TRBboy

It is a horrible situation for a lot of people to be in, but like you said it's moral vs financial, and moral should be the winner ultimately... No body should want to choose increasing fatalities over money. Businesses can be rebuilt, we just need to try and get through this with as little loss of life as possible.

That's exactly the problem, and exactly how things got so out of control in Italy; they advised people to only go out if necessary, etc, etc, but didn't force the issue, and as a result people were going to cafes, bars, clubs, hairdressers, etc..... The govt there didn't lock it down until cases really started snowballing, and I think by then it was too late.

Yeah although a number of our local pubs have announced their closure today, there's a band still playing at one of the pubs Saturday night, and a local nightclub has an event on Saturday from 22:00-03:00 called 'keep calm and party on' or something..... 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I think we'll see more stringent and mandatory measures in place by the weekend. I also think we can assume all gigs will be off for at least 3-4 months, if not longer. China have had it since December, and they're only just starting to think about lifting restrictions now.

We were supposed to have one Friday, the pub were still up for it, but we ultimately didn't feel it was socially responsible to do it. Plus it would likely be dead....

We were supposed to have one Friday, the pub were still up for it, but we ultimately didn't feel it was socially responsible to do it. Plus it would likely be dead....

Yeah, as I said before, those are the only different things, but the magnets, bobbins, and all the other stuff is basically the same. I'm not sure how much difference enamel vs urethane wrap coating makes, but the lead wire cloth vs vinyl covering is purely cosmetic. Whatever, they sound great! 😊👍

I love the sound of it, I have to say! Out of interest, how come you sent yours back? Sounds like it was a very lightweight one too!

Interesting! I guess for me, what the guy said, plus looking at the pickup chart, have me confidence that the V5 pickups are decent enough.

Interesting! I guess for me, what the guy said, plus looking at the pickup chart, have me confidence that the V5 pickups are decent enough.

Well that's the thing, they're different in name, but essentially the same. I exchanged emails with the Yamaha UK Guitars Marketing Manager to find out more, and as you can see in the table above, the only differences are that the V7 have enameled wire, whilst the V5 has vinyl, and the V5 is slightly higher resistance. He said the resistance is just to take into account the slight wire difference and body construction; in practice they sound the same (or at least that's the aim). This is what made me decide to go for the 435, the pickups are basically the same as on the top end models. 😊

The 43X series has essentially the same pickups as the 73x and P series, its what made me finally decide to go for the 435 instead of forking out for a higher range model..... And they sound killer!

I think realistically we're looking at at least 3-4 months out, if not 6+. 😔

That seems to be exactly what it is, a cowardly and callous approach from the government. Because they haven't mandated that venues/restaurants, etc close, presumably the operators will not be able to claim anything; if they close, it'll be their choice, no-one told them to do it. Scandalous in my opinion. I'm gutted that I probably won't get to play with the band again for months, and feel sorry for everyone affected. Everyone in the arts, everyone who was looking forward to their wedding, all the small business owners, people who are being ordered to take lengthy unpaid absence, etc, etc. 😔

That seems to be exactly what it is! It looks like we're following in italy's footsteps, but it's highly likely to be even more disastrous.... I was reading more this morning about the government's strategy, and I get the logic a bit more now, but it's a HUGE gamble to take with the lives of the populous, and unknown if it can even work. There will undoubtedly be many, many deaths, and a good few months of chaos and heavy restrictions I think.

You're absolutely right, the economic impact of this will be gargantuan. I think the government are going to have to step in and put measures in place to try and balance the impact across the board and minimise irreparable damage as much as they can. I think no area of the economy is safe. Small businesses and the self employed will feel the immediate strain, but bigger businesses will follow suit, and the impacts will be even greater. The business I work for is by far the biggest employer in my home city, contributing millions to the local economy with around 2000 people at the site I'm on, with 18 sites nationally. Our product is low profit, high turnover. We rely heavily on manual labour to meet our customers needs. If our workforce starts going down, we face a huge challenge. Additionally our whole supply chain is extremely finely balanced and delicate, the slightest disruption can topple everything, with very far reaching effects. The economic effects are almost as concerning as the health effects; who knows what we will be left with after this is all over?

Well, none of ours seem to have been cancelled yet. We have a pub gig on Friday and the owners are still keen for us to go ahead (desperate to bring the punters in I think!). We've got a 40th the weekend after and a pub gig I think and various others over the next couple of months. I'm sure some if not all will be cancelled. I'm agonising over whether WE should cancel next Fridays gig though.... I've been banging on about how much we can all do to reduce the spread of this virus, limit the severity, and ultimately reduce associated deaths, and the strain on the NHS. To do this, as well as good hygiene, we all need to be limiting non-essential social interactions as much as we can: and I feel gigs fall into this category; it's not essential, it's entertainment. So I kinda feel I have a social responsibility to cancel all upcoming gigs...... I feel for the guys that rely on it for a living (my wife is a self employed vocal coach), and as painful as it may be, the more we can do now to reduce the spread and severity, the easier it will be for the NHS to deal with, and the sooner we'll be past it. I know people want to get out there and earn money, but the less action we take now, the longer period of restrictions we'll be looking at in my opinion. It's just so hard to know what to do right now, and I don't think the government are giving everyone the right/quick enough guidance. 'keep calm and carry on' isn't gonna cut it IMHO.....

There's definitely some difference, the Alnico V pickups in the newer series have a much cosier, organic tone to them than the ceramic ones in the 41x/42x ranges. That said, they're still pretty hot! But by adjusting pickup height you could probably ease the output off a bit.

Chrome knobs are the problem (🤮), that's why I've requested black ones. 😉👍

Can't seem to find 5 string cream covers anywhere! Plus I think the covers are fixed on the pickups..... 😔

@Teebs dammit..... Does look nice!

Yeah..... I had some on a bass a couple of years ago though and wasn't so keen..... Maybe I'll think on it though, depends what the up-charge is. 👍

So the original spec, but with black knobs? I don't want blocks though

You're probably right! I kinda feel like the two tone option still looks classic, but a bit more funky and individual in a way? Thanks anyway. 😊👍

Hi folks, So, I have a new Sandberg on order, due in June. I was set on the finish, as below but with black knobs : However, my rhythm guitarist has a fender jag that I really love the colour scheme on, looks kinda funky and two - tone with the cream pickups and knobs: So then I got to thinking whether I could source some alternative knobs, ask for the white pickups instead of black, and go for a black control plate instead of chrome..... Did some low quality photo editing and came up with this : Really like it! But I'm still a little undecided.... Which do you guys like best, the original spec or the pimped two-tone version? For reference, the sandberg cream finish looks more like this in the flesh: Thanks for your help! 😊👍