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Odd, I do apologize for hastily assuming. Have you tried contacting them via e-mail? they're quite responsive.
I agree though, if you're situated in the United States then dealing with a 'local' company is much easier.
For me it's dealing with a local distributor regardless (and I will not purchase one from a shop abroad, too much hassle with customs and the like), so it's more a question of who is more willing to accommodate my preferences and has a more consistent QA when it comes to meeting the order's specifications.
@DanTheQuaker and anyone else who owns a Booster, what can you tell me about them? I am seriously tempted by the 5 stringer, seems a killer deal for the price.
They are both great basses. But when I needed a tip for setting up the G&L, I was able to access it much more easily than with Sandberg. I don’t recall saying Sandberg was a poor bass. I love the bass itself. But it is by a more remote manufacturer who doesn’t do much direct interaction with customers. It’s why I find I much prefer Genzler, Bergantino and yes G&L.
I actually prefer to buy us made, but the Sandberg is so much better, I'd be an idiot to not embrace it.
For the record, I agree Sandberg could and should be more responsive directly to customers. Mesa does that through @agedhorse and was one of the reasons I adopted Mesa as my amp.
I had never played a Sandberg before I bought the Booster I have. It showed up on TB classifieds, for a great price, and I bought it sort of on impulse. I figured if I didn't like it I could always resell it quickly and break even. I almost did resell it, for two reasons: 1. I wasn't sure if it's sound was different enough from my other basses to justify keeping it, and 2. I have this weird thing about tummy cut contours: I hate them. I prefer slab bodies. A local TB'er was interested in buying it from me and he came over to try it out, and as he was playing it I found myself thinking "I hope he doesn't buy it."
He didn't, so I decided to keep it and get used to the tummy cut contour.First off, it is an incredibly well-made instrument. I've owned some very expensive boutique basses--3 or 4 x as expensive--and the Sandberg looks and feels every bit as well crafted. I love the neck. It is slimmer than a P bass, thicker than an Ibanez Soundgear. There are no noticeable dead spots. Balance is good (no neck dive). The upper horn is a bit larger and sticks up a bit higher than a Fender-style bass, but I find it comfortable. I think this gets to why the Boosters are lower priced than the Fender-style models. Fender-style are always going to be more popular.
The sound is punchy and also very smooth. Neither like a P or a J. I love the sound of soapbars and an active preamp. It's certainly not an "old school" sound. There is no noise or hiss from the electronics. I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of guy, so I dialed in a setting I like on the 3-band EQ and the pickup blend knob and left it at that. I like that I can pop up the volume knob and put it into passive mode (so if the battery ever dies during a gig I can keep playing). Interestingly, when put into passive mode the volume doesn't decrease dramatically and the tone doesn't change all that much. It's like the preamp just adds depth and dimension to what is already there. The blend knob between the two pickups does offer a suprising range of tones, but I like it best with both pickups full on.
Weight is about 9 lbs. The gig bag is good, but not great.
I'm not sure what else I can say. I'm not very good at writing instrument reviews. Suffice it to say that I have ordered another Booster: a fretless. And Sandberg is going to do a modification for me and not make the tummy cut contour.
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I had never played a Sandberg before I bought the Booster I have. It showed up on TB classifieds, for a great price, and I bought it sort of on impulse. I figured if I didn't like it I could always resell it quickly and break even. I almost did resell it, for two reasons: 1. I wasn't sure if it's sound was different enough from my other basses to justify keeping it, and 2. I have this weird thing about tummy cut contours: I hate them. I prefer slab bodies. A local TB'er was interested in buying it from me and he came over to try it out, and as he was playing it I found myself thinking "I hope he doesn't buy it."
First off, it is an incredibly well-made instrument. I've owned some very expensive boutique basses--3 or 4 x as expensive--and the Sandberg looks and feels every bit as well crafted. I love the neck. It is slimmer than a P bass, thicker than an Ibanez Soundgear. There are no noticeable dead spots. Balance is good (no neck dive). The upper horn is a bit larger and sticks up a bit higher than a Fender-style bass, but I find it comfortable. I think this gets to why the Boosters are lower priced than the Fender-style models. Fender-style are always going to be more popular.
The sound is punchy and also very smooth. Neither like a P or a J. I love the sound of soapbars and an active preamp. It's certainly not an "old school" sound. There is no noise or hiss from the electronics. I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of guy, so I dialed in a setting I like on the 3-band EQ and the pickup blend knob and left it at that. I like that I can pop up the volume knob and put it into passive mode (so if the battery ever dies during a gig I can keep playing). Interestingly, when put into passive mode the volume doesn't decrease dramatically and the tone doesn't change all that much. It's like the preamp just adds depth and dimension to what is already there. The blend knob between the two pickups does offer a suprising range of tones, but I like it best with both pickups full on.
Weight is about 9 lbs. The gig bag is good, but not great.
I'm not sure what else I can say. I'm not very good at writing instrument reviews. Suffice it to say that I have ordered another Booster: a fretless. And Sandberg is going to do a modification for me and not make the tummy cut contour.
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Thank you very much for the detailed response!
Yeah, I've noted the horn extending further up and the differing neck and body contours. I really like the way the neck pocket is shaped on the Booster, and I am quite fond of the bass's aesthetics, distinct and modern without being anchored in a given time period.
It's really only the sound that is still a relative unknown variable to me. I scoured YouTube for any and all videos, but the instrument sounds fairly different in them. It would've been beneficial if one of the channels I'm more used to checking bass content on (who have a more professional audio recording and mixing etc. just due to them being dedicated YouTube channels rather than just a store demoing stock) checked out the instrument by now, alas...
