Club Sandberg (part 2)

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I’ll also add and personally say these masterpiece Sandbergs feel higher quality than FCS. Which I’ve owned in the past.
There’s definite German precision and engineering felt with this bass.
Saddle is a little overly complex but nothing a simple YT video tutorial can’t explain.

I’d be curious if others have this with their Sandbergs but mine has that slightly midrangey, slightly compressed, very clean tone that I often hear from Warwicks and Dingwalls. I personally love this!

I’m getting along great with the coil tap switch. Having a passive option with tone control is another great perk.

For those here with TM’s - in what setting do you normally play your bridge pickup? Humbucker or single?

You pretty much echo my sentiments .
The build quality is top notch. My neck never moves or needs adjusting and they set up lower than any other bass I’ve ever owned.

The modern voicing has so much clarity yet it is rich and full. The low B is razor sharp yet thunderous. Definitely not your typical Fender voiced instrument .

Mine does not have coil tap . I wouldn’t use it if it did. I’m always both coils on bridge Humbucker , but I’m hardly ever blended 100% towards that pickup.
It sounds nice doing the Jaco thing, but that’s not my cup of tea. My pickup is closer towards the bridge so it isn’t in the MusicMan sweet spot. I have 6 different StingRays to handle that job.

 

[_Obra_]

You pretty much echo my sentiments .
The build quality is top notch. My neck never moves or needs adjusting and they set up lower than any other bass I’ve ever owned.

The modern voicing has so much clarity yet it is rich and full. The low B is razor sharp yet thunderous. Definitely not your typical Fender voiced instrument .

Mine does not have coil tap . I wouldn’t use it if it did. I’m always both coils on bridge Humbucker , but I’m hardly ever blended 100% towards that pickup.
It sounds nice doing the Jaco thing, but that’s not my cup of tea. My pickup is closer towards the bridge so it isn’t in the MusicMan sweet spot. I have 6 different StingRays to handle that job.

Can We have a pic of that 6?

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Can We have a pic of that 6?

 

[Mikaelbass]

WOW, what a beautiful range of basses Ladylove. We have similar taste. My two basses are my sandberg and a 2006 Limited Edition Stingray 5 in black with gold hardware and matching headstock.

Been loving my sandberg, playing mostly in passive mode lately. It might be a little blasphemous but I don't particularly enjoy the glock 2 band preamp on the bass. It isn't very musical to my ears, at least compared to the stingray.

The lows can only be boosted a small amount before I find it becomes boomy while the highs can only be touched before you start to feel the blade. I love the active passive ability, being in passive 90% of the time but then pushing the volume knob in and boom add a bit of treble and bass for certain sections of songs is awesome.

Has anyone else felt the same way? I have the sandberg power pickups with the big pole pieces. Have people here swapped out their preamps? I recently got an Aguilar AG700 and love its tonal character and EQ. Maybe an Aguilar OBP?

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

View attachment 5441686 WOW, what a beautiful range of basses Ladylove. We have similar taste. My two basses are my sandberg and a 2006 Limited Edition Stingray 5 in black with gold hardware and matching headstock.

Been loving my sandberg, playing mostly in passive mode lately. It might be a little blasphemous but I don't particularly enjoy the glock 2 band preamp on the bass. It isn't very musical to my ears, at least compared to the stingray.

The lows can only be boosted a small amount before I find it becomes boomy while the highs can only be touched before you start to feel the blade. I love the active passive ability, being in passive 90% of the time but then pushing the volume knob in and boom add a bit of treble and bass for certain sections of songs is awesome.

Has anyone else felt the same way? I have the sandberg power pickups with the big pole pieces. Have people here swapped out their preamps? I recently got an Aguilar AG700 and love its tonal character and EQ. Maybe an Aguilar OBP?

Aguilar preamp and pickups might be the way to go.
I have the same AG700 with Aguilar cab and love it. It kicked my GK and MarkBass out of the house. I think it pairs so well with all of my basses.
I’m not sure if your bass is ash or alder. Mine is alder so it’s less scooped in the mids. The Sandberg black label pickups are nice . There are times that I find the 2band Glock eq lacking. I have a somewhat love hate relationship with Sandberg. If my ears don’t want that brightness or clarity , it can’t be removed.
I can warm it up some with tube amp simulation . Flats were horrible on this bass. Mine wears a set of 3 yr old TI rounds that are a perfect match for me.
Changing out the tone pot might be an option.
But to answer your question ….. yes , I have considered the same preamp swap . If I do , I will switch out the pickups and tone pot as well.

