TRBboy

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.

I've gotta be honest, I've never ever measured the action on any guitar or bass, and I used to do setups/repairs professionally. I think that you can't just rely on the measurement at the 12th fret to judge whether the instrument is set up as well as it can be. Depending on the amount of relief in the neck and the height of the saddles (and other factors) the same measurement at the 12th fret could apply to quite different setups. I always just do it by feel and sound; I put as little relief in the neck as possible (depending on the instrument) and then keep lowering the action 'til I get a slightly unacceptable level of fret buzz, and then bring it back up a touch. Hey presto, the action is as low as it can be on that particular instrument, regardless of the measurements!

Well done Shelly, I'm really pleased for you! You'll definitely find that both your playing and confidence come on leaps and bounds now. Let us know when/where you're playing!

Are all you guys covers bands? We did a 3 hour set last NYE for considerably less.......

He is great, a very natural player, and he doesn't just fly off and play a million notes a minute. Very sympathetic to the song with a great feel and groove. I discovered Sharay fairly recently when I was looking around YouTube for Gospel bass players. He does obviously have great musical knowledge, and knows his scales and chords etc inside out though.

Just a couple of pics from when we were recording a demo the week before last. I'd pretty much come straight from work and hadn't had time to get changed. [attachment=111961:Studio 2.jpg] [attachment=111963:Studio 1.jpg] [attachment=111962:Studio 3.jpg] Talking about left hand technique, I had a fair old stretch going on in the last pic! Quite a busy walking line in that song.

I still haven't got bored of this album, and I've listened to it almost every day since it came out! My second son was born to it on May 2nd too! This is probably my favourite bassline on the whole album, although there's so many good ones to choose from!

Personally, I always think that good left hand technique is with the thumb in about the middle of the neck pointing upwards (perpendicular to the neck), with the wrist dropped down which allows more accurate and comfortable fingering. Your hand should be as relaxed as possible too. Any contact with the palm of your hand should be minimal, maybe only when your reaching for the E or B string perhaps. This relaxed style with just the thumb and fingertips in contact with the bass not only helps to reduce tension and stress in the fingers, hand, wrist and forearm, but also allows much more accurate and dexterous playing, with minimum effort. It can feel a bit unnatural at first, especially if you already have bad habits, but after a little practice the benefits can really be felt.

FWIW the SR700 is by far the best non-prestige Soundgear I've played. Dunno if it's the maple centre block or what, but it seemed a better all-round instrument than the SR500. Sounded a bit more solid and snappy.

It's awesome! Certainly would make you stand out from the crowd!