Does anybody have a photo of a UV P body 5 with a quilt top. Not sure if I should go with fancy or incognito ... all the P5s have classic looks that I found scrolling through the recently sold. I would go 59 burst on the quilt most likely.
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Love the idea, but blingy UV P-basses are rare indeed. Best I could do is pick this UV P4 from the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]:
Ok talkbass I'm trying here:
I'm still not 100% please with my sadowsky metro with single coils. I feel as though the tone is very 1 demential.
Also specifically the tone knob does not make any difference weather it is all the way up or down. There is no difference in tone (both passive and active).
I hate to compare apples and oranges but any advice on making it sound more like my fender jazz which I feel has more range to the sound.
It also does not sound like any of the sadowsky metros I've listened to online. I can post sound clips. I really want to like this bass. Maybe not for me?
I'm still not 100% please with my sadowsky metro with single coils. I feel as though the tone is very 1 demential.
Also specifically the tone knob does not make any difference weather it is all the way up or down. There is no difference in tone (both passive and active).
I hate to compare apples and oranges but any advice on making it sound more like my fender jazz which I feel has more range to the sound.
It also does not sound like any of the sadowsky metros I've listened to online. I can post sound clips. I really want to like this bass. Maybe not for me?
Not to say the tone knob doesnt work, the range of it is not as big as my American jazz bass.
It took me a while to get used to how to use the Sadowsky pre... very subtle tweaks should get you big changes in tone.
However, you should hear a major difference in sound when the VTC is either up or down. It really makes me wonder if there might be a problem with the battery or some soldering issue with your bass.
I have nothing against Fender, but I recently sold a Fender American Elite jazz because the Sadowsky was such a better instrument in every aspect IMHO.
I once bought a new metro from one of Roger's licensed dealers and the VTC was inoperable. Lisa at the Sadowsky shop was very helpful sending a new pot and wiring diagrams. I installed it and it fixed the problem. I spoke to Roger too and he was over-the-top concerned and supportive and got all the purchase info from me so he could follow up with the dealer. Stuff happens in spite of the most meticulous quality control. Yes, you should hear a big tonal difference when you activate the VTC.
Sorry. Not talking about the preamp. just passive. Am I wrong to assume that the fender and sadowsky passive should sound the same?
Strings are only 3 months old but maybe that may help. I wanna mess with it but not too much. Ahhhhhh
Are you suggesting that with the vtc pulled up (disengaging the preamp) that movement of the preamp bass or treble pots should impact the tone? If that is what you mean, then I believe you are incorrect. Maybe I misunderstood your statement though.
No I meant that there would be a difference in the tone if the VTC were turned up or turned down
There should definitely be a very plain audible difference between VTC on full tone and VTC rolled completely off ( as well as gradations in between). And it should be true whether in passive or active. If you hear no difference then-- 1) slight probability-- your other control settings are set so as to overwhelm the VTC settings and render them far less noticeable; but you'd still hear a difference IMO or 2) there is some problem with your VTC wiring or pot. I'll wait while someone tells me I am wrong.
EDIT to add: if you expect a passive Sadowsky to sound exactly like a passive Fender bass you have, when VTC and Fender tone control are both set the same (or ever), -- that won't happen. They are different instruments. But I think you problem lies in a defect in the Sadowsky VTC control since you hear no difference between all the way on and all the way off.
EDIT to add: if you expect a passive Sadowsky to sound exactly like a passive Fender bass you have, when VTC and Fender tone control are both set the same (or ever), -- that won't happen. They are different instruments. But I think you problem lies in a defect in the Sadowsky VTC control since you hear no difference between all the way on and all the way off.
I may not have had the issue with my RV4 that you are having, but I did initially prefer to play it in passive mode. It bothered me that I used primarily the passive and couldn't get the sound I was used to getting on my Fenders. Roger wrote me back explaining how to get what I was looking for in the active mode. For me, it was favoring the neck p/u, "rolling back" the VTC, and slightly boosting the bass and treble to taste. When I tinkered with it enough, I was able to duplicate the passive sound I was looking for, albeit it little more "juiced" due to being in active mode. I agree that in passive, I did not feel that I had as much control over the tone from the guitar itself as with my passive Fender. However, once I learned to get that passive tone by using the Active mode (using the VTC and boosts as needed) and most importantly, tame that sound volume-wise, I never went back to passive. It should be noted that I use a Bergantino Bamp and cabinet and they are about as transparent as you can get.
I would encourage you to stick it out for a while--I think you will be able to get the sound you want. We read so many raves about these great basses, sometimes I think we expect it immediately hit that sound we hear in our head...adjustments are needed.
Best of luck!
IIRC, Roger has the passive setting there primarily as a backup. No, I would not expect the Sadowsky set to passive to sound anything at all like a passive Fender. That’s not the intent of the Sadowsky preamp design, and it doesn’t do that. IME.
Agreed. Even if you put the electronics from the fender into the sadowsky it still won't sound the same due to the tighter tolerance overall.
There’s some truth to this but Its overstated IMO. Same strings, duncan made single coils, passive ... its more like a fender J tone than it is like anything else. It has its own take on the sound but its a jazz bass sound. There are lots of variations on the jazz bass sound in fenders history as well. Sadowsky strings are pretty different than what a lot of players are used to, that makes a huge difference. Setup can make a big difference. The nordstrand version of the single coils are not for everyone. And the preamp changes things a lot obviously. If we are talking about an active fender, many of those preamps over the years have a strong voicing that sounds very different than a passive jazz.
I say put a fresh set of your favorite strings on, make sure its set up right and the VTC is working, then spend a little time figuring out the preamp magic. Pro tips: turn down the volume knob when you boost the eq, boost highs slightly more than lows, and use the VTC to round out a setting with lots of boosted highs.
@Sam Dingle The Sadowsky sound may just not be for you. I found that it wasn't for me. I've owned several Metro's and NYC's and just couldn't get into any of them. I loved the playability of the NYC's, didn't like the playability of the Metro's at all, but neither had the tone's I prefer. I've owned tons of Fender's over the years and still prefer them. I recently picked up an American Elite Jazz that is fantastic, though I still prefer my Fodera's.
But, we are not talking about the active Fender. My comment was strictly to the question regarding why doesn’t the Sadowsky in passive mode sound like my passive Fender.
I completely agree that Roger’s preamp can be be controlled to produce most classic Fender tones in the mix, once the player sorts out how it works and which pickups to use.
Why would anyone buy a bass with the intention of trying to make it sound like a totally different bass?
And why would anyone want to buy a Sadowsky and try to make it sound like anything other than a Sadowsky?
And why would anyone want to buy a Sadowsky and try to make it sound like anything other than a Sadowsky?
