TRBboy

Yeah it's difficult, I know my freedom on the fretboard is nowhere near as good as it could be, but I just don't know if this is worth the cost. I kinda feel like it should be easy enough to figure this out myself? It just seems to be linking triads from each chord tone of the key to form a pattern? I maybe wrong though. Plus, my discipline for practicing at the moment is terrible....

After having owned various basses for perceived 'needs' in the past, I have just now got to the point where I have one great bass that does everything I want, and a cheap backup. I'm happy. 😊

I keep looking at this course, but it's a lot of money. It does appeal to me though, I find myself stuck in the same patterns.... Has anyone else signed up?

Very nice! Also, I love the De Gier 😉👍

Agree with what you guys have said. The other thing is, if you're looking to buy a used Sandberg there are WAY more active than passive ones about, and the majority of their models come active as standard. I will also say there is nothing at all 'wrong' with the stock preamp. They're made by Glockenklang and are superb quality. They are very natural sounding and intuitive. However, not everything is for everyone, and as with anything tone related, it's all subjective, personal and individual. I didn't have an issue with the sandberg preamp itself at all, it was more of a general realisation that passive basses with more traditional Alnico pickups give me the tone I want to hear, non-specific to brand. Plus I didn't need the flexibility, I tend to set and forget my bass and pedal controls and shape my tone at the amp.

Do you mean generally, or are you asking jrixn1?

Good shout, they sound superb! The necks are quite a chunky profile though, which won't suit everyone. I had one back when I was doing some theatre work, and the sound engineer said it sounded better than my fender jazz or my Yamaha TRB!

I've played a couple of Electra's briefly and they felt great, and having owned a Cort Arona previously (which were a similar deal), I can attest to the quality. If I had to liken them to the Fender range, I'd say they fall in the quality point maybe between the Mex and US range, possibly like a Japanese Fender? If that makes sense. They're great instruments. 😊👍

I have to say, after loving all my previous Sandbergs, I am REALLY loving this TT Passive SOOOO much, it is literally my perfect bass! ❤️

All the hardware is the usual sandberg stuff though, it's just the bodies and necks made in the far East I think, and I think the bass assembled there, but then setup and QC in Germany. I believe.

How did you find it with a proper passive loom in?

Yes there is, one is active, one is passive.... Joking, just the pickups really. Although even though it's a true passive bypass on the preamp, it may affect the tone somewhat... Maybe..... I guess?

😬 Not an entirely popular opinion as they have a lot of fans seemingly, but..... I didn't like them! I ordered my last build (a Cali VM5) with them, and I wasn't a fan at all. VERY loud pickups, but just not toneful at all for me. The P neck pickup was missing any P character to my ears, and in fact there seemed little tonal difference between the P and the MM! But all that is subjective, and at I said I know a lot of people rave about them. Weren't for me personally though. 🤷‍♂️

@ped I meant never considered moving it up a string to miss the G, obvs I've done foam under the strings before! 😂 Just to clarify....

I've not noticed any intonation issues, but then the beauty of this DIY design is that you cut the slots to your string spacing, so the strings aren't having pressure applied on one direction (like with foam under the strings), the foam is literally just damping the string vibration. 🤷‍♂️

Genius @ped, never even considered that!

The standard pickups are definitely quite modern sounding (although not especially 'high output'), and the wood combination can make a huge difference too. I found that the European ash they use on the matt finishes is REALLY tight, focused and mid - punchy, and accentuates the kinda modern, HiFi tone even more.

Very interesting, and kind of links in to the realisation I've had in the last 6 months or so. After trying various different Sandberg models over the years (and don't get me wrong none of them sounded bad at all) I kept feeling like I was chasing an elusive 'something' in my sound that I couldn't put my finger on. Turns out that what I really wanted was a nice, organic, traditional sound, and I found that finally in passive basses. I came to realise that the standard Sandberg large pole piece pickups don't really give me the tone I want. I've also decided (not specific to sandberg) that active basses always sound like active basses, no matter how neutral the preamp, and seem to have an almost inherent compression (which makes sense as the signal is being processed in some way). That's why after 7 other Sandbergs I've ended up with the TT Passive; they have much more traditional small pole piece Alnico V pickups, and I am getting that rich, organic, unrestrained depth of tone I was looking for. I feel like the bridge pickup is capable of a pretty good jazz honk, but then I'm not exactly an authority on jazz-honkiness! 😊

Obvs it's all subjective/personal, but for me I knew from the moment I tried my first Sandberg that they were for me, just felt so comfortable, effortless and at home in my hands. In fact when I bought my first one it ruined all my other basses and I ended up selling them all. In fact, even my mainstay of about 15 years, my trusty US standard jazz felt like I bag of crap in comparison and I reluctantly moved it on! I like em anyway, in case you hadn't noticed. 😊

Lol, just realised the site autocorrected A. R. S. E to derriere! That has really tickled me 😂

Over my 10 year relationship with Sandberg I'm pretty certain I've been a pain in the derrière at times, but they've always done their utmost to accommodate me!

There used to be differences, especially between the California series and the original models like the Basic and Classic series, but I think I'm right in saying that they're all essentially the same profile now. They are pretty slim and very comfy in my opinion. They are all hand finished though, so they do vary a little. I have no doubt if you requested a slightly thinner profile though they would have no issues accommodating you. 😊

They are very approachable, they're a pretty small company with a good business model and customer focus. They are friendly and have a kinda family feel. 😊 I think one of the things that sets them apart is the sheer choice of 'standard' options, which allow you to put together a bass that is a bit different and special to you, but is not a custom model per se. You can't request different inlays or different coloured hardware on a American fender without it being a custom shop build! They will build whatever you want in theory though, but clearly if its a full - on custom build it will cost you custom bass money.

They do feel /respond /sound great out of the box, but several years of regular playing gets you to a very similar point. For me the extra cost isn't worth it, but I get why people like it. Pretty sure you can request the vibro/thermal treatment on a non - reliced bass for an up-charge

Hi Dave, yes they do I believe, its a standard thing. Only the Hardcore aged models get the vibration treatment I think.