Question Piezo pickup useage/Bongo EQ...

[ivbenaplayin]

So I've had my DDII Bongo 5HHp for a few weeks now and I'm absolutely LOVING it . I've only played it live once thus far, and it got rave reviews from several people, commenting on its killer good looks & sound, and one guy in particular told me that it was weird looking. I must be honest though, this is the first bass I've ever owned that is piezo equipped and along with the 4 band EQ on the Bongo, it's the most versatile instrument I currently own, and I'm subsequently having trouble getting used to that extra knob. That being said, I come to you, the forumites, for opinions, advice, etc... Anyone with a piezo-equipped Bongo, I'm begging for advice on what's working for you in the line of % piezo signal and EQ settings. Thanks in advance - Eric.

BTW... I found that if I want to use more than about 35%-40% piezo, I get all kinds of string-fretting noise. Maybe I should take some more lessons on technique...

 

[iamcatwarrior]

Congratulations on your purchase! In fact, you and I have the exact same bass. I've also gotten a lot of compliments on mine as well.

I like to use about 25-30% piezo blend. The bass roars to begin with, but I've found that this percentage generally adds the right amount of thump to the lows and better definition to the highs.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

The beauty of the Bongo 5HHp setup is that with 2 blend knobs, one that blends the pickups and the other that blends mag/piezo there are countless ways of dialling different sounds and to be honest I have had this bass now a year and a half and experimented to hell and back, and never yet decided "oh that is the best setting" it all depends on the type of song you need to play, the band context etc.

I'll give you an example: in a 3 piece band with yourself, a guitarist and a drummer, playing rock covers, the lack of keyboards or another guitarist means that you as a bass player must push the harmony background as well as maintaining the rhythmic pulse, hence you are playing a mixture of chords, double stops, and basic fondamental notes all together to give the band the musical safe net it requires to avoid sounding dry. This is where in my views the piezo comes handy when blended 60-70% with the neck pickup, playing away from the bridge to avoid the piezo from amplifying the fingers plucks, it is a microphone after all and if you tap the bridge with the piezo at 100% you can hear that thumping through your speaker(s).

The piezo likes the low mid eq and bass knobs and dislikes the treble one, unless you want it to sound like an amplified acoustic (not upright) bass.
There is not an exact do and don't that I can personally recommend, you just have to play it in different settings, try to hear yourself back or let a friend play it while you are listening from the audience side at rehearsals. See what works for you and you'll soon realize it's a matter of accepting the versatility of it rather than accertain bad and good uses of it, it's there for you to mess around with, so go get spoiled and keep trying, you'll eventually find what works with what song / band or setup.

Enjoy.

 

[ivbenaplayin]

The beauty of the Bongo 5HHp setup is that with 2 blend knobs, one that blends the pickups and the other that blends mag/piezo there are countless ways of dialling different sounds and to be honest I have had this bass now a year and a half and experimented to hell and back, and never yet decided "oh that is the best setting" it all depends on the type of song you need to play, the band context etc.

I'll give you an example: in a 3 piece band with yourself, a guitarist and a drummer, playing rock covers, the lack of keyboards or another guitarist means that you as a bass player must push the harmony background as well as maintaining the rhythmic pulse, hence you are playing a mixture of chords, double stops, and basic fondamental notes all together to give the band the musical safe net it requires to avoid sounding dry. This is where in my views the piezo comes handy when blended 60-70% with the neck pickup, playing away from the bridge to avoid the piezo from amplifying the fingers plucks, it is a microphone after all and if you tap the bridge with the piezo at 100% you can hear that thumping through your speaker(s).

The piezo likes the low mid eq and bass knobs and dislikes the treble one, unless you want it to sound like an amplified acoustic (not upright) bass.
There is not an exact do and don't that I can personally recommend, you just have to play it in different settings, try to hear yourself back or let a friend play it while you are listening from the audience side at rehearsals. See what works for you and you'll soon realize it's a matter of accepting the versatility of it rather than accertain bad and good uses of it, it's there for you to mess around with, so go get spoiled and keep trying, you'll eventually find what works with what song / band or setup.

Enjoy.

Thanks GW!
I know there's no "set it and forget it" on this machine - as I said, i've never had a piezo before, and it is the most versatile bass I own as far as tone, timbre, etc, etc... so much to the point that it may take YEARS to fully understand all that it's able to do
and I sincerely appreciate the information/explanation you've given me with your examples. You've pretty much answered my question as well as possible(in layman's terms too). My biggest frustration so far has been the fact that I can make it sound exactly the way i want it to when i'm practicing in my living room @ home alone, but together with the 5 piece band I kind of get lost with it, then get frustrated and put it down and grab my stingray. I guess I have a LOT of experimentation to do... thanks again!

BTW - I knew that someone on this forum would answer my question in one way or another... This place is an AWESOME resource! Thanks BP & EBMM for providing this as well as your most excellent instruments!

 

[shakinbacon]

Keep experimenting and taking notes

I found the Bongo 5HHp quite daunting for a while. I'm starting to zero in on what I'm looking for - and the piezo is an integral part of it.

I echo most of what Grand Wazoo has said but will give you some hints

1) Start flat on the eq
2) Try to get the sound you want with pickup pan only
3) Try to get the sound you want with the piezo and eq
a) follow Grand Wazoo's guidelines here
4) Now, try blending in the piezo with the pickup pan from 2
a) you will likely need to play with the eq to compensate for the piezo and mag pickups

I have found many sounds I like but I'll tell you my personal favorite using Slinky roundwounds for a "busy" guitar/drums mix:

Volume 75%
piezo, pickup pan and treble at center detent
bass at 10-20% boost
low & hi mids at 20% boost

I have found the following useful too:
I also like the mag pickups alone with the hi mids boosted a bit

If I use the piezo alone, I boost the mids and bass.

For a Stingray'ish sound, Bridge pickup only with Bass and Treble boosted.

best of luck and welcome aboard

 

[shakinbacon]

The bass roars to begin with, but I've found that this percentage generally adds the right amount of thump to the lows and better definition to the highs.

Excellent description of the piezo
I am very grateful I have this option

 

[AnthonyD]

I'm a "set-it and forget it" guy and run mine 50-50-50 (mags blend centered / mag-piezo blend centered).

I run both my HSp and my HHp this way - gives me the bottom thump and the top sparkle I like - YMMV.

For the most part I'm usually pretty flat all around - the only thing I tweak on my Bongo is the high & low mid if necessary to cut through a crowded mix.