dmccombe7

The gig was a freebie as a thanks to the owner who has been really good to the band pre-covid. They agreed to do the first gig there after covid for free but it was a great wee night. Oddly enough the young bar manager said he'd seen me before in another band and for the life of him he couldn't think who it was. Fame !!! Some of the band stay overnight in Dumfries but i'm an hour home so it was a nice wee drive to Biggar on roads that were virtually empty, even the motorway was quiet. My kind of roads. Dave

Nice wee punk gig in Riverside Bar in Dumfries. The band have played there quite a few times but a first for me. First live band since covid so not as busy as it usually is but a decent sized crowd with several people of varying ages up dancing. Blondie being a floor filler to the point our stage area was being pushed back 😂 Good feedback from the audience afterwards and some good phone vids posted on FB. Using the new Sandberg MarloweDK last night and it sounded amazing and so easy to play. Also got my Mesa Mpulse back from repair altho only fault found was dirty master volume pot. Fully serviced and it was great to have "that tone" back again after using my Markbass Nano for past 2 gigs. All in all a pretty good night, few minor mistakes made one where i had a complete loss of memory during a short guitar solo and had to just ad-lib on the root notes for 2 bars and then my memory came back. I'm still learning the songs to a point where i dont need to think about them. Had put new strings on the bass that day and it left me with some prettty painful blisters on my plucking hand. I usually put new strings on a week before the gig so the edge is taken off them but i only got the bass on Thu afternoon. Dave

Some light-hearted Sunday morning laughs. Please dont take too seriously.

I now have the VM4 for the Glam band because it covers a wider range and the Marlowe for the punk band altho i'm gonna try the Marlowe with the Glam band at rehearsals see how it gets on but no more gigs till 23rd Jan. Dave

Knocked out by how great it sounded. Sometimes a jazz bass doesn't work in certain bands but that Marlowe was superb. The tone was exactly what i was looking for. It kinda sat in between a J and a P bass but with the narrow jazz neck it just suits me far better. I did find the D & G strings a little quieter than E & A but it was maybe down to standing directly in front of the amp or i may have to tweak things a little bit. Think i might go to the 45, 65 80 100 strings to see if that helps but i need to trial it more to see if its just where i was standing. I did boost the hi mids a little for the 2nd set and that did seem to help the high end come thru the mix a bit better. Tone was warm, round with a decent amount of depth. It definitely cuts thru mix far better than my P bass and even my wife noted that. She said she could hear the bass far better. No fret buzz noted and action was pretty good. I did make the mistake of putting new strings on before the gig with subsequent finger damage the end result. I usually put strings on a week before a gig. The bass just looks amazing and its funny but because its relic'd i'm not worrying so much about it getting a little knock here and there. Overall very pleased with it and i think this will now be my main gigging bass. I took the P bass as a back up but didnt use it. Compared to my Fender Geddy Jazz this has more depth, warmth and mid punch where the Jazz has more top end zing. Definitely a great purchase and i'm chuffed. Dave On a side note got home 2am, had my coffee and biccies watched the F1 qualifiers and went to bed 3am only to be wakened by cats at 7am to get fed and then builders arrived 9:30 so its a busy morning.

Good news guys so thanks for the sensible advice. I've got the action down to 2mm with a combination of a very slight tweak of the neck to straighten it a bit more and adjustment of the rear saddle screw. I didn't notice the back screws were a little higher than the front two. Still have a little more drop on the saddles but it's where I like my string height as I play a bit harder live. Feeling a lot happier today. I think maybe I just made too much adjustment at one time. Thanks guys. BC is the place to learn.

