ezbass

Chambers' right foot is amazing. For most of that clip DC only used snare, hi hat, kick and 2 cymbals, yet made an awesome groove. Drummers take note.

Hang on NAMM is a trade event how did he get in?

[quote name='daz' post='1042392' date='Nov 30 2010, 02:12 PM']Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.[/quote]

Funnily enough the Acoustic Magazine (same people) website is fine.

Can't be worse than Guitar Nation 2010, but then dog's droppings are better than that! Sorry about that, rant over. If the bass guitar show is anything like LIMS or Bass Day it'll be a good day out, we can only hope.

Still waiting for mine

All capos will give you tuning issues as the string is being pushed really hard begind the fret and is stretching a bit, try it with your finger, you'll hear it. Shubb or Kyser are both really good.

Nothing visually that [b]doesn't[/b] make me go wow! But if it's what Stu needs/wants then that's all that matters. Interesting p/up config for sure and I'd be interested in hearing it. Met Stu once, nice guy.

On the question of "endorsement whores" (not that I think that is one BTW) the worst offender must be Rocco Prestia even if based soley on his amp endorsements. But I ask myself, if some company wanted to give me free stuff (and maybe more) for putting my name on something I actually liked and used, would I say no?

EDIT left out [b]doesn't [/b]which gives my opinion a whole different slant

Great pedal, have a BUMP.

[quote name='Bassmurf' post='1039854' date='Nov 28 2010, 12:47 PM']Popped into my local WH Smith's yesterday just to see what mags they had and blow me! They actually had the latest copy of BGM!

It's very occasionally that it makes an appearance in said shop, so being a subscriber I looked forward to getting home and reading my copy (I'd left home early yesterday to go to work before the postie had been) so I got home and...nothing!

Don't get me wrong but all the other mags I subscribe to (Classic Rock, Empire, SFX etc...) all manage to send my copies either before the "proper" issue date or on the day it hits the shops.

I just get the feeling that the mag doesn't treat it subscribers that well, I never get a reminder that my annual subscription is coming to an end and they're always saying you'll get a free set of strings if you renew...well I've done that 4 years in a row and got nada!

Anyway rant over...looking forward to reading it when it DOES arrive...lol![/quote]
Yeah this is super annoying and makes you wonder if your subscription has expired. FWIW the website is still listing last month's as the current issue [url="http://bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427&Itemid=101"]http://bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?op...&Itemid=101[/url]

Surely that opening bid (if genuine) should have been £4003

From Sunday night's gig with new Sandberg

Cheers for that, some emails are about to emanate from my PC methinks.

Deja Vu? That's what happens when you subscribe to 2 different forums, it's wrong I tell you, wrong!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1032558' date='Nov 22 2010, 01:26 PM']WTF? Are people quoting old lists?[/quote]
I just took the last one and updated that so it wasn't me 'onest guvnor.

