mcnach

Most places I play I go DI (pre) and the amplifier onstage is just to be my monitor. In one of the bands I use a few pedals, so the sound is generated before it reaches the DI. I include a cab simulator, for DI, so that my overdriven bass sounds ok and not fizzy. When I play bars and my amplifier is what carries the bass for the whole place, then there's just one sound, obviously. And earplugs.

Superglue! Came to the rescue quite a few times for me.

I've just ordered a Sandberg VM4. I went for their 'soft aged' finish purely because of the cost. I'm not a fan of the relic thing, although when done well it doesn't put me off either, and Sandberg does do it very well. My first choice was a solid colour, high gloss finish. Unfortunately it's not one of their normal colours, so it would add £525 to the price. Now, I liked that colour, but not THAT much. So I asked about the nearest alternative, which happened to be a metallic colour they do do, but only on aged finishes. I asked about getting it 'not aged'. It was possible, but at a cost, because again, for high gloss, it means more work. For an aged finish, they don't need to get it perfectly flat and nice before they 'age' it... so it's like an in-between level of effort and the time it takes. So I got the order in specifying "very light soft aged pretty please" or something along those lines Sandberg is the only company that has made me thought "hmmm, yummy" about their aged instruments.

Yes, but very variable. They wanted £600 for a really battered Stingray a few years ago, with big dents on the back of the neck and generally in terrible condition. That's when a reasonably clean Stingray could be found for 5-700 on eBay, and I bought mine for £700 immaculate including its EBMM hard case. But I've seen some other cool stuff there at much more reasonable prices.

He's always been good by email to me, even if sometimes it would take a few days to get a reply. However, I'd recommend a phone call if email does not seem to work. He's been really helpful to me with a variety of enquiries in the past.

You'll have to wait until September for that. But it's essentially this one below (metallic orange, very soft aged) with black rather than nickel hardware:

I thought it was about helping each other empty our pockets on bass related stuff... It certainly is like that for me. There I was, minding my own business, reasonably happy with my gear, until I discovered BC. My expenditure skyrocketted after that. But I do enjoy what I discovered along the way

I saw a black/maple V4 on Facebook a few days ago... if I were after a Precision, that's what I would have bought. IN fact, I am not after a Precision and I was still tempted

That's what Teo at Guitar Guitar was telling me. I was commenting on how nice that neck on the red 48 in particular felt and he took note of the serial number and said that Sandberg would be able to check their records and get a pretty good match. Once I decided to order, I could have just done it in Edinburgh, but Teo had been really helpful so it was only fair that he got to make the sale. I go to Glasgow often so it won't be a problem to go there to pick it up when the time comes... around September, I was told. So... if you go to Guitar Guitar in Glasgow, talk to that man.

If by helping you mean making him poorer, yes, you helped a lot. Thanks...

Finalising details... by the order will be official within days, yes. My first choice was a non-aged high gloss solid colour, but I didn't like the colour enough to pay the £525 they wanted for a 'custom colour'. So I'm going with metallic orange. Just checking out a couple of minor details before signing the document. Teo at Guitar Guitar in Glasgow has been very helpful, ensuring Sandberg is aware of the specific 48 bass I liked the neck of to make sure my VM has the same kind of profile (both 48s they had were slightly different). This also means I'll take the opportunity to do a clear-out of a few instruments I rarely use these days... at least 3, maybe 4: "fewer but nicer instruments" is what I want.

It is possible that you are not as 'sensitive' and/or wear the bass lower than other people, as I found that wearing the bass low reduces the neck-dive feel. I haven't found a bass with the strap button levelled at around the 15-17th fret that doesn't have some degree of neck dive.

No, I haven't tried one. I don't like the position of the second pickup, and I don't think I'd want to buy another single pickup Stingray (the one I've got is my #1... there's other lovely basses out there that I like to play, but that's the one: feel, sound, lacquered neck...) P + bridge humbucker is what I'd like...

!!! As long as you don't expect me to dance for them...

Well, I'm no longer a Sandberg virgin, having spent some (good) time with a couple of 48s in Glasgow's Guitar Guitar. The shop was pretty quiet, and the bass department downstairs was pretty cool... I saw a couple of Gibson Thunderbirds as soon as I got there, but nah, not for me, I didn't even try them. The Sandbergs were both very similar, I really liked the neck on both, although the red one was marginally nicer. It may be a thinner neck than what I normally go for but there's meat in that neck. I loved it, it felt great. Soundwise... the 2-band is adequate, nothing more to add. I was using a Mesa D800 with a couple of 112 Subway cabs, which is the closest to what I normally use that they had in the store. I loved the sounds they made. It was good to compare two, as they had slightly different setups and aged strings etc, so they give me a bit better idea of their 'sonic territory'. The bridge humbucker is *very* good. Really nice thick sound, full bodied... and the neck pickup is very very Precision-like. Just what I was hoping for based on what I could get on Youtube, but a bit better (the right amp helps, no doubt). Both had Delano pickups. Neck profile and dimensions, sounds... That was great. Now, the not so great. Balance: not perfect. With that design I was not hoping for perfection, but at the same time I was hoping to be wrong. The neck does pull down a bit, on both instruments. But I have to say, it was very minor compared to what I was expecting and it's something I can live with easily. The worst part is how long the neck feels. It's the ONE thing making me pause and think about it. I played both for a fair bit, standing up, trying to imagine how I'd feel playing it for a whole gig... can't be sure. I don't know. I'll have to sleep on it... Teo at the store was great, he got my details and is going to figure out what it'll be to place an order for the bass configured the way I want it, with the same neck profile as the red one, and we'll see... He thought they could get the bass in 3-4 months only, which I was surprised about. Hmmm. It sounds so good, 'though, and it's a great looking bass. But... I'm not sure... I'd hate to stop using it once the honeymoon period is over just because the neck feels a bit too long. Hmmm. Of course, now I'm thinking if I don't get this I would probably want some kind of VM Sandberg... I should walk away from this forum.

