After the pickup height adjustment, you can always try different strings as well.
These two things are cheap and are a good way to try different tones without having to mod your bass.
Good Luck!
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These two things are cheap and are a good way to try different tones without having to mod your bass.
Good Luck!
Good point. I may fool with pup height a bit more on my TM4, just to make sure I'm not overlooking a path to sonic bliss from this bass. So far, I'm not finding as much joy from the TM as I have on my other Sandbergs, which kinda surprised me. On reflection, I've never been a big lover of J/MM setups in the past either, but I keep trying anyway (sign of madness?).
Just for kicks I dragged out a couple other J/MM basses from the closet to compare to the TM. Not much joy there, either. I think it's just me and that particular setup that don't jibe for my tone goals. I hate to let the TM go though, it's beautiful and plays really well (no surprise there). Might look to trade it for a nice VS4 instead. I get along great with P-type basses and have always been curious about Sandberg's take on the ubiquitous Precision, especially an active/passive version. Hmm...
So I spent some time with the bass today. The culprit really seems to be the bridge MM pickup. When I start dialing it out with the pickup blend, the clankiness goes away. I also noticed that it’s much higher than the neck pickup.
That’s the way it was shipped brand new. Is this how you usually set up this pickup combo?
Dialing the MM out works, it’s just a compromise cause I otherwise like the color and fullness it adds to the overall tone.
Looking at my TM4, I would lower the rear pickup more and then slightly raise the front pickup. I know what you mean about the MM pickup but I don't treat this as a MM pickup per se. To me it's like a very full rear pickup on a jazz bass.
+1 to this.So I spent some time with the bass today. The culprit really seems to be the bridge MM pickup. When I start dialing it out with the pickup blend, the clankiness goes away. I also noticed that it’s much higher than the neck pickup.
That’s the way it was shipped brand new. Is this how you usually set up this pickup combo?
Dialing the MM out works, it’s just a compromise cause I otherwise like the color and fullness it adds to the overall tone.
I love the feel of my VM5. But the Black Label pickups are so Hot I find they can overpower each other. The pickup heights and balance are very touchy.
I have been adjusting heights and trying different strings. Just put on a set of DR Fat Beams and I’m digging the tone.
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In praise of the Forty Eight-
Love my Forty Eight. I’ve been bringing it along with a PJ to band practices b/c I’m on the fence as for what to play. But I keep picking the Forty Eight and it doesn’t disappoint. I play it through my YBA300 with a rumble 2x10 cab. Haven’t put it through the YBA300 with my Mesa 6x10 cab yet… but I’m sure stuff will fall off the walls when I do.
also introduced a B6 as a replacement for my usual board and I was quite impressed with the performance!
love me some Sandberg!
Love my Forty Eight. I’ve been bringing it along with a PJ to band practices b/c I’m on the fence as for what to play. But I keep picking the Forty Eight and it doesn’t disappoint. I play it through my YBA300 with a rumble 2x10 cab. Haven’t put it through the YBA300 with my Mesa 6x10 cab yet… but I’m sure stuff will fall off the walls when I do.
also introduced a B6 as a replacement for my usual board and I was quite impressed with the performance!
love me some Sandberg!
Looks like you did the same thing I did on my TM4 (Delanos). My humbucker is angled viewed from above, looks quite strange. Neck side is much higher than the rear bridge side. Compared to that - single neck pickups is somwhere in the midle (lower than fron humbucker side).
Now when I play solo singles, one by one or together, they sound equally loud, but whaen I engage full humbucker it is not louder in the mix (and that was the case when humbucker was standing horizontall).
I spent a lot of time until I managed to adjust it to my liking, but now I have no problems with the volume in any combination
Even on my VS4, which is 'just' a standard Precision pickup configuration, I had to play around with the pickup height. The (My) 'standard' was useless and I had to go much lower before everything sounded balanced.
I just ordered Black Labels (Currently have High Powered Splitcoils from Sandberg) and I already know they will have to be lowered even more.
I just ordered Black Labels (Currently have High Powered Splitcoils from Sandberg) and I already know they will have to be lowered even more.
Joining Club Sandberg soon with a California VS4 Superlight on the way from The Bass Place
5.3 lbs
5.3 lbs
New pickguard arrived (along with a new set of Sandberg strings *Yum yum* - Still waiting for the Black Label pickups).
