Sandberg California VM-4 Bass, Metallic Red, Rosewood Fretboard, NAMM Special
Player's Perspective
Music Store Live is proud to be an official Sandberg dealer! Made in Europe, with the finest German engineering, this bass will slap a smile on your face that you just can't shake. This was a NAMM 2017 exhibition piece that just felt sooooo good, we had to bring it into the shop.
Sandberg basses are already very well known over in Europe and are now gaining popularity here in the U.S. for being some of the finest hand-made boutique basses available. The playability is just simply off the charts. The bass looks really cool, but the fun really starts once you put it in your hands. Along from the simply divine neck, you'll notice a very flat fretboard on there. This makes grooving or playing fast licks a breeze up and down the fretboard. Runs that require string skipping are a breeze and even if you make your living on just the first 5 frets, you'll want to explore the entire neck/fretboard on this because it's just so easy to do so.
As well as being effortless to play, this Sandberg VM-4 comes loaded with some powerful and thoroughly kickass electronics. The first thing you're likely to notice are the huge pole pieces on the P-style pickup. Next you'll probably notice that the split-coil pickup is placed in opposite orientation that you might traditionally find it. This is a brilliant adaptation of a tried and true design. By placing the E, and A string pole pieces closer to the bridge, you end up with a tighter, punchier, and more focused tone on the bass strings while having a slightly fuller and rounder sound out of the D and G treble strings. The resulting tone is one that will sit perfectly in a mix, no matter how many other instruments are playing along with you, and will never be muddy or indistinct. Add to that, the zero fret, and you truly have a bass with even response across all strings AND fretted as well as open strings.
Rest assured, you can still achieve traditional P-bass tones with this as well. Overall, along with tightening up the bass response and providing fuller treble response, the giant pole pieces on the pickups help produce a powerful tone that is rich with just enough mid-range while still having loads of that P-bass wooliness we've all come to know and love. Located directly behind that is a big MM-style humbucker to add bite, growl, and attack to your notes. By adding that humbucker close to the bridge, you can achieve super growly and barky tones that compliment the P-pickup or stand out on their own with the pickup solo'd. The ability to run this in active or passive mode only further adds to the immense versatility found here. A simple 2-band boost/cut EQ allows you to tweak your sound on the fly, without every having to turn around and fiddle with your amp knobs. For a more vintage sound, just pull the volume knob to disengage the preamp and you'll instantly be transported to bass sounds of the 60's and 70's. With the preamp engaged you can really dial in a huge array of tones ranging from modern hi-fi to old-school and vintage.
Special Features
Sandberg Guitars was founded back in 1986 by Holger Stonjek and Gerd Gorzelke. Since then, they have been producing hand-made instruments at the highest quality. This bass features Sandberg's newest version of the California body shape finished in a Metallic Red color. The alder body’s previously even rear bouts now have a decidedly offset vibe. The lower horn has less mass and the cutaway is deeper. The neck pocket goes a bit deeper into the body as well to help with the transference of vibrations. Overall these will weigh a bit less than older California body shapes and will have excellent balance when worn with a strap standing up.
Music Store Live is proud to be an authorized Sandberg Guitars dealer. Along with our amazing inventory, we can custom order any Sandberg bass or guitar you'd like.
Overall Condition
This Sandberg California VM-4 was an exhibition piece at NAMM 2017. The pickguard shows some signs of having been played. This is the only place where the bass shows any signs of use. Otherwise, it is new and still includes a full Sandberg warranty. The bass is marked at a discount to account for being an exhibition piece (normally $2,240). Photos are of the exact bass you'll receive.
Specs
- Sandberg California VM-4
- High Gloss Metallic Red
- Alder Body
- Canadian Hard Rock Maple Neck
- Rosewood Fretboard
- Zero Fret
- 34" Scale
- 14" Fretboard Radius
- 39mm (1.53") Nut Width @ Zero Fret
- Thin D-Shape Neck
- Neck Thickness: 21mm @ 1st Fret
- Graphite Nut
- 3-Ply Black Pickguard
- Sandberg Reverse Split-Coil and Power Humbucking Pickups
- Glockenklang Custom 2-Band Preamp (9V)
- Controls: Volume (push/pull for active/passive), Blend, Bass, Treble
- Thermo Treatment
- Sandberg Custom Bridge: 18.5 mm - 20 mm Adjustable String Spacing
- Sandberg Deluxe Padded Case
- Instrument Weight: 8.5 lbs
- Made In Germany
Our in house guitar tech has inspected, tested, and cleaned all of our instruments on site prior to shipping. All of our instruments are guaranteed to be fully functional upon arrival.
