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Club Sadowsky!!!

#24,501
...so, now that I've read up on why abalone's affected by CITES, I feel kind of stupid about wanting it so badly. I'm a pretty manic greeniac, so I really should have known it was so endangered.

I think I had this bass framed as an icon or something, rather than a tool I'll use to make music, Nothing makes you grow up like soething you wanted connected directly with an endangered species.

Actually, I think that other bass makers should be putting a similar notice on their sites as the one I quoted a page or so back. Seems only fair, as CITES and the Lacey Act aren't exactly common knowledge.

EDIT: Also, I realise that I wasn't clear in my previous posts. The issue wasn't that I couldn't get the dots put in, it's that, with things being the way they are tight now, there's a chance that the bass would get seized at the border. And I can't afford to buy another to replace it.

Now I'm toying with the aforementioned idea of getting it dot-free. It's a compelling thought. Especially if I get a nice piece of wood for the fretboard.
 
#24,502
We played @ The State Fair the last two weekends. Last weekend we played on the big stage out in the open and the soundman was amazing. This weekend we played on the smaller stage inside the beer tent. My bass tone on stage was perfect (to me ). The second set there was a song that didnt need my backing vocals so the guitar player and I started the song from the bar that is about 200 feet long. I quickly noticed my bass was boomy, mushy and sounded terrible. The next break I approached the soundman very tenderly about my tone. He showed me my channel and he had my highs and mids cut to about 8:00 and my lows boosted to about 4:00. I was in shock when I seen it. I asked him nicely if he could just take my flat signal and leave it flat. He didnt like it but he honored my request. I went back out later in that set and it sounded just like it should. And the band sounded better. He came up after the show and said I have never heard a bass sound so good without and EQ. I realize that was a risky move because some sound engineers take serious offence to suggestions.
 
#24,504
roadkill2309 said:
EDIT: Also, I realise that I wasn't clear in my previous posts. The issue wasn't that I couldn't get the dots put in, it's that, with things being the way they are tight now, there's a chance that the bass would get seized at the border. And I can't afford to buy another to replace it.

Now I'm toying with the aforementioned idea of getting it dot-free. It's a compelling thought. Especially if I get a nice piece of wood for the fretboard.
Click to expand...

I personally prefer dots myself. I almost changed my order for a Jazz-styled bass to put blocks on a olympic white with morado fretboard and I'm glad I did the dots. It's a classic look and it just wouldn't look right without any dots.

And morado looks great. Mine has an alder body and I have no complaints.
 
#24,505
Smallmouth_Bass said:
I personally prefer dots myself. I almost changed my order for a Jazz-styled bass to put blocks on a olympic white with morado fretboard and I'm glad I did the dots. It's a classic look and it just wouldn't look right without any dots.

And morado looks great. Mine has an alder body and I have no complaints.
Click to expand...

I'm not sold either way on it right now. My comfort zone is dots, that's for sure...
 
#24,506
First off I picked this up a month or 2 ago and really dig it.
I am floored how tight and articulate this bass sounds.
Something strange happened on a gig Friday. I was in the middle of a set in Chino Hills, a fairly hot day but not too bad, maybe 85 degrees. I looked down to change a tone and saw this new crack. I know it was not there at the beginning of the set.
I don't murder my bass, especially on a Calypso/Reggae etc. type gig. There are no impact marks. So I'm guessing the finish simply cracked. The bass had not gone hot-cold. I'm pretty sure it's a poly finish.
Has anyone else had this happen? And lastly, do I need to do a repair or let it ride? I'm guessing it's fine. Thanks.
SadMS4ful.jpg

SadMS4crack.jpg
 
#24,508
Sadowsky said:
I have to be honest and say I have never seen our body finish spontaneously check like this. But regardless of what caused it, it is only a cosmetic issue and I would let it ride.

Roger
Click to expand...

Thanks Roger. I've been playing many a bass a long time and never seen it either. Actually I'm glad it happened while I was wearing it vs. while on a break, I don't have to wonder if anybody else did something. It truly was strange to look down
and see it mid-tune. Thanks also for your great work, it really is a joy to play your instruments!
 
#24,509
Due to a competing builder with an obvious agenda, I'm moving my help post here. Any idea from the Sadowsky faithful would be much appreciated.

I have a gremlin in my signal chain. During a gig, it seems from time to time, things get quieter and less dynamic. The highs seem to disappear, and the low end gets cloudy. In other words, the ass just drops right out of my tone.

The chain is as follows: Sadowsky MV5-20' cable-tuner-short jumper-EBS compressor- 10' cable-DI. I'm leaving the amp out of the equation since I use IEM's and this is all before the amp.

