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scrumpymike

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Everything posted by scrumpymike

  1. scrumpymike
    As someone who spent my working life in sales and marketing, I'm finding this debate over Sandberg's comms very interesting. The bottom line is that every business theoretically needs to communicate effectively with its existing and prospective customers. I say 'theoretically' because the one exception is when a business can't meet existing demand for its products. With a 2-year waiting list for customer orders, you'd have to say that's where Sandberg are at. However, lifting the lid off that situation is pretty much like opening a can of worms. You could write a book about it - lots of people have. Let's just say that, in business terms, it's unsustainable and will probably bite Sandberg in the bum sooner or later. Certainly over-reliance on social media doesn't help you much when a significant segment of your market demographic doesn't use it, either properly or at all. Cuzzie, well done for posting your experiences and sticking up for a company you obviously believe in. I think we are all united in wanting what's best for Sandberg, but I'm not sure they're going the right way to get it.
  2. scrumpymike
    Andyjr1515 and Jabba_the_gut of build-diary fame on here - if they're still taking orders 🙂
  3. scrumpymike
    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.
  4. scrumpymike
    Yet another one to add to the already long list for what Basschat calls the 'pink torpedo'!
  5. scrumpymike
    No, this time you can punch someone AND leave after 30 minutes.
  6. scrumpymike
    This is a used one I bought off here a year back. The new one Santa brought is a keeper!
  7. scrumpymike
    On hold subject to receipt of payment.
  8. scrumpymike
    I'm the one hiding under the bed 🙃
  9. scrumpymike
    It just appears to be Thomann who are doing this. Jump on their UK website and search Electric basses > Short scale > Sandberg and you'll get around 20 basses with delivery times ranging from 'stock' to a number of weeks / months or 'to order'. What I like is that the selection isn't limited to what you might call standard basses. There's always a few SL and roasted maple necks in amongst what's on offer. This makes a lot of sense given that the waiting time for special orders is now 2 years!! I was lucky enough to find ex-stock almost exactly what I had recently designed on the Sandberg configurator, which would have cost me around £600 more and been subject to a 2-year wait. The only thing I configured that mine doesn't have is a roasted maple neck, but now I've got it I really like the mix of the lighter maple neck with the green burst and gold hardware. Short-scale Sandberg basses at Thomann UK
  10. scrumpymike
    Just about to open a new pack of La Bella s-s flats 🙂
  11. scrumpymike
    NBD!! After much deliberation, finally decided to take the plunge on this drop-dead-gorgeous (IMHO) Cali ll TM SL 2-band active that Thomann had in stock. Only just unpacked it but I can report that the build quality and playability are spot on - as I expected, having owned a Lionel. Thanks to its paulownia body and lightweight machine-heads, this one weighs next to nowt and still balances perfectly on the strap. I'll post more feedback when I've got to know it properly.
  12. scrumpymike
    NBD!! After much deliberation, finally decided to take the plunge on this drop-dead-gorgeous (IMHO) Sandberg Cali ll TM SL 2-band active that Thomann had in stock. Only just unpacked it but I can report that the build quality and playability are spot on - as I expected, having owned a Lionel. Thanks to its paulownia body and lightweight machine-heads, this one weighs next to nowt and still balances perfectly on the strap. I'll post more feedback when I've got to know it properly.
  13. scrumpymike
    You're probably not the only one as I posted the '24 date at the end of the '23 topic 🙂
  14. scrumpymike
    OK, so this is me starting a new topic for This year's Bash🥳 The hall is booked from 10am to 4pm on Sunday, October 13th, 2024 so put the date in your diaries NOW! Just follow this topic for more details! The Memorial Hall, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Rowford, TAUNTON, TA2 8JY https://www.cheddonfitzpainevillagehall.co.uk/ (The picture below shows the entrance to the hall driveway but the old lodge pictured is a private house)
  15. scrumpymike
    Just GO FOR IT!! You'll be glad you did. When Mrs Scrumpy and I decided to re-start a S-W Bash back in 2017, little did we know that we were about to become local legends in our own lunch-time 🙂. That's largely down to the catering expertise of Mrs S of course, and the lesson is a valuable one: make sure you put on the best food and drink you possibly can! The rest will happen automatically. The great (and honestly unexpected) joy for us is that we've now got our own local 'Bash family' within the broader community of this wonderful Basschat forum. Here's some pic's from 2023:
  16. scrumpymike
    I would have tried these but my band plays drop-tuned to Eb. The normal LaBella s-s flats are perfect for this but I'm not sure the low-tension strings would.
