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Sandberg appreciation society


GisserD

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3 minutes ago, jezzaboy said:

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. 

Have to agree re: quality. I just can’t get on board with MM charging over £2k for a non-custom non-handmade bass. I know it’s because they’re made in the US but :facepalm: I digress...

 

Back on topic, just spotted this absolute beauty at Bass Direct:

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Bloody gorgeous!

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8 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Fender being idiots in about 2015 was probably the best thing that happened to them, it forced a slight alteration in shape for like you say the better

What exactly happened? I've always wondered why Sandberg had to change their body shape when there are so many Fender shaped clones out there going unchallenged!

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No direct contact to Sandberg with threats, but called all distributors and shops that sold Sandberg and Fender and said if you don’t stop selling Sandberg we won’t send you any Fender basses. ‘Gentle’ pressure.....

Not as bad as the Warwick owner who will ring up shop floor boys and demand sales numbers for the weeks/days and shout at them if they do not sell enough units, or hoodwink Entwistles son into giving the design authority to them for the buzzard bass and then force status to not use the word buzzard and smash all the moulds, and then produce a horror show of a copy of the bass that is useless for anything except a boat anchor.

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1 minute ago, Cuzzie said:

No direct contact to Sandberg with threats, but called all distributors and shops that sold Sandberg and Fender and said if you don’t stop selling Sandberg we won’t send you any Fender basses. ‘Gentle’ pressure.....

Not as bad as the Warwick owner who will ring up shop floor boys and demand sales numbers for the weeks/days and shout at them if they do not sell enough units, or hoodwink Entwistles son into giving the design authority to them for the buzzard bass and then force status to not use the word buzzard and smash all the moulds, and then produce a horror show of a copy of the bass that is useless for anything except a boat anchor.

Good lord. That is horrendous. No idea Fender did that! Presumably it was born out of fear that Sandberg were producing a very consistent, resonably priced product in direct competition?

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14 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

No direct contact to Sandberg with threats, but called all distributors and shops that sold Sandberg and Fender and said if you don’t stop selling Sandberg we won’t send you any Fender basses. ‘Gentle’ pressure....

That's very interesting. I struggled to find any legal action taken by Fender against Sandberg (and they would likely lose given their inability to trademark their equally iconic guitar designs, following their recent court loss). 

Hearsay or something more substantial?

Sounds highly anti-competitive and illegal to me. Surprised that Sandberg didn't sue the pants of Fender, if this actually did happen and that they didn't have an army of lawyers on their doorstep looking to act for them on a no win no fee basis. 

Edited by Al Krow
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The whole point on that was Fender did not contact Sandberg, they are within their rights  to stop sending their product to a distributor if they want, the shop etc can make their own decision on whether or not they want to lose their best selling product.

But as @krispn said, the flip side is Hölger saw the opportunity, and ran with it, it’s why he is such a dude, and I think they are better for it.

Shame I have the old shapes, but maybe they will be more collectible-who knows? I don’t really care - stonking basses

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I really loved the old shape, maybe precisely because it was the classic Fender design. I've not really been able to gel with the idea of the new shape, particularly the head which I find yuk. But each to their own, eh?

Edited by Al Krow
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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I really loved the old shape, maybe precisely because it was the classic Fender design. I've not really been able to gel with the idea of the new shape, particularly the head which I find yuk. But each to their own, eh?

I too prefer the Fender shape. But the headstock stayed the same didn't it?

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4 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I too prefer the Fender shape. But the headstock stayed the same didn't it?

Ah maybe I'm getting confused. 

The headstock is certainly different (IMO much uglier) on the 'Basic' models. When did they start being produced with the current headstock? 

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Well after my Sandberg arrived 3 weeks earlier than expected, I’ve spent most of the day fitting a set of smooth half rounds , and I play with a fairly light touch,  so I lowered the action and it plays just beautiful. I’ve also been finding my way around the controls and even in passive mode this thing sounds great, I can’t put it down 😀

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Edited by Reggaebass
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  • 3 weeks later...

Played my new Sandberg VM4 at its debut gig on Saturday. Absoliutely glorious bass to play. Lightweight too in comparison to other basses i have.

Tonally it was very mid sounding with a nice depth of tone. I had the amp almost flat with just a slight bass boost and the treble brought back on the bass. Bass cut thru the mix really well and just loved the mid punch it has. I wasn't really expecting it to be so mid sounding and thought with the MM pick up i'd be hearing more bass and treble tone but nope it was just gorgeous for me. Many comments on the bass look and sound. 

Action was set upby Mark at Vintage and Cool guitars and is set at 1.2-1.3mm on the E string. Lowest i've ever had and absolutely no fret buzz even when digging in a fair bit thru the set.

Only negative was when i was seting up i played a little slap and pop run (no-one else around at the time) and the G string did hit the pick up. I'm not too bothered as i don't generally play that style and shouldn't be an issue. I prefer having that low action and great sound to start mucking around with pick up heights.

All in all one of the best basses i've played. Neck is supreme.

I can see me buying more Sandberg basses in future. I'm hooked.

Here she is. My wee beaut

Dave

One pic from the gig on Sat and the other with friends in the bass cave.

 

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14 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

What you are describing us exactly what the VM offers, the precision sound, with extra cut and clarity.

Hölger is a genius

Because its the reverse P set up you don't get that bassiness on the E & A strings the way my Fender P/J does. The Sandberg tone is far more balanced across the strings. The volume and tone is far more even but that neck has really surprised me how easy it is to play when i've come from a Geddy Jazz or even my early Warwick Thumb NT.

Maybe the low action is helping too but what a great package to have.

I was able to go from a deep P sound to what i prefer a mid punch with depth of tone.

Yep i'm happy. Bass GAS has gone.......... for now anyways. xD

 

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1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

I can see me buying more Sandberg basses in future. I'm hooked

I’ve only had mine 3 weeks and I’m liking it so much, I’m looking at another one 😀

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