Club Sadowsky!!!

[kulit17]

That's like getting a new car and take the passenger seat out because you don't have any plans to take anyone and the seat might catch some dust...
That's a beautiful MV4 you got there. Let her have the battery... You never know who you gonna meet. You might get lucky and wish you hadn't taken that seat out

Well said

 

[Hawkeye]

Well, it has been exactly one week since I received my Sadowsky MV4. It is my first ever Sadowsky, so I thought I'd post some One-Week Observations:

• The build quality is flawless. Seriously, I mean 100% perfect.
• The case was a pleasant surprise! I got the lightweight case w zipper. I love the storage compartments - enough space for two wireless packs, strap, batteries, you name it.
• The included trussrod tool is a nice touch. I'm used to that type truss wheel from my EBMM's. The little tool thingy is a cool bonus.
• The headstock really is thick. I think it contributes to an overall "solid" feel, in addition to the sonic qualities (ie. fighting deadspots, etc.).
• SUSTAIN! This bass sustains for days. Never had a bass with such long sustain. It's like the Nigel Tufnel scene with his guitar collection... LOL.
• Passive sound works perfectly for my live show. 100% happy. I pan slightly toward the neck pickup, reduce VTC a smidge, good to go.
• I love the design of the string tree on the headstock and also the massive bridge.
• I did change out the strap pins. I put on a set of what EBMM uses. I just like them a little better.
• I switched to nickel roundwounds, and I actually pulled the battery out of the bass. I'll go back to the pre-amp someday, but for now I'm loving passive and don't want battery drain concerns.

I'm totally happy and satisfied. This bass is just a perfect Jazz bass. Looking forward to many happy years together....

View attachment 846228

I agree with other posters here. The passive settings are nice but represent only a part of the sonic palette that your bass is capable of. The battery lasts a long, long time and my Sadowsky Metro RV5PJ is my most used bass.

 

[Nomogram]

You all are persuasive and made some good points.

So... the battery is back.

I know, I know...

Pics or it didn't happen. LOL.

It does sound really sweet in active. Even just with the active "on" and the bass and treble at zero, it seems a little sweeter. Anybody use that setting a lot?

 

[peterpalmieri]

You all are persuasive and made some good points.

So... the battery is back.

I know, I know...

Pics or it didn't happen. LOL.

View attachment 851142

It does sound really sweet in active. Even just with the active "on" and the bass and treble at zero, it seems a little sweeter. Anybody use that setting a lot?

I would say out of 30 songs I play in passive mode 25, active 5, of those 5 I boost the bass 20% on 1 or 2 and maybe a tune where I boost treble 20% for some gank. If I'm slapping (rare these days) I'll boost treble and bass 20%.

Valenti PJ5 with a Sadowsky pre.

 

[kjones]

You all are persuasive and made some good points.

So... the battery is back.

I know, I know...

Pics or it didn't happen. LOL.

View attachment 851142

It does sound really sweet in active. Even just with the active "on" and the bass and treble at zero, it seems a little sweeter. Anybody use that setting a lot?

Look, passive is great, and actives all the way down is fine too.

Just try this for me once, and maybe it will fit in the toolbox: Bass up 15-20%, treble up around 10%. Just give it try while you're playing along with a band or even just music at home. Let me know what you think.

 

[pickles]

You all are persuasive and made some good points.

So... the battery is back.

I know, I know...

Pics or it didn't happen. LOL.

View attachment 851142

It does sound really sweet in active. Even just with the active "on" and the bass and treble at zero, it seems a little sweeter. Anybody use that setting a lot?

Almost always. Buffer of goodness.

The only other setting I use is 10-20% boost on highs and lows with a little VTC pulled back. Butter.

 

[Nomogram]

Look, passive is great, and actives all the way down is fine too.

Just try this for me once, and maybe it will fit in the toolbox: Bass up 15-20%, treble up around 10%. Just give it try while you're playing along with a band or even just music at home. Let me know what you think.

That is indeed a good tone! Modern and big, sharp with definition.

Almost always. Buffer of goodness.

The only other setting I use is 10-20% boost on highs and lows with a little VTC pulled back. Butter.

