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Sandberg Dissuasion

Frank Blank

By Frank Blank,
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Frank Blank Grand Master

Frank Blank

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11 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I can confirm that Sandberg’s customer service is second to none. I’ve owned an Electra VS4 and a California VM5. Both great feeling, well-built instruments. Only reason I sold either of them was cos I needed the funds! Great company.

I just bought @DoubleOhStephan’s California TT4 so I’m pretty chuffed...

 

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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58 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I can confirm that Sandberg’s customer service is second to none. I’ve owned an Electra VS4 and a California VM5. Both great feeling, well-built instruments. Only reason I sold either of them was cos I needed the funds! Great company.

What did you think of the Electra VS4 ?

Dave

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CameronJ Mentor

CameronJ

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11 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

What did you think of the Electra VS4 ?

Dave

Honestly, it was just as good as my California! There were a couple of small factors that made the California technically “better”, such as a slightly better preamp (with passive tone which the Electra preamp didn’t have) and the mounting of the output socket which was slightly better thought out on the Cali (allowing for right angled jacks which the Electra didn’t due to the depth of the housing) but other than those minor things I struggled to justify the difference in price between the two!

I actually sold the California and kept the Electra, and didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Other than the extra string and extra pickup of course, but you get the idea.

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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5 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Honestly, it was just as good as my California! There were a couple of small factors that made the California technically “better”, such as a slightly better preamp (with passive tone which the Electra preamp didn’t have) and the mounting of the output socket which was slightly better thought out on the Cali (allowing for right angled jacks which the Electra didn’t due to the depth of the housing) but other than those minor things I struggled to justify the difference in price between the two!

I actually sold the California and kept the Electra, and didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Other than the extra string and extra pickup of course, but you get the idea.

I see Bass Direct are selling the Electra Jazz and P basses for circa £600 new so not a bad price for a decent quality bass i would have thought.

I have the Cali VM4 

Dave

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S.F.Sorrow Rookie

S.F.Sorrow

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Sandbergs are great instruments but if you haven't played one I would strongly advice you to do so before deciding. A Sandberg TT4 may look like a Jazz Bass but it will sound nothing like a classic Fender. Sandbergs are VERY bright and "modern" sounding instruments. I personally love everything about Sandberg except for their signature ULTRA-bright tone. The craftsmanship is amazing, QC seems to be superb, the necks are some of the best I've ever played but that insanely bright tone just isn't for me.

I thought I might get around this by custom ordering a passive VS4 with a Kloppmann PB63 pickup. You would expect Sandberg to wire up a pickup like that to vintage specs, right? WRONG! They installed 500k pots so even with the vintage '63 pickup the bass was extremely bright. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with two 250k pots and a soldering iron but honestly, Sandberg seems to have an obsession with BRIGHT.

I'm not saying this is necessarily bad. Just don't expect it to sound even remotely like a classic Fender Jazz.

The other complaint I have with Sandberg is their customer service which in my experience is pretty much non-existent. I tried contacting them directly with questions about specs for my custom order but they insisted that every question had to go through my dealer. Which meant that every question and follow-up question had to go through  ME > DEALER > DISTRIBUTOR > SANDBERG > DISTRIBUTOR > DEALER > ME. It took almost two months before I could even place the order! They also took almost 6 months longer than I was promised to build the bass. When I complained I was given a silly excuse about problems with wood deliveries but when I threatened to cancel the order they could suddenly build the bass immediately after all. Right... I love my Sandberg, it's one of the best basses I've ever owned (after I replaced the 500k pots...) but to be honest I will probably never bother with them again.

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Cuzzie Veteran

Cuzzie

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24 minutes ago, S.F.Sorrow said:

Sandbergs are great instruments but if you haven't played one I would strongly advice you to do so before deciding. A Sandberg TT4 may look like a Jazz Bass but it will sound nothing like a classic Fender. Sandbergs are VERY bright and "modern" sounding instruments. I personally love everything about Sandberg except for their signature ULTRA-bright tone. The craftsmanship is amazing, QC seems to be superb, the necks are some of the best I've ever played but that insanely bright tone just isn't for me.

I thought I might get around this by custom ordering a passive VS4 with a Kloppmann PB63 pickup. You would expect Sandberg to wire up a pickup like that to vintage specs, right? WRONG! They installed 500k pots so even with the vintage '63 pickup the bass was extremely bright. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with two 250k pots and a soldering iron but honestly, Sandberg seems to have an obsession with BRIGHT.

I'm not saying this is necessarily bad. Just don't expect it to sound even remotely like a classic Fender Jazz.

