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The big pole Sandbergs are probably made by Delano (I have no evidence of this) to Sandberg's spec. I had an early VM4 that originally had Delanos on and the Sandbergs sounded less nasal on my bass when I replaced them. The reverse configuration probably had an effect too. They're good pickups but seem to have more high end than a vintage P pickup.
Delano pickups are indeed hi fi sounding. To me that's not a bad thing at all, because it allows me to color my tone in other ways.
I think that the Delanos and the big pole Sandbergs are both modern and hifi but are voiced differently. I found the Delano P to be more mid focused and the Sandberg more "open" sounding. Both are ceramic pickups I believe.
To be fair, most vintage Fenders that I've played have not been muffled or dark, with the Precisions it's true bottom end that they lack. It sounds like you may like the Sandberg big poles. My VS4 was too bright naturally and although the Geezers went some way to adding more body to the tone I ended up adding 1/2lb of weights in the control cavities (taking it to 8lbs) before I was truly happy with the core tone in a live situation.
I saw that our pal Cuzzie gave you a thorough reply, but I'll just throw in a couple observations that might help with the overall picture. I bought a Sandberg Electra TT (Jazz copy) in mid March after a major G.A.S attack got me looking at everything Sandberg. The Electras are different from the 100% German builds - Electra parts are cut in Korea, assembled in Germany - but I found this out the hard way when I got my bass.
The necks on the Electras turn out to be 37mm at the zero fret. Sandberg's site was listing them as having the same 39.5mm width as their German 4-string models like the Californias and that was what convinced me to buy one - that neck width is just about my favorite. It was a little off-putting to receive my bass with a more-skinny-than-advertised neck, but also strange that the specs on their website were changed not so long after I received my bass. No, I didn't gripe to Sandberg about a bait-and-switch or anything. Just funky timing... or a cruel conspiracy
Our pals here have said that their 39.5mm Sandberg necks have a rather slim feel more in keeping with a typical J-bass than what's usually found with the more chunky neck of a P-bass, so that's encouraging. If the neck on my Electra is similar to the German necks with no dot inlays, I can tell you that my neck has side markers, which are what I rely on with any bass to spot my proper fretting hand position. This is probably the first "un-dotted" fingerboard I've ever owned and when I play this bass, I don't even notice the lack of dots.
The finish on the back of my neck is satin - I love it. Yes, this neck is more narrow than I prefer, but at least it widens out nicely toward the higher register and my bridge is the same fully adjustable one that comes with the German builds. With a set of my favorite strings on board and the action nicely dialed in, this Electra is pretty darned good considering that I got it on a clearance sale (brand new) for about $500.
Mine runs active/passive with a 2-band eq, a blend knob, and the master volume pulls up to switch to passive. In that mode I have no passive tone control. I've seen some basses from other labels that include a passive tone control in that mode, but I don't recall spotting that feature among the other Sandbergs when I started giving them a good hard look back in Feb.
This bass came to me new, but was built a few years ago. The J pickups are so far nice and quiet, but I haven't played this bass good and loud with the band yet. Don't know when that will happen. I'm loving the sounds I get when running both pickups and the eq flat (yummy, snappy modern J) or with the neck pickup solo'ed and the highs turned down (warm and wooly). It also sounds quite nice in passive mode - only a tiny difference in tone with the active preamp set flat vs. passive (and no real drop off in volume).
The 100% German models are probably a notch or two better than the build quality of the Electras - which are already quite good. I'm a little leery of the claims around here that many of the other models including the Californias have an ultra bright sound that's not universally well received. I'd have to try one for much more than just 5-8 mins. before going ahead with that sort of investment. The misrepresentation of the Electras was a turn-off for me, so I'd say I'm all set with Sandberg for now.
I wonder if they are direct replacement for some Nordstrand or Aguilar or they are different size?
Fully agree. Consistency of them is greater than of some of the higher priced boutique basses. I can buy them blind and it's a great thing when you can't check them out in the shop.
