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Club Sadowsky!!!

#28,721
The purists will always say a PJ can never sound like a P. Then again, those same purists will also scream bloody murder about a preamp being on the bass (never mind that there is one in the amp head :D).

fwiw I currently only own PJ fretted basses. I had a great passive P-bass awhile back, and have another one showing up soon, but truth be told for my gigs any subtleties will be easily lost and I certainly can't tell the difference in the mix. I can tell the difference in passive vs active, and will always take the extra flexibility that the onboard preamp gives me - as well as that bridge J pup to get some different tones.

I am very happy with my HPJ, and also happy with my Fodera PJ/Pope setups (EMG pups - make purists cringe every time I mention them). To me the only real issue is whether or not someone likes the PJ blended tone vs a JJ blended tone. I personally prefer the PJ by a wide margin, but I also don't like JJ basses (heretic!) so ymmv. I'm also rolled on the P pup probably 80% of the time depending on the particular gig.
 
#28,725
Modern Growl said:
Your right... I was just looking for a new / fresher take on things... but I could perhaps be beating the proverbial dead horse. I think I just need to try one.
Click to expand...

I own both a Sadowsky HPJ and a passive Fender P. I primarily play the HPJ with it rolled to P pup 99% of the time. Sometimes I play it in passive mode thru the Sadowsky outboard preamp for a darker/fuller feel.
Is there a discernible difference?
Yes.
Is it enough to make me care?
No.

Buy the HPJ. Its the best bass purchase I've ever made.

(Gratuitous Sadowsky photo since this is a club)
2012-04-07_12-30-06_671.jpg
 
#28,727
Firesalt said:
I own both a Sadowsky HPJ and a passive Fender P. I primarily play the HPJ with it rolled to P pup 99% of the time. Sometimes I play it in passive mode thru the Sadowsky outboard preamp for a darker/fuller feel.
Is there a discernible difference?
Yes.
Is it enough to make me care?
No.

Buy the HPJ. Its the best bass purchase I've ever made
Click to expand...

Is your Fender P an alder/rosewood or ash/maple ?

I'm sure there will be discernible differences between any brand (Fender Jazz vs. Sadowsky Jazz) - I'm just trying to figure out if adding that J to a P (making PJ) really does anything "negative" to the pure P tone.

My conclusion so far is no...

Its like putting in two different brands of humcanceling jazz pickups in a bass... and panning to one or the other 100%. If panned 100%, the other impacts the basses tone 0%.

I've read some comments about the magnets causing phasing. I've also read some comments about the signal chain being more complex... all I can really say is I just don't know how much that really impacts the tone.

All comments I've recieved so far were Sad PJ's compared to a Fender P. I would hope you would hear a difference. I'm just trying to take the "J" out of the "PJ" equation... and my conclusion is it doesn't matter one bit.
 
#28,728
Firesalt said:
I own both a Sadowsky HPJ and a passive Fender P. I primarily play the HPJ with it rolled to P pup 99% of the time. Sometimes I play it in passive mode thru the Sadowsky outboard preamp for a darker/fuller feel.
Is there a discernible difference?
Yes.
Is it enough to make me care?
No.
Click to expand...

I would assume it sounds darker through the outboard pre due to the cable acting as a capacitor.

Roger
 
#28,729
Sadowsky said:
I would assume it sounds darker through the outboard pre due to the cable acting as a capacitor.

Roger
Click to expand...
I was also thinking that, and maybe this depends on the exact amp, but, the input stage of the amp is also not isolated from the pickup, causing further interaction (loading).

In other words, even with a super short ridiculously low cap, there'd be a diff.

Or are amp input stages such that it's pretty much always insignificant?
 
#28,730
Modern Growl said:
Is your Fender P an alder/rosewood or ash/maple ?

I'm sure there will be discernible differences between any brand (Fender Jazz vs. Sadowsky Jazz) - I'm just trying to figure out if adding that J to a P (making PJ) really does anything "negative" to the pure P tone.

My conclusion so far is no...

Its like putting in two different brands of humcanceling jazz pickups in a bass... and panning to one or the other 100%. If panned 100%, the other impacts the basses tone 0%.

I've read some comments about the magnets causing phasing. I've also read some comments about the signal chain being more complex... all I can really say is I just don't know how much that really impacts the tone.

All comments I've recieved so far were Sad PJ's compared to a Fender P. I would hope you would hear a difference. I'm just trying to take the "J" out of the "PJ" equation... and my conclusion is it doesn't matter one bit.
Click to expand...

Its ash/maple like the HPJ. The HPJ has better high end because of the pup difference (in passive mode thru the outboard preamp), the P has a Duncan.
I would make audio samples but the P is tore down in my garage awaiting motivation to finish cleaning out the garage so I can refinish it... it's probably been there a year, lol.
Even if it was together and finished I'd still play the HPJ despite it weighing noticeably more. Its just a fantastic bass. It can certainly do "P tone" justice.
 
#28,731
Sadowsky said:
I would assume it sounds darker through the outboard pre due to the cable acting as a capacitor.

Roger
Click to expand...

Undoubtedly, sir.
I fooled around with cable lengths and found only a slight difference in tone overall between 2', 15', no name and 25' Monster and Dimarzio cables.
I usually use the 25' Monster cable because I feel better stomping around on it... it is a little heavier than the others.
I would think the connection points (jacks and plug connection) would play as much into it as the cable... contact oxidation and whatnot.
 
#28,732
Vic said:
I was also thinking that, and maybe this depends on the exact amp, but, the input stage of the amp is also not isolated from the pickup, causing further interaction (loading).

In other words, even with a super short ridiculously low cap, there'd be a diff.

Or are amp input stages such that it's pretty much always insignificant?
Click to expand...

I play straight thru to PA from the outboard preamp. My Genz/Aguilar rig is too completely different to make a accurate comparison I think.
 
#28,733
Firesalt said:
I play straight thru to PA from the outboard preamp. My Genz/Aguilar rig is too completely different to make a accurate comparison I think.
Click to expand...
Understood... it'd have to come from someone who actually knows how much a DI box or typical amp input stage might affect things when you don't have the buffering of the preamp involved (I do not). I'm not sure this can easily come from subjective testing.
 
#28,734
Alright... so after research, talking with some folks... and even though I still favor the minimalism of a straight up P - my mind is now open to PJ's.

I'm a bit tapped at the moment, so I'll be on the lookout for a deal on a used one. MV4 style. If you guys know of any, or are considering selling - drop me a line.
 
#28,739
Experimenting with EQ on the overdubs & came up with an interesting fat tone with a little edge for my fav Kenny Wayne S. tune. It helps with all the CD mix sound enhancement after the 1st verse. Not necessarily a keeper but different. Notes on site.
B.
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