Sandberg Basses TT5 40th Anniversary Green Line Matt Aluminium

TT5 40th Anniversary Green Line Matt Aluminium

Built for Sandberg’s 40th

This is the TT5 40th Anniversary from Sandberg, out of Braunschweig, Germany. Sandberg turned forty this year, and they celebrated the way a workshop full of bass players would. In fact, they built a handful of special basses for the birthday party in Germany.

No two of them were alike: different models, different finishes, different ideas. Moreover, they weren’t just put on a price list. Instead, they were offered by lottery. This TT5 is one of those basses, and there is exactly one of it. We were really happy to see it come here.

Matt Aluminium all over

Above all, what makes this one special is the finish. Matt Aluminium covers the body, the face of the headstock, the pickguard and the control plate. Furthermore, silver pickup covers and chrome hardware finish the job. As a result, the whole front of the bass looks like one piece of brushed metal.

The only break is the fingerboard. It’s black ebony with no dots or blocks on the face, just side markers for the player. Meanwhile, turn it over and the natural maple neck is the one warm thing on the bass.

It’s a very deliberate, very clean design. However, photos make it look colder than it is in the room, because the matt surface picks up light softly rather than mirroring it.

Body, Neck & Woods

Alder body

The body is alder, and in my opinion that’s the right wood for a bass with two single coils. Indeed, alder is the most even-handed wood in this family.

You get a firm, fast low end that doesn’t bloom. Meanwhile, the midrange sits far enough forward to hold a line against loud guitars. In addition, the top end stays open without getting brittle.

It doesn’t put much character of its own into the sound, the way ash scoops it or mahogany thickens it. In other words, it gets out of the way, which means what you hear is the pickups and the neck rather than the wood.

Green Line

This is also a Green Line bass, and you’ll find the name on the back of the headstock. Basically, Green Line is Sandberg’s lower-impact way of building, with environmentally conscious production.

Furthermore, the wood is chosen with its character left in, such as mineral marks, streaks and colour variation. A cosmetic grading would normally reject them, although they have no effect on how the wood sounds or holds up.

You can see it on the back of this neck, where the maple has a few small dark flecks. For me personally, I really like that. Besides, Sandberg plant a tree in the Harz mountains for every Green Line instrument they sell.

6-bolt maple neck

The neck is maple, bolted on with six screws rather than the usual four. However, that extra pair isn’t for show. It spreads the load across the heel and keeps the joint from working loose over years of seasonal movement.

Moreover, it couples the neck to the body more tightly, which means a firmer fundamental and a little more sustain. At the same time, it’s a C profile, full enough to fill your hand but not so deep that it slows you down. Likewise, the smooth satin back stays fast when the room gets hot.

Ebony board, 14″ radius

The fingerboard is ebony, and on this bass it does two jobs. First of all, it’s the black line through all that silver.

Secondly, ebony is the hardest and densest of the usual fingerboard woods. Therefore the attack is quick and precise, and the top end has a clean, articulate edge. That’s exactly what you want on a bass you can switch to fully passive, because there’s no preamp to add clarity back in.

There are 22 frets in 2.7 mm wire over a 14″ radius, which is flatter than a vintage Jazz board. Consequently, you can set the action really low without the upper register choking out. Finally, the 34″ scale and 44.6 mm nut keep the five-string feeling like a Jazz bass, not a wide neck you have to fight.

Electronics, Sound & Feel

Delano JMVC single coils

Under the silver covers there are Delano JMVC single coils in both positions, made in Germany. Delano wind tighter and more consistently than most. Moreover, the JMVC is their take on the classic Jazz single coil rather than a modern reinvention of it.

For example, you get even output across all five strings and a vocal midrange with real growl. Likewise, the top end has air rather than hiss.

Solo the neck pickup and you get round, fat, almost P-bass-like weight. In contrast, solo the bridge and you get that nasal, mid-forward bark that cuts through a horn section without touching the EQ. Open both, and the coils cancel the hum and give you the scooped, springy both-pickups sound you know from so many records.

Active or fully passive

The four knobs are Volume, Balance, Treble and Bass, running a Sandberg 2-band EQ. Furthermore, the whole preamp switches out, which drops the bass into fully passive with a passive tone control. That’s not a gimmick you use once.

Active, you have boost and cut at both ends. For instance, there’s enough treble to make a fresh set of rounds sing for slap, and enough bass to fill out a trio without leaning on the amp.

Passive, on the other hand, the battery leaves the signal path and the output softens. As a result, you get the slightly compressed, springy response that only a passive Jazz bass has. In short, it’s two different basses in one. If the battery dies mid-set, it costs you a knob rather than the gig.

A firm low B

Above all, the fifth string is where the build quality shows. A low B on a 34″ scale only works if the neck is stiff, the joint is tight and the bridge has mass under the saddles. In fact, all three are true here. Consequently, the B is firm and clear rather than woolly, and it tracks cleanly when you dig in.

Sandberg’s own bridge adjusts the string spacing between 18 and 19.5 mm. Therefore you can set the strings where your right hand actually wants them. In addition, the lightweight tuners keep weight off the headstock, so the bass hangs level on a strap over a long set.

What’s not to like?

Who is it for? I would say someone who wants a working five-string Jazz-style bass, and who also wants something nobody else has. After all, this is a TT5 through and through, with everything that makes that model a safe choice for any gig.

In general, anniversary basses are often either wall-hangers or regular models with a badge on them. This one, however, is neither. It’s a properly original design, built once for Sandberg’s 40th birthday, and it’s meant to be played. Finally, it comes with the Sandberg gigbag. So, what’s not to like?