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deepestend
Commercial User
- Feb 21, 2003
- 6,249
- 8,171
- Disclosures
- Website and Social Media at Sadowsky
Just thought I'd share this as people often ask how to set and use the Sadowsky preamp. This is in no way a definitive way to use the onboard preamp, but it's how I use it and how I explain to people how to use it in the showroom as a starting point to getting whatever sound they are looking for.
I was just emailing this to someone and thought I'd share it here on TB as a starting point for more talk on how you use and set your preamp. I'd love to hear how other people think about it using it:
First: our preamp is not the same as the cut/boost preamps you may be familiar with in other active basses. It is boost only. So, while the controls for your other actives may need to sit at noon for a flat sound, ours need to be completely turned down to get an off/flat sound. When I'm showing someone how to use the pre, that's how I begin, with the bass/treble turned all the way down.
Here's how I start using the preamp:
1) I start by raising the active bass a little bit—just so that the sound is full but not boomy (this changes depending on the room and the amp). Then I raise the treble slightly higher than the bass to give the sound some more presence. People sometimes complain that the preamp gets too noisy when you raise the treble all the way. Yes it does, so don't do that.
Again, this is how I do it... some raise their bass and treble way higher than I ever would, but that works for them. 2) Once I have the active preamp bass/treble set, I DO NOT like to crank the passive/VTC tone all the way as I do on my passive basses. The passive tone knob is very useful for fine tuning once you have your preamp bass/treble set. Crank it and you have no room to go. If you put it all the way back, you get a dubby tone, at 9/10 you get a more vintage tone, at noon many here on TB perceive that you add mids to your tone, crank it higher and you get more of a hifi tone.
3) Once I've got all that set, I use the pickup pan as a further tone control to zero in on exactly how I want to sit in the mix for a particular song or session. I don't think of it as selecting pickups, but as selecting a spot in the available spectrum.
That's how I think about it and how I explain things to people in our showroom as a starting point for really understanding how to use our preamp. YMMV, but it will at least get you started.
JR
Yesterday, Roger addressed a very slight possibility of a 6-string Sadowsky. He said if it happens at all, it would most likely come from the Masterbuilt line. I will go for one of these, if it becomes available.
Single cut + 6.....I can't hold myself..
thanks for that, JR,
so I'm not alone in my thinking that the VTC knob is kinda a stealth mids control
so I'm not alone in my thinking that the VTC knob is kinda a stealth mids control
This is really useful. Thanks!Just thought I'd share this as people often ask how to set and use the Sadowsky preamp. This is in no way a definitive way to use the onboard preamp, but it's how I use it and how I explain to people how to use it in the showroom as a starting point to getting whatever sound they are looking for.
I was just emailing this to someone and thought I'd share it here on TB as a starting point for more talk on how you use and set your preamp. I'd love to hear how other people think about it using it:
First: our preamp is not the same as the cut/boost preamps you may be familiar with in other active basses. It is boost only. So, while the controls for your other actives may need to sit at noon for a flat sound, ours need to be completely turned down to get an off/flat sound. When I'm showing someone how to use the pre, that's how I begin, with the bass/treble turned all the way down.
Here's how I start using the preamp:
1) I start by raising the active bass a little bit—just so that the sound is full but not boomy (this changes depending on the room and the amp). Then I raise the treble slightly higher than the bass to give the sound some more presence. People sometimes complain that the preamp gets too noisy when you raise the treble all the way. Yes it does, so don't do that.
2) Once I have the active preamp bass/treble set, I DO NOT like to crank the passive/VTC tone all the way as I do on my passive basses. The passive tone knob is very useful for fine tuning once you have your preamp bass/treble set. Crank it and you have no room to go. If you put it all the way back, you get a dubby tone, at 9/10 you get a more vintage tone, at noon many here on TB perceive that you add mids to your tone, crank it higher and you get more of a hifi tone.
3) Once I've got all that set, I use the pickup pan as a further tone control to zero in on exactly how I want to sit in the mix for a particular song or session. I don't think of it as selecting pickups, but as selecting a spot in the available spectrum.
That's how I think about it and how I explain things to people in our showroom as a starting point for really understanding how to use our preamp. YMMV, but it will at least get you started.
