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Sandberg Basic 5 custom order

F

freak4pc

Jul 29, 2008
13
0
38
Israel
#1
Hey guys, first of all let me introduce myself .
My name is Shai and i'm 21 years old from Israel.

I'm mainly a guitarist but i play bass for 1 band and its my pure joy to jam on it at home.
I have an Ibanez BTB455QM 5-stringer which was fretlessed and i like it a lot, but its time for a upgrade for me. (as i want something a bit punchier and not-fretless)

I checked a local shop called Rash Gash which import Sandberg basses, a german handmade company which i'm sure some of you have heard of ...
I played a panther 4 stringer and a basic 4 stringer and a ken taylor 5 birdseye maple fretborad and fell inlove with their basses, clear tone, punchy, full of sustain, active/passive circuit etc etc...
it seems my retailer doesn't have the specific bass i want (no 5 stringers left) , so they said they can order some custom request from Sandberg.

I'm usually playing metal on Drop A (AEADG) so clarity + heavy punch is really important. but i do play the occasional jazz+rock n' roll here and there ;)

Bottom line:
I've thought of a Basic 5 with a Birdseye Maple fingerboard in a blueburst finish.
Do you think there is anything else i should think of adding my new-born bass before i send in the order?
And - what is the different between the Basic 5 and the Ken Taylor 5 ? only the extra pickup ?
And- in general, what do you think of this kind of bass?

Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post
Cheers,
Shai :bassist::hyper:
 
#2
Good to see someone go for Sandberg.

The Ken Taylor sounds different than the basic, due to it has a ash body with mahagony top. It also dosn't vary so much as you can choose another top, or the same top for the Basic. It also has one more pick up and diferent electronics, so more variety of tone!

If you are going to use it for such low tunings you might want to check out if Ash is a good wood for that, could be that the lows get muddy. My Sandberg has a alder body and I have no problem tuning down to A, well I dont do it anymore but before it was fine...

Also note that all Sandbergs even 5 strings have a 34" scale, which is fine for the low B, but if you want to tune down to A maybe it would be better to ask if you can get a 35" scale neck.

In the store have you played Sandberg equiped with Delano pickups, or the Sandberg ones? They vary in tone and you might prefer one over the other, so better check that to.

Well I cant think of anything alse to say, but feel free to ask.
I have played nearly all sandbergs, and I don't know about you but I prefer the Panther over the Basic or Ken Taylor.
Did you like best the Basic?

Good luck!
 
#4
nrssab said:
Good to see someone go for Sandberg.

The Ken Taylor sounds different than the basic, due to it has a ash body with mahagony top. It also dosn't vary so much as you can choose another top, or the same top for the Basic. It also has one more pick up and diferent electronics, so more variety of tone!
Click to expand...
So , you think the ken taylor would be better for my needs? i'm not sure i need so many options nor i don't think ill need 2 humbucks .
nrssab said:
If you are going to use it for such low tunings you might want to check out if Ash is a good wood for that, could be that the lows get muddy. My Sandberg has a alder body and I have no problem tuning down to A, well I dont do it anymore but before it was fine...
Click to expand...

Wow... i have no idea about woodtypes when it comes to bass which is a bit of a problem... you really think ash could get muddy on a drop-tuning? it sounds weird to me .. i wonder.


nrssab said:
Also note that all Sandbergs even 5 strings have a 34" scale, which is fine for the low B, but if you want to tune down to A maybe it would be better to ask if you can get a 35" scale neck.
Click to expand...
I'll check it out with them, i hope its possible. won't it feel weird though ? or , lets say i'll want to play standard BEADG, won't it cause any issues? Wouldn't it be enough to just use some heavier gauge?

nrssab said:
In the store have you played Sandberg equiped with Delano pickups, or the Sandberg ones? They vary in tone and you might prefer one over the other, so better check that to.

Well I cant think of anything alse to say, but feel free to ask.
I have played nearly all sandbergs, and I don't know about you but I prefer the Panther over the Basic or Ken Taylor.
Did you like best the Basic?

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I played a panther with sandberg pickups and it sounded really nice to me. i didn't get a chance to really explore the Basic and the only store that has it is 3 hours drive away from where i live... if anyone could direct me to which of them is more suitable for rock n' roll / metal crunch (i could play some meshuggah or other groove metal and then switch to led zepplin, deep purple etc and then try to play some bluesy stuff, although the rock side has much more importance)

Also a few problems with the panther :
1. Has only 2 finishes available
2. 22 Frets with no other option

As far as i remember , when i heard the ken taylor (creme with birdseye maple fretboard) , it blew me away and sounded amazing. thats why i'm aiming for the basic series.

If it comes down to Basic vs. Ken Taylor , which do you think is better (if i could use this word :P) , or more likely - which will be more suitable?
The basic is alot more possible for me, but if it won't suit my needs for many years i'd rater save extra 350$ and get the ken taylor if i won't have a choice.
 
