- Thread starter MK Bass Weed
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An almost new 2014 Sterling 5H is on its way. With a lot of sadness, I sold my Honeyburst PDN Bongo, as I decided I was tired of constantly worrying about dinging it up, which eventually would happen. It was still minty, and I got the price I wanted. Also, I always worried about it at gigs - someone stealing it, knocking it over, etc. I *will* own another Bongo, just one that already has some mileage on it and isn't such a rare beauty like the PDN. I may go 4 string next time, we'll see. I won't go long without a Bongo, hopefully. 
Anyway, I've been wanting a Sterling for a long time. Got this one for just under $1100, which I think is a steal. I should have it Tuesday!
Anyway, I've been wanting a Sterling for a long time. Got this one for just under $1100, which I think is a steal. I should have it Tuesday!
Possibly, very possibly, less than great deal. It's
rated only one star [out of possible five]. I'm not
one who seeks after only 4 or 5 star condition in
my shopping ... a few chips or scratches mean a
lower price on what can be a perfectly functional
instrument
But *ONE* star ? Thaz a bit scary. Look thru their used gear pages and you will see
close to NO items rated that low, even a two star
rating is pretty rare. IOW, their typical rating for
"well loved" is 3 stars.
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l4st.ninja
Member
An almost new 2014 Sterling 5H is on its way. With a lot of sadness, I sold my Honeyburst PDN Bongo, as I decided I was tired of constantly worrying about dinging it up, which eventually would happen. It was still minty, and I got the price I wanted. Also, I always worried about it at gigs - someone stealing it, knocking it over, etc. I *will* own another Bongo, just one that already has some mileage on it and isn't such a rare beauty like the PDN. I may go 4 string next time, we'll see. I won't go long without a Bongo, hopefully.
Anyway, I've been wanting a Sterling for a long time. Got this one for just under $1100, which I think is a steal. I should have it Tuesday!
I'll try my best to keep that Honey bongo of yours in good condition.. But she's gonna get played... A lot
I'll try my best to keep that Honey bongo of yours in good condition.. But she's gonna get played... A lot
Good, I sure hope so. She'll be heading your way this week!
OK, I'm digging the Sterling! So far I'm digging both coils in series the most. Has a little ****** sound. It's an aggressive sounding bass, which is what I was hoping for. Cranked up the bass a little, mids a little, perfect.
tunaman4u2
Well-known member
I'm LOVING my new favorite setting on my HH. Parallel with the mids CRANKED. The warm punch in the upper registers is CRAZY awesome. In the series settings cranking the mids leads to a ton of grind which I want & sometimes not so much.
Try it!
Try it!
73jbass
Well-known member
Dahhhh ...ooodh ! Thaz non-sane !!!
O0ops ... waitasec ... which end are
you counting as "Position 1" ?
73jbass
Well-known member
Position 1 being the humbucker by itself. Position 4 is coils 2 and 3. Love it,love it!
My fave as well. "Position 4", if you count from the *other* end,
solos the bridge coil [half of the humbucker]. While I've found a
few special circumstances that favor this ultra brite sound, such
as a tikkee-takkee Caribbean rhythm, it's just no way gonna be
anybody's "go-to" setting.
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tunaman4u2
Well-known member
I just wish there wasn't a volume drop on the HS... that kills playing it live for me. I just want to use all 5 positions with the HH & change em up quickly for covers. If I was in an original band I'd likely go for a HS or even a H
stu42
Well-known member
One solution for you would be to not dime the volume control on your bass for the humbucker settings. You could keep the volume at, say, 80% for humbucker settings and then when you switch to single coil just turn up the volume on your bass to compensate.
There's no penalty for turning the volume control down on your bass - because it's an active instrument there's no tonal loss. I discovered this when I got my Bongo 5H because it was much louder at full volume than either my Sterling 5H or Bongo 5HS. Because I didn't want to have to adjust my amp when switching between the different basses I'd just turn the Bongo 5H volume down. It turns out that's what BP recommends anyway. So...something to think about.
tunaman4u2
Well-known member
Works well in theory... in practice with everything going on its tougher... the volume loss for the neck pickup was different than the bridge pickup so trying to adjust for all 3 volumes & keeping them even is tougher live & on the fly quickly.
That said... I have an incoming big Al... I'll be looking for volume jumps there too. I know the single coils are going to be quieter so I'll probably just be changing between combos of 2 pickups, series\parallel or all 3. If the volume jumps are all over the map... maybe it just becomes available
stu42
Well-known member
Yeah, fair enough. I guess it depends how often you're switching positions or if you're doing it mid-song or whatever.
On the Big Al...I had a 5SSS for a while and I found that pretty much all of the settings had pretty close to the same volume except for the all switches up position - which is the bridge and middle coils in series - and that is MUCH louder than the other settings. Personally, that was also my favorite....along with the bridge and middle in parallel setting. The middle by itself is also quite good (IMO). Actually, there are quite a few good tones on that one! haha. But, yeah, bridge and middle in series is very punchy and loud. But I suppose you'll see for yourself when you get it. Curious to know what you think.
On the Big Al...I had a 5SSS for a while and I found that pretty much all of the settings had pretty close to the same volume except for the all switches up position - which is the bridge and middle coils in series - and that is MUCH louder than the other settings. Personally, that was also my favorite....along with the bridge and middle in parallel setting. The middle by itself is also quite good (IMO). Actually, there are quite a few good tones on that one! haha. But, yeah, bridge and middle in series is very punchy and loud. But I suppose you'll see for yourself when you get it. Curious to know what you think.
