Sandberg TM4 tone - options?

[crazyhorse1983]

Shaving the neck is way beyond my skill set here!

Will stick the Aguilar on the list, thanks for the recommendation

 

[Clemouze]

Shaving the neck is way beyond my skill set here!

Will stick the Aguilar on the list, thanks for the recommendation

Haha yes I recomend letting luthier do !

 

[LocalBowsey]

I have a TM4 and absolutely love it but it did take time to find my sound on it. I kept the delanos but added chromes over the stock roundwounds which were very bright. I find playing in passive with the pickups blended and the tone knocked off to be a lovely warm sound which I have made my own. YMMV of course but I would look to experiment with strings before swapping out the pups.

 

[crazyhorse1983]

I think the first step here as you point out LocalBowsey is to stick a set of flatwounds on and see how I go with those, it is certainly the cheaper option and even I can stick a set of strings on. (Most of the time)

Maybe down the line invest in a set of pickups from the excellent suggestions in this thread.

 

[JPK_DK]

is to stick a set of flatwounds on

You can, of course, do what your heart desires... but to stick a set of flats on a TM4 seems... wrong (to me at least) - a bit like putting heavy winter tires on a Ferrari...
But, in any case, yes, changing the strings should be your first approach - cheapest and least intrusive!

 

[crazyhorse1983]

Perhaps (to butcher the analogy) it's more like a Ferrari with a rev restricted engine? Don't get the full potential but get the experience?

 

[JPK_DK]

Perhaps (to butcher the analogy) it's more like a Ferrari with a rev restricted engine? Don't get the full potential but get the experience?

Haha, yeah perhaps! But it is really the wrong combo (bass/strings) in my view. But, it is exactly that - my opinion! People play certain strings on certain basses for all kinds of reasons and often it is personal preference for a certain tone or feel etc.
I personally wouldn't put flats on a TM4. I also would allow it to have its own (unique) sound and not try to make it sound like a P - that is the beauty of having different basses
If you like the feel of the neck and would like to have something similar on your P, then you probably need to exchange the neck at some point. I think you could also find P basses with a J type neck on the market (like the Fender Aerodyne, I think).

 

[crazyhorse1983]

Totally get your point there, I guess it's a never-ending journey to get that sweet spot of tone and playability and a finite amount of time and money

Think I will tinker for a little while and see where I end up. I love the body of the Sandberg and it would be a real shame to give up on that

 

[Speakz]

Hi CH,

I have the TM4 in European Ash with Maple board. I had a similar experience when I first bought it in that it was a world apart from my passive Jazz bass but I loved the weight and playability. After trying several different sets of strings I landed on Labella Low Tension flats (42-100?). They fit without any neck adjustments to the bass for me as mine was setup originally with 40-100's. They really add some vintage flavor and dial back the zingy highs from the steels. If you end up not liking flats I also found that the Fodera Nickels (40-100) were nice on this bass and landed in between the two extremes.

If you end up preferring the neck style of the Sandberg but miss your Fenders I can recommend the Warmoth Slim taper neck profile with Graphite rods, medium jumbo frets and satin finish. This comes very close to that neck comfort and feel. I have this neck on two of my Fender basses because I wanted a very playable fender.

I will share my amp settings as well for the TM4. I have a GK Legacy and I run everything straight up except the treble which I dial back to 9 o'clock. That seems to be the right spot for me to make slight adjustments with the onboard preamp. I generally run my balance knob slightly into the MM side for the growl and grit I get.

With all that said the Sandberg does not have a big low end like the Fenders and feel as deep. It's super clear and modern sounding with complex mids due to the Glock and Delano's so it takes some time to get to know it and find what works. It is the bands favorite of my bass's FWW. It cuts through a mix easily and showed me my flaws in blazing detail haha...

Hope some of that is helpful.
Cheers!

 

[crazyhorse1983]

Ah man amazing. Thanks for taking the time to write the post.

Lots of great options to explore, and also quite reassuring that someone else has kind of had a similar experience to me.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Hello everyone!

Long time lurker but first time poster so please bear with me.

So, first things first. I have been a Fender P kinda guy for a while, and love that warm woody vintage tone.
The problem I have is that I often find it very cumbersome to play resulting in quite painful wrists and decided I needed something that fit me a little better (I have an American Performer P Bass)

Enter the Sandberg TM4.

