To Bongo or not to Bongo?

[roballanson]

Given the mass of collective intellect here I wanted to pick a few brains......

I have a new SR5 on order, but because of the way my money has worked out I don't need to sell my old SR5......so (still with me here?) was thinking of part-xing it for a Bongo5 prob the HS version......now what do you think?

The idea sort of sells itself to me but just wanted the brothers' input to my thinking .

 

[roballanson]

Well as I seem to be on my own I thought I would wonder down to the local shop and get the to order one in for me, so next week there will be a bongo in black HS5 then we shal see.....

 

[BigBallz]

I love my black Bongo. I find myself playing it more than my Sting Ray though.....starting to worry me.....

 

[Mobay45]

I now have one Bongo 5HH with another one on it's way.

In a very short time, those will be the only two EB basses that I'll own.

I decided that since I was only playing my Bongo, the only sensible thing to do was to get another one just like it. That way more than one bass would get some playing time.

 

[roballanson]

What I am slightly worried about is the neck....never played a painted necked bass before.
How does it match with the Stingrays necks?

I like the looks so thats not a bother, but with the HS is there enough room to slap and pop - if needed?

 

[smallequestrian]

The neck being painted doesn't have the problems traditionally associated with painted necks, i.e. doesn't play fast, gets sticky. As far as the actual neck cut, its different but not a huge difference compared to what you are used too. You may very well finnd you prefer the Bongo cut more than the SR5. Somebody else can come in and give you the real differences.

 

[Golem]

What I am slightly worried about is the neck....never played a painted necked bass before.
How does it match with the Stingrays necks?

I like the looks so thats not a bother, but with the HS is there enough room to slap and pop - if needed?

Altho the project got out of hand and I now have more basses than needed to accomplish the goal, I originally acquired several dissimilar basses so that my ability wouldn't be welded to personnal familiarity with "my baby" or any particular bass. I wanted a playing ability that overrode the particulars of any instrument.

So ... I'm no maestro, but I'm equally facile on just about any sort of bass. There are certain extremes I can't play, such as a Ric 5-string where they cram all 5 strings into the space where only 4 strings should be, but within reason, I switch scale length, neck profiles, etc mid-gig without blinking. As to glossy necks, I've got glossy, satin, unfinished, and necks with chunks flaking out from thick glossy finishes. All of that disappears when I'm playing.

That said, I don't have an SR5 to compare to a Bongo 5 but I was playing an SR5 at a GC last night and it was not hugely different. I do have both a Bongo 4 and an SR4, and they are easy to switch back and forth. So as to your original question "To Bongo or not to Bongo", segura que hell yesss.

 

[BigBallz]

What I am slightly worried about is the neck....never played a painted necked bass before.
How does it match with the Stingrays necks?

I like the looks so thats not a bother, but with the HS is there enough room to slap and pop - if needed?

That's an excelent question. Since I noticed it right off the bat, I'll give you my observations. I played Ric's and Spector's most of my life, with M/M S/R's thrown in here and there. The painted neck, in my opinion, is NOT as fast as my Sting Rays's "naked neck". My thumb "drags" a lil more on the Bongo. So, I waxed the c##p out of it. Made it easier to play.

But as I quite literally am "feeling" the necks right now and comparing them...the Ray is still faster, but not by much. Just use less thumb pressure when playing the Bongo. Also, my strings are very close to the fretboard. I realigned the neck and completly readjusted the bridge saddles and all. So I don't have to apply alot of pressure on the strings.

 

[roballanson]

Well in that case my friends there might be a new arrival next week - just have to see how I get on with it.....

Actually does anyone have a pic of a black bongo HS5 with and alabone pg? Just so I can have a sneak preview....

 

[BigBallz]

http://www.ernieball.com/forums/showpost.php?p=156802&postcount=24

Go to the above link. It's a pic of my black bongo. Hope it helps.

 

[Mobay45]

I played a P bass for years and it has a finished neck. Since that's what I cut my teeth on, finished or unfinished (oiled and waxed) has never been much of an issue for me.

 

[roballanson]

Dude thanks for that. All I have to do is hang on till I get t he phone call next week now.......I will report back....got a feeling Jack will be impressed with another Bongo convert......

 

[bovinehost]

Well of course! Another one rides the bus....

My feeling on the neck feel difference is this. You have your 'bare' wood on the Stingray - only it's not. There is, of course, an oil and wax finish, so until and unless you wear away the finish, you're not feeling bare wood.

On the Bongo, you have paint - only it's not. There's a finish on top of that one, too. So until and unless you wear away the topcoat, you're not feeling paint, either.

This is the way I understand it.

I can pick up my SR5 or my Bongo and not once notice a difference on the back of the neck 'feel'. The neck profile is a little different, but not much.

 

[roballanson]

I will let you know next week how things go - all depends on how fast the importers can ship the HS5 out here.....

 

[BigBallz]

Well of course! Another one rides the bus....

My feeling on the neck feel difference is this. You have your 'bare' wood on the Stingray - only it's not. There is, of course, an oil and wax finish, so until and unless you wear away the finish, you're not feeling bare wood.

On the Bongo, you have paint - only it's not. There's a finish on top of that one, too. So until and unless you wear away the topcoat, you're not feeling paint, either.

This is the way I understand it.

I can pick up my SR5 or my Bongo and not once notice a difference on the back of the neck 'feel'. The neck profile is a little different, but not much.

Well now on this, I must disagree. There is certainly a difference in resitance of a gloss painted finish and a waxed wood finish. Don't use Kettle One for polish so much!!!....

 

[Mr Light]

What I am slightly worried about is the neck....never played a painted necked bass before.
How does it match with the Stingrays necks?

I like the looks so thats not a bother, but with the HS is there enough room to slap and pop - if needed?

Slapping and popping is the issue I have with Bongos, as there isn't really a lot of room between the string and pickups to snap the strings.

 

[maddog]

Slapping and popping is the issue I have with Bongos, as there isn't really a lot of room between the string and pickups to snap the strings.

How about the Single H Bongos?

 

[Mr Light]

How about the Single H Bongos?

I thought about that, but the only Bongos that interest me are the Dual H ones. Anything single H, I'd rather just stick with the traditional Stingray.

However, I haven't tried the single H Bongos though...

 

[Golem]

I thought about that, but the only Bongos that interest me are the Dual H ones. Anything single H, I'd rather just stick with the traditional Stingray.

However, I haven't tried the single H Bongos though...

Bongos are so completely different from Rays and Sterlings, I can't really see the point in saying that for single H you'd stick with a Ray. The ax that's really hard to find for personal trial is a piezo Bongo. I imagine a Bongo 1H-P would be slappers' Nirvana.

But that's a really 3rd hand impression since I never slap and since I've never met a B1H-P. My B1H-P fantasies are all about FL, and so I tend to want that SC at the neck spot.

 

[maddog]

Anything single H, I'd rather just stick with the traditional Stingray.

Yes But, Bongo's have 18 Volts of Pure Raw Power

Got a little carried away.