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NBD: Sandberg Lionel Superlight shortscale


fretmeister
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After 11 months almost to the day my special order bass is here in plenty of time for my birthday.

 

After trying a much cheaper shortscale and really enjoying it, particularly when playing with a plectrum I decided to get something from my favourite bass brand. The Lionels are often quite lightweight anyway but they do sometimes get up to a massive 8.5lb...

 

So I asked if a Superlight version was possible and it was, for only a modest extra fee of about £140 over the usual price. I also went for a rosewood board with abalone dots. I am informed that this is the first Superlight Lionel that has been built.

 

It arrived this morning and I've had a 20 minute play.

 

From previous experience I often find Sandbergs to be quite bright sounding basses and I was halfway expecting to swap the pickup or the pots or both. As it happens this bass is not excessively bright, in fact the top end is pleasingly mellow. I think I'll be keeping the electronics as is, at least for now.

 

As expected the stock strings are not to my taste at all. I've got a couple of used sets of strings to try to see what suits it best - Ti Flats and EB Group flats (not cobalt ones) and I'll give each set a proper go before deciding on what new set to get.

 

 

Now the big question. The weight...

 

It's just under 2.6kg / 5.7lb !!!😲

 

It balances perfectly too.

 

 

Massive thanks to Mark at Classic and Cool Guitars for the excellent service throughout the process - he's been top notch keeping me fully informed and replying to questions really quickly.

Lionel 1.jpg

Lionel 2.jpg

Lionel 3.jpg

Lionel 4.jpg

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I really like the look of these, but I wonder if they might be a bit small for my frame (I have this issue with the shorty 'Ray). Pictures or video of the proud new owner sporting said acquisition would be much appreciated.

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1 minute ago, ezbass said:

I really like the look of these, but I wonder if they might be a bit small for my frame (I have this issue with the shorty 'Ray). Pictures or video of the proud new owner sporting said acquisition would be much appreciated.

 

 

[/Orders a lot of Slimfast]

 

 

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50 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I really like the look of these, but I wonder if they might be a bit small for my frame (I have this issue with the shorty 'Ray). Pictures or video of the proud new owner sporting said acquisition would be much appreciated.

It's fine. There are a lot of big guys playing tiny electric guitars and no-one bats an eye!

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3 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

It's fine. There are a lot of big guys playing tiny electric guitars and no-one bats an eye!

It’s more about my comfort than what folk think. The Mustang fits nicely because of the stretched body, whereas I find the ‘Ray a bit cramped, despite having much better upper fret access than the Mustang.

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14 hours ago, ezbass said:

I really like the look of these, but I wonder if they might be a bit small for my frame (I have this issue with the shorty 'Ray). Pictures or video of the proud new owner sporting said acquisition would be much appreciated.

 

I will be doing a video or two with different strings for my own amusement / testing in a mix. I'll post them as I do them.

 

 

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14 hours ago, ezbass said:

I really like the look of these, but I wonder if they might be a bit small for my frame (I have this issue with the shorty 'Ray). Pictures or video of the proud new owner sporting said acquisition would be much appreciated.

 

I doubt it, Private. I have both a Mustang and a Lionel (not a superlight model but it still weighs next to nothing) and their overall dimensions are very similar, there's only a negligible difference. So if the Mustang works for you, I'd say the Sandberg would almost certainly work too. Of the 2, the body contours on the Sandberg make it the more comfortable to wear on a strap, and from your profile picture I tend to wear the basses in a similar position. 

 

Oh, and enjoy the new bass Fretmeister, they're fantastic things!

 

And being a cheeky sod, if you ever decide to move on the gig bag I'd love another one 😁

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Nice. Congrats on the unbelievably low weight. My Player P is 3.9Kg / 8.6lbs, and whilst it balances well, and is lighter than other P's I've had, it's still at the top end of what my back can stand. I couldn't knowingly go above this weight again and am only likely to need to go lighter still at some point. Especially after briefly having a few basses that came in at not much over 7lbs (Squier VM Mustang, Squier VM short scale Jaguar, & Squier VM PJ). 