Unfortunately it's an intermittent situation, and I have to wait until the set is over to make any changes. I've been replacing one component every time it happens. So far I've replace the main 20' cable, as well as the jumper, 10' to DI, mike cable to console, and tuner. It's still there. I removed the compressor pedal for my last set, but since the problem comes and goes, I'm not sure if that fixed anything. There are three things remaining. The first is my IEM unit and buds. I highly doubt this is the problem, since everything else in my mix seems normal, and one of my band mates noticed when my volume/tone seemed to change. Second up is the DI. I may try going directly out of my amp next time out to see if it still happens. If that doesn't do it, it looks like my Sadowsky may be the problem. I've never run across this situation before. Is it possible the pre may have a gremlin in it, or possibly one of the pickups? Total short of pickups has been ruled out. When it pops up, I have soloed each pick up, and they are still there. Since it's during a tune, I can't get to crazy discerning if one is totally different than another. (way too much going on musically) Also, I've moved the volume pot around as we to see if things got better all of a sudden, to no avail. Battery voltage is fine by the way. Could a bad 1/4" input jack be behind it all? Cold solder joint?
If I can't get to the bottom of it, before getting crazy chasing something inside my Sadowsky, I'll switch basses for a night and see if it's still there. Before suggesting playing at home without my IEM's, believe me, I've done it over and over. Since the situation is so intermittent, I haven't got it to show up yet on my own. Frustrating would be an understatement to say the least......
 
#24,510
MixBass said:
Thanks Roger. I've been playing many a bass a long time and never seen it either. Actually I'm glad it happened while I was wearing it vs. while on a break, I don't have to wonder if anybody else did something. It truly was strange to look down
and see it mid-tune. Thanks also for your great work, it really is a joy to play your instruments!
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I have actually seen this on a bass a whole bunch of years ago. It was a Fender, if I remember correctly. I saw the bass on and off over a few years, and the check never got any bigger. At the time, we figured:
a) Wood is a changeable, organic substance that swells and shrinks with the ambient humidity and temperature;
b) Poly is none of the above; and
c) Weather being what it is, the two above, a and b can be a recipe for weirdness.

I have no idea if we were right about it, it just seemed to make sense at the time.
 
#24,511
MixBass said:
First off I picked this up a month or 2 ago and really dig it.
I am floored how tight and articulate this bass sounds.
Something strange happened on a gig Friday. I was in the middle of a set in Chino Hills, a fairly hot day but not too bad, maybe 85 degrees. I looked down to change a tone and saw this new crack. I know it was not there at the beginning of the set.
I don't murder my bass, especially on a Calypso/Reggae etc. type gig. There are no impact marks. So I'm guessing the finish simply cracked. The bass had not gone hot-cold. I'm pretty sure it's a poly finish.
Has anyone else had this happen? And lastly, do I need to do a repair or let it ride? I'm guessing it's fine. Thanks.
SadMS4ful.jpg

SadMS4crack.jpg
Click to expand...

That's not a crack in the finish that's you putting the Mojo in the bass! :)
 
#24,512
I bet you're right Roadkill2309. It was hot enough to make things move I suspect. I would have been less surprised if it happened the first set after being in the car w/AC but it was outside 2 or 3 hours by the time it happened.
I'll take your lead sps500 and call it Mojo. Let the relic process begin!
 
#24,515
Jerry Ziarko said:
Funny you would mention that. You're the second person that pointed towards the compressor. He had a similar problem and it was an EBS Multicomp as well.
Click to expand...
I also suspect the compressor. Simple to eliminate the bass, too... just use another bass for a period long enough that the problem would happen (which it should, since I don't think the bass is it).
 
#24,517
Vic said:
I also suspect the compressor. Simple to eliminate the bass, too... just use another bass for a period long enough that the problem would happen (which it should, since I don't think the bass is it).
Click to expand...

IMO it'd be better to eliminate the comp from the signal chain. If you use a different bass, the difference in the signal that it will send to the compressor might do the EBS behave in a different way, and maybe not being able to reproduce the problem.
 
#24,518
#24,519
Jerry Ziarko said:
Easier said than done Vic. Way too much love for my MV5!:D
Click to expand...
Well, it'd only be if you wanted a way to test to eliminate it as a variable, and even then you could try it in passive mode too (pretty much the only possible failure there would be the preamp with these symptoms). Also, that was in no way a suggestion to literally get rid of the bass. Of course if it had an issue, you'd just get it fixed. No way I could let my MV5 go either. :)

HOWEVER. I REALLY don't think it's the bass, so I still say go with the boxes first like everyone else. :)
 
#24,520
Fran Diaz said:
IMO it'd be better to eliminate the comp from the signal chain. If you use a different bass, the difference in the signal that it will send to the compressor might do the EBS behave in a different way, and maybe not being able to reproduce the problem.
Click to expand...
That's true, but when you're diagnosing a problem that doesn't have an obvious cause, you have to consider all variables through process of elimination. Everything has to be suspect.

That said, you do want to prioritize what you try first in terms of likelihood, and I think we all agree the boxes are first in line. :)
 

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