Ordering from SLO

[LarryNJ]

I had a Sterling (GREAT bass) & plan on getting a Bongo
(despite some "critics", I think that this may be one of the most
up-to- the-minute basses around.)
At any rate:
I would love to see MM offer factory "custom-build" options on this axe as G&L does: e.g. a maple board & maybe an ash body
that could show a translucent grain color.
I believe it woud be feasible to do so at the factory, and the wait and extra $$ involved would be well worth it to me & others I'm sure. So how about it? Maybe build one as a prototype-
mine!!
All kidding aside, what's the concensus on this?

BTW, what's available as a HSC or gig-bag for the Bongo?

 

[Fretbuzz]

Great Idea.....I'm sure once EB gets a little time on the release of the Bongo they'll start adding all kinds of options. If you do get a custom job like that post the pix!

 

[bovinehost]

“…had a Sterling (GREAT bass)…”

Past tense? Had? Where did it go? I love me some Sterlings, although I’ve recently ended up with two (almost exactly alike except one is black sparkle, the other is white sparkle) and am SORT OF thinking of selling/trading one.

“..plan on getting a Bongo (despite some "critics", I think that this may be one of the most
up-to- the-minute basses around)…”

There will always be naysayers. Take it from me, the Bongo is one of THE most amazing instruments to ever come out of the MM factory. I used mine in a small combo setting yesterday and the EQ options should have every bassist on earth salivating! The mid controls really, really work.

”All kidding aside, what's the concensus on this?”

Custom built Bongos? I don’t know, but it’s hard enough now to get a STANDARD Bongo, so I don’t think I’d hold my breath on the custom jobs.

“BTW, what's available as a HSC or gig-bag for the Bongo?”

Bass Central has some custom built G&G cases for the Bongos – a hundred bucks a shot, nice cases although they don’t lock.

See the current basses at Camp Bovine:

http://www.bovinehost.com/79ray/currentbasses.html

 

[LarryNJ]

...Don't mess w/ Texas!!!
I played a Tobias I had to have, and being immature and needing immediate gratification, I traded my Sterling.
I totally love the Tobias w/ its Barts, etc. but a Sterling is, well,
sterling.
The Bongo is a bonus to me, 'cause I thought many times of replacing the Sterling, now I'll just go to the next generation-
Bongo!
I doubt that EB will make options available due to their production demands, However, I really did enjoy custom-ordering my ASAT & it came out beautifully.
When I went to play an in-stock Bongo here in Los Angeles,
(GC) by the time I got there it was gone!
So I understand 3 months lead time, wow.
Great to BassCentral for furnishing cases, especially G&G's.
Wonder if Bongo's fit the EB gigbags?
All-in-all a terrific state of the art bass, and for those who don't
think its their thang, well OKay-Dokay.THEY LOOK GOOD!

 

[bovinehost]

Can't say anything one way or the other about Tobias basses...never had the pleasure. I do know now that I am not a Bartolini guy.

I swear, I have tried to like those pickups.

First I had them in a Lakland 55-02. Couldn't figure out why the bass didn't do it for me because it was sure put together well.

Then I had a Modulus Flea 5. (I'm not a Flea fan, so don't ask me why I thought this was a good idea.) The bass played like a dream, looked great, sounded kinda ho-hum and I couldn't figure out why it didn't do it for me.

Third strike: bought a USA Lakland 55-94, inca silver, fabulous looking bass with a neck most people would kill for. And it bored the crap out of me.

Common denominator? Barts. Duh. Nothing against 'em, mind you, a friend of mine here in town uses them and they sound good but they're just too civilized for me, I guess. I want something snarlier and meaner. I should have put Duncans in that Lakland but...ah well, I got a Bongo, did I tell you?

 

[LarryNJ]

It took me a bit of time to dial in a sound with the Bartolini set-up,
a TC-7 preamp with a humbucking soapbar bridge and a J-neck
pup. There is a pan pot, and a series/parallel toggle for the humbucker, and an active contour pull that scoops the mids and rolls off treble and/or bass.

WAY WAY less aggressive than the Sterling, which has tones from phat, round, and chunky to ass-slapping slap.
When I went to a gig or session w/ the MM, I knew I could instantly dial in what I needed to hear and feel.

