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Club Sadowsky!!!

#42,541
My humble opinion (and I'm not drunk, lunch time here):
I've always felt that, with my Sad, I could get closer to a VINTAGE P sound rather than a passive Jazz. This with the neck pup soloed, of course, and a bit of bass boost that bumps the low-mids a little as well.
Having a wider tonal palette with a second pickup and an impeccable construction/setup is the icing on the cake.
 
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#42,542
ale29 said:
My humble opinion (and I'm not drunk, lunch time here):
I've always felt that, with my Sad, I could get closer to a VINTAGE P sound rather than a passive Jazz. This with the neck pup soloed, of course, and a bit of bass boost that bumps the low-mids a little as well.
Having a wider tonal palette with a second pickup and an impeccable construction/setup is the icing on the cake.
Click to expand...

Hey Ale29, I can't play passive anything anymore, the freedom that an active bass provides me for tonal variances is just beyond anything that I can get out of a passive bass.... It's 5am here, and Im not drunk either (I dont think)...
 
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#42,544
BartmanPDX said:
It's been a while since I've posted here but I joined a new band where I'm going to be playing a fiver, so I 'needed' a new bass: View attachment 1181099

Satin Series Vintage 5 string, Satin Candy Apple Orange color, weighs 8.1 lbs.

I like it as much as either of my other NYCs and I LOVE the Satin finish! Shows no fingerprints, has no glare, looks great in any light. Sounded incredible at practice last night through my Broughton P-15.



Maybe later I'll get a pic of all three together.
Click to expand...

Nice. I love "needing" a new bass too !!! Congrats, that bass is nice!
 
#42,545
ale29 said:
My humble opinion (and I'm not drunk, lunch time here):
I've always felt that, with my Sad, I could get closer to a VINTAGE P sound rather than a passive Jazz. This with the neck pup soloed, of course, and a bit of bass boost that bumps the low-mids a little as well.
Having a wider tonal palette with a second pickup and an impeccable construction/setup is the icing on the cake.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thanks for the tip!
 
#42,547
ale29 said:
To clarify: I have a Sadowsky with HC pickups, not single coils, and I use flatwound strings.
Also, when I say "a bit of bass boost" I really mean it: it's easy to overdo with this kind of electronics, I always make very subtle adjustments.
Click to expand...

What kind of flats are you using? TIs sounded a bit uneven on my Tokyo, which does indeed have HCs. I agree that subtle is best when it comes to the Sadowsky pre, though I've started getting more extreme with the VTC lately.
 
#42,548
I agree with you guys, the Sadowsky bass is the "grown-up" Fender in my eyes.

Here's my analogy.. my Sadowsky is like a red velvet jacket (suave, debonair, classy, etc) - my Fenders were more like a Jean jacket (white Reebok high tops, mullet, lifted truck etc..).
 
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#42,549
So, here is the Cherry Bomb, back from Pat Wilkins, who is both a Master and one of the nicest cats in the biz. What was added was the matching headstock, the lollipop USA tuners; AND the micarta dots were replaced with MOP. Pretty amazingly classy. I added the Delano JMVC pickups; cuz that's what I prefer.:D

IMG_0113.JPG


And, here is my pair of Sadowsky's:

IMG_0111.JPG


With my recent issues with the blend pot on the CB, I decided to open up the NYC, just to see how the guts of the NYC basses might or might not be different. The result is: BIG difference.

The NYC bass just uses way higher quality parts. The cavity is clearly hand wired, but impeccably so. Looks very easy to work on if ever necessary; which I don't even anticipate. The cover plate is held on by machine screws with threaded inserts. Class act all the way around.

The Japanese instrument is initially impeccably wired; and so much so, that it appears a machine did it. The perfection looks like a precision mechanical watch. There is not a micron of unnecessary wire length. Which is fine if you don't have to replace anything. But, the downside is that when the budget pots have issues, as my MN250k blend pot did, replacing the part is VERY challenging. VERY.:greedy:

Another thing I have been able to get a feel for is the effect of the chambered body. That construction method produces an instrument that emphasizes the pre-CBS light and resonant Jazz Bass thing. If you are looking for more of the 70's Jazz Bass thing that the heavier bodies produce, you will want the solid body. Kind of just depends what feel you are looking for. Roger has no question nailed the best aspects of the pre-CBS Jazz with the chambering construction. I'm really glad I got that for this particular instrument. I'm also glad I've got the solid body Metro. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!!:bassist:

My only problem is that I can't play them at the same time.:cool:
 
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#42,551
bucephylus said:
So, here is the Cherry Bomb, back from Pat Wilkins, who is both a Master and one of the nicest cats in the biz. What was added was the matching headstock, the lollipop USA tuners; AND the micarta dots were replaced with MOP. Pretty amazingly classy. I added the Delano JMVC pickups; cuz that's what I prefer.:D

View attachment 1181711

And, here is my pair of Sadowsky's:

View attachment 1181718

With my recent issues with the blend pot on the CB, I decided to open up the NYC, just to see how the guts of the NYC basses might or might not be different. The result is: BIG difference.

