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Club Sadowsky!!!

I would like to express an apology especially to all of you who have downloaded the overdub file of the country tune that I posted previously. It was out of pitch. I had been playing some other stuff with pitch adjustment & forgot to revert back. It wasn't terrible but inexcusable considering the time I put into doing a good job of overdubs. Won't happen again.
I have included a new file here which I consider much better :hiding: - in pitch AND tone & performance. ;). - I would hope you will replace the flawed file with this one if you still would like to download. Thanks for listening bros.
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I also offer these 1st 3 songs from the Van M. CD that I said I was intending to do. All 3 have different pup blend & song suitable tone IMO. A decent taste of PJs/flats if you would like something a little different for your mp3 players. Notes on site.
B.
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Great tones, Blair! I really, really, really like the tone in "Don't Go To Nightclubs Anymore".:hyper:
Thank you Lee. It's interesting how an exquisite sounding tone or pup blend on one tune may not be what works on another. But I guess I don't need to tell y'all about that. I really enjoy being now able to appreciate that more with a better recording process. It's not a studio mixing desk but it's finally nice to do some justice to my Sad'.
B.
Edit: I took this last night before starting on the overdubs posted above. Latest edition of "the zone", where time just don't exist. :cool:

DSCF0698.jpg
 
Thank you Lee. It's interesting how an exquisite sounding tone or pup blend on one tune may not be what works on another. But I guess I don't need to tell y'all about that. I really enjoy being now able to appreciate that more with a better recording process. It's not a studio mixing desk but it's finally nice to do some justice to my Sad'.
B.
Edit: I took this last night before starting on the overdubs posted above. Latest edition of "the zone", where time just don't exist. :cool:

DSCF0698.jpg

What's in the zone? Can't make out all of the products.
 
What's in the zone? Can't make out all of the products.
The recording chain: Sad' > Great River ME-1NV preamp > Great River EQ-1NV parametric eq into the insert point of the preamp w/a send/return TRS cable, (after the front end gain stage & ahead of the "big iron" transformer coupled output stage) > balanced output from the preamp into balanced input of the dbx 160a compressor > unbalanced out from the comp to the Tascam BT1 mk2 CD > line out to line in of the Olympus LS10 dig recorder.
Lots of opinions re. comp before or after EQ. I usually use a 2:1 ratio & sweep the threshold, (about -12), to get a bit of 3db reduction(bounce to 6db on peaks), using soft knee compression. With heavy energy tone like the country song, I'll use 10:1 ratio & sweep threshold,(about -2) just to chop the peaks only. This compressing is assessed by the comp bi-pass to ensure the tone of the Sadowsky bass isn't compromised.
After all the preliminary CD/bass mixing & level setting on the Tascam, I will record a few takes of a short loop of the song w/varying pup blends & tone pot sets. I now have the luxury of parametric eq sweeps to pinpoint sweet spots or more importantly, problem areas where the bass has an issue w/ the existing mix on the song.
Then I'll do a couple full takes & monitor the result by patching the LS10 into a headphone amp. When I'm satisfied, I'll run the LS10 into my Mac & load the file for a more accurate assessment, & convert from WAV, CD quality of my overdub, to a secondary mp3.

This overdubbing is a very imperfect process but it's the limitations that it imposes that make it fun & a very challenging hobby. There is no editing after the fact & one flaw means trash :). My tracking & mixing is all in one shot.
Are you sorry you asked? :D
B.
 
Hey guys - so I had to return a Fender P due to some neck issues (go figure).

I'm interested in a true P-Bass... but there's not many out there that I'm willing to do the trial n' error thing. With a Metro, I pretty much know what I'm getting.

But -

All I'm seeing are the Hybrid PJ Metro's... I'll be honest, I don't know much on this topic - but if anyone who truly knows can fill me in, please do.

With the pan knob turned all the way to the P pickup... what really is the difference in tone vs. a PJ vs. P ?

I want to give a PJ a fair shot (as they seem like the only things I could get without spending NYC money)... but I know I'll have it in "P Mode" 99% of the time.

