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Club Sandberg (part 2)

#6,321
llmontyll said:
I wonder what is driving the Sandberg lack of availability and super long wait times for a business that at least appears to be larger than a boutique brand. Pandemic hangover (or learnings) in terms of suppliers, employees, equipment investment, cash flow, tariffs, dealers...

They look to be amazing instruments and I love the customization possible, but seems like they might be leaving money on the table - and it seems like their lead times are rapidly elongating from 6 months to a year, to 2 years over the past little while.
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Wait times were already long pre-pandemic.

I bought my Sandberg in 2006, if memory serves the delay was about 3 months, including a few weeks to send my special-order neck to a contractor in England and get it back. I kind of planned to get another in eary 2018, at that time wait times were in the 18-24 months range.
 
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#6,324
nono said:
Wait times were already long pre-pandemic.

I bought my Sandberg in 2006, if memory serves the delay was about 3 months, including a few weeks to send my special-order neck to a contractor in England and get it back. I kind of planned to get another in eary 2018, at that time wait times were in the 18-24 months range.
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Interesting, there was a 6 month wait for mine in 2020, so maybe they'd expanded the team a bit by then.
 
#6,327
Just picked this up Monday. Just over 6 lbs of smooth playing, stout sounding low end goodness!

IMG_4106.jpeg
 
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#6,330
kissjt said:
I've been lurking around here as the former owner of a Basic VM5. Lately I've been thinking about getting another Sandberg and I've narrowed it down to the Grand Dark 5 and the Nighthawk TM5. I can try the Nighthawk but I'd have to order the Grand Dark sight unseen from an online retailer.
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By the time I made up my mind both had been sold. There's one more TM5 Nighthawk but it's 250 kilometers from me or I could order a standard TM5 from an online shop. If I drive to try the NH, it makes no sense not to buy it, so both are sight unseen.

I'm still curious if any of you has experienced noticeable sum with a split Delano humbucker.
 
#6,332
Z-Bass said:
I notice some minor hum when I split the humbucker to single coil but that is in comparison to when it's in full humbucker mode. I only notice it when I'm practicing by myself in a quiet room setting. I do not notice it in a live band situation.
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Thank you, Z-Bass, that sounds comforting. Now the only thing about the regular TM is the looks, I like the colour but not sure if I dig the aged finish.
 
#6,334
Z-Bass said:
I'm not a fan of aged finishes, not so much the implementation of it because Sandberg does an exemplary job with their aged finishing. I respect the talent and art that goes into it. I just can't bring myself to purchase a new bass like that. But that's me and I totally understand why someone would go for that look.
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Fully agree. The competitive price makes it a bit harder though, and there's the factor of not having to weep about the first ding (I like to keep my instruments in mint condition if that's how I buy them).
 
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#6,335
Z-Bass said:
I'm not a fan of aged finishes, not so much the implementation of it because Sandberg does an exemplary job with their aged finishing. I respect the talent and art that goes into it. I just can't bring myself to purchase a new bass like that. But that's me and I totally understand why someone would go for that look.
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kissjt said:
Fully agree. The competitive price makes it a bit harder though, and there's the factor of not having to weep about the first ding (I like to keep my instruments in mint condition if that's how I buy them).
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I used to be the same, but I have to say it's somewhat liberating not having to worry about that first ding or other little bumps and scratches. As long as it's not on the back of the neck and too over the top, I don't really mind. I don't think of it as fake wear (which it is) or trying to pull something over on the audience, I think of it as a finish in the same way as a top wood or colour choice.
 
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#6,336
Smallmouth_Bass said:
I used to be the same, but I have to say it's somewhat liberating not having to worry about that first ding or other little bumps and scratches. As long as it's not on the back of the neck and too over the top, I don't really mind. I don't think of it as fake wear (which it is) or trying to pull something over on the audience, I think of it as a finish in the same way as a top wood or colour choice.
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I do like the fact that Sandberg offers different degrees of aging. I could get behind a soft core aged finish.
 
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#6,340
Although I 'get it', aged/roadworn isn't for me. Spending on a quality new instrument means I want it to look good/clean. I dust my basses and run a hoover around my pedal board, amp & cabs! Just like everything clean & shiny. Not v rock n roll haha.

I remember the early punk days in 70s of putting stickers over my bass and generally chucking it about. That's history!

But it's great Sandberg offer such a diverse choice for all tastes.
 
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