TRBboy

I've never played one, but apparently it feels pretty natural. The fan fretting means that each string has the optimum scale length and the intonation is better. See if anyone on here has one and can give you an opinion? Pedulla always look nice, GB basses are supposed to be pretty good, and there's also Ken Smith, Alleva Coppolo, Mayones, Roscoe, Nordstrand, Skjold, Wood & Tronics, etc, etc. I'd love to tell you what they're all like, but I'm too poor to even breathe on them. If I were you, I'd visit a couple of the 'specialist' bass shops and try as many out as you can.

If I ever had that much wonga to spend on a 5, I'd definitely check out Dingwall.

Awesome man! I'm glad you've found something! Did you get it for your 400 Euro budget? Let us know what it's like.

[QUOTE]Probably not and hardly a fair test for any bass really.[QUOTE] Fair point, but as I practice through it with all my other basses it's a fair comparison. I wonder though if perhaps the preamp in the bass is overwhelming the amp a bit?

[quote name='Sandmann' post='1152648' date='Mar 7 2011, 04:25 PM']may i ask what amp/cabinets you use? the glockenklang preamp has a boost/cut of bass frequencies around 40hz. maybe your amp-system does not go down low enough? [url="http://www.glockenklang.de/en/products/bass_systems/onboard_3-band.htm"]http://www.glockenklang.de/en/products/bas...oard_3-band.htm[/url][/quote] Yeah it could be, because at home I only practice through a little Roland Micro Cube Bass RX. My 'proper' rig is a Mark Bass CMD102P (2x10" combo) and 15" extension cab, so it should sound a lot better through that!

Just been playing for a while, and it's really starting to grow on me. This thing is a serious slap machine! If only I was any good at slapping....... Can't wait to hear it through my Markbass rig on Wednesday - perhaps my MicroCube isn't doing it much justice

[quote name='yorick' post='1152458' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:33 PM']Looking at the control layout, it's probably vol/3 band eq. The volume is probably a pull/push for active/passive. It's definitely a Glockenklang pre-amp, unless that's been changed.[/quote] Yeah it is vol (pull passive) and 3-band eq. I'm just not sure at the moment whether the bass pot is working as it should at the moment. It just doesn't seem to boost as much as the treble or mid, although you can hear that the pot does work. I guess it must just be a very bright bass with a very transparent preamp. I'll be able to evaluate it properly at band rehearsal on Wednesday when I'm going through my full rig. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that i've never had a bass that sounds quite like this, and I guess I expected a bit more of a gutsy, powerful sound from it. I'll give it a fair shot though.

I got my Sandberg Basic 4 on Saturday! I bought it off Gazmon through the BassChat sale section. First impressions: Gareth was right to describe it as immaculate! I can't find a mark on it, nor any signs of wear. In fact the protective film is still on the scratchplate and the back of the tuners! The build quality is as I expected; absolutely rock solid. Definitely has a 'German' feel about it. The 6-bolt neck join seems to feel more solid than some thru-necks I've played! The pots have a firm, positive feel to them. All of the hardware seems solid. The neck profile is maybe a little fuller than I expected, although it is extremely comfortable. The neck profile starts out as a C sort of profile (slightly fuller than a jazz)at the nut, but as you progress up the neck the centre line gradually flattens out, ending up as a kind of U(?) section higher up the neck (more like a classical guitar profile). This bass definitely has a 'hand built' feel about it, and is actually a little heavier than I envisaged. Unfortunately, I couldn't play it straight out the box. Gareth had informed me that he hadn't used it for over a year, and time had taken its toll. The neck had far too much relief in it, resulting in a very high action, the strings were completely dead, the frets were pretty badly oxidised and the fretboard was very dry. So I set about polishing the frets, lem-oiling the fretboard, re-stringing and adjusting the truss rod. Frets & fretboard before: [attachment=74124:IMG_0610.JPG] and after: [attachment=74128:IMG_0621.JPG] It now plays like a dream, and is basically like a brand new bass. Sounds: This bass has a very natural sound, and the preamp really does not colour the tone too much. It's nice also that the output seems to be well matched between active and passive modes. I am finding it to be inherently bright sounding, and the preamp seems very subtle (with the exception of the treble pot!). I'm still getting used to it, but it seems almost like the bass pot does not boost enough, so I seem to end up with it full up all the time. Conversely, I think if you turned the treble pot all the way up you would shatter every pane of glass in a 10 mile radius! It does sound great, but just seems to be lacking a bit of low end meatiness at the moment. You can roll the treble right off and turn the bass right up, and you never get close to muddy or rumbling. This is perhaps the sign of a tasteful, quality preamp, but does not seem to permit much tonal versatility. It would be great for jazz solo sort of stuff I should imagine but I play in a rock band. Anyway I'm sure once I get used to it it'll be fine. It is very easy to play, and the sustain and harmonics especially are probably better than any other bass I've ever played. If anyone has any tips or advice about the preamp, let me know. Here are some more pics if anyone's interested. [attachment=74129:IMG_0655.JPG] [attachment=74130:IMG_0657.JPG] [attachment=74131:IMG_0658.JPG] [attachment=74132:IMG_0659.JPG] [attachment=74133:IMG_0660.JPG]

