BassApprentice

Hi all, Just sold my Phil Jones Suitcase to someone in Liverpool and it's turned up dead - just not turning on. Anyone got an amp tech in Liverpool they would recommend? Thanks!

Try Newtone strings, they'll make a custom set to any guage you want and I'm sure if you tell them what you're looking for they will give you some advice on what they can offer!

I'll give that a watch later. As a side not, his presenting style is a bit odd but he's getting through a whole load of reviews at all price points which is really helpful.

How about a burst one? Under £400 for 1024, surely you won't get a better bass for that money?

Final nail in the coffin for my VS4 upgrade idea. Sandberg got back to me saying the VS4 pickup was not designed to be used in a VM4 set up. So two answers and neither saying its a straightforward upgrade it would be an expensive project which wouldn't be reflected in a sale price. Just saving the pennies then 😅

I see your burnt orange and raise you actual Orange. https://m.facebook.com/groups/689090051102626?view=permalink&id=3677394968938771

I actually got a reply from Sire today "To answer your question, all pickups come with plastic casing (cover). The raw pickup will be magnets wrapped with wires so casing should be necessary. Hope this answers your question" So from that, you would think the covers are removable, but Andertons also got back to me stating that the pickups are all in one piece so this is a no go. Shame.

The BB2004

Can't really go wrong with Harley Benton bass wise. Solid and will sound decent. Out of those suggestions I would go for the package with the Fender Rumble as all the Rumbles I've tried have sounded very good. To be fair, I've no idea how good that wee 15 watt Harley Benton is but those generic looking practice never instil confidence for producing low end.

Cant understand what he's saying but that bass makes great noises! Maybe I just hold off and save my pennies for this. If I was going new I would probably go relic so this model would be the most sensible option for what I'm looking for! Really appreciate all the insight though, will prove helpful for others wondering about Sandbergs.

@dmccombe7 is it just the Sandberg branded pickups in your VM4? I assume you like them? I like the tone of the P in my VS4 so not adverse to getting the Sandberg MM pickup if it cuts the cost of this endeavour.

So emailed Alan at Synergy Distribution regarding my upgrade idea and he gave me a breakdown of what I would need. New Black Label pickups: £250 New Scratchplate: £39 New Preamp: £135 So £424 all in + Labour is probably another £100. I was a bit surprised I would need a new preamp, I thought I could just add another volume to the existing 2 band preamp that is in the Electra. Since I am willing to spend some money a couple of routes that I see - Do the upgrades since I do like the feel of the bass and they would only make it better Buy a new bass with a Humbucker set up Sell the Electra and save a bit more for a California VM4

Ideal, thanks Andy!

Great to know of local services like this. Wonder how many different colours/materials he stocks. Might drop him a mail.

He was my favourite, always just pointing people towards his brand even if it wasn't what they were looking for 😅

I see the word "gorgeous" in a title related to basses and wonder which bit they've decided to cut off this time. Each to their own.

Dragging this thread up again. As mentioned in the main Sandberg thread, I'm pretty sure I'm going to put a MM pickup into my Electra VS4, which currently has the Sandberg design big pole pieces style which I quite like the tones of. Reading this thread I'll probably go with the Black Label MM pickup but will that pair well with the Sandberg design P pickup and the preamp? Or would it be a better idea to replace both pickups?

That's a very handy place to start!

Just to confirm - the big pole piece pickups in the Electra are just Sandberg branded Delano's? Rockinger have them and I've found a website that do knobs and pickguards for the VM4 so could be almost good to go. Just need a wiring diagram from a VM4 with the 2 band eq.

So...I've been trying out new basses recently and realised I like humbuckers at the bridge - just the tight focused are over the bridge works for me. Enter my Electra, I really like it but it is just a solo P pickup but could I add a Humbucker to it to make it a budget VM4? I've dropped Sandberg an email to see if I can buy some bits from them to make this a reality. Would also like to reverse the P pickup so it is really like a VM4 compared to it's more standard set up currently. Could be fun

Going to bump this up as I have some gear that has sold so now have the monies for a Sire. Tried emailing Sire - no good. Dropped Andertons a message to will see if they can answer.

@P-Belly Evans do you (or anyone) know if the bridge pickup is in the sweet spot? Or does it need shunted back to get it there?

Most Vintage stuff is very good value I totally agree, but the Ray copies just look off. I think @ped meant that something that looks EXACTLY like the real deal but isn't. It's always the headstock that doesn't work on Ray copies IMO