nspark
Well-known member
First off, I'm sorry I don't have any pictures - I forgot to bring my Canon and I suppose I didn't expect my Guitar Center (Tampa, Hillsborough Ave) to have any HH StingRays or SR5s. Upon arriving, however, I was very happy to see that I was indeed mistaken. So, here are my initial impressions.
The first bass I played was the HH StingRay5. Upon seeing this bass, the first thing anyone but a blind man would notice was that it was BEAUTIFUL. Honeyburst finish, tortoise pickguard, rosewood fingerboard, and with the two humbuckers, it just WORKED. It looked so good. Picking it up, it felt just like my SR5 and I felt instantly at home (not that I expected otherwise). The first thing I did was set it to Position 5 (just the bridge humbucker) to get a "baseline" tone in my head. And yes, it sounded great, just like my StingRay5, so I knew all was right with the world. Then, I went to Position 1 (neck humbucker). To my ears, it was a little undefined and lacked the punch I was looking for. Next, I tried Position 2 (outer coils). I liked Position 2, but not as much as Position 5. Then, I tried Position 4 (inner coils) and I thought it was pretty much useless to me. Didn't like the tone at all. [Note: I think that I didn't mix up (in my memory) whether I tried Position 2 or 4 first, though I might have mixed things up] Finally, I tried Position 3 (both humbuckers). I have to say that I wasn't blown away as I had expected. It still sounded good, but to me, I guess I just liked the sound of the solo bridge humbucker a bit more. Pos5 was punchier and growlier, but Pos3 was a bit warmer and fatter, but as I have my SR5 strung with TI Jazz Flats, I get the warmth and the growl together and Pos5 was just more my thing.
The HH StingRay met with the same opinions, as would be expected. It was a Graphite Pearl finish that just looked great. I love that color. Tonally, it sounded a little different than the SR5 did to my ears, but the general opinion of the pickup switching was the same for me. As an aside, I've been a little unsure whether the SR5 was right for me - I've always been a 4-string player - and after playing this and a "regular" Sterling, I think I'm sold that a 4-string EBMM is what I need. I even expected the slightly-wider StingRay neck to bother me, but that thing just fit like a glove and felt RIGHT.
Finally, let me say I had never played a Bongo before and now I had one in my hands. Graphite Pearl (as was the StingRay), abalone pickguard, dual humbuckers, four strings. When I first saw the Bongos, I didn't like the look. In the following months, I grew to like it and now I think they look quite good. Upon picking it up, I noticed this thing was LIGHT. In my hands, the neck just felt incredibly good. Plugging it in, let me say this - all the praise Lord Bongo (and everyone else) has lavished on these basses is ENTIRELY DESERVED. This was THE TONE. It was incredible and entirely blew me away. Yes, the HH StingRay and SR5 sounded good, but to my ears, this was it. It was warm and full, yet tight, growly, and punchy. I ran this flat (all the knobs in the center detent), with the two pickups evenly blended. I didn't spend any time really exploring the EQ, but on a few minor adjustments, I could tell just how powerful it really was. Regardless, this bass was INCREDIBLE. My only complaint about the Bongo is that the lower horn felt a bit like it was cutting into my leg when I rested it on my thigh. If I moved the bass to rest more towards my knee it was okay, but I guess my huge thigh is just a little big to comfortably rest the Bongo on. Not that that would matter to me when playing at a gig!
Now that I've experienced all these EBMM basses I've been missing out on, I've now been stricken with the worst case of GAS yet. I think I need a dual-humbucker Bongo, single-humbucker Sterling, and I've also got mad GAS for an unlined fretless, so I might have to get a fretless EBMM bass too. I can't imagine how incredible a fretless Bongo would be - I've never had the chance to play a fretless EBMM bass.
I will have to do so eventually, though this "need" for EBMM basses will be a slowly satiated one.
[Edit: In case it matters, I played all this through an Ampeg SVT Classic into an Ampeg SVT-410HLF.]
-Nick Park
The first bass I played was the HH StingRay5. Upon seeing this bass, the first thing anyone but a blind man would notice was that it was BEAUTIFUL. Honeyburst finish, tortoise pickguard, rosewood fingerboard, and with the two humbuckers, it just WORKED. It looked so good. Picking it up, it felt just like my SR5 and I felt instantly at home (not that I expected otherwise). The first thing I did was set it to Position 5 (just the bridge humbucker) to get a "baseline" tone in my head. And yes, it sounded great, just like my StingRay5, so I knew all was right with the world. Then, I went to Position 1 (neck humbucker). To my ears, it was a little undefined and lacked the punch I was looking for. Next, I tried Position 2 (outer coils). I liked Position 2, but not as much as Position 5. Then, I tried Position 4 (inner coils) and I thought it was pretty much useless to me. Didn't like the tone at all. [Note: I think that I didn't mix up (in my memory) whether I tried Position 2 or 4 first, though I might have mixed things up] Finally, I tried Position 3 (both humbuckers). I have to say that I wasn't blown away as I had expected. It still sounded good, but to me, I guess I just liked the sound of the solo bridge humbucker a bit more. Pos5 was punchier and growlier, but Pos3 was a bit warmer and fatter, but as I have my SR5 strung with TI Jazz Flats, I get the warmth and the growl together and Pos5 was just more my thing.
The HH StingRay met with the same opinions, as would be expected. It was a Graphite Pearl finish that just looked great. I love that color. Tonally, it sounded a little different than the SR5 did to my ears, but the general opinion of the pickup switching was the same for me. As an aside, I've been a little unsure whether the SR5 was right for me - I've always been a 4-string player - and after playing this and a "regular" Sterling, I think I'm sold that a 4-string EBMM is what I need. I even expected the slightly-wider StingRay neck to bother me, but that thing just fit like a glove and felt RIGHT.
Finally, let me say I had never played a Bongo before and now I had one in my hands. Graphite Pearl (as was the StingRay), abalone pickguard, dual humbuckers, four strings. When I first saw the Bongos, I didn't like the look. In the following months, I grew to like it and now I think they look quite good. Upon picking it up, I noticed this thing was LIGHT. In my hands, the neck just felt incredibly good. Plugging it in, let me say this - all the praise Lord Bongo (and everyone else) has lavished on these basses is ENTIRELY DESERVED. This was THE TONE. It was incredible and entirely blew me away. Yes, the HH StingRay and SR5 sounded good, but to my ears, this was it. It was warm and full, yet tight, growly, and punchy. I ran this flat (all the knobs in the center detent), with the two pickups evenly blended. I didn't spend any time really exploring the EQ, but on a few minor adjustments, I could tell just how powerful it really was. Regardless, this bass was INCREDIBLE. My only complaint about the Bongo is that the lower horn felt a bit like it was cutting into my leg when I rested it on my thigh. If I moved the bass to rest more towards my knee it was okay, but I guess my huge thigh is just a little big to comfortably rest the Bongo on. Not that that would matter to me when playing at a gig!
Now that I've experienced all these EBMM basses I've been missing out on, I've now been stricken with the worst case of GAS yet. I think I need a dual-humbucker Bongo, single-humbucker Sterling, and I've also got mad GAS for an unlined fretless, so I might have to get a fretless EBMM bass too. I can't imagine how incredible a fretless Bongo would be - I've never had the chance to play a fretless EBMM bass.
I will have to do so eventually, though this "need" for EBMM basses will be a slowly satiated one.[Edit: In case it matters, I played all this through an Ampeg SVT Classic into an Ampeg SVT-410HLF.]
-Nick Park
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