Sandberg Basses Preowned Ida Nielsen 4

California Ida Nielsen 4

This Ida Nielsen signature came back to us in mint condition, and at 3.65 kg it’s a genuinely light example of an already comfortable instrument. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to grab one of Sandberg’s most thoughtfully spec’d signature basses, this is it.

Sandberg builds these at Holger Stonjek’s workshop in Braunschweig, Germany. Ida Nielsen, the Danish bassist best known for her years with Prince in The New Power Generation and 3rdeyegirl, traveled down to Stelle to develop this bass herself – choosing the pickups, their positioning, and all the small details that make this signature feel like a working pro’s tool rather than a marketing exercise.

The body is European alder, which gives this bass its classic balanced foundation: punchy lows, focused mids, and an open top end that lets every nuance through. Sandberg’s vibration treatment puts the body through 100 hours of mechanical break-in, which loosens the wood up and gives a brand-new bass that lived-in resonance you’d normally need years of playing to develop. You can hear it in the way the fundamental opens up under your fingers.

The neck is six-bolt Canadian hard rock maple with a 22-fret birdseye maple fretboard, finished off with block inlays, a matched black headstock, and Ida’s signature etched into the back. Maple on maple is a snappy, articulate combination – it sharpens the attack and gives slap notes that piano-key clarity. Pair that with the alder body’s balance, and you’ve got an instrument that can dig in for funk and pop, then deliver enough bite for rock without sounding harsh.

Electronics is where the Ida Nielsen really separates itself from the standard California TM. Sandberg’s Black Label TM configuration pairs a single coil in the middle position with a humbucker at the bridge. The single coil gives you that dominant, growling thump – it’s the heart of the funk tone Ida is known for. Blend toward the bridge humbucker and you get power and bite for rock contexts, with the noise rejection a single coil can’t match. The control layout is kept clean: volume with a push-pull for active/passive switching, pickup blend, treble, and bass. In passive mode the EQ drops out and you’re left with the pure pickup voice – a useful trick for anyone who likes to dial in a more vintage thump on the fly.

The practical touches are all there: a D-tuner for quick drop-D switches, a thumb rest between the pickups, fluorescent side dots for stage visibility, and the black pickguard option for a more discreet look than the Asian silk variant. The Soft Aged Black Gloss finish is Sandberg’s lightest aging treatment – it looks essentially new from a meter away, with just the faintest hints of road wear when you get up close.

This is a funk and rock machine first and foremost, but reduce that to “slap bass” and you’d be missing the point. Ida designed it for a working pro’s full toolkit, and that’s exactly what it delivers. The fact that this one weighs 3.65 kg makes it even more appealing – long sets won’t punish your shoulder. We’re proud to offer this mint-condition example.