TrevorR

Korolev - Public Service Broadcasting

I’m not a regular visitor to the NBD posts given that the last new bass (any bass) I bought was a decade ago but last Friday I picked up my new Sandberg VM4 in hardcore aged Marley Blue. I’ve long been a fan of Sandbergs and had had a hankering to get one for a long time. My comment about them was always that I’d never played a Sandberg that I didn’t love. And that’s perfectly true. I tried the bass before Christmas and loved it. I had a work event in Holborn and managed to arrive very early. Getting off the tube at Tottenham Court Road it was only right to kill some time browsing idly around Denmark Street before strolling on to the venue. I saw this bass in the bass basement at Wunjo’s. Having been wondering about whether a P bass pickup plus Music Man humbucker was a good alternative combination the fact that the bass had this layout was interesting. So, of course I asked to have a tinkle on it and was very very taken with the looks and the sound. I’m not a relic fan but this seemed to be a bit more restrained than some of Sandberg’s other hardcore jobs. To me it was really quite good looking and authentically done. No huge bits of finish scraped off in ridiculous places you can’t imagine getting regular wear etc. Having tried it out and reconfirmed all my Sandberg prejudices it got me thinking that I’d work up my ideal config (not that different - different blue, no relic, dots rather than blocks, pearl scratch plate, same neck and pickups) and look into ordering one. I finally got round to doing that in the New Year and, having inquired at a couple of dealers, I discovered just how long the lead times are… yikes! Not quite Wal levels but 18-24 months is a long time. Anyway, having loved this bass when I tried it out before, I decided to check whether it was still available. It was and the price was no different from the configuration that I’d worked out. So that sealed the deal. The specs are as follows… alder body, maple neck with pau ferro fingerboard, P/H pickups and Sandberg 2 band active/passive electronics. The neck is so comfortable - a shallow rounded C which fits in my hand perfectly and a silky smooth matt finish. The sounds is great too and having tried it out at our regular jam night it played so nicely and sounded beautiful. The pickups are really powerful and full sounding and it was a pleasant surprise that switching from active to passive mode doesn’t cause a particularly noticeable drop in volume - which is a bonus and makes the passive mode al the more useable. The strap lock compatible strap buttons are a nice “icing on the cake” kind of bonus too (even though I do prefer Dunlop to Schaller). It’s hard to complain when they come as standard. I’m not someone who names their things (cars, guitars, basses etc) but this one does have a name. It will be unofficially known as “Alfie” after my dad , who passed away last Spring aged 100. I kinda think of it as his last present to me so it’s named after him.

I will be filing that one alongside “It’s not a wrong note, it’s ’an arrangement’/jazz!” 😉

Isn’t that an old Neil Young anecdote about the “Tonight’s The Night” album too…?

Back issues are a pain (pun intended). My brain is trying to compute the image of you standing on stage wielding something that isn’t a full scale P-bass (preferably in black) and it’s just coming back with a repeated “404 - File not found” error!

No need to get personal about it! 😉🤣🤣🤣 Funny thing is, I’ve never been a big fan. They dooooo look cool though.

Ooooh, is that Candy Apple Red? Looks lovely! Is it a bit older? I recall something about Sandberg having to tweak their body shapes a few years ago on the back of some Fender corporate prodding.

It was in Wunjo’s in Denmark Street. Fluke really. I had a work meeting near Holborn and arrived very early. So, of course, got off the tube at Tottenham Court Road and had a quick browse in Denmark Street. Saw it hanging up in their bass basement and couldn’t resist having a tinkle, especially as it had the Precision plus Music Man pickup arrangement that I’d been mulling over… Page has gone now but…

Well, I guess that I’m the society’s newest member… or at least I will be when I pick up my new VM4 from the shop on Friday. I tried this hardcore aged Marley Blue bass before Christmas, having been wondering about the P/H pickup layout and was very very taken with it. I’m not a relic fan but this seemed to be a bit more restrained than some of their hardcore jobs. And really quite good looking and authentically done. Having tried it out and reconfirmed all my Sandberg prejudices (I’ve never played one I didn’t love the look, feel and sound of) I thought I’d work up my ideal config (not that different - different blue, no relic, dots rather than blocks, pearl scratch plate) and look into ordering one. Then I discovered just how long the lead times are… yikes! Not quite Wal levels but 18-24 months is a long time. Anyway, having loved this bass when I tried it out before, I checked whether it was still available. It was and the price was no different from the configuration that I’d worked out. So that sealed the deal. Can’t wait to get my mitts on it and give it a proper, in depth going over at home and at our next jam night on Monday. Very happy bunny!!!

They have been around as a brand since the very early 90s. Have used them for all my acoustic guitar needs since back then. Originally there were a one man band company owned by a guy called Malcolm Newton (hence the name). When he retired about a decade ago he passed it on to the current owners who have carried on the same high quality, hand wound, small company, good service ethos. Both my Wals are currently wearing Newtones… great strings.

Really enjoyed that. Another really good rig guide from @Kingbassist of this parish. @cetera is right, that faux synth bass tone is fabulous - soooooo fat and crunchy!!! Works perfectly in the context of the track. Yes Ian, some “how I achieve certain tones” videos would be fascinating!

Funny, I never heard hair metal called glam rock until much later than its heyday (and only from US sources). I guess because, for us, glam was still exclusively a term for 70s bands like The Sweet, The Glitter Band and T-Rex.

Paddle boat rock…? Isn’t that CCR? Rollin’ , rollin’, rollin’ down the river…

Rick must have got a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking this year as he’s definitely in Grumpy Scrooge mode here. He seemingly takes huge offence at the term “Yacht Rock” as being denigrating to the music and musicians who made it. Bah humbug! Let’s face it, pretty much all genre tags are a bit crap and there are outliers in all of them. None of them works properly. Won’t stop me using a term that everyone now knows and understands or make me like the music lumped in there any less. Maybe Rick needs to have a nice lie down and listen to some Steely Dan tunes…

Love PMJ! Have you heard their take on “The Final Countdown” by Europe? Brilliant and laugh out loud funny at the same time! And their “Mr Blue Sky” is just sublime.