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The SD's sound more like the pickups they were built to sound like... In other words, the P pup sounds like a P pup and the Jazz sounds like a Jazz. The Nordie's (to my ears, and just my ears) had no distinctive personality to their respective pickups. The P pup sounded ok, but not very Pbass-ish, and was WAY quieter than the Jazz pup which really didn't sound very Jazzy. Tully Kennedy prefers the SD's over the Nordy's, from what I hear and I love his tone!
Chef
In Memoriam
Well; I agree, and disagree. I've had 3 Sadowsky PJ5's now.
The first RV I didn't keep.
The first MV I didn't keep.
The third, another MV, I've kept for a while now.
All three shared these traits:
The P pup does not sound like my Fender P. The J pup does not sound like my Fender P.
This holds true in both active and passive modes.
However, the third bass has a voice that works pretty well for me, in some situations.
Another trait they shared, that I guess none of mine had in common with yours is this:
the P pup was just overwhelmingly huge.
Like "lower it all the way, and raise the J pup a lot to have any hope of being able to balance them."
The MV5PJ I have now Has really deep lows, really high highs, and still has enough mids to work pretty dang well, but, it sure doesn't feel like your typical Fender heavy on the low mids Motown kinda thing. The Fender American Standard P5 does that pretty well, but I don't have one of those. I just use a Fender P4 when I need to be that genuine.
The first RV I didn't keep.
The first MV I didn't keep.
The third, another MV, I've kept for a while now.
All three shared these traits:
The P pup does not sound like my Fender P. The J pup does not sound like my Fender P.
This holds true in both active and passive modes.
However, the third bass has a voice that works pretty well for me, in some situations.
Another trait they shared, that I guess none of mine had in common with yours is this:
the P pup was just overwhelmingly huge.
Like "lower it all the way, and raise the J pup a lot to have any hope of being able to balance them."
The MV5PJ I have now Has really deep lows, really high highs, and still has enough mids to work pretty dang well, but, it sure doesn't feel like your typical Fender heavy on the low mids Motown kinda thing. The Fender American Standard P5 does that pretty well, but I don't have one of those. I just use a Fender P4 when I need to be that genuine.
Damian Coccio
Supporting Member
The nj5s came in today. They sound almost identical to the sadowsky singles IMHO. With the vtc at 50% and considerable treble boost, the tone is pretty close to what I want, still the presence isn't there and no top end sizzle. 500k pot made no audible difference in the highs on the nj5s. D string now has even output level with the other strings. B string now has weird overtones regardless of pup height. The other positives like the sadowsky singles are the nice barky sc tone on the bridge and the overall growly mids. That's my review...fwiw.
It took me awhile to get the sound I really liked. I tried Tully's preamp settings (bass @ 10%, treble all the way off) but it sounded thin. He's running through Aguilar 412's and is a great player, whereas I'm running through a Aguilar DB750 with a GS410 and I'm not so great!LOL!!! The SD's are very even sounding, both pickups sound the same volume wise. I did the same thing with the Nordy's as you did Chef, I lowered that j pickup and it still crushed the P bass pup! ***!!! Even with the Seymour's I didn't care for Tully's settings. Much to my neighbors dismay I spent about 2 hours EQing the bass/bass rig in my backyard to get a "neutral" palate. I am now running the bass preamp like this, bass 50%, treble 70%, VTC 25-30%, Pan pot set at center. My Aggie DB750 I run gain 11 o'clock, treble 1 o'clock, mid 11 o'clock, bass 1 o'clock. Since getting these settings, my last 6 gigs have been awesome! The bass/bass rig sounds really good in lots of different rooms, and I've gotten more compliments than ever!! My G.A.S. pains are finally OVER!!!!
It took me awhile to get the sound I really liked. I tried Tully's preamp settings (bass @ 10%, treble all the way off) but it sounded thin. He's running through Aguilar 412's and is a great player, whereas I'm running through a Aguilar DB750 with a GS410 and I'm not so great!LOL!!! The SD's are very even sounding, both pickups sound the same volume wise. I did the same thing with the Nordy's as you did Chef, I lowered that j pickup and it still crushed the P bass pup! ***!!! Even with the Seymour's I didn't care for Tully's settings. Much to my neighbors dismay I spent about 2 hours EQing the bass/bass rig in my backyard to get a "neutral" palate. I am now running the bass preamp like this, bass 50%, treble 70%, VTC 25-30%, Pan pot set at center. My Aggie DB750 I run gain 11 o'clock, treble 1 o'clock, mid 11 o'clock, bass 1 o'clock. Since getting these settings, my last 6 gigs have been awesome! The bass/bass rig sounds really good in lots of different rooms, and I've gotten more compliments than ever!! My G.A.S. pains are finally OVER!!!!
Waaahooooo! I'm finally back!!!!
In my best Peaches and Herb vocal: Re-united and it feels so good.
Thanks to Fab_Superlative aka Chuck aoka Pappy, I have been blessed with the opportunity to re-acquire my first and only Sadowsky NYC Custom P that I was forced to sell over 6 and 1/2 years ago. I LOVED this bass, but I simply had no choice at the time.
To say that Pappy babied "Brownie" (Chuck's nickname for her) is the understatement of the century. Aside from some finger nail strikes on the PG, this bass looks like it just rolled off of Roger's current line last week!
Sorry if I overdid the pictures, but I couldn't resist.
BTW, is it OK if a guy sheds a few MANLY tears when he is able to get a bass back he was forced to sell but never wanted to??
Ahh who cares, I can't help but be overwhelmed by Chuck's generosity!!
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
In my best Peaches and Herb vocal: Re-united and it feels so good.
Thanks to Fab_Superlative aka Chuck aoka Pappy, I have been blessed with the opportunity to re-acquire my first and only Sadowsky NYC Custom P that I was forced to sell over 6 and 1/2 years ago. I LOVED this bass, but I simply had no choice at the time.
To say that Pappy babied "Brownie" (Chuck's nickname for her) is the understatement of the century. Aside from some finger nail strikes on the PG, this bass looks like it just rolled off of Roger's current line last week!
Sorry if I overdid the pictures, but I couldn't resist.
BTW, is it OK if a guy sheds a few MANLY tears when he is able to get a bass back he was forced to sell but never wanted to??
Ahh who cares, I can't help but be overwhelmed by Chuck's generosity!![Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I'm not sure about a ONE-off, but there haven't been more than a few I don't think.
There have been various incarnations with one called, an "original" P which has a lollar pup. I've seen one or two that had two soapbars (neck and bridge).
I remember one other that had this two-tone burst and mint guard, but I think it had an ash body and a split coil if memory serves.
The frets are straight. 
Nice bass. What do the controls do? Is the chrome one stacked? (vol, tone, bass/treble?)
Nice bass. What do the controls do? Is the chrome one stacked? (vol, tone, bass/treble?)
The frets are straight.
Nice bass. What do the controls do? Is the chrome one stacked? (vol, tone, bass/treble?)
Yeah, I know! Strange huh?
Yes, it's volume/Vintage Tone control/stacked Treb and bass.
I think they're all pretty versatile, but I would probably say a 5 string P/J would cover the most ground.
I prefer 4s though, and my 4 string P/J is a VERY versatile instrument for sure.
