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Club Sandberg (part 2)

#1,421
anton72 said:
Hello, guys. I have an eye on Forty Eight 5 string, but never had a chance to try them. Does anyone own or tried a 5 string Forty Eight and if so what can you say about ergonomics and overall feel? I've never had experience with the T-bird design basses but heard they all suffer from neck dive. I absolutely love the tone of this bass from the demos but my concern is if it is good for playing finger style not the pick? And how does it balance on strap? I appreciate your input :) thanks.
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I've played one of these. You don't have to worry about neck dive. They're constructed with lightweight tuners and the bass balances very well.

In terms of playability and tonality, it's actually the same as a VM-5. Same string spacing, same neck shape, same sound. Unless you request something different, the pickups that come in the Forty Eight are actually the same as what comes in the VM-5. It's a reverse-P in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge. They just put chrome covers on them. So... All that to say that, yes, the Forty Eight sounds awesome played fingerstyle.
 
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#1,422
Bthebassplayer said:
Maybe totally uncalled for but Sandberg has an extra “click” to save the battery. That way your battery life is saved. They did that so you don’t have to take the plug all the way out when you put it away in between sets for example. It happened to me a few times even when I knew that Sandberg basses have this feature.
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Can you elaborate? Mine doesn't seem to have this.
 
#1,424
AF6E8A95-3BB5-49A2-9193-6A9293853A03.jpeg


The California Enigma!
 
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#1,427
BigBeatNut said:
View attachment 2952712

I'm guessing 'split-coil' might be code for 'P-like' and 'hum bucker' might be code for 'MM-like'. Actually ... I suppose it would work the other way around too ... can someone enlighten me ?
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I think splitcoil P pickup in the neck position and MM pickup for the bridge but covered with metal plates just like the forty eight model.
 
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#1,428
I was thinking about ordering a VM-5 with an alder body and pau ferro fingerboard (which doesn't have the same CITES issue as rosewood) but wasn't sure how long a custom order would take. The custom configuration came in at 1,748 euro which is is much higher than a similar Thomann in-stock model with a rosewood board listed at only 1,301 euro. The price difference is quite a bit larger than expected and makes it more sensible just to order from the available stock (unless Thomann can offer a good price on pre-orders). Listening to videos of VM5 vs TM5, the neck pickup on the TM5 had quite a bit of P-bass character to it but didn't sound quite as hollow - I thought it sounded quite good. I was also wondering if the p/u split switch was just a two way single coil/dual-coil parallel or if it also had a series alignment? A 3-way switch can provide series/parallel/single-coil.
 
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#1,430
5StringPocket said:
I was thinking about ordering a VM-5 with an alder body and pau ferro fingerboard (which doesn't have the same CITES issue as rosewood) but wasn't sure how long a custom order would take. The custom configuration came in at 1,748 euro which is is much higher than a similar Thomann in-stock model with a rosewood board listed at only 1,301 euro. The price difference is quite a bit larger than expected and makes it more sensible just to order from the available stock (unless Thomann can offer a good price on pre-orders). Listening to videos of VM5 vs TM5, the neck pickup on the TM5 had quite a bit of P-bass character to it but didn't sound quite as hollow - I thought it sounded quite good. I was also wondering if the p/u split switch was just a two way single coil/dual-coil parallel or if it also had a series alignment? A 3-way switch can provide series/parallel/single-coil.
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A custom order's going to take you about 8-10 months. Mine took 11, but that's because there was no rush on it and they were hooking me up a bit with a deal on it (so it's understandable that it wasn't at the top of their priority list). But 8-10 months is the regular ETA for a custom Sandberg. It's absolutely worth the wait, IMO.

If you want to PM me, I can help you get accurate pricing for any builds you might need help with.
 
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#1,432
IMG_1463.jpg

Here's a shot of my new to me VM-4. Digging it so far. Unfortunately, I have only been able to play it with headphones on. It came with some coated strings (which isn't my thing) so I need to get some proper strings installed. Excellent condition for a used instrument. It only has a couple of very small dings on the back. Otherwise like new. Super light weight at 8 lbs. White is usually not my color, but I've been GASing for one of these for awhile now so I pulled the trigger. I think I can get used to color. Black hardware and pickguard may be an option down the line.

Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen any on here with only the 3 dots at the 12th fret. Not sure if that is a custom touch or not? They are slightly raised, but I believe what I am feeling is protective film. I decided not to scratch at it in case they are just stick-on vinyl. Any ideas?
 
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#1,433
jakka1 said:
View attachment 2968459
Here's a shot of my new to me VM-4. Digging it so far. Unfortunately, I have only been able to play it with headphones on. It came with some coated strings (which isn't my thing) so I need to get some proper strings installed. Excellent condition for a used instrument. It only has a couple of very small dings on the back. Otherwise like new. Super light weight at 8 lbs. White is usually not my color, but I've been GASing for one of these for awhile now so I pulled the trigger. I think I can get used to color. Black hardware and pickguard may be an option down the line.

Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen any on here with only the 3 dots at the 12th fret. Not sure if that is a custom touch or not? They are slightly raised, but I believe what I am feeling is protective film. I decided not to scratch at it in case they are just stick-on vinyl. Any ideas?
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Congrats on the new bass! Looks awesome.
Those are just standard Sandberg dot inlays. They come with no dots, the dots like you have, or blocks like I ended up getting on mine. They definitely aren't decals. But they also aren't any sort of customized job or anything like that, though I haven't seen many that only have it on the 12th fret. That's actually kind of cool.
 
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#1,434
GroovinOnFunk said:
Congrats on the new bass! Looks awesome.
Those are just standard Sandberg dot inlays. They come with no dots, the dots like you have, or blocks like I ended up getting on mind. They definitely aren't decals. But they also aren't any sort of customized job or anything like that, though I haven't seen many that only have it on the 12th fret. That's actually kind of cool.
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Thanks!!! Yeah I have not seen any pics of any with just the dots on the 12th fret. I thought it was pretty cool and unique.
 
#1,436
DJ '65 said:
Nice bass! I love white guitars and basses myself. I’m suggesting they are stickers as every other Sandberg I’ve seen has the regular single dots on the 3rd, 5th, 7th fret etc. It matters not, they are great basses, welcome to the club.
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You are correct! They are stickers:thumbsdown: I got excited for a bit when I scratched the protective film off of them thinking they were legit inlays. Then I scratched a bit harder and they came off. Oh well...
 
#1,438
My VS4 has 3 dots just like that, never tried to peel them!
Sadly it has left my stable, but worry not I still have a MarloweDK and a custom white TT.
I just found myself liking a jazz bass more, and the Hauessel pick up on my TT is so meaty, it’s about as near a P as you can get from a jazz.
Oh and I had to have a 1 in and 1 out when a 12 string bass came up!
 
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