Bankai

6 hours ago, Muppet said:

There's a difference between a headphone amp and something you can plug headphones in to though. A lot of the new batch of preamp pedals have headphone and aux in sockets. They still need a fixed power source and aren't really that small and portable but serving the purpose of a practice tool, I agree, they're a great solution. (my Darkglass amp has this facility too) 

If it’s strictly a headphone amp you’re after then I recommend the Fiio Q1ii. Very portable and does the job well, with the ability to act as purely a headphone amp, or to take a signal from USB or lightning.

How much money do you want to spend?

https://www.darkglass.com/creations/microtubes-b7k-ultra-with-aux-in/

Not only a pre-amp, but also a headphone amp, with an aux in, and a world class DI that you can use live.

10 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's good to know. Thanks for the tip.

Dave

I should clarify, I mean Todobajos include shipping in their prices on Reverb. Not all of the retailers on there.

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Just had a quick lok first 10 pages and some really nice basses in there and some great prices albiet postage is gonna be a bit more expensive but still some nice gear i haven't seen before. Blue sunburst Rik bass was stunning.

Dave

If you buy via Reverb, shipping is free and included in the item price

4 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

That's a tasty looking VM4.  Would love to hear what the black label pickups sound like.

Ask and you shall receive. I'm not a good player, so forgive the very aggressive fingering. 

I play the same thing four times:

1st time: DI via an amp sim, fingers over the P pickups
2nd time: DI via an amp sim, fingers over the M pickup
3rd time: Straight DI, fingers over the P pickups
4th time: Straight DI, fingers over the M pickup

All without EQ, compression etc. All settings on the bass are flat. Drop D

Riedel Demo.wav

If you want to buy a Sandberg, I recommend the following seller:

https://reverb.com/shop/todobajos
 

They’ve got a load listed with heavy discounts, plus they are very receptive to the ‘make an offer’ function at the moment due to the economic climate. They’re a bass guitar only store, and really are specialists in the matter and are one of the largest in Europe. Reverb only has some of their offerings, but their website has the remainder. The website had some nice markbass prices too. 
 

I ordered the Riedel signature on Wednesday last week from them and it arrived on Tuesday. Perfectly packaged, and exactly as described! Plus I got it at £400 off what would have been the standard price.

48 minutes ago, Gunsfreddy2003 said:

USB C inputs or regular USB?

That model only has the older ‘standard’ USB

On my 2017 Macbook Air, no matter the default setting Photobooth will still use the built in microphone.

I am not a photographer, but I present my new acquisition.

I used to work in GuitarGuitar and so had a lot of time to myself to endlessly play high-end basses. Sadowsky, Lakland, Fender Custom Shop, G&L, the list goes on. In all that time, there were two basses which stood out for me above all the others (yes, even the £3000 Sadowsky!). One was a 1980s Rickenbacker 4001, and the other was the Sandberg VM4. 

I could afford neither, but resolved that one day I'd buy a Sandberg VM4 and as I didn't really like the stock finishes I'd do a custom order of black body, black pickguard, black hardware, rosewood fretboard, and hardcore aged. 

Fast forward 9 years, and I discover that Sandberg now make the Oliver Riedel (Rammstein) signature model which has all of the options I would pick myself given free choice. Well, decision made! Plus, the hardware is a very tasteful black nickel rather than the cheap looking glossy black you usually see. It also has their uprated 'Black Label' pick-ups instead of the standard Sandberg ones, so you get a hotter and more aggressive tone.

So here we have it; the Sandberg California II / VM4 Oliver Riedel Signature Model. 

Lucky me.

I just acquired a fridge which has seen a hard life. So I thought I'd start a thread in here for those wonderful bits of kit which have been 'hardcore aged' the old-fashioned way.

If you've got something that looks like it has seen better days but it's still going then please contribute, but anything that came out of the shop pre-aged is disqualified!

Another head has been added to the collection, so a new photo is warranted I say. The Orange is bigger but the Ampeg is much much heavier!
 

2008 British made Orange AD200B 

1997 American made Ampeg SVT II Pro

Not pictured: Barefaced 210S and Ampeg SVT810E

I am in the early stages of planning to open a grassroots music venue. One of the things I’ve resolved to do is ensure the bass amp is actually decent for a change. Whenever I’ve been to a small music venue (except for Krakatoa, Aberdeen), the Backline is always terrible and the bass amp is usually the epicentre of that, an afterthought if you will!

To that end, I have acquired an ex-touring Orange AD200B and Ampeg SVT810E. Both are completely battered aesthetically (I like to think of it as hardcore aged), but fully serviced and ready to perform. They shall reside in my storage unit until such time as we locate a suitable building to take over for the project..

