Ditto, especially on a Metro 5/24 with Big Singles, and on a P/J 5, which I'm on the precipice of selling...less so on a Modern with Soapbars.
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Ditto, especially on a Metro 5/24 with Big Singles, and on a P/J 5, which I'm on the precipice of selling...less so on a Modern with Soapbars.
I seemed to remember reading a while back that Chef recommended rolling off the VTC 50% or so, then boosting bass and treble to taste. I was hesitant to do that my first couple gigs, but got to thinking that the early Sadowsky preamp had no VTC, so maybe there was some magic in there to be found. My bass certainly sounds amazing with no eq, but I gave the approach a try today at a rehearsal, and it was absolute bliss. The bass thumped and cut like crazy, and with the VTC I could control the high mids to suit the style of the song or technique. Definitely a departure from my usual frame of mind, but in this case it seemed to work wonders. I'm curious to hear from Chef on this, if it was, in fact, his recommendation.
Either way, I love my new-old Sadowsky!
P.s.
I should clarify. The amount of boost I ended up using was in the 15-25% range on both bass and treble. Nothing extreme, just a healthy bump.
I've found that to work very well indeed. I'm probably rolled off on the VTC a little more than that most of the time with a little bass boost and just a little treble. That's with the Will Lee. The one thing I haven't tinkered with is the mid boost adjustments in the rear cavity. I just don't use it much to begin with. On the occasions where I have kicked it on though, I usually end up rolling the volume knob back a little. Those mids on the stock setting really cut.
Playing in a covers band has encouraged me to regularly adjust the EQ/VTC in order to try to nail the desired tone and the Sadowsky always impresses. I think the Sadowky has many sweet spots that are obtainable with with a variety of EQ/VTC settings.
Sadowsky has many sweet spots: nicely said, and it's true for my single-pickup Sadowskys as well.
I enjoy using different preamps that have different flavors of EQ and OD. Sometimes I run flat, sometimes I tweak EQ to hit those different sweet spots. My changes in tone can depend on which band I'm playing in, but more often it's my mood. I never get too outrageous, except f'r instance when I dial in Jack Bruce tone for a Cream cover.
P.S. I'm also a big fan of combining treble boost with rolling back the VTC. That gives some nice shimmer on the highs without being too brittle/active sounding.
Sadowsky has many sweet spots: nicely said, and it's true for my single-pickup Sadowskys as well.
I enjoy using different preamps that have different flavors of EQ and OD. Sometimes I run flat, sometimes I tweak EQ to hit those different sweet spots. My changes in tone can depend on which band I'm playing in, but more often it's my mood. I never get too outrageous, except f'r instance when I dial in Jack Bruce tone for a Cream cover.
P.S. I'm also a big fan of combining treble boost with rolling back the VTC. That gives some nice shimmer on the highs without being too brittle/active sounding.
How do the sadowsky single coil pickups compare with the hum cancelling variety?
I generally prefer them. I think the singles have a bit more bite, grind, and focus, whereas I think the hum cancelling pickups are a little sweeter in the mids. Just depends on what you're looking for and if you have a tolerance for a little bit of hum when not fully blending the pickups.
- Feb 3, 2005
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- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
I seemed to remember reading a while back that Chef recommended rolling off the VTC 50% or so, then boosting bass and treble to taste. I was hesitant to do that my first couple gigs, but got to thinking that the early Sadowsky preamp had no VTC, so maybe there was some magic in there to be found. My bass certainly sounds amazing with no eq, but I gave the approach a try today at a rehearsal, and it was absolute bliss. The bass thumped and cut like crazy, and with the VTC I could control the high mids to suit the style of the song or technique. Definitely a departure from my usual frame of mind, but in this case it seemed to work wonders. I'm curious to hear from Chef on this, if it was, in fact, his recommendation.
Either way, I love my new-old Sadowsky!
I found rolling off VTC about 50% when recording works great! Kevin told me that as well. The link below in my sig is my old Sadowsky V4 (alder/maple/sc) at 50% on vtc and a slight bass boost (any of the tracks but "The Fall"). Recorded through an Avalon U5.
So would that not work in a live situation? Does one need more VTC playing
on stage?
I don't think he meant to indicate to the exclusion of other settings.
I can tell you it also works great live, but at the end of the day, just adjust things to whatever works for you. There are NO hard/fast absolute rules on this stuff.
That is a beautiful PJ. Love the color. I love my Metro.
Incidentally, can anyone recommend a good source for those exact P bass style chrome knobs?
I've noticed sound of the attack on fingered notes has recently changed on my bass.
Could anyone please listen to this:[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Crappy playing, but it illustrates what's happening
and tell me
a) whether you hear it too and and
b) what you hear
Bonus: Anyone have ideas what might be causing this?
Could anyone please listen to this:[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Crappy playing, but it illustrates what's happening
and tell me
a) whether you hear it too and and
b) what you hear
Bonus: Anyone have ideas what might be causing this?
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi. Thanks for the response. Battery was the first thing I thought of, and I just checked the battery - it reads the same as a new one from the package on the battery meter. (Since I pulled the battery, I replaced it with a brand new one all the same.
Couple of other things I should mention:
- You can hear the sound acoustically when the bass is not running through an amp.
- This was recorded with VTC in Passive mode
- The signal chain for the example is Sadowsky 24F5->Tascam US122->MacBook running Audacity-> 16 bit wav -> Soundcloud
- When I play with only the pads of my finger and attack the string at roughly a 45 degree angle (typical finger style), the sound occurs pretty consistently on the A and E string. I don't think it's a technique issue, because this sound does not occur on my other basses. However, I've noticed that when I play using finger nails and attack the string exactly perpendicularly, the sound does not seem to occur.
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This might be reaching a bit but it almost sounds like the neck doesn't have enough relief and it's not fretting quite perfectly cleanly.
Yeah, it sounds like fret sizzle to me. Actually, I kinda' like that sound when digging in. Otherwise, probably just needs a minor setup. No biggie.
It's a setup issue. The clicking sound you are hearing on the A and E plucked notes is from your finger hitting the string below it. For instance after you pluck the A string your finger will come to rest on the E string. When your finger hits the E string it makes a percussive click sound. Does this make sense?
This primarily happens when you get your action too low. Either raise your action, change your plucking motion, or learn to love all the extraneous noise that comes from playing the bass.
This primarily happens when you get your action too low. Either raise your action, change your plucking motion, or learn to love all the extraneous noise that comes from playing the bass.
