I love my Stingray HHs, there's just a massive wall of sound and content
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I have one of those too.
Fretless with GHS pressurewounds. It's set up perfectly for my church group. I had a tribute L2500 for a short time. It's had a HUGE sound. Blasted through any mix I ever played in. I just couldn't jive with the chunky neck. That's why I'm curious about the VM2-5, if it's the same bulldog the L2500 is. I'm considering having an L2500 built with a JB5 neck.
Fretless with GHS pressurewounds. It's set up perfectly for my church group. I had a tribute L2500 for a short time. It's had a HUGE sound. Blasted through any mix I ever played in. I just couldn't jive with the chunky neck. That's why I'm curious about the VM2-5, if it's the same bulldog the L2500 is. I'm considering having an L2500 built with a JB5 neck.
I'm very curious about the aggressiveness. I loved the tones I got out of the L2500 I had. It's kind off in a world of its own compared to everything I have or have owned. Hope someone here can give some insight about the VM2-5.
Have you seen the Ken Taylor Basic? It's a different sounding animal than the 2.5K or VM5.
Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 5 RW BKB – Thomann United States (thomannmusic.com)
I have considered a Ken Taylor. I've never seen one in my parts unfortunately. When you say different sounding than the L2K or the VM2 what would be your description? And do you know if the neck profile is the same as the California's? Thanks.
FWIW, I briefly tried a Ken Taylor a few years ago, and while I didn't explore its tonal range, it reminded me very much of my G&L M-2500. I thought the essential tone was similar: modern active, with some gritty punch. But of course this depends on strings, amp, settings, etc., and I didn't do an A/B comparison. The M-2500 has lots of tonal overlap with the L-2500, but doesn't have quite as much firepower as the L-2500 in series mode with volume up full.
I can't speak to the five string Sandbergs, with the B string sound quality being critical on all fivers. But all the four string models...Ken T, VM, 2K are sitting right here for me to compare. Neither of the Sandbergs sound anything like an MFD G&L to my ears, they're much clearer sounding for one thing.
The VM doesn't have quite the range of either the Ken T or the L2K, but it's its own thing and sounds compelling. Of the three, the Ken T is the fave platform for me. It has a neutral sound that's easy to shape with pedals, it's fast, quiet and articulate, has the broadest tonal range, and best ergos. But that's just me, I'm pretty high on Sandberg in general these days. Cheers.
Edit: Forgot about the neck profiles Q. I'll have to check that and get back.
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Thanks for the great info everyone. Very helpful. Yet it makes me think I might need more than one new bass
Can anyone educate me on the process of ordering through Sandberg vs. buying off the shelf from a dealer? I am interested in configuring a TM5 Superlight and having it made because TM5's are hard enough to find as is, but it would be nice to get it exactly the way I want it.
I've seen their listings on Reverb, but have not reached out to them. I'm visiting CME in a few weeks and will inquire about the process there.
@CoughSyrup You cannot order directly from Sandberg. The process is as follows.
1. Go to the configurator and make your bass. The configurator generates a code that describes the bass you made.
2. Go to any official dealer and give them the code. They will give you a price if you are not in the Eurozone and order the bass for you. I believe you need to pay a deposit when you order a custom bass this way.
3. If you want something not on the configurator then you get as close as you can and give the configurator code and a list of anything you want different to the dealer. They will ask Sandberg if they are willing to accommodate your changes and what any additional costs may be.
4. Wait. About a year presently, I think.
5. Dealer contacts you with the good news, you pay what's owed and they send you your bass.
Everything I've heard suggests that Sandberg are very open to doing whatever the customer wants, within reason.
All of the new Sandbergs hanging on walls in dealers were ordered this way by the dealer. The dealer guesses what their customers will want and custom order that. Every Sandberg is essentialy a custom job.
If you talk to CME and anything I've written here is wrong then please let us know for future reference. Thanks.
1. Go to the configurator and make your bass. The configurator generates a code that describes the bass you made.
2. Go to any official dealer and give them the code. They will give you a price if you are not in the Eurozone and order the bass for you. I believe you need to pay a deposit when you order a custom bass this way.
3. If you want something not on the configurator then you get as close as you can and give the configurator code and a list of anything you want different to the dealer. They will ask Sandberg if they are willing to accommodate your changes and what any additional costs may be.
4. Wait. About a year presently, I think.
5. Dealer contacts you with the good news, you pay what's owed and they send you your bass.
Everything I've heard suggests that Sandberg are very open to doing whatever the customer wants, within reason.
All of the new Sandbergs hanging on walls in dealers were ordered this way by the dealer. The dealer guesses what their customers will want and custom order that. Every Sandberg is essentialy a custom job.
If you talk to CME and anything I've written here is wrong then please let us know for future reference. Thanks.
Thanks. I reached out to Bass Central and CME and they both pretty much confirmed this exact process. I'm trying to temper my expectations for when I actually get one in my hands at CME in a few weeks, but then I will need to figure out of the extra cost and longer wait time is worth it to get exactly what I want. Who knows, I might dislike it and this whole post will be moot.
Bass Central perk, no tax if you're outside of Florida and free shipping
Great response, matches my experience ordering a VM4.
I wanted a few things I could not specidy on the configurator and the dealer took care of the communications with Sandberg, confirming with me the costs etc. Then I chose what I wanted to do exactly, got the final price, and the bass was ordered while I paid a deposit (can't recall how much). Nine months later I went to the dealer to collect my bass. I think it could have been delivered to my home too, but delivering to teh dealer meant I had a chance to check it in person, in front of them, so if something were off it would be simple to make a claim. Once I checked it and was happy with it (very happy!) I paid and took it home.
edit: 9 months wait... it was early 2019. It seems longer now, but worth the wait, in my opinion.
There really isn’t anything wrong with the wait… order it and forget about it. Then be pleasantly surprised when they tell you it is ready.
Or keep an eye out on the used market. Basses come up FS all the time. For the longest time, there weren’t any (insert mode here) on the used market. Then there were. So you can roll the dice that way too.
it really isn’t much different from buying a new car…. Just less $$$ and hopefully not too much longer of a lead time.
buy and sell some basses in between and you’ll pass the time while you wait!
Or keep an eye out on the used market. Basses come up FS all the time. For the longest time, there weren’t any (insert mode here) on the used market. Then there were. So you can roll the dice that way too.
it really isn’t much different from buying a new car…. Just less $$$ and hopefully not too much longer of a lead time.
buy and sell some basses in between and you’ll pass the time while you wait!
