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Does anyone have any experience with the Martin Mendez signature? All the specs seem really good on paper, but I'm curious about the pickup placement. The pickups are much closer together than a standard jazz configuration. Obviously the neck pickup would have less low end being moved back, but I'm curious how it sounds paired and blended with the bridge.
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I will chime in -- I purchased a Martin Mendez signature 35" scale (black). It was a very nice looking bass. The build quality and playability was excellent. However, IMHO - it was lacking something in the sound. I sat with it for days trying to love it and I couldn't, so I returned it. I believe it had a lot to do with the pickup configuration. The sound just wasn't grabbing me and the output seemed low; and when I played it next to my Lakland USA PJ, the Lakland chewed it up and spit it out. I play funk, r&b, soul and hip-hop. It might work for someone else or other genres - This is just my experience with the Martin Mendez model. I really wanted to love it. I hope it finds the right home. Now I'm looking for a TM4/5 or TT4/5.
Did you find the lack of tone to be likely due to the neck pickup? Or was the bridge pickup not to your liking either?
No, not really. In what way are you fed up?
Yesterday I was changing the strings with different gauge.
After two years and God knows how many setup on my Sandberg, I still hate to mess with those little Allen wrench keys. Although it is a beautiful bridge (which is not negligible to me) it is to complicated and it's a pain in the ass to deal with it.
Strings have to be loosened in order to set intonation.
The three height screws sometimes fight each other. And why are there 3 screws anyway?
All the set screws, but most notably the lock set screws come loose.
The whole design is just too fiddly. 5 tiny set screws per saddle, and no direct adjustment for intonation.
I wish they'd have just gone with a Hipshot and been done with it.
It took me a bit to get my head around it after youtube vid to show me how it works but it does offer a lot of adjustments but it does seem overly complicated.
Once i get it set i usually never need to touch them again but i tend to use same strings these days.
Dave
Ah, yeah I get it now! I agree, not the best design. I didn't think about these details because it's something I need to play with very rarely... but I agree, I wish they used a simpler to adjust design.
Can you please post a link to the YouTube video? I'm hoping Reiner has some tip I'm missing.
The Sandberg bridge is a work of art, I love it! It is super easy to adjust and locks to keep things set appropriately.
I dont get the confusion about the bridge? I find it very simple as well
My Nighthawk Plus in action! 
Such a great bass!
Such a great bass!
It was just a guy doing a Sandberg set up on youtube but here's the link. Bridge adjustment starts around 4:30. Hope it helps.
Dave
