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Sandberg California Series facelift

#26
Jughead6 said:
I actually own the Sandberg in the BEFORE picture, and it's amazing. I don't think the new look design works as well as a relic.

I would certainly buy one of the new design, just not a relic.
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I respect your opinion, and I'm not hating on relics, but your logic indicates that nothing "works as a relic" unless it's exactly fender-shaped or is a legitimately worn out legitimate vintage fender. Does a vintage non-fender not work as a vintage bass? Then why does a new bass "work as a relic" only if it's shaped like an old bass originally built by another brand? How does a relic (new bass that looks vintage) work at all then, considering it's not a genuine vintage Fender? I'm confused at how a new non-Fender that looks like a Fender can work as a relic and a new non-Fender that doesn't look like a Fender can't work as a relic. Sounds to me like what you mean is that the redesigned Sandberg can't work as a Fender, which is good a thing in my opinion.
 
#27
scourgeofgod said:
I respect your opinion, and I'm not hating on relics, but your logic indicates that nothing "works as a relic" unless it's exactly fender-shaped or is a legitimately worn out legitimate vintage fender. Does a vintage non-fender not work as a vintage bass? Then why does a new bass "work as a relic" only if it's shaped like an old bass originally built by another brand? How does a relic (new bass that looks vintage) work at all then, considering it's not a genuine vintage Fender? I'm confused at how a new non-Fender that looks like a Fender can work as a relic and a new non-Fender that doesn't look like a Fender can't work as a relic. Sounds to me like what you mean is that the redesigned Sandberg can't work as a Fender, which is good a thing in my opinion.
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That is possibly reading a bit too much into my post, but you are mostly correct. I think Sandberg have been building better value Fender-style basses than MIA Fender or even Fender Custom Shop. Now that they established their name by building superb Fender-style basses, they can now afford to try something a little different.

But I have owned many Fenders over the years, and that is certainly a factor in my preference for the old body shape.
 
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#28
Jughead6 said:
That is possibly reading a bit too much into my post, but you are mostly correct. I think Sandberg have been building better value Fender-style basses than MIA Fender or even Fender Custom Shop. Now that they established their name by building superb Fender-style basses, they can now afford to try something a little different.

But I have owned many Fenders over the years, and that is certainly a factor in my preference for the old body shape.
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Yeah didn't mean to jump on you there, I got into it.
 
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#31
I Need a six... said:
I agree, that said all the p and j bass copies are old, I'll just go custom shop fender if I wanna spend $3000 on a p or a j bass
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I guess it depends on where you live, but where I am in Australia a Fender Custom Shop bass will cost 25-50% more than a Sandberg with more-or-less the same technical specifications. In fact, the prices of most American-built instruments are overly inflated here, so the lesser-known European-built instruments and even local luthier-built instruments are very cost competitive. Basically, the big American companies charge a premium because of their name. No doubt it is a different ball game in the USA so YMMV.

I understand what 4StringsEnough is saying, and I admit I am probably a bit stuck in the past. That's an unfortunate side-effect of getting older ;)
 
#32
Jughead6 said:
I guess it depends on where you live, but where I am in Australia a Fender Custom Shop bass will cost 25-50% more than a Sandberg with more-or-less the same technical specifications. In fact, the prices of most American-built instruments are overly inflated here, so the lesser-known European-built instruments and even local luthier-built instruments are very cost competitive. Basically, the big American companies charge a premium because of their name. No doubt it is a different ball game in the USA so YMMV.

I understand what 4StringsEnough is saying, and I admit I am probably a bit stuck in the past. That's an unfortunate side-effect of getting older ;)
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Definitely true even here in the USA. You have to pay for the higher quality bass AND the name on the headstock, it's why I'm reluctant to pick up another fender. I can totally understand why, you would go with another brand if fender tags an extra 25% to the already inflated price of a custom shop bass. I'm not a fender or nothing guy, so I'm not sure if I'll ever buy another, I'm nothing but happy with mine, but I've played a lot of basses that are a lot less expensive, that play sound and feel just as good as fender custom shops
 
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#33
Just stumbled on this... This is very interesting because I've been thinking of getting a Sandberg to be my jazz-style bass.

Has anyone got their hands on the new design? Can anyone comment on ergonomics?

Specifically, I'm interested in how they balance on the knee. (For reference, I don't like the way a Fender Jazz does this. Much too neck heavy for my taste)
 
#34
I really like the face lift they did to their line-up.

Sandberg is already well known for several good features they have, this only adds up to make them stand out more.
I like how they keep a Fenderish style while doing their own thing and improving things like balance, ergonomics, zero fret, string retainers. You can keep the look and vibe, but copying design flaws is not smart ;)
 

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