Sandberg Basses TM5 Orange Metallic Masterpiece

TM5 Orange Metallic 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 Masterpiece Process

Every Masterpiece bass at Sandberg receives a treatment that goes far beyond cosmetic aging. After assembly, the instrument is mounted on a dedicated vibration rig for extended sessions of mechanical excitation – compressing years of playing into a controlled process that opens up the wood’s natural resonance. The thermo-treated alder body has been heat-processed to drive out residual moisture and change the cellular structure, resulting in wood that’s more stable and more resonant. The finish is intentionally thin – less lacquer means less damping, so the instrument vibrates more freely and responds more immediately to your touch.

One luthier then spends an entire week hand-aging each Masterpiece bass, creating a unique story of wear. This Orange Metallic has been worn through to reveal the golden base coat beneath – a stunning visual effect that gives the bass a depth and character that photos can’t fully capture. The matching orange headstock, aged tortoiseshell pickguard, and patina’d chrome hardware complete the picture of an instrument that looks like it’s been a road warrior for decades.

Alder and Rosewood – Open and Resonant

The thermo-treated alder body delivers a balanced, full-range tone with a subtle shift toward a more open, vintage-leaning voice compared to standard untreated alder. The heat treatment enhances the wood’s natural resonance, and combined with the thin Masterpiece finish, notes bloom with an immediacy and fullness that you typically only find on instruments with real decades of playing behind them.

The rosewood fretboard brings warmth and depth to the attack. Rosewood naturally rounds off the high end and fills out the midrange with a woody richness that pairs beautifully with the TM’s Delano pickups. On a five-string, that warmth in the low register is especially welcome – the B string speaks with authority and musicality rather than clinical precision.

The roasted maple neck is stable, fast, and comfortable. The Masterpiece aging on the neck means a smooth, broken-in playing surface with zero lacquer grab – just wood under your fretting hand, exactly like a bass that’s been played for years.

The TM platform carries Sandberg’s most versatile pickup configuration: a Delano J-style single-coil at the bridge and a Delano M-style humbucker in the neck position. This gives you the best of both worlds – the focused, transparent clarity of a jazz pickup combined with the fat, powerful output of a humbucker.

The bridge single-coil delivers that classic jazz bass bark – tight, articulate, and cutting. The neck humbucker is warm, thick, and commanding, with a low-end authority that fills any room. Blend both together and you land in a rich, complex territory that neither pickup can achieve on its own. The split switch lets you tap the humbucker into single-coil mode, effectively giving you a dual-jazz-pickup bass when you need it.

The Sandberg 2-band EQ preamp with push-pull active/passive switching rounds out the electronics. In active mode, you have surgical control over bass and treble. Pull the volume knob up for passive mode, and the treble control becomes a traditional tone knob – perfect for those moments when you want nothing between you and the raw, resonant voice of this Masterpiece instrument.

Worth Every Euro

The Masterpiece series is Sandberg at their absolute best. The combination of thermo treatment, vibration aging, thin finish, and meticulous hand-relic work creates an instrument that genuinely sounds and feels different from their standard production models. The TM5 platform gives you the tonal range to cover anything from vintage Motown to modern metal, and the Orange Metallic finish ensures you’ll be the most visually striking player on any stage.

At Bass Buddha, the Masterpiece TM5 represents the summit of Sandberg’s craft. If you’re looking for a five-string that does everything – and looks incredible doing it – this is where the search ends.