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Hello Sandberg Club,
Does someone here have a pdf or website with all the options Sandberg offer listed? The most up to date one I could find is from 2016.
More importantly, any info on whether Sandberg require a 'rarewood' finish for rear-mounted controls? I prefer avoiding pickguards whenever possible.
Finally, anyone who also happens to own a G&L, how big is the jump in quality between the two?
Thanks in advance for any information!
Does someone here have a pdf or website with all the options Sandberg offer listed? The most up to date one I could find is from 2016.
More importantly, any info on whether Sandberg require a 'rarewood' finish for rear-mounted controls? I prefer avoiding pickguards whenever possible.
Finally, anyone who also happens to own a G&L, how big is the jump in quality between the two?
Thanks in advance for any information!
I can't help you with the PDF but I do own two G&Ls (had another but sold it) and the Sandberg pictured. I may get flamed but I would say the quality is similar though they are very different kinds of instruments. My G&Ls are very high quality fit and finish wise and play beautifully. They setup easily, stay in tune, have very nice, simple controls and do what they need to do. My Sandberg has more high end touches to it and feels little less mass-produced (if that makes any sense). Both were PLEK'd so frets are great on them.
Also, I bought a new Fender Precision Elite a couple of years ago and find it to be similar in terms of build quality.
I would say that in the $2k and under range, they are outstanding choices but there are many. I think these instruments represent great value in that most of the cost seems to go to real functional quality rather than adornment or decoration which can really boost the price. I have not owned one of the really high end instruments or true custom builds, but my approach has been to have a several really nice tools in the bag than one crazy high end tool. But it's all relative. Expensive to me may be pocket change to someone else and vice versa.
Not sure what you are looking to do but I'm happy to provide further feedback if you'd like.
--David
Use the configurator on the web site, it’s pretty good, get as far as you can, if you need anything further email them any requirements
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I've found the same to be true between G&L and Sandberg for the Indonesian models as well as the ones that come out of their own factories. I like them both just fine.
For me it comes down to neck shape, weight, and PUP configuration; prices are pretty close and the Sandberg's seem to be a little lighter overall.
(Empress wood changes this for G&L)
David’s experience with G&L sounds very similar to my own. I have owned 3 G&L basses and 4 Sandberg basses. Although they are very different instruments, I think they share certain characteristics...excellent build quality, tuning stability, and exceptional value...especially on the used market. I actually just traded one of my Sandbergs for a G&L that is inbound tomorrow. That’s not to say I think G&L is better, just that I don’t feel like it’s a step down.
See how nicely my children play together?
True! I just bought a second one that is swamp ash and rosewood (the body is tobacco sunburst...love the ash grain showing through). I use it for a loud rock band that doesn't call for a lot of tonal variety though the Kiloton is surprisingly versatile with its 3 way mini-toggle that switches between single coil and parallel/serial modes. I love the 1.5" nut and the beautiful shape of the body compared to the original G&L body. Prefer a pick guard too. That is actually an area the Sandberg excels...it's got a wonderfully understated pick guard.Seems you’re partial to Kilotons...
Anyway, nice catch on the second Kiloton. I almost posted a picture of the 'burst one but I don't want to alienate or piss off my Club S brethren!
Thank you for the quick responses!
I've used the configurator in the past when I was debating which bass to upgrade from my starter to. The lack of a local Sandberg distributor for the VS and the presence of a G&L one had me opt for my SB-1 (shown attached), which I've had for about 2 years now and am very happy with.
The initial draws towards Sandberg were the same as G&L: tight quality control, wide customization options, and a streamlined/updated take on the traditional Fender design.
Being lefthanded, I don't have the privilege of trying out multiple basses in store before buying one, and I'll happily spend the extra cost compared to a more mass produced instrument in exchange for proper QC.
Said handedness also meant that at the time, there were simply no new Precision bass models on the market that featured a maple neck (which I insisted on having) other than Sire's P7. The long term firsthand accounts of Sire that I heard weren't not unanimously gushing, and having been burned with an S-curved neck on my first instrument, I wasn't willing to take the QC risk.
