Oh god.. What have I done??

[CFA]

Today I got home from school, excited to play my beautiful Stingray... but when I open my case, I'm greeted with this HORRENDOUS sight...
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I've only played it unplugged so far, but I love it (and its looks)

Just so Duarte doesnt get all the props, I'm 18 as well haha

 

[Duarte]

Well then. I mean, that is nice bass and all...shame about the massive chip in the headstock...I'll bet it sounds shocking...

Plug it in for the love of god! It will sound like HEAVEN!

 

[adouglas]

What you have done, young one, is....

• Graduated to the Big Time.
• Made one of the smartest decisions to date in your short life.
• Become a bona fide, card-carrying member of our wonderful, creepy cult.
• Armed yourself with a certified Weapon of Mass Destruction.
• Displayed remarkable taste, intelligence and erudition for one your age.
• Attained the esteemed title of Bongoloid.

Have fun, y'all!

 

[Duarte]

erudition

what does that word mean?

 

[CFA]

Haha, I've plugged it in (Unfortunately to my computer speakers, since my amp isn't around). The strings are pretty dead I believe (Or at least I hope they are) They remind me more of Flats then Rounds, and the treble knobs seems to make very little change... so my hopes are on the strings being old (I see some rust on them) and not it being the bass (Which I seriously doubt).

The massive chip doesn't bother me at all, to be honest. It happened, and it can't be undone, it's in what I hear to be a fairly common place, and it's just a little mojo I'm sure it will be much worse in a few years... though probably not as bad a Koogs' bass... hopefully...

 

[oli@bass]

Where has that Bongo come from (was it time warped? look at the twenty years tarnish on the tuners!) and what happend to your 'Ray?

 

[CFA]

The 'Ray is fine and safe in its case, where it will possibly staying for some time now. I'm not sure if I've been fully swayed to the Bongo side yet (Gotta say, I still prefer the Stingray neck). We'll see what happens when I get new strings, and batteries.

Basically, what happened to the 'Ray was it got a new "Friend" which I've been told is addicting enough to make some players ditch the 'Ray

 

[five7]

Let us know if things change after you put new strings on it.

 

[CFA]

I will. I'm getting a new pack Sunday, and I'll be changing batteries and strings in the Stingray and the Bongo. See which one I like more... even though I'm not parting with either regardless

 

[Grand Wazoo]

what does that word mean?

Erudition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Big Poppa]

Look out Sunday...get your affairs in order..your life will be different from that day on You will become a BONGOLOID!

 

[SharonG]

Prepare to be assimilated.........................

 

[fogman]

what a nice mistake!

 

[7broccos]

Nice color that lava pearl You will still play the stingray,but probably not as much!I played mySR5 fretless today on a jazz gig,.....WOW!

 

[RobertB]

Let us know if things change after you put new strings on it.

Or just after you've played it for a few weeks, nevermind the strings. If you play only the Bongo for a few weeks and then pick up the Ray ... THAT's the scenario that results in massively extended case time for some Ray owners/Bongo converts - definitely in my case. It's not a slam on the Ray - it's a classic that can't be replaced, and I still love it; it's more so just a truism about the Bongo, at least IMHO. I have a feeling the same is going to be true of the 25th (and whatever it ends up being called in the production line-up), since in addition to its own unique features/enhancements, it has the Bongo neck and 18v electronics, etc.

While on this topic, I'm going to kinda tange for a second. In my opinion, pre-EB models aside, the Ray in general is quickly going the way of the "vintage" instrument (albeit one that still tonally rebels against that label), when looked at alongside the newer EBMM designs. And of course that's not at all a bad thing. The enjoyment people get from owning and playing instruments they feel that way about is huge. At the same time, though, part of that is being aware of (and appreciating) the comparatively more "crude" design, feel and sound they have, compared to the more modern, refined design elements incorporated into something like the Bongo, and I'm sure the 25th (though I haven't played one yet).

