Club Sadowsky!!!

[thehurlatron]

I say go for it bro. WIthin the past 3 months I have sold all of my basses except for my Sadowskys. I have 1 NYCUV4 and a MS5 and I play the same stuff you do bro. The PJ w/ a P body would be dope. I am salivating over this one myself. I am sure it would look serious in a fiver

Hey Squid.
That's pretty much what I'm looking to have built but in a
5 string PJ on a P body in Candy apple orange. Most likely a matching headstock as well.

When ordering a PJ from Sadowsky, does it come with Sad. pups, or the Nordstrands?

And what are the major differences between the different rosewoods?
(besides price for the 3 different optins of rosewood)

And what are the +/- of doing a reverse P.

Thanks all!

 

[76Dub]

I have Big Singles in my NYC which are Nordstrands. Not sure what they are using now. There are some guys on here that could better answer your questions than me. I am just a happy owner Rob Desantis would know try shooting him a PM

 

[bikeplate]

HI

You can get pretty much whatever you like when you order. I think the PJ set on a 5 string nyc is Nordstand. My pj4 has Sadowsky set. I dont think there is any upcharge for reverse P on a 5 string pj build

As far as rosewoods go, Morado is the most common for a Sadowsky. Its pretty much in between typical rosewood and maple as far as tone and hardness, IMO. Braz. is cool. Upcharge for that. Warmer than than Morado. Ive owned both.

Rob

 

[Marcus]

Any insight? I know "you/us" Sadowsky players usually have alot to say.

Certainly - in my limited in-Sadowsky-shop experience with their Hybrid PJ, I was very much surprised at how much I liked the tone. Being a Jazz-sound enthusiast, it was nice to like the blended tone of the PJ. Soloing the pickups also provided pretty accurate representations of the P sound and bridge pickup J sound. Although I have not tried the newer Nordstrand equipped Sadowsky PJ basses, my bass has Nordstrand Big Singles and it compliments the bass perfectly. Besides, if Sadowsky is using a specific brand, it is because it works.

I like your ideas for the finish as well! It sounds like it will be really nice. I personally prefer maple to rosewood, but that is just me

I hope that helps

 

[jokerjkny]

So......I've been playing/gigging my RV5 for some time now, and I think I'd like to swap out the HC for SC. Has anyone done a "quick disconnect" wiring, so you can switch them out without solder?


Also, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on ordering a NYC 5'er. (my first)
I really dig the look of a P body with a PJ setup. Will the PJ setup be as versatile as my JJ metro? (I do a wide range of playing. P/W, rock, old funk, modern country, some reggae. No blues or metal.)

its a no brainer. do it. the P-pickup would help cover your old funk and your reggae needs (even tho i'm more a robbie shakespeare jbass kinda guy), nothing rocks like a great grindy p-pickstyle for metal. nothing.

the real question is regular or reverse P...

 

[jokerjkny]

HI

You can get pretty much whatever you like when you order. I think the PJ set on a 5 string nyc is Nordstand. My pj4 has Sadowsky set. I dont think there is any upcharge for reverse P on a 5 string pj build

As far as rosewoods go, Morado is the most common for a Sadowsky. Its pretty much in between typical rosewood and maple as far as tone and hardness, IMO. Braz. is cool. Upcharge for that. Warmer than than Morado. Ive owned both.

Rob

if you have the money, its worth the upcharge for the braz board. my last PJ had a braz board, and loved how warm, and yet articulate it was. made morado almost seem dead. also, the color of braz is usually waaay nicer, darker, more unified.

 

[KJung]

HI

As far as rosewoods go, Morado is the most common for a Sadowsky. Its pretty much in between typical rosewood and maple as far as tone and hardness, IMO. Braz. is cool. Upcharge for that. Warmer than than Morado. Ive owned both.

Rob

+1 Morado (not really a rosewood) is used on all the Metro RV's. On an NYC you can get anything you want. I have played Sadowsky's with Madagascar (very red in color and has a sort of soft/oily feel... it really feels like what most would describe as 'that RW feel'), and Brazilian (darker color, harder feel), and they sounded pretty much the same.

Per Rob's comment, Morado is a cool choice if you want a tone a little more like maple (brighter upper mids) but want the look of a rosewood board.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

+1 Morado (not really a rosewood) is used on all the Metro RV's. On an NYC you can get anything you want. I have played Sadowsky's with Madagascar (very red in color and has a sort of soft/oily feel... it really feels like what most would describe as 'that RW feel'), and Brazilian (darker color, harder feel), and they sounded pretty much the same.

Per Rob's comment, Morado is a cool choice if you want a tone a little more like maple (brighter upper mids) but want the look of a rosewood board.

