Ian McFly

I know this thread. What was your point?

"miles better than a Maruszczyk"? Well, which Maruszczyk? If you've only played one, you can't really compare it against "every" Sandberg you played. Unfair comparison. Again, as you said, YMMV indeed. I'll do what you did and compare one against five, but my Maruszczyk Elwood custom is better than all the Sandbergs I've had in the past. Well, maybe the last one I had and regrettably sold was great, but again, still a bit "rougher" than the Maruszczyk. Price-wise, it cost me £1400 and that includes the pricey Aguilar pickups. A similar Sandberg would be a bit more expensive. Mine too 3,5 months, when the current TAT for Sandberg is 9 months. And you can get the classic Fender style shape from Maru, not from Sandberg. At the end of the day, we're almost comparing apples and oranges here. They're both tasty, quality fruits, just a different taste.

I was talking about their configurator, not their basses or Website. Although I do have one Maruszczyk myself and I’m very satisfied with it, nothing bad to report. Screws are fine and straight I’ve had 5 Sandberg basses in the past, and they were great basses, just a bit more “rough” around the edges than my Maruszczyk , really well finished of course, just less refined....

Maruszczyk's is second to none.

Sandberg’s website is an absolute disaster. Not all models are there, the layout is horrible, and even the configurator only shows a limited amount of options, when Sandberg actually offers more.

OMG that gold hardware.... way to ruin a bass 😮

Ok, I’ll share the credits with you mate.... although, would you have posted that pic if I hadn’t mentioned matte metallic finishes? Anyways, I’m glad that Adrian went from “what’s the point, doesn’t look good”, to making it an official option available for everyone to choose. As I said, I might not even go for it (booooo) but at least I know it’s there, on the configurator.

I’ll take all the credit, I’m the one who brought it up here and on TB recently

How can one prove that a truss rod issue is a manufacturing issue? And not the consequence of some mis-usage? It is impossible, it’s usually your word against theirs....

The trend I’ve seen is that the faulty truss rods happened on necks without the carbon rods.... hence why I have them on mine and will get them on my next one too. Worse comes to worse, this is a problem that can be fixed. Maruszczyk can build a new neck (granted it’s bolt on), even at some cost for you (a pain in the hoop, I admit, but if you love the bass that much, you’d pay it if they can’t agree to a compromise.... I would). Or a local tech can replace it for you. What I mean is that a messed up truss doesn’t mean the bass is good for landfill.

One lemon out of a good bunch, unfortunate indeed. Touch wood, my Maru is top notch and hope it stays that way.

Can’t seem to find which post you’re talking about?

Do you reckon Adrian says it doesn't really work with the 0-fret to kind of talking me out of it then? I struggle to understand what the issue would be in having a flat headstock with a string retainer on the D and G (maybe even the A), a la Fender, and how the 0-fret would impact that.

@Gareth Hughes thanks. Got any photos? What strings are covered by the string tree?

I know that @wateroftyne has a Jake with regular headstock I asked him in private message a while ago and said he has no issues whatsoever with the zero fret. As you said it’s probably more of an effort for them and maybe not worth it. I have an angled headstock on my Elwood 5, and while I don’t mind it, I prefer a flat headstock... not something I need, more something I want. I can do without though if it proves to be an actual issue but so far, I don’t think it is.

Does anyone here have an Elwood or a Jake with a non-angled headstock and a string retainer/tree? If yes, how does it interact with the zero-fret? I asked Adrian if it’s possible to make a flat headstock with a string retainer, and said it doesn’t work well with the zero-fret... seems to work well on Sandbergs though. Thanks!

What a sh*t show.

Absolutely ridiculous! You could ship something from EU to Australia back and forth probably 5 times in that time period... Although I was reading that they had finally sorted the "backlog" at the border, but it's still pretty ridiculous...

How does it sound and play?

Same, that's why I use the Harley Benton analogy. It's all down to personal taste, and while I got to say that the craftsmanship of this bass is stunning, I'd never play anything like it. It would look so weird played live, in my musical style. I like a classic Fender look. Again, personal taste...

Craftmanship: 10/10 Personal taste: 0/10. Would rather play a Harley Benton than this.

A metallic finish in satin is sexy. Change my mind!

Yeah it seems to be his usual type of answer. My current Elwood has been easy to plan, no specific demand, but I know a guy who had some very straightforward opinion from Adrian regarding his project... yet he built it anyway

I sent him photos, and he replied that “it’s possible to do but is this good? There’s no shine to them”. So he understood the question but doesn’t understand the appeal for a satin/matte finished metallic colour. Too bad, coz I do. Sadowsky did the Satin series a few years ago, and a whole lot was metallic finishes. Looked stunning. Much better than opaque finishes in satin/matte. Question is: does he have to like it or understand it to build it?

1/ they offer satin on solid colours already 2/ they’re well known for going above and beyond with custom options. How much more difficult is satin finish on a metallic colour?