Before:
After:
Happy to report the new pickguard was a perfect fit and the relic was done tasteful - Time from ordering to receiving was about 4 weeks.
Before:
After:
Happy to report the new pickguard was a perfect fit and the relic was done tasteful - Time from ordering to receiving was about 4 weeks.
I have a love/hate relationship with my VM4.
It's such a nice bass to play, but I'm not completely sold on the sound. I've toyed with changing preamp (I really am not a fan of the stock one), and even pickups, but I'm first trying to find a set of strings that I'm happiest with as my experience is that a different set of strings can be make or break.
I don't like the Sandberg strings.
The DR Pure Blues were the best ones so far, while the DR Sunbeams that I love in most other basses felt a bit too polite.
I just tried a set or DR Neon, as I used to enjoy their Black Beauties in the past on other basses... and they're probably the most disappointing strings, I find myself struggling to EQ in the right amount of low mids. Shame, as they look great and they're a lot of fun in the dark with blacklight illumination
The quest continues. I've got a Darkglass Tonecapsule that I bought for another bass but might be a good fit here, plus passive tone control, if I can fit it all in, the control cavity is pretty tight...
It's such a nice bass to play, but I'm not completely sold on the sound. I've toyed with changing preamp (I really am not a fan of the stock one), and even pickups, but I'm first trying to find a set of strings that I'm happiest with as my experience is that a different set of strings can be make or break.
I don't like the Sandberg strings.
The DR Pure Blues were the best ones so far, while the DR Sunbeams that I love in most other basses felt a bit too polite.
I just tried a set or DR Neon, as I used to enjoy their Black Beauties in the past on other basses... and they're probably the most disappointing strings, I find myself struggling to EQ in the right amount of low mids. Shame, as they look great and they're a lot of fun in the dark with blacklight illumination
The quest continues. I've got a Darkglass Tonecapsule that I bought for another bass but might be a good fit here, plus passive tone control, if I can fit it all in, the control cavity is pretty tight...
I didn't much like the stock strings on my California TT-5 SL either, so I installed DR Fat Beams, which I've always liked on my G&L SB-2. Huge, huge improvement IMO. Balanced, thick, and aggressive, without being harsh at all. I also like Pure Blues, but on this bass I think I'm sold on Fat Beams.
I've been interested in all the comments about pickup height, because I had to adjust mine considerably to achieve decent string-to-string balance. The A string was getting completely buried in mix, whether practicing through headphones or with the live band, so I had to raise the bass side of the pickups relative to the treble side, and then lower them overall. I also had to lower the A string saddle a bit. I think J-bass pickups should have raised center poles, especially pickups for five-strings, and yet very few do. I assume it's a cost issue.
I love my Sandberg it is my go to 5 string
Here is my “raising the center pole pieces” hack.
I use small washers on the E A and D string on my Sandberg to help balance out the string to string volume. It works great with the Delano poles because they are nice and big magnets. Not hardly noticeable.
I use DR blues 120-40 string gauge set. Love them too!
Sandbergs are truly great instruments.
but I agree that all pickups should be radiused design or have adjustable poles.
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Interestingly, I have a set of DR Fat Beams looking at me from the shelf. They used to be my go-to string on Stingray and Precisions. For my liking they take a couple of weeks to really blossom, when the bright zing dies off sufficiently. They have the nicest low mids... I just wanted to try the DR Neons first because of the way they look
So there's the Fat Beams, and I also have a set fo TI Jazz Flats to try... expensive business this!
It's funny because, as mentioned many times in this thread, people usually expect a Precision / Jazz / MM sound when picking up a Sandberg, but they are always super surprised when they get something completely different.
For my needs, which is a mix of stoner rock, d00m and heavy metal the Sandberg in it's default state cuts through the mix like a hot knife through butter - Whereas my Mustang will drown completely and turn into a muddy mess after going through the signal chain and into a searing Matamp GT120.
Would I bring a Sandberg to church or a blues night? Nope.
Different tools for different situations.
For my needs, which is a mix of stoner rock, d00m and heavy metal the Sandberg in it's default state cuts through the mix like a hot knife through butter - Whereas my Mustang will drown completely and turn into a muddy mess after going through the signal chain and into a searing Matamp GT120.
Would I bring a Sandberg to church or a blues night? Nope.
Different tools for different situations.