JR
Just thought I'd share this as people often ask how to set and use the Sadowsky preamp. This is in no way a definitive way to use the onboard preamp, but it's how I use it and how I explain to people how to use it in the showroom as a starting point to getting whatever sound they are looking for.
I was just emailing this to someone and thought I'd share it here on TB as a starting point for more talk on how you use and set your preamp. I'd love to hear how other people think about it using it:
First: our preamp is not the same as the cut/boost preamps you may be familiar with in other active basses. It is boost only. So, while the controls for your other actives may need to sit at noon for a flat sound, ours need to be completely turned down to get an off/flat sound. When I'm showing someone how to use the pre, that's how I begin, with the bass/treble turned all the way down.
Here's how I start using the preamp:
1) I start by raising the active bass a little bit—just so that the sound is full but not boomy (this changes depending on the room and the amp). Then I raise the treble slightly higher than the bass to give the sound some more presence. People sometimes complain that the preamp gets too noisy when you raise the treble all the way. Yes it does, so don't do that.
2) Once I have the active preamp bass/treble set, I DO NOT like to crank the passive/VTC tone all the way as I do on my passive basses. The passive tone knob is very useful for fine tuning once you have your preamp bass/treble set. Crank it and you have no room to go. If you put it all the way back, you get a dubby tone, at 9/10 you get a more vintage tone, at noon many here on TB perceive that you add mids to your tone, crank it higher and you get more of a hifi tone.
3) Once I've got all that set, I use the pickup pan as a further tone control to zero in on exactly how I want to sit in the mix for a particular song or session. I don't think of it as selecting pickups, but as selecting a spot in the available spectrum.
That's how I think about it and how I explain things to people in our showroom as a starting point for really understanding how to use our preamp. YMMV, but it will at least get you started.
JR
Yep, except I rarely boost treble or bass. I think some of the most powerful/useful tone controls on a bass so equipped is the pickup pan and tone control. I don’t fiddle with knobs much, but those two I will adjust and it gets it right where it needs to be 99.9% of the time without the need for EQ adjustments.
I'd consider a Masterbuilt depending on the neck wood and fretwire options. Warwick's quality has always been A+ in my experience.
The treble on the Sadowsky pre has a wide Q, down into the mids, so treble boost plus VTC cut results in a net boost of mids.
For rock, I use overdrive/distortion. I love aggressive hi-mid/lo-treble presence, but don't want high-highs getting distorted because it sounds harsh. So, I boost treble but cut VTC to eliminate the "buzzy bees". End result is a hi-mid boost.
For oldies/Motown/country (etc) I want a warmer tone. I still use overdrive, but keep it warm through a greater VTC cut. Doing this, treble boost essentially becomes mid-mid boost.
Great post, thanks JR.Just thought I'd share this as people often ask how to set and use the Sadowsky preamp. This is in no way a definitive way to use the onboard preamp, but it's how I use it and how I explain to people how to use it in the showroom as a starting point to getting whatever sound they are looking for.
I was just emailing this to someone and thought I'd share it here on TB as a starting point for more talk on how you use and set your preamp. I'd love to hear how other people think about it using it:
First: our preamp is not the same as the cut/boost preamps you may be familiar with in other active basses. It is boost only. So, while the controls for your other actives may need to sit at noon for a flat sound, ours need to be completely turned down to get an off/flat sound. When I'm showing someone how to use the pre, that's how I begin, with the bass/treble turned all the way down.
Here's how I start using the preamp:
1) I start by raising the active bass a little bit—just so that the sound is full but not boomy (this changes depending on the room and the amp). Then I raise the treble slightly higher than the bass to give the sound some more presence. People sometimes complain that the preamp gets too noisy when you raise the treble all the way. Yes it does, so don't do that.
2) Once I have the active preamp bass/treble set, I DO NOT like to crank the passive/VTC tone all the way as I do on my passive basses. The passive tone knob is very useful for fine tuning once you have your preamp bass/treble set. Crank it and you have no room to go. If you put it all the way back, you get a dubby tone, at 9/10 you get a more vintage tone, at noon many here on TB perceive that you add mids to your tone, crank it higher and you get more of a hifi tone.
3) Once I've got all that set, I use the pickup pan as a further tone control to zero in on exactly how I want to sit in the mix for a particular song or session. I don't think of it as selecting pickups, but as selecting a spot in the available spectrum.
