*SOLD* Sandberg California TM4 Unlined Fretless £550

[GrammeFriday]

For Sale or Trade, my lovely Sandberg California TM4 Fretless.


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More pics here:
[url="http://s1333.photobucket.com/user/grammefriday/library/Sandberg%20California%20TM4%20Fretless"]http://s1333.photobu...0TM4%20Fretless[/url]

[b]Construction: [/b]
Nicely figured ash body, Canadian hard rock maple neck, lovely unlined rosewood fingerboard with white side position dots. Six bolt neck, with as tight a neck pocket as I have ever seen on a J-style bass.

[b]Finish: [/b]
3-tone sunburst in satin finish, which shows off the ash grain in the body really nicely. I was expecting this finish to be somewhat scratch prone, but much to my surprise it has turned out to be very hard-wearing, maybe even more durable than your usual poly gloss job. Certainly, there is virtually no buckle rash on the back to report, and this bass has been played/gigged a fair bit.

[b]Electronics:[/b]
Delano J and MM pickups through a 9v Glockenklang 2-band active eq with passive bypass option. Controls are volume, pickup pan, treble boost/cut, bass boost/cut, with passive bypass push-pull on the volume knob. A particularly nice and useful feature of this preamp is that in passive mode the treble pot functions as a passive tone control, so it becomes a 'real' passive bass (i.e. with volume AND tone controls) when in passive mode. You'd be surprised how few active/passive switching basses offer this feature.

[b]History: [/b]
I am the sole owner. This one was a custom order, purchased on 7th August 2012. (I still have the receipt.) It has seen active gigging service playing soul/funk/pop covers mixed in with a few of the more dance-oriented jazz standards (Herbie Hancock etc.), but has not been thrashed and has been extremely well looked after.

[b]Weight/ergonomics: [/b]
Not a lightweight at 10.5lbs, but balances perfectly on the strap and is very comfy to play. TBH I was a bit surprised when I weighed it - I had never thought of this one of my heavier basses and never notice any "Oof, that's a relief" feeling when taking it off after a long set. (This goes along with my general theory that weight is much less important than balance as an overall ergonomic consideration, but that's probably one for another thread!)

[b]Health and fitness: [/b]
Everything is original and in excellent working order. Neck is ramrod straight, truss rod works great, electronics work great. Low action, but - as with all fretlesses - can go to crazy low relief if you want. No discernible wear on the fretboard. This bass has a very generous slab of rosewood on it, and it will be a VERY long time indeed before it gets even close to wearing out. There are a few of the inevitable dings on the end of the headstock (pictured), and there is one tiny ding on the top of the body (also pictured), which is not visible from the front, and can very easily be touched up. (Another advantage of the satin finish over poly.) There is also one small scratch on the back that has not gone through the finish, but this is so hard to see that I couldn't find it when I tried to photograph it the other day!

[b]Sound: [/b]
VERY versatile, with an extremely wide range of tones on tap, especially for a fretless.
Neck pickup gives a very traditional, old-school 'woody' tone - ideal for jazz, Motown, soul, Amy Winehouse covers, etc. etc. - you know the drill.
Despite the name, the Delano MM-style bridge humbucker sounds nothing like a Stingray at all; what it gives you is a MASSIVE fat jazz bridge pup sound - one of the best I've ever heard, really brilliant for straight-up disco and funk as well as the usual Jaco thing.

[b]Strings: [/b]
Currently strung with La Bella 760FX flats (39/56/77/96), which sound fantastic.

[b]Case/bag: [/b]
If you collect in person it will come in its original high quality Sandberg padded gigbag. If posted, I will send it in a newly purchased basic Gear4Music hard case and add the cost of that (£37.99) to the postage charge. Alternatively, you can send me an empty hard case, and I'll put the bass in that and send it back to you, generously swathed in bubble-wrap.

[b]Sale price and collection/delivery options: [/b]
£550 collected from my house in South Birmingham (near M42/M40). I am also happy to meet up or deliver within a reasonable range - PM me to discuss possibilities.
I am also happy to post to your door using UPS or similar; I will organise this and add the cost to the sale price.
Yes, I know, £550 is a crazy low price for such a stunning instrument, but these are tough times, and this price is based on a realistic assessment of the market for secondhand fretless basses.

[b]Trade valuation: [/b]
£800
The difference between the sale price and the trade valuation reflects the fact that my main priority is a quick cash sale. Either way, you are getting a proper bargain here: this bass cost me £1349 new.

[b]Why selling? [/b]
I love this bass and am only selling it as I have a 5-string fretless incoming and need to free up space and cash.

[b]Trade/part exchange options:[/b]
Although I am really after a quick cash sale, I am open to trade offers, but please note that I can only consider straight swaps or trades with cash my way.
Tradewise, I'd be particularly interested in an MTD Kingston Saratoga 5 or CRB 5. I'd also be tempted by a nice P or P/J bass, and I'm always a sucker for Stingrays. No fretless trade offers though, please, as I already have a fretless 5-string incoming, as mentioned above.

[b]My feedback:[/b]
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/235584-feedback-for-grammefriday/"]http://basschat.co.u...r-grammefriday/[/url]

Thanks for looking!

Edited September 6, 2014 by GrammeFriday

[Guest BassKS]

An absolutely lovely bass.
God dammit.

[GrammeFriday]

Thanks! Yes, it is a real looker, and sounds just as good.

[GrammeFriday]

On hold!

[GrammeFriday]

And sold!