pineweasel

I think I've improved. I play almost every day, having switched to a 5-string and enrolled in an SBL course. Have also done some demos and videos with my bandmates, and learnt a few songs I'd always wanted to play but never had the time to study before.

I wouldn't buy one but I think they look quite good. Something's going on though, Fender are doing lime green and orange basses, EBMM have crazy new colours...

I've found this with a few long scale length sets I've tried, e.g Dunlop, TI. I think they are made a bit longer to accommodate through body fitment.

Like it says, it’s a Hohner copy.

It’s Tim Lefevbre on Hanging On, isn’t it?

That’s odd, I’ve just been able to do a Cali VM5. I know the configurator has just has a refresh but it’s all working for me.

I like their website. Straightforward, easy to navigate, with good photography of the instruments and decent info including weight. Some of the other pages are a bit skimpy with information cut and pasted from manufacturers, sometimes out of date, but that’s not really a problem if it’s an item you have researched. I’ve bought accessories from them with good service and rapid delivery. On the one occasion when something went wrong it was rectified as speedily as possible.

Covid 19 is placing restrictions on EBMM's factory staff levels, and those of their suppliers too, hence the current lower output.

There's another well known company mass producing guitars and basses in southern California, using the same materials and techniques, and subject to the same Covid related issues, and their prices haven't skyrocketed.

I've had no problems stringing Chromes, Dunlops and TIs through body. Not tried Cobalts though.

Piano

Here’s mine with the strings at 18.5mm centre to centre. I’ve not tried it, but it looks as if you could probably get away with 19mm, although the strings would be pretty close to the edge of the board.

This is also the reason there's no natural finish offered, and why almost all the new colours are opaque.

Either will work, so it depends on convenience and which you prefer the sound of. Using your amp DI will give you the characteristic tone of the amp and let you use its controls for EQ, distortion, etc, assuming the DI output is post preamp.

Worth noting this is not true of the latest Double Four, it’s AC only

The original Olympic White was a bright white, but it yellowed with age. So you'll see all sorts of whites advertised as Olympic, depending on whether they are going for an aged look. Here's the Olympic White CIJ Fender I used to own.

Digging around a bit, it appears that the import duty for guitars has actually gone down from the EU rate of 3.2% to the new UK rate of 2%. So Brexit is no excuse at all. See example 2 here https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/personal-tax/brace-for-brexit-3-import-duty-and-commodity-codes

The Strandbergs look good but they’re expensive https://strandbergguitars.com/eu/the-boden-bass/

At least you have the option. I want to buy a lefty Stingray Special but they're only available from the US at vast expense.

As a fellow lefty, if I was after a Sterling I'd grab it. It will be hard to find another one anywhere, and you're only looking at a slight increase in cost and some delay in delivery compared to pre Brexit. It sounds like Thomann's post sales service is still good if there are problems.

I do like this freewheeling jazz version of Hey Jude:

I has assumed you could order spare parts from any Sandberg dealer. Is that not the case?

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with my iPad Pro. It’s bus powered but doesn’t seem to drain the iPad battery too much.

It’s an original Dimension from around 2003 or so. They reused the name.

That looks very like a WD Music bridge I fitted to a Fender about 15 years ago, except mine was chrome. Probably this one, mysteriously not listed on wdmusic.co.uk though https://www.wdmusic.com/standard-4-string-bass-bridge-details.html