TRBboy

That's lurvely! It just screams "quality"

Bass Direct haven't sold them for a while, and I think a fellow BCer purchased that sunburst PM at the weekend....... PMT have the best stocks in the UK, although GuitarGuitar have a few too. It's far cheaper to buy from Germany at the moment, I think Session Music are about the cheapest. It's worth seeing if there's any BCers near you that have them, I'm sure you could have a try. They really are superb basses, I cannot praise them highly enough! They are good value new for such a quality, handbuilt bass, and they're just silly value for money used. Since I bought my first one last year, I've sold everything else and bought more, because nothing else hits the spot for me now! I'm going to sell two of mine to help fund a custom Sandberg build, so let me know if you're interested.....

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1334576185' post='1617789'] Hahaha!! My thoughts precisely! Dan [/quote] Doesn't get any better IMHO, especially for the money they go for S/H.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1334573538' post='1617714'] Nice basses, and generally better fit and finish than most Fenders. Their pre-amps are better than the Fender ones, too. That said, there are some equally nice instruments out there on the s/h market that are potential Stingray-eaters; Ibanez ATK Status Groove Warwick FNA (corvette) Warwick Streamer Jazzman Warwick Fortress Masterman Modulus Graphite Flea sig (and others!) Plus the in-house competition from Sterling Sterling by Musicman (s/h) SUBs Even some hot-rodded OLPs Not to mention the Bongo! There's nearly as many (good) 'Ray emulators as there are super jazzes and jazz clones. [/quote] Sandberg Basics too!

I've used 1200 grit W&D (any very fine paper would do) before with great effect. Obviously you don't want to take anything off, just slightly abrade the surface to give a sort of satin feel.

Dimarzio Model P's rule!

Have you got a problem with the MEC, or do you just not like it? I put an OBP-2SK in my old BB414 and it worked a treat, although I still didn't like the pickups. The OBP preamps are nice and easy to install. Glockenklang are always worth consideration IMHO. Great quality and pretty cheap from Thomann.

Awesome stuff Ou7shined! I agree with what you're saying about the position of the'bucker. Right near the bridge it won't give "that" stingray sound, but it does work if you kind of think of it more like a p/j setup. The 'bucker gives more output than a j would (much fuller, doesn't sound as thin) but you still get a lovely, burpy, bridge tone when soloed. I found with the Sandberg I had with this config, that you could actually get pretty close to a Stingray tone with the 'bucker and p blended.

Second hand is definitely the way to go, especially in the current climate. It's only really worth going new if you want something special which you won't find second hand.

Will just purchased a strap from me. Great communication, swift payment; another top BCer!

Sandberg? I play my Basic Ken Taylor 5 with the local soul choir and it kills! Huge sound pallette and versatility (and feels great too!). Quite reasonable price anyway, bit seem to be quite cheap from some of the German sites at the moment. http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/basscat-overview/basic-series-top The Ken Taylor's at the bottom. If you click "gallery" just above the pic, you'll see loads of other finishes (although there must be hundreds of possible options!)

Can't think of much that uses up your whole budget new, but an Ibanez SR300 would be a good shout. I guess some of the Squier VM or CV sort of stuff might be around the right price too?

Mainly the feel, sound, build quality, simplicity, looks (not really a fan of Fender-a-likes). The feel of the necks on these Sandberg Basics is just unbelievable. I've played and owned LOTS of basses over the years (no oexpensive boutique ones though!) and nothing has ever felt like these. I am all about slim, comfortable necks, and my go-to for 14 years was a jazz, but I've also had Ibanezes, Warwicks, Yamahas. When I got my first Basic last year, it was just a complete revelation, the neck is so slender and easy, it just plays itself! The neck profile is very shallow, and sort of flattens out down the centre line as you get further up, and I think the zero fret and fairly flat fretboard radius help too. Unfortunately, it made my jazz feel like the neck was huge and cumbersome, so it wasn't long before I sold it. Obviously they're German and handbuilt so the construction is rock solid, the sound is awesome (love the Glock pre!), and I don't think I've ever owned a bass that cuts through so well in a rock band without being too dominating. The sound is very punchy and gutsy, but with bags of definition and clarity too. I am considering selling my Sandbergs at the moment though....... to fund one built to my spec! If I'm gonna have just one awesome bass though, I need to decide whether I'm a 4 or 5 string player........... Anyway, that's a whole other thread!