You do tend to hear the rattles more at house volumes usually they dont come across at gigs. I'll see how it goes tonight. I can live with 2.25mm but i prefer around 2mm. My Fender P is around 2.25mm. Dave

I tried straightening the neck a touch and as you say it does reduce the string height slightly but i found i was getting fret buzz at the 1st to 3rd frets. Have to agree i'd be surprised (and disappointed) that a Sandberg from this price range needed a neck shim. I'm gigging with it tonight with string height at 2.25mm to see how i get on with it. No gigs till after New Year will give me more time to tweak the bass a bit more. I have compared the neck relief with my VM4 and they are pretty much the same but that's just a look down the neck rather than actual measurements. I'll take measurements next week when i have more time. If all else fails i'll put into a reputable luthire for a decent set up to check fret heights. Dave

What exactly does a shim look like. Its not something i've ever done. Will check Youtube clips. Think it just surprised me that a Sandberg bass should need a meck shim. This wasn't a cheap bass when it was new so you'd expect a lower action without any great issue. What string height do you get on yours @Cuzzie Dave

Decided to set up the Marlowe today. Needed a good clean as neck and frets were pretty dirty. Neck looked fine so no truss adjustments required. String height was circa 2.5mm to 3mm so dropped the string heights to 2mm. That was the lowest saddle height i could get which surprised me as my VM4 is at just under 2mm and it has plenty more height adjustments on the saddles. Its not a major issue as most of my basses are circa 2mm or thereabouts, Certainly plays a lot better with the action 1mm lower it just feels so much more comfortable. It still bothers me about the height adjustment at its lowest setting for a bass that now costs over £2k new that doesn't sit well. Anyone else come across this with their Sandberg. Dave

Had a listen to them but not really my kinda music. Appreciate some talented musicians there but not for me i'm afraid. Its not specifically that band its a style of music i've never managed to get into. Dave

I'll youtube tomorrow as its past my bed time for an old fella

I made the same comment about both but just to clarify i like the Acoustic bass rig in the Ohio Players pic. I dont follow Rage Against the Machine or any of the other bands mentioned by Cuzzie. I'm too old for that loud noise stuff. 😂 To be fair i've never really listened to them. I'm more a Rush, Genesis, Floyd type person. Def an age thing there. Dave

Like that bass rig but no idea who this is i'm afraid. ?? Dave

Afraid i dont know who that is @Cuzzie. Maybe its an age thing 😂 Dave

I've now got images of this in my head now. 😂

Oddly enough it's not where I place my thumb.. I tend to rest on a string or pick up. I have tried it and I think it would work for me if I wore my bass higher up

I note the scratchplates are different too. Is that a tech21 twin channel amp. Curious what you think of it.

Wee pic of my 2 Sandbergs

Fair point about having slightly different flavours. It just feels like a far better built Jazz. Everything about it feels beetr quality. Neck is so nice with edges nice and smooth with no ragged fret edges like some Fenders i've tried. Tone at house volumes is very well balanced and warmer than my Geddy Jazz so i'm really liking that. Having a Rosewood board means the maple zing isnt there and its just a nice tone. The balance pot rather than 2 volumes i really like too. That could be a change on my Geddy. With regards pcs i'm going to put new strings on today and give the bass a decent set up. Action is way to high for me and i like to give a 2nd hand bass a thorough clean when i first get it. Also the pole pieces being rusted annoys me more than i expected so they will be cleaned up today. I might take a before and after pic but probably wont see much difference. The bass was clean when it arrived ie no dust, no smells etc but from a hygenic point of view i'll be happier cleaning myself. Pics will be provided today. I might have to tidy the bass cave. Got builders in at moment and bass cave has become a bit of a storage area. Dave

I've always found the reverse P has a more balanced tone across the strings. I've also got a Fender P bass and a P/J. i've tried Yamaha's with the reverse P and there is a definite "more even" tone IMO of course. Could well be that's what your problem was with it. Like i said i find the VM4 doesn't have a huge range of tones but it just works well in most situations i use it. I like the clarity of a Jazz bass tho hence the Marlowe. The Marlowe Jazz picks ups really are so nice......enough so i might consider changing my Geddy to them next year after i used the Marlowe on a few gigs and got a better feel for its capabilities. First test will be Sat night with the punk band. My Geddy worked really well on the first gig with the band 4-5 weeks ago. With the Marlowe having a bit more depth i can see a success on Sat night. Will take my P bass as a back up. Dave

