Sandberg Guitars Launches Martin Mendez Signature Bass
Sandberg Guitars has announced the latest in their artist series with a signature model for Opeth and White Stones bassist Martin Mendez. Based on the company’s California TT Passive bass, the new model is described as “unpretentious but classy” with personal touches from Mendez himself.
The Martin Mendez Signature comes in a four-string or a five-string version with two optons: European alder with a Soft Age finish in Virgin White or European Ash in a Black Matte finish. The bolt-on neck is made from Canadian Hard Rock Maple and has an ebony fretboard for the white bass and a maple fingerboard (complete with block inlays) on the black bass. Sandberg also utilizes a 34-inch scale for the four-string and a 35-inch scale for the five-string.
“As Martin wanted a classic and traditional sound with a certain bite he, chose two Delano JMVC pickups set in a special position that is a little bit closer to the bridge than Sandberg´s Standard TT position,” the company writes. “The tone can be further refined and tweaked with a volume control, a balance control and a treble cut. Finally, the Martin Mendez Signature Bass is subjected to the Sandberg “Vibration Treatment”, which results in an improved resonance and an authentic old school sound of an instrument that has been played for many years.”
The Sandberg Martin Mendez Signature Bass is available now with prices ranging from $2,319 to $2,759, depending on options.
Sandberg Guitars Martin Mendez Signature Bass Specs:
| Scale: | 34″ for four-string, 35″ for five-string |
| Construction: | Bolt-on, Six Bolt |
| Body: | European Alder or European Ash |
| Neck: | Canadian Hardrock Maple |
| Fretboard: | Ebony for White Finish, Maple for Black Matte |
| Frets: | 22 |
| Inlay: | Black Block for Maple Fingerboard |
| Pickups: | Delano JMVC, Closed Covers |
| Electronics: | Passive |
| Controls: | Volume, Balance, Treble Cut |
| Hardware: | Sandberg |
| Hardware Finish: | Black |
| Other: | Vibration Treatment, Matched Headstock |
I actually have a California VT 4 string and I must say for the dollar amount I was rather disappointed. The quality of the string nut carving was just horrible. I had to use canned air to clean out the input jack and control cavity to get rid of the staticy sound that initially came with the bass. As well as one fret needing to be filed down. I’m still waiting on a replacement nut. Now there are a few things I totally love about the bass as well though. I guess what I’m getting at is try the bass out in person at a store (not online) to double check everything on it: construction, cnc pickguard spacing around the pick ups, string nut, fret dressing, etc. Otherwise you may experience a bit of buyers remorse like I did.