Club Sandberg (part 2)

[dmccombe7]

I have a Sandberg California Supreme JM4 bass (2007 build), I have also previously owned a Musicman Stingray, but I have never been able to get anywhere near the tone of the Stingray out of my Sandberg.

I have read somewhere about people rotating the MM pickup on their Sandbergs by 180 degrees, not sure what this would achieve, I assume it would only affect the pickup position in single coil mode.

Any ideas guys? Is there a way to get nearer the Stingray sound, whether by changing the pickup or pre-amp?

The Sandberg and Musicman pick ups are in different positions on the body so i'm not sure you will get the same tones. Think the Sandberg ones are nearer the bridge than the MM one.
It was something that i asked on the UK forum Basschat and that was what came back from a few guys on there.
I've never owned a Stingray and dont know enough about the 2 different pick ups to offer anymore help i'm afraid.
Dave

 

[kasbrey]

I have a Sandberg California Supreme JM4 bass (2007 build), I have also previously owned a Musicman Stingray, but I have never been able to get anywhere near the tone of the Stingray out of my Sandberg.

I have read somewhere about people rotating the MM pickup on their Sandbergs by 180 degrees, not sure what this would achieve, I assume it would only affect the pickup position in single coil mode.

Any ideas guys? Is there a way to get nearer the Stingray sound, whether by changing the pickup or pre-amp?

I rotated my old TM4 humbucker but it only affected the ability to get J tones.

The MM pickup is nearer the Stingray position on the TM than on the VM but another difference, apart from positioning, is that the Stingrays have an Alnico pickup and the Sandberg MMs are Ceramic. Then there's the preamp differences too of course.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I rotated my old TM4 humbucker but it only affected the ability to get J tones.

The MM pickup is nearer the Stingray position on the TM than on the VM but another difference, apart from positioning, is that the Stingrays have an Alnico pickup and the Sandberg MMs are Ceramic. Then there's the preamp differences too of course.

Some Stingrays are ceramic ( 3 band Ernie Ball Era) Some are alnico( pre Ernie Ball/ 2bands) Others are neodymium ( specials ).

I own a StingRay5 Special and a Sandberg Ida Nielsen5. (TM5) . It does not sound like the StingRay5. It can get in the general ballpark depending on how InEQ and blend the pickups . But it won’t be exact. I get slot of usable tones out of both of these basses.
If you like your Sandberg and want to add a Stingray to the fold, it is definitely justified.

 

[kasbrey]

Some Stingrays are ceramic ( 3 band Ernie Ball Era) Some are alnico( pre Ernie Ball/ 2bands) Others are neodymium ( specials ).

I own a StingRay5 Special and a Sandberg Ida Nielsen5. (TM5) . It does not sound like the StingRay5. It can get in the general ballpark depending on how InEQ and blend the pickups . But it won’t be exact. I get slot of usable tones out of both of these basses.
If you like your Sandberg and want to add a Stingray to the fold, it is definitely justified.

I was under the impression that all Stingrays had Alnico pickups (at least the 4 string) and the Sterlings were Ceramic. The SR5 was Ceramic from 1991 to 2008 though.
The EB site for the Stingray states that the 3 band SR still has Alnico pickups.
I had one of the first Stingrays back in 1976 but disliked the preamp and sold it a couple of years later.

 

[GregC]

Great people with great intentions.

This is a great idea. Major props.

 

[Baker69]

I rotated my old TM4 humbucker but it only affected the ability to get J tones.

The MM pickup is nearer the Stingray position on the TM than on the VM but another difference, apart from positioning, is that the Stingrays have an Alnico pickup and the Sandberg MMs are Ceramic. Then there's the preamp differences too of course.

I read that the Stingray sound mainly comes from how the pickup is wired, I don’t know how it is different to the wiring on the Delano pickup on the Sandberg? Stingray 5’s sound different to their 4 string counterpart so they must have different pre-amps, I would say their pickup location is similar.

 

[Groovegestapo]

I read that the Stingray sound mainly comes from how the pickup is wired, I don’t know how it is different to the wiring on the Delano pickup on the Sandberg? Stingray 5’s sound different to their 4 string counterpart so they must have different pre-amps, I would say their pickup location is similar.

It’s the way the pickup is positioned on the body.
Sandberg mounts their MM pickups farther back so the split coil can get a tighter Jazz bridge tone when needed.
Get both, that’s what I did.

 

[kasbrey]

I read that the Stingray sound mainly comes from how the pickup is wired, I don’t know how it is different to the wiring on the Delano pickup on the Sandberg? Stingray 5’s sound different to their 4 string counterpart so they must have different pre-amps, I would say their pickup location is similar.

The MM's on Sandbergs are wired in series I believe, the Stingray in parallel.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I read that the Stingray sound mainly comes from how the pickup is wired, I don’t know how it is different to the wiring on the Delano pickup on the Sandberg? Stingray 5’s sound different to their 4 string counterpart so they must have different pre-amps, I would say their pickup location is similar.

Same pickup placement and preamps on 4 & 5 string StingRays . Same great tone and playability with the addition of the low B.
There are differences between 4&5 stings of every make / model due to neck mass , larger bodies, ect. But for the most part, it is more similar than not .

 

[Baker69]

The MM's on Sandbergs are wired in series I believe, the Stingray in parallel.

I remember now, my Stingray 5 had a switch to put it in parallel mode and I never used it, too much like a jazz tone. I’ll have to do a search for a wiring diagram for my Sandberg.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

The MM's on Sandbergs are wired in series I believe, the Stingray in parallel.

