dmccombe7

Don't see anything about pick up selection on the configurator page. Guess you would need to contact Sandberg for a price change before ordering. Must admit that surprised me a bit. Should be on the config page to give people the choice upfront. Dave

In an ideal world you should get a test run in a band situation before buying

Getting this thread back on track thought i would post my fav Yamaha. Liking this a lot. My brother had the fretless version of it and sold it without telling me or i would have had it.

A wee bit out of my price range at that. There are a few 2nd hand BB3000 basses on sale at the moment for under £1k. Love the black one Dave

To be honest it would have put me off the VM4 if i had been reading it yet i'm over the moon with it so i see your point Cuzzie. Dave

Agree both excellent bass manufacturers but its hard to change someone's point of view if they've had a bad experience with a bass for whatever reason. I've had the same experience but usually i just decide its not for me and move it on. I've bought WAL's Ric's, Fenders, Shergolds, Aria SB1000 & 900's and after a while they just weren't doing it for me and it was time to buy something else. That's GAS for you and i reckon that will never stop for me. There will always be another bass out there that i quite fancy having. It might well be a 2nd hand BB3000 next year.

I picked the P34 as its priced around the £1400 range and i guessed aimed at a similar market. The BB2024 is my favoured one but that's silly money and the P34 is a very nice looking bass too and i'd be happy trying both out. It may well be the cheaper range is just as good but was trying to look at price comparisons for both Sandberg and Yamaha basses. I've not tried the Sandberg VS4 basses either that are cheaper too. As i said i'm not interested in getting into this running debate about which is best. I think both manufacturers have some excellent basses with similar prices depending on what you are looking for. Not sure what the main differences are between the P34 and the cheaper range maybe the 700 series. ? Would be interested to know. You have mentioned that you like the 434 range so what's the difference between them. Pick up config is same ? Please remember that you might be drawing me into Yamaha basses and i will haunt you forever if i end up spending more money on basses Dave

Just a quick google search came up with Yamaha London https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Guitars/Bass-Guitars/BB-Series/ GAK prices aree pretty similar for the BB P34 Dave

I use my Zoom on audio only and the singer also uses his mobile which gives a reasonable recording too. Its good enough to hear mistakes and get levels set properly which is something my current band neds to focus on after our last gig where we used backline with vocal only PA. Keys were far too loud for a 70's Glam covers band that most songs don't actually have keys. Dave

Just looked at the BB range of Yamaha prices and they range from a couple hundred quid up to £2800 for the pro range. The P34 is similar price to the VM4 that i have altho i did pay a bit less than that. The one i was almost ordering from Thomann was circa £1400 so they have similar ranges depending on what you are looking for. I have no idea what the main differences are but the P34 below is very nice and similar in price to my VM4. Like i said before and without getting caught up in this running debate between you and Cuzzie i like the sound of the Yamaha pick ups too but you could buy that particular bass and not like the pick ups just same as the Sandberg versions. I think you'll find that no matter what bass you pick in that price range or similar from any manufacturer there will always be people who aren't happy with something and will want to change something. The problem with the Yamaha basses is that i've not seen any in shops up here so no way to try one before buying. For me both basses are excellent and i would be happy with either the VM4 or the P34 without having to change things. I've heard good things about both companies lower riced basses but again its horses for courses. A P34 could well be my next purchase as this is very nice or if i could get a hold of one of the older BB3000 basses i could be tempted maybe next year.

Current band were all playing in other bands and this was a project they all wanted to do but other commitments in the diary meant rehearsals in the first year were few and far between altho we had 22 songs sorted in 18hrs of rehearsals which were spread over one 3 hr slot a month kind of thing we found it hard to gel and to remember what we agreed on for endings. Now we record everything we do at rehearsals. That helps a lot. We also block book rehearsals now and if we can't manage a Sun afternoon because someone's either working or they know they are on a late Sat night gig we will move the rehearsal to mid week 9-12pm. The singer and guitarist have agreed this band is more fun and could be financially well worthwhile and have dropped their other bands. Singer still does solo act with backing tracks around the clubs as a Glam rock artist and he's still quite busy with that but many are Sun gigs. Drummer also doing other band gigs so its first in the diary at the moment altho he can see the potential in this band too. Its not easy keeping up your motivation and enthusiasm under those circumstances but this is a band i've always wanted to do and the guys are genuinely great to get along with. 4 off us started the band together and we've been held up a fair bit bringing in keys players. Jury is still out on whether we need or want a keys player but we'll see how it develops If its the kind of band you want to be part off and know there's a good future with them then it can be worthwhile sticking with it and as things develop your band becomes the focal point and the gigs become more frequent. For me its been worth sticking with it. That's not for everyone tho. Historically if a band wasn't gigging within a max of 12mths i was out of there. That was usually the Prog type bands with original material. The covers bands are usually anywhere between 3 weeks to 3 mths depending on how well i know the songs when i join. I reckon a good pub covers band should be up and running within 3-6mths absolute max. If not you need to make that decision whether its worthwhile or not. EDIT :- we all learn the songs before coming to a rehearsal so its generally just playing it as a band and sorting out arrangements for keys as many of our covers had no keys and endings. Good luck and hope it works out for you. 👍 Dave

