Sandberg appreciation society

[Cuzzie]

@dave_bass5 are you buying new or is it a ready made from a distributor?

The bass, no doubt is the nuts, so well made.

Delano pups are anything but polite/tame it’s all about how you use them and the Glockenklang pre-amp is a very good piece of kit indeed, you will pretty much get all you need from them - the tonality between active and passive is exactly the same, but active gives a bit more ‘push’. We all have different tastes but the 2 band EQ is all you need.

If you are buying from Sandberg you can ask for the Glockenklang 3 band pre-amp if you wish instead, and also you could get their Black label pick ups inserted instead of the Delano ones.

The black labels could be purely passive, or they do Haüssel pick ups which are also brilliant if that is your preference as a special.

There is of course the ability to drop any of these in as you wish.

You won’t regret it

[dave_bass5]

Cheers Cuzzie.

Its actually on Thomanns website for immediate dispatch.  Ive been put off buying one in the past by the lack of fret markers on the fretboard (I know that can be ordered with them for extra), but this one has them, and I love the finish on the body. Its closer to my Sandblasted Fender than a normal goss finish. Love the black hardware as well. 

I’m still thinking if it s worth buying (£1145), considering I’m happy with what i have, but i keep going back to it. 

 

[Cuzzie]

Do Thomman do 30 day send back, you could do that?

Any which way the above stands about pick ups and electronics which you can easily pop in.

I’ve played all the various types Sandberg use pretty much.

If interested in them, give me a DM and we can chat more.

Get the Bass!!!!

[CameronJ]

31 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Cheers Cuzzie.

Its actually on Thomanns website for immediate dispatch.  Ive been put off buying one in the past by the lack of fret markers on the fretboard (I know that can be ordered with them for extra), but this one has them, and I love the finish on the body. Its closer to my Sandblasted Fender than a normal goss finish. Love the black hardware as well. 

I’m still thinking if it s worth buying (£1145), considering I’m happy with what i have, but i keep going back to it. 

 

That’s a good price for a new Sandberg in a pretty unusual finish. Surely there will always be fretmarkers on the side of the neck even if there aren’t any on the front though? My first bass was a Yamaha RBX774 with no front markers and I didn’t even think about it! Side dots are all you need really.

[dave_bass5]

35 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

That’s a good price for a new Sandberg in a pretty unusual finish. Surely there will always be fretmarkers on the side of the neck even if there aren’t any on the front though? My first bass was a Yamaha RBX774 with no front markers and I didn’t even think about it! Side dots are all you need really.

Yes, good price for something that also has dots on the fretboard. Its not that i need the dots, i just don’t like the look of fretboards that dont have them. Its definitely a visual thing.

[fretmeister]

Lack of board markers is easily fixed with removable stickers.

I’m not a massive fan of the Delano’s they use, but the Black Labels are superb.

Pickups swaps are easy! 

[Cuzzie]

Amen to black labels - @fretmeister knows their worth.

I got a MarloweDK with old Sandberg’s, A TT with Haüssel, done Delano’s (weirdly you sort of appreciate them when they are gone, or come back to them) and they lay out a great sound to mould as you want, but if I got another Sandy, would be new black labels

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I’m not a massive fan of the Delano’s they use, but the Black Labels are superb.

Pickups swaps are easy! 

Hah - where were you when I needed you with that comment?  

How would you describe the key differences in sound between the Black Labels and Delanos?

Edited March 17, 2019 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

@dave_bass5  Just spotted this old recording we did 18 months ago. Played on a TM4 with Delano pups. There's just one comment on the YouTube video from the public - which completely undermines what I've being saying about Delanos! Lol!

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

Cheers Bas (looking cool there). I think ive seen that or at least one or two tracks form that session/gig. I think the bass sounds great in the mix, and im finding more and more that's where it really counts for me.

As far as pups go, spending £1150 on a bass and having to spend more on changing something is not appealing to me at all, so i'd live with whatever it came with. Saying that, ive heard good things about the black labels. if i was getting the bass custom built those are what id go for.

[Al Krow]

10 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Cheers Bas (looking cool there). I think ive seen that or at least one or two tracks form that session/gig. I think the bass sounds great in the mix, and im finding more and more that's where it really counts for me.

As far as pups go, spending £1150 on a bass and having to spend more on changing something is not appealing to me at all, so i'd live with whatever it came with. Saying that, ive heard good things about the black labels. if i was getting the bass custom built those are what id go for.

Kind of you to say - haha!

I know what you mean about spending > £1k on a bass and finding that you need to spend another £300 on replacement pups. Totally with you on that one. Maybe the angle is to get a used Berg for around the £750 mark and then swap the pups round? Just a thought.

And, like you, I'd be interested to hear a bit more about these coveted Black Label pups - @fretmeister could we ask you to have a go at describing the key differences in sound between the Delanos and the Black Labels please?

Edited March 18, 2019 by Al Krow

[fretmeister]

I've experienced the Delano J and MM pickup in a Sandberg TM4 and TM5 (and some buckers in my Marleaux)

 

I think the main thing I would say is - they just don't let the bass sound like a Jazz bass. There's too much hifi mids going on. It's more like it's got a couple of humbuckers.

That's fine if that is what I wanted - but I didn't.

