Club Sadowsky!!!

[Chasarms]

In short, no pickup configuration will please everyone. There's plenty of love for reverse P. Fans of that config say that the tone is more balanced across the strings: more growl on BEA, more depth to the D and G.

FWIW I think reverse P is okay, but much prefer the more traditional tone of the standard P. Has nothing to do with looks... to my ears there's a big difference in tone between them. Not as huge as moving from neck to bridge on a J of course, but big enough. And I have never thought of a standard P as "unbalanced" -- I think it's an advantage to have more depth to the lower strings, while the D and G "sing" more in comparison.

I agree that there is a significant difference in the the tone of a reversed and standard P layout.

I happen to prefer the reverse. The NYC I had was routed for either config. I found the low end much more focused and articulate when reversed.

It did "modernize" the tone of the bass somewhat, which for me is a good thing. I am not much of a fan of the traditional P-bass sound.

 

[ElMon]

In short, no pickup configuration will please everyone. There's plenty of love for reverse P. Fans of that config say that the tone is more balanced across the strings: more growl on BEA, more depth to the D and G.

FWIW I think reverse P is okay, but much prefer the more traditional tone of the standard P. Has nothing to do with looks... to my ears there's a big difference in tone between them. Not as huge as moving from neck to bridge on a J of course, but big enough. And I have never thought of a standard P as "unbalanced" -- I think it's an advantage to have more depth to the lower strings, while the D and G "sing" more in comparison.

+100. Not a fan of the reverse P myself. Kind of defeats the purpose IMO. I like that I can get a fairly traditional P sound in a 5 string package, the bridge pickup Jbass sound that is about the only sound I ever wanted out of a Jbass, AND a completely unique and modern tone with both pickups blended.
Plus I"ve NEVER found the pitch clarity of my standard-config PJ5's B string to be lacking.

 

[Ivan M]

Tomorrow I'll meet with tb'er pablo basso to compare our two PJ5s.
Mine's a reverse, his is a"regular" one, both are alder/brz.

Let us know, i think my next build down the line will be a PJ configuration and then i will be completely covered, now the decision would be should i go MAPLE fretboard or ROSEWOOD? and should i go J body or P body, some pics of different PJ configurations will help my decision a ton...Anyhow back to practicing.

 

[rulyøngo]

Let us know, i think my next build down the line will be a PJ configuration and then i will be completely covered, now the decision would be should i go MAPLE fretboard or ROSEWOOD? and should i go J body or P body, some pics of different PJ configurations will help my decision a ton...Anyhow back to practicing.

If it were me I would choose, P body with a maple fretboard......

 

[Ivan M]

If it were me I would choose, P body with a maple fretboard......

I am leaning that way being that all my basses are jazz bodies and i of course love maple fretboards.

 

[Ivan M]

Something like this but with a different PG, perhaps tort no?

 

[Jerry J]

In short, no pickup configuration will please everyone. There's plenty of love for reverse P. Fans of that config say that the tone is more balanced across the strings: more growl on BEA, more depth to the D and G.

FWIW I think reverse P is okay, but much prefer the more traditional tone of the standard P. Has nothing to do with looks... to my ears there's a big difference in tone between them. Not as huge as moving from neck to bridge on a J of course, but big enough. And I have never thought of a standard P as "unbalanced" -- I think it's an advantage to have more depth to the lower strings, while the D and G "sing" more in comparison.

Ken, thank you for the reply. Your answer makes a lot of sense. My first bass was a Fender Precision and the traditional P tone is the music that I always heard growing up thanks to Mr. Jamerson.

I am contemplating a PJ build and am thinking the universal route is the way to go. But it is a $250 up charge when you add the extra pickguard. And most likely one configuration will be the one that will be the one that is used since the change from reverse to standard P would take a bit of time to do. It becomes a spendy experiment.

Gillento, I am really curious to hear about your findings between the two basses.

 

[Vic]

Anyone replace their stock Sadowsky 5 string jazz pickup?!! I knew they sounds good... just curious to try other stuff..

I did try a set of the Nordstrand NJ5S pickups. I liked them a lot. I think they have just a bit more mid grunt than the stock Sadowsky HC's.

However, I did just recently have a chance to re-try the regular Sadowsky HC's in a bass and I must say I liked them more than I recalled liking them before. I may have to revisit those at some point.