All that aside, what I'm interested in my 2nd long haul instrument is a 5 stringed P-bodied maple/swamp ash bass with active/passive switch, wide frequency response pickups that still maintain a mid-range bite, 35'' scale and no pickguard. Sandberg and the options they offer meet these requirements with ease, and I wanted to check here about their willingness to do RMC for instruments that don't feature a rarewood top on a mahogany body before I start putting money in the piggy bank for my A/B tuned instrument. The request for a PDF if there is an up to date one is just so I can see what each specification would cost depending on the particular choice. I like knowing exactly what the options available are, and habitually spend an embarrassing amount of time and energy deciding on each big purchase I make. The upside is that I practically never experience buyer's remorse or grow disenchanted with a possession, whatever it may be.
As for the G&L vs Sandberg comparisons: I asked for those both because the bass I own is a G&L, and because despite loving it, it did require me catching the wrong finish on it via their social media, shielding its routing cavity, replacing the pots to reverse log ones to enable full usage of the volume and tone, and even some fret leveling despite the PLEK, likely due to the wood being used still being a tad green. I can accept these at G&L's price point given the overall level of care and craftsmanship put into the design in general and my specific instrument in particular, but while I'm more than happy to pay the slightly higher comparative cost for a Sandberg, I'd want to know how likely I am to run into such (mostly minimal) issues if I were to invest in one as my 5 stringer.
Apologies for the long-winded rant
Attachments
...As for the G&L vs Sandberg comparisons: I asked for those both because the bass I own is a G&L, and because despite loving it, it did require me catching the wrong finish on it via their social media, shielding its routing cavity, replacing the pots to reverse log ones to enable full usage of the volume and tone, and even some fret leveling despite the PLEK, likely due to the wood being used still being a tad green. I can accept these at G&L's price point given the overall level of care and craftsmanship put into the design in general and my specific instrument in particular, but while I'm more than happy to pay the slightly higher comparative cost for a Sandberg, I'd want to know how likely I am to run into such (mostly minimal) issues if I were to invest in one as my 5 stringer.
Apologies for the long-winded rant
Well, what I can tell you is that I’ve never encountered issues like the ones you mentioned with my Sandbergs, but I’ve also never encountered them with the G&Ls I’ve owned, either. I’m not denying your experience...I’m sure there are anomalies from every brand. Based on my experience with Sandberg and the others I’ve read, Sandberg is about as safe a bet as you can make...
Thank you for the quick responses!
I've used the configurator in the past when I was debating which bass to upgrade from my starter to. The lack of a local Sandberg distributor for the VS and the presence of a G&L one had me opt for my SB-1 (shown attached), which I've had for about 2 years now and am very happy with.
The initial draws towards Sandberg were the same as G&L: tight quality control, wide customization options, and a streamlined/updated take on the traditional Fender design.
Being lefthanded, I don't have the privilege of trying out multiple basses in store before buying one, and I'll happily spend the extra cost compared to a more mass produced instrument in exchange for proper QC.
Said handedness also meant that at the time, there were simply no new Precision bass models on the market that featured a maple neck (which I insisted on having) other than Sire's P7. The long term firsthand accounts of Sire that I heard weren't not unanimously gushing, and having been burned with an S-curved neck on my first instrument, I wasn't willing to take the QC risk.
All that aside, what I'm interested in my 2nd long haul instrument is a 5 stringed P-bodied maple/swamp ash bass with active/passive switch, wide frequency response pickups that still maintain a mid-range bite, 35'' scale and no pickguard. Sandberg and the options they offer meet these requirements with ease, and I wanted to check here about their willingness to do RMC for instruments that don't feature a rarewood top on a mahogany body before I start putting money in the piggy bank for my A/B tuned instrument. The request for a PDF if there is an up to date one is just so I can see what each specification would cost depending on the particular choice. I like knowing exactly what the options available are, and habitually spend an embarrassing amount of time and energy deciding on each big purchase I make. The upside is that I practically never experience buyer's remorse or grow disenchanted with a possession, whatever it may be.
As for the G&L vs Sandberg comparisons: I asked for those both because the bass I own is a G&L, and because despite loving it, it did require me catching the wrong finish on it via their social media, shielding its routing cavity, replacing the pots to reverse log ones to enable full usage of the volume and tone, and even some fret leveling despite the PLEK, likely due to the wood being used still being a tad green. I can accept these at G&L's price point given the overall level of care and craftsmanship put into the design in general and my specific instrument in particular, but while I'm more than happy to pay the slightly higher comparative cost for a Sandberg, I'd want to know how likely I am to run into such (mostly minimal) issues if I were to invest in one as my 5 stringer.
Apologies for the long-winded rant
It’s no worries, I think I get what you are saying. Essentially I do not think they do a pdf with all options simply because when I spoke to them I think they worked out they are about a million combinations taking all basses into account.
