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John Myung Bongo 4

OFFICIAL 2012 Honeyburst PDN Club !

That must sound SO awesome... a PERFECT combo with these woods. Wow, Great 5H total score
 
Thanks! It DOES sound great and plays like butta. Forgot to mention the biggest deal for me and the reason I snagged it up asap when I saw it online - only weighs around 8 lbs. - total score! I've owned several other Sterling 5s and they were up around 10 lbs.
 
Could you say a few words about the tone vs your "regular" 5H?

I'm finding this is a lot warmer, mellow, less bright, which is all great, just different. I'd say my Sterling turned into a mellow Bongo 5HH with nickels. I actually have my Bongo 5HH up for sale to grab a "regular" Sterling 5HH with a maple neck. The Bongo 5HH & Sterling 5HH now occupy too much of the same tonal space.

I'd imagine you could EASILY justify keeping both Sterling 5Hs
 
I think you nailed it with the tone on the PDN – warmer, mellow, less bright, different and a little more compressed / controlled. Correction on the weight – the PDN is 9 lbs and the standard 5H is about 8.5 lbs. I had never seen a different body wood like this mahogany and really wasn’t paying attention to any talk about it on the forums, so when I first saw a picture of one I had to have it. The honeyburst finish is amazing on the mahogany and the roasted maple neck is really nice.

My quick story on the Sterling 5 – I was really glad to see this one go into production back in 2008. I was probably one of many who used to email EBMM about doing a 5 string version of the Sterling – I used to get responses like “stay tuned” etc. I bought and sold 3 different Sterling 5s – each pup config – HS, HH, H – come to find out that I prefer the H over the others, but then went on a quest to find a lighter bass. My comfort zone for bass weight is 8 lbs – found that standard 5H by doing a search online and actually traded my Sterling 4H for it. Shortly after, found the PDN and pulled the trigger on it too.

Here’s the deal with having both basses too – I use the standard 5H as the workhorse bass – clubs / restaurants / small stages – you know the deal – the kind of stages where a ding might happen! The PDN is strictly for casuals / corporate parties / large stages where there is little chance to damage that thing.

And I have a Sabre Classic on it’s way – will be here Friday. That one takes the place of the Sterling 4H I traded. It should be a nice funk machine. I knew the Sabre would materialize at some point – after seeing the Tony Levin version it was just a matter of time.
 
I sat down and played some 90s alternative and punk with a pick last night and damn was it sweet. The added warmth if the mahogany really shines with a pick. Great attack but still retaining depth and warmth. You can really cut the Mids on these and still shine through. I experimented with the treble maxed out and it was great . Usually that's unusable gank and clank but theses being a little treble shy they respond well to it maxed.

Love this bass with blues, gospel stuff if I'm in the pocket. Not my bass for finger style funk, slapping.

I'm still using steels. Going to try another set soon.
 
The more I tinker and play mine, the more I love it. In one band, I use it exclusively. My poor Ray...
 
Cobalts + PDN = WIN

Stock slinkies = Too warm \ mellow for my tonal goals with the Mahogany. Sound great though.

Had a pair of Dean Markley Helix SS strings but the B didn't fit well. Steels added some high end & clarity though but the output was pretty low

Cobalts today for 1st time: WHOA! Talk about clarity, aggression. Lows are big but they are TIGHT, certainly the added sparkle to the high end. Clearly a big jump in output. Really a PERFECT combo with the PDN. The mahogany has that thick warm tone & the Cobalts bring out the other frequencies as well

Rock
 
I had the cobalts on the Bongo pretty well right away. Makes this bass SING!! Can't really go back to regular slinkys, I'm spoiled with tone.
 
lefenton said:
I had the cobalts on the Bongo pretty well right away. Makes this bass SING!! Can't really go back to regular slinkys, I'm spoiled with tone.
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The more I play with these Cobalts the more I like em. I nailing every tone I'm looking for plus the warmth of the mahogany really makes this smooth when I need to. I have 2 sets of steels left I got cheap off of craigslist that I'm going to use\try & if they dont cut the mustard I'm sticking with Cobalts for life on this bass. Once I know what I like, I stick with it.

Dying to get back into a band after the new addition to the family settles in !
 
Still have Cobalts on the PDN & its getting its first club gig with a photographer. Hope to get some great action pics! Deep thick tone on this bass
 
tunaman4u2 said:
Cobalts + PDN = WIN
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Full ACK! My 2Bd. PDN-Ray sings and growls best with Cobalts. I think no other strings will ever touch this bass again!
Here's a photograph from the first gig with my mahogany beauty:
Foto(4).jpg
Great tone with the Cobalts, Mywatt 200-Amp and FMC 2153 CL-Cabinet. No 'dead spots' in bass sound on stage, clarity and warmth everywhere I went. The band mates were truly amazed!
 
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I hear ya. I'm REALLY excited to play Billy Jean with this. Thats NOT a tone I would normally grab a Sterling for but this can nail that warmth in all registers tone but also get the clarity when I want it too.
 
Gig was ridiculous , tone was epic. Pro photographer took pics and I had her get a bunch of just the bass

I missed out on buying a sterling 5 hs maple by 1 hour on Friday But after the gig I'm okay with that. The honey burst was awesome
 
Hi guys,
just throwing this out there.
If anyone has a 5 string of the Mahog/roasted PDNs (interested in nearly any model/configuration) that they might be willing to sell, PM me, I'm in the market.
 
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PDN power !!! I've had a few too many tonight so I felt like posting !!
 
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