fretmeister

Would it keep up with a drum kit?

Nice looking thing! Congrats!

Wow, that colouring is horrible! 

8 minutes ago, nilorius said:

Would You preffer to ride the horse instead of ferrari ?

L&M writing skills are Ferrari.

Their singing skills aren’t even horse. Maybe the illegal horsemeat that ended up in a pie not fit for human consumption.

All Beatles songs when they are sung by Lennon and McCartney.

They have written some amazing songs but their voices are awful. I have loads of covers of their songs and I love them. Many different styles, but also some done identically but with good singers.

I wish they had been the Bernies to someone else’s Elton. 

On 28/03/2024 at 08:42, Clarky said:

Don't look back in anger

 

Everybody needs somebody (actually anything by the Blues Brothers)

Oh man.

I’d listen to any old shit that had Duck Dunn playing on it.

I reckon whoever does it knows Bill and wants to annoy him. 

AG-4P precision pickup. 1960 specs. 

49 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

I've said it before, but I'm not a huge fan of the large pole piece Delano style Sandberg pickups. They have enough output, but are a bit flat and lacking in character and warmth. I reckon if you put a set of Alnico V pickups in there, you'd find it a different beast. The Glockenklang preamps are very uncoloured, so it should complement the core tone of whatever pickups you use.

I've changed the pickups in every Sandberg I've kept. Aguilars if it's passive, EMGs for active.

I suppose they are just the sound in my head.

7 minutes ago, JellyKnees said:

Sweet Child of Mine. Horrible screeching over tedious clichéd bad American rock music.

Was it cliched when it was released? I recall it was lauded as a breath of fresh air among the hair metal and shedder bands.

24 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

Getting a J pickup rout done should be no problem for someone who knows what they're doing. Would definitely give you more versatility, especially with it being short scale it'll offer a bit more bite.

If I do it I'll probably take it to Feline. They do excellent work like that, and I know they have experience with paulownia.

I actually have a boxed set of EMG PJ-X pickups sitting around. They are my favourite pickups. I'll have to give it some serious thought.

1 hour ago, thisisswanbon said:

I thought about it, but I like the battered and full of character aesthetic, and think the hole adds to it... the old pick up would've added a nice contrast though being black...

 

It's a bit of an odd design choice as it creates the mightiest of mid scoops - and as mentioned by others, the P loses a lot of depth as opposed to the Fender counterparts.

 

The bass feels like home though and I when I pick it up the qualms with tone go out of my head as nothing plays quite like it. 

 

 

The mid scoop can be cured / reduced a lot with EMGs and their Active Balance Control. I have that set up in a few of my basses for that very reason.

But when I pick up  a different 2 pickup bass I have to recalibrate my thinking EQ again!

On 16/03/2024 at 09:45, Cuzzie said:

@Aidan63 It’s absolutely everyone’s right to spend where they wish to spend, but as said before Sandberg are definitively not in the big company arrogance bracket - they are very much a family company with a small workforce, this I can say with great assuredness with personal comms, many stories from others and also having been out and visited the factory and spent time with the team.

Build time is of course an issue, but, it’s due to the items being quality and a small team.

 

Unless it’s changed the configurator is there to do that, configure a bass and then the code generated can be given to a relevant ‘dealer’ to get what you need.

 

I can’t help thinking that Britains relationship with Europe may be a factor in how things proceed, but also Sandberg sits in that position of not being a big manufacturer like a Fender, but not being boutique/luthier/artisan type zone. if you go back to 2015 and the Sandberg subtle shape change on their basses it was driven largely by Fender saying to retailers, if you continue to sell Sandbergs we won’t send you our basses to sell. They are also not as aggressive as Hans at Warwick.

 

Anyways - hope you get what you need, Sandberg will always be there and be quality.

The thing that cannot be named definitely doesn't help - the online Sandberg parts store will not ship to the UK anymore because of it.

Have to go via the UK distributor or a UK shop at a higher price. I get why the online store won't do it - the hassle of customs forms and things for a part that might only be £8 makes it non-viable now.

On 15/03/2024 at 13:33, scrumpymike said:

Good for you mate - couldn't agree more and I wouldn't put up with it either!! Luckily for me, those nice (and responsive!) folks (or should that be Volks?) at Thomann had what I wanted in stock.

 

A couple of observations:

 

Following my initial skirmish with the user-unfriendly Sandberg website, I ended up contacting the lovely guy at Classic and Cool. At the end of our nice long chat, he confessed that it's hardly worth his while spending time on the Sandberg brand any more because prospective customers disappear when they find out there's an 18-month waiting time on orders (he was surprised when I told him that it's now 2 years!!). I'd say it won't be long before Sandberg's distribution network is reduced to one company, namely Thomann. There's obviously a special relationship there, presumably based on the fact that they're both in Germany and that Thomann have the funds to buy for stock. 

 

Comms with Maruszczyk are similarly dire!

 

The only reason they can get away with it is that their products are of consistently high quality and generally don't need after-sales support.

I got my Superlight Lionel via Classic & Cool.

I got it in 1 year last March. I suspect the model and what custom options a person wants has an impact. The aging process takes a quite a bit more work so they might even do them in batches. I knew in advance that the waiting list was going to be at least a year.

Bass Direct carry them too - as do GuitarGuitar but I don't know if GG accept the custom orders.

But yes - all orders and quotes for unusual stuff have to go via a dealer. The configurator cannot possibly have every option on it. I had a chat with Mark, exchanged a few emails about spec and paid a deposit. That locks the price in and the balance is paid when lands at Sandberg UK distribution.

I'm still playing mine every day. In hindsight a PJ set up might have been more versatile than just a P but I'm also nervous about getting it routed out for a J at the bridge.

