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Club Sadowsky!!!

#40,001
pickles said:
On any bass, B strings that turn wonky by the 4th fret are common, 5 is my minimum acceptable, and 7 is ideal. Stable B up to 12 happens but its very rare.
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Playing many 5 and 6-string basses for years, doing my own setups, this is total news to me.

As usual, maybe I'm the odd one out. I love classic J tones and have several basses along those lines but also totally dig the h/c pickups in my NYC 5, and I think the new satin finishes are a fantastic idea. If anything, I'd choose that finish even at the same price point. If those who buy 'em play 'em, we should see some naturally worn "relic" Sadowsky instruments in a few months.
 
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#40,003
IME it depends on the string. I just put a set of limited edition LaBella Tiger Blood tapes on my CAR Sadowsky P5. The EADG strings sound sweet, but despite my best effort the tapered B string wobbles above the 5th fret. Maybe it's just a defective string, but one thing I noticed is that the taper is really long: there's at least an inch of taper on the speaking portion of the string. I wonder whether the excess taper could be causing the problem.

Bottom line: the problem is NOT with the Sadowsky. With other string sets, I've been able to intonate B strings so that they are usable as high as the 12th fret. That was true for the TI Jazz Flats I had on previously. Also, while I wasn't thrilled by the tone of the DR Legend flats I tried a year or two ago, I was amazed by the tonal consistency, including the B string: it sounded as good as the E string, and it too intonated nicely up to at least the 12th fret (I rarely bother to check higher than that on the B).
 
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#40,004
Greetings. I've been thinking to get a Sadowsky M5-24 for a while, but I'm still not sure if the demos of it on YT is accurate representation of its pros and cons. I'm asking, in comparison with Fender MIA/MIJ Jazz basses (which I happen to own), what's the difference between Metro M series and Fender's? I've played the Sadowsky MV4, as well, but I'm pretty sure the tone is different from that bass too.
 
#40,005
Screen Shot 2016-02-17 at 3.39.39 PM.png
ElMon said:
This whole 'need' concept is relative when it comes to Sadowsky's. So says my wife. She's wrong of course.View attachment 774228 View attachment 774229
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Wanted to check with the group: anyone here interested in my seafoam green PJ5 before I go to the trouble of creating a thread? PM me if so.
 
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#40,007
CronusUranus said:
Greetings. I've been thinking to get a Sadowsky M5-24 for a while, but I'm still not sure if the demos of it on YT is accurate representation of its pros and cons. I'm asking, in comparison with Fender MIA/MIJ Jazz basses (which I happen to own), what's the difference between Metro M series and Fender's? I've played the Sadowsky MV4, as well, but I'm pretty sure the tone is different from that bass too.
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The M5-24 is called the Modern for very good reason. First, the pickups are closer to the bridge relative to a Fender J. Second, it's an active bass, unlike many Fenders. Largely because of the pickup locations, you'll get more punch and growl from the M5-24 than you will from a Fender J. The flip side is that you'll get more depth (lows) from a bass with J-bass pickup placement.

The M5-24 demos I've heard have seemed accurate. If you like punch and articulation, the Modern has it. If you want the classic J-bass tone, then a J-style bass is the way to go.

For most slappers, the ultimate slap tone comes from the standard J-bass pickup configuration. Of course "most popular" does not mean "best", that's a judgment call (me, I prefer P-basses even for slap :)). It's worth noting that the M5-24 has 24 frets. So, pushing the pickups toward the bridge gives slappers more room to 'pop' between the end of the fretboard and the neck pickup. Here's a custom NYC Modern with standard J-bass pickups: as you can see, not a lot of space between neck pickup and fretboard (but some players don't need much).
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