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50 minutes ago, dmc79 said:

Nice. Congrats on the unbelievably low weight. My Player P is 3.9Kg / 8.6lbs, and whilst it balances well, and is lighter than other P's I've had, it's still at the top end of what my back can stand. I couldn't knowingly go above this weight again and am only likely to need to go lighter still at some point. Especially after briefly having a few basses that came in at not much over 7lbs (Squier VM Mustang, Squier VM short scale Jaguar, & Squier VM PJ). 

 

Sandberg VS4 (their P bass) often comes in at 7.5lb (Classic & Cool have a white one at the moment at that weight), but Sandberg will build any of their basses with Superlight specs as a special order.

 

My low weight obsession is because of injury / surgery so I fully understand.

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39 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Do e know how the super light gets down to that? Chambered or the type of wood?

 

The wood choices and the hardware.

The tuners are now lighter than Hipshot Ultralites, the bridge is lightweight.

The neck is Norwegian maple as that is a much lighter wood than Canadian maple, and the body is the very lightweight Paulownia wood.

 

No chambering.

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13 hours ago, Osiris said:

 

I doubt it, Private. I have both a Mustang and a Lionel (not a superlight model but it still weighs next to nothing) and their overall dimensions are very similar, there's only a negligible difference. So if the Mustang works for you, I'd say the Sandberg would almost certainly work too. Of the 2, the body contours on the Sandberg make it the more comfortable to wear on a strap, and from your profile picture I tend to wear the basses in a similar position. 

 

Oh, and enjoy the new bass Fretmeister, they're fantastic things!

 

And being a cheeky sod, if you ever decide to move on the gig bag I'd love another one 😁


this is my 50th birthday present from my wife really. 
 

It’s the first (and last apparently) bass she has bought me so I suspect I will have to keep it even if my arms fall off!

Not risking that argument! :D 

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9 hours ago, fretmeister said:


this is my 50th birthday present from my wife really. 
 

It’s the first (and last apparently) bass she has bought me so I suspect I will have to keep it even if my arms fall off!

Not risking that argument! :D 

 

I was only asking on the off chance that you were likely to whip the bass out (ooh err) and stick it in (fnarr) a hard case and that the gig bag might then be surplus to requirements 😉 Those Sandberg gig bags are excellent quality and I've been trying to get my hands on another one, and while admittedly I haven't looked for a while, they seem to be difficult to get hold of. But at the risk of causing marital strife I shall crawl back under my rock 😀

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Sandberg seem to be such an accomodating company. Even though they do mass produce instruments, it's seems very easy to get a custom order through in fairly reasonable timeframes.

 

If you want a Fender-y type bass but need some tweaks it would be really difficult to not pick Sandberg.

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On 31/03/2023 at 20:05, Chiliwailer said:

Makes you wonder why they aren’t making these regularly - great spec and choice 👍

 

As far as I can tell, the dealers pretty much order what they want and think will sell. Might explain why the dealers that hold some stock always seem to have the same options. So I think it needs the dealers to order a wider variety of options.

 

Bass Direct seem to order a large amount without dots on the fingerboard for example, but other shops seem to have dots or other inlays on most items. 

There are so many thousands of possible configurations with all the options Sandberg offer that I'm not surprised not everything is available.

 

That they can offer that for a lower price than US Fenders is fantastic. Just a shame about the wait - but even then a year isn't too bad. I'm on the waiting list for a King of Tone overdrive - it's been 3 years so far with an estimate for at least another year to go!

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2 hours ago, fretmeister said:


'm on the waiting list for a King of Tone overdrive - it's been 3 years so far with an estimate for at least another year to go!

Ooh nice one. I got the Duke of Tone MXR version recently, really like it. The comparison reviews are very good, but the KOT would be a killer gem to have 👍

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  • 10 months later...

Hi @fretmeister I am getting a Sandberg Lionel soon and am not a roundwounds fan so expect to change them.

 

Did you ever end up trying the TI Jazz Flats (assuming JF234?) on them, and if yes, did you like them? Pros / Cons?

 

If you did post or note this, just feel free to point me there. I tried searching but couldnt find videos, etc.

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