Sandberg Basses California Ida Nielsen 4

California Ida Nielsen 4

Ida has been playing Sandberg basses on-stage for a long time, so it just feels right that she finally has a signature bass with them now. And when two major low-end forces like this decide to collaborate, you just know the end-result is going to be great.

Ida took the time to travel down to Holger’s workshop to spec out the bass and decide which pickups should be used and how they should be positioned. The outcome of that is nothing short of incredible and is one of the best Sandberg basses, if not the best Sandberg bass I’ve laid my hands on.

The bass is built around the California T-series from Sandberg, but with some important and unique tweaks to it. The body is made out of European Alder which has been mildly aged. The fingerboard is birdseye maple and the neck is made from maple.

The bass has received Sandberg’s own vibration treatment, which makes the bass sound and feels like it’s been played for years. It’s just incredible right out of the box! There is a thumb rest between the pickups which works very well if you are used to placing your thumb between the pickups like I am.

The side dots are fluorescent so you can see them in the dark. This will most definitely come in handy when you are between two songs on a dark or dimly-lit stage. The bass also features a hipshot drop-D tuner, which enables you to play that heavy and cool Drop-D when needed. Just flick that switch, and you’re ready to go LOW!

The pickups are Sandberg’s own black-label pickups, the TM set, which consists of one singlecoil and a humbucker for the bridge for extra power and muscle to your sound. The preamp is the Sandberg 2-band EQ Active/Passive.

This bass is a funky beast that’s super comfortable to play, and is of course perfect for that powerful, groovy and hard-hitting slap that Ida does soooo well!

But that being said, this bass is actually a brilliant all-round bass that will get any job done.