NBD: A surprising tone in a VERY playable bass.

[Ewo]

Enjoy! Yeah, I've gotten onto the Sandberg Cali TM-5 and VM-5 basses lately. Very impressive, and an excellent value for the money. I especially like the neck profile, and the way they balance on a strap. The ash body with rosewood board absolutely does it for me, tone-wise.

 

[tb-player]

The ash body with rosewood board absolutely does it for me, tone-wise.

Absolutely! This thing is really great. I may end up going for a 4-string instead, just bc of personal preference. But either way, Sandberg makes a great bass.

 

[pbass2]

So, that aggressively angled neck pu - how does that work out? It's intriguing, for sure. I would kinda think you'd want it going the other way, but what do I know?

 

[tb-player]

So, that aggressively angled neck pu - how does that work out? It's intriguing, for sure. I would kinda think you'd want it going the other way, but what do I know?

Not sure I understand your question. The neck pickup looks/acts like a normal jazz neck pickup.

 

[pbass2]

Not sure I understand your question. The neck pickup looks/acts like a normal jazz neck pickup.

Sorry, I meant on the other ones, like Kasbrey's.

 

[tb-player]

Sorry, I meant on the other ones, like Kasbrey's.

Gotcha. I'd actually be curious about that too. They're very cool looking.

 

[jkazam]

So this happened yesterday. After months of GASsing over this gorgeous Sandberg California TM5, and after the CITES law was softened, with regard to rosewood necks on instruments, I was finally able to get this gem shipped from Morten Ehlers at Bass Buddha in Denmark.

After a string change and a quick setup (great factory plek'd neck & action), I plugged this in and was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of tones. The coil-tap humbucker allows me to dial in a classic jazz tone as well as a thicker jazz-type tone. Because of the positioning of the humbucker, I can't quite get that Stringray sound, but it's still reminiscent of that, in the full bridge position.

Big plus: Passive mode has no volume drop. That's huge!!

In addition to a very tasteful relic job (I'm not a big relic guy, but this one's well done), this bass also went through Sandberg's heat/vibration treatment, which makes it play like a well-aged instrument, right out of the box. I assumed that was just a sales pitch, but I was shocked at how nice it felt, in-hand (or maybe I'm just a confirmation-biased sucker for the power of suggestion and well-placed marketing hype... lol).

Either way, this is definitely the nicest bass I've ever played at this price point. If you've ever been curious about Sandberg, count this as a vote in favor. Really nice bass.
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Looks awesome. I have a VM5 on order. Going to be a long wait.

 

[kasbrey]

So, that aggressively angled neck pu - how does that work out? It's intriguing, for sure. I would kinda think you'd want it going the other way, but what do I know?

I think that it's to replicate the offset of a P bass pickup. It works really well.

The pickups are Alnico2 rather than 5 and the bass is passive with a 3 position varitone like switch. The end result is like a PJ type bass with the front pickup being P like but both pickups at maximum sounding like a really good Jazz bass.
The switch has normal, mid cut and Motown/Jaco (depending on which pickup is selected) positions.

They're a very versatile passive bass.

 

[micguy]

I may have finally reached a point where I'm not craving another now though.

Yeah, right. Let us know when you're ready to remove the "may" from that statement. ;-)

I'/m gonna guess you'll have to stop coming to this place if you wanna truly heal yourself from that affliction.

 

[pbass2]

I think that it's to replicate the offset of a P bass pickup. It works really well.

The pickups are Alnico2 rather than 5 and the bass is passive with a 3 position varitone like switch. The end result is like a PJ type bass with the front pickup being P like but both pickups at maximum sounding like a really good Jazz bass.
The switch has normal, mid cut and Motown/Jaco (depending on which pickup is selected) positions.

They're a very versatile passive bass.

Wow, sounds like a very cool passive configuration!

 

[Hort Elvison]

I love my Sandberg. I have lots of really nice basses and it's either my #1 or #2, depending on the night and the band. It's crazy how good this bass plays and sounds for what I paid for it. I am jonesing for a California 4 now.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So this happened yesterday. After months of GASsing over this gorgeous Sandberg California TM5, and after the CITES law was softened, with regard to rosewood necks on instruments, I was finally able to get this gem shipped from Morten Ehlers at Bass Buddha in Denmark.

After a string change and a quick setup (great factory plek'd neck & action), I plugged this in and was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of tones. The coil-tap humbucker allows me to dial in a classic jazz tone as well as a thicker jazz-type tone. Because of the positioning of the humbucker, I can't quite get that Stringray sound, but it's still reminiscent of that, in the full bridge position.

Big plus: Passive mode has no volume drop. That's huge!!

In addition to a very tasteful relic job (I'm not a big relic guy, but this one's well done), this bass also went through Sandberg's heat/vibration treatment, which makes it play like a well-aged instrument, right out of the box. I assumed that was just a sales pitch, but I was shocked at how nice it felt, in-hand (or maybe I'm just a confirmation-biased sucker for the power of suggestion and well-placed marketing hype... lol).

Either way, this is definitely the nicest bass I've ever played at this price point. If you've ever been curious about Sandberg, count this as a vote in favor. Really nice bass.
View attachment 3739080 View attachment 3739081 View attachment 3739082 View attachment 3739083

Very nice piece

 

[MAJOR METAL]

Congrats man, enjoy!