Probably the best thing is to get you bass in the configurator as close as feasibly possible.
Save the number
Copy paste it into an email and add the extras in.
This way they can calculate.
if you had a budget, you may think, I would prefer vibration treatment, but a 3 band EQ is more important, I’ll have that instead - or what ever your choice.
Pick ups - Delano’s with a 2 band EQ - can be used active passive - with a push bull knob is the standard affair.
They do have in house Sandberg (rend to be in passive basses) and Sandberg black label pick ups - both of which are very good.
Haüssel’s or Kloppman pick ups tend to be an extra cost, they could get any Delano Pre-amp (a 3 band for example, but would be extra) they also regularly use the Darkglass tone capsule.
They also do customs-there was one out recently where essentially it was like a Fender 51 Dusty Hill bass.
Get in contact and see and allow for any time difference and current world state for length of reply.
What Cuzzie said.
The configurator is very useful to check out different aesthetic combinations, but... best if you figure out what YOU want, and then contact them.
When I bought mine, I wanted some specs that were not described anywhere. I used the configurator to get as close as I could, and it gives to a string of characters that define that specific combination. Then, through a local dealer, I explained the options that were different from that combination. They got in touch with Sandberg and they got back in touch explaining the costs associated with each option. They never said no to anything, just the cost. Some options end up being more expensive than I thought, others didn't at all.
Ask them, I'd be surprised if you cannot get what you want.
You need to figure out what you want first...
The configurator is very useful to check out different aesthetic combinations, but... best if you figure out what YOU want, and then contact them.
When I bought mine, I wanted some specs that were not described anywhere. I used the configurator to get as close as I could, and it gives to a string of characters that define that specific combination. Then, through a local dealer, I explained the options that were different from that combination. They got in touch with Sandberg and they got back in touch explaining the costs associated with each option. They never said no to anything, just the cost. Some options end up being more expensive than I thought, others didn't at all.
Ask them, I'd be surprised if you cannot get what you want.
You need to figure out what you want first...
Thank you very much for the info, that's great.
Knowing that they're willing to accommodate in such a manner serves both to boost my confidence that I can freely consider what exactly I want in the time it'd take to save up, and frankly more importantly: It gives a very positive impression in regards to the philosophy of the company and its customer service. I'm fairly set on getting a Sandberg as my 5 stringer, unless Dingwall announce in the meantime that they now offer their full instrument range in lefty.
The lack of shielding is uniform across G&L instruments, and unlike the other things I've mentioned is definitely something they ought to fix.
The pots are due to them using audio taper ones which when wired in reverse (for lefty) operate more as on/off switches. However, I don't think it's a big issue that they don't keep a stock of reverse log pots just for the lefties, you can always just wire the 'correct' way and make full use of the stock pots.
The finish was just gloss instaed of the ordered matte, but there have been similar reports in the G&L thread about instruments arriving with options different to the ones ordered.
I am still happy overall with the QC and love my sledgehammer SB-1 (tone-wise, it's a limber <9lbs) which will remain my 4-stringed instrument for a very long time to come, but I just want some options that G&L either don't offer, or only offer to artists they're sponsoring. The likelihood of receiving even better QC is just an icing on the cake.
For those that have ordered a Sandberg, how close was the street price as compared to the configurator tool pricing?
Did you have to pay any additional for shipping or tax from an out of state dealer?
Did you have to pay any additional for shipping or tax from an out of state dealer?
Including the shipping, the configurator price was fairly close to what I paid for my custom order through the US retailer, give or take a small percentage. Pretty sure the configurator price includes German tax which, in the US, you would subtract. Then add a bit for shipping. Yeah my invoice price "includes" shipping but I'm sure they're making that back somewhere in the deal. I live in NH so there was no sales tax involved. That likely changes from state to state.
Sascha Erni
Making things go whoomp, whoomp since 1994
I got a very transparent quote from Sandberg via the retailer. Options the configurator didn’t cover were listed separately, e.g. in my case different electronics, Hipshot Bass eXtender, different strap lugs etc.. The quote was by Sandberg, my dealer offered to order according to the quote at no additional cost like shipping or handling. My dealer was Thomann Germany, shipping to (non EU) Switzerland. They waved any return policies, though. My guess is official retailers have some fixed percentages with Sandberg in place, which are reflected in the configurator’s quotes.
Ditto.That's exactly the same experience like mine
