Ander87

Sorry - mixing the Nighthawk (P as suggested) with the Nighthawk Plus - the new ones in 2020... I gotta admit that copper finish (let's admit it it's gold!) is lovely!

Tha'ts a very good point and interesting I've noticed - when they came out I thought the GD was the badass bass by Sandberg dedicated to metal but truth be told there is a lot of ease to play something more chilled; this bass works perfectly on soul/jazz/blues, like you mention very round but also punchy sound. I thought the NH was a J pickup too! Very true, and I appreciate the pickups on this bass are very sensible to dynamics, more so than most basses I've tried I'd say funny enough!

Indeed @fretmeister - I think in many ways they're an underdog and not in the front pages as often as they could - sober and well fitted basses with a reliable tone. And they've done some interesting bits with the Grand Dark, Nighthawk and whatnot. Unless you go for the big aged masterpieces etc, most of these basses are £1,600 and under, I would without a doubt put them on par with Stingrays, although the new Stingray special may have that extra 'something something' to lead by not a lot. On that note @bob_atherton, how do you compare the nighthawk to the grand dark? feels like they should be similar vibe (loving the inca silver one) but also interested in the differences between the pickups etc.

That is so true! I can be so lusty about basses - you check around, something tickles you fancy and then you start to either glorify that new love interest or find faults on your current gear to justify getting it... But also I am so mentally relieved to have one very reliable, cool looking and most importantly great sounding and versatile bass. For what I do, this is pleeeennnty! No more parades of boxes and shippings back and forth for a while I may still find some strings or straps to sell under the sofa but that's minor anyway ha!

Ah not that I expressed I won't eeeeever buy a new bass - I don't think that's really possible, but I know this: I am tired of gear flipping back and forth and have found what I need for all my purposes. Hope it stays that way!

Ah John, so true! It's been a journey. From the Alpher + Eich T900/DB 2x10 to this Sandberg + Aguilar TH350 + SL112. And all the bits of gear I've flipped in between and before. All with the interest to get a more versatile and warmer punchier rig but also adulting getting cash to buy a house sometime in the coming months - every little helps 😇 ! Truth is I find it very draining and stressful to follow up on leads, post, bump, post in other platforms.... The last bass I won't keep should be on its journey today 🙌 but at least I've made good friendships along the way...! I'll try and take a proper picture of the pau ferro board - I used to be one thinking it's the poor man's rosewood but wow I am loving this one! Smoother than other rosewood boards I've had to the touch, and the grain is delicious!

Thanks buddy! The black labels are in the Nighthawks I believe, from what I've researched these are the 'plus' set with a little mark on them. Supposedly they've a bit more meat in the low mids than the regular ones. I like them better.

Well......! My new baby - I've just made a new topic on what's led me to it, more pictures and how I feel about it but spoiler: LOVING IT!

Hi guys! Well - it's been a ride... I started playing bass October 2018 after a long time playing guitars. Because of this, I am used to 'good gear' and knew I wouldn't settle for bad quality or an uncomfortable bass - I loved bass so much I ended up selling all my guitars and guitar gear to fund basses... The list has been long! I've had Spector, Stingray Specials, a Sandberg, Lakland, a Sadowsky MV5 and a couple of boutique basses like the Merlos I presented recently, a Sei I got in a trade or my ex-mine beloved Alpher. It's been a total of 9 basses in about 18 months, Jesus! Of all the basses I've had, the Alpher Mako (Jazz) and the Stingray Special 5 (Cruz teal, lovely!) have been my favourite tones and basses; I love a good punch and fat tones regardless or the genre but still with some zing and growl on the highs. Now that I am opening up to play not just my neosoul project but also want to get into an alt/hard/rock band, I ended up with this as my 'only' bass - and here it is! It's a Sandberg Grand Dark from sometime March 2020 equiped with the Darkglass Tone Capsule - this has the new pickups (TM plus, probs made by Delano?) that do give it an extra punch compared to how I remember the VM5 I had about a year ago. It would initially put me off to have a hi-mids / mids / bass preamp with no highs but to tell you the truth I don't miss them! I push them a tad bit in my amp to get my fundamental tone and I'm ready to go - boosting the preamp on hi-mids is plenty to do slap but without the 'hiss' or extra noise so I'm well happy - also banging feature - same volume either active or passive. Lastly, the musicman pickup splits to single coil. The wood department is alder body, hard rock maple neck and a gorgeous, nice chocolate streaky pau ferro board. Coming in at 4.15kg so defo well manageable! For obvious reasons I haven't tested it on a band environment but I do have to admit I love it, I feel at home with it's tones and should be one I'm planning to keep for a while! the finish is perfect and it is plek'd and all that - you know how Sandbergs do, I feel like this is a tier up compared to the regular sandys with the revisited pickups and new preamp...! With this, I am retiring off the marketplace for a while now (gosh, believe me it's been draining!), focus on playing and learning more. That doesn't mean I don't need a Line6 HX Effects to cover compressors and whatnot but hey, amp and bass is settled at last! Best, Ander.

I just got this Sandberg two days ago... Absolutely loving it! The darkglass pre and the pickups tick all my Stingray and Jazz needs and more...! Worth considering, I used to have a VM5 and this one is definitely a different beast...! Ander.

That's a very good point @itu - initially it ticks all of my boxes, but what if it's not what I expect? buying blind unfortunately has to allow for that possibility that it may not be for me. I want to reduce all my gear to that 5er that does most of what I want it to do right - if that ever exists....!

Hi gang, I've been offered a trade involving a Pavel de la Fuente bass - I've looked around and there's zero info on them in here; nonetheless, talkbass has some juicy dramas about scams from allegedly 3rd parties, deposits taken for basses never delivered after 2 or 3 years... The reality is the bass on offer is here and it does look good. Hipshot hardware, nordstrand electronics, swamp ash and hard rock maple - all in it looks well finished and the actual owners I've seen mention they are fantastic basses but hmmmmm.... thinking in terms of resale if I change my mind in the future and whatnot is always the trouble with less known brands...! What do you guys think / know / would do?