Oh yeah - I really don’t understand Rickenbacker’s marketing strategy - I need this bass 
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I was excited to see Sterling announce a Bongo version for 2025, but have yet to find one in the wild. Was hoping to try one before I settle on my a post B2B guitar upgrade. A few reviews say it plays and sounds nice, but heavy.
Has anyone played one? Love to hear how it feels/sounds and how heavy.
Also, where did you find one if you tried it?
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i don’t think they’ve been released yet, only announced (the web page lists them as not available). what weight (and where) did you see for the sterling, i haven’t seen anything reported yet. my 4 string MM bongo is about 8 lbs and feels light, i would be surprised if the sterling was appreciably more but who knows - i’m sure they will use cheaper hardware.
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beautiful, but i’m not sure of the big scroll headstock.
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That headstock would be difficult to use unchanged for a 5 string version. I’ve got a 5 string fretless being built for me in Croatia. I wanted a fretless 5er to go with my fretted 5er for playing transcribed cello scores. The lowest note on a cello is C, the first fret on the B string. Perfect!
Bonus teaser. Per my post above (Bass Porn - #7025 by TheMaartian), UPS has my Marcústico and will deliver tomorrow. NBD post coming up!
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nice, post pix obviously.
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Not sure what you mean. That headstock is based on a standard StingRay 3-1 tuner layout.
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maybe it’s the angle of the photo but the ball end looks really big? i dunno. i’m not a huge fan of that style headstock anyways and it’s pretty ubiquitous. so it’s just a weird me thing i think. it is beautiful though.
Thank you. I keep flirting with buying a MM. Feels an extravagance given my skill level. At the same time, I intend to keep playing and hope to find some folks to play live with in a few years.
Curious your view on the MM and whether you feel it’s worth the additional $$.
I did try a Fender American Ultra II Jazz Bass the other day and it sounded beautiful.
I was near to buying an Ibanez SR1350B which looked awesome and played well, but when I played the Fender after, the difference in sound was notable. Of course the Fender is about 60% more in price.
I guess my question is… better to buy once cry once? Would you buy your MM again having played it? Also, do you play live regularly?
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hey Geoff! lot to unpack there, but I can give my opinions. please remember that I am an idiot. I take it you mean is the music man worth the upgrade over a sterling? I can only answer that (because the sterling bongo isn’t even out yet) by comparing stingrays. I owned the sterling stingray short scale and traded up to the music man short scale. is the MM nicer, yes it is. mostly in fit and finish. is it worth the money to upgrade, objectively no. but I knew I would spend the rest of my life drooling over the MM. so for me I don’t regret it. as for the bongo, a firemist gold single H bongo was my dream bass and I finally found one. I love it, but that love was kind of built in from the start. it is however a great sounding and great playing bass. should a beginner buy a really nice expensive bass? the only two rules imo are, make sure you can afford it and do what makes you happy. you can always sell basses, you will probably lose a little but that’s the cost for doing something you like to do. I don’t play live, I’m pretty much simply a bedroom player. this is just a hobby for me, and I’m not very good - I don’t put a ton of time into it. I’m ok with that 
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Thanks… exactly the candid perspective I needed 
…. that and your two good rules to live by are enough that I’ll at least find a MM bongo to try. See if it calls to me 
Rock on!
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The one thing I would add is that as a beginner it can be hard to know what you will eventually really like. So early on, buying used or more entry level instruments is a more effective way to explore and learn.
I am six years in now and three of my instruments are more than 20 years old. Nothing at all wrong with used.
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Very true Howard. I love my Squier Classic Vibe. Got it for a bargain and it’s a wonderful jazz bass.
My other thought is to give it a little upgrade and keep going for another year.
I’m a bit all over the board. May be best just to give it a month and let the GAS settle. I promised myself when I finished B2B I’d upgrade. Took my time digging into the course and other material for the year.
When I finished, I was all excited to go shop, but really don’t need too. The Squier is still perfect for me and plays like a gem.
Got that “my first bass” sentiment going for it too 
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Wow… stunning look
I just listed mine to make some room and get a red one later 
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Love [quote=“MikeC, post:6677, topic:5049”]
Great White North. 
[/quote] Making Canada Great again!
Has Low End Lobster done a review on it yet?
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So I bought the 435… didn’t quite manage to get the 300 in to the shop to sell this weekend though. 
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Sweet!