 

The Black Labels are stacked buckers so they do retain a little bit of that but they sound far more traditional than the Delanos. 

The Black Labels sound a little like the Sadowsky singles to me - almost a bit plain when played solo, but come alive in the mix, but there's also a touch of the Marcus Miller going on when the preamp is maxed for bass and treble - the scoop isn't as deep in the mids as a true set of singles when the preamp is set that way but that's not a bad thing IMHO - far too many players go for the Marcus scoop sound and then disappear in the mix completely because the band hasn't been built around that bass tone.

 

Do I like the Black Labels more than trad single Js? Probably not - my favourites are the amazing Aguilar 60s winds - would I bother changing them? Can't see it. They are very good pickups, they are silent in operation, and the neck pickup on it's own will do a passable P bass sound better than a true single coil J, especially if the bass and treble are cut a little to give a mid hump like a vintage P would have.

 

I don't do the bridge pickup solo'd Jaco thing so my experience of that is limited - it sounds ok but I suspect the pickup being closer to the bridge would be more important than the actual pickup type for that sort of thing. I don't really like that sound for my own playing so I can't really help for that.

 

Summary - Black Labels will let a Jazz sound like a Jazz

The Delano's Sandberg use (there might be other models for all I know) don't.

 

Whatever you like best then...!  

 

Hope that helps a bit!

 

 

[Opticaleye]

I'm not sure that I've tried Black Label pickups. I tried a TT4 Masterpiece at Bass Direct that was listed as having Black labels but it was also listed as having an active pre when it was, in fact, passive. There are lots of inaccuracies in BD's specs including incorrect fingerboard wood that doesn't tally with the pictures. The SL's though are definitely Black Labels.

I ended up buying a 3.3kg birds eye maple/mahogany TT4 passive that I believe has Sandberg's Alnico5 pickups, although the Bass Direct website lists the bass as having Delano TT's. Whatever they are I really like them.

I have 5 Sandbergs (all passive with Alnico pickups) and have sold another 3 that had Delano big pole pickups. I prefer the Alnicos as they sound a little more vintage and dynamic. 

[okusman]

Found the Delanos in a JJ California really clacky and a touch unpleasant. 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Opticaleye said:

I have 5 Sandbergs (all passive with Alnico pickups) and have sold another 3 that had Delano big pole pickups. I prefer the Alnicos as they sound a little more vintage and dynamic. 

I've got Alnicos in my Yammys and also like them a lot. 

Seems to be a bit of a pattern with views being expressed on the Berg Delanos. I like fretmeister's description of them being a little 'hi fi' in the mids. A nicer description than my 'tame / polite / civilised' , but I suspect conveying exactly the same point. 

Up to folk to take from that what they will! 

[Cuzzie]

You have to remember Alnico’s are just the magnet that is used, Alnico 4, 5 etc.

Pole piece size, winding, pre amp it is linked to will all make a difference. So changing out the Glock but with Delano’s May float your boat.

Delano’s have Alnico magnets in them

[Opticaleye]

The big pole Delano's that Sandberg use are all ceramic. I have a G&L 1000 that has a ceramic pickup and sounds great. I liked the Sandberg big pole ceramic pickup that was in my VS4 when I got it.

I had a TT4 active that I replaced the Delano's with Nordstrands and really liked the sound. The Sandberg (Glockenklang) pre sounds good to me, it's the Delano's that are not my thing.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Opticaleye
Clarification

[Cuzzie]

Completely get you - we start then getting into not just the magnet but orientation of it - I couldn’t get on with G&L orientation of their MFD’s and their steel pieces, before we get onto windings.

I agree it’s difficult to fault the Glock Pre - I can see how the Delano’s are not to taste and the in house Sandberg be they black label or not would appeal more generally.

[CameronJ]

The stock Sandberg pickup in my Electra VS4 produces one of the best Precision tones I’ve heard in a bass. With Labella black nylon tapes on it just sounds sooo woody and thumps. Really really lovely stuff. It’s quite alarming just how good a bass it is considering it’s the “cheaper” range.

[fretmeister]

Just now, CameronJ said:

The stock Sandberg pickup in my Electra VS4 produces one of the best Precision tones I’ve heard in a bass. With Labella black nylon tapes on it just sounds sooo woody and thumps. Really really lovely stuff. It’s quite alarming just how good a bass it is considering it’s the “cheaper” range.

I quite fancy trying one of those.

 

If the weight is low enough.

[CameronJ]

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

I quite fancy trying one of those.

 

If the weight is low enough.

Mine weighs nothing. It’s the lightest bass I own, and that’s saying something given that my Dingwall Super P is 7lbs 14oz.

By comparison my German-made VM5 is positively obese!

[Cuzzie]

@fretmeister I had a VS4 full fat exactly as Cam said, it was a dream - sold it with a heavy heart to fund a new bass. It went to a good home and if interested in one I can put you in touch if he wants to sell.

I do miss that bass, and it was very light indeed, passive as well

[CameronJ]

I should clarify that my Electra VS4 is the older Fender shape, so I can't really comment on the newer models with any certainty

[Cuzzie]

Mines older too - but the newers tend also to be light

[jezzaboy]

I actually prefer the new shape to the more Fender looking old ones. I reckon my VS4 is right up there quality wise with a Musicman costing a grand more.