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Just re-strung the Bongo...

Duarte

Duarte

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...whacked on a new set of slinkies.

This just reminds me of the first time I picked up the bass. I had forgotten just how great it sounded with brand new strings (yes, I havn't re-strung it since May - somehow my money always dissappears at the pub) and to be honest I'm completely in love.

Yes, I dream of getting an H Bongo one day, and an HH would be nice. Yes I am agonising over a Big Al, but to be honest I think I have got pretty much everything I could possibly need in basses (apart from a fretless maybe...but that would be a Bongo HS too!) With the combination of my SR4H (which is a STUNNER that I love) and the HS Bongo I can get almost any sound. I can nail any musical situation.

Granted, I am currently only playing upright bass in my band, but when the situation presents itself I will be fully prepared with all the electric MusicMan bass power I could possibly want. I get nothing but compliments when I take either of these basses out for jams or other stuff (such as when I can't fit the upright into the car...)

And I'm STILL regularly just sitting there, moving the redrise in the light, catching the sparkles, just looking at it. Too bad I had to leave the Bongo and amp at work...other than that...

...I'm a happy man.

Zak
 
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five7

five7

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Nov 24, 2008
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I know how you feel. I always wait too long to put on strings and then it is like Oh My God this bass sounds good. If only one of my kids worked at a music store. My son works at Jimmy Johns so we have free sub sandwichs every day. My youngest daughter use to work at Einsteins and it was free bagels and lattes all the time. My oldest daughter needs a job at Ernie Ball.
 
TNT

TNT

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Zak,

It's about time you changed strings!!! You bass players get away with murder on those strings. You think we gp's don't notice, but we do. lol,lol,lol

I never give the skinny stringers a break on this, so I figured I would just chime in. You "gotta have" fresh strings on the post!! It's the "next" best thing to getting a brand new ride - new Slinkies!!!

Oh yeah - love em. Can't wait to start decorating the tree with them. I'll see if GC can drop ship a pallet of them.
 
tkarter

tkarter

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Flats sound better the longer you play them. That really gets to guitar players :D

tk
 
oli@bass

oli@bass

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Jul 23, 2007
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Zak, I know exactly how you feel. Just had a professional setup done on my Desert Gold 'Ray, which still had the one year old factory strings on it. They weren't really played down or anything, actually they still felt pretty fresh. But with the new set of Slinkys the bass sounded like a million times better (and it already sounded phantastic before).

New strings is really the next best thing to a new bass.
 
Bloodfist

Bloodfist

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Exactly how long do you guys wait before you change the strings on your basses? I change mine before every show (which gets real expensive), but I cannot stand the sound of dead strings. I'll be putting on a new set of Hybrids tomorrow night, it's been a little over a week since I changed them lol.
 
Duarte

Duarte

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I change mine when I can afford to, and my current situation means that I can very rarely...my job is limited to 4 hours a day maximum, so I'm not exactly earning as much as I could in a day. The good part however is that I am allowed to bring my bass - no I'm encouraged to bring it!

It makes it all the sweeter when you do get new strings and it sounds so damn great. It happened with the Ray a few weeks ago. Also, the wonders of a new battery - wow! The Ray sounds so much more 'full of life' - I guess I've learnt to just maintain my basses no matter how much it costs. Which in truth, isn't that much at all.
 
keko

keko

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I usually earn money with playing gigs, and there is one point, I should call it "the point off strings death" which comes suddenly, during the play!

Unfortunately that point makes me crazy when happen in the middle of the gig! :mad:

Once I was so mad that have restrung my bass in the middle of the wedding party, during "the cake brake"! :D
After that I was mad again, 'cause whole next set I had a problem with strings detune! :rolleyes:

So after that, to avoid those problems I change strings every 3-6 months, depends of number of gigs we have! ;)
 
Fuzzy Dustmite

Fuzzy Dustmite

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I play flats, and honestly, I can't remember the last time I changed them on my SR. Maybe 2 years? :D

Just strung the new bongo with flats. I'm excited to plug it in!
 
oli@bass

oli@bass

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I change the strings whenever I feel they sound way too dead... which generally takes me a couple of months to realize...
 
DaddyFlip

DaddyFlip

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Oct 21, 2009
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Hamburg, AR
I just restrung my Bongo too. I wanted to try flats, so I put on a set of C*****s ('cause that's all Brandt had at the time in a 5-string set) and I really like the slick feel and smooth tone. Still breaking them in, stretching out the detune, but I think this may be the future for me. I play 100% fingers, and I'm a rookie, so it's been hard to keep the unwanted 'scratchy' out of my sound.

Restringing hijack- What is the correct length to cut each string on a Bongo5? So many inches/centimeters beyond the centerline of the stringpost would be good information to have. Thanks!
 
Powman

Powman

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Jul 30, 2009
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Does anyone ever just clean your strings? I used pads dipped in rubbing alcohol (don't get any on the fretboard) and boy, the strings came alive again.
 
Bloodfist

Bloodfist

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Does anyone ever just clean your strings? I used pads dipped in rubbing alcohol (don't get any on the fretboard) and boy, the strings came alive again.
Click to expand...

I actually do this a lot. If I'm playing shows back to back, or several in a row I'll do this. I sweat my butt off during our shows, so as soon as I get off the stage I clean my bass from head to toe to keep the strings sounding bright, and to keep the bass from getting all gunked up from the sweat. Typically I'll change the strings the day before the show, like I will tonight. I'll change them when I get home from work, break them in a little at practice tonight, then I won't touch the bass until we play tomorrow. I literally change my strings so much that the guys at GC will just ask me how many packs I need before I say anything to them. I could honestly buy a new bass with the amount I spend on strings a year.
 
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