Custom Sandberg California VM-5 5-String Bass, Hardcore Reserve Aging, Cream, Maple Fretboard

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 specific bass is what I like to call a "temptation bass". Meaning, it's so good that if someone doesn't scoop it up soon, it's going to come home with me and I'll have some 'splainin to do to my wife. Once we got it into the shop and I got it into my hands, it had to be pried away from me. It's just one of those instruments that makes you go "ahh, yes... This is what a bass is SUPPOSED to feel like!" So keep me out of trouble and give this a good home for me, will ya?

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. Whether you're a 4-string player or used to 5-strings, you'll feel right at home on this one. The aging on the neck is done in all the right places so that it looks authentic without any hindrance to your playing. In other words, there aren't any scratches or dings (as a result of the aging process) where your hand is on the neck. So you get the look and feel of a well-worn bass but with the playability of a new and modern masterpiece. 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. 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 VM-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 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 B, 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.

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 and their Hardcore Aged Reserve relic process. 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. Similar to their Hardcore Aged look, designed to give the instrument a look of having spent 20 years on the road, this process includes slightly aged fretboard and an aging at the neck sides along with authentic relic job on the body, pickguard, and headstock. All Reserve built basses have worn pickup covers and hardware while also receiving the Thermo Treatment. 

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.

This Sandberg California VM-5 is 100% brand new and is being sold by an authorized dealer with full manufacturer's warranty. Photos are of the exact bass you'll receive.

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.