Club Sadowsky!!!

[deepestend]

Great looking bass. Really like the layout and concept behind it. I'll bet it's a tone monster. Is the neck solid and stable with only 3 retaining screws?

Yes it is! It ends up that you really don't need 6+ bolts on a singlecut neck to make it stable.

We shot some great video with Mark Kelley from the Roots this week playing one of the single cut basses with soapbars (the first vintage was already out the door) and that should give people a good idea of what these basses are capable of. He's a super versatile player and really runs the bass through its paces.

 

[Luckydog]

If you leave a Sadowsky bass in passive mode but plugged in, does the battery still drain?

Is it necessarily the same answer for all active basses with a passive option?

Just curious if anyone knows for certain. Thanks.

Sorry, not 100% absolutely for certain sure, but I believe all Sadowskys (including the DI) need to be unplugged to stop batty drain. I dont think disengaging active circuit on either a Sadowsky bass or DI will prevent the drain.

 

[deepestend]

Sorry, not 100% absolutely for certain sure, but I believe all Sadowskys (including the DI) need to be unplugged to stop batty drain. I dont think disengaging active circuit on either a Sadowsky bass or DI will prevent the drain.

Yes. Battery drains when it’s plugged in no matter what the instrument is doing, playing or not, passive or active.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Yes. Battery drains when it’s plugged in no matter what the instrument is doing, playing or not, passive or active.

And this is true for all the active basses I'm aware of.

 

[kjones]

Yes it is! It ends up that you really don't need 6+ bolts on a singlecut neck to make it stable.

We shot some great video with Mark Kelley from the Roots this week playing one of the single cut basses with soapbars (the first vintage was already out the door) and that should give people a good idea of what these basses are capable of. He's a super versatile player and really runs the bass through its paces.

Did you have an average weight on the Singlecut?

 

[deepestend]

Did you have an average weight on the Singlecut?

We don't have enough of them to have an average weight but we are very weight conscious and try to keep everything under 9lbs.

 

[bass12]

Pickup height for Moderns?

 

[StayLow]

Sorry, not 100% absolutely for certain sure, but I believe all Sadowskys (including the DI) need to be unplugged to stop batty drain. I dont think disengaging active circuit on either a Sadowsky bass or DI will prevent the drain.

Yes. Battery drains when it’s plugged in no matter what the instrument is doing, playing or not, passive or active.

And this is true for all the active basses I'm aware of.

I thought so. Had read a post elsewhere on the subject which made me re-think it. Much thanks.


Sadowsky, the single cut and new pickup option(s) look great! Diggin' the single cut with a painted and smaller body than what I've seen before in that style.

 

[Ewo]

Hey, I'd be interested in comments on this...

I figure I'll commission an NYC build of a WL5, as a kind of impending-retirement treat for myself. (Hey, when they retire some guys buy an RV, but I'd rather have an RV. /rimshot)

So I have a lot of time on a couple Will Lees already. One's a Metro in alder/rosewood with singles. The other is an NYC in ash/rosewood (yes, ash/rosewood) with soaps. Love 'em both.

What I've been pondering on the build is ash/rosewood with singles... I'd like the bottom to be a little deeper and the upper mids a bit snappier than my alder/rosewood Metro--just not all the way to ash/maple territory.

Any thoughts on this? Anybody have some playing time on ash/rosewood?

 

[deepestend]

Hey, I'd be interested in comments on this...

I figure I'll commission an NYC build of a WL5, as a kind of impending-retirement treat for myself. (Hey, when they retire some guys buy an RV, but I'd rather have an RV. /rimshot)

So I have a lot of time on a couple Will Lees already. One's a Metro in alder/rosewood with singles. The other is an NYC in ash/rosewood (yes, ash/rosewood) with soaps. Love 'em both.

What I've been pondering on the build is ash/rosewood with singles... I'd like the bottom to be a little deeper and the upper mids a bit snappier than my alder/rosewood Metro--just not all the way to ash/maple territory.

Any thoughts on this? Anybody have some playing time on ash/rosewood?

I can ask around the shop next week and get some thoughts as well.

 

[Ewo]

I can ask around the shop next week and get some thoughts as well.

Thanks, JR. I'd def like to know them.

 

[bass12]

Hey, I'd be interested in comments on this...

