Sandberg appreciation society

[BassApprentice]

A metal(aluminium?) neck Sandberg.

 

Their custom shop seems to be doing a lot of cool work these days. Wonder what that would set you back! 

[warwickhunt]

9 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

A metal(aluminium?) neck Sandberg.

 

Their custom shop seems to be doing a lot of cool work these days. Wonder what that would set you back! 

 

Travis Bean didn't crack it.   

 

[Obra]

Here it is...finally tried the TT5SL.

I did a comparison of two fairly comparable bass guitars in all but one - weight. SL is incredibly light - only 2.7kg (5.95 lbs) UNREAL!

 

 

[dmccombe7]

Think i prefer the Fender. It has a bit more warmth and depth when flat but once the EQ is brought in they sound quite similar.

Dave

[Mickeyboro]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Think i prefer the Fender. It has a bit more warmth and depth when flat but once the EQ is brought in they sound quite similar.

Dave

I would agree!

[DJ '65]

I still have these 3 Sandberg’s and they are all great to play but unfortunately for them I have a Bravewood P bass which steals the limelight… for the time being at least.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by DJ '65
2 of the same images saved

[Sweeneythebass]

Very close in sound the fender is marginally crisper, has a bit more depth and clarity. I think I’d choose the Sandberg though as my hips and shoulders would thank me. 

[Strawbs664]

So this popped up in my FB feed. Anyone know anything about it, other than how sexy it is? 😍

Edited February 4 by Strawbs664

[warwickhunt]

3 minutes ago, Strawbs664 said:

So this popped up in my FB feed. Anyone know anything about it, other than how sexy it is? 😍

 

Going off that 1 pic it does look like it has been attacked with a blunt chisel as opposed to 'roadworn' which is a shame as Sandberg do great aged basses!

[scrumpymike]

There's a few gaps in my knowledge of Sandberg pickups (and pickups in general) that some of you on here may be able to fill. My only Sandberg ownership experience has been a Lionel, which I loved but moved on because I needed a broader range of sounds. I've just put a deposit down on a Cali ll SL TM4, which should certainly be more versatile with its J + H configuration.

 

According to Thomann, Sandy pickups are made by Delano. Are the Sandy pickups just re-branded Delanos or are they made to a different Sandy spec?

 

The images on the Thomann website show two different designs of pickup - single-pole (labelled with the Delano logo) and double-pole (plain).  Is there any functional difference between the single and double-pole designs?

[dmccombe7]

8 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

There's a few gaps in my knowledge of Sandberg pickups (and pickups in general) that some of you on here may be able to fill. My only Sandberg ownership experience has been a Lionel, which I loved but moved on because I needed a broader range of sounds. I've just put a deposit down on a Cali ll SL TM4, which should certainly be more versatile with its J + H configuration.

 

According to Thomann, Sandy pickups are made by Delano. Are the Sandy pickups just re-branded Delanos or are they made to a different Sandy spec?

 

The images on the Thomann website show two different designs of pickup - single-pole (labelled with the Delano logo) and double-pole (plain).  Is there any functional difference between the single and double-pole designs?

I'm sure @Cuzzie will be along shortly to explain in detail but i think the double pole versions are the Black Label ones. I thought they did their own version of the single poles with the sandberg 4 dots on them plus you had the choice of Delanos too but i'm not 100% sure on all that.

I remember Cuzzie explaining it to me few yrs back when i bought my first one.

Dave

[warwickhunt]

My new Lionel... 

 

[Merton]

40 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

My new Lionel... 

 

That’s lovely! And not helping my desire for the one at Fair Deal… argh.

[TRBboy]

2 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

There's a few gaps in my knowledge of Sandberg pickups (and pickups in general) that some of you on here may be able to fill. My only Sandberg ownership experience has been a Lionel, which I loved but moved on because I needed a broader range of sounds. I've just put a deposit down on a Cali ll SL TM4, which should certainly be more versatile with its J + H configuration.

 

According to Thomann, Sandy pickups are made by Delano. Are the Sandy pickups just re-branded Delanos or are they made to a different Sandy spec?

 

The images on the Thomann website show two different designs of pickup - single-pole (labelled with the Delano logo) and double-pole (plain).  Is there any functional difference between the single and double-pole designs?

I've tried in the past coaxing the info out of Mike at Sandberg service, and also Gregor Fris, neither were willing to give it up! 😅

 

Clearly Sandberg have had a long-standing relationship with Delano, and given that they sport the large pole pieces that Delano are known for, my money would be on them, probably wound to Holger's specs though, so slightly different to any stock Delano models. It's a bit like the preamps; they're definitely made by Glockenklang, but the EQ frequency bands are different to their stock preamps, according to Holger's specs.

 

Despite my love for Sandberg, I'm personally not a huge fan of the large pole piece models. It's taken me 9 different basses to find my favourites, which are the Alnico V Jazz pickups found on the TT passive basses. I highly suspect these are made by Kloppmann, as they also have a close relationship with them (as featured on Gregor's custom spec TT passive).

 

I'm not completely sure what you mean by the single and double pole designs, do you have a link or pics?