Thanks! the size fits since I knew sadowsky's is not a standard size..

Ummm... yes they are! I didn't have to do anything to put the stock Nordstrand NJ5S pickups in!

 

[Vic]

My Sadowsky world has gone through a MAJOR shuffle this week.

More details after the dust settles, but there should be some interesting posts coming up at least from me next week.

In short, I'm executing my plan to replace my topped NYC JJ5 and my Metro 24 fret JJ5 with a topped NYC 24 fret JJ5. Once I finally get that done, I think I'll have everything I want in 3 basses instead of 4. A straight up ash/maple JJ5/SC (blonde bomber... definitely with me for the long haul no matter what), a (Metro) ash/maple PJ5/HC, and a "fancy" ash/maple 24-Fret JJ5 to serve my "modern" type desires.

I'll keep y'all posted, and at some point, of course there will be carpet shots.

 

[Ivan M]

My Sadowsky world has gone through a MAJOR shuffle this week.

More details after the dust settles, but there should be some interesting posts coming up at least from me next week.

In short, I'm executing my plan to replace my topped NYC JJ5 and my Metro 24 fret JJ5 with a topped NYC 24 fret JJ5. Once I finally get that done, I think I'll have everything I want in 3 basses instead of 4. A straight up ash/maple JJ5/SC (blonde bomber... definitely with me for the long haul no matter what), a (Metro) ash/maple PJ5/HC, and a "fancy" ash/maple 24-Fret JJ5 to serve my "modern" type desires.

I'll keep y'all posted, and at some point, of course there will be carpet shots.

Cant wait VIC, i am with you on 3 basses covering it all...Looking forward to the pics.

 

[jonno1707]

My Sadowsky world has gone through a MAJOR shuffle this week.

More details after the dust settles, but there should be some interesting posts coming up at least from me next week.

In short, I'm executing my plan to replace my topped NYC JJ5 and my Metro 24 fret JJ5 with a topped NYC 24 fret JJ5. Once I finally get that done, I think I'll have everything I want in 3 basses instead of 4. A straight up ash/maple JJ5/SC (blonde bomber... definitely with me for the long haul no matter what), a (Metro) ash/maple PJ5/HC, and a "fancy" ash/maple 24-Fret JJ5 to serve my "modern" type desires.

I'll keep y'all posted, and at some point, of course there will be carpet shots.

................

 

[Eskimo Spy]

Just got my UV70! Man, this bass plays like a dream, and I haven't even changed the strings to flats yet...

I do have a question about the VTC knob; there is very little resistance when you turn it, compared to volume and the pickup blend knobs. Is that normal?

 

[TimothyGroovy]

My Sadowsky world has gone through a MAJOR shuffle this week.

More details after the dust settles, but there should be some interesting posts coming up at least from me next week.

In short, I'm executing my plan to replace my topped NYC JJ5 and my Metro 24 fret JJ5 with a topped NYC 24 fret JJ5. Once I finally get that done, I think I'll have everything I want in 3 basses instead of 4. A straight up ash/maple JJ5/SC (blonde bomber... definitely with me for the long haul no matter what), a (Metro) ash/maple PJ5/HC, and a "fancy" ash/maple 24-Fret JJ5 to serve my "modern" type desires.

I'll keep y'all posted, and at some point, of course there will be carpet shots.

Can't wait to see!!!!!!!

 

[Chef]

quote eskimo:
I do have a question about the VTC knob; there is very little resistance when you turn it, compared to volume and the pickup blend knobs. Is that normal?

good question.
i've had three, played more, and noticed several variations of turning resistance, even on the same bass.

 

[Eskimo Spy]

The preamp is bypassed by pulling the knob out, I assume?

 

[Chef]

affirmative
and definately try passive mode in a live mix. it's useful at points.

 

[Eskimo Spy]

And does anyone know the factory relief and string heights on a UV70? Since this bass is NOS, I'm curious to see if it's still inside those thresholds since it's a 2009 model...

 

[Eskimo Spy]

And when the preamp is bypassed, does turning the knob control anything at that point?

 

[Chef]

yes
it acts like any passive tone knob, which is a nice feature!

 

[Eskimo Spy]

Cool!

Thanks for the info.