16 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

It's an opinion, I wouldn't exactly describe it as remotely "edgy"

No. but it is an increasingly obsolete view.

He, and others like him, have musical careers. They are getting paid to play. That it is not to your taste is irrelevant. That they are getting paid by advertising revenue rather than getting 2% of physical media sales is also irrelevant.

He is not releasing music on 78 speed vinyl, he's releasing it on youtube and he has built an audience over years of hard work. 

And it is hard work. It's coming up with 4 or 5 new vids a week. Planning it, filming it, editing it. Dealing with copyright issues, etc etc. And that ignores the investment of the time needed to be able to play as well as he does. He's probably putting in more than 40 hours a week on it. That's a lot more than most musicians do, or even attempt to do.

Complaining about modern ideas is a weird thing. We are on this forum because we play an instrument that has only been around for about 70 years and was laughed at when it was invented. I suspect that when Bottesini asked for a 4 string double bass rather than the traditional 3 string one the response was "Why? What's the point?" as well. Things move on.

People like him do not affect the traditionalists ability to get pub gigs, or record what a traditionalist gatekeeper has decided is valid musical expression, or any of what has gone before. It's just something new to go into the pot.

And like or not - he's inspiring people to play. 99.9% of them will never reach his ability. But they are playing and increasing sales of kit and making manufacturers invest in more product ideas etc etc.

For some reason I had this view that bassists were somehow more rational than guitarists - many guitar forums are filled with people complaining that many new young guitarists say they were inspired to play by Ed Sheeran! Who GAF how they decided to pick up an instrument? The important bit is that they did!

As for the amazingly dim sounding "I bet he can't play in a band" type argument.... ye gods that's a poor argument to present. Loads of the flashiest players spend most of their day doing sessions for other people. Just holding down the bottom end, playing roots. Marcus Miller does it. Billy Sheehan does it. There is zero reason to think that someone who can play like CB cannot play what a song needs.

I used to play Classical Thump and Colorado Bulldog etc. And I had no problem joining a 25 member jazz big band and just playing what was written. I loved it just as much. 

Buy a seat for it on the plane.

I love my Helix. It's amazing. It is now part of my home recording set up so I'm thinking about a Stomp for when I'm out of the house.

1 hour ago, steviedee said:

 

I saw these and they looked great but will it be ok to run into an old style barefaced midget? I mean £70! 

I used mine with a SuperTwin and now use it with a pair of One10 cabs.

It will work with any 4ohm to 16ohm set up.

I assume the Midget has combo jacks so you can you a regular speaker cable and not a Speakon at the cab end?

Hotone Thunder Bass.

5W only, but an amazing lounge amp. Sounds just like a good SVT.

Under £100!

18 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Yes, but I waited until the band were leaving the rehearsal space before I did so.  Like I said, not my proudest moment!

With some of the bands I've been in, the others would have sold my gear in that time, and used the money for booze!

6 hours ago, Gasman said:

Thread title says it all, but of course Your Marmite May Vary...

"Unnecessary..."

iPads were deemed unnecessary. Laptops same.

Home computers - same.

Carbonated drinks - same.

Etc etc.

You never know what the next generation will think is a necessity.

On 22/03/2024 at 21:13, LiturghianPope said:

 

Sounds interesting, you're hinting at the fact that when you're designing a tone you shouldn't just "use your ears" but rather anticipate the way it's going to be integrated in the whole mix. Something I'm actively trying to figure out and be increasingly more aware of. I actually always found it inconvenient when I was encouraged to focus on what I hear, because that differs according to how much and what I've listened to lately, the room, the time of day, how tired I am and what I ate.

 

But I'm intrigued, do you have any exports of such recordings? Did you use his pickups or similar ones? I mean, as many others, when I use presets (doesn't matter the context - guitar, bass, helix, VST, whatever) they're not even close to sounding "normal" or "acceptable" let alone "good". I end up adjusting them to the point they're nowhere near the original.

When I get a mo I'll do a rough recording of random riffs with and without drums and bass so you can hear it.

I have no idea what pickups he uses. He owns a studio that is open to others and he has a massive selection of instruments for people to use. I have 3 guitars - a strat with Lollar vintage single coils, a LTD EC-256 (the cheapest les paul type they do) that has their own brand humbuckers in it, and an Ibanez RG7321 7 string loaded with EMG Mick Thompson active pickups.

I usually like EMGs but these ones are not really for me. I'll swap them at some point but used 7 string pickups don't come up often and they are expensive. So I will cope for the moment.

I usually prefer mid output pickups, especially for metal. I just like the way they react to my picking more. I want to add my own compression if I want it. I don't want the pickup to cause it by being so damn hot.

7 hours ago, Gasman said:

Just my own opinion, but isn’t Mr Berthould, genius technician as he may be, a self-promoting PITA and the antithesis of what bands actually need in a bass player?

Man who earns money on youtube is a PITA for promoting the way he plays the bills?

What a weird complaint.

Like it or not, YouTube playing is an entirely different sport to band playing. YouTube playing is a different product to band playing.

Loads of YT people are honest about it. Like drummer El Estepario did an interview and explained he spends far more time learning drumming tricks for social media than actually playing songs because that is his primary source of income. Just playing four to the floor wouldn’t earn money on YouTube.

I don’t know why anyone would think either of them couldn’t play simply for a band though.

On a shorty bass with full sized tuners you can use any strings you like. Long scale ones will be fine.

If the tuners have small posts then short scale strings are needed as the fat bit of the string won't go round the tiny post well - and flats will just snap while installing them.

I find it easier to get strings for my 2 shorties with full sized tuners than I do for my medium scales with small tuners.

Phil.

A legend getting old. Happens to us all.

Apart from Keith, obviously.