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SANDBERG OR CLOVER???

taiwright

taiwright

Mar 31, 2008
123
0
#1
ive played a few sandbergs. i enjoyed them. they look great, love that little inlay above the neck pocket. ;) im partial to the california style btw.

ive been hearing a lot about these clovers recently and they look very tempting, especially for what im going to be doing in the near future.

if i decide to pull the trigger, it will most likely be sight unseen/unplayed. nobody around here carries either brand:mad:

so what do you guys think? how is the build quality on each? which is better? which one has a better setup, fret dress, etc? who has higher quality finishes?

this thread might also help other interested in these brands but who are unsure like I
:bassist:
 
#3
Hi,
I know both companies and owners pretty well. I would say both brands are GREAT. However there are some differences. I really love the design of Sandberg California lines, but I don't like the weight of them. It's pretty subjective though, and they have a reason for that, they use very dense wood and it sounds really great!
The sound of the Clover is great as well and they have a special electronics in their JM modells (Apeiron H.5), you can switch the bridge PU between single coil and doubl coil. That way you have a complete jazz and a complete MM in your hand, with more modern sound than a real Fender or MM IMO.
Both companies using Delano PUs and electronics which is just fantastic!
Other difference is that Sandberg is making about 1000 instruments per year, while Clover is making only 80-100 per year. This means nothing, because as far as I can see both companies represent perfect quality. Clover has a very nice axe called Avenger, which has 3 PUs, and has a very agressive, crispy tone,a fantastic instrument for fusion and modern music. Both of them have a fantastic sense of building fretless instruments, if you like fretlesses, you should check them!
So the point is that you can't make any mistake choosing any of them.
 
#6
dezspet said:
The sound of the Clover is great as well and they have a special electronics in their JM modells (Apeiron H.5), you can switch the bridge PU between single coil and doubl coil. That way you have a complete jazz and a complete MM in your hand, with more modern sound than a real Fender or MM IMO.
Click to expand...

The Sandberg JM5 has the same switch. Mine has anyway...
 
#7
dezspet said:
The sound of the Clover is great as well and they have a special electronics in their JM modells (Apeiron H.5), you can switch the bridge PU between single coil and doubl coil. That way you have a complete jazz and a complete MM in your hand, with more modern sound than a real Fender or MM IMO.
Both companies using Delano PUs and electronics which is just fantastic!
Click to expand...

AFAIK, Sandberg uses Glockenlang preamp. But the Delano pre on my Clover is great & one of the most noiseless pre I've ever heard.

I love my Clover anyway...:hyper:...I choose Clover over Sandberg as I prefer lighter bass. On general, the California & Apeiron are almost the same except that California has more complex & very unique switching system.
 
#8
Clovers are actually made in Germany which is part of why their prices are a hair higher and because they build them their numbers are a little lower compared to the Sanderg. Both produce very high quality instruments though. I have had both in the shop. Both do use the same pickups as mentioned and to confirm the Sandbergs use the Glock pre, a similar setup to the Human OC basses.

You can't go wrong with either, both very nice instruments.

Brian
 
#12
Anyone played these new Argo's?
argo5_tb01.jpg
 
#14
To help the OP to decide, I've managed to find some old clips of my Clover Apeiron 4.

First clip is J+MM active (blend on the middle, bass & treble are flat), the second clip is J+J passive (blend on the middle, vintage tone control is maxxed). Recorded using Yamaha Magicstomp amp sim (factory preset) to cheap Sound Blaster card. I don't remember how old the strings are.

As always, apology for the lack of skill...:crying::hiding:

BTW, the background noise is coming from my PC, when it's off the bass is silent.

clip 1


clip2
 

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