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I sure would like more of these Pro user tips and on useful settings for the Sadowsky pre. Roger Sadowsky's tip a few posts back is something I'll try right away too.
I don't know that it qualifies as a "pro tip" since I have only had it about a year, but I agree with @pickles-- I boost the treble more than the bass. I'll also second what a few others have said in terms of my current personal preference: VTC rolled off about 1/2 way, then treble boosted a significant (but not extreme) amount. Although this would seem to simply give treble with one hand and take it away with the other, it actually gives its own unique and different result than keeping VTC full-on and then cutting or limiting treble at the treble knob.
So many options... yet, so little time to ensure a tone for all.
I better get crackin'...
No offense, but I always have to laugh when these Sadowsky vs Fender debates come up. There really is a lot of tonal crossover, but of course at the same time, they're not going to be identical (this is a good thing), so it always just boils down to buying what fits you best. It seems silly to me to buy one and then be surprised or upset that it doesn't sound or play exactly like other just because the designs are closely related in many (but of course not ALL) ways. Roger never set out to make an exact replica of the J bass with the only difference being higher quality. It's his personal take on the J design. Always has been.
FWIW.
FWIW.
I'm on my 3rd Sadowsky at the moment and it's the Modern series. I will say that I had to relearn how to EQ the bass because it is so different.
Before, I would have have hardly ever boosted the bass very much, but on the Modern I find that boosting the bass about halfway, with the pan in center, VTC about halfway, and treble all the way down yields a very potent modern jazz bass type sound that gives you an awesome fingerstyle and slap tone.
Usually I have to change my EQ or the pan knob between slap and finger style playing, so it was nice to discover a tone that works for both.
The Modern has a natural brightness to it, and boosting the bass control really warms the tone up and makes it sound more "vintage" while maintaining the edge of the soapbars.
On that particular bass, another great tone I found was slightly boosting the bass control, then turning the VTC all the way down, then the treble all the way up. The treble is very powerful but with the VTC all the way down it gives you a slightly crisper attack without any brittleness.
I just got my hands on a Modern 5, as well. Trying to figure out which is best for me, Modern or Vintage J. Right off the bat, the Modern had me use the upper soap bar as a thumb rest and it had that, well modern, punch sound that is a new sound for me. I then used the end of the fretboard (24th fret) as the thumb rest and I got a tone that was less jarring to my Vintage J ears. I took out my tape measure and that Modern has that upper PU about 2.5 inches further toward the bridge. I took the Satin Vintage J to rehearsal last night and was very pleased. So was the band leader. And the drummer. I will definitely try your other Modern EQ suggestions. I like the balance and look of the Modern a lot.
Another thing that helped, for me, was I removed the steel strings that came with the bass and put nickel wounds on. That warmed up the sound and brought out the natural mids in the bass.
There's a guy on here - not sure what his username is - that put flatwounds on his Modern and he seemed to like it a lot. This weekend I'm considering getting some D'Addario Chromes and putting them on the Modern to see what happens.
Strings make almost as big of a difference in tone as preamps and pickups (and a lot cheaper).
I want it brighter though. I'll try stainless steels because I'm using D'Addario nickels on all my basses. They sound good on the jazz bass but on the sadowksy and p bass maybe a little dark? who knows AHHHHH
I found the even blend on my PJ sorta...meh. Sounds pretty scooped and modern. I’ve been setting it at about 80/20 P/J with slight bass and treble boost and rolling the VTC back about 10-20%. Sounds great, and I spec’d it out for a P tone, primarily.
Soloing the P only resembles my 70 P. Tone wise, The Sadowsky P sounds more like a Fender going through a compressor and preamp; its wider and flatter. It doesn’t have that sharp, middy, classic P-bass tone. I dig it. Sounds great recorded. What I do miss compared to the Fender is that the Sadowsky stays pretty consistent regardless of how hard/soft you play, whereas digging in on the Fender will make it snarl more.
Soloing the P only resembles my 70 P. Tone wise, The Sadowsky P sounds more like a Fender going through a compressor and preamp; its wider and flatter. It doesn’t have that sharp, middy, classic P-bass tone. I dig it. Sounds great recorded. What I do miss compared to the Fender is that the Sadowsky stays pretty consistent regardless of how hard/soft you play, whereas digging in on the Fender will make it snarl more.
deepestend
Commercial User
- Feb 21, 2003
- 6,249
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We just updated our Satin page to include samples of all of the colors that we are currently doing on Satins:
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Ah ok, those soapbar pickups are voiced in a very particular way. I've heard some people use Nordstrand big singles and big splits in their Moderns and they opened up the sound and gave it access to more frequencies. But yeah, I would try some D'Addario steel or DR Sunbeams first.
Also, I've noticed that a tone that I dialed in at home through my soundcard and headphones was pretty different from the live, on-stage tone that I was getting through an amp. I thought the tone was very punchy and had a good low end presence that sat very well in the band mix.
I found this video that perfectly characterizes what the Modern sounds like:
He switches from fingerstyle to slap without having to change a thing.
Now the slap tone is never gonna be super bright - like an MTD or Yamaha Pattitucci - but it's a nice warm tone with just the right amount of edge. The Modern is also excellent for metal or progressive rock and pick playing.
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that is seriously a lot of variety on one page.....lots of CHOICES! (I like choices)
Something is wrong because the tone control makes a very audible difference. Take it to a good tech!
I'd love to try a modern, but will need to make the 100 mile trip to Chicago in order to do so. I like the tone @phillipkregg was able to get on his
Is the a WL model in the Satin line?
I love the addition to that page, seeing all the colors in one place is helpful!
It's kind of neat to see the bass I bought (#7904) featured at the top of the Sadowsky Satin page there, too! Dark Lake Placid Blue and Tort!
That Satin J is the best bass ever, I know I sound like a broken record on that, but it's true.
As far as sound, I try different things, but I keep coming back to passive, with the pickup blend a little toward the neck and the VTC rolled down just a little. Little or no amp EQ. It just sounds so good for me, nothing else seems to beat it.
Man a modern was never on my radar but after watching/hearing that video up there I’ve got some figuring to do. I also just got involved in a funky jazzy project and that sound is right on. I’ve got to get to the shop to figure out if it’s the soap bars or specifically the combo of them and the positioning of them on the modern.
