Ernie Ball Music Man Bongo 6 Bass Guitar - Stealth Black Reviews

I was looking for the next step in my bass playing. Something that would help encourage and push me to keep moving forward, was up-to-date, light weight, had a wide range of tone capabilities, and I wanted to go with 6-strings. I knew I was not going to find something inexpensive, but I also knew that whatever I did get would be the one to take me into the future and I would play it for years to come. I dug through all sorts of bass guitar options, but it seemed like I kept being led back to the Ernie Ball, Music Man, Bongo 6. I finally pulled the trigger and purchased one. Now that I have it, I really like it a lot. I have small hands, and I have only been playing bass for about a year, so I am still learning how to play. My hands fit around the neck of this guitar very easily, up and down the frets and the 6-strings. It is very light weight, and the tones I can get out of it are amazing. Last but not least, I always wanted a pure black bass guitar and this Stealth look, feel, and finish, is perfect for my taste. I think it is one amazing bass guitar. Oh, and this is my 4th bass guitar - I have a Steinberger Spirit, a 5-string Ibanez SDGR, and an Ernie Ball Music Man short-scale Stingray. All are nice bass guitars, but this Bongo 6 has it all and does it all.

Only constructive criticism I have is that it needs batteries to power the pre amps. They last about a month or so. Thankfully the guitar came with batteries so all I had to do was plug and play. Just note if you are playing through a external pre amp plugged into your daw you might have to turn down the gain quite a bit. I would also suggest playing with the eq and creating a preset for it so it sounds menacing and you get the most out of what you pay for.

I own six other EB MusicMan basses—two Bongo 5s, and four Stingray 5s; three are BFRs, and three are dealer-exclusive/PDNs—which is to say that I own some pretty decent EBMM basses. This one is my favorite. It feels perfect in my hands, makes me sound like a better player, and just sounds spectacular. I'm used to some nice thump from my other basses, but this one sounds thumper, but still totally clear and articulate—no mud at all. Get one if you can.

This bass literally destroys all other basses in any class. Sounds amazing, plays like butter and is sexy as hell to boot! Came perfectly in tune from Indiana to Texas and is making playing a great experience again. Shout out to my boi Ken Nace for being the man and getting me this beauty!

Bottom Line Up Front: This is the best bass I have ever played. Straight out of the box.
If you browse the internet for reviews of the Bongo basses, you will read some pretty stellar reviews. Now I have also read equally stellar reviews of basses that turned out to be mediocre at best, so I was skeptical at finding almost no negative review on this instrument. However after playing this bass I was blown away by the excellence in tone, in playability, and in appearance that the Bongo 6 delivers. The first thing that stands out is the tone and harmonic quality of this bass. My old 6 string had $700 of aftermarket electronics (Delano pickups, aguilar preamp, etc.) and this bass straight from the factory blew my old sound out of the water. The string spacing is wide enough for slapping, yet narrow enough for some quick runs. The string tension is neither too floppy nor overstretched. The EQ allows for a wide array of tones from sparkling highs and punchy mids to a smoother more mellow sound. Appearance wise, the bass is instantly recognizable. You instantly know this bass is a Bongo from across the room, and the BMW designed mixture or curves and straight edges yields a cool looking instrument in my opinion. The finishes are very clean and my tangerine orange finish has an iridescent hue. All in all the pictures do not do justice to the appearance of this bass. I had recently finished recording over half of my band's new album, and after receiving this bass and playing it, I called my bandmates and said I'm re recording all of my fretted bass tracks just to get the tone of this bass on the album. Some people complain about the weight of this bass, and let me say for a 6 string it is very light. If you picked it up after playing a small 4 string bass it would likely seem heavy. But after playing only 6 string basses for the past 5 years, this bass is much lighter and more comfortable to play than any I have ever owned. Cost wise, it is an expensive bass. I have played many basses such as American Fenders, G&L, and even other Music Man basses that are in this price range, and none of them seemed worth $2000 to me. This bass is. It makes me sound better, and brings out many nuances in my playing that were hidden in the mix before. There are not many basses I would recommend buying before playing them, but this bass delivers straight out of the box. There's a reason John Myung from Dream Theater uses this bass with its stock electronics. While many guitars and basses get pigeonholed into various genres, this bass will sound good in just about any setting by simply adjusting the EQ. I have been playing for 10 years, and I have never owned or played a better instrument.

I've owned a Bongo 6 stealth for approximately 2 years now and honestly it still blows me a away. Those double humbuckers are GNARLY! I primary use the bass in a rock/metal setting and I have never played a bass that can be so round when you want it and punchy when you lay into it.

Now, If there's one draw back, it's the neck width. It's honestly a boat paddle. Getting around on this thing in a hurry can be exhausting, especially if you're into Prog metal and the like. Up near the neck joint it's very very wide and does take a little getting used to, and it's also quite thin, I was very concerned that with it being so wide and thin and only being a one piece neck that it would warp or crack or something, but the neck is very very solid and has never given me any problems even with gigging on it for about a year.

I highly recommend this bass so anyone looking for a great rock/metal bass tone, this is a great starting point.

Pros:
- Pickups/overall tone
- 4 band EQ
- Build quality
- Solid neck

Cons:
- Wide neck

If you've ever played a Musicman instrument, you know they cut no corners when it comes to build quality. The second you pick up a Bongo 6, you feel it. The instrument balances nicely, it's not too heavy, the neck is buttery smooth, the hardware is tight, and the sound quality is top notch. If you want a Musicman 6 string, but you're not interested in the glitter bomb finishes, this is your baby.

My only concern is the finish on this bass. While it looks nice, I have doubts that it will hold up as well as a high gloss would over time. It's a satiny-matte finish, which will easily get dulled down or dinged if you're not careful. In a perfect world, I would have this bass glossed rather than with a matte finish, but that's a 1% complaint. The other 99% is awesome.