tbonepete

[quote name='rungles' timestamp='1416835545' post='2614014'] I'm on my 2nd USA Stingray (the so-called 133 series that come with a gig bag) and they are quite simply the BEST basses I have ever played. Over the years I've owned them all and I'd take one of these over anything else (for the price) any day. Taking the playability and sound out of the equation for a minute, the finish on these things is just stunning. Add a MM hard case and you've got yourself a genuine USA Stringray with all the usual bells and whistles. I put a clear pickguard on my blue pearl one and I'm going to add the East 3-band eq later: I also have the Blue pearl 133 bass, it's a great machine, and if I have a four string gig that's the bass I use. When I bought it I was told that it had different body wood than the "regular" stingray basses, but of course that could have been sales patter. Who knows? I only had a limited budget and that fit the bill so it was bought and I've been very happy with it. Oops, apart from the Gigbag, which isn't up to much IMO. Back to the OP though, I'd go the U.S. sub route and be happy with a top quality american bass for not much dosh. Cheers Pete [URL=http://s51.photobucket.com/user/howardtjmoon/media/IMG_2455_zps2eca369b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f369/howardtjmoon/IMG_2455_zps2eca369b.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote]

Ah, many thanks, That makes sense now. Although, as soon as I get on the mobile site I hit the full website button as the mobile is lacking in some details. Anyway, thanks again Cheers Pete

Hi Basschatters, I'm soon to upgrade my phone, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows whether there is a Basschat app for Windows phone like the one for Android, and Apple? I quite often view the forum site on my phone, although I have an iPad at home, and a laptop, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if there wasn't an app. Anyway, if anyone knows I'd be grateful to learn, Please and thank you! Cheers Pete

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1416075874' post='2606665'] Ernieball.co.uk are great for parts, they have covers and everything else you could want. Good prices and service as well. [/quote] Hi Subbeh, Many thanks for the heads up, and indeed they do list a white cover, so I'll get on the case after the weekend. Cheers Pete

Hi bass experts, I've changed the pickguard on my stingray from black to white pearloid, and would like to change the pup cover to white too! Is this possible, and if so where would I get a white cover? ( I don't want to change the whole pup by the way)! Please and thank you, Cheers Pete😀

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1415479174' post='2600843'] Ooh yes its very nice! And thanks for that, I will keep am eye out on ebay and see what crops up [/quote] You're most welcome, good luck with the intonation key, and many happy gigs for you both too Cheers Pete

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1415476384' post='2600812'] Woah beautiful! Did you get that beauty recently? [/quote] Hi, No,Its a 2012 bass, but I ordered it new earlier last year. It's not the one in the for sale section recently, but could be its sibling! Cheers Pete

As promised, here's a few snaps of the case candy (sorry about the quality,but I only have the camera on my phone). Hope this does for you though! Oh, I checked the allen key size for the intonation screws and it is indeed a 7/64" (I haven't touched the intonation since I first set the bass up when I bought it new). Any way, hope this helps Cheers Pete

Hey, I'll nip upstairs and take a snap or two re the candy. I can't remember off hand as I tend to use another bass mostly, but always smile when the Jazz comes out to play! Candy pics to follow, oh and I'll try and check the intonation key size for you too. Cheers Pete

Hi stingrayPete1977, Don't know if you found out already, or indeed if the info I have is correct for you, but my 2012 american deluxe jazz v has a supplied 3/16" T bar Allen key for the truss rod, and the bridge saddles take a 1/16" Allen key. The bridge looks like the same as mine, but the neck on mine is a block/ bound affair so might be different, I honestly don't know though. Glad you're liking your new bass, I certainly like mine, even with its little foibles. Happy days Cheers Pete

Buy a mim P and give all your bass exotica to me! (You can of course have visiting rights to your stash o basses anytime!). Seriously though, you sound fantastic on all your basses, maybe the sound you hear isn't the sound everyone else hears? I hear you play just about every style and nuance from way back when and I don't think it's as much to do with what you play on as much as what you play. Caveat I know very little about these matters, but it sounds like chasing your tail to me. No offence intended, and the usual imo, imho, IMoho etc etc. Please and thank you , Cheers Pete