Might be worth keeping an eye out for a used Yamaha TRB1005 - you might just about find one for the right price. Personally, I think nothing comes close at that sort of price. You need to try 34" and 35" scale lengths to see what suits you best. I can never get on with 34" scale on a 5 string because the low B is just too sloppy. If you decide you want to go 35", on your budget it will narrow the search considerably. Could also consider Ibanez BTB or Peavey Cirrus (both 35")

Definitely change the pickup. I put Dimarzio Model P/J in a cheap Yammy recently and they are awesome! The model P is absolutely thunderous. You can get the Model P from Axiomatic for £62.95. I've done the whole "Awesome active preamp teamed with s**t pickups" thing, and it only works up to a point. It's the equivalent of having a Ferrari with a milk float engine. For your budget you could afford to buy a Dimarzio Model P and my Aguilar OBP2 preamp, then you'd really be in business......... ;-)

First bass was a white Squier Standard P-bass at the age of about 13. Didn't have a clue how to set up and look after a bass back then so the action was awful. Got into playing bass after trying piano, violin, trumpet, trombone and euphonium at school. Didn't like any of them, but playing the Euphonium did make me realise that I liked the bass parts, so I started playing bass. A year or two later, a mate gave me a load of Metallica tapes and that was it - I was out gigging around the town in a metal covers band at the age of 15! Hated the white colour, so re-sprayed it metallic purple, which I did a fairly poor job of. Kept the bass for a while before saving hard from paper round, Saturday job, Birthday money, Christmas money, etc, etc. and bought a 5-string Warwick Thumb and a Trace stack!!! Bit of a jump from the squier P.......

Here's my latest bargain basher. Not keen on all black, so had to do the cream Dimarzio's and knobs! [attachment=73785:IMG_0490.JPG] [attachment=73786:IMG_0491.JPG]

Woo Hoo!!!! I am now eagerly awaiting delivery of Gazmon's Basic 4!!! Can't wait to get my hands on it! The courier's collecting it tomorrow, so I'm gonna go down to the depot first thing Saturday morning to pick it up! Thanks to Gazmon for a quick, painless transaction, and also to Tom1946 who's just bought my TRB1004 and it should be with him tommorrow! I don't think I've ever bought and sold basses so quick! About 12 hours between transactions!

Similar to Wil, I sold my ATK300 because I was never really happy with the sound. It was pretty good, but just seemed to be all EQ and no core tone.

I had a BB414 and stuck a Gotoh bridge on it, but still felt like it was lacking something. I then put an Aguilar OBP2 preamp in it, and although it was much, much better, it was still not quite right. It just seemed to be lacking the core tone, punch and sustain that I expect from a bass. So I sold it. Got an RBX270 now with Dimarzio's, and it's much better. Fully satisfies my P/J requirements.

[quote name='jude_b' post='1146276' date='Mar 1 2011, 07:30 PM']Jam Guitars in Bristol have a new one going for £800 (they're just around the corner from me). Unfortunately they're closing the shop on 11 March - so you'll need to be quick. Link below: [url="http://www.jamguitars.co.uk/sandbergbass.htm"]http://www.jamguitars.co.uk/sandbergbass.htm[/url][/quote] Thanks for the tip-off, looks very nice. Hopefully I'l be taking Gazmon's used one off him in the next couple of days!