Recidivist a.k.a. new to me Bongo day

[guenter]

Please let me quote from my own thread...

A short time after I joined the forum last year I heard of the Bongo for the very first time and i became somewhat curious. I really liked the unusual design of this bass - especially the 5 string version, since his overall shape has the best matching proportions i've ever seen on a bass. I don't know how often I looked at that wonderful blue Bongo 5 on the EBMM web page.

This was about my Bongo 5 HHP which I bought by the end of 2010 and I am soundwise still very satisfied with.

But during over the last months my curiosity began to rise again. How does a Bongo 5H really sound like? Listening to you guys talking about the simplicity of the point-and-shoot Bongo 5H made my mouth watering again. Would I be able to find a Bongo 5H? Or is it easier to get a used Big Al 5SSS in the US? I knew it had to be one of those 2 models. I lately missed a used Big Al 5SSS by some days, but...

Last week I got an offer for a Bongo 5H I simply could not refuse and if you look at my sig you'll know what happened.

I ordered the bass without hesitation and after two looong days I received a large box on Wednesday evening containing a wonderful carbon-blue-pearl (yesss!) Bongo 5H.

My very first impression after one day of playing it at home:
It's not like the Godzilla-Earth-Quake I know from my HH but more like the Jurassic-Park-T-Rex-Growl you know from Jurassic Park

Looking forward to our band rehearsal tomorrow!

Pictures will be added after the weekend.

 

[tunaman4u2]

Can the Bongo H be as smooth\warm as the Bongo HH? I find I can get the Bongo to not growl when I want & can get a good growl when I need it. Look forward to an in detail review

 

[guenter]

Can the Bongo H be as smooth\warm as the Bongo HH? I find I can get the Bongo to not growl when I want & can get a good growl when I need it. Look forward to an in detail review

I only have my Bongo 5H for nearly 2 days. So far I haven't played the 5H with my band.
Please don't expect a detailed and in-depth comparison from my side. For that we should ask the well-known bongoloids (adouglas, bovinehost, strummer, ...) which have much more experience than I do.

 

[five7]

The single H with a 3 band does not compare. Once you get use to the double H and the 4 band there is no looking back. Maybe a single H with piezo and 4 band would compare but I haven't been able to try one.

 

[guenter]

Some pictures of the new-to-me Bongo 5H

 

[ivbenaplayin]

simple, but not-so-simple elegance... Nice Bass!

 

[oddjob]

The single H with a 3 band does not compare. Once you get use to the double H and the 4 band there is no looking back. Maybe a single H with piezo and 4 band would compare but I haven't been able to try one.

Soooo wrong. I have had 3 and 4 band and I can easily look back from the 4. They are so different in tonality and what what they bring that the 3 band is every bit as good and as powerful as the 4. More is not necessarily better... how you use it and the tone baseline are (and the H has a much better baseline)

 

[Holdsg]

love the moonstone PG. matches with that blue very well.

 

[projectapollo]

The single H with a 3 band does not compare. Once you get use to the double H and the 4 band there is no looking back.

I have the 4 band in the 25th and the Big Al. I like the 3 band in the single H, better. Easier to quickly shape the tone, IMO.

 

[guenter]

love the moonstone PG. matches with that blue very well.

I really like the moonstone pickguard - but my sapphire black Bongo HHP also has a moonstone pg. Looks a little boring when you see them hanging side by side on the wall. I will try to get a black pg for the 5H. This looks great on the MM web site (Bongo 5).

 

[guenter]

I have the 4 band in the 25th and the Big Al. I like the 3 band in the single H, better. Easier to quickly shape the tone, IMO.

The low-mid eq on my Bongo 5HHP is the most important knob (besides the pan knob of course), because it's responsible for the "growl". The Bongo 5H already growls without eq-ing. Not sure if I'll miss a 4-band. Time will tell.

 

[bovinehost]

Soooo wrong. I have had 3 and 4 band and I can easily look back from the 4. They are so different in tonality and what what they bring that the 3 band is every bit as good and as powerful as the 4. More is not necessarily better... how you use it and the tone baseline are (and the H has a much better baseline)

When I'm at home, goofing around, playing along with tunes while no one's watching/listening, I often break out a dual pickup bass. I love tinkering around with the tone and the pickup blend.

When I gig (not often these days, grumble grumble grumble), though, I find that I want to get a good sound and then forget about it. I don't really need to change my bass tone considerably from one tune to the next, and if I do, I can get all I need from right hand placement. (Also, the tone controls do exist on the single H.)

The single H is not widely known as the "Secret Weapon" because it's ineffective, trust me.

 

[stu42]

Congrats!! That bass is a thing of beauty. Wow. I love that colour.

I'm with Oddjob in that I firmly believe more is not better. The Single H Bongo is different enough from the HH and HS Bongo that it should almost have a different model name! The tone of my Bongo 5H surprised me when I first got it and (compared to the Bongo 5HS I had previously), I agree, it doesn't have that super low Earth-Quake sound as you described it but it just sounds so rich and is super punchy. To me it's the best. And, I love how easy it is to dial in great tones.

Yesterday I tried playing with a pick for the first time since getting my Bongo 5H and....wow!! What a sound!! Best pick tone I've heard with any bass I've owned. Amazing. This bass can do no wrong.

Anyway...enjoy.

 

[laneline]

Congrats Guenter, great color, nice pics as well. All the best.

 

[J Romano]

That is sweeeeeet!!!!! I love that color combo. I think it would be a shame to change out that PG. But of course, it is yours. Just don't put them close to one another

 

[MadMatt]

Congrats Günter! Leave the current PG on it. I think it looks great!

 

[Chuck B]

Late but not too late I hope - congrats on that beauty.

Hmm - am I the only one who doesn't know that Jurassic Park movie?

 

[MadMatt]

Hmm - am I the only one who doesn't know that Jurassic Park movie?

We know Chuck... You live in Bavaria, your excused

 

[Chuck B]

Thx for saving my day, Matt.

 

[strummer]

Very very cool, and congrats on getting a very unique tool in the arsenal

I like both the HH and H, but they are massively different.