 

Oli

Edited February 14 by TRBboy

[warwickhunt]

3 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

 

I'm not completely sure what you mean by the single and double pole designs, do you have a link or pics?

 

 

Single as per Delano (1 large pole per string 4 in total for a P pup).

 

Double as per Fender et al (2 small poles per string 8 in total per P pup)

[TRBboy]

1 minute ago, warwickhunt said:

 

Single as per Delano (1 large pole per string 4 in total for a P pup).

 

Double as per Fender et al (2 small poles per string 8 in total per P pup)

Ah okay, gotcha. Well if it's on VM/TM pickups, that will be Sandberg Black Label pickups, and I've absolutely no idea who makes them 😅.

 

I was really excited to try them, ordered a gorgeous VM5 I waited 9 months for, and then absolutely hated them when I got it! 🤣 Each to their own of course, but they were my least favourite Sandberg pickups I've had. I just found them to be HUGELY powerful and aggressive, too much so to my ears (and I like a hot pickup), but they just didn't have enough actual tonality for me, it was like a loud, angry lot of nothingness. All anecdotal and subjective of course, weren't for me though. After waiting ages for the bass, I sold it immediately (not solely because of the pickups).

[scrumpymike]

13 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Ah okay, gotcha. Well if it's on VM/TM pickups, that will be Sandberg Black Label pickups, and I've absolutely no idea who makes them 😅.

 

I was really excited to try them, ordered a gorgeous VM5 I waited 9 months for, and then absolutely hated them when I got it! 🤣 Each to their own of course, but they were my least favourite Sandberg pickups I've had. I just found them to be HUGELY powerful and aggressive, too much so to my ears (and I like a hot pickup), but they just didn't have enough actual tonality for me, it was like a loud, angry lot of nothingness. All anecdotal and subjective of course, weren't for me though. After waiting ages for the bass, I sold it immediately (not solely because of the pickups).

 

Well, that's very interesting and has saved me from making a big mistake. Looks like I've just put a deposit down on what you didn't like (see below) - and based on what you've said, I definitely won't like it either! 

[TRBboy]

10 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

 

Well, that's very interesting and has saved me from making a big mistake. Looks like I've just put a deposit down on what you didn't like (see below) - and based on what you've said, I definitely won't like it either! 

That's a stunner! 😍 You may well like them Mike, a lot of people do. Plus as long as you like the rest of the bass, pickups can be changed (admittedly it would be frustrating to have to on a new, expensive bass though). 

[scrumpymike]

15 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

That's a stunner! 😍 You may well like them Mike, a lot of people do. Plus as long as you like the rest of the bass, pickups can be changed (admittedly it would be frustrating to have to on a new, expensive bass though). 

Yes, it is a stunner but I already made an expensive mistake with a  s-s Spector Euro 4 fitted with  active EMGs  and I can't afford to make another one 😊

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, scrumpymike said:

Yes, it is a stunner but I already made an expensive mistake with a  s-s Spector Euro 4 fitted with  active EMGs  and I can't afford to make another one 😊

I guess it all depends what you like tonally, the black labels are maybe okay if you want a modern, powerful, super clean and neutral sound, but I've come to realise that I prefer a much more organic, 'soulful' tone and dynamic response from pickups.

 

I do highly recommend the Alnico V J pickups in the TT passive, they sound superb.

 

 

If you want an active preamp, I'm sure they'd be happy to make you a TT5, but with the pickups from the passive model.

 

Good luck in your endeavours!

 

Oli

 

 

Edited February 15 by TRBboy

[scrumpymike]

7 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

I guess it all depends what you like tonally, the black labels are massive okay if you want a modern, powerful, super clean and neutral sound, but I've come to realise that I prefer a much more organic, 'soulful' tone and dynamic response from pickups.

 

I do highly recommend the Alnico V J pickups in the TT passive, they sound superb.

 

 

If you want an active preamp, I'm sure they'd be happy to make you a TT5, but with the pickups from the passive model.

 

Good luck in your endeavours!

 

Oli

 

 

Thanks, now that's my kinda sound!!

[TRBboy]

26 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

Thanks, now that's my kinda sound!!

I watched this video SOOOOO many times in the months I was waiting for my TT5 passive 🤣

[dmccombe7]

I was under the impression that the black labels were more "soulful" than the delano's or the Berg single coils. Warmer if you like but as i said @Cuzzie has a wealth of knowledge and experience on the various pick ups. Hopefully he'll be along soon and offer some advice.

Dave 

[TRBboy]

2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I was under the impression that the black labels were more "soulful" than the delano's or the Berg single coils. Warmer if you like but as i said @Cuzzie has a wealth of knowledge and experience on the various pick ups. Hopefully he'll be along soon and offer some advice.

Dave 

Yeah they didn't deliver quite what I was expecting. I've had pretty much every Sandberg pickup variant over the years, but can only speak from my experiences. I found the stock Sandberg 'Delano style' pickups to be a bit more organic than the black labels, but they're still pretty modern sounding.

Edited February 15 by TRBboy

[TRBboy]

Sandberg's web shop says this in the description, which aligns with my experience:

 

For more aggressive and modern Sound

Ceramic Magnet with Ferro Pole Pieces

Deep and Clear Sound

Edited February 15 by TRBboy