Club Sandberg (part 2)

[Smallmouth_Bass]

So I did the first string change on one of my Sandbergs and can confirm that the bridge is a pain-in-the-ass to adjust. While it is fully functional and looks nice, it's much harder than it needs to be.

 

[TomB]

Only brand I know off the top of my head, without being an incredibly expensive boutique bass, is Kiesel.
You can get their Vader model as a 5 or 6 string, 30”. I used to own one.
And they’re headless. Not sure if that’s a deal breaker for you.
You can custom order one with a very generous amount of options.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...W9ZaXw8Lpj7hBORrO3iaP0lyi9Atoz4oaAi6XEALw_wcB

 

[TheMartianBassist]

So I did the first string change on one of my Sandbergs and can confirm that the bridge is a pain-in-the-ass to adjust. While it is fully functional and looks nice, it's much harder than it needs to me.

I might be coming across as an annoying know it all in this group but I’m a huge fan of Sandberg lol

If you’re referring to the absolutely horrific intonation mechanism on Sandberg bridges - they finally took notice and corrected it.
I spoke about this with Gregor Fris of BTW.
He’s Sandberg’s sales rep for all of Germany.
He let me know that all Sandberg basses being built as of several months ago have an updated bridge with a normal intonation screw.
FINALLY.
Bridge should also be made available as a direct replacement part sometime in the near future.
I’ll def be updating my basses with it.
The intonation mechanism they’ve been using all this time is inexcusably bad.

 

[c5hokie]

Maruszczyk will do a 5 string short scalę. Similar price point as Sandberg. Jake, Cazpar, Elwood & Joker models for sure, maybe others - I just know those off the top of my head.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I might be coming across as an annoying know it all in this group but I’m a huge fan of Sandberg lol

If you’re referring to the absolutely horrific intonation mechanism on Sandberg bridges - they finally took notice and corrected it.
I spoke about this with Gregor Fris of BTW.
He’s Sandberg’s sales rep for all of Germany.
He let me know that all Sandberg basses being built as of several months ago have an updated bridge with a normal intonation screw.
FINALLY.
Bridge should also be made available as a direct replacement part sometime in the near future.
I’ll def be updating my basses with it.
The intonation mechanism they’ve been using all this time is inexcusably bad.

I took delivery of my new one in September of 2024, so I guess I missed out. I'll be interested to see the new ones.

 

[TheMartianBassist]

I took delivery of my new one in September of 2024, so I guess I missed out. I'll be interested to see the new ones.

I’m eagerly awaiting for it to be released as well.
Intonation is a nightmare with the current system. I usually like to do it with every string change.

 

[Chicago Al]

I might be coming across as an annoying know it all in this group but I’m a huge fan of Sandberg lol

If you’re referring to the absolutely horrific intonation mechanism on Sandberg bridges - they finally took notice and corrected it.
I spoke about this with Gregor Fris of BTW.
He’s Sandberg’s sales rep for all of Germany.
He let me know that all Sandberg basses being built as of several months ago have an updated bridge with a normal intonation screw.
FINALLY.
Bridge should also be made available as a direct replacement part sometime in the near future.
I’ll def be updating my basses with it.
The intonation mechanism they’ve been using all this time is inexcusably bad.

My bass came to Thomann in early December and I had it at the end of that month. It still has the multi-screw bridge. The two TT4 shorts at CME right now (on Reverb) look by SN to have been made at the very end of 2024 and by photos they too have the 'old' bridges. So I'm a little skeptical that all Sandberg basses built 'as of several months ago' have the new style bridges. Maybe it's just further out than that, or they were using up old stock before making the change. It sure seems like a good idea.
I haven't touched the bridge on my bass yet; it plays beautifully and I have learned to follow the left side of this famous flow chart:

.

 

[TheMartianBassist]

My bass came to Thomann in early December and I had it at the end of that month. It still has the multi-screw bridge. The two TT4 shorts at CME right now (on Reverb) look by SN to have been made at the very end of 2024 and by photos they too have the 'old' bridges. So I'm a little skeptical that all Sandberg basses built 'as of several months ago' have the new style bridges. Maybe it's just further out than that, or they were using up old stock before making the change. It sure seems like a good idea.
I haven't touched the bridge on my bass yet; it plays beautifully and the bridge looks way too finicky. Also, I have learned to follow the left side of this famous flow chart:
View attachment 7164595

.

