Ghost_Bass

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1404996413' post='2497673'] I've never found any bass more or less versatile to be honest,I get the tone that pleases me most from what it offers and adjust my playing to suit, I did that before going to a single pickup bass so I must have been destined for a stingray! [/quote] I know what you mean but for me versatility is having a neck and a bridge pickup with a blend control and work it together with the right hand positioning and attack. I know that a lot of people won't get it because they're happy with that one sweet spot sound they've found but i'm known for not using the same sound from theme to theme

I've tried a J Deluxe V and IMHO all of the bass was better than the Stingray V i had exept for that tiny extra bit of b*lls on the B string and the smooth feel of that neck... humm, yummy! Overall the J was lighter, more versatile and the preamp worked very well (i never liked the preamp on my SR5, too muddy or too clancky, no mid term). But i don't think about Fenders or Musicmans anymore, i've got a Yamaha!!! (two of them to be more accurate)

I would start by troubleshooting the electronics to see what could be wrong with it. Try hooking up the pickups directly to the jack and see if the output increases, if not the the pickups are knackered and you'll need to find someone to rewind them (i had Andy at wizard pu's do this job for a friend in an old Fender bass pickups and it was spot on, too bad he's retired now). If the pickups are fine then i would redo the solderings on the pots, old solder isn't as conductive as fresh one, you could start by trying it first with only the volume pot, then add the tone pot with a new cap you may have laying around and finally add the old cap. After all of this and if the problem with the output was found and solved just shield the cavities and enjoy your bass. Even if you decide to use a modern wiring loom/pickups you should solve the problem with this bass before it gets worse. If it's knackered it won't increase it's value over time.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1404910443' post='2496882'] Me too... at least the ones with the 4+1 tuner configuration. The 5 in-line ones are OK. I think if I ever went for another five it would be a purpose-built five, rather than a traditional 4-string that's just had another string added to it. [/quote] We're in opposite fields on this one. I can't play a 4 string since i bought my second bass (and first 5er). 5 in line tuners look very wrong to me, it must be 4+1 or even better a 3+2 config (i had a 2+3 config on a ATK and that too felt and look akward). [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1404910832' post='2496890'] For me the secret of a good sounding a feeling low B string is to use a tapered string on a bass with either a set neck or through-neck construction. [/quote] +1/2 Never felt the need of a tappered string on a 5er and when i used one it didn't felt quite right (i must be weird, i'm realising it now) but a neckthrough makes a lot of difference on the sound of a 5 stringer. All the best B's i've heard came from neckthroughs (with only the exception of a Stingray5).

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1404837255' post='2496262'] I find string choice to be more vital on 5 strings. I have 2 stunning 5 string basses (Marleaux and Sandberg) and yet on both of them I thought they sucked with the original strings. Marleaux own brand strings are bloody awful. I have no idea what was on the Sandberg but they sucked too. They now have D'addario Prosteels and the low B on both sounds clear and deep as I wanted. I even tried D'addario Nickels on the Sandberg and it wasn't quite right. The B was a bit flubby, even if the other strings were all perfectly fine. I don't know why I keep experimenting with strings - I always come back to them! [/quote] I know wht you mean, Prosteels all the way for me too but now i'm thinking about trying the regular nickels on the BB, i don't think that the Prosteels are intended for a vintage-type-of-sound bass . Love them on the TRB and Smith though.

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

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1404825659' post='2496068'] (...) The BB615 has a funny bridge that extends backwards in correspondence of the lowest string. This should give a scale close to 35 inch for that string only, as opposed to 34 for the rest of the strings. Perhaps a lighter gauge string could help... [/quote] Nope, your B will still be a 34" scale, if it were 35" the frets would have diferent spacing comparing to the other strings. The bridge has the B side longer to help with the intonation, it's made like that just to give the saddle more travel to the back. There's always a diference in all strings. the B is more noticeable because of the phisics of the material. There are some basses that handle this issue better then others, both my TRB5PII and my Smith have a very well balenced scale and the diferences are tiny but on any other bass i've owned (i only play 5 stringers) and this include my current BB1025X the difference is a lot more noticeable. In a band scenario all this fades, it's a issue that i never worried about. Like said a few posts back, you can use this diferences in your favour and play on diferent places for diferent results.

My 1025X doesn't need the hipshot and i don't see a poin for the new cuttaway if they aren't going to increase the number of frets. They're easy to access as they were. Matching headstock is a good idea but i also like the look of the wooden stripes. A don't see any advantage in this bass comparing to mine (except for the ressonat treatment also found on the normal 202x...). I think that a neckthrough, 24 frets or a separate tone for each pickup or even a blend control would be a much nicer (and offer better results) upgrade to this 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.

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 name='citymariner' timestamp='1403450672' post='2482760'] We had this a few his back. Turns out at the next rehearsal the valves went in a Mesa guitar amp - I think this had something to do with the trips as we'd used all the normal tricks of limiting draw on the rings etc. [/quote] I would say that it was the tripping of the electrics that cause the valves to fail and not the other way around...

[quote] [b] The Retro Two10 - the best old school sounding small cab ever?[/b] [/quote] This kills it for me... a full-range 2x10 (with horn) working at 4ohms and with only 15kg would have made me think twice about replacing the S12T.

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.

So... it isn't just a BF problem then...

If the 410's have two connectors just plug from the LMIII out to first cab and link from first cab to second. If the cab's only have a single input connector then you need a "Y" cable.