Question What would be the next step?

[TheBassGuy]

I started playing bass a couple of months ago. My first bass was a Stingray 4. I loved the solid feel, classic look and tone of this bass. What I didn't like was the neck. I got used to EBMM guitars (smooth, fast). It feld more like a Fender instrument (not in a bad way, just different). Because of the lack of time to play bass I sold it. Right after the guy left I regreted selling it. I loved playing bass (altough I just started), but time...

A couple of months later I saw a Stingray 5 for a sweet price. I bought it and got kinda excited about playing bass again. This instrument had more EBMM "mojo" than the Stingray 4. The sound was just great, the neck felt a lot smoother and I liked the body design. Although I liked this bass more, I decided to sell it. I didn't get used to 5 strings and I thought I needed the cash to pay for bills.

I thought I needed the cash, but I didnt. This means I have room to buy a bass again. I'm looking at either a Sterling H, or Bongo H (both 4 strings). I've spotted a nice Sterling in burst finish. I've heard these basses have really sweet necks, and the pick-ups are, like the SR5 i've owned, ceramic (which means great sound!). Also I'm a sucker for finishes where I can see the wood (burst and translucent). The other option is a Bongo. The sound is just invading to my ears. It's crazy! Also, after some Youtube study, I found out this bass is extremely responsive. In this vid it looks like the player barely touches the strings and still gets a very sweet sound:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQN92XJyZhw]YouTube - hit and run[/ame]

Is this how Bongo's work? Or is it just an optical illusions from the video? The only downsides on the bongo is that the bongo has a finished neck and the color's available (in stores) are almost always dark. The only sweet combo i've seen with dark bongo's is black ice pickguards, but there discontinued.

My question, after all this typing: What would be the next step?

Thanks!

 

[MrMusashi]

hehe.. buy one?

the bongo is one mean machine! the sounds you can get (esp from the dual pickup versions) are so versatile. a small tweak on the eq and you got a totally different sound!
i love flats on the bongo, the uhmphh it produces is so sweeeeet!

btw, someone in here did strip the finish off his bongo neck so if you want to have the oiled/waxed neck you can too

you should check out what beaver over at basscentral, brandt at theperfectbass or pete at dubaldos got in store. they have pictures of the basses in stock

hth

MrM

 

[fly]

gotta a drop a vote for the Sterling..............the next is crazy sweet man.........


and you have more colour options too.........when funds get a little better,i'll be back in the hunt for a natural HS w/ maple board..........smokin' basses

 

[phatduckk]

I always vote Sterling. The bongoloids will be around shortly to tell u to get a bongo tho

For me it's all about the feel of the neck &, to my hands, nothing is more comfortable than a Sterling. HS PUP configs are pretty sweet... but then again so is the HH and single H

 

[Russel]

Keep a clear head, try one first. Don't just let them talk you into a Bongo. Because they will. And they are eloquent.



it sounds to me a Sterling is what you want. Do you like the idea of a Jazz bass neck?


The next step, to answer, is to go try them.

 

[oddjob]

Try them all - each, in its own right is a killer instrument. A Sterling is a great pick so is a Bongo. The trick is the step after trying them... trying to figure out how you can buy both

 

[five7]

Listen to oddjob!

 

[TheBassGuy]

Trying EBMM guitars/basses in this country is hard. Almost no shops have them in stock. And if they do (very very rare ), it's mostly Stingray's.

If I sum up these two basses I get the following:

Sterling
+ Finishes
+ Neck
+ Classic look
-/+ the body?! Dunno If i should hate or love the shape compared to a Stingray.

Bongo
+ Tone!!
+ Versatile
+ Mean looking
- Finished neck
- Available colors

About the finished neck. Is it also glossy like the body, or like a SUB neck, finished but not glossy? And what about string spacing on both instruments. The Sterling is like a J-style, but how about the Bongo? Is it P-style/Stingray or inbetween? In my experience I found the SR4 strings on the neck a little too far away from eachother, and on the SR5 perfect.

I'm sorry for all these questions, but I want to find the perfect bass, just like I found the perfect guitar (my Silhouette).

 

[tkarter]

Bongo will be just what you are looking for.

I loved my SR5 until I got the bongo it was all I would play. Now the SR5 is waiting for me to die so the grandson can have it.

I love my bongos.

Don't let these guys talk you into anything else.

tk

 

[Russel]

A sterling is like an older SR5 without the 5th string. That's the best way I know to say it.

Sterling: think J-bass.
Stingray: think P-bass.
Bongo: IDK.

Those comparisons aren't really accurate. The basses are really different animals, but in terms of feel, that's how I relate.

 

[oddjob]

About the finished neck. Is it also glossy like the body, or like a SUB neck, finished but not glossy? And what about string spacing on both instruments. The Sterling is like a J-style, but how about the Bongo? Is it P-style/Stingray or inbetween? In my experience I found the SR4 strings on the neck a little too far away from eachother, and on the SR5 perfect.

The Bongo neck is a satin finish - it is actually fairly comfortable and I have had no issues with it. The spacing on a Bongo feels like it is wider then a Sterling and narrower than a SR4 (might be due to the neck shape). I have found it to be a nice cross between the 2.

 

[TheBassGuy]

I pulled the trigger. I went for the "save" option, a Sterling. I hope this is gonna be the "perfect bass" for me. Pic's and opinion come in a couple of days when the bass arrives.

Thanks everyone for their opinion and great help!