#5
hm-hmmm

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I remember seeing one with a wenge top. Man that was gorgeous.

It's hard to say without prior experience, but I've looked at the Sandbergs Ken Taylor really hard, but then I went custom (had some extra cash).

Harder wood is better for low tuning. I loved how aggressive my Thumb BO 5 was in the lows, no so much for my Corvette $$.

Oh yeah, fyi, I'm also looking at a cheap aggressive 5 string, and the Traben Chaos Core 5 really caught my eye (35'' scale, dual humbucker, OBP3, heavy bridge, ...). It could be what you are looking for, and they are making their way into the UK now.
 
#6
Sandbergs have a very versatile sound, so I don't think you would have any problems with switching from Meshuggah to Deep Purple. Of course I don't exacly know what sound you like, so I would always recomend a bass with more tone options like the Ken Taylor. But if you have played the Basic and really liked the sound and found out that it gets the sounds you like then it should be enough.

As for the scale length I would really recommend that you ask for 35" if you are tuning down to low A. Even with a 135. gauge B string on 34" tuning down to low A, the string gets quite floppy. Your Ibanez has a 35" scale, how is the string when you tune to A on that one?

Yes like SurrenderMonkey said above, harder woods give you more clarity in low notes. Just I'm not so familiar with Ash. Perhaps its good enough, if you can search the internet there are some sites that give the carateristics of different woods. Like this one here:
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Have you also had the oportunity to check out the Bullet? That one has a very nice sound to. Well I don't want to get you off the Basic if you really like it, but I would recomend you (as I'm compleatly in love with that bass) the Terrabass. I own the 4 string version, but as custom order I suppose you can get a 5. It's really great and I absoluetly love it, I don't know if you like it to.

Also perhaps try different brands out, Sandberg basses have a very warm sound IMO. Maybe its not exacly what you are looking for. Warwick uses very good woods which give them a good low end and very much growl. Very agressive tone, also suitable for Rock. Well but Sandberg is more exclusive. If you have any further questions please post, also if you wish any soundclips of the Terrabass I would make some.

Good luck!
 
#7
I'd love some clips of the Terabass.

I'm afraid because i don't really have many options to check these basses before i order so its pretty blind.
I checked out the site about the woods but it didn't give me much available information.

About the scale- agreed, 35" will fit me just fine. my ibanez is 35" ? its still sloppy when i go drop ... too sloppy, maybe i use the wrong string thickness (don't remember which set exactly)

I generally love the "Sandberg" vibe. this is the sound i'm looking for. i'm just not sure which model exactly . i only know i want a 5 stringer that can go AEADG and still be punchy with a birdseye maple fretboard.

As i said, i'm not so familiar with wood types as well, anyone here might have some experience with different types of wood ?

I don't mind THAT much if it will be basic/panther/tera as long as it will be in the same budget more or less ...

I'd love some samples from whoever have some of they're basses...

Thanks again,
Shai
 
#9
I'm quite shure that one can get a custom 5 string Terra... But well.
If you are going to order from the store I would ask them for theire opinion (if they know anything about basses). Tell them that you are looking forward to tune the bass in low A, and ask which wood would be good for you're bass.
Or better go try out the Ken Taylor again, and drop the tuning to A. See how it sounds, if its good enough then compare the electronics with the 4 string basic they have and see what you prefer. Then make you're order. Just remeber that if you want the low A to have some punch I would go for a 35".
 
#10
I've got a really decent deal for a wenge-top mahogany body sandberg via e-mail which is a basic ken taylor special 5 stringer

it has 2 downfalls :
1. its not maple fretboard
2. its 34"

Do you think i should back off the deal ? (in your opinion )
 
#11
freak4pc said:
I've got a really decent deal for a wenge-top mahogany body sandberg via e-mail which is a basic ken taylor special 5 stringer

it has 2 downfalls :
1. its not maple fretboard
2. its 34"

Do you think i should back off the deal ? (in your opinion )
Click to expand...

Thats a very nice bass! Mahogany and wenge, I think I played a similar one some years agoo and still remeber the great sound of it.
You should first go to the store and play that Ken taylor 5 again with drop A tuning, to see how it is. If it's more or less ok then go for the wenge one, the string just shouldn't be too floppy but if its more or less acceptable then fine. You can also always later buy a 140. gauge string then it should be fine.

Besides one can also later get the bass a good setup for the low A tuning.
Good luck!
 
#14
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This is the fretboard you want, right?
If you want that fretboard you should get a blueburst basic 5 without pickgard, it would look best on that bass IMO...

Ohhh too bad you allready have a fretless, look at that one!
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#15
Wow the fretless is awesome.
Anyways you'd be happy to know that i'm probably going on a Ken Taylor Special mahogany body with wenge top and matching headstock, rosewood fretboard in the end ;)

I found a great deal who ships to my country and it looks stunning, amazing. i will let you all in when it really happens ;)

Cheers and thanks so much for your help
Shai
 

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