I like this one, too. It fits my style a little better, with the VTC down a bit.

I played two gigs this weekend. First one was indoors, regular sound guys. I soundchecked with settings similar to Pickles's, above. Sounded great in the in-ears, and my guitarist said he loved it. After soundcheck, the engineer came up and asked me to give him a little more mids. LOL. I pulled the knob to go back to passive, he said it was perfect. So I left it on passive, and it sounded great to me that way, too.

Today, we played an outdoor gig with 4 other bands. On a flatbed truck trailer, in the sun and the wind, and I brought my amp for the first time in months. I went passive again, it was awesome sounding, got compliments and questions from other bands' bass players (a nice experience!).

I think the passive works best for me right now in part because of my playstyle, and in part because of the role I play in the band. Our guitarist plays a Tele, and I fill a lot of space sonically. My favorite setting is passive, with the pickup blend a little toward the neck and the VTC down a little bit.

That pickup blend knob is such a powerful tone adjuster - after some experience with the bass, I'm as interested in what other Sadowsky players favor for pickup blend as much as I am their active/passive and EQ settings.

Sorry if I've hijacked the thread! Leaving the battery in the bass is a good idea, and I'll do that even though I love, love, love the passive tone. The band before us today was a blues band, their bassist played a six string bass really well, and I was really wanting to hear him try my bass (it didn't happen). He really liked it though.... If he had, I'd have been glad the bass was in full capability mode.

 

[kjones]

That is indeed a good tone! Modern and big, sharp with definition.



I like this one, too. It fits my style a little better, with the VTC down a bit.

I played two gigs this weekend. First one was indoors, regular sound guys. I soundchecked with settings similar to Pickles's, above. Sounded great in the in-ears, and my guitarist said he loved it. After soundcheck, the engineer came up and asked me to give him a little more mids. LOL. I pulled the knob to go back to passive, he said it was perfect. So I left it on passive, and it sounded great to me that way, too.

Today, we played an outdoor gig with 4 other bands. On a flatbed truck trailer, in the sun and the wind, and I brought my amp for the first time in months. I went passive again, it was awesome sounding, got compliments and questions from other bands' bass players (a nice experience!).

I think the passive works best for me right now in part because of my playstyle, and in part because of the role I play in the band. Our guitarist plays a Tele, and I fill a lot of space sonically. My favorite setting is passive, with the pickup blend a little toward the neck and the VTC down a little bit.

That pickup blend knob is such a powerful tone adjuster - after some experience with the bass, I'm as interested in what other Sadowsky players favor for pickup blend as much as I am their active/passive and EQ settings.

Sorry if I've hijacked the thread! Leaving the battery in the bass is a good idea, and I'll do that even though I love, love, love the passive tone. The band before us today was a blues band, their bassist played a six string bass really well, and I was really wanting to hear him try my bass (it didn't happen). He really liked it though.... If he had, I'd have been glad the bass was in full capability mode.

You're not hijacking anything; it's fun to hear you try the different possibilities in your bass.

With pickup selection, you're going to need some advice from others on this board, because my JJ Sadowsky is fretless (see the left) and when I use it, I want specific things from it. Generally, I have it in the center setting (both pickups full) for the majority of songs during a set. When I really want that classic fretless tone that everybody associates with Jaco, etc., I go full bridge pickup.

I know others will be along with a lot of different options soon!

 

[kittywithabanjo]

Do you roll off the vtc for the Jaco tone

 

[kobass]

Do you roll off the vtc for the Jaco tone

You can, but you should get a pair of pliers and remove the frets first!

 

[AMJBASS]

You can, but you should get a pair of pliers and remove the frets first!

Didn't Jaco just use a knife?

 

[kjones]

Do you roll off the vtc for the Jaco tone

I don't unless the strings are obnoxiously new. Before I go into the studio or play live, I try to get a few hours on any set of strings. Otherwise, I do take a little edge off the VTC. Of course, different people will do things different ways.

 

[kjones]

You can, but you should get a pair of pliers and remove the frets first!

Roger must have beat me to it!

