Sterling Bongo...worth the wait?

[Russ]

Just now, Woodinblack said:

 

Well, thats not how it is supposed to work!

It'd get us out of the "tariff trap" - almost all the wood that's used in the construction of the guitars comes from either Canada (spruce, maple) or South America (mahogany, rosewood). We might have to stop making guitars with Brazilian rosewood entirely because of the tariffs (we also use East Indian rosewood on some of the cheaper instruments). The stuff from Canada is partly covered by the existing USMCA deal (the updated NAFTA deal from Tangerine Palpatine's first term) but not entirely. 

 

Having another facility in Europe or the Far East would bypass all of this crap for rest-of-the-world sales. We used to have the old Sigma range made in the Far East (various places, mostly Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Korea), but we sold those off back in 2007 to some German company who now make cheap, Temu-level sh*t using the same brand name, which is a travesty. One of the best acoustic guitars I ever played was a Japanese Sigma DM-5 (basically a D-28) - every bit as good as the US-made instrument. 

 

[Russ]

Just now, dub_junkie said:

The Bongos had full sized tuners for the first 20 years in production. Not sure why it's a weird look as it was the only look all that time.

My 2003 CAR Bongo has the full-size tuners (the other ones I owned had the smaller, lightweight tuners). Even compared to that, the Sterling ones look wrong, like the tuner shafts are too long. 

[Duarte]

On 15/08/2025 at 23:38, Russ said:

My 2003 CAR Bongo has the full-size tuners (the other ones I owned had the smaller, lightweight tuners). Even compared to that, the Sterling ones look wrong, like the tuner shafts are too long. 

 

Yeah, I've always hated the goofySBMM tuners. Not sure why they've done that.

[Staffwag]

As someone who has wanted a Bongo since 2008 and never been able to afford one, I'd still rather hold off an get a Music Man one day at this point. I do like the purple on offer though and it being a mahogany body over basswood. 

[Duarte]

1 hour ago, Staffwag said:

As someone who has wanted a Bongo since 2008 and never been able to afford one, I'd still rather hold off an get a Music Man one day at this point. I do like the purple on offer though and it being a mahogany body over basswood. 

 

Don't fear the basswood. The Bongo has nothing to prove at this point, basswood works. And it has a big old booty. I'd be thankful for the lighter basswood body of the EBMM, over heavy mahogany. Also, I'm not sure what 'indonesian mahogany' really is, but it may not be actual mahogany. (edit: I'm guessing here)

Edited August 17 by Duarte

[Staffwag]

18 minutes ago, Duarte said:

 

Don't fear the basswood. The Bongo has nothing to prove at this point, basswood works. And it has a big old booty. I'd be thankful for the lighter basswood body of the EBMM, over heavy mahogany. Also, I'm not sure what 'indonesian mahogany' really is, but it may not be actual mahogany. (edit: I'm guessing here)

I don't fear the basswood, I'm sure MM have their reasons for using it and they certainly have a lot more experience in instrument construction than I do! 

[neepheid]

Basswood's not balsa, what's the BFD?

[Russ]

On 17/08/2025 at 08:11, Duarte said:

 

Don't fear the basswood. The Bongo has nothing to prove at this point, basswood works. And it has a big old booty. I'd be thankful for the lighter basswood body of the EBMM, over heavy mahogany. Also, I'm not sure what 'indonesian mahogany' really is, but it may not be actual mahogany. (edit: I'm guessing here)

It's real mahogany - the mahogany family of trees is pretty extensive. Indonesian mahogany comes from the toona sureni tree and is comparable to most other types. It's not as desirable as Brazilian mahogany, but preferable to Indian mahogany.

 

Basswood gets a bad rap because it's often been used in cheap instruments and has an extremely plain grain pattern. No such thing as "quilted basswood"! All Bongos have solid finishes so the grain doesn't really matter, and it's got the right weight and sonic properties, so why not? 

[Stub Mandrel]

Regardless of any other considerations a simple graph of bass price versus body timber price makes it clear that the more expensive a timber is, the better its properties as a tonewood.

 

 

 

Edited August 19 by Stub Mandrel
splenlig

[ezbass]

11 hours ago, Russ said:

Basswood gets a bad rap because it's often been used in cheap instruments and has an extremely plain grain pattern. No such thing as "quilted basswood"! All Bongos have solid finishes so the grain doesn't really matter, and it's got the right weight and sonic properties, so why not? 