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1412318693' post='2567711'] I'm glad you are happy but what about "the softest maple neck in the world, fibres in the laquer, sanding marks in the finish"? [/quote] Just giving credit where it's due. I'm satisfied, and thought I should say as much rather than leave a negative thread hanging in the air when it's actually been resolved. I thought that the bold type NOW SORTED at the beginning would be enough, but to answer your specific questions, the fibres are gone, and the neck has a different finish on it now just like my first KT5 and should be alot harder. this was part of the comms between myself and Sandberg. The sanding machine marks are still there, but are really negligable and were only mentioned in the original post as part of a cumulative gripe on QC. So in summary, the bass is NOW SORTED, (at least to my satisfaction, and as the owner I guess that's good enough). Others may disagree, and are free to do so, but it's all smiles here EDIT to say that upon closer inspection in bright daylight the diagonal machine sanding marks are no longer there! so the body may have been refinshed,polished, or even replaced (they did extensive work to the rest of the bass to make it top drawer, so............?). Even more smiles here then! Cheers Pete

Update, I got a reply from Sandberg after some time starting with an apology for the late reply. It seems that my email to them had got caught in their spam filter. From there on in I was in regular communication with the service dep't, and after a faff getting the bass back to them it has undergone a remarkable transformation. The fret slots have been attended to with obvious care, the pickups replaced with units from the normal Ken taylor bass instead of the much lower output ones in the bass originally, and the preamp has also been replaced completing the transformation. A totally different bass now, and it's all smiles here. Once a connection with Sandberg was made their service department gave a first class service explaining their findings, explaining the required work to rectify the issues, and discussing options where applicable, and of course carrying out the work to a high standard. Faith restored here! Go team Sandberg! (IMHO of course!).

Bernard Edwards. ray4 into?. That's my stingray tone heaven.

if I opt to change the appearance I have already bought black speaker grill foam from blue arran via eBay (cheap too!), and spray adhesive the inside edge of the grill, attach tha foam, trim to size, and voila!. Completely reversible too. Just an idea. Cheers Pete

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1407259456' post='2518923'] Interestingly after my poor Sandberg experience the Stingray I owned from new has just popped up for sale and my god am I tempted to give it another go. Its like its meant to be, serial checks out and it looks as good as it did when i sold it, thought I was done with Stingrays but I'm really excited at the prospect getting my old one back! [/quote] Hi Subbeh, Did you hear from Sandberg, or Thomann with regard to your issues with the Sandberg basses you had, and if so, what did they say? For myself , I contacted Sandberg via Facebook as per Ghost bass' suggestion, and from there I was recommended to contact Sandberg service dep't. This I duly did, but surprise surprise, no reply! As a last resort I contacted the UK retailer to ask their advice (attaching pictures to illustrate my points), but I've not received a reply from them either! Man, this sucks, and the longer this goes on, and the more effort that has to go in to getting the relevant parties to sort out their responsibilities, the madder (is that a word?) I get! Grrrrrrr, Pete (Hope you had better luck than I !).

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1407044451' post='2516823'] Thats a stinker sorry to hear of your ruined birthday and sub quality bass hope you get it sorted [/quote] Thanks Thunderbird, I did so want a new Sandberg of the quality that my first one was, but sadly for me I seem destined to be stuck with this ugly duckling! It turned out to be a special present for all the wrong reasons,........very sad. Pete

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1407015479' post='2516747'] Has to be worth getting in touch with Sandberg, even if they end up sending you back to the less than helpful retailer at least you'll get to vent a bit. Sandberg's customer service can't be any worse than their non existant QC! I'm currently waiting to hear back from them and curious to hear what they have to say about the poor quality of the basses I had. [/quote] Hi Subbeh, I have contacted Sandberg via Facebook (private message) as per Ghost bass' suggestion, and a chap called Gregor messaged me back. Long story short is he wants to pass the tale on to the UK distributors, however I've not really found any joy dealing with them before, and it was them who replaced the first duff anniversary bass with the used one I'm stuck with now. I get the feeling that they think I should be grateful for this........... Hope you get much more joy than I have. I must say it's really taken the shine off what was to be a special present for me. Let me know if there's a happy ending to this! Cheers Pete