Thank you for letting me test drive one! It's going to go into this: I was going to put a John East U-Retro I've had in a box for ages, but I think this would be just the thing for it. It's a lovely bass to play (Originally a Squier Matt Freeman, that I converted to 'Jazz' and then to... this, that I call 'JJ' because I don't have a better name), and it's got a really cool sound, but it sounds better when I roll off the tone a bit, in any pickup configuration. It's wired just like a Jazz. Very prominent high midrange if you want it, but can be tamed down. I am putting a set of TI flats in there, and with the Tonestyler I hope it'll be fat, defined and creamy. Pickups (DiMarzio Area J) currently wired in parallel (they're humbuckers), but I might wire them in series to make them a bit fatter... choices, choices.

You're a bad influence. Right... see you guys in a few hours!

Rosewood fingerboard makes it a safe trip... I'm a maple junkie. But I have been known to stray edit: I may return after having placed an order 'though 😲

Tonestyler ordered. And... I'm off to Glasgow to try a Sandberg 48, and maybe a Thunderbird too.

Indeed, I was one I've bought two basses back. Both from members here, although the first one I sold on Gumtree and only a couple of years later I found he was a member of BC (Hi Sam!): I met him at a gig we where I was providing bass amplification, and I did not recognise him but I recognised the bass. He wasn't selling at the time, but I expressed my interest, and a year or two later he sold it back to me. A Vintage (the brand) Jazz bass. The second one, @alyctes here bought it from me. A Shine Telecaster shaped bass with two MM humbuckers. Someone else was asking about those basses, I chipped in what I knew, and alyctes was there too... one thing led to another and my girlfriend bought the bass back for me for my birthday. Alyctes even dropped the price as it was a present etc... Thank you sooo much

singing? I feel old...

And for the love of God... make sure your bass is in tune. Every time... I have a cheap Precision style bass that I had converted, with D'Addario nylon tapewounds and a Model P pickup, and it's got a lovely lovely sound. I have owned a couple of 'better' fretless basses but sold them and kept this. Anyway! I'm mostly a fretless owner rather than player. I play it at home sometimes, then go for weeks or months without touching it... as a result I haven't yet built up a very consistent touch with it. Last weekend I was meant to go into the studio to put some bass on one new song for my band's new album. It was just a jam that happened at the studio between the drummer and one guitarist, and then things were added to it and we decided to turn it into a song. I didn't know what to play and thought I could maybe use the fretless to make it sound a bit different and maybe it would inspire me... So the previous two days I used the fretless exclusively, a lot, playing a long to various things, working out alternative basslines for the new song... and then, on the day, I checked the tuning and it was slightly flat across all strings. No problem! I tuned up. But then... I could not play in tune! I was always playing slightly sharp as I got used to putting my fingers slightly forward to compensate for the tuning being off. Not fun. Because time is money, I ended up picking up a fretted bass instead, as it'll take me a couple of sessions to get used to playing the way I should. Check the tuning!!! That way you'll get into the habit of placing the fingers in the right spot from the beginning... don't be a silly billy like me 😛

Indeed! Before I joined BassChat, I just used whatever my local shop had, and I only had priority about gauges. Choice is a terrible thing Fat Beams are roundwounds, of course, stainless steel, so pretty bright to start with, but I prefer them after they've been used a bit. That's why I keep them that long. It takes me 2-3 weeks for them to be just right, and then they last a long time in that condition having lost the initial zing. By the time I'm finding them lacking a bit, it's easily 9 months... and I'm reluctant to replace them because I just don't like new strings, so I might carry on a bit longer. edit: I have Fat Beams on a few basses right now, I just checked my spreadsheet : * EBMM SUB: 2 years and 2 months (but I don't use that bass a lot) * Fender Precision: 1 year 8 months * Maruszczyk Jake JJ/P: 3 months - still very bright, but mostly used at home, I have used it on a couple of rehearsals and a total of ONE gig. * EBMM Stingray: 8 months... This is the bass I play most gigs with. I really like how it sounds at the moment, so I can see another 2-3 months easily...

I must have been lucky... for years! I'm off to buy a lottery ticket! (or maybe, just maybe, the possibility of issues is overestimated ) Either way, I'll do it differently next time, just in case. It costs nothing and I'd feel really silly if I damaged a string now