dmccombe7

Now that's pretty detailed and for me interesting to know your thinking behind your choices. Cheers Dave

deleted post - duplicate from me

To be honest i personally am very happy with mine but when buying it i didn't realise there were other pick up selections like Delano, Black Label and Hauser types and i'm curious to hear others experiences of them whether that be positive or negative. I might look at buying another one next year and it would be good to get both sides of the debate. Maybe a different pick up config or simply just another colour but who knows what life will bring along. I'm quite happy to hear other people's opinions on them and why they moved them on. I'm curious to know why someone would get rid of a bass that probably has the best neck i've ever played. Why would you get rid of that if its the pick ups that you don't particularly like then you would change them just the same as many Fender owners do. I guess i'm just curious. Dave

It was pointed out by the OP that the Appreciation thread was only for appreciative comments so thought best to start this one where everyone can comment positive and negative opinions and viewpoints Dave

As ointed out this thread is an appreciation thread so i started another on what people think of Sandberg basses so we can keep this lovely nice Sanberg pics like mine

I've recently bought a Sandberg VM4 shown below. I've tried them several times over past few years and always liked them but thought they were a bit too expensive at the time. While looking for a good P bass i was pointed towards the VS4 as an option but came across my white VM4 while searching and i just liked the look of it and having the Humbucker was an added bonus. I love it. I get a nice mid punch with depth and its better than i expected from a tone perspective. The neck is simply unbelievable and the action is so low. That may have been down to Chris at Vintage and Cool Guitars but all Sandbergs i've trie had an amazing neck. I love everything about the bass. I honestly can't fault it. HOWEVER :- I know there are people out there that have differing opinions to Sandberg owners and this is the place to hear what everyone has to say without causing offence. Just opinions and viewpoints on the pros and cons of the Sandberg basses. No need for arguments just nice healthy viewpoints or at most debate/ So here's mine :-

Think that comment might have been aimed at us going of thread talking about other things. I personally value all comments on Sandbergs no matter what the thread title states. I guess we should have opened up a new thread for honest opinions on Sandbergs and keep this one for nice lovely Sandberg pics. Apologies if we have drifted off thread a bit. Dave

When i'm researching something i want to buy i always ask the people what style of music they play because their style, technique or EQ might not work for me. Pop and slap sound doesn't really work in a blues or reggae style band. Dave

100% agree You need both sides of a debate to allow you to make a balanced judgement on what might suit you more and you guys might all have different opinions but that's why we're on BC in the first place. It doesn't need to get nasty like FB. A polite healthy debate is all most of us want to see (or read). Lets be honest if we all agreed with everything it would be one heck of a boring forum cause i'd be right all the time without exception and you all know that aint the truth Now what's wrong wie Peavey amps 😜 Dave

I recently started looking at pick-ups for a bass and was really surprised just how many are actually out there even within the same company. I gave up because of that. It was as daunting as trying to find a new bass only difference is you can't try them out in a shop. Its a lot of money to spend only to find out its not what you had in mind. Oddly enough i've seen quite a few 2nd hand Ibanez Barts for sale since this discussion started. Dave

I value the expert knowledge across the BC group. You can be sure you'll get a balanced and more important an honest opinion from people on here. I know a lot of that is down to personal taste but if you find others with similar tastes or views then it helps you make that big decision if changing things around. Is that not what BC is all about. Helping each other along the road of bass. ? Dave

Its just good to have different points of view on a bass. Yep we are all different and like different things and that's how it should be or we might all sound like the same bass player. Think a healthy and helpful discussion is what i enjoy most on BC and having only recently purchased my Sandberg its probably that little bit more interesting for me. I had tried various Sandbergs over the past couple of years but were more than i was willing to pay for a project bass at that time. Gonna be a while before i get round to changing things on my basses but when i do i'll mention it on BC to get opinions or i might ask for advice before i do anything. I'm also considering changing the pickups on my Overwater J4 (its not the Tanglewood version. Chris put it together specially for me not long after buying my custom fretless 6er so it has no numbers on it) I just find the pick-ups a bit weak on the low end lack of depth. Still not sure tho as i like basses to stay as they were when i bought them Mmmmm dilemma.

I'm finding the pick up debate quite interesting. I have never changed pick ups on a bass in 45 yrs and tend to stick with whatever is on the bass as that's why i bought it. I can't say i've tried the exact same bass with "different" pick ups so i personally have no comparison to make. I'm happy with the original Sandbergs on my bass and can't see me changing them but i would like to try the same bass with other pick-ups just to see what the difference is. What this is has done for me is to consider changing the pick ups on my Fender Precision deluxe which i'm just not overly happy with. It has Fenders own P with the Nordstand J but it just doesn't have a good balance of volume or tone acrss the 4 strings. I'll work on which pick up is causing the problem but think it might be the Fender P. Cheers chaps Dave

Must admit to liking the mid punch from my VM4 i'm guessing its the original Sanberg large pole style. For me it sounds like a MM with a bit more smooth low because of the P style pick up. I'm still over the moon with mine. The mid punch tone was a pleasant surprise as its a tone i've been searching for, for quite some years. I tend to have my amp reasonably flat EQ with VM4 EQ on half treble cut and slight bass boost with pick up selector set mid point for both pick ups. Superb tone. If i bring the treble back to centre it gives a more clicky type tone great for those old Glenn Hughes deep purple tones. I'm def a convert as i can get a lot of great sounds from this one bass and all the strings have a nice even tone and volume. Compare that to the Fender P/J with Norstand J it just feels inferior altho cheaper to be fair. The fender has imbalance on levels across the strings. Maybe a good professional set up might benefit the bass. Dave

Added to my wishlist as well as i can't really enjoy a book on the laptop for some reason. Will add to the next order from Amazon during next few days. Dave

Really like that and it matches the film clips really well. The harmonic touch at the eye close ups was nice. Cheers for posting. Dave

That robably makes a lot more sense. Not sure if the neck woods are different but i'm no expert in Epi basses and only kept it for a couple of years before selling on. Dave

That would be good to see if you still have it. Dave

Maybe the additional metal plate and bolts just tip it over compared to the NT. ? Certainly a weird one. Dave

This was the version i used from Ultimate Guitar but i honestly can't remember how accurate it was (or is) I use bass tabs as a guide and work out any bits i need by ear.. Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting Bass by Elton Johntabs @ Ultimate Guitar Archive.html

Great song. We cover that in our Glam covers band. From memory i thought the bass tab was ok for it but its been a few years since i learned it. I usually play along with the song first to get a feel for it and then work out the fine detail and correct anything missing or wrong on the bass tab. Love that little bass run in the chorus too. Dave

On an old Epi i had i just moved the neck strap button down onto the neck heel edge and the rear end button i raised a few inches higher than centre point and it seemed to help a lot. The dive on the Epi was quite noticeable. It was the bolted neck version if that makes a difference. Dave

From what i was told (somewhere) that black label pick-upps had twin poles per string rather than the single pole style like delano. Black labels look more like the pick ups on my Geddy Jazz bass. Not sure where i heard that from but a quick google search also showed any black labels like this. Dave

Good choice.

Good advice to rotate the set list rather than let it go stagnant. 👍