Bazooka 36" party bar review

[YardDog]

I had a post going asking about making my own sound system. Really great ideas and builds from other members, but after making several mock ups with cardboard it was apparent my ideas wouldn't work with the limited overhead space in a 1000-3. So I opted for a soundbar and settled on the Bazooka 36". Price wise it wasn't much different than what I was going to spend to build a system.
So the lights are cool, but I hardly use them. They do have several patterns to select from though. The remote is cheesy and cheap made so protect it well. As for sound, I can't complain. It has a clean clear sound with decent mid range and bass considering the size of the speakers. The quality of the music recorded makes a huge difference. Some recordings I found have all mids and highs and sound like crap, others are maxed on the bass and it overdrives the woofers. But if you have a well balanced recording it sounds damned good. True you wont blow people away at 100 feet and you wont get that gut thumping ghetto bass, but it sounds damned good in the cab and loud enough to run you out. Keeping everything overhead to avoid water, the quality of the sound, auxiliary's to output to another amp and also run power to lightbars or anything you want, made it worth the price for me.

 

[Todlit31]

Thanks for posting this as I have been considering the Party bar Any pics of your install?

 

[YardDog]

I hid the wires as best I could and installed a dash switch to cut all power to it if I know it will be parked in the shop for a while when I'm on the road. It will always draw a little power otherwise. I'll snap a pic or two tomorrow.

 

[JTW]

I had a post going asking about making my own sound system. Really great ideas and builds from other members, but after making several mock ups with cardboard it was apparent my ideas wouldn't work with the limited overhead space in a 1000-3. So I opted for a soundbar and settled on the Bazooka 36". Price wise it wasn't much different than what I was going to spend to build a system.
So the lights are cool, but I hardly use them. They do have several patterns to select from though. The remote is cheesy and cheap made so protect it well. As for sound, I can't complain. It has a clean clear sound with decent mid range and bass considering the size of the speakers. The quality of the music recorded makes a huge difference. Some recordings I found have all mids and highs and sound like crap, others are maxed on the bass and it overdrives the woofers. But if you have a well balanced recording it sounds damned good. True you wont blow people away at 100 feet and you wont get that gut thumping ghetto bass, but it sounds damned good in the cab and loud enough to run you out. Keeping everything overhead to avoid water, the quality of the sound, auxiliary's to output to another amp and also run power to lightbars or anything you want, made it worth the price for me.

That’s pretty much exactly my take on the 24”.. I would have prolly bought the 36 if it were an option when I got mine. For the $$, it’s not bad though.

 

[ohanacreek]

Excuse the dust and dirt, but I've been pretty busy after last weeks tornado and haven't had time to clean it. I went the cheap route with hose clamps to support it for now.View attachment 73282

The rubber pads that lock into the supplied aluminum supports grip the ROPs and keep it from moving around.
View attachment 73283

I haven't had time to figure out exactly what I'm going to add to the dash and where so I just installed a cheap master kill switch. I used the vacant knock out for now because I could fish the wires through to the front without having to pull the dash. View attachment 73285

It fits well between the roof mounts and is high enough and far back enough I don't have to worry about hitting my head on it. I may end up flipping it upside down so the wires can be hidden better, but for now it was a quick practical way to get the tunes rolling on limited time. View attachment 73286

I can bluetooth the tunes, but having the 3.5mm input on the bottom is convenient when listening to FM radio and also lessens the chance of water getting inside. The soundbar has an FM chip, but I'm just using my cell for now. The five control buttons are on the top, but as long as I have a remote I don't need them. I read reviews that said it was difficult to pair, but I never had any problems so far. Also it talks and tells you what mode it's in. Kinda annoyed me at first, but is actually convenient since there are no indicator lights to let you know. Sound quality, ease of install, output/input options, and cool lights my grand daughters are gonna love made it worth the price for me. I found it on Amazon new for $400 and free shipping, but that special has ended now.

View attachment 73281

Might I suggest, If the sound bar has lightbar style mounts the $14 Tractor Supply light bar 1”-1.75” clamps are the best I have found. I have my WetSounds mounted with them and running rough trails all weekend it never moved. I had two other light bars mounted with them as well but I’m reconfiguring my lights.

Traveller Small 1 in.+ Tube Bracket at Tractor Supply Co.

 

[YardDog]

I guess while editing my post last night I ended up deleting it. So here we go again...

Thanks for posting this as I have been considering the Party bar Any pics of your install?

