Alternative pickups/pre for sandberg ken taylor5

[tbonepete]

Hi all,
As the title says, I'm after options for replacing pups and pre for my KT5. I must say that it's the 20th anniversary model, and it seems that this model has the politically correct don't want to offend or indeed wake anyone pups and pre!. I'm after something with a proper amount of mids, and much higher output in general. Whats out there to recommend please?

Cheers Pete

[Ghost_Bass]

Replace the pickups but keep the preamp for now (if it's a Glockenklang preamp). However, if you decide to replace the preamp let me know and i'll take it from your hands

Regarding the PUs, they look like standard SR5 ones so it shouldn't be hard to find proper replacements. I would go for the Delanos that "inspired" your "sandberg" branded ones but some nice Bartolinis or Seymour Duncans would also be a good choice.

[tbonepete]

Thanks Ghost Bass,
Do you have any specific models in mind as the makes mentioned all have many variations?
I'm not sure what the pre is, but it sure doesn't sound like either of my previous bergs, one of which was a KT5, and considerably better finished and higher quality hardware etc. I think the pre is from a short lived collaboration with Lidl! Hehe.
Maybe best to move it on and go back to EBMM route. Still considering what to do, hence the questions about pups and pre.
I shall have a look into the makes suggested, but can't afford to buy loads of different pups etc on the off chance that one may suit, if you know what I mean.

Cheers Pete

[Ghost_Bass]

Well, i can't really tell you wich pickups to get, it's more of a personal taste issue. The best starting point for you is to identify wich basses with this type of pickup you liked the sound and then try to know what pickups were installed in them.

If that bass was made in collaboration with LIDL i would check to see if there isn't a cocaine bag hidden inside the pickups along with a tiny single coil just to produce some noise... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25640485 It could be the cause of it being too polite!

[tbonepete]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1404492524' post='2493223']
Well, i can't really tell you wich pickups to get, it's more of a personal taste issue. The best starting point for you is to identify wich basses with this type of pickup you liked the sound and then try to know what pickups were installed in them.

If that bass was made in collaboration with LIDL i would check to see if there isn't a cocaine bag hidden inside the pickups along with a tiny single coil just to produce some noise... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25640485 It could be the cause of it being too polite!
[/quote]
The second paragraph properly made me laugh, and would certainly seem to point to some value! Lol.
Identifying the desired sound is easy! I wanted it to sound like my first Ken Taylor 5, and looking at the specs section on sandberg site uses identical words to describe both the normal model, and the anniversary model. But they are not remotely the same in sound (or quality compared to my first one).
I think I shall have to get saving and get something nicer, and definitely less polite if you get me.
By the way, where would this bag of cocaine be hidden then? I'm reluctant to start undoing things as I don't want to know what horrors lurk inside!

Cheers Pete

[Ghost_Bass]

Have you tried contacting Sandberg directly? they offer a great costumer support and reply very fast. If there's anything different in electronics between your current bass and the one you had before they will tell you and help you get the parts you need to make sound like you want.

I'm thinking about another thing, maybe the difference in woods may also be part of the problem, in that case you should sell this bass and get one like the one you had before.

Send them a mail or a message through their facebook page, they won't take long to reply. They helped me when i bought my VM5, it had a small background noise that they helped me identify as being a few poles on the pickups not properly connected to the ground. A replacement pickup arived in a couple of days along with the envelope to return the faulty one and a complementary new set of strings. Great service.

[tbonepete]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1404742475' post='2495279']
Have you tried contacting Sandberg directly? they offer a great costumer support and reply very fast. If there's anything different in electronics between your current bass and the one you had before they will tell you and help you get the parts you need to make sound like you want.

I'm thinking about another thing, maybe the difference in woods may also be part of the problem, in that case you should sell this bass and get one like the one you had before.

Send them a mail or a message through their facebook page, they won't take long to reply. They helped me when i bought my VM5, it had a small background noise that they helped me identify as being a few poles on the pickups not properly connected to the ground. A replacement pickup arived in a couple of days along with the envelope to return the faulty one and a complementary new set of strings. Great service.

Hi Ghost bass,
Yes I have tried on a few occasions to email directly a few years ago, and still to this day no one responded, Also, I agree the different woods would make for a different timbre, but it's the very low output scooped pickups, combined with the pre that has only about half the cut and boost in mids than the bass and treble that I mean to ask about changing. So very little mids available from the pre, and pickups with the mids scooped out!!! Kind of strange. I'm not sure what kind of sound they were hoping to achieve and to bare this out, the pickups aren't used on any other model, (even the electra range seems to have more powerful pups), I still think they're Lidl pickups, although I've yet to find the bag of cocaine! Lol.
So, I think it's just a bit of a dog frankly, and will maybe appeal to a collector rather than a player.

