TRBboy

[quote name='Alex Nikitin' timestamp='1343050170' post='1744286'] [color=#000080]Yea [b]175, 135, 105, 85, 65, 45[/b]. That's a killer set that works freakin' perfect for my tone. I used to play 135s but when switched to 175s .. [/color] [color=#000080]My goodness it was like driving Harley after Yamaha[/color] [/quote] Wow! And I felt that .045" - .135" was too heavy for me! What tuning are you using?

I keep my best bass(es) shut away in their hardcase, and just leave my modded RBX270 out on a stand in the living room. It's never been damaged at all, but it came close a couple of times, and has had sticky fingers on it on several occasions!

I know you're specifically asking about Fenders, but it would be well worth trying out a Sandberg California TT or TM if you can get your hands on one!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1342897466' post='1742603'] I've never understood this need to go through a dealer when you're ordering a custom bass. Dealers are for off the peg basses. Surely when you're going for custom options you should go direct to the manufacturer? IMO every extra person an order goes through increase the chance of something going wrong. [/quote] All Sandbergs are basically made to order, so even though there are "standard options" there are no off the peg ones as such. Models that you see in shops are usually pretty obvious popular choices which they know will sell. Sandberg are still a pretty small outfit, and I suspect that they would rather rely on their distributors and dealers to interface with the public, instead of having to employ a sales/customer service team and manage it all in-house. You could say that some of the British luthiers manage to do it all themselves, but Sandberg have a global presence and I expect produce significantly more instruments per year.

[quote name='Alex Nikitin' timestamp='1342799288' post='1741225'] I use .175 on my 6string babe. [/quote] Holy s#%t! I didn't even know you could get a string that thick!

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1342800145' post='1741246'] Go with the german stores. Much cheaper. Email Thomann and they'll get back to you in a few days with confimation of spec & price. [/quote] I really think it's worth speaking to Alan at Synergy. It's possible to end up with what you want, at the price you want, through a UK dealer........ I felt this was better in case I had any problems with the bass or needed anything else.

All Sandbergs are basically made to order. Obviously the shops that stock them order the most commonly requested options, but essentially whatever you want is possible! (I should know, I've got a custom spec one being built at the moment!) You need to speak to Alan Greensall at the UK Distributor, Synergy Distribution, who is extremely helpful and knowledgeable, and will be able to advise you of the best way to go about getting the bass you want.

Listen to it on repeat in your sleep. And just keep trying!

It's far too modern and pointy for me, and expect it would only sound any good for metal or slap. I'm a bit of a traditionalist I suppose. 20 Frets too! Who needs to go above 5th fret?

I think they're awesome! Definitely one of the best 6ers about for the money (esp. used!). I don't understand why some people don't rate the electronics in the 1000 series, I think they're superb. Quality parts and construction, good balance and a comfortable neck, what's not to like?! Doesn't bother me that they're made in Taiwan, the quality is great and better than some US made instruments I've played. I personally don't think there's much to touch them in that price range.

Good score man! Not everyone likes them, but I think the mid freq. switch on the newer models is quite useful.

My Sandberg is only worth between £500 - £1000 used but it would have been over a grand new. I ticked £500 - £1000 anyway.

Gorgeous bit of maple in the neck! Is it a maple body too? There's quite a bit of figuring there too! Congrats by the way.

What's unfashionable? Anything that isn't a Fender or doesn't at least look like a Fender, as always. In fact, anything that doesn't look like Leo designed it. Boring.

I seem to be one of the few people who've tried them and not got on with them! Despite the fact that the whole design concept and geometry of the instrument makes perfect sense to me, it just didn't feel right in my hands. I really, really wanted to like it, but I had to admit to myself that I just felt awkward playing it, although I'm sure with lots of practice and effort I could get used to it, but I just decided it wasn't for me.

Well done! Enjoy every minute of it!

[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1341921450' post='1726160'] why did you have to post all those pictures? i've got serious Sandberg GAS now! a PM5/VM5 (am i right in thinking they are actually the same bass?) would suit me perfectly, people have mentioned that the necks are lovely and slim, anyone able to give me a comparison with the Ibanez sr 5-string necks? it's a good thing they don't do a sonic blue without the relicing as it would dent my bank balance pretty hard and pretty fast, going to have to wait paiently for one to pop up in the for sale section here in a finish i like. Matt [/quote] Marley Blue highgloss no good to you? http://www.musik-schmidt.de/images/product_images/popup_images/Sandberg-California-VM-4-RW-MB-HG_4.jpg I would be surprised if you saw a used one pop up though!

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1341690822' post='1722911'] I understand that some gospel bass players tune the whole bass down a step or two ........ It got me thinking if a D-tuner would work [/quote] I think you're right, a lot of gospel bass players do detune a whole step (a trend started by Andrew Gouche I believe). I think you would be best just to tune the whole bass down and just get used to playing like that for it to be any use TBH. I put a heavier gauge of strings on my bass recently and detuned the whole bass 1 step. It was awesome! The low a was killer, but I did just quite like the feeling of the reduced tension and the sound of all the strings actually. Tuned back up because it's not much use to me in the rock covers band I'm in, but if I get a regular gig doing Funk/Soul/Gospel sort of stuff again, I may well try playing everything in that tuning. I don't think that just having a D-tuner on the B would end up being that useful in practice.