I had an Ibanez GWB35 (the matt black one). I stripped off the dull as ditchwater, black finish and the basswood underneath, whilst not flamed or otherwise, was pleasing in its plainness, I liked it. Sonically (if these things ever make a noticeable difference [opens can of worms]) it was absolutely fine and the weight was great and not just for a 5 string. I kind of miss that bass. 
 

[Kev]

Apparently these started shipping last week.  Only one review so far though...

 

 

Uninspiring sound, not Bongo or really Music Man.  Looks fantastic though, and £899 at GuitarGuitar.

[Woodinblack]

6 hours ago, Kev said:

Uninspiring sound, not Bongo or really Music Man.  Looks fantastic though, and £899 at GuitarGuitar.

 

Sadly that sounds closer to my wrongo than the bongo!

[Stub Mandrel]

20 hours ago, Kev said:

Apparently these started shipping last week.  Only one review so far though...

 

 

Uninspiring sound, not Bongo or really Music Man.

 

Maybe it's a Drongo?

 

Swap in Warman pickups?

[Kev]

I fancy it so much, but my mind is still living in a time where ripping pickups and pre out of a £900 bass is mad.

[Kev]

 

Significantly better tone here.

[Misdee]

If I was after a Bongo but couldn't afford or didn't want a new one then then the £900 that those Sterling version costs is a major chunk of money towards a used example of the real thing or something else a bit more inspiring than a bass which essentially only has the appearance of a  Bongo. I'm sure this bass is okay, EBMM don't put their name to poor products, but it's not cheap enough to be cheerful and it's not cheerful enough to be £900.

 

£599 would be a different proposition, but even then I'd probably be looking to get a Sire rather than one of these.

Edited 1 hour ago by Misdee

[Kev]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

If I was after a Bongo but couldn't afford or didn't want a new one then then the £900 that those Sterling version costs is a major chunk of money towards a used example of the real thing or something else a bit more inspiring than a bass which essentially only has the appearance of a  Bongo. I'm sure this bass is okay, EBMM don't put their name to poor products, but it's not cheap enough to be cheerful and it's not cheerful enough to be £900.

 

£599 would be a different proposition, but even then I'd probably be looking to get a Sire rather than one of these.

Difficult to argue, but it's just not reflective of 2025 unfortunately.  Used prices are chasing new prices hard now, I doubt you'd get a nice US Bongo for much less than double the cost of the new Sterling, which is a significant jump and still makes the Sterling an attractive prospect.

[Misdee]

Just now, Kev said:

Difficult to argue, but it's just not reflective of 2025 unfortunately.  Used prices are chasing new prices hard now, I doubt you'd get a nice US Bongo for much less than double the cost of the new Sterling, which is a significant jump and still makes the Sterling an attractive prospect.

Are used prices going up? I haven't bought a used bass in a very long time so I haven't really been following it. That's interesting to know.

 

I still think a Sire makes much more sense. Cheap and cheerful and shockingly good for the money. I bought a one as a stopgap and I have been flawed by how close it sounds and plays to a pro-level expensive bass. I wouldn't necessarily want to take a Sire on a world tour but if I was on a budget it's a no-brainer.

[Kev]

1 minute ago, Misdee said:

Are used prices going up? I haven't bought a used bass in a very long time so I haven't really been following it. That's interesting to know.

 

I still think a Sire makes much more sense. Cheap and cheerful and shockingly good for the money. I bought a one as a stopgap and I have been flawed by how close it sounds and plays to a pro-level expensive bass. I wouldn't necessarily want to take a Sire on a world tour but if I was on a budget it's a no-brainer.

Given the new ones have climbed to up to £3k plus, many people are now asking £1,500 odd even for their mid 00's basses.  Mad, but they are beginning to sell for that so it's getting harder to get anything closer to the £1k mark now.

 

Sires are cool, but are a different prospect really as they are inspired by, rather than the same shape etc.  I really fancied one of the Z series models, but the QC issues i've seen put me off a tad.  I think the flurry of interest around this is its a Bongo shape, be that a good or bad thing, and there's nothing else readily available remotely like it.