But- after adjusting my attack and playing with the EQ on my
very fine tube amps, I got it down, and although different in textures, my Nashville-built by Gibson Tobias sounds killer.
Very round, very cutting, and with the RotoSound FunkMasters
SS (30-50-70-90) strings I use, this motha can slap too.
The bass weighs 7 lbs. has an awesome 3-piece assymetrical
maple neck, and is FAST and modern; like a sports car, so it is a keeper.

But to stay on forum track and to pay homage to your forward and assertive move in acquiring what is apparently one of the
FEW(!!!) BONGO BASSES ----wassup w that EB???----

THE BONGO IS A KILLER BASS!!!! Believe me folks, I know, I
feel it, they did it right, those crafty sons of guns! They built a
completely modern state-of-the-art bass guitar that must feel so
ergonomic and tight, and is so powerful---
I bet you're having so much damn fun with it....

Despite my '69 P-Bass ( a GEM) & My aforementioned Tobias &
my excellent Blonde ASAT....
I know that I must and will have a Bongo, the sooner the better.

 

[Estin]

maybe this is a dumb quesiton, but what was the inspiration for the design of the bongo? personally i don't care for the body shape much, but seeing as how its a EB i know it sounds good.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I do know now that I am not a Bartolini guy.

Jack, have you tried a 90's Les Paul bass? Those Barts really growl on my '94 LPB-3 Plus.

 

[Aussie Mark]

maybe this is a dumb quesiton, but what was the inspiration for the design of the bongo? personally i don't care for the body shape much

In Australia some people would say the Bongo was inspired by Coroma.

 

[LarryNJ]

Actually, I understand that the BMW design group participated
(designed?) the BongoBass, for whatever that's worth.

It's late news about the "furor" over the shape-
Players either hate it, or like it.

Works for me, seems tight & ergonomic.
I like Beemers, too!

 

[bovinehost]

Did I post the "in action" shots already?

http://www.bovinehost.com/pit/bongoMMDe.jpg

 

[LarryNJ]

Ya know...
The more I see pix of Bongos (nice shot btw, thx.)
the more I wonder what the &^% the fuss is about...

That axe looks very cool; angular, balanced, tight to the player's
position, light, correct scale, and so on. I really like the balance between the upper and lower horns. Looks like it works well in the positioning of the bass-important in 3-set gigs, yes?

That's besides the inherent MM build-quality, and the nice features like the fret-markers, and most of all, the dynamite TONE
that the instrument must have. The pups and EQ on that thing with the killer MM neck; Oh how it must rock and roll and slap
and chunk and flat-out funk it up. I bet I could get that instrument
to play a smooth upright-like tone too.

The only thing that prevents me from total jealousy at this point is that I don't play 5'ers!

Amazing how I hear whining about "basswood" and "painted neck" Boo- hoo- hoo.
Yes tonewoods have bearing on the sound and resonance, but
1) Who said basswood does'nt produce in a build?? Who?
Why?
2) What's wrong with a finished neck? How does it matter in
your fingering positions? Huh?

Rhetorical ?'s of course; my point being that I'm amazed at some of the pretty-boy overpriced "exotic wood" builds that matter as much to in-the-pocket playing as wearing an Armani suit
would. Designer duds are nice, but when it comes to "funktion"
if you can't make the BongoBass happen, consider piccolo or tuba
perhaps.

Style and taste are individual matters of course, no like Bongo;
look into Carl Thompsons or a singlecut, or a P-bass for goodness sake.
But if someone disses an instrument that apparently was built with the concept of raging tones for a number of musical styles
and sure can pull them off.... Check yore haid!!!

End of rant (shoulda stayed in law school- left for club gig at the
time... Probably better off....)
My wife says I can probably put deposit on Bongo 4 HS after
1st of year. Thanks, honey!

 

[bovinehost]

"The more I see pix of Bongos…the more I wonder what the &^% the fuss is about.."

It only surprises me when it comes from EBMM fans. As for the “boutique” bass lovers, well, they’re not likely to be in the market for a Stingray or a Sterling or a Bongo anyway, so who really cares what they think? As I’ve said before, let those guys take all the cocobolo and purple zebra-heart crotch cut fancy-ass furniture looking basses they want. I certainly won’t fight it. Maybe I’m just a lunch-pail guy, a working stiff?