P-Bass purist - fill me in. What the real deal here?
 
Hey guys - so I had to return a Fender P due to some neck issues (go figure).

I'm interested in a true P-Bass... but there's not many out there that I'm willing to do the trial n' error thing. With a Metro, I pretty much know what I'm getting.

But -

All I'm seeing are the Hybrid PJ Metro's... I'll be honest, I don't know much on this topic - but if anyone who truly knows can fill me in, please do.

With the pan knob turned all the way to the P pickup... what really is the difference in tone vs. a PJ vs. P ?

I want to give a PJ a fair shot (as they seem like the only things I could get without spending NYC money)... but I know I'll have it in "P Mode" 99% of the time.

P-Bass purist - fill me in. What the real deal here?

I've never played a Sadowsky straight P bass, but I had an HPJ for a while. Never could bond with it. It just didn't have the signature P tone to me. Maybe it's because it had the preamp, and to me the P tone should be passive. But I just didn't care for the sounds I got out of it. I've heard other people say the same thing. It's a shame really, because I really loved the bass otherwise, and the JJ Sad tone is awesome.
 
This overdubbing is a very imperfect process but it's the limitations that it imposes that make it fun & a very challenging hobby. There is no editing after the fact & one flaw means trash :). My tracking & mixing is all in one shot.
Are you sorry you asked? :D
B.

No, not at all. Very interesting chain. No computer! 2 sets of headphones too. At any rate, I'm always impressed with your tone. Keep posting! :hyper:
 
Hey guys - so I had to return a Fender P due to some neck issues (go figure).

I'm interested in a true P-Bass... but there's not many out there that I'm willing to do the trial n' error thing. With a Metro, I pretty much know what I'm getting.

But -

All I'm seeing are the Hybrid PJ Metro's... I'll be honest, I don't know much on this topic - but if anyone who truly knows can fill me in, please do.

With the pan knob turned all the way to the P pickup... what really is the difference in tone vs. a PJ vs. P ?

I want to give a PJ a fair shot (as they seem like the only things I could get without spending NYC money)... but I know I'll have it in "P Mode" 99% of the time.

P-Bass purist - fill me in. What the real deal here?

Those with the official golden ears will say they here a difference and argue the J pickup's magnets affect the strings. If ....if....you can hear this subtle difference, it might be only when you A-B back and forth playing alone with no other sounds: no band, no mix, etc.

I had a NYC PJ4 alder-rosewood and a bass player in my old band purchased an ash-maple Metro PJ4 and had a regular P bass. In our opinion, live and in the studio, the solo'd P pickup with the preamp bypassed sounds like a great P bass. He never picked up his P bass after he got the PJ.
 
..... Very interesting chain. No computer!.....
I've tried it. I've got an Apogee Duet interface & have done this overdubbing through Garage Band on the Mac with less effective results, & is far more time consuming than with what I'm doing now. If I was tracking all original, live, it'd be different. Analogue bass guitar processing is part of the enjoyment as well. At least I'm not using reel to reel. ;)
B.
 
I would like to express an apology especially to all of you who have downloaded the overdub file of the country tune that I posted previously. It was out of pitch. I had been playing some other stuff with pitch adjustment & forgot to revert back. It wasn't terrible but inexcusable considering the time I put into doing a good job of overdubs. Won't happen again.
I have included a new file here which I consider much better :hiding: - in pitch AND tone & performance. ;). - I would hope you will replace the flawed file with this one if you still would like to download. Thanks for listening bros.
Invalid Link Removed

I also offer these 1st 3 songs from the Van M. CD that I said I was intending to do. All 3 have different pup blend & song suitable tone IMO. A decent taste of PJs/flats if you would like something a little different for your mp3 players. Notes on site.
B.
Invalid Link Removed

Great job Blair. My less favorite of the three is the first one (and I say less fav, all three are great) but IMO there is a little bit too much high end on that first song, I think that the bassline would 'speak' equally well with less sizzle. I love the P tone on the second one. :bassist:

Keep bringing all this stuff to us.