I heard a fair deal about how comfortable these are to play and for me that became top priority (even looking at my P made my wrists twitch)

So I bought one, and was mega impressed how it felt in the hands, and how comfortable it was to play. But then I plugged it in and unfortunately was pretty underwhelmed by how how it sounded.

I realise that these basses have very different functions, and that an active J/MM type bass will be a lot brighter/clearer but for me the TM4 is just far far too bright and has none of the wood or warmth of the P. I have heard J type basses that have a bit more thump so I assumed it would be possible to have something similar in the TM4

If I could combine the playability of the Sandberg with the tone of the Fender I am pretty sure I would have the perfect bass but alas..this isn't possible.

But I am pretty keen on holding onto the TM4 because it really does feel lightyears ahead of the Fender in terms of comfort for me.

I have tried soloing the jazz pickup in passive/active and it just doesnt cut it for me

So, I am reaching out. What are my options! I know I won't be able to replicate the P, but I would like to be able to get something that would be a ballpark tone that won't break the bank

I really know very little about pickups and preamps etc so if I were to go down the route of changing these I would need to get someone to install these for me and it would be great if I could approach one with a little bit of knowledge..but currently I really do not know where to start to get that warmer/vintage tone with the J/MM config

Oh and here are the basses in question!

Thank you

And that's why s lot of us have more than one bass

But the neck swap idea for the P bass is a good one to make more playable for you.

 

[crazyhorse1983]

I had the very same conversation with my gf about needing a couple of basses, and now I can finally offer her some proof

 

[luciens]

If it's any consolation, this is something players have been looking for ever since the P bass was put on the market: something that sounds like a P bass, but isn't a P bass. The entire ensuing 60+ years created the clone market in response

So that's just by way of reassurance that this isn't the first time a player looked for an alternative to the P bass.

Others may have offered this option already, but the humble Fender Jazz Bass itself is a sleeper option for players who want a Jazz Bass style neck (obviously ) but still want to retain the P bass sound. The amazing little secret of the JB is the neck PU soloed with the bridge PU turned all the way down gets you 97% of the way there to a Precision bass tone. It's not a perfect cop, but it's close enough that even other bass players will have trouble telling that it's not actually a Fender P. The audience will never know, unless they can see you and the bass. And there's the other benefits like the JB has a slightly more ergonomic body and so on.

So this is by way of saying don't dismiss the Fender (and other) Jazz Basses off the bat - plug one in and give it a good long audition on the front PU only. You'll automatically love the neck and the very close tone to the P bass may be enough to fit your wants/needs.

But others have given great suggestions for other alternatives. But if you want a simple solution with a well known bass at a well known cost, just a simple JB might be the ticket for what you want to do.

L

 

[crazyhorse1983]

Honestly I was so close to picking up a J bass..

 

[DJ Bebop]

I had the very same conversation with my gf about needing a couple of basses, and now I can finally offer her some proof

And that's the thing, you may get a bass to sound kind of like a P bass but nothing will sound exactly like a P bass

 

[Huw Phillips]

Glad to hear you like sandberg, I am thinking about buying one and have heard many good thinks
What I would do is get a p bass pickup in a j bass shell, there are various manufacturers I use a Curtis Novak p pickup that’s awesome and I know he does it in a j shell, do you like the MM pickup if not you have a vast array of options for example you can get two j pickups in a MM shell
Good luck

Edit I was just on sandbergs site and was wondering if they would be able to put a p pickup in for you, it’s possible that the p bass pickguard would cover the j hole in your bass worth asking, as it makes sense to me that all basses get the same route for either a j or a p pickup and that you can swap them out clever ppl Germans usually

 

[crazyhorse1983]

For me the Sandberg really is a quality instrument, so I have no problems in fit, finish or playability.

Interesting take on the Curtis Novak, I didn't know that such a thing existed honestly

 

[Huw Phillips]

For me the Sandberg really is a quality instrument, so I have no problems in fit, finish or playability.

Interesting take on the Curtis Novak, I didn't know that such a thing existed honestly[/

For me the Sandberg really is a quality instrument, so I have no problems in fit, finish or playability.

Interesting take on the Curtis Novak, I didn't know that such a thing existed honestly

JB-HC there it s

 

[crazyhorse1983]

Damn, that could be the ticket. Will keep an eye out and see if they come into stock any time soon

 

[Sam Crank]

And here’s a different take - try a neck swap on your P. I’ve found the MIM player series P to have the slimmest, easiest to play profile and should be a direct swap for your bass.