I figure I'll commission an NYC build of a WL5, as a kind of impending-retirement treat for myself. (Hey, when they retire some guys buy an RV, but I'd rather have an RV. /rimshot)

So I have a lot of time on a couple Will Lees already. One's a Metro in alder/rosewood with singles. The other is an NYC in ash/rosewood (yes, ash/rosewood) with soaps. Love 'em both.

What I've been pondering on the build is ash/rosewood with singles... I'd like the bottom to be a little deeper and the upper mids a bit snappier than my alder/rosewood Metro--just not all the way to ash/maple territory.

Any thoughts on this? Anybody have some playing time on ash/rosewood?

Not sure how helpful it will be because it was just one bass (and I think it can be unwise to make predictions on the sound of a bass with only one point of reference) but I have experience with an ash/rosewood Standard Jazz. It was nice. Very warm and punchy, with a bit of grind up top. Fantastic slap tone. Thicker sounding than the ash/maple combos I've played.

 

[Ewo]

Not sure how helpful it will be because it was just one bass (and I think it can be unwise to make predictions on the sound of a bass with only one point of reference) but I have experience with an ash/rosewood Standard Jazz. It was nice. Very warm and punchy, with a bit of grind up top. Fantastic slap tone. Thicker sounding than the ash/maple combos I've played.

Thanks, good buddy! Individual cases accumulate into a dataset. And that's the kind of voice I'm looking for.

 

[bass12]

Thanks, good buddy! Individual cases accumulate into a dataset. And that's the kind of voice I'm looking for.

I should have also mentioned that it was unchambered.

 

[Ewo]

I should have also mentioned that it was unchambered.

Ah! Interesting...

 

[MAJOR METAL]

Dude, Sadowsky basses are just downright awesome.

 

[RockinRonnie]

Hey, I'd be interested in comments on this...

I figure I'll commission an NYC build of a WL5, as a kind of impending-retirement treat for myself. (Hey, when they retire some guys buy an RV, but I'd rather have an RV. /rimshot)

So I have a lot of time on a couple Will Lees already. One's a Metro in alder/rosewood with singles. The other is an NYC in ash/rosewood (yes, ash/rosewood) with soaps. Love 'em both.

What I've been pondering on the build is ash/rosewood with singles... I'd like the bottom to be a little deeper and the upper mids a bit snappier than my alder/rosewood Metro--just not all the way to ash/maple territory.

Any thoughts on this? Anybody have some playing time on ash/rosewood?

I have had this quilted maple, chambered, ash/rosewood WL4 for almost four years now. It is the only 'modern' bass I own and I love it, but it lacks the deeper warmth of my 60s Fenders.

 

[Chef]

I have had this quilted maple, chambered, ash/rosewood WL4 for almost four years now. It is the only 'modern' bass I own and I love it, but it lacks the deeper warmth of my 60s Fenders. View attachment 983248

Maybe in 50 years after the woods and electronics age as your 60's Fender stuff has..............

 

[Fuzzbass]

I have had this quilted maple, chambered, ash/rosewood WL4 for almost four years now. It is the only 'modern' bass I own and I love it, but it lacks the deeper warmth of my 60s Fenders. View attachment 983248

That's because it's a Sadowsky, not a Fender. I still play the 1964 Fender P-bass I used to own from time to time -- my brother owns it. It's passive of course, has such a big warm sound to it, with thick mids. Incredibly sweet bass, but I wanted crisper tones from my P-basses. I never modded that '64, but I hot rodded other Fender P-basses I've owned like crazy -- adding J bridge pickups, active electronics, etc. Then when I got my first Sadowsky P5 back in 2005, I realized it gave me the P-bass tone I'd been searching for for decades. So yeah, I'm a big believer in Roger's version of the Fender sound.

Just for fun, here are some recent pics of the '64. It was pretty much just like that when I bought it for $450 in the very early '80s (I happen to love the road rash). Biggest difference is that the red disappeared from the burst on the front of the body (my brother's fault; his studio was on the sunny side of his house). I do miss this bass, but if I owned it I would not gig it because I prefer my Sadowsky P-basses.

 

[Musicfreak1988]

5 out of the 7 Sadowsky basses I've had (have / are coming) are ash / rw. My favorites were ash / braz and ash / amazon. It's my combo of preference and, to my feeling, the most all-round combination. I also have ash / maple and mahogany / ebony.

Ash / maple is snappier, but not as warm and full sounding. It's not a bad combo at all, just different.

Mahogany / ebony felt colder, more sterile and very fast / direct. Again, not in a bad way, just different. Perfect for a 24-fret modern with soapbars for example.