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Are Sadowsky basses over rated?

#285
Captain Chaos said:
How are you liking it? I want to replace the Fender preamp in my Marcus, it's just too noisy for my liking so it has to go.
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ABSOLUTELY love it... An order of magnitude nicer than the Fender pre-amp, which as much as I love the Fender high end product isn't that great. The Marcus Miller pre-amp is supposed to be good... I've not played with it, so I cannot comment but I think the standard Fender one leaves a lot to be desired.

I also swapped out to Joe Barden pickups which I believe are the single best (and sadly most expensive) Jazz bass pickups out there, so between the two the combination has been amazing... very musical and able to cut thru the mix with total clarity and full tone.

in this post, I have a pic with both the pre-amp and pickups changed over: Are Sadowsky basses over rated?
 
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#286
joebar said:
I have been researching sadowsky basses lately.
just last weekend I A/B'ed a sadowsky metro MV5 against a fender MIA jazz V; I ran the fender through a sadowsky preamp DI pedal to even out the score. I thought both basses were nearly equal. in passive mode, I gave the fender a nod for the better B string; however, when the preamps were engaged, the sadowsky bass had the edge.

in Canada, a new metro is around 4k taxes in. they are very nice. one could find a new fender USA jazz V + sad pedal and be around half the price and have an almost good axe. the fender gets the nod for me because of the adjustable spacing at the bridge. there isn't a 2k difference IMO.

I have decided to get a sadowsky preamp pedal and make all my passive basses sound phenomenal for little money.
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I still say that the true value of Sadowsky is not in their sound solo, it's in their snap and cut through a live mix

Was your A/B solo or in a band / live situation? I personally believe that Sadowsky's are a weapon that must be used in the right setting to truly appreciate them - after all, a Bugatti Veyron doesn't drive too well off road, but that's not what it was designed for...
 
#287
Captain Chaos said:
How are you liking it? I want to replace the Fender preamp in my Marcus, it's just too noisy for my liking so it has to go.
Click to expand...

Putting in a Sadowsky preamp in your Marcus is the best possible thing you can do to your bass. IMHO the stock Fender preamps are horrible. I did that swap in a Fender American Deluxe Jazz, and man what a difference! Even with the stock Fender Noiseless pickups. I currently use a Sadowsky outboard preamp box with my '72 Jazz. Great combination!
 
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#291
MickyD said:
I still say that the true value of Sadowsky is not in their sound solo, it's in their snap and cut through a live mix

Was your A/B solo or in a band / live situation? I personally believe that Sadowsky's are a weapon that must be used in the right setting to truly appreciate them - after all, a Bugatti Veyron doesn't drive too well off road, but that's not what it was designed for...
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I agree-
if I could afford one I would have one.
 
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#295
Since everyone has a different playing style, set up preference, feel preference, and desired tone, I never understood the purpose of asking others opinions in these matters.

When it comes to any bass priced over $1500, you have to like it or just don't buy it. No one else's opinion matters.

I paid $1800 for my #1 and$2000 for my #2 from some luthier no one has ever heard of before. Could I resell them and recoup my money? Probably not, but I love the way they sound, play, fit, finish.

If you're trying to justify the cost by asking if they are over rated, skip it. You won't be happy with the purchase.
 
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#296
It's interesting that the focus is on the J bass. The old J bass on steroids description, an improvement on the original Fender design, etc. Why doesn't this apply to the P bass as much? Was the P bass perfect out of the box from Fender, and therefore not much room for improvement, and the J bass originally lacking? Is it because a P bass doesn't benefit from the Sadowsky preamp which is part of the attraction? It seems that the attention to detail, build quality and customer service would all still apply to a Sadowsky P bass but you just don't see that many compared to the J. By comparison Lull seems to sell more P's. I would love a Sadowsky P actually...I think. BTW I had my New York Vintage 4 built in 1998 and still have it.
 
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#297
Watchootognbout said:
Over rated?Yes!
Only by those who don't like them.
By those who love them?
No.
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You shouldn't be allowed to post on this topic unless you have actually played a Sadowsky on a gig big enough to require a P.A. and sound man. Opinions are nice but informed opinions are much better. I don't think you can have an informed opinion on this subject by playing a Sadowsky in a store, your basement or, even worse, your dreams.
And since I meet the criteria I arbitrarily selected, my vote is "yes".
 
#298
slagbass said:
You shouldn't be allowed to post on this topic unless you have actually played a Sadowsky on a gig big enough to require a P.A. and sound man. Opinions are nice but informed opinions are much better. I don't think you can have an informed opinion on this subject by playing a Sadowsky in a store, your basement or, even worse, your dreams.
And since I meet the criteria I arbitrarily selected, my vote is "yes".
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I shouldn't be allowed?
Really?
Then have a moderator ban me for posting a comment on a comment forum.

My comment is a general application comment for anyone who generally doesn't like something.
Or those who do.
Whatever the judgement criteria.
Those who don't like something generally think that what is praised by others is overrated.
Or visa versa.
This applies to most anything.
I don't have to have the experience to quote the experience of others.
 
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#299
adivin said:
It's interesting that the focus is on the J bass. The old J bass on steroids description, an improvement on the original Fender design, etc. Why doesn't this apply to the P bass as much? Was the P bass perfect out of the box from Fender, and therefore not much room for improvement, and the J bass originally lacking? Is it because a P bass doesn't benefit from the Sadowsky preamp which is part of the attraction? It seems that the attention to detail, build quality and customer service would all still apply to a Sadowsky P bass but you just don't see that many compared to the J. By comparison Lull seems to sell more P's. I would love a Sadowsky P actually...I think. BTW I had my New York Vintage 4 built in 1998 and still have it.
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I really like my Lull P5 and PJ5 but I would really like to try a Sadowsky P5 but have never seen one except here on TB. Apparently they may have had a Metro P5 at one time but no longer available
 
#300
SamJ said:
agree with much of this except that I think Fender will "whore" out the bass design a lot more than Roger from what I can see.. he has his mind set on certain things and so he won't (for example) give you flame or birdseye maple neckwood... or an ebony fretboard
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