In this video, we take a quick look at the Sandberg TM4 bass guitar, now available at PMT stores around the UK, check it out here: https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/sandberg-california-tm4-matt-soft-aged-orange-rosewood-fretboard
As their name might suggest, the California series, pays homages to a couple of iconic Fender basses, and the TM4, Sandberg’s answer to the Jazz bass. The body on this particular model is made from Alder, and it’s been finished in a striking matt orange, which if you look closely has been lightly aged. This one’s got a standard white scratchplate, but there’s a huge range of other customisable options for colours and finishes, either matt, gloss or aged, and you can also choose from a number of pick guard options to match.
Although the offset body design is reminiscent of a Fender J-Bass, it’s definitely not a Jazz bass copy. The TM4 feels quite a bit lighter, so it’s really comfortable to play if standing up for long periods of time, and the neck feels a little wider and more rounded than a traditional Jazz bass profile. This guitar’s got a standard 34” scale length, but it is also available in an extra long 35” scale, if that’s more to your preference.
The neck has got a lovely smooth satin finish, it’s a 6 bolt design made from Canadian Hardrock Maple, and on the guitar we’re looking at today, it’s fitted with a Rosewood fingerboard. Just like with the finish though, there’s a number of options for fingerboard woods, such as maple, pau ferro or ebony, you can also choose if you want the headstock finish to match the body or be left plain like this one. You even get the choice of having the fingerboard with or without inlays, as you can see on this particular example.
In terms of hardware, the high quality, 4-saddle bridge is fully adjustable making it easy to adjust intonation and action, and up on the headstock there’s a set of matching open gear tuners, a string retainer, a zero fret nut and access to the 2 way truss rod. To match the aged finished, this guitar’s fitted with aged nickel hardware, but depending on the finish you go for, there are also options of either chrome, black or gold.
The TM4's pickup configuration is also a little different to a traditional Jazz Bass, with a fat sounding Delano Power humbucker at the bridge, which accompanies the more familiar looking single coil neck pickup. Don’t worry though, you can still get that classic J-Bass single coil bridge tone by using the coil-split switch, it just means that you also have the option for a more aggressive Stingray style humbucker tone if you need it. There’s controls for volume and balance, so you can run each pickup either individually or blend them both together, there’s treble and bass controls and you can also set the pre-amp to either active or passive by using the push-pull volume knob, with the active circuit allowing you to boost treble and bass frequencies.
Take a quick look and listen with PMTVUK, but don’t forget that this is just one example of the V series and some of the options that are available, so if you do want to explore a few of those options, definitely get down to your local Professional Music Technology and have a chat to one of our bass experts who’ll help spec out a guitar to suit your taste.
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/PMTVUK?sub_confirmation=1
Find us on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/PMTHouseOfRock/
https://twitter.com/pmthouseofrock
https://www.instagram.com/pmthouseofrock