Sandberg appreciation society

[cocco]

Hey everyone, 

 

I got my first Sandberg yesterday, I'd been looking for a passive jazz with a flattish finger board radius and this came up on eBay. It's a California TT passive in matt black with blocks and an off white scratch plate, actual matt black rather than the black stained natural on the configurator. 

 

After a moment of thinking the bridge pickup was broken, I turned all the controls right up, not realising that they were vol, blend, tone, I'm blown away by how good it is. It feels incredibly well put together and has the burp and clang that I wanted from a Jazz type instrument. Also it's much more comfortable than the traditional Jazz shape.

Edited December 10, 2022 by cocco

[ead]

On 10/12/2022 at 07:55, cocco said:

Hey everyone, 

 

I got my first Sandberg yesterday, I'd been looking for a passive jazz with a flattish finger board radius and this came up on eBay. It's a California TT passive in matt black with blocks and an off white scratch plate, actual matt black rather than the black stained natural on the configurator. 

 

After a moment of thinking the bridge pickup was broken, I turned all the controls right up, not realising that they were vol, blend, tone, I'm blown away by how good it is. It feels incredibly well put together and has the burp and clang that I wanted from a Jazz type instrument. Also it's much more comfortable than the traditional Jazz shape.

 

That looks like my old one.  I traded for a Sandberg TT4 TSBS as I like the battered look.  It has the Black Label p/ups that are rather nice too.

 

[cocco]

38 minutes ago, ead said:

 

That looks like my old one.  I traded for a Sandberg TT4 TSBS as I like the battered look.  It has the Black Label p/ups that are rather nice too.

 

Interesting! Do you remember who you traded it to? This one has a 2020 serial number and I bought it off a guy called Mark in Nuneaton. 

[ead]

8 minutes ago, cocco said:

Interesting! Do you remember who you traded it to? This one has a 2020 serial number and I bought it off a guy called Mark in Nuneaton. 

 

Just PMed you.

[Henrythe8]

Doeas anyone has a way of contacting Sandberg other than through their website ? Posted an inquiry there a few weeks back and no answers so far

As I read earlier in this thread it's not uncommon, but would like to order a special one. Or do I need to go through a distributor ? 

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, Henrythe8 said:

Or do I need to go through a distributor

When I ordered mine I had to go through a shop but you could try and enquire here, this is the email they replied to me with about a few questions [email protected]

[knicknack]

@Henrythe8 If you do end up having to order through a dealer can i recommend Classic & Cool guitars... Mark will make sure you get absolutley what you want at the best price possible. Heading down there this week to try some stock actually!

[ead]

54 minutes ago, knicknack said:

@Henrythe8 If you do end up having to order through a dealer can i recommend Classic & Cool guitars... Mark will make sure you get absolutley what you want at the best price possible. Heading down there this week to try some stock actually!

 

I can second this, Mark at Classic and Cool is excellent to deal with.

[Henrythe8]

I already had he pleasure to discuss with Mark, unfortunately being located in France kind of makes the point moot. 

thanks for your help ! 

OK, I sent an eMail and located a nearby distributor if needed. Do any of you fellow Sandbergers know is they do custom orders ? Like with a change in the pickup configuration/placement ? (I asked but I like to discusss this 😉 )

Edited January 3, 2023 by Henrythe8

[thedontcarebear]

On 28/01/2022 at 12:49, thedontcarebear said:

Just ordered this from Mark at Bass Direct....

 

 

Will be the third Sandberg I've owned, sold the original one I had, but the 2nd is my favourite bass ever.

 

And today it arrived!  Not been able to plug it in, but it feels awesome.

[ead]

Nice.  Just out of interest what lead time have you been quoted?

[thedontcarebear]

9 hours ago, ead said:

Nice.  Just out of interest what lead time have you been quoted?

 I was originally quoted around 7 months and it took over 11.

[grayn]

What a beauty.  I love Sandbergs.

[dmccombe7]

Came across this in my bass files, thought it would be helpful.

 

[Obra]

Hi guys

From the first day when my Sandberg arrived it was difficult for me to get used to the H+S pickup combination regarding thumbrest. It's ok to hold it on a humbucker or single pickup, but the sweetest sound spot for me is somewhere in between, a bit closser to the humbucker.