Excuse the dust and dirt, but I've been pretty busy after last weeks tornado and haven't had time to clean it. I went the cheap route with hose clamps to support it for now.

The rubber pads that lock into the supplied aluminum supports grip the ROPs and keep it from moving around.

I haven't had time to figure out exactly what I'm going to add to the dash and where so I just installed a cheap master kill switch. I used the vacant knock out for now because I could fish the wires through to the front without having to pull the dash.

It fits well between the roof mounts and is high enough and far back enough I don't have to worry about hitting my head on it. I may end up flipping it upside down so the wires can be hidden better, but for now it was a quick practical way to get the tunes rolling on limited time.

I can bluetooth the tunes, but having the 3.5mm input on the bottom is convenient when listening to FM radio and also lessens the chance of water getting inside. The soundbar has an FM chip, but I'm just using my cell for now. The five control buttons are on the top, but as long as I have a remote I don't need them. I read reviews that said it was difficult to pair, but I never had any problems so far. Also it talks and tells you what mode it's in. Kinda annoyed me at first, but is actually convenient since there are no indicator lights to let you know. Sound quality, ease of install, output/input options, and cool lights my grand daughters are gonna love made it worth the price for me. I found it on Amazon new for $400 and free shipping, but that special has ended now.

 

[ATM0816]

I just installed mine last week with the Booger whips. The sound is nice, this video is with out my roof and in a closed garage but you get an idea. I had the 24” and sold that to my buddy to get the 36”, very pleased with both. Another nice thing was being able to hook my whips directly to the party bar and not run it to the battery so I have the one rocker switch for both. Ok so video is not able to load if anyone needs video just message me and I can text you a couple.

 

[YardDog]

I just installed mine last week with the Booger whips. The sound is nice, this video is with out my roof and in a closed garage but you get an idea. I had the 24” and sold that to my buddy to get the 36”, very pleased with both. Another nice thing was being able to hook my whips directly to the party bar and not run it to the battery so I have the one rocker switch for both. Ok so video is not able to load if anyone needs video just message me and I can text you a couple.

I haven't tried the 12v output yet. I know there is a button on the sound bar to power it up. Does button #1 on the remote work to power the output on and off?

 

[Farmerjohn]

I used these mounts which I had to drill out a bit and bought this extension to make install easy on mine.

 

[ATM0816]

I haven't tried the 12v output yet. I know there is a button on the sound bar to power it up. Does button #1 on the remote work to power the output on and off?

Yeah the button #1 will power on whatever you hook up to it. It’s nice not having to run those extra wires.

 

[ATM0816]

So this is my Bazooka 36” party bar now after having it for a little over a month. Sending this $hit back to amazon (which is awesome with returns even outside the 30 day window) I could barely put it to 3/4 volume and it would pop and sound like a scratched CD. I put new wire on, have a secondary battery and all and it still sounds like crap. I read a bunch of reviews that had the same issues. My 24” I had prior to that sounded better and louder. I went with the Wet Sounds Stealth 10 Ultra that will be here tomorrow. Hope it sounds good or that’s going back too. Haha

 

[Ragnar406]

So this is my Bazooka 36” party bar now after having it for a little over a month. Sending this $hit back to amazon (which is awesome with returns even outside the 30 day window) I could barely put it to 3/4 volume and it would pop and sound like a scratched CD. I put new wire on, have a secondary battery and all and it still sounds like crap. I read a bunch of reviews that had the same issues. My 24” I had prior to that sounded better and louder. I went with the Wet Sounds Stealth 10 Ultra that will be here tomorrow. Hope it sounds good or that’s going back too. HahaView attachment 75543

The WS stealth won’t pop and crack at full volume ... you’ll want a sub if you don’t have one

 

[YardDog]

So this is my Bazooka 36” party bar now after having it for a little over a month. Sending this $hit back to amazon (which is awesome with returns even outside the 30 day window) I could barely put it to 3/4 volume and it would pop and sound like a scratched CD. I put new wire on, have a secondary battery and all and it still sounds like crap. I read a bunch of reviews that had the same issues. My 24” I had prior to that sounded better and louder. I went with the Wet Sounds Stealth 10 Ultra that will be here tomorrow. Hope it sounds good or that’s going back too. HahaView attachment 75543

The first one I ordered took a beating during shipping. It was humming, popping, and cracking even with no music playing. I returned it and the replacement is fine. At full volume I have heard the woofers pop, but the recording was over driven with bass. I really like the wet sounds 10, but just couldn't justify $799 for mids and highs only and still need to buy a sub and amp.

