Basses similar to Sandberg?

[WarningTap]

Years ago I came on here to ask for recommendations on a bass that had the low end of a stingray and the versatility of a jazz. Many of you pointed me towards Sandberg. I took your advice, started with a Sandberg California TM, fell in love, and currently own 5 of these (different configurations). I especially love the California model as it feels a little more like a guitar and less like your typical bass.

Anyway, so I’m ready to explore other brands. I’ll probably never stop playing my Sandbergs but I’m curious to learn what else is out there that fits that bill.

In summary - what basses should I look into that are similar to Sandberg? And by similar I mean: killer low end, versatile at the mid and higher registers, and slightly on the lighter side so it feels somewhat more like a guitar (I don’t like heavy basses).

Thanks so much

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

StingRay Special
Dingwall

 

[chris_b]

.. . . what basses should I look into. . . .

Lakland, Mike Lull, Sadowsky. . . .

 

[Nedmundo]

Maybe a G&L L-2000 or L-2500 with an empress (paulownia) body to keep the weight down. It's the same wood Sandberg uses for its Superlight models. The L-series basses have powerful full-range output, including massive lows, which can be tamed by using parallel mode and/or cutting the bass tone control. I'd also suggest the active-only M-series, but they just went out of production so they'll be more difficult to find new.

I once played a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor, and it reminded me of the L-2500 and M-2500 for feel and sound. I think Sandberg's 34" scale five-string necks feel similar to the necks on G&L's L-2500 and M-2500, which is one reason I bought a California TT-5 Superlight last month. It does feel pretty close to my M-2500, but has slightly wider string spacing and a slightly flatter fretboard (14" radius to the G&L's 12").