Played some cool toys today (Tobias, PJB, Bongo, Markbass)

[Gruuve]

Spent a little bit of the afternoon in Sam Ash and Guitar Center this afternoon. I stumbled across an old used Tobias Basic 6 (6 string) hanging on the wall, and decided to give that a try. It's a nice bass, good versatile tone with lots of midrange presence, solid neck, etc., but I have to admit that I like my Killer B-5 better...it's just exceptional for a lowly (by comparison) bolt-on Tobias. (I think I must have gotten an unusally good one with that bass.)

 

I first played through an SWR Redhead, but decided to try a Phil Jones Flightcase combo (4 - 5" drivers, 2 facing up and 2 facing forward). It sounded better than I expected for such a small and light amp. Not all that loud for a 150 watt combo, but it did have a solid sound to it, missing only some deep lows and elevated highs. Not bad at all, but not sure it's such a good buy given the price. I'd compare it maybe somewhat to the 100 watt 20lb GK combo that many folks like.

 

I made my way to the 2nd store, and picked up a 5-string Musicman Bongo. Very nice. It's a bit lighter and more well-balanced than my Stingray5, and the 4-band EQ is voiced quite nicely. I'm not sure of the frequency of the bands, but if you crank the lower-mid control with the bridge pickup solo'd...oh baby, talk about some growl! The frequency is a little "boxy" by itself, but boy that would slice through some guitars and such in a mix. The upper-mid band seemed a little ineffective...my ears couldn't detect enough change to even get an idea of frequency it cuts/boosts. The low and high controls seemed very similar to the Stingray5 voicing. With the 2 pickups and 4-band EQ though, this is a pretty versatile and potent monster.

 

I played this through a Markbass amp, 210 and 115 cab. Wow! This was great sounding rig IMO. So good in fact, I decided to try the 500 watt 210 combo as well...it sounds great even with the EQ set completely flat on the combo amp. Very impressed with the Markbass stuff. If I'm ever looking for another combo amp, I think I know this is one place I'll be looking.

 

Enjoy!

Dave

 

 

 

[Bottomgottem]

The Bongos do sound great, but I just can't get past the ugly factor.

 

I'd love to try out the Markbass stuff. You just can't seem to find anyone able to find a fault in them.

[Gruuve]

Yeah, I've always thought the Bongo's were a bit unique in an ugly way too, but given how good those sound and play, I'm kinda starting to like 'em. They're so ugly they're cool, in a frog/chihauwa/etc. kind of way. In fact, I think I like the Bongo better than my '96 Stingray5 to be honest. That bridge growl was just friggin' lovely. If the string spacing were 19mm, I'd already own one.

 

Tonally, the Markbass 210 combo sounded exactly the same as the 210+115 rig to me ears, just not quite as loud of course. That teeny tiny little 500w Markbass head just friggin' blows me away. How'd they cram that many watts into such a tiny package? It would fit in the front pocket of a gig bag, I do believe!

 

Dave

 

[...]

Markbass is the affordable Walter Woods.

[Eric VB]

When I first starting hanging out here I mentioned I liked the Bongo and the only thing people could say was that it was ugly.

 

The thing for me was holding out for a 6.

 

Which configuration did you try, Dave? Double humbucker?

[Gruuve]

Which configuration did you try, Dave? Double humbucker?

 

Nope, it was the Humbucker at the bridge and the single coil at the neck. I would imagine that the double humbucker doesn't sound hugely different given the neck position.

 

I would love to know the EQ center frequencies on the Bongo's EQ.

 

Actually, the bass isn't ugly IMO...it's kind of futuristic maybe, but I wouldn't call it ugly. They could have, however, picked a better name for it! That's the worst "feature" by far. If you ask a music store if they have any Bongo's...well, you get the idea.

 

Dave

 

[...]

When I first starting hanging out here I mentioned I liked the Bongo and the only thing people could say was that it was ugly.

 

I don't care for the tone/sound of the Bongo. It sounds like a wanna-be Stingray and not in a good way. And they're ugly.

[Gruuve]

Here's that Markbass head...the F1, 500 watts into 4 ohms, and it's less than 5 lbs!

http://www.markbass.it/products.php?lingua=en&cat=1&vedi=82

 

Here's the Markbass combo amp that I played through:

http://www.markbass.it/products.php?lingua=en&cat=3&vedi=39

 

[kenfxj]

I think there are far uglier basses out there than Bongos. I always felt they should have put fanned frets on it in keeping with the futuristic-type motif.

 

That being said, if I wanted that MM sound I would still rather have a Stingray.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

They come in 6-string varieties too. I actually really like these babies, just NOT in orange

[Eric VB]

They come in 6-string varieties too. I actually really like these babies, just NOT in orange

Wow! I don't remember these when I was looking at them.

[Davo-London]

Ugly is a strong word say when we remember Burns basses etc, but the word Bongo is utterly confusing. When I first saw folk referring to bongos I thought you meant bongos! Fancy naming one instrument after another? Fender Clarinet, Gibson Trumpet?

 

Rant over and 1000 apologies if there are any Burns lovers out there.

