Point and shoot.....

[adouglas]

...is, IIRC, something that BP has said about the H Bongo.

Having played my new one for several hours now at two band practices, I have to agree.

It sounds huge and I haven't found a bad tone yet. Plug it in, play and smile. Easy.

As a rule, I tend to tweak instrument EQ until I find something I like, and then leave it there with minor adjustments. This bass is unlike others I've played in that I haven't found that sweet spot that does it for me...it sounds great everywhere.

It's got a different character from my HHp Bongo and is a nice complement to it soundwise. It's really a different beast. The HH and HS Bongos are much closer to one another than the H is to either.

Must be that magical MM pickup placement.

And I'm REALLY liking the 8.8 pound weight.

 

[boombox]

Glad that you are enjoying the bass.

 

[adouglas]

Looking for that pickguard...any word?

I've already taken the white one off and put it in a safe place to keep it pristine.

 

[Big Poppa]

thats why thet call it the big poppa bongo

 

[boombox]

AD,

I just got word from AJ that the guard should be shipping out for EBMM any day now. As soon as i recieve it I will turn it around to you.

 

[oddjob]

ADoug, the single Hs just rock! You WILL find it hard to find a a bad tone on it - and it is great for slicing through a mix in a live room. Glad to hear you are enjoying it... so what guard are you slapping on it???

 

[adouglas]

Nothing exciting. Just plain black.

Because this is a really, really good looking bass...and Candy Red is about as close as you can get in a finish that you can actually buy.

 

[bovinehost]

There ain't much I can say that I haven't already said about eleventy-bazillion times, and yes that is a number in the American south, but I have had just about every electronics package you can get on a Bongo.

What do I grab? Single H.

I'm telling you guys with all the HH and HS combos - keep them. They are GOOD. They are FUN.

But at least find yourself a single H to try out in a REAL musical setting and tell me there isn't something special about it.

I'm really, really glad you like, it, Andrew.

Jack

 

[midopa]

will the 25th anniv have one of these

 

[Duarte]

Jack sure does love his bongos. I'm glad you like it too. H bongo is my next MM bass, but that won't be for some time. I can't wait!

 

[MingusBASS]

Candy Red and Black is a classy look. I rock it on my CR Bongo 5HHp.

I prefer dual pickup basses but the single H are cool.

 

[adouglas]

I agree, Mingus.

A person's first Bongo should be a dual-pickup model IMHO. There's soooo much you can do with it.

That's not to say the H is "limited" by comparison... it sounds awesome, but it's a bass with a different mission.

If I were to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, the only thing I'd do differently is go HSp instead of HHp for the first one.

BTW, Jack... that 07 LE HSp 5 string you got from Psychicpet....

That's a one-of-a-kind, and I was thinking about buying it before you did.

If you ever thin the herd and need to find a good home for that bass, look me up.

 

[kylierider]

There ain't much I can say that I haven't already said about eleventy-bazillion times, and yes that is a number in the American south, but I have had just about every electronics package you can get on a Bongo.

What do I grab? Single H.

I'm telling you guys with all the HH and HS combos - keep them. They are GOOD. They are FUN.

But at least find yourself a single H to try out in a REAL musical setting and tell me there isn't something special about it.

I'm really, really glad you like, it, Andrew.

Jack

So what IS this special quality?

I'm thinking about making the single H my first, but I want a lined fretless.

 

[adouglas]

I'm thinking about making the single H my first, but I want a lined fretless.

Huh?

Single H and lined fretless are not mutually exclusive.

I know this because I've got one. Let me check.... yep. Lines. No frets. Bongo. One humbucker.

My powers of observation astonish me sometimes.

Regarding what's special about it....just read this thread and look at some past ones about Bongo tone.

The multiple pickup models have fantastic sound and amazing flexibility. They will not disappoint. A big part of this is the combination of neodymium magnets in the pickups (which no other MM bass has) and Dudley's incredible 18-volt preamp.

But the H has something that the multiple-pickup models do not. Pickup placement in the magical Musicman "sweet spot." If there is one difference, that's it. What that does is produce a tone that sits just perfectly in a band mix, out of the box.

The multiple-pickup models sit great in a band mix too, but they do it in a different way, if that makes sense. Can you get a multiple-pickup model to sound like an H? You can get darned close, but not identical, I think. Can you get the same range of sounds out of an H that you can get from a multiple-pickup model? No, of course not.

 

[oddjob]

To me it is about the purity of sound... Anthony Jackson was talking about the push and pull between two pups (and he makes some sense). It is pure Bong sound... yeah it sits in the sweet spot, but it is aggressive without being overdone, ballsy without breaking apart, bassy without being muddy (and the list goes on). The HH and HSs are fine basses (notice I havee another HH on order) - they can get close to the sound but miss it. The H can do a ton of the HH and HS sounds too but also misses. The H is in its own class.

If I might offer a suggestion. If you are going frettless I would go Hp - like ADoug has - the P brings out sooooooooo much more in the frettless models (worth the extra cash - not so much so on the fretted models, IMO) - trust me you won't regret it!

 

[bovinehost]

Jack... that 07 LE HSp 5 string you got from Psychicpet....

That's a one-of-a-kind, and I was thinking about buying it before you did.

If you ever thin the herd and need to find a good home for that bass, look me up.

Well, not to hijack your thread, but since you brought it up....Strummer is coming in early January, and we agreed a while back that he'd trade me his Dargie Bongo 5 HS for the 07 LE I have.

Sorry! But I needs me a Dargie!

Jack

 

[kylierider]

Thanks for the info. If I order one new I'll definitely go for the Hp. But more than likely I'll probably be forced to buy something used to save a few beans. Hopefully next year I can make it happen.

 

[MK Bass Weed]

But the H has something that the multiple-pickup models do not. Pickup placement in the magical Musicman "sweet spot." If there is one difference, that's it. What that does is produce a tone that sits just perfectly in a band mix, out of the box.

I always had that feeling about my single H Ray 5..
I've just read the Anthony Jackson article in BP Mag for the third time..he also runs with this philosophy...One pickup in his sweetspot does it all for him...