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Aguilar ToneHammer vs Sadowsky Pre

M

Medic162

Aug 13, 2008
46
0
Summerville S.C.
#1
Bassists! Help me decide on something. I live in S.C, so "trying out" good gear is out of the question. I want a preamp for both a 4 string P and 5 string passive jazz style bass. In your experience, what is the better choice: Sadowsky vs Aguilar I've read all the info I can possibly find on the "ToneHammer" and the Sadowsky Pre, but want to hear from players who've used both or either. I don't want to add an onboard to keep the instruments original. THANK YOU!!! & PLEASE don't say BOTH, I'm a poor fireman:)
 
#5
I've owned both preamps but currently use the Aguilar. I prefer the Aguilar for it's overall tone and sweepable mids but I may be biased since I used to own an AG-500 and really liked the way it sounded. I set the EQ on my bass and amp flat and do all tone shaping with the TH. The AGS is definite plus.

I'd say they're both quality boxes. The Sadowsky has no mid control but longer battery life IIRC. Also, the Aguilar is 18 volt which means an extra battery if you use them.

EDIT: I don't play 5 strings so I can't comment on that angle.
 
#6
haha, I've been bouncing back and forth on which to buy as well. I just pulled the trigger on the Sadowsky last night. I've owned an DB924 since it came out and just took off an Audere from my Nordy and switched back to passive.

I mainly went with the Sadowsky due the simplicity of it. I'm not a huge knob tweaker, I just want a buffered line and a just a pinch of bass boost.

I would say that's the main deciding factor, do you need an EQ with more play and the AGS to boot or keep it simple with the Sadowsky.

I figured the Sadowsky is exactly what I would dig seeing that I don't dial that much in with the DB924 and I would get a DI as well.
 
#7
I've owned both but at different times. the Sadowsky will give you the "Sadowsky sound" on whichever bass you plug into it. Like one of the above comments it really shines on jazz type basses. It made my P Basses sound great too but as I remember, they sounded like Ps with active pickups not traditional Ps which is what I wanted. The Tone Hammer makes my Ps sound like Ps, just better. On my J bass it takes completely different setting but really boosts the sound overall giving it much more depth. Kind of like having the option of jazz pickups wired in series and parallel which I like (two different sounds). Since I bought a real Sadowsky bass, which obviously has the real Sadowsky sound I sold the preamp. The Tone Hammer fills all my needs and is more versatile. I remember a thread here that gave some scooped mid setting for the Tone Hammer to get the Sadowsky sound out of it. You may try searching for it.
 
#8
Had both, kept the Tonehammer. One big difference is that the Sadowsky is boost only whereas with the TH you can boost and cut. TH is much more like a Sansamp in terms of versatility. You can dial up a very wide range of tones especially when you use the gain channel. Sadowsky will get the Sadowsky sound if that's what you want but not much else. Curious to know if anyone has figured out how to get that EQ with the TH.
 
#10
Wow, all of a sudden - lots of responses to consider. Thank you all for taking the time to provide me with some food for thought. This is for a MTD Kingston Saratoga V string. It's a passive instrument, and although I know it's never gonna have the "MTD" sound, I do want to have a bit more variability in the signal along with a better punch. I considered putting in Barts and a Bart onboard pre, but that is considerably more expensive than getting an outboard pre. At the end of the day, it's still an import and I don't really want to put a tremendous amount of $$$ in it. If I go with an outboard, it can be used for any of my passive basses, thus doesn't take a walk when I get bored and sell things... Thanks again for all the responses. I think I'm going with the Tone Hammer!
 
#12
I've owned both and now use the tonehammer. The Sadowsky is a great piece and it does what it does very well. I prefer the tonehammer because it really does let each bass speak for itself. More individualism than sounding like a Sadowsky. BTW I have a Sadowsky bass and it is my favorite
 
#13
I've had my sadowsky first generation outboard pre for years and i love it. I had the aguilar for a few months then I sold it.

I sold it for three reasons:

1) the AGS was way too lound when engaged. so much so that it was really unusable.
2) the DI wasn't useful for me because I like to use other pedals after distortion/OD so I need a seperate DI box anyway.
3) it was heavy and bulkt on my pedalboard.

none of these are terrible, just reasons why the pedal wasn't for me.

but either one is a great piece of gear.
 
#14
The AGS is a bit tricky but a great feature. You can't really use as an additional channel as you would expect because it doesnt have it's own volume control. It's more of a toneshaping tool. When engaged you have to adjust volume and master levels to make it work. Some great reviews and detailed descriptions on how to on thise boards. Agree that it's a bit bulky and heavy.
 
#18
Sadowsky said:
If it's the first thing in your signal chain, you do have a buffered line.

Roger
Click to expand...
I’m resurrecting this Zombie thread because I’ve been planning on grabbing a Tonehammer DI, but last night I needed a DI with only an hour notice and the music store didn’t have one in stock.

I briefly tried a SansAmp BDDI and the Sadowsky outboard pre (both used). The Sadowsky sounded incredible and I bought it immediately.

My question to Mr Sadowsky, or anyone else is: should I be starting with the bass and treble knobs at zero and just boosting to taste? Or should they be set at noon for a flat starting point. I was running them at noon direct through the PA with my band and I needed to cut the bass to 10 o’clock and boost treble to 2 o’clock to cut through and not sound boomy. For what’s its worth, I was playing a P bass with old roundwounds.
 
#19
The bass and treble knobs are boost only, so zero would be flat. Start there.
The volume control is before the preamp and only needs to be lowered if your pickups are so hot, they are clipping the input stage of the preamp. Keep it at 10, unless you need to lower it.
Roger
 
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#20
Sadowsky said:
The bass and treble knobs are boost only, so zero would be flat. Start there.
The volume control is before the preamp and only needs to be lowered if your pickups are so hot, they are clipping the input stage of the preamp. Keep it at 10, unless you need to lower it.
Roger
Click to expand...
Awesome! I had no idea. Normally I research a product extensively but I went and picked out whatever they had on my way to a rehearsal... I feel incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon your preamp. Thanks again for such a quick reply, and for making such great products.
 
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