Locking in a Tone Setting

[nicolasd]

i know there's no special solution to this, but i thought i'd just put it out there.

i find that my bongo with humbucker/single-coil/piezo has SO many tonal options and variables. i love having that range and flexibility.

i do find though that every time i take the bass out of my bass bag, the knobs move. now, with this bass, i find even very subtle movements in the eq or pickup arrangement DO change the tone significantly.

and with so many variables (high, hi-mid, lo-mid, low, humbucker-to-single-coil sweep and piezo full or off) it can be hard to remember or quickly get back to where i want to be.

i would love it if there was a way to lock the knobs in place so i can keep a tone setting. not having that ability really limits my ability to explore the tonal range of the bongo, because i find i don't want to fall in love with a setting i can't reliably recreate.

i have an amp head that allows one to push the knobs in so they are much harder to move. i've seen on a car stereo, the ability to push treble/bass, left/right, front/back setting knobs in so they are almost flush. then another press pops them out for dialing in your settings.

anyhow, just some daydreaming thoughts. wondering what, if any thoughts or attempts were made in this area of design for the MM basses.

thanks!
-nico

 

[bovinehost]

i would love it if there was a way to lock the knobs in place

Scenario 1:


EBMM: "Hello, Ernie Ball Customer Service. How can I help you?"

Customer: "My knobs won't move."

EBMM: "Well, that's so you can easily maintain your -"

Customer: "No, they won't move! This thing sucks!"


Scenario 2:

Non-EBMM Forum Post: "So I got my new Stingray today and the damned knobs won't move. This thing sucks."

Scenario 3:

Posted on another forum: "These sounded better when the knobs were easier to move. These new ones suck."


Ad nauseum.

Dude, they're knobs.

 

[mynan]

Just be glad that 8-knob proto didn't make it to production. Who was it that asked why?...now you know.

 

[mynan]

i know there's no special solution to this, but i thought i'd just put it out there.

I put a little dot of liquid whiteout on my volume knob so that I know where 50% is and that seems to work pretty well.

 

[Dargin]

Cliff Hugo (bongoman) uses something like a grease pen or pencil to mark his settings.

 

[tombboy]

I put a little dot of liquid whiteout on my volume knob so that I know where 50% is and that seems to work pretty well.

+1 for that.
A tiny dab of tippex on both the knob and the body (shouldn't harm the finish) to match up the alignment could work.
If not then a permanent marker for the knob and a chisel to gouge a chunk out of the body will be fine!!

FFS... DO NOT TAKE THE LATTER APPROACH!!!

 

[nashman]

Use a hardshell case instead of a gig bag?

 

[ptg]

This has been a problem of mine and many other musicians I know for a long time.

I even know one guy who, when in the studio, scotch tapes the knobs in place until the session is over.

Your only other choice is to replace them (and I don't know if they would fit) with the old fashioned numbered speed knobs. They're not the prettiest things in the world, but at least you know what settings you're at for what song.

 

[spencer]

What I would do...

Each knob has an allen wrench hole, I would turn the pot untill I get the desired tone and then put the knob on with the allen hole faceing you, kind of like how most stingrays come with the hole faceing the player in the center detent postion...

Or just remember where it is.. I can tell you that the same setting won't work for every song or every enviroment. So why not remember that you like a little boost in the low mids with a cut in the high mids and a cut in the bass, with a little more front pickup than the rear and about 25% pizo.. ??

Can't be that hard to do, also you couldn't tell the diffrence of a few degrees of turn in a band situation anyways..

 

[Aussie Mark]

Cliff Hugo (bongoman) uses something like a grease pen or pencil to mark his settings.

Chinagraph pencils are good for this too. I have one in my gig bag to mark settings on unfamiliar house rigs during sound check.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I even know one guy who, when in the studio, scotch tapes the knobs in place until the session is over.

I've seen guys do this on stage as well, in case the knobs get bumped during the gig.

 

[oli@bass]

That's why I like the center detents, and generally run as flat as possible...

 

[jaylegroove]

Dude, they're knobs.

+1. They were born to be tweaked.

 

[Caca de Kick]

All my basses have a favorite setting, and I never veer off that setting.
So what I do is find my settings, then I take the knobs off and reposition the knobs so the set screws point straight up, then I tighten the set screws back down. That way when I'm at a show or whatever and need to reset things because they were bumped or something, it's easy for me to see it even in the dark.

I have no idea if Bongo's have set screws...but when you see all my basses, the knobs all look like the picture below

 

[nicolasd]

Scenario 1:


EBMM: "Hello, Ernie Ball Customer Service. How can I help you?"

Customer: "My knobs won't move."

EBMM: "Well, that's so you can easily maintain your -"

Customer: "No, they won't move! This thing sucks!"


Scenario 2:

Non-EBMM Forum Post: "So I got my new Stingray today and the damned knobs won't move. This thing sucks."

Scenario 3:

Posted on another forum: "These sounded better when the knobs were easier to move. These new ones suck."


Ad nauseum.

Dude, they're knobs.

yes jack, and i gave you a few scenarios for design solutions for the problem.
if zero support calls is the goal then the company should close shop. it's never going to happen.

i see you've managed to lock in a tone of defeatism, by the way.


-n.

 

[Psycho Ward]

I just moved all indents.

 

[oli@bass]

I just moved all indents.

(you're pulling our collective leg, aren't you?!)

 

[Alvabass]

My fretted Bongo is 99% of the time like this:

On my fretless, the settings are a bit more "complicated" since I favor the bridge pickup and the piezos, but I don't gig that much with my toothless Bongo, so it's not a hassle for me.

 

[MrMusashi]

the pots are "looser" on the bongo than on the 30th.. those are almost too tight, but i guess in 20 years they will be just right

the dual stacked pots would be hard to make recessed..

if possible you could try loosening the set screws and push the knob down so it touches the material below. that should give it some resistance to movement, but you will get wear on the part it rubs against.. i havent tried this myself so i dont know if you can actually push the knobs so far down they make contact.. might be worth a try if youre not fiddling too much with the controls..

MrM

 

[bongo man]

Cliff Hugo (bongoman) uses something like a grease pen or pencil to mark his settings.

Just a simple white grease pencil works great and wipes off if needed.
;-)