 

[ATM0816]

The WS stealth won’t pop and crack at full volume ... you’ll want a sub if you don’t have one

I’m not looking for a lot of thump but is the WS just mids and highs? Is there any bump to balance it out?

The first one I ordered took a beating during shipping. It was humming, popping, and cracking even with no music playing. I returned it and the replacement is fine. At full volume I have heard the woofers pop, but the recording was over driven with bass. I really like the wet sounds 10, but just couldn't justify $799 for mids and highs only and still need to buy a sub and amp.

Understandable! I ordered mine this past weekend and got it for $629 on sale at Amazon, it’s now up to $699 but it was worth it, to me. I agree the mids and highs were overwhelming but after I played with my EQ on the phone it sounds really good and even a little bump. I won’t be adding a sub or amp as we go pretty deep often and even though they are water proof I still don’t want to take a chance, and the WS has far exceeded my expectations. IMO the party bar was more “fun” than fully functional as a sound bar. My wife was sad to see the LEDs go but we got a pair of Booger Whips that she is more than happy about.

 

[YardDog]

I’m not looking for a lot of thump but is the WS just mids and highs? Is there any bump to balance it out?


Understandable! I ordered mine this past weekend and got it for $629 on sale at Amazon, it’s now up to $699 but it was worth it, to me. I agree the mids and highs were overwhelming but after I played with my EQ on the phone it sounds really good and even a little bump. I won’t be adding a sub or amp as we go pretty deep often and even though they are water proof I still don’t want to take a chance, and the WS has far exceeded my expectations. IMO the party bar was more “fun” than fully functional as a sound bar. My wife was sad to see the LEDs go but we got a pair of Booger Whips that she is more than happy about.

I've had my eye on Booger whips too. Some of the other brands have killer patterns, but some are almost to the point they just look like a blur of color with no determinable change from mode to mode. Update everyone after you have ran them through the gauntlet.

 

[ATM0816]

I've had my eye on Booger whips too. Some of the other brands have killer patterns, but some are almost to the point they just look like a blur of color with no determinable change from mode to mode. Update everyone after you have ran them through the gauntlet.

I sure will! We use them when we go on our late night group rides on the field paths here and they are a hit. We are going to Busco this weekend and will get the real test. The 99different modes are all crisp and bright, no blur or distortion. I will update after this weekend. Haha.

 

[Ragnar406]

I’m not looking for a lot of thump but is the WS just mids and highs? Is there any bump to balance it out?


Understandable! I ordered mine this past weekend and got it for $629 on sale at Amazon, it’s now up to $699 but it was worth it, to me. I agree the mids and highs were overwhelming but after I played with my EQ on the phone it sounds really good and even a little bump. I won’t be adding a sub or amp as we go pretty deep often and even though they are water proof I still don’t want to take a chance, and the WS has far exceeded my expectations. IMO the party bar was more “fun” than fully functional as a sound bar. My wife was sad to see the LEDs go but we got a pair of Booger Whips that she is more than happy about.

I put a Wet sounds 8” under the drivers seat it balances out the soundbar really well. I am not a huge bass person but after having it would be hard to go without it - I don’t even have the setting on the sub turned close 3/4 the way up either.

 

[ohanacreek]

The first one I ordered took a beating during shipping. It was humming, popping, and cracking even with no music playing. I returned it and the replacement is fine. At full volume I have heard the woofers pop, but the recording was over driven with bass. I really like the wet sounds 10, but just couldn't justify $799 for mids and highs only and still need to buy a sub and amp.

Get the WetSound 6 Bar and the AS-8 sub, save some cash and PLENTY loud.

 

[YardDog]

It appears that some folks have had the sound cut out around 1/2 to 3/4 volume. I think I figured it out. It all is directly related to the input source. If the input is maxed it overdrives the amp, which overdrives the speakers. I've been playing with this for a while and have gotten repeatable results. My son bought one after I did and it sounded like chit. But he listens to boom shakalaka and every recording was maxed out for ultimate bass and volume. Changing the input source made a 180 degree difference. Basically if the input is maxed already, the amp only takes what it gets and pumps it up and this can overdrive the system. Spending $350 to $450 for a sound bar and expecting $1200 worth ain't gonna happen.