NBD: Sandberg Dream Bass with Fralin Pickups

#23
Killing Floor said:
That’s stunning. Nice choice. Play the paint off it.

I agree with the Lindy comments. He’s a fantastic guy and glad to answer any questions. I have a +5 P on a bass and it growls. Congrats on that killer bass.
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Thanks, man. The Lindy’s are some of the closest things you’ll find to pre-CBS PUs in my opinion. So lively, versatile and well balanced. Excellent PUs.
 
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#25
Kilgore777 said:
Thanks, man. The Lindy’s are some of the closest things you’ll find to pre-CBS PUs in my opinion. So lively, versatile and well balanced. Excellent PUs.
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And he describes them exactly that way. This plus he takes the time to ask about neck radius and playing style just in case he needs to adjust the pole stagger. There’s no best pickup but there is customer focus. Rock it.
 
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#28
Gorgeous! Love the trans-black.

Question - what are those four silver dots on the body above the neck? Just aesthetics?

Surprisingly, passive mode is my favorite (and I am a MM freak, so used to an onboard pre-amp).
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I'm actually not surprised by this. I love the MM tone as well, but for any other bass I prefer passive. The growl of a J bass or chunkiness of the P bass doesn't require active electronics, in my opinion.
 
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#32
Congrats! Sounds like an AMAZING bass!

I'm not surprised you went with Fralins or that you prefer it in passive mode.

I love everything about Sandberg basses except their stock pickups/electronic which are way too bright and "modern" (personally I would say "outdated") for my taste.

I did more or less the same as you. I custom ordered a VS (P-only) but with passive electronics only and a Kloppmann PB63 pickup. Alder body, maple neck, ebony board. At the time I had never seen a passive Sandberg bass and they had no passive option in their configurator so I wasn't even sure they would do it.

But they did and it turned out great except for one thing: Sandberg seem to have an obsession with BRIGHT so even though I requested a passive bass with a vintage '63-style pickup they used 500k pots. This was too bright for me but easily fixed by replacing the pots with 250k.

Actually it's STILL a bit brighter and feels "faster" than any of my other passive P-basses but that's probably caused by the ebony fretboard. This was of course my own choice and in hindsight perhaps not ideal for my needs. But it looks gorgeous and offers a slightly different flavor in my arsenal of P-basses.

It's one of my favourite basses but the process of ordering a custom instrument from Sandberg was very frustrating. There were huge delays and communication was very poor. I'm glad I did it but not sure I would want to go through all of that again to be honest.
 
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#37
Dust2Dust said:
Not only does that bass scream "Pick me up and play me!" But it also says "Where a Darth Vader costume while playing me":thumbsup:

On the other hand, maybe it just says that to me :thumbsdown:
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Lol... I guess I do like things a little on the "dark side"..... even though I am a wimpy looking old guy (think Mr. Magoo with big glasses and in better shape). It started with a fascination with horror movies and "dark" rock.... my first two records were Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. That stuff warped my mind. Became a big fan of "darkwave" in the 80s too. Have gargoyle statues in and outside my house.....
 
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#39
S.F.Sorrow said:
Congrats! Sounds like an AMAZING bass!

I'm not surprised you went with Fralins or that you prefer it in passive mode.

I love everything about Sandberg basses except their stock pickups/electronic which are way too bright and "modern" (personally I would say "outdated") for my taste.

I did more or less the same as you. I custom ordered a VS (P-only) but with passive electronics only and a Kloppmann PB63 pickup. Alder body, maple neck, ebony board. At the time I had never seen a passive Sandberg bass and they had no passive option in their configurator so I wasn't even sure they would do it.

But they did and it turned out great except for one thing: Sandberg seem to have an obsession with BRIGHT so even though I requested a passive bass with a vintage '63-style pickup they used 500k pots. This was too bright for me but easily fixed by replacing the pots with 250k.

Actually it's STILL a bit brighter and feels "faster" than any of my other passive P-basses but that's probably caused by the ebony fretboard. This was of course my own choice and in hindsight perhaps not ideal for my needs. But it looks gorgeous and offers a slightly different flavor in my arsenal of P-basses.

It's one of my favourite basses but the process of ordering a custom instrument from Sandberg was very frustrating. There were huge delays and communication was very poor. I'm glad I did it but not sure I would want to go through all of that again to be honest.
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I know what you mean about the communication issue.... I wasn't sure if that was Sandberg or the store I was buying it from, but to quote Led Zeppelin.... "Communication Breakdown!". And delays are awful now.... I was told 8 months and it was 12. Worth the wait though, I have to say.

I did not know that about the pots - thanks for letting me know. Yes, it is a bright sounding bass. I had to dial back a lot of treble and boost the lows and low mids in eq when using my "big amp" (Eden Roadrunner with 2/2-10" cabs). However, I am able to dial in some great sounds. However, it sounds awesome through my Vox amPlug 2 bass headphone amp and through my little Eden Nemesis amp as is.

Personally to me the neck alone is worth the price of admission. Electronics can always be tweaked.

Cheers!
 
#40
Kilgore777 said:
Wow! Sadowsky was in the running when I bought my bass but just a little too pricey. That was surprising to hear!
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I'm gonna hang onto the Sadowsky, but here's why the Sandberg became my go-to:

The Sandberg doesn't quite have that jewel-like finish of the Sadowsky, but it's excellent, nonetheless. Neck pocket is tight, fingerboard edges are comfy, fretwork is great. I really like the Will Lee neck profile, and the Sandberg feels the same. No compromise on playability.

I prefer the ergos of the Sandberg. The Sadowsky's body is chambered, and its natural balance on the strap is about horizontal. The Sandberg naturally tends to point up a bit, and that's more comfortable for me. With that compact bridge on the Sandberg mounted right at the end of the body, the reach to the first fret is a bit shorter; I like that.

The Sadowsky electronics really do sound good, but in practice (meaning quick on-stage tone tweaks) I like having cut/boost rather than boost only.

Hey, I don't mean in any way to denigrate my Sadowskys (a Japan Metro Will Lee 5, and an NYC Will Lee 5). They are top-shelf basses. But the Sandberg is the one I reach for. We're getting down to real fine points about the design, and it suits my personal preferences just a bit better.
 
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