Think i'm to old to enjoy this. Sorry Dave

Not seen Joe Jackson in a long time. Thanks for sharing that one. Dave

Up here in Scotland we have a very limited supply of basses to try other than the usual run of the mill Fenders. Luckily enough Guitar Guitar stock a few Sandbergs and that's where i tried them although it was more about the feel of the basses and as a comparison to the MIM Fenders i was looking at. Its not always possible for me to try out basses before buying and i've had to move some on that i didn't quite gel with. I wasn't looking for a profit and took a loss even on the 2nd hand ones but if its not for me i'm happy to just shift them ASAP to make sure i don't change my mind and start having doubts about my decisions. I had to travel down to Bass Direct to try out some 5 stringers when i needed one for a Prog project i was doing. Still have my Dingwall NG2 and another fine bass that is too. (300m each way) Local selection was pretty poor. Dave

Think its a bit different with Sandberg as you can stipulate pick ups or pre-amps when ordering so if you know the Sandberg basses feel good for you then its down to selecting a pick up that suits your sound. I had no idea there were different pick ups when i bought mine. I assumed they were all the same until i posted a pic on BC. I'm classing myself as being a bit lucky now that my Berg suits my needs. Mine was already in a shop when i saw it and having experience of playing the Berg basses i knew it would feel good to play. No expert on Yamaha basses but do you get an option on pick ups with them or do you have to take the stock items. They have a particular tone to my ear and altho i like that particular tone it may not be to everyone's taste and that may be the reason they aren't far more popular than they are. They are a well made bass but you don't see many bassists using them in local bands. Then again i don't see many Sandbergs in local bands either. Its nearly always Fender Dave

I'm happy with it. Seems to be the Delanos that most don't like so its difficult for me to comment on what i know nothing about. Dave

I've never made a profit on any gear i've sold on. Maybe i'm just too generous. Once i've made my mind up to get rid of something i just want it sold at a reasonable price always less than i paid even 2nd hand. Dave

Something i'm not quite sure about is the pick ups on mine. Are the Sandberg originals with the wee Sandberg logo the same ones as the Delanos that people mention or are they completely different pick ups. ? Mine have the Sandberg logo on them Dave

I think you're right Al. Even the basses i have that i had given up on and was thinking of changing pick ups and pre-amps now sound pretty good. Even better since i added the Orange OBC115 cab to it. Lovely smooth low end and clear low to mid punch but its a lot to humph about at my ripe old age. I'll need to try the VM4 thru my GK1001RBii and Berg HT322 see what a nice clean sounding amp makes of it. Might try that tomorrow as i've now made myself quite curious. The Mpulse head thru the Berg HT322 cab sounds amazing too. Nice and clean but still keeping that warm tubiness sound. The Sandbergs aren't for everyone but that's the same for any bass on the market. You just need to find the one that suits what you like and what you do. At the moment i've hit it lucky and it suits what i'm doing at the moment. Few yrs back and the VM4 just wouldn't have been for me but i'm older now I still love playing my trusty old Geddy Jazz tho 👍 Dave

I'm quite happy with mine the way it is. Sandberg pick ups and Glock pre-amp thru Mesa Mpulse 600 and Mesa PH212. Glorious low mid punch just what the doctor ordered. Definitely interesting to hear others opinions tho. Dave

One of the true BC gents. 110% agree Andy. Dave

Oddly enough i just found a thread on this very subjet on another well known bass forum and the conclusion from some cab / acoustics experts is that it won't make a huge difference and not worth removing and you should be able to EQ the sound you want because its a negligable difference. One acoustics expert state that because its only a few inches from the floor the bass frequencies will still resonate across the floor. It would make a difference if that height off the floor was over 12" tho. Bit to scientific for me i have to admit but general concensus was that most people just leave them on. Some guys remove them but leave them on if its a boomy stage as it isolates the bass cab more. Ah well might just leave them on. If you look at Orange cabs they specifically mention the wooden struts coupling with the floor to gain better low end. Dave

yep that would be quite good.

The mesa cab has removable ones with a press button to release and it sits on rubber feet when removed. The Berg cab are the ush in type but they come off too Putting the cabs on their side looks a bit naff to me with the badges on their sides Dave

Got a Mesa Powerhouse 212 cab and Berg HT322 cab both with castors. I generally leave them on when playing. Is there a right or wrong way ? What difference does it make taking them off. ? Dave