longtimefred

Avril Lavigne - just because she is fit.

Cliff was just amazing! Like Skol said, his bass playing shined through most if not all other Heavy Metal bass players of the time and gave us 'tallica wannabes something more to look at and listen to rather than Kirk Hammett widdling over his guitar. He sure made me learn and play my bass differently. He really inspired me and hopefully millions of other bass players as he was something special. His songwriting was genius. You are totally right about the horses for courses thing, everyone is different. For me i would prefer to listen to Cliff kick the sh*t out of his bass in a cool rock n roll fashion playing the odd bit out of time rather than listen to Marcus Miller or Jaco noodle around playing their lovely clean Jazz music. Thats just boring!

nice one dude. They are amazing arnt they. Looks a stunner, hope you enjoy being part of the 'berg club, i know i am

red for me, im not really a fan of quilted tops but i do like the red! lot more classier IMO

personally i would glue the strap button back into the original hole. and fill the one that has been bodged. thats if you arnt bothered about putting different ones on in future.

Righty!! I have just come home from giving mah new bass a good thrashing at rehearsal tonight and i thought its about time i gave you guys the lowdown on what i think of it. In a word - Amazing! Bit more detail.... When i first opened the gig bag it came with (still think when paying this amount of cash, anything should come in a hard case) and gave it a good looking over, i was thrilled with the craftsmanship and overall quality of the Sandberg. As i had it delivered to me at work, it just had to sit there looking pretty til i got home, and it felt like a loooong day! I couldnt find a single thing i could pick out that was wrong or not finished right or anything i would have changed, it was even still in tune!! When i got it home i was quite limited to what i could do with it as i only have my big V4 and Ampeg cab to plug into so couldnt really turn it up to hear what the thing was doing at real volumes. I managed to get the overall jist of what it could do and i was impressed from the start. The neck width is very very similar to my old 89 MIJ Fender Jazz but with a bit more girth. The finishing of the back of the neck is so smooth it was like glass and the set up was good and precise with an action not too low or too high, just nice! After being able to give it a good blast tonight i could really tell what the electronics were like and i was blown away with how good the Pre amp is. In the past i have owned a MM Stringray5 and a Spector Euro 5 LX and i have always had the pre amp on the bass turned right up and just go for it. With the 'berg its a totally different ball game. If i put everything on full with the amp set flat with a nice bit of gain turned up, it was just too much, so i started by setting everything to flat. The bass stayed in the flat position and i added just a little bit of treble to give it some clarity. I cannot stress enough how amazing this Glockenklang pre amp is. Just one slight adjustment and you can really transform your sound. I had a go of each settings i could use with the Haussel pickups, the P pup is brilliant, really pure Fender sounding clanky piano tones ringing through and enough bottom end for anyone! the MM style humbucker is not what i expected at all, i was thinking it would give a little hint of Stingray tones but its more like a beefy muscular Jazz pup, and i love it, you can really dial in that honky Jazz sound and is great for slapping and popping and it burbles away nicely. I dont really play anything that would suit this pup solo'd but if i ever did then i know this will do the job perfectly. Put the pup blend dial in the middle and this is my sweet spot, sounds like a Hyper hybrid Fender P/J, but with its own personality. When owning a Fender in the past, it could never really keep up with what i wanted and always felt a little soft and underpowered but this just rocks!!! I play quite heavy rock/punk stuff and this setting is just perfect. Its hard for me to describe really so im gonna have to try and get some sound clips for you to hear. I had the Haussel pups put in this instead of the stock Delano ones as i really wanted the vintage Fender sound but with a kick up the arse rather than the more modern HI FI sounds that the Delanos seem to give off, and they definitely do that, they are great pickups! The bass sits great on the strap and feels nice n light. The body seems a bit thinner than a Fender, especially where my right arm rests at the top and i need to get a sweat band or something as it has given me thrash rash on my right wrist. Everything just feels right for me with this bass, kinda feels like putting on a well worn pair of slippers. Its exactly what sound i was after when i wanted a change from the Stingray. I wanted an inbetween a P and a J but with options to do either and i am so glad i bought it. And to know this one was made specially for me is a great feeling. Im sorry i cant go into what the harmonic frequency range is or anything about the mid tones or any in depth stuff as i dont honestly know what any of it is. I am a simple rock bassist who likes to hit my bass hard! In short, this bass was well worth the money, its great quality, fantastic to play, sounds incredible and looks cool as f**k! I recommend anyone who has got a slight bit of GAS to get one as you wont regret it! Here are some photos!

lol i have unfortunately only been able to give it a test ride at home so far. been busy this weekend. Got rehearsals with the band on Tuesday evening so i shall be reporting back about how it performs on Wednesday! Cant wait!!!

christ i had to turn it off! that guy is just soooo annoying. didnt know it was Lakeland

wow that is just amazing! stunning! Nice to see another Haussel user, i had them fitted in my new Sandberg and so glad i did. They are aawsome. Fantastic bass, bet that left your wallet a bit emptier!!!

nice one dude (dood) congrats!! as its the D'addario guy that sorted you out with that, you should get onto some strings! Well done again, thats a great one to have. Again i have 2 busted ones but as far as i know you can take them to any dealer and they should replace them for you.