The pick-ups seem to be covering the Precision/Thumb(N)/Rick(B)/MM area, so it's mostly a question of where their bumps are. Texture wise I've already noticed from videos that panning just to one of the pick-ups really adds quite a bit of crunch, and I suspect I'd clock many hours picking with the neck pick-up soloed.
There's nothing about the bass that seems 'off' to me, I'm simply the kind of person who excessively considers and ponders everything.
Thanks again for the detailed response, and I approve of the fretless's specifications, I'll likely opt for ebony and matte black myself, albeit fretted and 5 stringed.
I have had personal dealings with Sandberg and know others who have and it’s been fast, efficient and positive.
Regarding setting the bass up........granted the bridge saddle is slightly different to most brands, but after about a minute working it out it’s super easy.
I have to say that despite them being special, there is nothing special and no quirks about setting it up, it’s the same as any bass and will be entirely on your preference for the action etc.
Regarding setting the bass up........granted the bridge saddle is slightly different to most brands, but after about a minute working it out it’s super easy.
I have to say that despite them being special, there is nothing special and no quirks about setting it up, it’s the same as any bass and will be entirely on your preference for the action etc.
That is true but IMO just if You are not using an EQs on the preamp.
I changed stock preamp for an Darkglass Tone Capsule three band EQ (which is also a stock on some models for Sandberg), and it was the same with the two band stock preamp.
The volume is basically identical in passive and active mode only when EQs are at neutral position. When I add for example 30%bass and 20%hi mids (in active mode of course), the signal is 4-5 dB louder. Then it comes to the problem in the mix, and I need to lover the gain output. I can do it on more different ways, but it's annoying to do that on 15 songs out of 35 for an evening.
The same thing happened with my Classic Stingray when I boost the bass and treble EQs, so I assume it's a common thing with an on board preamps.
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Excuse me, does the Marlowedk model have the bridge pickup exactly in position 70? thank you very much!
I don’t get it, why would you have to lower your height to intonate? I might be hard to move the saddle because of string pressure but I just loosen my string a bit and then move it a bit and check again.
I think it’s a brilliant bridge with everything I need, height, string spacing and intonation. And a saddle fixation screw. And I love that you don’t have to put your whole string through a small hole, just put it in place.
I suppose loosening the string would be another way to do it. The screws digging in were the issue preventing it from sliding. I have other bridges had had little tracks that allowed them to slide in. Or the babicz where the barrel has the groove that lifts or lowers. It's a quality piece, just different.
Again with the Saddles - once you spend a couple mins on how it works then it’s very intuitive - of course the action needs to be starting with Truss rod, string height/travel, nut etc.
I have found it probably the easiest bass of any to set up and tweak it’s so well made
I have found it probably the easiest bass of any to set up and tweak it’s so well made
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I would like to ask you for some advice: i have in order a passive tt4 masterpiece with maple neck alder body and kloppman jb71 pickup..i am thinking of varying the order and asking sandberg for the ash body for a version similar to 70s jazz to match precisely to the kloppmann pickup .. what do you think? I await your advice, thanks a lot to everyone!
With all the respect, maybe You should found Yourself an 70s Fender jazz ?
I already have a jazz 60..I obviously could have chosen a jazz 70 but I preferred to order a sandberg..mine is just an idea in fact I asked for advice 
Hi Gunai, I had a little spare time, so I made a quick recording for you of my Booster and uploaded it to Dropbox. You can listen to it here: Dropbox - Sandberg Booster.WAV - Simplify your life (you can click the X to close the box asking you to sign in).
My goal was to provide, as close as I could, the unadulterated sound of the bass. So I plugged the Sandberg directly into my Zoom R24 digital recorder. On the Zoom, I set the EQ flat and used no compression, reverb, or other effects. So the sound is the bass itself. I still have the stock roundwound strings on the bass that came with it from Sandberg. Eventually I'll replace them with my preferred strings, GHS Pressurewounds.
Please forgive the quality of the playing. I was just noodling whatever popped into my head.
I started with the settings on the Booster the way I normally have them: pickup blend in the middle (both pickups on), treble rolled mostly off, mid bumped up, bass slightly bumped up.
Then, after playing a little bit, I put the treble, mid, and bass knobs all flat, and played a little. You can hear the sound thins out with the EQ flat, as would be expected.
Then, while continuously hitting an open A, I rolled the treble eq full on, then full off, then back to center. I did the same for the mid eq, and for the bass eq.
Next, with the EQs flat I then rolled the blend knob to the neck pickup and then to the bridge pickup (and attempted a little Jaco).
Then I pulled the volume knob up to put it into passive mode (you can hear a little click). Then I pushed the volume knob back down to put it back into active mode.
Lastly I returned the EQ knobs to my preferred positions.
I hope that is helpful!
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Anyone have successful experience dealing with the sandberg web store?
It’s all in German
I’m interested in switching pickgurd to dress up my instrument
I can always send a tracing to WD of course but I’m exploring options
Also I’m interested in the possibility of adding a hipshot xtender
I’ve seen it offered as an option but at this time I’m hoping not to have to drill holes in my new bass.... yet
It’s all in German
I’m interested in switching pickgurd to dress up my instrument
I can always send a tracing to WD of course but I’m exploring options
Also I’m interested in the possibility of adding a hipshot xtender
I’ve seen it offered as an option but at this time I’m hoping not to have to drill holes in my new bass.... yet
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