 

...so I made a custom 3D printed thumbrest.

 

Here is how it looks 🙂

 

 

[Pirellithecat]

Can I tap into this thread's wisdom? - I'm struggling to resist an acute attack of 'New Year GAS" and need counselling! 

 

I have a Sandberg California II VM but foolishly tried out a number of other basses yesterday.    

I tried the usual suspects, Fender PJ's, Charvel, Yamaha, which are all good in their own ways - the Yamaha BB734a was probably the "surprise", although a painted neck wouldn't be on my "must haves" list.  

 

And then, I tried a California II VT.

 

It was absolutely fantastic. 

 

I can't explain the difference except that it was smooth, fitted like a glove (if a bass could do that?), was a delight to play and just looked great.  Of course it was significantly more expensive, but it made ALL the other basses feel "industrial".    I can't really adjudge the tonal character of this bass from a shop demo - there was no VM in stock and everything sounded completely different to my usual set up, so I wondered whether anyone who had owned/used both a VM and a VT might be able to highlight the tonal differences between the 2 variants.

 

I am drawn to the Jazz Style Pickup as it seems to add a more contrasting tone to the P pick-up than the Humbucker.  It might be that the Humbucker is great but not what I expect in terms of adding a bit of "bite" to the tone or that the jazz is just more familiar to me. 

 

So if anyone can share their experience/opinion of the differences that would be really helpful.  Even if that's just to provide a plausible rationale for negotiation with my "understanding" partner!! 

 

 

[fretmeister]

On 02/01/2023 at 14:04, Henrythe8 said:

I already had he pleasure to discuss with Mark, unfortunately being located in France kind of makes the point moot. 

thanks for your help ! 

OK, I sent an eMail and located a nearby distributor if needed. Do any of you fellow Sandbergers know is they do custom orders ? Like with a change in the pickup configuration/placement ? (I asked but I like to discusss this 😉 )

 

Yes they will. 

 

In fact I had enquired about a Stingray pickup in a TT4 shape and swapped a few emails with them about it, and then they announced the Central bass that has it (on a P shape).

 

You can email Sandberg to ask if something is possible and if so then you get the price via your local dealer.

[ead]

1 hour ago, Pirellithecat said:

Can I tap into this thread's wisdom? - I'm struggling to resist an acute attack of 'New Year GAS" and need counselling! 

 

I have a Sandberg California II VM but foolishly tried out a number of other basses yesterday.    

I tried the usual suspects, Fender PJ's, Charvel, Yamaha, which are all good in their own ways - the Yamaha BB734a was probably the "surprise", although a painted neck wouldn't be on my "must haves" list.  

 

And then, I tried a California II VT.

 

It was absolutely fantastic. 

 

I can't explain the difference except that it was smooth, fitted like a glove (if a bass could do that?), was a delight to play and just looked great.  Of course it was significantly more expensive, but it made ALL the other basses feel "industrial".    I can't really adjudge the tonal character of this bass from a shop demo - there was no VM in stock and everything sounded completely different to my usual set up, so I wondered whether anyone who had owned/used both a VM and a VT might be able to highlight the tonal differences between the 2 variants.

 

I am drawn to the Jazz Style Pickup as it seems to add a more contrasting tone to the P pick-up than the Humbucker.  It might be that the Humbucker is great but not what I expect in terms of adding a bit of "bite" to the tone or that the jazz is just more familiar to me. 

 

So if anyone can share their experience/opinion of the differences that would be really helpful.  Even if that's just to provide a plausible rationale for negotiation with my "understanding" partner!! 

 

 

 

That's quite a niche comparison.  I've owned a VM and a Darkhawk (a bit like a VM2) and TT4s so not quite the same.  Current 'stock is a TT4 and a Central which are more than welcome to come and try if you like to compare to your bass.  I see you're Cumbria but that's a large footprint.  I'm in Chorley (near Preston).

[mattpbass]

2 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Can I tap into this thread's wisdom? - I'm struggling to resist an acute attack of 'New Year GAS" and need counselling! 

 

I have a Sandberg California II VM but foolishly tried out a number of other basses yesterday.    

