Sandberg Basses TT5 Shell Pink Masterpiece

Holger Stonjek is a man that lives and breathes bass guitars and has been building basses since 1986. He has done it with such massive success that Sandberg is now one of the biggest brands in the bass community.

The focus from Sandberg has always been to produce high-quality instruments at an accessible price point. Hence you get a great and well-balanced bass for the money every single time when you choose Sandberg.

The TT5 Masterpiece is Sandberg’s top tier take on the classic J-style 5-string, built in Germany and aged to feel and sound like an instrument that’s already lived decades of music.

This one comes with an alder body paired with a maple neck and maple fingerboard—a timeless combo that delivers punch, clarity, and just the right amount of warmth in the low end.

Electronics are handled by a set of Delano singlecoils, voiced for tight lows, open mids, and that sweet top-end detail that lets the bass breathe in a mix. Backing them up is Sandberg’s own 2-band preamp, giving you the choice between passive vintage tones and an active mode where you can push the lows or add extra snap in the highs.

A highly skilled artisan is responsible for the relic work on the Masterpiece basses, meticulously crafting each instrument’s unique wear and tear. This process is made on every bass with its own distinct history, detailing the origins of each scratch and dent.

A key feature of the Masterpiece series is Sandberg’s heat and vibration treatment.This is not just some marketing voodoo, the technique ages the wood, enhancing the sustain, attack and the stability of the bass. The result is a bass that sounds like it has been played for years, offering a rich, mature tone. The varnish on the masterpiece basses is thinner which allows the sound to vibrate more freely.

On Masterpiece instruments, Sandberg goes beyond cosmetic relic work and literally “plays in” the bass for you.

After assembly and setup, the finished bass is mounted on a dedicated vibration rig and shaken for long sessions—think hundreds of hours’ worth of simulated gigging. This mechanical excitation makes the whole instrument resonate repeatedly, which helps the wood fibers settle and the neck/body joint “bed in.” The audible outcome Sandberg documents is quicker note attack and longer sustain, i.e., a more responsive feel right under the fingers.

Select parts (notably the body wood on Masterpiece/HCA Reserve builds) are heat-treated. This gently drives out residual moisture and changes the cell structure of the wood, increasing stability and helping the instrument vibrate more freely. In Sandberg’s words, the combined thermo + vibration process makes a new bass behave like a well-loved old one—livelier resonance, more immediate attack, and a tone that feels “opened up.”

Masterpiece basses also use an intentionally thin finish. Less finish mass = less damping, so the wood can oscillate more easily. That complements the two treatments above and is part of why these instruments feel acoustically louder and more “alive” against your body.

Sandberg Guitars

What you’ll notice!

• Notes “pop” sooner (faster attack) and hang longer (sustain).

• The instrument feels unusually resonant and responsive at low volume—great for dynamics and touch.

• Wood stability improves from the outset, so the bass behaves more like a seasoned, regularly played instrument