 

Davo

[Dima]

Reading posts about how “ugly it is” and “not in orange” I realise how badly some people affected by stereotypes. It would be understandable if you would not like this guitar because of it’s functionality limitations or quality/design flows. But saying “I do not know, it just ugly” is a stereotype. I believe the stereotype is the first enemy of any musician. And by the way, there was a time when Gibson les Paul shape was considered weird and ugly and even now some people still believe the same, but ironically these days everyone calls it “Gibson Les Paul classic” IMHO :-)

[Gruuve]

Heh heh...beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. I like the Bongo so much tonally that I'd consider trading my Stingray5 with someone who wants to switch up. I still like my Stingray5, but just rarely seem to use it...I really like basses with the versatility of two pickups. (Yeah, I know...you can get the SR5 with dual humbuckers now, but I really like the electronics on the Bongo better I'd have to say.)

 

Dave

 

[groover]

IMHO the MM Bongo is just plain ugly. Once I played a dual humbucker 5 string Bongo in a local music shop, I forgot about how ugly it was. The balance, feel and sound blew me away, I could see myself playing one... well, until a few months later when MusicMan released the new dual humbucker Stingrays.

 

The Bongos are fine instruments but they are still ugly.

[Flemtone]

I don't know, Dima - I don't like brussel sprouts or collard greens, but does that make me a perpetuator of a stereotype? I know that I have a preference for blonde women (in fact, my Lovely Wife is so blonde she's almost albino and both my daughters are blonde as well), but does that mean I'm negatively stereotyping other hair colors?

 

I believe there are things that each brain just finds attractive and not attractive, whether for external stimuli or internal synapse-paths. For whatever reason, that's why we're all different. I approve of everyone being different. I think things would be awfully boring otherwise.

 

Oh, and I don't particularly like the shape of the Bongo, nor the overall 'look'. Not because I'm afraid to try something different (my Longhorn, Bluefish and Ashbory attest to that), but it just doesn't hold any appeal to me.

 

I do, however, like the 2x4 bass. Color me crazy...

 

peace,

Tim from Jersey

[Dima]

I own EBMM bongo HH, American fender P-bass and Warwick they all are unique and different in voice, shape, string spacing etc. And that is great. And speaking about bongo, sound wise, weight/balance proportions, build quality this is a very good guitar. The only thing I would say about it that unlike MM Stingray this guitar gets its voice/tone coming from onboard electronics rather then from wood. But it does not make it sound artificial or light again it is just different not bad.IMHO

[...]

I do, however, like the 2x4 bass. Color me crazy...

 

[b5pilot]

When I first saw a Bongo with that round pickguard and odd body it reminded me of a toilet seat. I'm sure glad it sounds better than it looks. It's not that bad looking mind you, just not my taste.

[rizzo9247]

The first time I saw a Bongo was back in March 06. I was at G3 and Dave LaRue was playing a desert gold (bright orange) 5 string Bongo. It was definitely something different alright.

 

When I played one I thought it sounded and played wonderfully, but for some strange reason it didn't look anything like a p-bass

[DavidMPires]

i'd love to own a bongo in flashy green and with a black perloid pickguard.

 

Oh and I love my Markbass F1, I just can't get enough.

[Tom Capasso]

I'm assuming the Tobias was new. I've tried some of them and I'm not impressed with the build quality. And for what they are charging, that's a shame.

 

I watched/listened to a guy playing a PJB at Ash recently, and was surprised at how good it sounded. I had tried one at Bob G's when they first came out and wasn't sold. I tried Danzilla's about a year ago but don't remember having a particular impression (it was a bass gathering with lots of gear) - but my sense was that it sounded good.

 

I played a dark burgundy, smokey gray pickguard 2 humbucker 4-string Bongo and had trouble putting it down. I was able to get a nice variety of sounds, and it was quite smooth. If the price had been lower, I might have taken it home (I had just started looking for a 4-string that eventually led me to the BenLoy I now own). I find that looking up at a band on stage, bright colored basses don't offend my delicate sensibilities as much as when they are in your lap. No orange for me, but I thought the Bongo was cool.

 

Dave - sounds like a nice time!

 

Tom

[Newf]

I would love to know the EQ center frequencies on the Bongo's EQ.

 

Found this after digging around in the Ernie Ball Forum:

 

Bass = 40 Hz

Low Mid = 400 Hz

High Mid = 2.5KHz

Treble = 6.3KHz

 

 

Cheers

Newf

[Brocko777]

That's the last bass I want/need; BoNGo 5er.

Sweet machines.

 

Brocko

[Dima]

Those of you guys who live in the US and Canada are pretty spoiled by the choice. (Yes I envy you).:-) Here in Ireland to buy a solid American fender/ebmm or warwick you have to spend something between 1.500-4.000 euros and you have to do your best to find that guitar! Shops are selling chip Chinese/Korean guitars of very low quality. But what makes me cry, it’s when I remember those guitars we used to play in USSR! Holy Jesus, those awful Bulgarian “orfeis” (P-bass copy) or guitars manufactured by furniture factories, who was producing chairs and tables along. I can actually remember musicians who desperately wanted to play, used to steal pickups from public Phones and install them on acoustic guitars. This sort of experience prevents me from criticising good guitars from trusted manufacture all together.:-))

[Flemtone]

Dima, I hear ya.

 

I remember seeing some of those Eastern European instruments on Ebay. Some, um, "interesting" instruments there, to be sure.

 

 

[kenfxj]

That's the last bass I want/need

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee180/colbybenge123/BullShit.jpg