How would you compare these to the classic Indian rosewood?

 

[KJung]

How would you compare these to the classic Indian rosewood?

I have an Indian board on my Alleva LG. It looks and feels quite a bit like the Brazilian to me... dark color, somewhat harder in feel. They again all sound pretty much the same to me, except for the Morado/Pau Ferro.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

I have an Indian board on my Alleva LG. It looks and feels quite a bit like the Brazilian to me... dark color, somewhat harder in feel. They again all sound pretty much the same to me, except for the Morado/Pau Ferro.

Alright thanks. I have heard comments saying that Brazilian is in a league of its own and is so much better than Indian. Good to hear a real comparision from an opinion I trust.

 

[Vic]

Alright thanks. I have heard comments saying that Brazilian is in a league of its own and is so much better than Indian. Good to hear a real comparision from an opinion I trust.

IMHO, there are a very precious few out there that would weigh the diffs that heavily, but those folks are out there. I'm not one of them, BTW.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

IMHO, there are a very precious few out there that would weigh the diffs that heavily, but those folks are out there. I'm not one of them, BTW.

Haha good to know

 

[Sadowsky]

You could say the same about about any two bass options---alder vs ash, humcancelling vs single coils, etc, etc.

I am one who sincerely believes, sees and hears Brazilian being in a class by itself.

roger

 

[KJung]

You could say the same about about any two bass options---alder vs ash, humcancelling vs single coils, etc, etc.

I am one who sincerely believes, sees and hears Brazilian being in a class by itself.

roger

I'll definitely agree that the figuring in that dark chocolate look of the Brazilian boards I've seen on your basses are wonderful looking!

I prefer the more 'red' of the Madagascar myself, but that's pure personal preference there! I don't really hear a meaningful difference myself across these varieties, but that doesn't mean it's not there for some!

 

[Vic]

I am one who sincerely believes, sees and hears Brazilian being in a class by itself.

roger

Even when compared to, say, Madagascar?

I implicitly trust your word as an authority on these matters... especially having had the opportunity to try the different rosewoods on the same platform for a very reliable comparison.

The only reason I ask is, I've found commentary on sites describing Madagascar in terms of a tone wood as a pretty faithful replacement for it noting that Brazilian is generally not available anymore. That said, it was primarily geared for acoustic guitar bodies... not electric bass fingerboards.

 

[jokerjkny]

IMHO, there are a very precious few out there that would weigh the diffs that heavily, but those folks are out there. I'm not one of them, BTW.

it really is, IME...

sure, the differences are much more pronounced as a back/sides for an acoustic, but i still dig a great braz board.

and while morado's ok, i never liked how it looks rather dried out and faded.

 

[Vic]

...while morado's ok, i never liked how it looks rather dried out and faded.

But it should never get that way!

 

[Sadowsky]

Even when compared to, say, Madagascar?

The only reason I ask is, I've found commentary on sites describing Madagascar in terms of a tone wood as a pretty faithful replacement for it noting that Brazilian is generally not available anymore. That said, it was primarily geared for acoustic guitar bodies... not electric bass fingerboards.

I love Madagscar RW too and agree that it is an excellent alternative to Brazilian. We have primarily been using Madagascar and Brazilian on our NYC basses and Morado on the Metro Line. I have not used East Indian Rosewood for fingerboards in about 30 years.

R

 

[jokerjkny]

I love Madagscar RW too and agree that it is an excellent alternative to Brazilian. We have primarily been using Madagascar and Brazilian on our NYC basses and Morado on the Metro Line. I have not used East Indian Rosewood for fingerboards in about 30 years.

R

@vic

my last two PJ's were both mada and braz, and i freakin' miss that braz pj. sure, its a variety of things, but other than the finishes, the braz was the only real difference of the two.

 

[BartmanPDX]

it really is, IME...

sure, the differences are much more pronounced as a back/sides for an acoustic, but i still dig a great braz board.

and while morado's ok, i never liked how it looks rather dried out and faded.

Morado looks OK? Just OK??? I beg to differ, my good man:

I think it looks fantastic.

The beautiful grain of braz rosewood is sometimes much more subtle and the one on my NYC doesn't photograph well though it looks fantastic in person close up.

FWIW, I love the braz rosewood board on my NYC PJ (my #1), but the morado board definitely has a snappier livelier tone that's more like maple, and would be a better choice for slap and such if you like that brighter maple sound. The braz. rosewood has a wonderful warm tone though; just really nice. Sounds great for a variety of styles.

To me, they both make great fingerboards, just with different tonal characteristics. Kind of like alder/rosewood vs. ash/maple -- different strokes for different folks.