Right now I’m hesitant to do so because , well I have other basses to play when I want something different . When I don’t compare my Sandberg to my StingRays, I can appreciate what it brings to the table .

 

[Mikaelbass]

Mine is alder with an all maple neck.

Never tried aguilar pickups, or preamp for that matter. Seen a bloke sell on on here a while ago with all EMG pickups and OBP preamp.

I love the way the bass plays more than any instrument I have ever had. And don't get me wrong the bass sounds great, I could leave it as is in reality and love it just the same. But I know there is more out there, and I know I will probably love it too! haha

Been on a string journey with this one. Hated fat beams, Daddario XL's 50-105 were a step in the right direction. Currently has NYXL's 50-105 and it is beautiful. When this set dies might just get another or try another brand for ***** n gigs.

 

[melloncollie]

Has anybody here tried a panther? How does it compare to a vm model? I think they’ve got the same pickups.

 

[Stingray5]

View attachment 5441686 WOW, what a beautiful range of basses Ladylove. We have similar taste. My two basses are my sandberg and a 2006 Limited Edition Stingray 5 in black with gold hardware and matching headstock.

Been loving my sandberg, playing mostly in passive mode lately. It might be a little blasphemous but I don't particularly enjoy the glock 2 band preamp on the bass. It isn't very musical to my ears, at least compared to the stingray.

The lows can only be boosted a small amount before I find it becomes boomy while the highs can only be touched before you start to feel the blade. I love the active passive ability, being in passive 90% of the time but then pushing the volume knob in and boom add a bit of treble and bass for certain sections of songs is awesome.

Has anyone else felt the same way? I have the sandberg power pickups with the big pole pieces. Have people here swapped out their preamps? I recently got an Aguilar AG700 and love its tonal character and EQ. Maybe an Aguilar OBP?

I know this is a Sandberg thread but WOWZA that Stingray is HOT!

 

[Guitarodeo]

Painfully pretty

my California with Kloppmann pickups and a Sadowsky preamp

How are you liking the Kloppmann/Sadowsky combination compared to the Glock pre? Was the Sadowsky installation easy, and is it a clean fit?

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Aguilar preamp and pickups might be the way to go.
I have the same AG700 with Aguilar cab and love it. It kicked my GK and MarkBass out of the house. I think it pairs so well with all of my basses.
I’m not sure if your bass is ash or alder. Mine is alder so it’s less scooped in the mids. The Sandberg black label pickups are nice . There are times that I find the 2band Glock eq lacking. I have a somewhat love hate relationship with Sandberg. If my ears don’t want that brightness or clarity , it can’t be removed.
I can warm it up some with tube amp simulation . Flats were horrible on this bass. Mine wears a set of 3 yr old TI rounds that are a perfect match for me.
Changing out the tone pot might be an option.
But to answer your question ….. yes , I have considered the same preamp swap . If I do , I will switch out the pickups and tone pot as well.

Right now I’m hesitant to do so because , well I have other basses to play when I want something different . When I don’t compare my Sandberg to my StingRays, I can appreciate what it brings to the table .

My experience is similar, only I have a love-hate relationship with the Stingray (5) in that top end is brittle that can't be dialled out. Maybe the Specials have changed that voicing a bit.

I have always gravitated to clarity over big bass, so that is one of the reasons my Sandberg VM5 is working so well for me. I almost always have it tilting slightly towards the neck, because I have always been more of a P-Bass guy than anything else.

View attachment 5441686 WOW, what a beautiful range of basses Ladylove. We have similar taste. My two basses are my sandberg and a 2006 Limited Edition Stingray 5 in black with gold hardware and matching headstock.

Been loving my sandberg, playing mostly in passive mode lately. It might be a little blasphemous but I don't particularly enjoy the glock 2 band preamp on the bass. It isn't very musical to my ears, at least compared to the stingray.

The lows can only be boosted a small amount before I find it becomes boomy while the highs can only be touched before you start to feel the blade. I love the active passive ability, being in passive 90% of the time but then pushing the volume knob in and boom add a bit of treble and bass for certain sections of songs is awesome.

Has anyone else felt the same way? I have the sandberg power pickups with the big pole pieces. Have people here swapped out their preamps? I recently got an Aguilar AG700 and love its tonal character and EQ. Maybe an Aguilar OBP?

I only boost the bass slightly on mine. I always leave the treble flat. I have an Aguilar OBP-1 in another bass and I do the same, but you have to tread lightly as it can get boomy really quick. I would say the Glock is cleaner.

My VT5 on order will be passive!