Ade just purchased a set of Elites from me. Swift payment, great communication, another good BCer!

Tom just bought some GHS Bass Boomers off me. Good communication, paid when he said he would, another good BCer!

Have you seen Ou7shined's Pingray before? If not, give him a shout (if you're thinking of modding a P). I had one of the Sandberg California PMs last year, and it was killer (beat any Fender hands down)!

Would definitely have to be the yellow for me, but I'd have to have all black hardware as well as the pickguard!

I suspect that unless it sounds completely different (like a saxophone, elephant, or train) he won't bat an eyelid. A lot of sound guys don't pay much attention to the specifics of peoples instruments, unless they have a personal interest (we have a local sound engineer who is a bassist too and likes to talk gear!). To be fair they're only doing their job, and interested in whether something sounds good or crap, and if it sounds crap sort it out.

Has anyone seen these? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Nordstrand-Nordy-VJ5-Style-Jazz-Bass-5-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Maple-/180860587217?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a1c218cd1#ht_500wt_1359"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Nordstrand-Nordy-VJ5-Style-Jazz-Bass-5-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Maple-/180860587217?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a1c218cd1#ht_500wt_1359[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Nordstrand-Nordy-VJ5-Style-Jazz-Bass-5-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-/180860579575?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a1c216ef7#ht_500wt_1359"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Nordstrand-Nordy-VJ5-Style-Jazz-Bass-5-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-/180860579575?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a1c216ef7#ht_500wt_1359[/url] Is this not just blatant dodginess? Surely It'll end up in court, they've even copied the name and model number exactly! Still, they don't look bad for the money.......

Yeah, the Powerhumbucker is basically the same as a Musicman humbucker. They're probably made for Sandberg by Delano or Haussel or someone. Glad to hear you're gonna try some out! If you end up wanting a Basic 4 string or a Basic Ken Taylor 5 string, let me know because I might be selling a couple of mine to fund a custom order.....

I've always kept my first bass. It's a white/maple squier p that I bought in about '94-'95, used and abused and later re-sprayed metallic purple! It resides in our garage, but I dug it out recently to see if it was worth pimping and gigging again, but I quickly remembered that it is a piece of crap and not worth doing!

If I decide to go ahead with my custom build, it would be the greenburst Basic 4 (I still have the original black scratchplate) and the highgloss black Basic Ken Taylor 5 going; [sharedmedia=core:attachments:100360] I would probably want £600 for the Basic 4, and £700 for the Ken Taylor. Do you just like the California model because it looks like a Fender? I've played quite a few, and I did own a California PM 4 last year, but they just don't feel as good as the Basic! Don't get me wrong the California's are great basses, and much better than Fenders efforts (IMHO), but it's still just trying to make the best of an ancient design. It just felt more clumsy than the Basic, and heavier. The Basic is completely their own design, and has obviously been designed as a players instrument. The neck is just unlike anything else I've played, and ultimately led to me selling all my other basses! Don't get me wrong, the design is nothing revolutionary, but just makes perfect sense and is effortless to play. It sounds incredible too, and even the Basic is pretty sonically flexible despite it's single pickup. You really need to try a Basic! Where are you based? There may be a BCer nearby who has one. This is the other thread I was on about which goes into more detail: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168556-sandberg-love/page__hl__sandberg%20love

Definitely worth holding out for a Sandberg! I can't praise them enough (search "Sandberg Love" in this forum). I'm contemplating letting two of mine go to fund a custom build, and one of them would probably be around that price.......