fretmeister

On Friday I took delivery of a shiny new Sandberg California II SL Super Light from the good people of Bass Direct. When the box arrived I thought it was empty. Then I was even more convinced the gig bag was empty when I got it out of the box! Its astonishingly light. I weighed it myself at 6.58lb Plugged it into my Helix and studio monitors and had a minor issue with noise... turned out my wireless bug unit was clashing a bit with the preamp. No probs, just out a cable in between the bug and the bass. Sounds very punchy and clear. Piano tone on steroids. As usual I binned the horrible stock Sandberg strings and found a pack of D’addario Nickels I had lying about. It was comfy enough to want to want to rehearse with it on Saturday. But of a head twister as I’ve been giggling 5 strings for a decade. At rehearsal I used a Darkglass M900 and barefaced One10. Its a big band with about 20 horns and woodwind, piano, drums, bass etc. My amp settings needed a bit of a rethink as I usually play a 5 string PJ with flats. Used an Octave on a couple of sections as I didn’t have that B string anymore. But when sorted it was thick, clear, and with a touch of grit from the B3K circuit in the amp. Sounded massive. Did big band arrangements of Superstition, Uptown Funk, 7 Nation Army, Havana, Don’t Worry about a thing, In the mood, and Zoot Suit Riot. Its a superb bass and I’m really happy with it. I’m now thinking I need another one for flats! Easter concert is in 2 weeks and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyway, here is it!

Rehearsal went like a dream. Needed to re-eq my amp a lot from my usual bass (mostly P pickup) but once I got it dialed in... lovely! Used an Octave pedal to deal with not having a B string and all was good. Very punchy indeed. Did 1 slap tune this morning - Uptown Funk. Had the B3K circuit on my M900 on a little bit for a touch of grit and it sounded massive. Also did Superstition; Havana; In the mood; Zoot Suit Riot; Don't stop me now; and probably something else I can't remember right now. It really sits in the mix well. I've got 1 more rehearsal before the easter concert so I'm thinking of gigging it.

I found some old daddario nickels lying about so I’ve put them on. They feel like 35-95 (for my Les Claypool attempts) and I quite like the lightness on this bass. Big band rehearsal tomorrow morning! Can’t wait.

I’m wondering about rounds or flats now. Mmm...

Here's an insane comparison. My Mono Vertigo gigbag is 6.2 lb empty. This bass is 6.58 lb. The bass is almost as light as the bag!

I have raised the pickups a bit - I'm used to an Aguilar P in my main bass so the Js are a bit quiet in comparison. Just raised them to balance it a bit when swapping basses. Tomorrow will be the first time in about 8 years that I've used a 4 string. There will be wrong notes!

It has arrived. After a small heart attack of strange noises that I quickly realised was being caused by my wireless but being too close to the preamp I got it plugged in. But first the weight.... 6.58 lb!!!! Astonishingly light. It felt so odd I wondered if it was too light for me, but that feeling passed quick. So far I've had a 20 minute blast at lunchtime through my Helix and studio monitors. Even through the monitors and not my usual BF One10s it is really punchy. Very Marcus Miller. Neck is super smooth, fretwork is very nice. Strings... meh! But I either use D'addario or TI Flats and nothing else. I forgot to order any at the same time as the bass but thanks to Amazon Prime some D'addarios will arrive this evening. I have a rehearsal tomorrow morning so I think I'll jump in the deep end and use it straight away and see what happens. I'll report more after rehearsal

Out for delivery between 12:19 and 14:19 Going to be a long couple of hours!

I've even got the day off work - was actually to sit around while a plumber sorts out my heating, but the stars have aligned!

I finally raised the money! Ordered - should be with me tomorrow. Woohoo!

No basses on the SVL website?

Smooth Hound. U.K. built. I had a L6 G70 and it has horrible drop out issues. Lots on line about it.

Sandberg VS4 The necks are king of halfway between P and J and very comfy.

You said it. Not me.

RIP.

I tried this once - the bass itself was fine but my brain couldn't cope for some reason. I'm quite happy on EADG and on BEADG but for some reason a 4 string with a low B... Even more weird - I'm happy in drop D as well! Maybe I need to do more practice!

My old one.

Loads. But I’m playing big band stuff and the keys get changed all the time.

@SpondonBassed That is actually a replica of Victor Wooten's regular bass that was aged over the years the old fashioned way. So yes, it is a reproduction of genuine wear. Here's the vid:

I really like it!