newworldman86
New member
Sorry for the wall of text, excited new owner.
First post for me and first Music Man bass. I have been very active with my bass playing lately, and decided it was time to get a 5 string. I have been using a 4 string German Warwick Corvette $$ for a while now. While I do love my Warwick, the lack of a low B has been an issue with the direction both of my bands are going. The Warwick $$ 5 string neck was a bit too big for me, so I decided to try out some Music Man basses, and I am sure glad I did. I notice that on Talkbass when people discuss the Corvette $$, they frequently compare it to the Bongo or Stingray HH. After playing a few Music Man Stingrays locally I decided Music Man was the route to go. Every one I played was easily on level with my Warwick, as far as build quality goes. While I could not locally play a Bongo, I found the Stingray 5 necks to be plenty accessible even with my small hands.
I have been it playing it in all my spare time for the past 2 days. I am amazed by the playability. It is the easiest to play 5 string I have ever laid hands on. I am very impressed by the electronics. It is certainly on par with the Warwick as far as versatility goes, and once I become more proficient with the preamp, probably more versatile. I am amazed how I can emulate a fairly useable P bass, J bass, and Stingray tone. Not 100% accurate, but darn convincing. The best sound I have found is the regular Bongo tone. My favorite so far is 33% neck pup, 77% bridge pickup, EQ flat with the exception of a tiny bump to the bass. That tone kills for my fast finger style runs that I use in my progressive metal band.
Just one question for now. In one band I currently tune my Warwick to D standard, and in the other band to E standard. I found that I had good tension in both tunings with my DR Sunbeam mediums. Will I run into any neck stability issues if I retune my Bongo 3 times a week in this manner? I understand that it currently has Regular Slinky 5s. When I tune to A, I find the A string to be useable, but not as tight as I would prefer. Anyone have any suggestions for strings that would be good for both A and B standard? I am thinking Power Slinkys, but wasn't sure if the increase tension might cause issues with frequent retuning. Am I better off just learning to play my bass parts in B standard to avoid complications?
Thanks to ivbenaplayin for the great Bongo.
First post for me and first Music Man bass. I have been very active with my bass playing lately, and decided it was time to get a 5 string. I have been using a 4 string German Warwick Corvette $$ for a while now. While I do love my Warwick, the lack of a low B has been an issue with the direction both of my bands are going. The Warwick $$ 5 string neck was a bit too big for me, so I decided to try out some Music Man basses, and I am sure glad I did. I notice that on Talkbass when people discuss the Corvette $$, they frequently compare it to the Bongo or Stingray HH. After playing a few Music Man Stingrays locally I decided Music Man was the route to go. Every one I played was easily on level with my Warwick, as far as build quality goes. While I could not locally play a Bongo, I found the Stingray 5 necks to be plenty accessible even with my small hands.
I have been it playing it in all my spare time for the past 2 days. I am amazed by the playability. It is the easiest to play 5 string I have ever laid hands on. I am very impressed by the electronics. It is certainly on par with the Warwick as far as versatility goes, and once I become more proficient with the preamp, probably more versatile. I am amazed how I can emulate a fairly useable P bass, J bass, and Stingray tone. Not 100% accurate, but darn convincing. The best sound I have found is the regular Bongo tone. My favorite so far is 33% neck pup, 77% bridge pickup, EQ flat with the exception of a tiny bump to the bass. That tone kills for my fast finger style runs that I use in my progressive metal band.
Just one question for now. In one band I currently tune my Warwick to D standard, and in the other band to E standard. I found that I had good tension in both tunings with my DR Sunbeam mediums. Will I run into any neck stability issues if I retune my Bongo 3 times a week in this manner? I understand that it currently has Regular Slinky 5s. When I tune to A, I find the A string to be useable, but not as tight as I would prefer. Anyone have any suggestions for strings that would be good for both A and B standard? I am thinking Power Slinkys, but wasn't sure if the increase tension might cause issues with frequent retuning. Am I better off just learning to play my bass parts in B standard to avoid complications?
Thanks to ivbenaplayin for the great Bongo.