  17. scrumpymike
    +1
  18. scrumpymike
    If you're playing along the Bristol/Exeter M5 corridor, need to cancel a gig, and are looking for a replacement band, give me a call on 07770 946135 or ping me a PM on here! My hugely experienced and normally busy classic rock covers band Silverback is short of gigs this year, especially in the first 6 months. We didn't take much on as we knew we'd have to replace our drummer in the New Year but had no idea how long that would take. As it happened, we found a replacement very quickly and now we're all dressed up with nowhere to go 😞 Find us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/silverbacktheband Cheers, Mike
  19. scrumpymike
    Glad to hear that what you've received meets your expectations. I'm a flats guy so my first change was to fit TI Jazz Flats with a replacement nut to fit. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the price of the Aguilar package that's standard on the Artist version - and it's pretty much what you paid for the bass!! Let us know how you get on!
  20. scrumpymike
    So, first a reminder. A few days back I shared on here my intention to buy a short-scale Cali ll SL TM but decided against it because of helpful feedback on here suggesting that the active tones would not be 'old school' enough for my tastes. I've been exchanging e-mails with Thomann since and now share the dialogue with you guys, starting with their response to my initial doubts arising from the posts on here!! A: "Please ignore the Chats ... 90% of all Sandberg basses are with active preamp and Sandberg / Delano Pickups. Sandberg is one of the most successful bass brands at the moment. It can´t be so bad. Especially for the SL basses with Paulownia body, you need the active preamp. It helps you to get a great, powerful sound. I can't recommend a passive SL version. And we don't have them in our assortment. But I think, if you are looking for the lightest, best sounding and most easy playing bass - I can´t offer you something else. It has a nice full modern sound." Q: "I will follow the advice from my Basschat friends on the Sandberg Appreciation Society forum because a) they understand the sounds I like and b) they also know the sounds of the various Sandberg pickups. This is why online special-interest forums are so helpful. So, I am looking for a TT with old-school Alnico V pickups and paulownia body BUT I am not prepared to pay premium price for special order. Does my original choice the Cali ll SL TM have Alnico V pickups?" A: "The Standard Sandberg pickups T4 are ALNICO V, made by Delano On these pickups the neck pickup is reverse wound and polarized. This causes the bridge and neck pickup to operate in humbucking mode when they are both turned up. The T4 Black Label are Ceramic, more clear in sound and more output. And also the M4 has Ceramic, more clear in sound and more output." Q: "Just to be clear, does this mean that Cali ll SL TM is fitted with: 1 x T4 Alnico V + 1 x M4 Ceramic?" A: "Yes, plus the active preamp with passive mode." I've ruled out the SL TM so looks like my options are to go for either 1) an active SL TT and hope I can live with the tones, or 2) a passive ash-bodied TT and hope it's not at the top end of the weight range. P.S. Why on earth Sandberg can't weigh all their basses before they pack them beats me - Maruszczyk do!!
  21. scrumpymike
    IMHO they were worth every penny of the original RRP. That's no surprise as the Vox brand is owned by Korg so the design, specification and quality were always going to be of the highest order. Trouble is bass players are generally a conservative lot and Marmite-y designs rarely sell well. Welcome to the world of short-scale basses btw!
  22. scrumpymike
    I've owned the very same thing and loved it. Incredibly comfortable to play and wear. Another innocent victim of GAS ☹️ GLWTS
  23. scrumpymike
    You've got a massive bargain there my friend! The original retail price of the premium-quality Artist versions was £1350, later reduced to £799 as a clearance price. I bought mine at that point and absolutely love it, especially the innovative design. The build quality on mine is second to none and the Aguilar package it comes with is the best active set-up I've ever played. I've made a couple of mods to fit strap-locks and improve strap balance but that's just my obsessive tendency 🙂
  24. scrumpymike
    My trouble is I don't really understand the fundamentals of pickups and electronics. For a start, I didn't realise you can combine passive pickups with an active pre-amp. I haven't tried many but the only active package I've found to my liking is what's on my Vox Starstream A2S. That comes with Aguilar AG 4J-70 pickups and the Aguilar OBP-2 pre-amp. The thing is that the Vox has the J-vibe perfectly covered and I wanted something different from the Sandy.
  25. scrumpymike
    Thanks guys, keep this stuff coming! If Cuzzie doesn't jump on, I'll ping him a PM.
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