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Club Sadowsky!!!

#41,461
Polk Salad said:
Guys and girls, I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this but could someone describe the neck profile on a Will Lee 4 Metro for me?

I've had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands so I am very picky about the size of a neck. I also have relatively small hands. I also suck as a player so thinking of a bass as this price point is hard for me to imagine but I really want to be able to continue using my hands in the future, LOL.

The smaller nut width caught my attention which then made me wonder about the profile in general.

Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
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As someone who majored in double bass and had severe carpal tunnel issues in college. I was able to deal with a lot of experts both musicians and doctors in a research hospital I can tell you smaller and closer together isn't necessarily the right answer. You want that left hand to be shaped like it's squeezing a tennis ball and very relaxed. Even in a relaxed motion making a fist you can feel the tendons tighten....
 
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#41,462
Matt R Miller said:
I have a major dilemma and I’d love some insight from those of you who are already official Club members.

I put my deposit down for a 21-fret, JJ single coil model in late December, so I probably have at least a month until they start building it.

I’ve always leaned towards the Jazz bass over the Precision, so the decision was easy for me. Lately, though, I’ve really been digging my American Standard Precision. The sound, at least. I’ll prefer a Jazz neck until the day I die, that I’m sure of.

Basically, I am completely TORN between keeping my bass JJ as I ordered and switching to PJ (on a J body and neck). Living in Wisconsin, I can’t really try them out side-by-side without another trip (read: flight) to the shop (I placed my order in person…the demo room is VERY dangerous for wallets). The next best thing I can do is a side-by-side with an American Elite Jazz and Precision (actually a PJ). I have done that in the past, and definitely preferred the PJ setup. But is it smart to determine my pickup configuration based on my preference with another brand’s basses/pickups?

I guess I’m just looking for any insight or advice on the major differences between the two configurations. I only have one shot to get it right, as my next major purchase is a house and then a truckload of diapers.

I play funk, disco, jamband-type stuff (Grateful Dead, Phish, etc), and sometimes a little heavier stuff like Alice in Chains, Tool, RATM, etc.
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I've had two Sadowsky PJs. Both fivers. One was a NYC and one was a metro. The Metro was Alder/RW. It was a very solid bass and played very well, but did not have enough mid presence for my taste, and the "sparkle" that I have experienced with the several JJ Sadowsky basses I have owned was not there. Almost all of the Sadowsky basses I have owned have been ash/maple, so I am unsure whether to attribute it to the woods or the pickup configuration or both. For what it is worth, I prefer the Sadowsky HC pickups in the jazz basses over the single coils. I actually prefer the clarity and more contemporary sound.

The NYC PJ I owned was ash/maple with a maple top. It had all the sparkle you could ask for. I acquired that bass with the P PU reversed. That is, the bass coil was aft and the treble coil forward. In that configuration, the bass was an absolute tone monster. Although, the tone was hardly a P bass vibe. Much more contemporary. For some reason, that bass was also routed to allow for the PUs also to be installed in the conventional position. After having another PG made, I tried it, and I found that I strongly preferred the reverse configuration. In the conventional position, while the low end was very present, it was a bit "puffy" for my taste. And, as mentioned the upper string highs with thinner. I found the bass far more balanced when the PUs were reversed. But again, the "puff," or "tub" is part of the P-bass vibe. If that's your thing, the reverse will not get you there.
 
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#41,464
Hello my fellow club members, I have some strings to give away. They have been sitting for quite awhile (3 years+?) and I decided to buy new, fresh strings along with some swag from the Sadowsky online store. So with that out there, PM me. I only ask for some $ donation for USPS shipping.
I have:
GONE !.....Blue Bright Nickel: a single 5th string - 125T (from the set# SBN40B)
GONE !....Blue Bright Nickel: a full 4-string set - 45, 65, 85, 105 (SBN45)
And GONE...Blue Stainless Steel: a full 4-string set - 45, 65, 85, 105 (SBS45)
 

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#41,472
MattB88 said:
Slowly converting all my hardware to black on my MS5. So far I've gotten the anodized black Sadowsky knobs, black satin Hipshots, black string tree, and the black Dunlop strap buttons. I'm going to have the bridge plated in satin black and will match the output jack plate as well.

Before
View attachment 1044241

After
View attachment 1044245
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Ciao
where do you get the bridge plated in satin black? Thanks
 
#41,474
I was checking out the Sadowsky strings and was curious if the Blue Label nickels are similar in feel and tone to D'Addario XL's? I tried some black labels nickels in the past, to me they seemed to lose their edge pretty quickly compared to the D'Addarios. I was wondering if the Blue nickels did this as well. As a second part to this- do any of you feel or hear an advantage to the taperwound B of the Sadowsky sets?
 