3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator - 6
Adrenalinn II - 1
Aguilar Agro - 1
Aguilar Octamizer - 1
Akai Unibass - 2
AMT Slap Bass -1
Analogman Mini Chorus - 1
Ashdown Chorus - 1
Ashdown Drive Plus - 2
Asdown dual band compressor - 2
Ashdown sub octave plus - 1
Barge Concepts VFB-2 - 2
Behringer BDI21 - 4
Behringer PB100 preamp booster - 1
Behringer chorus - 1
Bogdan Polish Love - 1
Boomstick Bottom Feeder - 1
Boss BF-2 - 1
Boss BF-3 - 1
Boss CE-2 - 4
Boss CEB3 - 1
Boss CS-3 - 1
Doss DD-3 - 1
Boss DD-20 - 3
Boss DS-1 - 2
Boss LS-2 - 9
Boss LMB-3 limiter - 1
Boss ME-50B - 2
Boss ME-8B - 1
Boss MT-2 - 1
Boss OC-2 - 15
Boss OC-3 - 3
Boss ODB-3 - 7
Boss PH-1r - 1
Boss PS-3 - 1
Boss PW-10 - 1
Boss SD-1 - 1
Boss SL-20 -2
Boss SYB 3 - 2
Boss TU2 - 14
Boss TU3 - 2
Boss TU-12H - 2
Boss chorus ensemble CE-5 - 2
Bugbrand Bugcrusher - 1
Catalinbread SFT - 3
Catalinbread Teaser Stallion - 1
Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer - 1
Crowther Prunes & Custard - 1
Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive - 1
Danelectro French Toast - 2
Danelectro Reel Echo - 1
Demeter Opto Comp - 3
Devi Ever Hyperion - 1
Devi Ever Cherry Pop - 1
Devi Ever SodaMeiser - 1
Digitech Bad Monkey - 2
Digitech Bass driver - 1
Digitech Bass Synth Wah - 2
Digitech Dual Band Bass Compressor - 1
Digitech Whammy - 5
DOD FX-25 B - 1
DOD FX-68 - 1
DOD FX-80B - 1
Dunlop Bass Cry Baby - 5
DHA VT2 - 3
[b]EBS Octabass - 4[/b]
EBS Microbass - 1
EBS Multidrive - 1
EBS Multicomp - 5
EBS Dynaverb - 1
[b]EBS Unichorus - 2[/b]
EHX Memory Man with Hazarai - 1
EHX Bass Balls - 1
EHX Bass Big Muff - 7
EHX Bass Metaphors - 2
EHX Bass Micro Synth - 4
EHX Big Muff Pi (Black Russian) - 3
EHX Big Muff Pi (Green Russian) - 2
EHX Black Finger - 1
EHX HOG - 1
EHX Octave Multiplexer - 2
EHX POG2 - 1
EHX Small Clone - 1
EHX Small Stone Nano - 3
EHX Small Stone (Black Russian) - 1
EHX Qtron - 2
EHX Qtron+ - 3
EHX micro Q-tron - 1
ElectroniX Crossdrive - 1
ElectroniX Submarine - 1
Exar PigNose - 1
Ernie Ball VP-Jr - 1
Fishman Platinum Pro EQ -1
FuzzHugger ABsynth - 1
Fulltone Bassdrive non-MOSFET - 1
Fulltone Bass-Drive Mosfet - 1
Guyatone MD-3 delay - 1
Guyatone PS-3 Phase Shifter - 1
HBE Psilocybe -1
Ibanez FL9
Ibanez PD7 Phat-Hed Bass Overdrive - 3
Ibanez SB 7 - 1
Ibanez WD7 Weeping Demon - 1
Korg DT-10 - 2
[b]Korg Pitchblack - 7[/b]
Line 6 M9 - 2
Line 6 Bass Pod XT Live - 1
Line 6 DL4 - 3
Line6 FM4 - 1
Maestro Brassmaster (clone) -1
MarkBass Compressore - 1
MarkBass Super Synth - 1
Marshall Guv'nor (MK1) - 1
Marshall Jackhammer - 2
Marshall Echohead - 1
Marshall Regenerator - 1
Maxon AD9 Pro - 1
Maxon CP9+ - 1
Maxon PT999 - 1
Mellowtone Clean Chan Dirty Chan - 1
Mojo Hand Cream Pie - 1
Montgomery Flanger - 1
Moog MF-101 - 3
Moog MF-102 - 1
Moog MF-105b - 1
Moog MF-107 - 2
Moog MP-201 - 1
Mr Zinky Master Blaster - 1
MXR Kerry King 10-band equaliser - 1
MXR auto-Q - 1
MXR Bass Octave Deluxe - 3
MXR Blowtorch - 4
MXR Carbon Copy - 1
MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz -1
[b]MXR M-80 DI+ - 9[/b]
MXR M-143 Limiter
MXR Phase 90 - 1
MXR Phase 100 - 1
MXR Super Comp - 1
Peterson StroboStomp 1 - 1
ProCo Tubro Rat - 2
Radial Bassbone - 1
Radial bishot io - 1
Robot Factory Meatwad - 1
Rocktron Cyborg Reverb - 1
Sansamp Bddi - 9
SansAmp Para-driver - 1
Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz - 1
SFX Micro Fuzz - 1
SFX S&M - 1
Sonic Research Turbo Tuner - 1
Subdecay Noise Box - 1
TC Electronics PolyTune - 2
TC Electronics Nova Modulator - 1
Tech 21 VT Bass - 5
Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe - 3
Toadworks Mr Squishy - 1
Tone Factor 442 Red Filter - 1
Way huge swollen pickle - 1
Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B - 1
Xotic X-Blender - 1
Xotic Bass BB Preamp - 2
Yamaha OD-10 - 1
Zoom B2 - 2
Z.Vex Box of Rock - 1 (clone)
Zvex Fuzz Factory - 1
Z.Vex Woolly Mammoth - 7
Z.Vex Mastotron - 1
Z.Vex Wah Probe - 1