The Bongo – which I find visually very cool in any case – wasn’t designed to appeal to the Fodera/Hanewinkle/Furniture Bass contingent. It’s a fabulous sounding instrument and you don’t have to mortgage the chicken farm to buy one.

Many if not most of those boutique guys have to spend 3 or 4 thousand bucks, otherwise they feel like their bass is ‘deficient’. I’d feel stupid showing up to my weekly blues jam carrying a three thousand dollar handmade fancy-ass furniture bass – and yet I’ve seen it done, and while that person might not have FELT stupid, certain other bassists made a bit of fun of them. Not me, of course.

Well, okay, me. Sure. A little bit.

Basses are tools. Yeah, yeah, we grow to love them and have more of a relationship with them than do carpenters with their table saws, maybe, but we love them for what they help us do. I saw Jeff Berlin back in the late 70s tear a place down with a garden variety Jazz bass. Was it alder? Ash? You think he cared?

EBMM builds basses for bassists. I like that. In a pinch, I could use my Stingray to beat the crap out of an ugly drunk and it would probably stay in tune for the next rendition of “Mustang Sally”. You want more than that? I don’t.

So the Bongo turns out to be a killer. It looks different – and so what? It has two great big fat humbuckers, it hangs great, it’s ergonomic beyond all belief and it has cool little half-moon inlays. It will, with just the bridge pickup, sound like a Stingray (moreso than the Sterling) and then, if you want to use the assassin mode, you crank that blend knob forward and guitarists cringe in fear. It is thunder, my friends, thunder. The 4 band EQ is a marvel. Remember how when you wanted to be heard in the mix you had to crank the volume? No more. Now you can tweak your mids and find the right place to sit in that noisy mix. If other manufacturers had any sense whatsoever, they’d be fighting to copy this design.

Why basswood? I don’t know and I don’t care anymore. I know what this bass sounds like, I know what it’s capable of and I know how it feels on a strap. Find a Bongo, play it live, then tell me you care if they make them from melted down plastic cups or pocket lint. What matters is how it sounds, and it sounds like nothing else I’ve ever played.

"My wife says I can probably put deposit on Bongo 4 HS after 1st of year. Thanks, honey!"

Good deal! I am seriously considering another Bongo, a four string. How sick am I?

 

[LarryNJ]

Took wife to dinner last night, whispered sweet nuthins', hopefully
moved delivery date ahead!
Kidding of course-
I've never had issues with "Beverly Hills" basses, I think some are sweet, only with the owners who felt that they had a superior instrument because of its price tag,justified by a designer label and the use of exotic woods.
I've played many such instruments. Some are real nice, some
to me are better left hanging on the wall. Whatever floats a boat.

I've actually been to EB in SLO, they are virtually a large custom
shop. Their basses are made with the same quality and precision
as any luthier that builds a bass one at a time. The difference in price is only because the profits from Slinky strings
allow MM to employ more craftsmen and buy woods and components at less cost than an individual builder.
In some respects, they make a better product because of higher
qc and high-tech manufacturing methods. Point-If a bassist went
to a custom shop and asked to have built an instrument with
the woods and electronics equivalent to say, a Sterling, it would
run about 3K!!! How do I know?? Well, at one time I wanted a bass that was like the Sterling (eq, etc,) but with a few differentiations that would make it a custom, mainly finish, no
pickguard, fingerboard,etc. No point changing the electronics, there isn't much out there that can do it any better to my taste.

Back to the painted-neck, basswood, much aligned Bongo.
You already know it rocks, I soon will, and it is developing a real
following as bassists begin to see that it's the cutting edge.
As it becomes more widely heard, I'm sure the popularity will
increase, and I hope EB takes my original thread idea to heart
and offers some options like a maple board, and, ummm, I guess that's about it!!! Hell, I'll take the rosewood.
BTW, only point I can additionally add is:
I have played clubs for many years, and have learned to always
have a back-up bass, say an Ibanez or a cheap Fender.
They are far more effective in smacking drunken fools upside the head, as you can swing them with more authority (their "attack"
if you will) than a nice bass like a 'Ray or a nice P-Bass, or a Fodera, or...a
BONGO!!