jrixn1

Does it depend on your location? So at home it might be fine, but then might not be ok when you go to a venue with the wrong type of stage lights (or whatever it is which causes hum)?

Yes fair question - I would have gone for a passive one off the bat if I could have found one. I knew I wanted the SL model, but looking around for a while none came up - they haven't been out that long. Turning to buying new, it didn't seem that a passive SL was a stock option - and since I'd never played let alone owned a Sandberg before, I preferred to buy something off-the-shelf, so I could easily return it if for some reason we weren't getting along - I'm not sure I'd have that option if I'd order one to spec.

Yes, I much prefer it this way. The active preamp is good, but I'm not interested in using it, as the bass already sounds great without it. Also, it's better for me if I have fewer options, otherwise I get distracted and end up tweaking for no real benefit. The passive loom works well - the tone knob now has a better range across its full range of travel, so it's easier to use.

I used forScore (paid) but then switched to Piascore (free) - they are quite similar. You can drag and drop to create/edit a setlist, so it's very quick to move things around if the song order gets changed at the last minute.

My TT5 was a stock active one. My pickups are not the large pole piece ones. In passive mode, the active treble control becomes a passive tone control, but only has an effect across half of its rotation. Furthermore, to me it didn't have the full dark-bright tonal range I would hope for from a traditional passive tone control. I took out the preamp and put in a KiOgon loom.

The only thing to say for sure is that some heavy-gauge flats shouldn't be strung through the body, as the break angle will be too great. Otherwise - some people say it makes a difference, others will then disagree. It's a perennial debate, in the same vein as whether tonewoods or high-mass bridges make a difference.

I don't know much about different makes/models - others can probably provide better recommendations. The one I have which seems fine is a Behringer UMC204HD. It's not that big, but there are smaller models within the range. From a connection/logistical perspective, mine sits on the desk next to the computer. It has one USB cable to connect to the computer, which provides the power as well as audio from mp3s/YouTube etc; or you can use the second input channel to connect a phone or other physical device. My bass connects via my pedals to the first input channel using a normal guitar lead. You could place the interface on the bass amp if you have a long-enough USB cable to reach the computer. However NB the computer needs to be on, since it is providing the power; the interface has no other power option. Back to the topic of practising - I bought the interface because I needed to record some isolation tracks, but for practice purposes it's really quite good (or bad, perhaps!) as I can record myself and then listen back, and I hear a lot of things (i.e. mistakes) which I didn't hear at the time.

I used Zoom pedals happily for many years for home practice. I switched only because I needed to do some recording so got myself an interface, which also has a headphone amp and aux in - maybe that's another option to consider, if you might ever do some recording at some point?

Just throwing around a couple of other ideas: drop tuning; installing a detuner e.g. Hipshot Xtender; or an alternative tuning somewhere between EADG and BEAD. I tuned DGCF (I think it's called "D standard") for a while, since D was the lowest note I wanted, and I wanted to lose as little high range as possible.

There's one on Gumtree at the moment: https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/sandberg-california-supreme-vm5-precision-bass-2013-fender-style-/1376416878 £1100 seems on the higher side to me, but then again they don't come up that often, so depends how badly you want it...

I think strictly speaking, the letter indicates the body shape, not the pickup configuration. The "T" is like a jazz body and the "V" is like a precision body: However, yes, the T body comes with the jazz pickups, and the V body comes with the precision pickups. However that stops applying with the TM2 and VM2, which have the same double-MM pickup configuration but with the different body shapes. TT = 2 x jazz TM = jazz middle + MM bridge TM2 = 2 x MM VS = precision VT = reverse precision middle + jazz bridge VM2 = 2 x MM They previously called the "V" the "P" but it was changed, I think coming up to around 10 years ago? Have a play with the configurator! http://configurator.sandberg-guitars.de/

Down for the Count. You're in the Fantastics, yes? Seen some of your videos, and hope to catch one of your gigs in the future.

Funny, I was just browsing the Gardiner Houlgate auction (https://guitar-auctions.co.uk/catalogue-preview-10th-11th-june-2020/), which is tomorrow morning, and they have one in there, lot 85:

The sizes given (3/8" and 1/2") are the shaft sizes, not the hole sizes. Here's a diagram of both, with all the dimensions: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1574/0577/files/206.PDF So the 3/8" key wants a 9/16" diameter hole, and the 1/2" key wants a 11/16" diameter hole. What size is the Sire hole?

The behaviour of some pedals (e.g. compression, overdrive) is a function of the input level. E.g. if you turn the bass volume down, you'll get less overdrive. Maybe in other situation that's exactly what you want - but in this case if you want the exact same tone but just louder/quieter, you need to adjust further downstream than the bass.

It doesn't really matter to you who did the damage. Contact Andertons and they will sort it out. (Separately, if Andertons want some recompense from DHL, that is entirely their business between them and DHL - you're not a party to that contract, you're not involved in that dispute.)

A DI box does output a balanced signal, but its output is mic level, which won't drive a power amp. I think that's why he looking for 20dB or so of gain. MartinB already raised the good question about why the signal needs to be balanced in this scenario ("The purpose of this is driving a power amp or powered monitor right off the pedal board.")

Nice one. I play in a band with James (drums), he's absolutely solid 👍

Yes, I had a set, they are good. It's this guy: https://www.inlaystickers.com/collections/1-bass or on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/jockomoinlaystickers

The webpage says "Choose from alternative colour/pickguard combinations" which I interpret perhaps more pessimistically that they will swap the pickguard from bass A to bass B, rather than a completely custom refinish. Maybe I'm wrong; still, I agree with you, worth looking into, and it's nice to be able to have the pickups of your choice from the outset vs being lumped with ones you already know you don't want.

Did you see there is currently one on reverb - https://reverb.com/item/33975682-ibanez-srh505-semi-hollow-5-string-active-bass-guitar-in-dragon-eye-burst-flat