Surprise Dargie Find

I was having a video chat with a friend of mine who is helping me mix an album. He also is a guitar player but is otherwise very nice. We’re both banging around on the net, too, and he says, “Hey, check this link – is this a knockoff or is it real?”

As you can see in my photo, it is in fact very, very real. A Dargie V2.0 Bongo 5HH! Don’t see many of those around these days. I said sure, it’s real, and it’s an Alpha Bongo, too. He said, “I need a bass around, it’s 1500 bucks, is that decent?” I’m considering which of the children might be worth that much, but he has disposable income and says, “I bought it.”

I offer him 2/3 in cash and maybe a Stingray if he’ll trade me. Nope. He wants a Bongo because I like Bongos and he likes how I sound. Okay. At least I’ll get to play it.

He brings it over and the thing is like NEW. Even the tuning keys are shiny! The strings have some life left in them but I have Cobalts here and so I do that. These may have been the original Slinkys, by the way. I just don’t think anyone has ever really played this bass. The pickguard is immaculate!

So I change the strings, adjust the intonation a bit, not much. I put some relief in the neck. I plug it in and it’s massive. Perfect. He comes over to work on some mixes and I tell him he has to play it. He says, “You play it and I can listen.” I do. It’s a joy to play.

We drink martinis and argue about gain structure and effects and wrangle up a decent mix of some stuff. He says, “By the way, I don’t need a Bongo. The SUB you’ve had at my house is plenty of bass for me. So that’s yours now.”

How’s that for a way to start 2019?

I needed some joy in my life and I got it in spades!