Sandberg California TM-5 5-String Bass, Rosewood Fretboard, Delano Pickups, Hardcore Aged Creme

Made in Europe, with the finest German engineering, this bass will slap a smile on your face that you just can't shake. Sandberg basses are already very well known 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. Whether you're a 4-string player or used to 5-strings, you'll feel right at home on this one.

This bass, featuring an aged finish, has a classic and timeless look to it, 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. The B-string, even though this is a 34" scale bass, is incredibly tight and punchy.

As well as being effortless to play, this Sandberg TM-5 comes loaded with some powerful and thoroughly kickass electronics. The first thing you're likely to notice are the huge pole pieces on the Delano J-style pickup. This is a brilliant adaptation of a tried and true design. 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. It's got a bit more mid-range punch to it than traditional vintage single coils as well as being hum-cancelling. Right behind that is an MM-style humbucker (also made by Delano) that allows you to get a growly and thick tone or you can split it to turn the bass into a more traditional J bass vibe. The two pickups combine for a huge array of tonal versatility. Add to that, the zero fret, and you truly have a bass with even tonal and playing response across all strings AND fretted as well as open strings.

Rest assured, you can still achieve traditional J bass tones with this as well. In passive mode, this bass achieves some more vintage J bass sounds, while still maintaining that characteristic of a slightly more prevalent and punchy mid-range. 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 harmonics and responds well to dynamics in your playing style. A simple 2-band boost/cut EQ allows you to tweak your sound on the fly, without ever having to turn around and fiddle with your amp knobs. The mini-toggle switch puts the bridge pickup in either single-coil or humbucking mode. 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. There really aren't too many tones that you can't achieve with this combination of pickups. Add to that the expert craftsmanship that all Sandberg basses share and you've got a true winner here!