garyt

Question for all the Sandberg experts. I’ve accidentally rounded off the inside of the machine head adjustment screw on my California VM, the Allen key just sheared a bit of the metal while I was tightening it. The manual says to check these every month and tighten if necessary, but I’ve always found them to be fully tightened every time I check them and has been ever since I bought the bass. So is it really necessary to check and tighten these screws regularly? and in my case, any tips as to what to do? Leave it and hope for the best?

That’s a good exercise. I have played on with 3 strings before and it’s certainly better than stopping the gig. I now mostly play a 5-string, so have N+1 strings by default 😉. I did a gig a couple of years back where the guitarist stopped a song mid-flow because he broke a string - no, just no. I broke my finger on my left hand when I was 18, and had to do a series of gigs. Playing with 3 strings is a doddle compared with playing with 2 fingers (I had to strap 2 together so save the broken finger).

Interesting debate. Apart from string breaks, what malfunctions has anyone had during a gig, that has required the use of a back up bass? The worst I’ve had is string breaks, and I do always check my bass on a regular bassis for condition and set up. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I do tend to look after my bass, and would fix anything I could think of likely to fail. I’d need a back up brain, back up car, back up band mates, back up venue, back up punters, back up passport, back up headliner, back up a few hours not to hit the rider early, back up directions, back up sound engineer, etc., as these are just a snippet of the things that have failed me at gigs …. but one thing that has been rock solid is my bass.

I have 2 reliable basses, and both have never failed on me. I’ve only ever taken one bass to rehearsals and gigs, and that’s worked. I wish I hadn’t written that, because I’m bound to have jinx myself. In reality, I have a lot more faith in my bass’s reliability, than some of the pieces of stinky poo I drive to gigs, and I’ve never considered having a back up motor. Come to think of it, over the years my basses have been a lot more reliable than some of the people I’ve shared a stage with 🤣. As for string breaks, I’ve only ever had 2 incidents at a gig. And both times just played on with minus one string. I wouldn’t consider re-stringing at a gig until there was a set break.

I have played loads of P basses but never owned one. I’ve play any different bass I get the chance to, which is a great way to overcome GAS.

Should be the national anthem

I can’t get past the new Gojira album. I think it might be the best album of 2021 so far.

If you are practicing that much on a regular basis I think it will come. I would try and turn the “bash out some fun tunes for half an hour” into doing that, but focussing on making every note count, so you get used to playing solid all the time. I’m sure you don’t do that anyway, but noodling around rather than focussing on your playing tends to develop bad habits. Recording yourself definitely helps. The other thing I find helps is to listen to other players and hear how they groove. Some of the isolated tracks are just great for this. Ultimately you’re doing the right thing. Practicing loads and asking for tips. One of them will click with you.

Record yourself in GarageBand (or similar) playing along to a click. Then you can go back and analyse after your practice. If you want material, just take out a subscription to Scott’s Bass Lessons. It’s peanut compared to what most people spend on gear, and has hours of great tips and tuition on this subject alone. oh, and make sure you join a band with a good drummer. Nothing beats working with a great drummer for focusing on timing.

🤣🤣🤣 great analogy - slight difference is that I have a Supertwin and it’s definitely real and I have heard it move bowels. Still waiting for a photo of Jesus.

I was trying out the Ida Nielsen bass at the Guitar Show, and she just came over and asked (nicely) for her bass back as she needed it for her show. It’s a great bass and that was such a great moment for an amateur bassist, but I still went and bought the Oli Riedel signature Sandberg.

Steve DiGiorgio is the last bass player I saw live. Testament at The Forum the weekend before the pandemic.

I had a Washburn Status back in the day, and swapped the Washburn Status PUPs for a set of EMGs . It certainly improved the tone.

Thanks - the string height is playable, but is higher by default than rounds so just wondering if this was common. There is no fret buzz but I can’t get the strings any lower as the bridge saddles are at their lowest setting. I don’t think 2.75mm is too high, just find it odd, that it’s the lowest they can go.

Thanks - neck bolts are tight. I did have to tighten the truss rod, and noticed I will need to do this again as the neck is more concave after settling overnight. I also had to make some major adjustments to the intonation. The string height is playable, but just wondered why flats would prevent them going any lower. If I had to resort to neck shims, I’d just go back to rounds.

https://youtu.be/I0WzT0OJ-E0 new Spiritbox tune is good. Their debut album is going to be a banger.

I just changed strings on my Stingray V for a set of Rotosound flats . I’ve never tried flats before so am a complete novice, however when trying to set up, the lowest string height I can get is 2.75mm on the G, and 3mm on the low B. This is with the G and B string bridge saddles wound right down. Neck relief is 0.25mm at the 7th fret. All strings appear to be sitting in the nut and bridge correctly, and I have pushed the strings down to check there is no movement. Is this normal? Why should flats affect string height?

I think this thread has summed up most of my favourite YT bassists. Add in Kinga , as she’s released some Epico videos. Top pro drummers seem to have lots of drum cam videos on YT. It’s a shame there aren’t more bass cam videos. I found one from V-man and one from Tony Levin, but not much more.

I really like what I’ve heard of Pupil Slicer so far. Hopefully when the gigs get started again, we’ll see their real potential.

I’m quite biased , but I think this bass is an absolute cracker. It plays really well, and sounds are versatile with the P and MM pickups. I tried basses way above this price range - Rays, Dingwalls, Warwicks, Fenders - but the Sandbergs impressed me a tad more, and were slightly cheaper. As for aesthetics , I don’t think there’s a better looking bass on the market, but there goes that bias again.

The MM Sub 5-strings are great basses to play, sound spot on, and value is off the scale. You can get a new one for £400. Buy with confidence, as that feels like the point where diminishing returns kick in hard. It will always re-sell for a good price, when you need to raise funds for a ££££££ MM Stingray V.

What’s the verdict on this pedal then? As soon as we start gigging again, I’m in the market for a decent drive pedal.

I missed that. Thanks for posting a Riedel signature brethren. It sounds and plays great, just not as great as Oli.

Get a decent practice amp. Move to a detached house. Practice in your shed.