Here's my take on the current QC for Sandberg. This applies obviously to this bass, so might not be indicative of deeper QC problems. With my 50th birthday in may this year coming up, a few quid in my pocket, and a hankering for another Sandberg KT (I had a superb 2005/6 example previously, and stupidly moved it on) I set about shopping for one in the UK. All I could find online however were the KT anniversary model, and as time was short for the 24 gigfest in July I bought one........ It arrived with fairly substantial set up and QC problems, namely, with the neck relief set correctly (actually it was fine) it was impossible to get the action remotely low enough, even with the saddles fully lowered, the G string still measured over 3mm!. The neck was to narrow for the bridge making any string spacing over 16.5mm a no no as the B string was just about level with the edge of the fingerboard (so no end of the neck double bass type sound here!), and gaps either side of the neck pocket. The pickguard was cut badly so the gap to the neck was even bigger than the gap from the pocket to the neck. Bridge saddle castings are rough in places on both basses, and meant that palm muting was to be avoided, (although the rough edges have broken off now).That just had to go back, and after much faffing around a replacement was sent..... The bass in the pictures! This it transpires came from another shop, and had all the signs of a fair amount of use, ie, dead strings, no plastic pickguard covering, pick up screws mauled, and two dents on the neck etc, but it was that or a refund. The dealer didn't want to sell me another bass unless I came to the shop in person, but with 24 gigs looming, and the best part of a 400 mile round trip to his shop I wasn't going to do that, so with £100 quid off for the damage this is what I got sent. Just exactly how deep do fret slots need to be? not this deep surely!!! sanding machine marks on the back of the bass under the paintwork. The fingerboard has fine red fibres in the lacquer where it wasn't cleaned properly before spraying. The grain filler in the way too deep fret slots is already coming out, and the neck itself seems to be made of the softest maple on the planet (even chance bumps with a PLASTIC springy stand light yields a ding mark. Then to top it off is the sound..........Yuk, is all I can say. So why did I buy it then you may ask?. Well, as I've already said, I had an older KT5 before, and not being able to find another standard model I settled on this one as the specification sheets are worded identically for the anniversary model, and standard model, so I thought apart from the blingy looks they should indeed be the same bass. WRONG, My original one had Glockenklang 3band active/passive (but no passive tone control), and was precision wired on red circuit board which bore the name Glockenklang on the boards, and the pickups were Delano exposed pole affairs with bags of mid, and healthy output. Contrast this with the flimsy looking wiring of the anniversary bass which is messy, and connected to cheap looking green circuit board which has the name Sandberg only on the mid module, and the pickups which upon removal reveal no name or model at all , I can't be certain but they look like some sort of clone things, just badged whatever the customer wants, (could be wrong mind). Twiddle and fiddle for a whole month using a variety of amps etc (depending on where the gig was, ie, GenzBenz, Markbass, Ashdown, Shure belt pack, and Shure belt pack iems via Roland personal mixers to name a few of the systems used. Incidentally the output is so low with the EQ flat on the bass that sometimes my Boss TU-80 doesn't register a signal, and also when playing one venue (with the Shure/Roland setup) the rest of the band couldn't hear the bass enough even with their controls on their Roland mixers turned full up on the bass channel, so the main FOH had to raise the gain their end which then upset all the other settings. This is not usual for me at that venue when using other basses. Only two more gigs to go until I can have a rest, and pack the bass away in a cupboard and try to forget about the wasted money (I should have taken the refund in hindsight). Some way to mark my 50th! Any way see what you think. Cheers Pete

I guess the rise in popularity of sandberg has put them under pressure to increase production, but this shouldn't have to mean standards have to be lowered to the point where examples such as this (and mine) come to light. I must say in my own experience the older one I owned, and examples I've played had very high quality workmanship, and components too, but the newer ones I've had are decidedly lower quality in construction, component quality, and sound.

With the benefit of hindsight, and having owned both brands, and played more examples from both manufacturers it would by Music man for me by a country mile.

Sad to say, but yours is not a unique case. Had three duff ones now, bought on the strength of an exceptional one I had (and stupidly sold) some time ago. Good luck with whatever you chose next!

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1406803029' post='2514807'] Even if you mod that bass you're already sceptical to it's sound, i think that you'll never come to love it whatever you change on it. Some basses we love from the start and some will never do it for us. [/quote] Yeah, The modding thing is probably not the way to go for me. I wanted a new Sandberg to mark my 50th birthday, so I don't want to consider yet another used bass. I don't think that Sandberg make what I'm after off the shelf these days, so I will have to look elsewhere. If I want a cheaper Sandberg with licenced parts I shall buy an Electra, or a Cort arona, both of which are probably reasonable basses, but I'm not after the budget varieties, and would want real Glock and real Delano in my bass, and maybe one of the older bridges too. Still, after all these years I'm learning every day to ask more questions BEFORE I buy, and not assume that current products or services are as good if not better than yesterdays products or services . The end of the line for me I think...... Cheers Pete

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1406716262' post='2513986'] Post some pics of the guts of that bass, please. Maybe i can help you figure out where that comes from. [/quote] Hi Ghost bass. Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going to remove the control cover again as the wiring looked pretty flimsy in places and I don't want any joints to break. Also the bottom of the pickups don't have any label on of any sort, and I already know direct from Sandberg that they changed the electrics to their "own" some years back. I definately don't want the same pups or pre in any future bass so I don't need to know where they come from. Thanks for the offer again. Cheers Pete