The AD200B was chosen because it is such a simple user interface, that when someone turns up to play through it who has never used one before it means there’s no faffing around trying to work things out. It’s just; Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master. Job’s a good’un. Whereas on the other hand, if I were to put my SVT-II Pro on the backline, I think the abundance of knobs and graphic EQ may be a bit intimidating and confusing for someone not used to it! Still, I’ll keep the SVT-II Pro in the storeroom to be available on request for the more experienced player..

3 hours ago, bnt said:

Is that the new Vintera 50's Precision? I'm strongly considering one of these for flatwounds and a plectrum. However, I also think I would like a two-pickup configuration, and right now the Sandberg-inspired (heh) Harley Benton Enhanced looks very good to me in the Natural finish:

 

That is very tempting. I couldn't find anything that was trying to do the 'sandberg VM' thing so bought the real deal about two days ago instead. I'd be interested to see how one of those Harley Bentons plays as it may prove a useful backup. Any chance you fancy being Patient Zero for me and picking one up?

That looks truly lovely. I’ve just bought myself a new something so can’t justify a second but I wish you luck! 

When you sat down to play it and realised how great it was, did you say Bingo Bongo?

I used to work in GuitarGuitar so had hours to extensively try some exceptionally high end bases and importantly all in the same room with the same amps so I could hear the difference in the bass rather than other variables.

Sadowsky, Laklands, Custom Shop Fenders, Rickenbackers, etc. I’ve tried them all.

And the Sandberg VM4/5 were my favourite by far, with Rickenbacker 4001/3 coming second.

However, I never managed to afford to buy one. I didn’t really like any of the standard finishes so would have had to custom order an all black with black hardware and hardcore aged. 

Then I discovered Ollie’s signature this week. On a discount. I was sold a thousand times over. I am a Rammstein fan too but that aside everything about the model I like.

California II (the updated version), VM4, uprated ‘hotter’ pickups, black nickel hardware, hardcore aged, black headstock and body, zero fret, active, gosh it has everything I would have specced given the option to do something completely custom.

And, I got it brand new for €500 under standard price. 

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Black, black, maple:

 

I had that exact colour combination on a USA P I sold a few years ago. God I miss it

Just now, merello said:

The musicman Subs!

Great prices right? I was very very tempted by the £250 sunburst one they've sitting on..

Sandberg California II Riedel Signature. I did just buy it so I am slightly biased

Black headstock. Metallic black hardware. Black everything. Except the pickguard, that's clear perspex.

40 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

Not sure about that... there's a lot more to a bass than the type of pickups and their location. But it's probably a very decent bass. I used to own a Vantage (double MM on a Ric/Jazz hybrid type of body) that was pretty cool.

Very true, but it would have been in a similiar vein I feel.

Anyway, with the barracuda out I did the only natural thing and picked up the signature Oliver Riedel Sandberg instead..

As you know, Coronavirus at this stage is a worldwide situation but Italy and Spain appear to have suffered exceptionally compared to the rest of Europe.

Spain (Madrid) has a specialist Bass only retailer called 'Todobajos', one of the largest bass only shops in Europe. They've stayed open for online orders but like all stores are struggling. Their website has their full range of products, but they have a selection of their higher-end and pre-owned stuff on the Reverb website which also gives you the ability to use the 'make offer' function on what they've got listed. Prices on both platforms have been lowered with some heavy discounts. Shipping to the UK is free.

There's two ways to look at this; either it's 'vulturing', or it's supporting a struggling business/country (yes, I know we are struggling too but not as bad). I've taken the decision to consider it the latter and have bought a nice Sandberg from them that no UK retailers had in stock, and that Todobajos had for a very good price.

Worth a look either way. They've got some really nice basses in-stock. Fender Custom Shop, Sandberg Custom, Spector USA, etc.

https://reverb.com/uk/shop/todobajos

https://www.todobajos.com/en/

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/music-man-sterling-s-u-b-ray4-vintage-sunburst-satin-maple-ex-demo-rrp-369

Looks like people have already scooped the best steals but there’s an (un)healthy amount of deals still on there!

Case in point: Someone beat me to this:

https://guitarvillage.co.uk/products/rickenbacker-4003-midnight-blue

£1760!

And the answer is; out of stock. I’ve been sent a refund and he said it shouldn’t have been available to order. Likewise, the Renegade is sold out. He said there may be another run late this year but it’ll depend on the virus outcome.

Right you are then, patient zero reporting in: