TRBboy

[quote name='Prunesquallor' timestamp='1350921807' post='1845088'] Thanks for this. The Basic is something I've looked at, but to be honest I could get a Ray34 for less and get a more geniune MM vibe. I'm thinking about a VM to cover both MM and P-bass sounds, and from what you're saying, it could be a good option. [/quote] I've had a couple of Basics now, and you can pick a decent used one up for £450 - £600. I'm pretty confident that if you A/B'd a Basic and a Ray34, you would end up walking away with the Sandberg. In fact, in a proper "blind" test, I think a lot of people would pick the Sandberg over a proper 'Ray......... Controversial I know! (ducks behind sofa......)

You can go ahead and get some Dimarzios then! As an aside, there's been some talk of changing pickup covers, but as far as I can remember all of the Dimarzio pickups are resin bonded into the casings, so the covers can't be swapped.

[quote name='mckendrick' timestamp='1350916729' post='1845015'] Have you considered just a change of capacitor...? So often I've found people praising this little mod. Much easier to test drive on your own instrument than change the pickups only to find they don't sound as good in your own bass as you thought they sounded in someone elses. Try a paper-in-oil .047uf. You'll be amazed at the difference such a simple mod can make. If you want to go down the pick-up route maybe consider a not-oft-considered winder like Jason Loller or Curtis Novak - both easily googled. Both do some gorgeous ultra vintage sounding types. Hope this helps. Good luck. . [/quote] +1 for the cap. In fact for the sake of £20 or whatever you may as well get a wiring kit with CTS pots and an Orange Drop cap (or similar), whether you change the pickups or not. Can make a noticeable difference for not much money!

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1350855790' post='1844429'] I've been looking up the forums all over the net on these bad boys ([color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Ultra Jazz) and I'm sold on them seems everyone loves them and the price seems quite reasonable as well.[/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]I assume these come in 2 sizes? as the MIM pickups are slightly different sizes for the neck & bridge? or is it a case of just swapping the covers over? [/color][/font] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm off to write my letter to Santa [/font][/color] [/quote] Yeah the bridge pickup is usually longer than the neck. A set of pickups will have both, or you can just buy the neck or bridge separately.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1350849269' post='1844297'] Do you need a battery with those? [/quote] Nope, they're just passive pickups, but instead of being a single coil each pickup has two coils side by side (one picks up the E and A, one picks up the D and G). They still sound very much like a jazz pup, but with a bit more guts and no nasty hum. I liked them because they sounded like all my favourite characteristics of passive basses and active basses rolled into one. They're bloody good value for money too IMO. Edit: you can wire them up to a mini toggle switch for series/parallel switching too!

Dimarzios all the way for me! I put an Ultra Jazz set in my old USA Standard Jazz and they were just incredible. Massive output, but with a very well balanced response and frequency range. Model Js are also good, but maybe a little darker sounding. I had Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in there before, but I didn't find them that much of an improvement over the stock pups. The other benefit with either of the dimarzios is that they are individually hum-cancelling, so no nasty 60 cycle hum with either pup soloed.

[quote name='Prunesquallor' timestamp='1350816349' post='1843684'] Beautiful! What do Sandberg call that particular sunburst finish? [/quote] Tobacco burst I believe.

[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1350683511' post='1842398'] Loving the white BB! It really brings the colour of your jacket out I didnt even realize they did a white BB414 this is shocking... I feel like I've let myself down [/quote] Yeah the vintage white was my favourite, but the orange metallic was quite cool too. I later upgraded it with a Gotoh bridge and an Aguilar OBP2-SK preamp with stacked treble/bass. Aguilar fitted with virtually no modification!

Agree with everyone else, as with any style the best bass is the one that feels comfortable, gives you the sound you want and inspires you to play. When I was in a metal band for years, I had warwicks, Yamaha TRBs and Ibanez, but my mainstay, my go-to bass over all the years was a USA Standard Jazz! That's until I got my first Sandberg.......... If you come across one, I'd recommend trying a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5, but if not Yamaha TRB or Ibanez Soundgear (depending on how you feel about string spacing and scale length), or a Lakland Skyline 55-01 would all be worth a try.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1350667380' post='1842113'] Me and my BB614 from 2007. [/quote] If we're posting playing pics with our BB's, this was me playing my BB414 at our Stag and Hen party (Pimps and Ho's theme!) back in 2008: [attachment=121568:stag and hen.jpg]

Luuuurrrvvvly! Looks classic but modern. Report back after your first outing, I guarrantee it'll blow yer socks off!