I tried the usual suspects, Fender PJ's, Charvel, Yamaha, which are all good in their own ways - the Yamaha BB734a was probably the "surprise", although a painted neck wouldn't be on my "must haves" list.  

 

And then, I tried a California II VT.

 

It was absolutely fantastic. 

 

I can't explain the difference except that it was smooth, fitted like a glove (if a bass could do that?), was a delight to play and just looked great.  Of course it was significantly more expensive, but it made ALL the other basses feel "industrial".    I can't really adjudge the tonal character of this bass from a shop demo - there was no VM in stock and everything sounded completely different to my usual set up, so I wondered whether anyone who had owned/used both a VM and a VT might be able to highlight the tonal differences between the 2 variants.

 

I am drawn to the Jazz Style Pickup as it seems to add a more contrasting tone to the P pick-up than the Humbucker.  It might be that the Humbucker is great but not what I expect in terms of adding a bit of "bite" to the tone or that the jazz is just more familiar to me. 

 

So if anyone can share their experience/opinion of the differences that would be really helpful.  Even if that's just to provide a plausible rationale for negotiation with my "understanding" partner!! 

 

 

I’ve currently got an Ida Nielsen 5 (basically a TM), a VM5, and passive TT4 and passive VS4, and have owned a TM4 and a VT4. So I’m not surprised you liked another Sandberg more than the other options. 😀

 

But I don’t know if it’s good or bad news that I liked the sound of the VT4 least by far. The VT4 was a masterpiece (as in the relic level) and absolutely beautiful, played amazing, but the sound just never worked for me, it never felt P or J enough to be satisfying. It was passive, maybe the active version might have a bit more about it. 
 

So that probably doesn’t help at all, sorry. 😂

[Pirellithecat]

Thanks Ead -  I'm over on the wet west of Cumbria - I still have you're Black MIJ P Bass, which  has been getting a fair bit of use recently and which, in a roundabout way, triggered this question.   Think Blues.   

And, you're quite right - it's my question is pretty "narrow" - I can't rule out that I'm really just looking for a justification to buy a new bass that I really don'y merit! 

I could broaden it a little to ask, ...... 

"For those fortunate enough to have been able to compare the Bridge Humbucker on a Sandberg to the Jazz Bridge pickup, what , if any , would you say the differences are? " 

 

I'll get back to practicing  ..............

 

    

[Pirellithecat]

Thanks Mattpbass,    

Which of your collection would you say is the most P and J.

For me the VM4 isn't very "P" and definitely not Jazz, but is something else altogether - which is great in a covers band doing stuff from the 60's to the 2020's  ......  which is what I seem to do most.....   

[chris_b]

Hi Sandberg guys. . . . especially Superlight 5 string owners.

 

Do your basses have neck dive? What is the string spacing at the bridge?

 

Cheers

[dmccombe7]

I have a VM4 & MarloweDK. 

As mentioned the VM4 works well in covers bands but i've also found the humbucker lacked a bit of bite. It's never really sounded much more than a standard J pick up. Its playability is what sells it for me. I use it in a 70's Glam covers band where it works very well.

Oddly enough the MarloweDK didn't work too well in the Glam band and couldn't quite cut thru as well as the VM4.

On the other hand the Marlowe works far better in my 70's punk covers band and cuts thru really well. It does sound similar to my Geddy J but with a little more depth of tone.

Not sure any of that helped with the VM4 versus VT4 issue.

Dave

 

[pineweasel]

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

Hi Sandberg guys. . . . especially Superlight 5 string owners.

 

Do your basses have neck dive? What is the string spacing at the bridge?

 

Cheers

I have a TM5 Superlight, weighing just under 7lbs. Neck dive isn’t a problem for me. On a strap it balances very well; sitting on my knee it’s slightly neck heavy, like most other Fender type designs. 

String spacing is adjustable from 18 to 19.5mm.

[fretmeister]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

Hi Sandberg guys. . . . especially Superlight 5 string owners.

 

Do your basses have neck dive? What is the string spacing at the bridge?

 

Cheers

 

 

My Superlight TT5 is only 6lb 11oz. (Superlight 5s are 8lb / 3.6kg or under. Mine is very light indeed.)

 

Zero neck dive.

 

String spacing is adjustable. 18mm to 19.5mm