StingRays have both series and parallel switching options .

 

[Baker69]

Same pickup placement and preamps on 4 & 5 string StingRays .

Oh, I thought they had different pre-amps which is why the 5’er sounds a lot different to the 4 string.

Here’s something I just found;

15 Oct 2003 — i'm buying a newer used stingray bass, and i have a dilemma: i really ... very different than a 4 string because it has a different preamp, ...

 

[kasbrey]

StingRays have both series and parallel switching options .

According to Musicman all Stingray 4's are parallel. Classic Stingray 5's (without the switch) are wired in parallel.
The "classic Stingray" sound is Alnico in parallel.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

According to Musicman all Stingray 4's are parallel. Classic Stingray 5's (without the switch) are wired in parallel.
The "classic Stingray" sound is Alnico in parallel.

You are right. I stand corrected. I thought 4 & 5 had same switching options. But the 5 has both series and parallel. 4 has only parallel. And I was referring to the Specials with neodymium pickups having the same pickups and preamps.

 

[Jim C]

IMO / IME, there is a lot of incorrect information about SR's listed above.
There have been a few models that don't adhere to the below but the majority of SR's are as follows:

First off are we talking Musicman or Sterling? They are different. Up until the Specials, the MM had Alnico pups and the Sterlings were ceramics. They both had 9 volt pre's. The current Special MM's have neodymium pups and 18 volts pre's. From what I have read, 18 volts is needed to support these pups. Some owners say that the the high end is not as harsh. I haven't had that experience and usually run my bass at 50% and treble at 70%.
With some amps, a HPF helps tame the loose bottom if your run the bass pot up high.

Let's assume we are talking about the classic MM Stingray with a 1 5/8" nut and 2-ban EQ. The pre-amps in the 5's are different than the 4's and I only play 4 strings.
The 3-band EQ, no matter what year sounds different to me than the 2-band. I had a couple 3 band SR's and I sold them both. IMO the 2-band rules although I have not played the Specials. I'm having trouble dropping $2.5 K on a production bass with super limited options like choice of 2 colors and very few in stock.

To me that Classic version (not currently in production) would be what I would get except they are not that much lighter than my 83'. Mine is 10.5 lbs which is typical and the Classic reissues (for the most part) dropped only about a pound. The Specials can be found in the 8 lb. range with a recent sale on TB in the high 7 lb. range. Sandberg does not have weight issues.

Again IMO/IME, the EXACT location of the pup is not super important. Off one way or the other 1/4" doesn't matter.
I have an ancient OLP version (licensed by EB, China made SR, most were passive). It sounds surprisingly like my 83' SR. Much more so than any other Fender variant no matter what brand pup. I also just bought a Ray 4 which is there newest off shore model with a 2-band pre. They both are close to a real 2-band SR but I was surprised that the Ray with the active EQ wasn't much closer in tone. OTOH, I think they are the best $250 active bass on the market. I just can't get used to a 1 1/2" nut.
Neither has the depth, clarity, or that particular tone that the 83' has but they're not that far away.

This video posted by @_Obra_ shows how similar a Sandberg can be.

 

[Jazzpunk]

Alright abandoning the medium scale review requests. Apparently a very niche market!

Let's try another. Leaning towards a TT for my first Sandberg but I am intrigued by the TM as well. Is the TM in split coil mode a compromise on getting that classic j bass tone or is it everything the TT is but with the added option of having the hum bucker mode?

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[_Obra_]

Alright abandoning the medium scale review requests. Apparently a very niche market!

Let's try another. Leaning towards a TT for my first Sandberg but I am intrigued by the TM as well. Is the TM in split coil mode a compromise on getting that classic j bass tone or is it everything the TT is but with the added option of having the hum bucker mode?

Thanks in advance for any info!

The bridge pickup on TT is not on the same place as splited single on TM, so the sound is not the same neither in humbucker nor the single mode.
However they are very similar. TM is more versatile, but if You are looking for an classic passive Jazz Bass sound and feel, then go for TT.

 

[dmccombe7]

I went for the MarloweDK and its a stunning bass. The tone is somewhere between my P bass and Geddy Jazz.
Its deep but retains clarity with the rasping edge of my maple neck Geddy Jazz when tone up full.
Necks on the Marlowe are almost identical to my Geddy Jazz. Narrow 38mm at nut with a slim front to back feel.
So for me the Marlowe is a Fender Jazz with more overall depth of tone.
I would add that i've only ever had maple neck Fender Jazz basses and that might make a significant difference to the high end tone from them. I always find maple neccks more zingy sounding.
I'm guessing the TT will be similar to the Marlowe version. Pick ups on tge Marlowe are Alnico type.
Its now my goto bass.
It was 2nd hand and about 6 years old so needs a little bit of fret work done to get it as good as my VM4
If i was thinking of another Sandberg i might have gone for the TM4 rather than the VM4 as i do generally prefer J basses to P's.
Dave

 

[Shlabotnik]

Alright abandoning the medium scale review requests. Apparently a very niche market!

Let's try another. Leaning towards a TT for my first Sandberg but I am intrigued by the TM as well. Is the TM in split coil mode a compromise on getting that classic j bass tone or is it everything the TT is but with the added option of having the hum bucker mode?

Thanks in advance for any info!

IMO, on the TM4, the split humbucker with the bridge on sounds so much like a Jazz you likely won't notice a difference. I had a Fender J but sold it after I got my TM4 and haven't looked back.

 

[Jazzpunk]

Thanks for the feedback. So many cool options, how does one choose?