Nice bass man! Welcome to the family!

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1350662250' post='1842014'] Here's my new toy: [/quote] Awesome man! Good choice going for the highgloss on alder too IMO, saved about a pound in weight over a matt/ash version, and a bit more low-mid growl to boot. Pleased with it?

[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1350651362' post='1841778'] Received the BB 415 for Ben this morning, I got to say I love the wine burst look and the grain poking through the red subtly. As for playing this was going to be a back up fr my TRB5-II and you know what I would go as far as say I prefer the way this feels and plays, I really like the chunky p style neck to it, nice and fast too. As for pictures here are: And this is my current family! [/quote] Nice! Should be a good backup for your TRB, which looks very nice by the way! I always wanted one like that......

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1350596840' post='1841192'] Dropped in to PMT in Romford last weekend intending to buy some sort of Fender/Squier Jazz bass. Tried about 10 between £200 and £800 quid. Bob suggested i try this. I bought it. Head and shoulder better than anything else i tried and its ousted my Spector Euro as my gigging bass. Cant believe how good it is for such a (relatively) cheap price. [/quote] Very nice! Probably the colour I would go for if I was buying one of the newer BBs. Have you owned or played a 414? I'd be interested to know how they compare.....

I'll give it a full setup tomorrow night, but the neck on my BB605 was a bit shiny and sticky from years of use, so I've just done my old trick of giving it a gentle rub with some 1200 grit paper and now it feels like silk!

[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1350595378' post='1841160'] Cant wait to see it, is it just me or there seems to be a huge amount of love for BBs at this moment in time, its nice and its fitting for such a good line of basses. Has there ever been a "bad" BB? One that puts a bit of a smudge on an otherwise clean sheet? Also I will be expecting my 415 tomorrow and im really excited! [/quote] Has there ever really been a bad Yamaha bass full stop?!

Well, my BB605 arrived yesterday, and what can I say........ Awesome! I was looking for a cheap but decent backup for my Sandberg, and I really couldn't find anything better for the money. It's been well used and there's a bit of a nasty deep scratch just above the upper horn, but its in great working order and the neck and fretboard is in great condition. I need to give it a good setup but its ace! I took it along to band practice last night, and I was amazed by how good it sounds, I'm certainly not worried about upgrading the pups at the moment. It sounds monster, especially when you get the frequency sweep pot just in the sweet spot between "clang" and "boom". It's actually a perfect sort of backup for my sandberg, I can get a fairly similar sort of tone and the neck feel isn't a million miles away. The other plus is that it's very light on the strap for a 5er. All in all, I'm a very happy boy! May try to post some pics when I can. Anyway, I'm off for a tinker!

[quote name='such' timestamp='1350418069' post='1838661'] good choice! had one before (see my avatar), sold stupidly, regret ever since! Now I have a BB415 that I bought for 80 quid from a former Jethro Tull bassist, keeps me happy, sounds just as good (if very very different) as 605. [/quote] Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting it! I've not played one before, but I've had enough Yamahas to know what to expect. I was keeping an eye out for a decent backup 5er, and I don't think you could find anything better for the price I paid! Not sure whether I'm gonna want to change the pickups out for dimarzios because single coils don't seem to do it for me anymore, but I'll wait yo pass judgement til I've played it!

Expecting delivery of a BB605 tomorrow, so I can join in!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1350414292' post='1838580'] Don't even think about it is those terms..... 5 is very comfortable for me so I don't hanker after a 4 at all. In fact, for me, a 4 is lacking [/quote] +1 I think if you can find the right 5 to suit you, you can have it all! I've only been playing a 5 exclusively again for about 5 months, but when I pick up a 4 again now it does just feel like there's a string missing.