Thanks for the reply,
Cheers Pete
[/quote]

[Ghost_Bass]

Send them a message on the facebook page (that's what i did) and they'll forward you to the right technician. I think you had a bit of bad luck with your e-mail, a lot of people i know with Sands all say that they are fast on their replys. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/sandbergguitars

Good luck, cheers

[tbonepete]

Thanks Ghost Bass,
I may try that later on. I have 24 gigs in July, and am up against it time wise.
I'm forcing myself to use the Sandberg for the whole run so as to give it a fair chance, but it's pretty disappointing sound wise, and I can't wait to start using my Spector, and/or Fender again once things quieten down.
Still, thanks for the link,
Cheers Pete

Edited July 10, 2014 by tbonepete

[tbonepete]

I've contacted Sandberg via Facebook as Ghost bass suggested, and sure enough a reply came swiftly, so thanks for that.
The up shot is however that it's probably not worth changing the pups and pre according to Sandberg, but rather move it on and get something right from the start.
I was right in my guess though, that the anniversary KT5 is indeed a different animal from the KT5 I had earlier. I just wish the spec sheets for the two models were worded to that effect (product descriptions are worded identically for both models!).
Still, I'm well into the 24 gigs in July now, so not long to wait before my Spector, and Fender come out of their cases again! Yay!!!
Thanks again to Ghost bass for the contact advice,

Cheers Pete

[Ghost_Bass]

You're very wellcome

Fair play on Sandberg for admitting that the basses are different and not trying to trick you in to spending money in replacing parts. Now you know the way to go and how to get what you want with the least investment in time and money.

Good luck finding another KT5 like the one you had. Cheers

[tbonepete]

Hi Ghost bass,
Yes, it was good to find out eventually that the KT5 I have now, and my previous one are basically two different basses.
I shall probably look elsewhere for a replacement as Sandberg have also changed the bridge, and done some pre amp mods on their current ranges, so I'm not going to be able to get something the same as my original one anyway.
Still, I shall have to do some more research and make sure I don't go just on manufacturers specifications this time haha!
Now, what to look at?

Thanks again,
Regards Pete

[tbonepete]

Update,
I had an evening off gigging yesterday so I decided to have a proper look at the KT5 anniversary that I have........... Hmmmm.
Pickups are no named ,which as I've said lack in mids and general output, the preamp seems to be some sort of 2band with a mid module tacked on. No name and messy wiring, but the mid had sandberg printed on it. The potentiometers are Chinese made however, so maybe not a Lidl preamp! Oh , and no cocaine bags found either!!!. All in all, a big disappointment.

[Ghost_Bass]

Post some pics of the guts of that bass, please. Maybe i can help you figure out where that comes from.

[tbonepete]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1406716262' post='2513986']
Post some pics of the guts of that bass, please. Maybe i can help you figure out where that comes from.
[/quote]
Hi Ghost bass.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going to remove the control cover again as the wiring looked pretty flimsy in places and I don't want any joints to break. Also the bottom of the pickups don't have any label on of any sort, and I already know direct from Sandberg that they changed the electrics to their "own" some years back. I definately don't want the same pups or pre in any future bass so I don't need to know where they come from.
Thanks for the offer again.

Cheers Pete

[Ghost_Bass]

Yes Sandberg has now it's own brand of electronics but they still are Delano pickups and Glockenklang preamps, only "licensed to Sandberg". There will be some difference in quality because the only reason to do this is to cut on the cost so some components will be cheaper. It's probably also made in china.

For me nothing beats a Glock preamp, i love their fidelity to the bass's natural sound, Delano's never were my cup of tea but i haven't tried enough to have a definitive opinion.

I still think that you need to move that bass on and start looking for an older KT5.

[Ghost_Bass]

Even if you mod that bass you're already sceptical to it's sound, i think that you'll never come to love it whatever you change on it. Some basses we love from the start and some will never do it for us.

[tbonepete]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1406803029' post='2514807']
Even if you mod that bass you're already sceptical to it's sound, i think that you'll never come to love it whatever you change on it. Some basses we love from the start and some will never do it for us.
[/quote]

Yeah, The modding thing is probably not the way to go for me. I wanted a new Sandberg to mark my 50th birthday, so I don't want to consider yet another used bass. I don't think that Sandberg make what I'm after off the shelf these days, so I will have to look elsewhere. If I want a cheaper Sandberg with licenced parts I shall buy an Electra, or a Cort arona, both of which are probably reasonable basses, but I'm not after the budget varieties, and would want real Glock and real Delano in my bass, and maybe one of the older bridges too.
Still, after all these years I'm learning every day to ask more questions BEFORE I buy, and not assume that current products or services are as good if not better than yesterdays products or services .
The end of the line for me I think......

Cheers Pete