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Club Sadowsky!!!

#3,743
AJ Brown said:
I left the cling on my Modern for 2 years, and just took it off last week. This thing is getting played, too. I guess I've passed the point of worrying about the value.
Click to expand...

Thats awesome. I took mine off my Metro about 4 weeks after I got it. I was gonna keep them on but then I figured it would look silly if I took them off down the road when there's plenty of mojo on the bass, except for the spots where the film was on.
 
#3,747
I've taken the original pickguard as well as the control plate and knobs and replaced them all with a clear guard, control plate and custom clear knobs and added a clear pickup ring to the back pickup. Notice that the thickness is thicker than the original pickguard thickness because I didn't like the distance from the string when thumping and plucking so that thickness made a noticeable difference. I may even draw a patent on a pickguard with a built in ramp for my next project as I am getting ramps made.

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#3,749
Sure, but the picture doesn't do justice. When under good lights and fingerprints removed the clear parts show thru very good. Nothing but wood grain and electronics. And when I install the clear ramp you will not notice it is there in between the pups.

l_e223b06f397a4223b265504dcd9b3650.png


frandiaz said:
It looks great! congrats.

Can you please post more photos of the whole body (or bass)?
TIA
Click to expand...
 
#3,753
I was afraid of that. If you do post it so that I can go out and get a variation of the clear pickguard. my whole purpose was not only to preserve the beauty of the wood grain look, but to be totally original. I will probably go with clear with inlayed material or even LED's next. The knobs on my bass do have inlaid maple veeners for position markers and that might be a good option for the guard as well.

Wadge said:
Cool, I have an identical UV and I was thinking of putting on a clear pick-guard. I was just wondering where to get one from. I guess it would have to be custom made.
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#3,754
I realize some of you may consider this blasphemy, but...

I recently bought my first Sadowsky (NYC Vintage 5), and while I really like the bass, I don't really care for the preamp. I always run it passive, it seems to cut through more and have a better attack that way. Anybody else feel that way?

I've thought about replacing the pre with the Nordstrand preamp. Has anybody tried this combo? It has the hum-canceling pickups.
 
#3,755
smeet said:
I realize some of you may consider this blasphemy, but...

I recently bought my first Sadowsky (NYC Vintage 5), and while I really like the bass, I don't really care for the preamp. I always run it passive, it seems to cut through more and have a better attack that way. Anybody else feel that way?

I've thought about replacing the pre with the Nordstrand preamp. Has anybody tried this combo? It has the hum-canceling pickups.
Click to expand...

I run mine passive from time to time.
Depends on the situation. Sometimes it just works better. But mostly I leave it on.
When you're ready to get that new Nordy pre-amp, I'll take the old Sadowsky one off your hands.
 
#3,756
smeet said:
I realize some of you may consider this blasphemy, but...

I recently bought my first Sadowsky (NYC Vintage 5), and while I really like the bass, I don't really care for the preamp. I always run it passive, it seems to cut through more and have a better attack that way. Anybody else feel that way?

I've thought about replacing the pre with the Nordstrand preamp. Has anybody tried this combo? It has the hum-canceling pickups.
Click to expand...

I'm just wondering... is this your first experience with the Sadowsky preamp? Some guys make the mistake of cranking it. The first thing to understand is that it is boost only. The second thing is that a little goes a LONG way. I usually level-set at 0 (= same as passive) and don't go beyond 25% on treble and bass. I also use the VTC to roll off the highs.
 
#3,757
ditto that...

AJ Brown said:
I'm just wondering... is this your first experience with the Sadowsky preamp? Some guys make the mistake of cranking it. The first thing to understand is that it is boost only. The second thing is that a little goes a LONG way. I usually level-set at 0 (= same as passive) and don't go beyond 25% on treble and bass. I also use the VTC to roll off the highs.
Click to expand...
 
#3,758
AJ Brown said:
I'm just wondering... is this your first experience with the Sadowsky preamp? Some guys make the mistake of cranking it. The first thing to understand is that it is boost only. The second thing is that a little goes a LONG way. I usually level-set at 0 (= same as passive) and don't go beyond 25% on treble and bass. I also use the VTC to roll off the highs.
Click to expand...

i use from 50-75%, and i'm not ashamed to admit so! :hyper:
 
#3,759
smeet said:
I realize some of you may consider this blasphemy, but...

I recently bought my first Sadowsky (NYC Vintage 5), and while I really like the bass, I don't really care for the preamp. I always run it passive, it seems to cut through more and have a better attack that way. Anybody else feel that way?

I've thought about replacing the pre with the Nordstrand preamp. Has anybody tried this combo? It has the hum-canceling pickups.
Click to expand...

not blasphemy... treason, but not blasphemy... :D

but i LOVE LOVE LOVE the preamp.

and i dunno about swapping out the preamp on a very expensive, no less a $4k+ bass. that's always seemed a little counterproductive.
 
#3,760
AJ Brown said:
I'm just wondering... is this your first experience with the Sadowsky preamp? Some guys make the mistake of cranking it. The first thing to understand is that it is boost only. The second thing is that a little goes a LONG way. I usually level-set at 0 (= same as passive) and don't go beyond 25% on treble and bass. I also use the VTC to roll off the highs.
Click to expand...

It's my first Sadowsky, but I've used a lot of preamps and I understand it's boost only. I never cranked it, but even when it's set flat, I don't like what it does to the sound in the mix. It gets a larger-than-life thing that is nice solo, but doesn't do it for me in the mix. I also wish it had a mid band...

I'll keep playing with it. Now that I'm pretty familiar with the passive sound, maybe it's time to go back and try out the sound with the pre again.

jokerjkny, I hear you about the possible counterproductiveness of swapping the pre on such a high-end instrument. The thing is I really do like the instrument, and I keep wondering if a pre that suits me more would take the bass to a whole new level for me.
 

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