I always consider my VM4 the "Ford" of basses. It does what it says it will. No frills, nothing overly fancy tone wise but it does it all so well. So far i'm finding the Marlowe has something different to my other Jazz bass. Not gigged it or played it at decent volume yet but it does sound as tho it has a bit more depth to its tone. On my amp with same settings that i use for my Geddy Jazz i'm finding i can get a clearer top and bottom end. At the 12th fret and upwards it keeps a clearer tone. Not sure how much that helps others consider a Sandberg. I would think the TM4 with the Jazz pick up at neck and switchable split humbucker at bridge would offer a far wider tone spectrum than the VM4. Not sure if the VM4 Humbucker can be replaced for a split humbucker like the TM4. That would offer a fair bit of tonal options. Dave

I dont have a lot of experience on Sandbergs. Just my VM4 and now the Marlowe Jazz. I think i know what you mean. My VM4 with the P and Humbucker pick ups took me a bit of time to get my amp set up to match it and allow me more of wider tonal range. To be honest i quite like the VM4 tone in my Glam Rock covers band. I definitely cant get that Geddy rasp but i can get a decent top end from it but mostly i'm trying to cover P basses and Precision tones from that era and i can do that easily enough. The Marlowe only just arrived today and i'm gonna leave it a day to settle down before tweaking truss to straighten the neck a bit and lower the action down to circa 2mm. So far having a play with it this afternoon i'm liking the tone from it. It actually has more top end than my Geddy Jazz but has a nicer low end without booming. Also a more balanced tone across the neck. Maybe @Cuzzie can offer some help on what might suit your needs. He's certainly given me great advice without trying to push me towards what he likes. Dave

Marlowe arrived today. It was freezing cold and when i took it from case it literally went wet with condensation. Action is very high at 3mm on E string and neck had more bow than i like. Left it to acclimatise in bass cave for an hour and had a little play. Action had dropped to 2.5mm on E string. Strings on it feel ok but the G string is a 45 and the others 60, 80, 100 so looks like a mixed bag plus the G string feels like a different string maybe older. Ordered a new set of D'addarios EXL190's here tomorrow. I'll give it a full set up with new strings. I know the bass is relic'd but the pick up pole pieces are rusted too. Not sure they are meant to be like that so will give them a clean up. I always give a bass a full clean and set up with new strings when it arrives unless its a new bass the strings are usually ok. Even with a higher action the bass feels really nice to play. The neck is almost same as my Geddy Jazz but the tone doesn't change as much when you play up the 12th fret or above. My Geddy tone isnt quite as sharp and clear at top end of the neck (12th fret end) Nice weight and the neck feels strange having no lacquer. Never played a bass like that before but sweaty hands wont stick to it same i guess. Will post a pic tomorrow once i've cleaned and set it up. Dave

Yes it was. The 2017 2nd hand one at £1250 rather than the new one at £2150 which was a bit over any budget i set for a gigging bass. Trying to keep gigging bass costs at £1k or below. I've been using my Fender Jazz and Precisions recently with the punk band and altho i love my Geddy Jazz and the P bass is good but i go back to my VM4 at home and it just feels like coming home. I always use my VM4 for the Glam covers band cause it gives me more tonal variety and control. The Marlowe might take over or share that role too. I've always had a preference for Jazz type basses. My first bass was a Columbas Jazz copy back in 76 and altho i've tried so many other basses i keep coming back to a Jazz. Based on my VM4 i reckon the Marlowe will be a superior version of a Fender J bass. I'll post an update when it arrives but i am now a definite Sandberg convert. No going back to inferior basses now. Dave