Not my words, but Gregor’s himself. And who would know better than him?

He did also mention in a BTW video several months ago that within a week or two Sandberg would update their configurator to add a whole bunch of colors and a 5 string option to the BTW signature California.
And that still hasn’t happened.

Things just seem to take a while with the company.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Well better late than never, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth to have to pay to upgrade a poor design.

 

[Bass Viking]

I have been trying to sell my Sandberg Oliver Riedel bass for almost a year now. What's the deal with selling Sandbergs? I have it at a reasonable price too. Would anyone here be interested?

Get a supporting membership and you can post it in the classifieds. TBers tend to be more informed about different brands than the general bass playing public.

 

[Chicago Al]

Not my words, but Gregor’s himself. And who would know better than him?

He did also mention in a BTW video several months ago that within a week or two Sandberg would update their configurator to add a whole bunch of colors and a 5 string option to the BTW signature California.
And that still hasn’t happened.

Things just seem to take a while with the company.

I don't doubt that he said it, but it may have been a bit 'aspirational' as the marketers say.
I stopped by CME this afternoon to play one of the TT4 shorts they recently got in. Its SN is 46000, the last of 2024 according to the Sandberg site. And it has the same multi-screw saddles. Nice bass, but I like mine better. ;- )

 

[TheMartianBassist]

I don't doubt that he said it, but it may have been a bit 'aspirational' as the marketers say.
I stopped by CME this afternoon to play one of the TT4 shorts they recently got in. Its SN is 46000, the last of 2024 according to the Sandberg site. And it has the same multi-screw saddles. Nice bass, but I like mine better. ;- )

Reached out to Gregor again and he said the shop is prioritizing custom orders now with the new bridges. Plus they still have a bunch of the old style bridges that will still be used until gone. So this whole thing sounds like it’ll take a while until it’s phased out and we see it out in the wild.

I have two custom orders that fall within this “last several months” time frame so I’ll check in again in like a year and a half or whenever they are ready to update the group on what bridges they got

 

[Chicago Al]

Reached out to Gregor again and he said the shop is prioritizing custom orders now with the new bridges. Plus they still have a bunch of the old style bridges that will still be used until gone. So this whole thing sounds like it’ll take a while until it’s phased out and we see it out in the wild.

I have two custom orders that fall within this “last several months” time frame so I’ll check in again in like a year and a half or whenever they are ready to update the group on what bridges they got

lol I think they're upholding an industry tradition, so that vintage-gearheads in 30-40-50 years can puzzle over when the changeover happened, and the leading expert in Sandberg will say 'written accounts say the early cantankerous bridges were phased out in late 2024 but the factory continued using old stock until it was depleted and examples have surfaced with serial numbers dating well into 2025 and even 2026...'

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Reached out to Gregor again and he said the shop is prioritizing custom orders now with the new bridges. Plus they still have a bunch of the old style bridges that will still be used until gone. So this whole thing sounds like it’ll take a while until it’s phased out and we see it out in the wild.

I have two custom orders that fall within this “last several months” time frame so I’ll check in again in like a year and a half or whenever they are ready to update the group on what bridges they got

I wonder if the new intonation adjustment bridge will continue to have to room to be able to make adjustable string spacing adjustments. I prefer 18mm, so I do have move them.

 

[Z-Bass]

Does anyone know if the Glockenklang designed 2-band pre-amp that Sandberg uses in their California models uses the same frequency points as a regular 2-band Glockenklang pre-amp which specifies the treble at +/- 18 dB@18 KHz and the bass at +/- 14 dB@40 Hz?

 

[turbine]

Hey everyone, I have a Florence that had the electronics changed out to standard CTS pots and orange drop cap (the only original parts are the pickup and jack). I want it put back to the original configuration with the push/pull pot and original wiring. I contacted Sandberg but they don't have any of those parts to sell. Can someone tell me the exact parts that I need and come up with a wiring diagram? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Bass Viking]

A quick video of some pick playing:

 

[TheMartianBassist]

A quick video of some pick playing:

Always great seeing you play

 

[Bass Viking]

Always great seeing you play

Thank you! Your playing is stellar, wish I had your technique!

 

[Jim C]

Is it possible to get a Superlight with a P pickup at the neck position?
The cofigurator only show TTSL or TMSL.