That's how I think about it and how I explain things to people in our showroom as a starting point for really understanding how to use our preamp. YMMV, but it will at least get you started.
JR
I’ve found it difficult to dial in an aggressive, snarly, Geddy-like tone on my Satin... albeit I haven’t really *tried* to dial it in either- every tone I’ve used has been great. I’ll be trying this tonight!
Sorry if somebody already posted this on here but I noticed this popped up on the Sadowsky site and this is one seriously nice looking bass:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,613
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
- Apr 21, 2000
- 10,465
- 866
- 60
- Disclosures
- Gallien Krueger for the last 12 years!
Are these in stores yet, and what's the price point on this in an actual store?
Just thought I'd share this as people often ask how to set and use the Sadowsky preamp. This is in no way a definitive way to use the onboard preamp, but it's how I use it and how I explain to people how to use it in the showroom as a starting point to getting whatever sound they are looking for.
I was just emailing this to someone and thought I'd share it here on TB as a starting point for more talk on how you use and set your preamp. I'd love to hear how other people think about it using it:
First: our preamp is not the same as the cut/boost preamps you may be familiar with in other active basses. It is boost only. So, while the controls for your other actives may need to sit at noon for a flat sound, ours need to be completely turned down to get an off/flat sound. When I'm showing someone how to use the pre, that's how I begin, with the bass/treble turned all the way down.
Here's how I start using the preamp:
1) I start by raising the active bass a little bit—just so that the sound is full but not boomy (this changes depending on the room and the amp). Then I raise the treble slightly higher than the bass to give the sound some more presence. People sometimes complain that the preamp gets too noisy when you raise the treble all the way. Yes it does, so don't do that.
2) Once I have the active preamp bass/treble set, I DO NOT like to crank the passive/VTC tone all the way as I do on my passive basses. The passive tone knob is very useful for fine tuning once you have your preamp bass/treble set. Crank it and you have no room to go. If you put it all the way back, you get a dubby tone, at 9/10 you get a more vintage tone, at noon many here on TB perceive that you add mids to your tone, crank it higher and you get more of a hifi tone.
3) Once I've got all that set, I use the pickup pan as a further tone control to zero in on exactly how I want to sit in the mix for a particular song or session. I don't think of it as selecting pickups, but as selecting a spot in the available spectrum.
That's how I think about it and how I explain things to people in our showroom as a starting point for really understanding how to use our preamp. YMMV, but it will at least get you started.
JR
This is a good strategy, and a very useful post. A few additional points...
* The bass and treble boosts, used together, are de facto mid-range controls - boost the extremes, and you get mid-range cut.
* I tend to use the VTC and pan controls fairly often on a gig, in order to get the right tone for a given tune or portion of a tune, after setting the boosts at the beginning. That said, the better I get at using right hand placement and touch to vary tone, the less I'm twiddling those knobs.
* In general, I rarely have either boost control more than 30% engaged, usually with a little less treble. If I slapped often or well, I'd probably boost higher, on a regular basis. That said, finger funk with that larger boost often can be fun, and I'm now inspired to experiment with more boost than usual.
I'm not yet ready to write about it, and need to take some photos, but I've now had a Sadowsky with the super-J setup for two months, and am blown away by how much fun I'm having with it. The Will Lee mid-circuit, set on the lowest DIP switch, gives me a bit of boost and great Jaco snarl - it's working great for getting in and out of solos. And while I've never been much of a J-bass guy, I'm starting to bond deeply with the Super-J set for the '60's position, and also having fun with the 70's position, coupled with a boost to the neck pickup and a lower setting on the VTC. I've been in the Lakland camp over the last several years, and pretty well understand the J/Dual J system, and have to say that the Sadowsky/Nordstrand realization is some order of magnitude beyond what I've experienced with the Lakland 55-94, in either Bartolini or Hanson configurations. On those basses, I'd usually have the bridge pickup toggled to parallel...on this Sadowsky, I seem to be getting a broader range of variation from the alternate J settings, and really liking some of the tones. Of course, YMMV, but I've always liked Nordstrand pickups, and this rig is a doozy.
I know that you must have been waiting very patiently. Nice-looking bass you got there! Now that it's in your hands, impressions? Inquiring minds wanna know
