fretmeister Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 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. 35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Wow, amazingly light and nice score! Calling @Lozz196 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Cheers @Clarky @fretmeister that looks amazing, I think I’ll be contacting Mark soon myself 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 My bass rack is next to my desk and I'm having real trouble getting any work done now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 30, 2023 Author Share Posted March 30, 2023 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] 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr4stringz Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 7 hours ago, fretmeister said: It's just under 2.6kg / 5.7lb !!!😲 Wow! Looks lovely as well. Enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 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 😁 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 @ezbassdoes this help? 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmc79 Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 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). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Do e know how the super light gets down to that? Chambered or the type of wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited March 31, 2023 by fretmeister Spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Wow. Want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Makes you wonder why they aren’t making these regularly - great spec and choice 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 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! 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 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 Ti Flats on it now. Been playing it all day through my Ashdown and a BF One10. It’s so easy to play and it sounds ace. I’m already wishing I had another so I could have one with rounds on it too! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 4, 2023 Author Share Posted April 4, 2023 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 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 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksolid Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7e18f76540598a8efc0e6ca9be453059.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.