I loved the pickup combo when I had one for a while. With the passive tone control, you can really get an authentic p-bass tone. I used to love having the blend just off-centre toward the neck, with the bass boosted a little. You can get a very authentic 'ray sound blended between the two (IMHO), and the bridge pickup soloed sounds just like a classic J bridge sound but with more muscle. They are great, great basses, I hope you really enjoy it!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1341761471' post='1723676'] Re my post about pickup positions, check the relative placements in drTStingray' pics and TRBboy's avatar [/quote] Yeah I think the traditional 'Ray pup position is bang in the middle of my two. I feel I can blend in as close an approximation of a 'Ray sound as I'll ever need. I can get pretty damn close to a P sound on the neck pup too, and the bridge pup soloed is like a J bridge on steroids! I don't really use the coil split in my rock covers band, because it sounds a bit too tame for the band IMO, but I did use it on a recent gig with the local Soul Choir, where it sounded far too aggressive in humbucker mode.

Well, I play a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor, and I love it! Obviously the build quality and the sound is great, but what I really love about the Basic series is the feel. For me, the neck is sooo comfortable and fits like a glove. They're pretty slender with a fairly flat fretboard radius. They balance very well on a strap and are fairly light too (although it's variable depending on what body wood you go for); mine is a high gloss black one which has an Alder body, and comes in somewhere between 7.5 - 8lb on my bathroom scales, which I think is pretty light for a 5er! The matt finishes on an Ash body usually come in around 1lb heavier, but even that's not too heavy compared to some other basses. It's a bit frustrating that people always have to compare anything with MM style 'buckers to a Stingray; it's just a pickup and it doesn't mean that every bass that has one is designed to "nail that Stingray sound"! For instance, as someone mentioned above, the California TM and VM basses have a Humbucker at the bridge position. It's never gonna sound like a Stingray, because it's in the wrong position BUT it does serve a purpose. You can get a great bridge pickup sound without the weakness sometimes associated with a J at the bridge. Of course on the California TM and the Ken Taylor the Humbuckers are splittable to single coil too to offer more versatility. I think the only Sandberg model you could kind of compare to a 'Ray is the single humbucker Basic, and even then there's enough differences to make it difficult to compare them directly. For me, the Ken Taylor offers me all the sounds I could want. I tried a SR5 for the first time in years recently and found it a little weak tbh, but I did have a suspicion that there might have been something amiss with the electronics. The Glockenklang preamp in the Ken Taylor is very transparent and natural sounding, but offers more that enough boost/cut, and the controls all seem to work together very well. The Ken Taylor is about the only 34" scale 5er that I've ever really liked. I've got quite a light set of strings on at the moment (.125" B ), and there's no issues with a sloppy B whatsoever. I think it's mainly down to great design and construction really, although they're quite a simple bass, the Basic series have been very well designed from a geometrical perspective. Basically the Ken Taylor is perfect for me, and as such I've just commissioned a new one to be built! In summary, it's two great basses that you're talking about here, but I don't really think that it's fair to ask "will a Sandberg sound like a 'Ray?", they are different basses and I'm sure both have their own merits. The only thing to do is try both and see which you like best! If you're ever in Hereford you're more than welcome to try mine! As far as price goes, at the moment you can buy a brand new Ken Taylor 5 for less than I've seen some used SR5s going, and if you find a Used Ken Taylor, you're definitely on to a bargain! Hope this all helps!

Congratulations, she's a beaut! Make sure you post on the Sandberg Love porn thread.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1341519467' post='1720510'] Which is exactly what some people don't want! What's right for one person even a pro won't be right for another, learning to do your own adjustments is the only way of saving money on having a shop set it up how they want it. [/quote] Yes, sorry I didn't mean that everyone should have their action as low as possible, just trying to illustrate the fact that I think a good setup is best done in an intuitive way rather than a mathematical way. That's why (exactly as you said) it's best to learn to setup your instrument yourself, because no-one will ever do it as well as you can yourself. The majority of people I did setups for just said "make it play really nice" when I asked them how I liked their action. I only had a small percentage of people tell me how they liked it, and I certainly never had anyone ask for a really high action. I guess maybe the majority of people who are paying someone else to re-string and set up their instrument don't really know what they do or don't like with regards to action as long as it feels okay and isn't causing them any problems?

Although string gauge can help to a certain extent, I think it's all down to the design and geometery of the bass. My bass is 34" scale, but even with a .125" B string and fairly low action, the response and tone of the B is great. The bridge design, neck joint, headstock angle and the design/reinforcement behind the nut all make a considerable difference. A traditional headstock can be okay too with a suitable string retainer/tree (lakland springs to mind) but I always seem to prefer basses with angled headstocks.