Used the new beast at last night's gig. Yeah it rocked Many compliments about the sound from people in the audience and much abuse from my so called band "mates" about the look, especially the logo. Moben indeed! I think I'll pee inside their amps.

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='1032102' date='Nov 21 2010, 11:56 PM']I had mine without a pg for a long time... but I found that, after a contract in Cyprus, playing a lot, my thumb position started wearing the finish off..... So I decided to get a see-tru plate.... reckon it looks lush & will spare it the wear from my thumb...[/quote]
Ooh that's a good idea, is it home made (if so nice job) or did you get it elsewhere?

Just back. It was our first time as a 5 piece (we used to be a 7) and it went really well. Less cluttered mix wise and more room on stage too! Used my new Sandberg PM4 and it was belting.

Just experimented with taking the pick guard off, opinions?

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1029464' date='Nov 19 2010, 03:24 PM']Are you planning on posting some sound clips?[/quote]
I haven't worked out how to do the sound clips yet but here's a clip of a guy demoing the California PM which definitely helped me pull the trigger. The MM position is a bit further from the the bridge than on my Basic, but the sound is close.

Another thing you could try is to play the root with your thumb in a real old school thumbstyle and then pop the octave in the more usual slap and pop technique. Pino does this, albeit without too much snap, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_zRDchkDXg"]see this[/url] from about 30 secs onwards. I'm going to try it with my band on Higher Ground as I don't want to replicate the RHCP version, but keep the general feel, plus I'm no Flea. Just a thought.

[b]Sandberg Basic PM4[/b]




[b]SBMM Ray34[/b]

[quote name='TommyK' post='1029428' date='Nov 19 2010, 02:57 PM']Great review, thanks! FWIW I really like the look of them and you can guarantee it is built beautifully cos its a Sandberg and they all are....

So glad you like it, esp the sounds............... I've been feeling guilty for a fortnight now!!! [/quote]
TBH going in with lowered expectations was a good thing as it made me really pay attention to the sound more rather than just being wrapped up in sated GAS.

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1029464' date='Nov 19 2010, 03:24 PM']I've only just recently bumped into the wonder that is the zero-fret

Are you planning on posting some sound clips? Would be great to hear it in action.[/quote]
I have no idea why the zero fret isn't more popular, I would have thought that the concept of having the same kind of tone from an open string as that from a fretted would be a no brainer.

I don't have the gear to create sound samples, or if I do I don't know how to do it, but should I suddenly discover how to rest assured I will.

[quote name='TommyK' post='1025862' date='Nov 16 2010, 01:48 PM']Cool.
I genuinely, really hope you get on with it. They are certainly very well put together basses and + 1 about the MM pick up sounding more like a jazz.
A review would be nice, if you get chance.[/quote]
Review done [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=111550&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=111550&hl=[/url] a bit long I'm afraid.

