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A question for Will Lee owners please -
So, how do you like the mid boost circuit and have you tried any of the other internal settings? Do you like any of them better than the default one (#2)???
Also, do the single coil pickups really sound like SD Antiquity II's???
Thanks!!!
WHAT? No Will Lee owners out there???
Maiden Bass said:WHAT? No Will Lee owners out there???
Check my review I wrote a couple of posts ago...
I was just reading an interview that Rick Suchow had with Roger about the Will Lee bass/preamp, Invalid Link Removed & thought you all might like to read it.
In my previous post of my opinion of the mid boost I referred to my preference for a more "hi-fi" sound, meaning a 2 band - high/low focus. Roger mentioned in the interview that an op-amp sounds more solid state & "hi-fi" sounding than a FET's tube character sound. So I think my use of the term "hi-fi", in the context I used it may be misleading.
In the past Roger has explained why he has opted for a FET bass/treble preamp. As I understand it : as the bass & treble are boosted on the standard preamp, the mids are attenuated & the bass is tightened up. THIS is what, in my opinion, gives the Sadowsky tone it's unique Sadowsky sound, regardless of pups.
He also talks about piggybacking the mid circuit on top of the 2 band that is standard so as to not effect how the established preamp sounds.
I don't know what you guys are doing with your Will Lee basses in the EQ department but listening to Will play live, from an audience perspective was not what I had hoped for. I'm hoping that you all will be judicious in your use of the mid boost if you want to maintain the DELICIOUS Sadowsky character that we have all come to appreciate as being a principle factor in our tool of choice. I'm not convinced that the standard 2 band preamp needs any help in cutting through in a mix. You may think so as you hear it from the stage BUT...we are playing a bass guitar after all. If we mess too much with the musicality of the lushness of bass tone of our Sad' we risk losing an exquisite aspect of it's heart. I'm VERY passionate about this issue.
B.
In my previous post of my opinion of the mid boost I referred to my preference for a more "hi-fi" sound, meaning a 2 band - high/low focus. Roger mentioned in the interview that an op-amp sounds more solid state & "hi-fi" sounding than a FET's tube character sound. So I think my use of the term "hi-fi", in the context I used it may be misleading.
In the past Roger has explained why he has opted for a FET bass/treble preamp. As I understand it : as the bass & treble are boosted on the standard preamp, the mids are attenuated & the bass is tightened up. THIS is what, in my opinion, gives the Sadowsky tone it's unique Sadowsky sound, regardless of pups.
He also talks about piggybacking the mid circuit on top of the 2 band that is standard so as to not effect how the established preamp sounds.
I don't know what you guys are doing with your Will Lee basses in the EQ department but listening to Will play live, from an audience perspective was not what I had hoped for. I'm hoping that you all will be judicious in your use of the mid boost if you want to maintain the DELICIOUS Sadowsky character that we have all come to appreciate as being a principle factor in our tool of choice. I'm not convinced that the standard 2 band preamp needs any help in cutting through in a mix. You may think so as you hear it from the stage BUT...we are playing a bass guitar after all. If we mess too much with the musicality of the lushness of bass tone of our Sad' we risk losing an exquisite aspect of it's heart. I'm VERY passionate about this issue.
B.
Check my review I wrote a couple of posts ago...
Sorry, I missed that! Thanks!!!
Excellent post, Blair. Offering a mid boost on a Sadowsky is always a struggle for me. I agree with you 100% that the 2 band Sadowsky pre is all anyone needs. However, there are many players who feel they do need more control of their mids. The problem you are alluding to is real.....how do you balance the fact that the player wants to hear more mids yet at the same time, knowing that this will have a negative effect on the sound of the bass out in the house or in the mix.
So I have been trying to design my mid circuits by limiting choices to those that I believe to be musical ones. It is amazing how quickly you can ruin your tone by playing with the mids.
I would love to hear from all of you regarding which, if any, mid frequencies you like to boost.
Roger
- Feb 3, 2005
- 7,331
- 10,198
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
Sadowsky said:
Roger and Blair,
I am finding that I rarely use the mid-boost on my Sadowsky Metro Will Lee. I have been thinking about sitting down one day and really trying to play around with the different settings. So far though, I do find that I prefer the tone without the mids boosted for the most part.
At the end of the day, I'm not unhappy to have it. I did have one gig where the stage was just a muddy mess and the mid boost helped me cut through for sure (it was set to the fact settings).
However, I changed my NYC order from a Will Lee to the V4PJ I have now bc I just felt that I didn't need another bass w the mid boost or d tuner (although I like having a bass in the arsenal w the d-tuner when needed). It was choosing the upcharge to get the Will Lee neck profile and the skinny nut mixed with the pj setup that was more important to me. Worked out perfect as the combo of an ash/maple Will Lee and alder/rw pj covers an amazing amount of sonic ground while still sounding like a Sadowsky!
Joeykun
pronounced ジョーイくん
- Jun 22, 2007
- 4,200
- 16,150
- Disclosures
- Endorsing: LAKLAND SADOWSKY GENZLER DARKGLASS NORDSTRAND TEMPLEBOARD KIRLIN DRSTRINGS ACCESS
Sadowsky said:
I always have my active circuit engaged on the bass with just a tad of bass boost.