Very opinionated, I know, and this is not meant to stir anything up. Just the view from here ... and it's still a very new viewpoint for me. Not long ago at all, if you'd've suggested this viewpoint to me, I'd've said something like, " ... pull the other one!". But then I picked up a Bongo ...

 

[CFA]

Well, I still love my Bongo and Stingray equally at this point. Today, in fact, I've played the Stingray exclusively. The main reason I've been grabbing the bongo first over the weekend are:
1) It's new, and new things are fun;
2) It's on a stand, whereas the Stingray is in a case; And
3) I wanna give it a lot of play time to see where it takes me.

Right now, if someone put gun to my head and made me choose one, the Bongo would be leaving my hands quickly, but for anything less then gun point I don't think I'd relinquish it.

One of my biggest problems with the bongo right now is the neck. I prefer the bare wood still, whereas the different profiles don't really make much difference to me.

I didn't get my strings yesterday, due to my parents avoiding the music store when they were out of town. Looks like I gotta get them mailed to me from Long and McQuade... 10 hours away. For anyone wondering why I'd avoid the stores closer, it's cause they're crooks, rude (In my opinion), or don't stock EB bass strings.

Anyways, that's my $0.02. Right now, the Stingray is still the King of my houshold

 

[five7]

Thanks for being so honest!

 

[CFA]

Assuming that was aimed towards me 57fenderjazz, No problem. I'd DEFINITELY recommend a Bongo to anyone, they are GREAT basses. One thing I've noticed though (and I do find interesting) is that when I play the Bongo I find myself playing differently (Stylistically/in terms of genre) then when I play my Stingray, which could result in being another thing that makes me jump from one to the other. Another thing, I tend to play unplugged lately, so personally I don't think tone has a whole lot to do with this.

A couple things that surprised me when I opened the case were the head stock, and the shape. Personally, I somehow thought the head stock would be larger then it is. And by shape I more so refer to the curving of the "face" of the bass. I heard a couple of people on here mention it, but I didn't think it would really be as noticeable as it is.

One complaint I do have about the Bongo, and it is a rather minor one, is that the treble horn sometimes digs into my leg a little when sitting. It's not nearly as bad as some other basses I've played, and I am a big guy with big legs, so I consider that to be the problem, definitely not a flaw in the design, and it's also not nearly noticeable enough to be considered a con, to me. To counterbalance this though, since it is extremely light (in my opinion) standing up when I practice isn't a big deal. It's extremely comfortable because of the weight, I was surprised to be honest when I picked it up for the first time, and I must say it was a pleasant one.

I guess you could consider these long winded posts my own brand of review. In the end I love my Bongo, every time I play it is a joy, and I haven't found anything about it I'd call a flaw yet.

 

[strummer]

THAT's the scenario that results in massively extended case time for some Ray owners/Bongo converts -

Oh I don't know, I've been a Bongoloid since January 2005, and while the Bongos are definitely my go-to basses for anything and everything, I do lpay and enjoy my SR5 a lot, bringing it to rehearsals and sometimes gigging it too. Honestly, it's just another tool in the tool box, though the Bongo of course is massively versatile

 

[RobertB]

Oh I don't know, I've been a Bongoloid since January 2005, and while the Bongos are definitely my go-to basses for anything and everything, I do lpay and enjoy my SR5 a lot, bringing it to rehearsals and sometimes gigging it too. Honestly, it's just another tool in the tool box, though the Bongo of course is massively versatile

Cool. Maybe my Ray would get outta the case more often if I weren't intending to sell it. Once I make that decision, I go ahead and "sever the bond", and I also begin to kind of obsess about keeping it pristine, so that everybody's happy when it eventually sells. Funny, I obsess about that more when I know I'm selling it than I do when I know I'm keeping it. My current Bongo is the first bass I've had that's fallen into that latter category in quite some time. It's the first one I've removed the sales stickers from in a looooong time, and that was a great feeling.