So I started a thread a while back to have BCers talk me out of buying a new bass, specifically a Sandberg Basic PM4 I had tried out whilst visiting the in laws up Manchester way (Sounds Great in Heald Green). As you can imagine this was an exercise in futility as a ) GAS is a disease that needs to be fed, b ) BC is the home of GAS and c ) the shop did a great deal on the price. Nevertheless some people did try but it was to no avail, I ordered it. Then I got a couple of posts about users who had had trouble cutting through with their 'Bergs, cue worry and buyer's remorse (I hate that). I had a 7 day return option on the bass and I had a rehearsal coming up so I could try it with the band so could send it back if it wasn't up to the task. Anyway I was asked for a review and here it is post rehearsal.

[u]Build[/u]

My reason for looking at a new bass (normal GAS aside) is that I have quite a bad left shoulder which my double P p/up Road Worn makes very sore. This is due to it being very light and being quite neck heavy, the added problem is that it sounds and plays amazing so I just keep playing it = vicious circle. My other gigging bass is Ray34 (Ray = heavy = more soreness) which does the Ray thing perfectly, but I do miss that P sound. So cue the Sandberg PM4. Weighing in at about 7.5lbs the Berg is nice and light, but due to its 2 a side headstock (these tuners are tiny) it's perfectly balanced both on the knee and most importantly to me, on the strap. The body is nice and slim with contours that fortunately match my build (not true of other basses i.e. contourwise my slab bodied SUB is more comfy than my Ray34!). It has a 24 fret rosewood on maple neck with only side dots for navigation (I like this) with a huge cutaway on the treble side for those high note excursions. This is is held on by a bomb proof 6 bolt arrangement which surely must aid in sustain and tonal generation, joining the body at the 18th fret with a nice smoothed contour transition to the body. The nut appears to be 39-40mm wide, not my favoured width as a P and Ray man, but the profile on the back is a nice smooth, shallow C rather than the broomstick like profile found on some slimmer necks, and nicely finished in satin. Small lightweight tuners with tiny string posts at the far end, no place for excess string windings here. Zero fretted and a well cut smoothly finished nut. The faintly Rickenbacker shaped body appears to be made of ash if the grain is anything to go by and lightly finished in a matt satin giving it a natural feel, but probably vunerable to knocks. The other side of this is that any natural resonance will not be constrained by any heavy finish. A reverse P type p/up in the the normal position and an MM type situated closer to the bridge than a Ray (they have the Sandberg logo on them, but look like DeLanos) are coupled with a 2 band preamp, blend and volume control which when pulled up switches the bass to passive. Finally a high mass, quick release bridge with height, side to side and intonation adjustment. To be honest although mega solid I found the adjustment to be a bit fiddley, but once adjustments are done they stay set so not a really big deal. Quick release battery compartment and separate electronics compartment on the back. I haven't opened this but if the rest of the bass is anything to go by this is going to be of the highest build and finish quality too. A barrel type jack socket is on the side which is slightly recessed and has a good positive action. Conclusion - This bass is superbly built with great attention to detail when it comes to a player's needs.

[u]Playabilty[/u]

I've already mentioned the superb balance and weight distribution above and having played it for over 2 hours last night I can confirm that this translates into a happy back and shoulder situation. The controls fall nicely under my hand and are simple to operate, with detents on all but the volume knob and position markers that line up with grub screws (nice attention to detail there I think) for visual reference. The neck is a delight to play with no dead or hot spots that I was able to discern and with great access as also mentioned above. The 2 p/ups offer a range of thumb rest positions with plenty of room between the neck end and P p/up for slapping and popping. Played either finger style, slap or with a pick there were impediments to doing the job of playing bass, and because of this ease of use I found myself really getting into the playing of the songs, whatever style, as I wasn't worrying about any ergonomic constrictions. Again this bass seems to be what I would call a player's instrument with the task of bass playing being the designer's and builder's primary consideration.