#41,475
gustobassman said:
I was checking out the Sadowsky strings and was curious if the Blue Label nickels are similar in feel and tone to D'Addario XL's? I tried some black labels nickels in the past, to me they seemed to lose their edge pretty quickly compared to the D'Addarios. I was wondering if the Blue nickels did this as well. As a second part to this- do any of you feel or hear an advantage to the taperwound B of the Sadowsky sets?
Click to expand...

IMO Black Label strings are closer to D'Addario XLs. Blue Labels are more flexible and have a warmer/punchier tone (emphasis on mids).

As for the taperwound B: it can depend on the bass and the string, but the difference I notice is that taperwound B strings can be easier to intonate than non-tapered: they'll have a more usable range from nut up toward the 12th fret and often above. Again, it's dependent on many factors and not always true. I tried one tapered B (don't recall the manufacturer) where the taper must have been designed for thru-body stringing, because there was too much taper along the speaking length of the string (between saddle and nut, of course). That string did not intonate very well with my top-load bass. I recall that Sadowsky strings have proper taper length for top-load, as one would expect (been awhile since I've used 'em, I frequently try out different strings).
 
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#41,476
gustobassman said:
I was checking out the Sadowsky strings and was curious if the Blue Label nickels are similar in feel and tone to D'Addario XL's? I tried some black labels nickels in the past, to me they seemed to lose their edge pretty quickly compared to the D'Addarios. I was wondering if the Blue nickels did this as well. As a second part to this- do any of you feel or hear an advantage to the taperwound B of the Sadowsky sets?
Click to expand...


A couple of weeks ago I took off some older Blue Label nickels (I have run many sets of them), and put on a set of D'addario nickels. I find they both have similar brightness with the dads having a very different mid range quality. I don't want to say one is scooped and the other not, I just think the midrange itself presents itself differently, the dads being a bit more aggressive in that area, an upper grunt to my ear. The blue labels for me always lasted a long time and had good tone, but my RV5 PJ is a bit dark and I was looking to get a more modernish aggressive tone for a current project. As far as the tapered thang, I never can tell, sometimes I think it does and sometimes I don't think it matters; I think if you put a good string on a Sadowsky does it's thing well with it.
 
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#41,477
Fuzzbass said:
IMO Black Label strings are closer to D'Addario XLs. Blue Labels are more flexible and have a warmer/punchier tone (emphasis on mids).

As for the taperwound B: it can depend on the bass and the string, but the difference I notice is that taperwound B strings can be easier to intonate than non-tapered: they'll have a more usable range from nut up toward the 12th fret and often above. Again, it's dependent on many factors and not always true. I tried one tapered B (don't recall the manufacturer) where the taper must have been designed for thru-body stringing, because there was too much taper along the speaking length of the string (between saddle and nut, of course). That string did not intonate very well with my top-load bass. I recall that Sadowsky strings have proper taper length for top-load, as one would expect (been awhile since I've used 'em, I frequently try out different strings).
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I had the same experience with a few taperwound strings having too much taper for my liking. I can't really remember how the taper on black labels felt, the one set just didn't hold that edge I like. It must have been about 3-4 years ago too, just to add to my lack of recollection.. lol.

Gab124 said:
A couple of weeks ago I took off some older Blue Label nickels (I have run many sets of them), and put on a set of D'addario nickels. I find they both have similar brightness with the dads having a very different mid range quality. I don't want to say one is scooped and the other not, I just think the midrange itself presents itself differently, the dads being a bit more aggressive in that area, an upper grunt to my ear. The blue labels for me always lasted a long time and had good tone, but my RV5 PJ is a bit dark and I was looking to get a more modernish aggressive tone for a current project. As far as the tapered thang, I never can tell, sometimes I think it does and sometimes I don't think it matters; I think if you put a good string on a Sadowsky does it's thing well with it.
Click to expand...

Your description of the RV5 PJ being a bit dark sounds similar to mine. The XL's do brighten it up a bit but it still leans toward the dark side... thanks for your comparisons guys.
 
#41,479
Its funny the string thing came up - as far as for Sadowsky basses, what is the thoughts on a very good steel string with some brightness and good fundamental that would be good while tuning a half step down? Should be string forum, but I like information based on these basses. Any thoughts well appreciated.
 
#41,480
Gab124 said:
Its funny the string thing came up - as far as for Sadowsky basses, what is the thoughts on a very good steel string with some brightness and good fundamental that would be good while tuning a half step down? Should be string forum, but I like information based on these basses. Any thoughts well appreciated.
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Dunlop Super Bright steels are my fav for a couple of years now. Bright, flexible, nice fundamental and they last a long time.
 
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