Tone - Weight

[strummer]

Ok, so now I have messed around quite a bit with my second Bongo, and so I present to you the Tone - Weight observations. Or it could be the Green - Orange, I don't know.

Basses set up more or less exactly the same, same kind of strings (new EB regular Slinkys, what else?) and of course same ten fingers to play them

Anyway

The heavier Bongo is a bit tighter.
The heavier Bongo is a bit more articulate when neck PU is soloed.

The lighter Bongo is a bit longer in the sustain.
The lighter bongo has a bit more low end when bridge PU is soloed.

When rehearsing, I get told (by the band) to increase volume when I switch to the lighter Bongo, but if I measure the SPL they are the same at the same amp settings. This leads me to the conclusion that with my setup the Heavier Bongo cuts through a little better.

On the one recording I have done since getting the second Bongo, the engineer preferred the sound of the Lighter Bongo. On playback, the band liked the Heavier one. No, none of them knew which one was which.

In real life, both Bongos are played without eq, poth pick ups on full, and switching in a live situation does not alter the sound in any significant way. I mean you hear a difference if you listen for it, but there is no problem switching from one to the other.

My reason for choosing one bass over the other when playing live will be my threads

So, all you Bongoloids out there, do you share my observations, or does your experiences differ from mine?

 

[Rayan]

Temperature, Humidity, Barometric Pressure ???

Ok, so now I have messed around quite a bit with my second Bongo, and so I present to you the Tone - Weight observations. Or it could be the Green - Orange, I don't know. ... Basses set up more or less exactly the same, same kind of strings (new EB regular Slinkys, what else?) and of course same ten fingers to play them

~
Hmmmmmm,
Could you please switch colours and PGs
- and do one more round of 'blind' tests
- before I ask the judges for their decision
~

On a more serious note,
- interestingly, this reminds me of tests done with some seriously tuned drag racing motorcycles / same rider / same strip / same day / A:B

I wonder if 2 'same as', but 'different' basses would yield the identical results ??
~
/R

 

[strummer]

Rayan, how does your Bongos compare?

 

[Rayan]

Sorry, No BONGOs Here Yet ...

Rayan, how does your Bongos compare?

~
At the present time, my BONGOs are on 'suspended' order;
- and my SR5s are incomparable
- 1 maple fretted / piezo
- 1 pau ferro fretless / piezo

But I'm sure interested in your test results,
- and I'm hoping you get a BONGO 5 HS
- and some with piezos to advance the comparisons ???
~
/R

 

[strummer]

~
At the present time, my BONGOs are on 'suspended' order;
- and my SR5s are incomparable
- 1 maple fretted / piezo
- 1 pau ferro fretless / piezo

But I'm sure interested in your test results,
- and I'm hoping you get a BONGO 5 HS
- and some with piezos to advance the comparisons ???
~
/R

Ok, I thought the ones in your avatar were yours?

About the comparison between HH and HS: my observations were between supposedly identical basses, and hopefully a function of the weight. There was a thread not long ago about tonal differences between HH and HS, and piezos have been covered too

 

[Rayan]

On Suspended Orders

Ok, I thought the ones in your avatar were yours?

About the comparison between HH and HS: my observations were between supposedly identical basses, and hopefully a function of the weight. There was a thread not long ago about tonal differences between HH and HS, and piezos have been covered too

~
As 'luck' would have it, I was pretty much settled on 2 BONGOs,
- 1 fretless HS / Piezo
- 1 fretted HH / Piezo

Then 'luck' changed, and then
- the announcements of SR5 HH availability, (rosewood / Piezo ???)
- and then it was confirmed that I couldn't order SR5 HH / Piezo at this time

Then Dr.Bovine recently hosted a Bass Festival,
- and the BONGO H got *hot* reviews

And since I'm diggin' more into BlueGrass this season,
- and don't really 'need' anything right now
- and my nearest EBMM retailer has limited stock pending NAMM

Spring is just around the corner
- we'll see what the "Easter Bunny" has to say

Maybe it's a new
- fretless BONGO 5 HH / Piezo, or
- fretted BONGO 5 H / Piezo, or
- fretted SR5 HH / Piezo (rosewood) ??? *if* available

Whichever, it's gotta be / Piezo 4 me
~
/R

 

[radiotrib]

Maybe it's a new
- fretless BONGO 5 HH / Piezo, or
- fretted BONGO 5 H / Piezo, or
- fretted SR5 HH / Piezo (rosewood) ??? *if* available

in good old fashioned vi speak ... 1,$s/or/and/g ... whaddya mean "or" ????

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

>>>Ok, so now I have messed around quite a bit with my second Bongo, and so I present to you the Tone - Weight observations. Or it could be the Green - Orange, I don't know.

IMO, no two Bass are going to be exactly the same. Even though they look like clones and are made, side by side, they still have their own little personalites.

On top that, the instruments personalities are going to be different in the hands of another player.

 

[Psycho Ward]

All of my EBMM's sound great, my tonal observations tend to relate to the weight of the amp.

 

[strummer]

All of my EBMM's sound great, my tonal observations tend to relate to the weight of the amp.

LMAO

 

[Golem]

........Basses set up more or less exactly the same, same kind of strings ........Anyway

The heavier Bongo is a bit tighter.
The heavier Bongo is a bit more articulate when neck PU is soloed.

The lighter Bongo is a bit longer in the sustain.
The lighter bongo has a bit more low end when bridge PU is soloed.
.............

Not everyone will have matching Bongos and *if* mine were identical models, I would not tend to string them alike. Sort of a "variety trumps matching back-up" philosophy. But I think I can still address the issue on this basis:

I've got an HH5 and HH4 [never weighed them] and when I bought the HH5 I knew from the first minute of trial in the store that the roundwounds were coming off as soon as I got it home. Generally, I have a serious dislike of roundwound tone, and I have a great variety of basses. Over time, shopping for my great variety, I've learned to "hear through" the RWs when I encounter a bass I might buy, so I know if I want to take it home [with return privelege] and restring to flats.

With the HH5, I knew for sure that under those RWs was a great platform for flats, but had ZERO use for its RW voice, off-the-rack. IOW, a typical purchasing experience, for me. Funny thing about the HH4. I trialed it in-store with it's stock RWs, and liked what I heard. The purchases are only 3 months apart. My tastes haven't changed in that time.

So my 4HH is somehow very different from my 5HH. The 4HH somehow defies my usual serious distaste for RWs, the 5HH with RWs was of no use to me, and was restrung immediately. I'm gigging the 4HH with the original RWs still on it. That means there's some significant difference between these basses, yet by appearances, the only difference is wider PUs and wider neck.

 

[Rayan]

Dang MoneyChangerz & Accountantz

... whaddya mean "or" ????

~
Down at the bank,
- "or" comes up on the menu before "and"

& my 'chief accounting advisor' is so tight
- he $queak$ when he fartz
~
/R