[u]Sound[/u]

So far, so peachy, but it doesn't matter how well an instrument looks and plays if it sounds like a pile of dog's droppings, and with the warning of lack of cut through from former users this was where I felt the bass might disappoint. I soloed the bass at home, comparing side by side to my P bass and Ray34 through my Markbass/Schroeder rig. The 'Bergs P p/up does exactly what you'd hope it would, a full, throaty P tone that has graced many a CD. Phew! The MM p/up, however, is a different matter. Being placed much closer to the bridge than on a Stingray, this p/up does not do the Ray thing. What it does do though is a very full J bridge p/up tone with extra balls. If a J bridge burps, then so does this, but imagine a tiger doing it . So what we have here really is a P/J with more power. This is not a bad thing from my perspective as I love the sound of a P and only added an addidtional P p/up to my Road worn to give it a little more "bridgeness" on occasion when a song called for it, but with more guts than a standard J p/up. The two p/ups were already reasonabley balanced and I only required a small upwards adjustment of the P to make it perfect and give it more P personality in the mixed position. This position is as you'd expect, a compromise of the 2 p/ups offering something than neither p/up does when soloed, not overly characterful but definitely filling a niche. The 2 band preamp is beautifully transparent, simply adding bass or treble boost/cut to the natural sound of the p/ups. This is further evidenced by selecting the passive bypass, there is no significant change in fundamental tone or even volume if you're not boosting or cutting excessively. I found the best all round active eq adjustment for all p/up positions to be both treble and bass to be boosted just a little (about 5 minutes boost on the knob when comparing to a clock face if that makes sense). So much for solo, what about with the band? I was ready to be disappointed here with the bass just sitting in the background and not cutting through. The beauty of having a glass half empty attitude at this point was that I was more than pleasantly surprised. The P p/up roared through the mix and when played with a pick made for some rock shapes to be thrown (OK this is bit embarrasing, but I was in the moment). When the mix got particularly dense with the keyboard player laying down some thick organ sounds, I just rolled the blend to middle position and I'm right there in the mix. I even soloed the bridge p/up at one point, not to cut through but to make a solo type statement (it was on the beginning of S Wonder's I Wish). We do one reggae number and when using my P I just roll off all the tone, I've tried this on the Ray by rolling off all the treble but it never sounds as convincing. Using the 'Berg on this number I tried rolling off all the treble and it was just like listening to my passive P! Other than that instance I didn't change the eq once I had found my sweet boost spot. So sound... yeah hardly a surprise I was well pleased and just as importantly the other guys in the band, who weren't blown away by the looks, said they thought it sounded great and I haven't heard that since I wheeled out my old '63 P bass.

[u]Conclusion[/u]

Plain and simple, it's a keeper. Not only have Sandberg made a wonderfully ergonomic bass to play, they've also made sure it sounds just as good too. In my opinion a real player's bass. One final note, some people are underwhelmed by its looks, but I like the understated look and think it's subtle YMMV. Anyway sorry for rambling on and on, here it is...........

NEW BASS DAY!

So first impressions are very good. A couple of tweaks here and there to get it to my spec, but nothing at all wrong with it out of the box. I tested it side by side with my double P p/up Road Worn and my Ray34. The 'Berg's P p/up is spot on, add a little bass and treble boost and it's massive, nice. The blended sound is good adding that edge that should help it cut through when needed. The MM p/up soloed doesn't sound like a Ray, more like a steroid driven bridge J, hardly surprising given its positioning. This is not a problem as I already have the Ray for that anyway. The balance on the knee and on the strap is spot on, but the bass is still a very manageable weight, clocking in at 7.5lbs according to the bathroom scales. This only about .75lbs heavier thatn the RW but without any of the head dive and is significantly lighter than the Ray which is a least another 2lbs heavier. Not keen on the stainless steel strings it came fitted with, but they're better than others I've tried, I'll change these to nickles once I decide it's a keeper. Rehearsal Thursday and gig Sunday should determine whether it stays in the stable. Watch this space.