would be more than satisfactory

 

[Golem]

Maybe a more useful question would be:

"Although I can't imagine having only just one MusicMan Bass, I want to be sure that my stable includes are really versatile critter, so that if I have to hop a flight and can carry only one bass on board it will be as effective as possible."

In such a scenario, the combination of single coil, humbucker, and piezo bridge give the greatest PU variety. At present, the only dual PU MM that allows you to add the piezos is the Bongo. Color matters in the sense that when you hop that flight, you could be heading off to play anything from Rockabilly to jazz fusion to hardcore. Black with a red torty pickguard will fit into most situations. A couple of alternative PGs on hand would be useful. The chrome hardware will keep it from being too goth. The choice of 4 or 5 strings is unreleated to the gigs, and is mainly whatever you are comfy with. If you're comfy with 5 strings, that is all the more versatile.

So, now we have somewhat defined not your *only* EBMM bass, but merely your *first* EBMM bass, a killer Bongo, prolly a 5-string. Next, you need a Bongo 1H-P 4 FL, in an appearance package suitable for jazz, wedding, and general mayhem gigs. Rolls Burgundy with Moonstone [plus an alternative PG or two].

OK, so now you got two EBs. Loosely defined, you still need a natural finish, which means a non-Bongo. Every basser is incomplete without a natural [clear finish] ash StingRay with black PG. Get the maple FB since you can only get rosewood on the Bongos. So far, you don't have an HH PU set, so get the Ray in HH. The maple board will add a hint of brightness to the neckbucker.

Easy so far, right? So far you now have 3 EBMM basses. What is still missing? One or two really cool colors. Get one in a blazing very showy color. Get the other in one of the limited editions. You already have a Black Bongo, so you don't want the 2006 LE color cuz that's black with gold hardware, so get the blazing color for your 4th EB bass and wait for the 2007 LE for your 5th one.

Instinct and serendipity will guide you in choosing the 6th, 7th and beyond. Along the way, you may occasionally part with one of your earlier acquisitions, but never part with the clear ash with black pickguard or blood and huge lizards will rain from the sky. You would be rudderless without it. It is your touchstone. You could even buy it *first* if you're sure you won't be hopping many flights to gigs unknown in any hurry. But you must buy the killer ax, the triple PU [piezo] Bongo very soon afterward. It *must* be next, and very very *soon*.

Aren't you glad you asked a man?

 

[azzy_wazzy]

Aren't you glad you asked a man?

From you lot, I expected nothing less

I do hope to own more than one someday, but one will be a start and hopefully such a start that if I can't own any more I won't be entirely heartbroken. I'm only young and have plenty of time and earning potential ahead of me (I hope)

General consensus so far is Bongo I think - and a HH at that. "Treacle" may end up being created after all!

 

[Golem]

From you lot, I expected nothing less

I do hope to own more than one someday, but one will be a start and hopefully such a start that if I can't own any more I won't be entirely heartbroken. I'm only young and have plenty of time and earning potential ahead of me (I hope)

General consensus so far is Bongo I think - and a HH at that. "Treacle" may end up being created after all!

Straining voice trailing off down the tunnel:
" ... don't forget the pea-aye-zoh ..... .. "

Motherly voice chiming in:
" ... and don't get stuck with an uglee pickguard ... .. "

Voice of Dan Rather:
"Be sure to get both a good hard case and good gig bag.
Thank you, and Good Night."

 

[James Hill]

For me it would be a HH Sterling, which I'm searching for now.

 

[Mobay45]

Since I have two HH Bongos, I guess that's the one I would have to have.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

Bongo 4 HH +1

 

[Father Gino]

I can see this becoming the next hot reality show on Fox.

Bongoballiod Island. Contestants are forced to chose one and only one MM bass to take with them on an island populated by insane drummers, keyboardists and such. The first contestant to form a band that gets a #1 hit on the island radio station wins.

It would have a guaranteed audience of at least… I dunno, a thousand viewers! Hey, it's a cable show.

 

[todd4ta]

Well, if the pinhead's initials are GWB, I'm not sure any angels at all would care to soil their soles!

I thought we were trying to keep things nice and friendly around here

 

[T-bone]

Golem - Man I dig the way you think. And write. Tell me, PhD in Philosophy? Literature?? Your suggestions are spot on, especially with regards to the Sterling. I think that has to be my next bass.

azzy-wazzy - There's a lot-o-power here in BongoLand. However, that Sterling is one sexy bass. Sterling gets my vote...........tbone

 

[phatduckk]

no clue. i like too many of em and besides that, i havent had a chance to really try out every single combo

 

[todd4ta]

I would probably vote for a single H Bongo, either 4 or 5 as you prefer.

I think we are onto BP's master plan. It's extremely hard to agree on just one MM bass. Whichever one you choose, you will immediately start thinking about your next one.