 

[gustobassman]

I've been having fun with the preamp myself. I too thought passive was great, but the the last couple of rehearsals I've been going with the preamp on and it just smokes. Right now I'm using both pickups centered, bass boosted about 5%, treble slightly more and the VTC rolled off about 40-50%. Just round and sweet. If I need more definition, I just bring the VTC back up. I do use roundwounds, but I could see the VTC having a different effect with other types of strings.

 

[Chef]

You all are persuasive and made some good points.

So... the battery is back.

I know, I know...

Pics or it didn't happen. LOL.

View attachment 851142

It does sound really sweet in active. Even just with the active "on" and the bass and treble at zero, it seems a little sweeter. Anybody use that setting a lot?

My go to setting is, active on, treble boosted ~20%, passive tone trimmed back to about half open.

 

[Fuzzbass]

My go to setting is, active on, treble boosted ~20%, passive tone trimmed back to about half open.

Yeah, that's one of my favorites, but sometimes I play completely flat. And sometimes I nudge the bass control up... depends on various factors, mostly room acoustics.

 

[Chef]

Yeah, that's one of my favorites, but sometimes I play completely flat. And sometimes I nudge the bass control up... depends on various factors, mostly room acoustics.

Exactly.
I like fresh Sasdowsky Blue Steels; so, I run VTC back some to take the gank off them.
I will sometimes boost bass for a specific song, or, like one outdoor gig this weekend, to fatten up my sound for the outdoor venue.

 

[kjones]

Exactly.
I like fresh Sasdowsky Blue Steels; so, I run VTC back some to take the gank off them.
I will sometimes boost bass for a specific song, or, like one outdoor gig this weekend, to fatten up my sound for the outdoor venue.

This makes a lot of sense. On the other hand, any bass boost is the first thing to go if it's a little boomy in the room, before I go over and start fiddling with amp EQ.

 

[bucephylus]

I played two gigs this weekend. First one was indoors, regular sound guys. I soundchecked with settings similar to Pickles's, above. Sounded great in the in-ears, and my guitarist said he loved it. After soundcheck, the engineer came up and asked me to give him a little more mids. LOL. I pulled the knob to go back to passive, he said it was perfect. So I left it on passive, and it sounded great to me that way, too.

My favorite setting is passive, with the pickup blend a little toward the neck and the VTC down a little bit.

Reading your post, it seems that you are trying to get more of a P-ish sound out of your JJ MV4. If so, here is another option to think about: I replaced my RV4 pickups with Delano JMVC4's, which are very impressive humbuckers. One of the aspects at which they excel is with the neck pickup solo'd and appropriate use of the VTC, I get a HIGHLY credible bell like P tone; possibly exactly what you are trying to go for. BUT, I get that sound with the active preamp engaged; so, I get the gain structure as well. Just another option to consider. GL

 

[Nomogram]

Reading your post, it seems that you are trying to get more of a P-ish sound out of your JJ MV4. If so, here is another option to think about: I replaced my RV4 pickups with Delano JMVC4's, which are very impressive humbuckers. One of the aspects at which they excel is with the neck pickup solo'd and appropriate use of the VTC, I get a HIGHLY credible bell like P tone; possibly exactly what you are trying to go for. BUT, I get that sound with the active preamp engaged; so, I get the gain structure as well. Just another option to consider. GL

View attachment 852919

Those Delano's look cool, too - I like the big pole pieces.

I am enjoying learning from you all about your settings and how you use your Sadowskys.

To be clear, I am absolutely blown away by my MV4, and as much as I try other settings, I keep coming back to passive, with pickup blend a little toward the neck and VTC rolled off a little. It's exactly what I was looking for. It sounds great in the in-ears, it was like a choir of angels yesterday through my amp outside, it works perfectly. There isn't anything missing. I am getting unanimous opinion that I should have gotten this bass a long time ago from bandmates, soundguys, friends, etc., too.

I wish I'd have had this bass 10 and 14 years ago, when I was in the studio recording the two albums I've been a part of. I can see the active circuit being great for that.

Add in the build quality and good looks, and you have what I think is the perfect bass guitar.

Edited to add a photo from yesterday...