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

My experience is similar, only I have a love-hate relationship with the Stingray (5) in that top end is brittle that can't be dialled out. Maybe the Specials have changed that voicing a bit.

I have always gravitated to clarity over big bass, so that is one of the reasons my Sandberg VM5 is working so well for me. I almost always have it tilting slightly towards the neck, because I have always been more of a P-Bass guy than anything else.



I only boost the bass slightly on mine. I always leave the treble flat. I have an Aguilar OBP-1 in another bass and I do the same, but you have to tread lightly as it can get boomy really quick. I would say the Glock is cleaner.

My VT5 on order is will be passive!

Yes. The Specials have taken care of this issue. That’s the reason I play them . But this is also the reason I play the short scales and the Old Smoothie. None of them have that aggressive Pre Special metallic ping.
Some people love that. It doesn’t work for me.

 

[RogerTheAlien]

How are you liking the Kloppmann/Sadowsky combination compared to the Glock pre? Was the Sadowsky installation easy, and is it a clean fit?

It was easy but required some drilling for the battery, hada luthier do it. The Sadowsky is a bit cleaner so when I play loudly I get a bit more note distinction as I struggle at times to know where the shag my tuning is.

Kloppmans shine with the preamp off ( pull push switch) they are the best pickups I have ever heard on a bass, almost deranging when you consider them just JB pickups, I don't know what this guy does, it's probably all in my head but it's the first time in my life where I feel a pickup makes the difference. The old pups were very good but muffled a bit when I pushed up the treble, now it almost sounds like a double bass

 

[Benko]

Nicole Row ripping on a sandberg with incubus! Massive sound (I miss my Sandberg, one day a VT maybe)

 

[MattyMcMattface]

Mine is alder with an all maple neck.

Been on a string journey with this one. Hated fat beams, Daddario XL's 50-105 were a step in the right direction. Currently has NYXL's 50-105 and it is beautiful. When this set dies might just get another or try another brand for ***** n gigs.

I’ve been on a similar roundwound journey with a few basses and for a while, the NYXL’s were tops for me, too. Recently, my luthier/tech asked if we could switch it up and hipped me to the Labella RX nickels. I’ve always loved their flats but had never tried their rounds. They’re my new favs, by far. They’re lower tension under the hands, so you can still run heavier gauges without the workout.
I just picked up a TM5 yesterday and can’t wait to put a set on

 

[vindibona1]

I’ve been on a similar roundwound journey with a few basses and for a while, the NYXL’s were tops for me, too. Recently, my luthier/tech asked if we could switch it up and hipped me to the Labella RX nickels. I’ve always loved their flats but had never tried their rounds. They’re my new favs, by far. They’re lower tension under the hands, so you can still run heavier gauges without the workout.
I just picked up a TM5 yesterday and can’t wait to put a set on

I'll be waiting for your full review on the LaBellas. But what are on you TM5? Sandberg SS?

 

[MattyMcMattface]

I'll be waiting for your full review on the LaBellas. But what are on you TM5? Sandberg SS?

The previous owner put a set of EXL 50-135 nickels. They're ok, but I'm looking forward to hearing it with the Labella RX's

 

[Mikaelbass]

I’ve been on a similar roundwound journey with a few basses and for a while, the NYXL’s were tops for me, too. Recently, my luthier/tech asked if we could switch it up and hipped me to the Labella RX nickels. I’ve always loved their flats but had never tried their rounds. They’re my new favs, by far. They’re lower tension under the hands, so you can still run heavier gauges without the workout.
I just picked up a TM5 yesterday and can’t wait to put a set on

Funny you mention that.

I slapped some Fender 9050L flatwounds on it, and they are a great string. But now that I have crossed to the dark side of flatwounds, I wonder how a set of Labella 760FL's would go on a sandberg....

 

[Mikaelbass]

Also, I did a thing to it.

Along with putting flatwounds on it, I changed the over all look and I am in love with it.

The bass is becoming more and more old school, I think the pickups and preamp need to be attended to. The passive tone control seems to roll treble and bass off and leaves a honky midrange. Might look into a Sadowsky or another active system with a good passive section. Maybe an old school style P bass pickup like the Arcane, or even a Fender precision pickup.

Heresy has entered the chat.

 

[Nuage420]

Nicole Row ripping on a sandberg with incubus! Massive sound (I miss my Sandberg, one day a VT maybe)

Listened to their new release last week, so happy to see these guys getting active again. Always loved them!

 

[FeltTipPen]

@LadyLoveStingRay5 and @Mikaelbass, I can see that the Sandberg body is more compact compared to the StingRay. Do either of you feel a difference between the two?