On my amp (Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.0) I usually boost the low mids around 200hz a bit.
Everything else is set flat.
But it's also amazing how effective adjusting mids can be, when done properly, in cutting through mixes without sounding boxy (lo boost), or sweetening a slap tone without altering your output gain significantly (hi cut). (IMHO)
I'll go you one better than that. I'll give you my general guidelines, and then how I applied that to a Will Lee model I had for a while (Tom's)...
Like Joeykun, the frequency I like best for boosting is pretty low. He mentioned 200Hz, but for me, the sweet spot is just above that... 250Hz. I like to boost that when favoring or even soloing a bridge pickup... even better than using any of a lower voiced bass control in the 30-50Hz range (tho I fully understand shelving can still get you up in the 200's if designed that way).
The frequency I like most for cutting is 800-1K. That seems to be my "sweet spot" for taking the "honk" out of a slap tone. Some could even go as high as 1.5K or even 2K to take more of the "gank" (vs "honk") out, but for my fingers, 800-1K works best (disclaimer - slap is definitely not my strong point).
I've heard, at least with J style basses, the magic frequency in the studio is 400Hz, but I've rarely messed with that frequency, or if I do, it's very very little.
So how does that apply to the WL model?
I have NEVER lacked mids in any Sadowsky I've ever played, so I kinda' used it "backwards". I set the EQ up such that, with the mids engaged, I had a nice almost typical Sadowsky tone coming out (yes, this means the boost level was subtle). Then, I'd use it as a "slap profile" switch to drop the mids out a bit when slapping.
That may seem weird, but I think it ties into your comments about never really feeling like your basses needed more mids. I agree with that. Generally speaking I agree with that with any J style bass especially... I tend to prefer using my plucking hand position and blending to get more mids out by getting more from the bridge pickup or the sound of a string plucked closer to the bridge. At least for the tone I hear in my head, those are the best sounding "mids"... the natural bridge pickup tone.
Anyway, IMHO/IME.
I've been digging chromes on my Ristola... This means my Sado's have been getting less playing time than I like 
.
Specifically has anyone tried flats on a 5/24? No slapping, no solos - rock, country rock and Worship bass.
Thanks in advance!
. Specifically has anyone tried flats on a 5/24? No slapping, no solos - rock, country rock and Worship bass.
Thanks in advance!
Sadowsky said:
When I first contacted Kevin about ordering mine, we may have briefly discussed the Will Lee, but I had already largely decided against it; I guess I sort of see that Sadowsky sound as an identity thing, a voice that just says 'this bass is one of Roger's.' I don't yet have mine, but I have played around on several at this point, and while I don't think that any one designer, player or luthier knows all, I *do* respect solutions that come to be through vast amounts of trial and hard work. And what I discovered through messing about on Sadowskys is that the sound when they're being played all alone is... Underwhelming at best, but that the basses sound simply amazing in the kind of band settings that start to crowd out a lot of other basses. Which is the whole point, right?
Upshot: Not so interested in a Will Lee. Aaand lately I've been messing with the dip switches on my Lakland in the hopes of dropping the same frequencies as the usual Sadowsky pre does.
While I wouldn't use that strong of wording by a pretty fair margin, I do agree with the spirit of what he's really saying. The first few times I played some of your stuff, I was duly impressed, but not really much more than with other great J style basses I've played many times... so like so many others here, I just didn't really "get it" until I heard it live, or in a recording mix. But boy, did I "get it" then.
Put simply, the magic of your work just doesn't stand out as strongly when solo'd as it does when being used in the specific applications for which it was designed to excel - live and recorded mixes. But then watch out... it lays the competition to waste and laughs at their broken bodies in the rear-view mirror.
At least IMHO/IME.
I might be in the minority here, but of all the basses I have owned over the years one of the things that I have always loved about my Sadowsky basses is that they always sound great to me, even with cheap amps.
I have to disagree with those that say that they don't sound good 'in the livingroom'. I love to hear my Sadowsky's tone even plugged to the cheap 10w. guitar amp that I use when I'm studying in front of the computer.
I have to disagree with those that say that they don't sound good 'in the livingroom'. I love to hear my Sadowsky's tone even plugged to the cheap 10w. guitar amp that I use when I'm studying in front of the computer.
I have a Will Lee, Maple neck (looking for a morado or Rosewood Will Lee, but I digress) - i left the tone setting as-is, bost the bass a little on the pre, and typically leave my amp set flat. The only change I make is that i turn the mid-boost "off" if slapping. The mid-boost is soooooooo good for finger-style.
Not to be sycophantic - IMHO Sadowsky's sound great in the mix or at home for practice, that said I have had a several other boutique basses that I really dug for solo practice or full band rehearsal, but hated in live situations.
Unlike Fran I do not believe that a Sadowsky (or any other bass no matter the cost) can make a bad sounding amp sound good.
I've had to gig with amps that were so and so and always found a way to get a sound I was cofortable with. It's true that there will be some degradation on the tone and it won't work for certain styles (slap, tap,...). I wouldn't say that they make a bad sounding amp sound good, they make them sound 'better'.
This hasn't been my experience at all. I've played a bunch of Sads and they've always sounded great to me on their own. Yes, they rule in a mix, but still sound great in solo/practice situations.
My 2 cents...