The NYC bass just uses way higher quality parts. The cavity is clearly hand wired, but impeccably so. Looks very easy to work on if ever necessary; which I don't even anticipate. The cover plate is held on by machine screws with threaded inserts. Class act all the way around.

The Japanese instrument is initially impeccably wired; and so much so, that it appears a machine did it. The perfection looks like a precision mechanical watch. There is not a micron of unnecessary wire length. Which is fine if you don't have to replace anything. But, the downside is that when the budget pots have issues, as my MN250k blend pot did, replacing the part is VERY challenging. VERY.:greedy:

Another thing I have been able to get a feel for is the effect of the chambered body. That construction method produces an instrument that emphasizes the pre-CBS light and resonant Jazz Bass thing. If you are looking for more of the 70's Jazz Bass thing that the heavier bodies produce, you will want the solid body. Kind of just depends what feel you are looking for. Roger has no question nailed the best aspects of the pre-CBS Jazz with the chambering construction. I'm really glad I got that for this particular instrument. I'm also glad I've got the solid body Metro. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!!:bassist:

My only problem is that I can't play them at the same time.:cool:
Click to expand...
You explain intricate details so well!

I definitely understand why you like the Delano pickups with the Sadowsky preamp! My opinion is that they add more heft to the tone.

Both basses look killer!
 
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#42,554
I'm a rounds guy but like to keep flats on one bass -- right now it's my Sadowsky UV P5 with Brazilian board. TIs are my favorite flats, but they are extremely expensive. They also have high flexibility and low tension, which took some getting used to -- but TBH I like that they forced me to learn to play with a lighter touch. Doesn't mean I do it all the time: I'll still dig in for hard rock.

Sadowsky blue label flats are very good too. Expensive, but not like TIs. Lower tension than average, but not as low as TIs. Mine are still settling in, but the more they do, the better I like them.

Those two are my personal favorites. I've tried a bunch of others with mixed results, good and not-so-good -- won't name names because it's very possible I replaced some sets before they were fully broken in.
 
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#42,555
bucephylus said:
So, here is the Cherry Bomb, back from Pat Wilkins, who is both a Master and one of the nicest cats in the biz. What was added was the matching headstock, the lollipop USA tuners; AND the micarta dots were replaced with MOP. Pretty amazingly classy. I added the Delano JMVC pickups; cuz that's what I prefer.:D

View attachment 1181711

And, here is my pair of Sadowsky's:

View attachment 1181718

With my recent issues with the blend pot on the CB, I decided to open up the NYC, just to see how the guts of the NYC basses might or might not be different. The result is: BIG difference.

The NYC bass just uses way higher quality parts. The cavity is clearly hand wired, but impeccably so. Looks very easy to work on if ever necessary; which I don't even anticipate. The cover plate is held on by machine screws with threaded inserts. Class act all the way around.

The Japanese instrument is initially impeccably wired; and so much so, that it appears a machine did it. The perfection looks like a precision mechanical watch. There is not a micron of unnecessary wire length. Which is fine if you don't have to replace anything. But, the downside is that when the budget pots have issues, as my MN250k blend pot did, replacing the part is VERY challenging. VERY.:greedy:

Another thing I have been able to get a feel for is the effect of the chambered body. That construction method produces an instrument that emphasizes the pre-CBS light and resonant Jazz Bass thing. If you are looking for more of the 70's Jazz Bass thing that the heavier bodies produce, you will want the solid body. Kind of just depends what feel you are looking for. Roger has no question nailed the best aspects of the pre-CBS Jazz with the chambering construction. I'm really glad I got that for this particular instrument. I'm also glad I've got the solid body Metro. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!!:bassist:

My only problem is that I can't play them at the same time.:cool:
Click to expand...

Pretty sweet, Buc! If we're eating cake, we might as well bring on the ice cream, too!
 
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#42,558
Fuzzbass said:
I'm a rounds guy but like to keep flats on one bass -- right now it's my Sadowsky UV P5 with Brazilian board. TIs are my favorite flats, but they are extremely expensive. They also have high flexibility and low tension, which took some getting used to -- but TBH I like that they forced me to learn to play with a lighter touch. Doesn't mean I do it all the time: I'll still dig in for hard rock.

Sadowsky blue label flats are very good too. Expensive, but not like TIs. Lower tension than average, but not as low as TIs. Mine are still settling in, but the more they do, the better I like them.

Those two are my personal favorites. I've tried a bunch of others with mixed results, good and not-so-good -- won't name names because it's very possible I replaced some sets before they were fully broken in.
Click to expand...

Love the low tension part. I'm a big fan of the Dunlop Low tensions as well... I'm not an endorser of anything..... but honestly, those Dunlop Low Tensions are awesome !!!!

Rob
 

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