philthygeezer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2004
- Messages
- 389
When it got here, it was fitted with old discoloured strings and the batteries were on the way out. The saddles were set as high as they could go and there were fingerprints and gundge on the fretboard and tuning keys. I'm a n00b hack, but I even I know how to take good care of a bass and keep it set up properly. Some people's kids... 
So I got the Brasso out, shined up the chrome, cleaned the fretboard and wiped the bass down. Then I fitted Ti Jazz flats, lowered the saddles and gave the truss rod a 1/8 turn. Then I put straplocks on it. Much better.
One thing I noticed right away is, with the EQ set flat, how much this bass sounds like my 2-band Stingray. I'd say it's much closer to the Stingray than the Sterling, and I can nail the Stingray's sound exactly by adding a little treble. This is with the balance set on the notch in the middle between the two pups. I did a couple of experiments by running the Bongo, Stingray and Sterling into the 2 inputs of my Ampeg BA210 and equalizing the volume. I put brand new EB Super Slinkies on the Bongo to make it the same as the Stingray and Sterling.
But that is where the similarity ends. The front humbucker and the preamp add worlds that the other two can't visit. I can pan to the front pickup, drop a little mid out and boost the bass and I've got huge booty. When I boost the mids it gets that nice honk a la my 70's Hohner, which produces sounds I love. The 4 band pre-amp gives lots and lots of very different sounds. The bass has a strong low end that would indeed make old people cry (nice analogy BH ). For pure low end bass booty it seems: Bongo>Stingray>Sterling. My Sterling has a bright freshness that's hard to get with the Bongo and Stingray, but not as much bass with the EQ flat.
The bass looks far better in the hand than it does in this picture. The body is very comfortable and hangs just right. The neck is still very fast with its satin finish and i don't feel much difference between it and the Stingray, though it feels a tiny bit easier to play for reasons I can't explain. I like that the pole pieces don't protrude from the pickup. Someone said the control knobs are aluminum: is this correct?
A minor annoyance: the A string vibrates on the bottom of the string tree with the Super Slinkies. It didn't do this with the cloth-wound TI Jazz flats, and also doesn't do it when the bass is horizontal. I may file down the string tree or find a different one. Either that or just leave it. It may wind up with the Jazz Flats on permanently, considering how good it sounds with those strings.
So I got the Brasso out, shined up the chrome, cleaned the fretboard and wiped the bass down. Then I fitted Ti Jazz flats, lowered the saddles and gave the truss rod a 1/8 turn. Then I put straplocks on it. Much better.
One thing I noticed right away is, with the EQ set flat, how much this bass sounds like my 2-band Stingray. I'd say it's much closer to the Stingray than the Sterling, and I can nail the Stingray's sound exactly by adding a little treble. This is with the balance set on the notch in the middle between the two pups. I did a couple of experiments by running the Bongo, Stingray and Sterling into the 2 inputs of my Ampeg BA210 and equalizing the volume. I put brand new EB Super Slinkies on the Bongo to make it the same as the Stingray and Sterling.
But that is where the similarity ends. The front humbucker and the preamp add worlds that the other two can't visit. I can pan to the front pickup, drop a little mid out and boost the bass and I've got huge booty. When I boost the mids it gets that nice honk a la my 70's Hohner, which produces sounds I love. The 4 band pre-amp gives lots and lots of very different sounds. The bass has a strong low end that would indeed make old people cry (nice analogy BH
). For pure low end bass booty it seems: Bongo>Stingray>Sterling. My Sterling has a bright freshness that's hard to get with the Bongo and Stingray, but not as much bass with the EQ flat.The bass looks far better in the hand than it does in this picture. The body is very comfortable and hangs just right. The neck is still very fast with its satin finish and i don't feel much difference between it and the Stingray, though it feels a tiny bit easier to play for reasons I can't explain. I like that the pole pieces don't protrude from the pickup. Someone said the control knobs are aluminum: is this correct?
A minor annoyance: the A string vibrates on the bottom of the string tree with the Super Slinkies. It didn't do this with the cloth-wound TI Jazz flats, and also doesn't do it when the bass is horizontal. I may file down the string tree or find a different one. Either that or just leave it. It may wind up with the Jazz Flats on permanently, considering how good it sounds with those strings.