By the way, I love to see a pencil and eraser at hand on your "zone". I see a lot of trouble ahead when a new player comes for rehearsal with no pencil at hand.
 
Great job Blair. My less favorite of the three is the first one (and I say less fav, all three are great) but IMO there is a little bit too much high end on that first song, I think that the bassline would 'speak' equally well with less sizzle. I love the P tone on the second one. :bassist:
THANKS for some critique Fran! I know what you mean. I'll get it better the more I get familiar w/ EQing. It's a tough learning curve. Thanks again amigo. I really appreciate knowing how tone is perceived by others. It's difficult getting an ideal balance on a recording.

Keep bringing all this stuff to us.
I'd like that. Always nice to share the sound of a Sadowsky bass & what makes our choice so appealing to ourselves.

By the way, I love to see a pencil and eraser at hand on your "zone". I see a lot of trouble ahead when a new player comes for rehearsal with no pencil at hand.
Yeah, that pencil & eraser gets a workout during a session. :D
It's funny - time really does stand still in the "zone".
B.
 
THANKS for some critique Fran! I know what you mean. I'll get it better the more I get familiar w/ EQing. It's a tough learning curve. Thanks again amigo. I really appreciate knowing how tone is perceived by others. It's difficult getting an ideal balance on a recording.


I'd like that. Always nice to share the sound of a Sadowsky bass & what makes our choice so appealing to ourselves.


Yeah, that pencil & eraser gets a workout during a session. :D
It's funny - time really does stand still in the "zone".
B.

Blair, I stand corrected, that track is just perpect as is. When I listened to that first track I might have had the sound card eq engaged with one of the radical curves that i sometimes use for learning new material and didn't noticed it.
 
Blair, I stand corrected, that track is just perpect as is. When I listened to that first track I might have had the sound card eq engaged with one of the radical curves that i sometimes use for learning new material and didn't noticed it.
One of the drawbacks of long sessions w/headphones is that one's ears start to get "defensive" to avoid non stop assault on them at higher volumes. This sometimes results in tones that sound different the next day.
B.
 
Those with the official golden ears will say they here a difference and argue the J pickup's magnets affect the strings. If ....if....you can hear this subtle difference, it might be only when you A-B back and forth playing alone with no other sounds: no band, no mix, etc.

I had a NYC PJ4 alder-rosewood and a bass player in my old band purchased an ash-maple Metro PJ4 and had a regular P bass. In our opinion, live and in the studio, the solo'd P pickup with the preamp bypassed sounds like a great P bass. He never picked up his P bass after he got the PJ.

Well, as is everything - this seems to be one of those things I'll just need to experience for myself... some say there's minimal if any difference... some say there's a big difference.

It would stand to reason that having the PJ w/ the P pickup solo'd would yield the same tone as the same bass without the J. I don't really see how the magnets on the J are really effecting any tonal difference... just my guess though.
 
Hey guys - so I had to return a Fender P due to some neck issues (go figure).

I'm interested in a true P-Bass... but there's not many out there that I'm willing to do the trial n' error thing. With a Metro, I pretty much know what I'm getting.

But -

All I'm seeing are the Hybrid PJ Metro's... I'll be honest, I don't know much on this topic - but if anyone who truly knows can fill me in, please do.

With the pan knob turned all the way to the P pickup... what really is the difference in tone vs. a PJ vs. P ?

I want to give a PJ a fair shot (as they seem like the only things I could get without spending NYC money)... but I know I'll have it in "P Mode" 99% of the time.

P-Bass purist - fill me in. What the real deal here?

I think this was just debated a few pages back -- I think you may have been part of that discussion too even.

I'm not a P-bass purist by any stretch. My Sadowsy PJ5's always sounded great when using the solo P pickup. I've never owned a straight P bass so my experience is somewhat flawed. If you're not looking for 100% accurate P bass tone authenticity, I'd say get the PJ and be happy for the tonal options offered by the J pickup.

Interestingly enough, I may be picking up passive P5 this weekend, so I may have a better point of comparison for you after that.
 

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