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1200007' date='Apr 14 2011, 10:00 PM']Awesome dude! VERY jealous, it looks stunning! Can't wait for a review and some decent pics. I'll be interested to hear what it sounds like, and how authentic the p-bass sound is.[/quote] Cheers dude, i would have done some pics tonight but the missus is away for the week (amp set up in the living room, beer bottles everywhere, heavy metal on the stereo ) and took the nice camera with her so i gotta wait til at least sunday for that. I would start my review tonight but im too knackered and really amazed by how many sounds this bass can create its gonna take some time to figure out how to describe them all so you get what im on about! I would love to A/B this machine with a real P as i cant tell the difference to be honest, its got that awesome piano like chime on the P pup and sure does sound as clanky and full as a Fender. First impressions tonight on plugging it in was just sheer amazement, i didn't really know what to expect from it and from just nobbing around for a few hours the only thing i can think of right now is that its like a Hyper Fender! you can just dial in any kind of Fender ish sound you want and then it does its own thing in the middle! I need a bit of time to get around it all and as i only have my big valve amp its tough to give it a proper going over at home as its too loud and will p*ss the neighbours off a bit! Bear with me folks, i never done a proper review before and i promise i will make it a good read! What an awesome bass!! thanks for all your cool comments.

If i do some sound clips you will here how crap i am!! lol. Nah, im sure i can come up with something worth hearing to show it off. I couldnt make my mind up with the PG and i really fancied a change from black so i had the white one, and bought the black one as well just in case The wait was a killer, well worth it but felt like forever. I guess thats what happens when ordering a hand made guitar from a company who are getting really really popular at the moment. Thanks for all the cool comments, really glad its here and cant wait to give it a blast and a review!

[quote name='yorick' post='1199128' date='Apr 14 2011, 10:24 AM']Looks great... I see the gigbags have improved [/quote] Yeah its really good, nicely well padded and good n rugged on the outside. Im not going to use it as i dont like advertising whats in the bag as its got the logo on the outside. but still, good bit of kit. would probably cost about £50 / £70 i reckon at a guess.

its tough for me to tell about the neck really as i have only played a few P basses, one old one which was like playing a tree trunk and a few more modern ones and a few lakland P basses. Its really similar to my old '89 MIJ Jazz but a slight bit more so its kinda in the middle i think. all i know its just so so nice to play, really effortless so i guess its not too bulky! lol. To be honest i had only heard a few soundclips of the Haussel pickups and that was enough for me, plus reading his ethos on how he makes them. pure quality stuff. cant wait to plug it in. SO HAPPY! lol

ITS HERE!!!! After nearly 5 months of waiting, i finally get my new bass OK, time to spill the beans, this obviously is a Sandberg California PM4 in matt blackburst. I had a white mother of pearl scratchplate and also a black spare one just in case i fancied a change. I had the matched finished headstock which really sets it off, looks awsome! I also had Harry Haussel hand wound pickups added onto the bass as the standard Delano ones are a bit HIFI for my liking and the Haussel ones really dial in a true vintage RAWK tone. You should check out his website, great bits of kit. Sorry about the gash iPhone camera shot, i had this delivered to me at work and wanted to show off before i got home and show ya its real . I shall get some proper porn shots done with a better camera as soon as i can. First impressions are that this thing is so well made its untrue, pure quality. The finish is gorgeous and shows off the grain of the wood. The neck is so smooth and plays perfectly. Kinda reminds me of a slightly chunkier Jazz neck. ANyway i best get back to work.

I have the V4 Trace valve head and i can safely say, anything to do with Trace Elliot and full valve amps just works, pure quality!!!

this is getting more interesting than spending a week with Charlie Sheen.

Mine will be here tomorrow GAS relief

look mint dont they!

Rage cannot be quite the word for how i feel! UK Mail decided to put my bass on a van to Northampton instead of Stoke on Trent!! they felt my wrath on the phone and i hope i made someone cry who works there! Most useless pile of sh*t courier service ever. Bass will be with me before 12 tomorrow on a promise. f**kers! rant over....