The other complaint I have with Sandberg is their customer service which in my experience is pretty much non-existent. I tried contacting them directly with questions about specs for my custom order but they insisted that every question had to go through my dealer. Which meant that every question and follow-up question had to go through  ME > DEALER > DISTRIBUTOR > SANDBERG > DISTRIBUTOR > DEALER > ME. It took almost two months before I could even place the order! They also took almost 6 months longer than I was promised to build the bass. When I complained I was given a silly excuse about problems with wood deliveries but when I threatened to cancel the order they could suddenly build the bass immediately after all. Right... I love my Sandberg, it's one of the best basses I've ever owned (after I replaced the 500k pots...) but to be honest I will probably never bother with them again.

Sorry you had a bad deal with them, but glad you have an awesome instrument. It does sound a convoluted pathway, and if there is any delay in the loop it will be compounded. 
 

I will respectfully disagree about them all being bright though, I have played a load that aren’t, my MarloweDK defo isnt

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Have to say my VM4 doesn't have an overly bright sound. If anything its pretty much middle of the road. It suits my tone but i need to boost the high end if i want bright. 

I use a Mesa tube pre-amp but studios have EBS amps. I have noted that the EBS heads def make it sound a bit brighter then the Mesa even with "flat" EQ settings on amp and bass.

My VM4 has Sandberg pick ups. Maybe the delano's sound a bit brighter and more modern.

Dave

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Cuzzie

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1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have to say my VM4 doesn't have an overly bright sound. If anything its pretty much middle of the road. It suits my tone but i need to boost the high end if i want bright. 

I use a Mesa tube pre-amp but studios have EBS amps. I have noted that the EBS heads def make it sound a bit brighter then the Mesa even with "flat" EQ settings on amp and bass.

My VM4 has Sandberg pick ups. Maybe the delano's sound a bit brighter and more modern.

Dave

Aye, there will be variation between Sandberg, Sandberg black label, Delano, Haüssel, Kloppman, Glock pre-amp, no preamp (as the common ones) strings used, which model which denotes pick up placement (even sig  models which look the same as standard have subtly different pick up placement)  and that’s before you factor in your amp......

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Frank Blank Grand Master

Frank Blank

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12 hours ago, S.F.Sorrow said:

The other complaint I have with Sandberg is their customer service which in my experience is pretty much non-existent. I tried contacting them directly with questions about specs for my custom order but they insisted that every question had to go through my dealer.

I emailed Sandberg last night at 20:30 asking if I could email them the serial number of the bass so I could get any info on it. I received an affirmative reply from Sven this morning at 06:19, great service so far.

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Cuzzie

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18 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

I emailed Sandberg last night at 20:30 asking if I could email them the serial number of the bass so I could get any info on it. I received an affirmative reply from Sven this morning at 06:19, great service so far.

Thats 7.20 European time, they are slipping............

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6 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

@S.F.Sorrow unfortunate circumstances is the first time i've heard anything negative about Sandberg that i can remember.

Seems out of character for Sandberg to treat people that way.

If anything they come across as being very customer focused.

Dave  

I think the problem comes sometimes with their accessibility and how good it is normally. They are very personable, but you cannot place an order directly with them, it does have to go through a partner/distributor etc. So any issues with an order placed, should go through the place where the order has come from, there will be a trail and a process to follow. If steps are skipped, then maybe it gets messy and more convoluted, i dunno, it is rare though

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jrixn1 Mentor

jrixn1

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38 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

I emailed Sandberg last night at 20:30 asking if I could email them the serial number of the bass so I could get any info on it. I received an affirmative reply from Sven this morning at 06:19, great service so far.

What email address did you use?  I tried [email protected] (the one on their website) over a week ago and no reply; resent it to [email protected] late on Friday, no reply yet.

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Reggaebass Grand Master

Reggaebass

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8 minutes ago, jrixn1 said:

What email address did you use?  I tried [email protected] (the one on their website) over a week ago and no reply; resent it to [email protected] late on Friday, no reply yet.

I used this one when I had mine made and I spoke with holger quite a few times, [email protected]

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fretmeister Grand Master

fretmeister

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On 05/11/2020 at 19:50, TheGreek said:

A friend of mine sold his 'Berg because of the weight - not sure if this is common in the range.

The first series were really heavy. I sold my 5 string TM5 because of it. Was a lovely bass, just far too heavy.

The California 2 series is a lot lighter, and the Super Light even lighter still.

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DoubleOhStephan Rising Star

DoubleOhStephan

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On 09/11/2020 at 10:01, Frank Blank said:

I emailed Sandberg last night at 20:30 asking if I could email them the serial number of the bass so I could get any info on it. I received an affirmative reply from Sven this morning at 06:19, great service so far.

Funnily enough I did exactly the same thing when I bought it originally! 😁

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Frank Blank Grand Master

Frank Blank

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4 minutes ago, DoubleOhStephan said:

Funnily enough I did exactly the same thing when I bought it originally! 😁

I always do this, I email whoever made it to get all the info I can which I then never look at, I also plan extensive modifications that aren't needed and I never get around to anyway!

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