Club Sadowsky!!!

[Joelc73]

PLEASE TELL US WHY??? PLEASE.

Mostly because I'm crazy...

Both were great basses. I've just been somewhat fickle over the years with basses. Believe me, I've sold a bunch of Sadowskys that I regret! Such is life though!

In terms of milestone basses, I just feel like it's luck of the draw. Sometimes customs turn out amazing and they exceed all of your expectations and other times they aren't quite what you had imagined -- even though they may be great basses in their own right. There are too many variables at play and sometimes they just don't line up with the vision in your mind.

 

[HeavyJazz]

Speaking of milestone basses, I'm still waiting for a limited edition "Roger's Bass" model to surface in honor of his 70th and the overall legacy of the Sadowsky brand. That could be very cool.

 

[TimothyGroovy]

I'm actually those who preferred a glossed Sadowsky neck (After weeks of playing) , it is so smooth to me

 

[Sadowsky]

Think this leaves out the settings for P4 and P5 pickups, which I have found are super crucial. I posted my version of this somewhere up here. I have said and other threads, about my PJ five, that the minor adjustments you make and pick up spacing on that P pick up make a huge difference is in tone.

I have adhered to Roger’s recommendation in that regard, and it always makes my base sound like a million bucks. I actually used the same settings for a fender road worn and got the same results

I would set the bridge J to the recommended height and then adjust the P pickup to get the balance your want between the P and the J. The P will always have more output than the bridge J.

Roger

 

[Sadowsky]

Thank you

Cut and pasted this out years ago and been using it ever since on any of my basses.
Mind you, living in the New World I had to convert to metric . . .

BTW the Medium Action Specs 'G' is a little sharp. 5/65" needs flattening to 5/64".

Thank ups for catching this typo. I thought everyone had rulers in 65ths!

 

[Sadowsky]

Not sure if there is an answer to this question. The Sadowsky PJ I recently picked up has Sadowsky strings. Outside of knowing the feel of the tension is there any visual or discernible way of knowing if they're blue or black label? They have the gray silk on them. There's still some life in the strings but the previous owner said that he never changed them while he owned so they're at least a year old.

The grey silk is our "old" Black Label. The black silk is the current Black Label.

 

[Sadowsky]

Any chance grey vs black silk had anything to do with stainless vs nickel? Been so long since i used black, i don't remember what mine were.

We offer stainless and nickel in both the Blues and Blacks.

R

 

[Sadowsky]

Thank you ! What are the diffirencies between old and new metros ? I traded black one from one of the best player in my town. So, I am sure he played a lot the black Sad. I read that Nitrocelluloce Laquer is buffing off because of too much playing. I always want to keep my red Sad.'s neck just like that, like new, unfinished feel. I always wash my hands before playing and wipe the neck after every playing. I think I can keep finish of the neck as much as possible this way.

You are not buffing off the finish. You hand is simply polishing the finish. I have always felt that a broken in satin finish has a much better feel than starting off with a gloss nitro finish. I also love the feel of a vintage bass where the finish has completely worn off the back of the neck. If you want to maintain the satin feel, you need to lightly sand the finish with some very fine sandpaper, like 320 grit. But that will also accelerate wearing through the finish over time.

If you want to keep everything like new, don't play it!

Roger

 

[deepestend]

Thank you


Thank ups for catching this typo. I thought everyone had rulers in 65ths!

Roger just uploaded our setup specs and they are on our site:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm actually those who preferred a glossed Sadowsky neck (After weeks of playing) , it is so smooth to me

Yep...

 

[Vic]

I have always felt that a broken in satin finish has a much better feel than starting off with a gloss nitro finish. I also love the feel of a vintage bass where the finish has completely worn off the back of the neck. If you want to maintain the satin feel, you need to lightly sand the finish with some very fine sandpaper, like 320 grit. But that will also accelerate wearing through the finish over time.

This.

I also "accelerated" the process on my older NYC and had the finish totally removed and replaced with an oiled finish. I love it. I'll probably just use the sandpaper approach on my newer NYC, but safe to say, I definitely prefer the satin/natural feel by far.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I also love the feel of a vintage bass where the finish has completely worn off the back of the neck

Amen. That was happening naturally on my 2005 NYC P5 -- meaning, the nitro was wearing away from the treble side of the neck (wedding ring probably the culprit) -- so I used 320 grit to accelerate the process. Didn't oil it, just left it. It could use another layer or two of my DNA, but it feels great now and has a nice grungy look.

I haven't done this with my other two Sadowskys. The necks are currently worn glossy, but no wear-through (I stopped wearing the wedding ring). I will re-matte them when I get a chance. I agree that gloss nitro feels better than gloss poly, but I prefer matte over both.

Comparison pic for those who missed it:

 

[Spidey2112]

The necks are currently worn glossy, but no wear-through (I stopped wearing the wedding ring).

I'm not one to judge, especially when it comes to the relationship between a musician and their...

... multiple basses... how could you?

... ...

 

[p12bassnut]

Silly question regarding pickup heights on the Sad Jazz
If I set both pickups to the recommended height specs then the neck pup will be quite a bit louder than the bridge pup. Is this just the way it is and should be ?
It is it okay to lower the neck to get a more balanced output between the two ?

 

[Sadowsky]

Silly question regarding pickup heights on the Sad Jazz
If I set both pickups to the recommended height specs then the neck pup will be quite a bit louder than the bridge pup. Is this just the way it is and should be ?
It is it okay to lower the neck to get a more balanced output between the two ?

Of course.....use your ears.....just don't go closer to the strings than my recommendations as the magnetic pull of the pickups can negatively affect the string vibrations!

 

[p12bassnut]

Of course.....use your ears.....just don't go closer to the strings than my recommendations as the magnetic pull of the pickups can negatively affect the string vibrations!

Thanks Roger. I love my Express more everyday by the way !

 

[MAJOR METAL]

I'm curious: on average, what is the ratio you play in active mode vs passive mode?

I'm always active.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I'm curious: on average, what is the ratio you play in active mode vs passive mode?

Always active, even my alder/Brazilian P5 strung with flats. For warmer vintage tones I just roll back the VTC.

Also: a number of us love to combine active treble boost with passive treble cut. The two controls behave differently and do NOT simply cancel each other out!

 

[600 Ohms]

I made a bunch of recordings comparing active/passive and I think I agree. Little need to go into passive mode. But I was glad to hear that, even with the HC pickups, passive mode compared favorably to (read: it complimented) my Fender CS; I can hear the cancellation difference in the 60's/70's spacing, and the big wood-tone difference, but they sound like they could have come from the same place—in a great way. Pop it into active and it's another level. Whatever the current batch of Sadowsky HC pickups are, the ones used in the Metro line, they're really good, and they sound like a record. I don't get a humbucker vibe off them at all.

 

[Vic]

Always active, even my alder/Brazilian P5 strung with flats. For warmer vintage tones I just roll back the VTC.

Also: a number of us love to combine active treble boost with passive treble cut. The two controls behave differently and do NOT simply cancel each other out!

+1

The other benefit of running active is it buffers the signal such that you can use a longer signal chain to the amp (even if it's just a longer cord) and not affect tone nearly as much.