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Club Sadowsky!!!

#50,841
Joelc73 said:
Better than ever. The JJ5 now has a trussrod wheel and the Modern 5 has a new nut. Both got pickguards. The workmanship is absolutely flawless. The pickguard cuts are pristine! I’m so happy!

The nut was always a little close to the treble side. Now it’s a dream to play. I also love the feel of the pickguards on both. It sounds silly to say but it makes an enormous difference in feel.

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I'm seriously salivating right now!!!! Simply BEAUTIFUL!!!!
 
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#50,842
projectapollo said:
Thanks to all for helping me decide: Bass 1) weighing in on my curiosity about German Metro (NAMM sample bass) pricing and Bass 2) your impressions on soar bar pickups in the JJ position, 3) helping me select the pickups that met my simple tone goals (trying to be witty like ElMon). Roger was kind enough to take a call from me and get me sorted. So, I decided on the soap bars, buyer and seller each drove about 2 hours each way for the transaction, and this 2014 Will Lee #6823 closet queen beauty is now in its new home. And, first run through, I do like the soap bars. They have heft, which is an adjective I forgot to include in my tone goals. This one is ash/rosewood which is my new favorite combo.

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That WL5 looks great! "Heft" might be the signature quality of a good ash/rosewood combination. Many years ago, I had a G&L JB2 with Nordstrand single coils that was ash/rosewood, and heft is the best word for its sound. Sold that bass to a friend only because I'd transitioned to 5-string. My favorite non-Sadowsky 34" bass is the Carl Pedigo in my Avatar, which sort of resembles a 34" Lakland, with alternative electronics. I was seeking a dark and hefty native timbre, and Carl delivered. I should add that it's a particularly light piece of Ash, and the neck is birdseye maple, and Carl's workmanship is superb, but this talk of heft really resonates with me. Fast, fat and hefty pretty much summarizes my tonal goals, although the "fast" bit is diminishing as I've migrated towards rosewood boards, instead of ebony.
 
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#50,843
projectapollo said:
Thanks to all for helping me decide: Bass 1) weighing in on my curiosity about German Metro (NAMM sample bass) pricing and Bass 2) your impressions on soar bar pickups in the JJ position, 3) helping me select the pickups that met my simple tone goals (trying to be witty like ElMon). Roger was kind enough to take a call from me and get me sorted. So, I decided on the soap bars, buyer and seller each drove about 2 hours each way for the transaction, and this 2014 Will Lee #6823 closet queen beauty is now in its new home. And, first run through, I do like the soap bars. They have heft, which is an adjective I forgot to include in my tone goals. This one is ash/rosewood which is my new favorite combo.

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Congratulations, you have a great instrument this is a Terminator Power Sadowsky Will Lee, Big Giant Low amazing mids and Hi sweet. I am waiting for my Sadowsky NYC Jazz 2020 40 years nyc anniversary, according to Carl it is 1 or 2 months to have it in my hands. In everything I have always preferred Jazz pickups . Personally I am not a lover of Humbucker tone in other very expensive brands. Days ago I bought a friend a Sadowsky Humbucker, mahogany body, roasted maple ebony fingerboard Amboyna Burl top, beautiful and Super lightweight. To my surprise the Humbucker sound in Sadowsky is spectacular, Wooww BOOOM. I convinced myself that if it's Sadows love everything, the tone, the big sound but at the same time Sweet they produce. In my personal opinion, only Sadowsky fascinates me. Congratulations again for your Beautiful and great GREAT instrument.
 
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#50,844
ElMon said:


OK ... so for all my 'Jaco' talk ... my lady friend captured some sound from the audience at the exact moment that I switched back to my blended pickup sound, to fatten things up during a solo.

Sadowsky PJ5 (unchambered ash/brazilian rw)+D'Addario Chromes+Khan Audio Tube DI (like the Ampeg SVTDI)+PA speakers+lady friend with iPhone X in the back of the room.

Very minimal bass/treble boost, VTC off.

This thing is just FAT.
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Found more clips, to add to the 'ash/rosewood is particularly-YUGE in the mix'. Same setup, on the neck pickup:

 
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#50,845
projectapollo said:
So, I decided on the soap bars... and this 2014 Will Lee is now in its new home. And, first run through, I do like the soap bars. They have heft....

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If this one is a keeper, I will likely be posting a 2019 NYC Satin series Verdine White PJ5 that I purchased new from the NYC shop, in Olympic White. Of course, it is made from unobtainium. Now for sale, see link in signature.
 
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#50,846
So the fact I still haven't made my NBD post for my 4-21 Deluxe Satin Series Vintage is that when I have time to grab it to take pictures I just play instead! This weekend - promise!

Playing along with some old Joe Jackson today - One More Time and Got The Time, so a vintage P-bass tone. I roll the VTC all the way down and pan to the neck pickup and I'm right in the ballpark - it's almost unfair to my other basses!
 
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#50,847
nickpc said:
So the fact I still haven't made my NBD post for my 4-21 Deluxe Satin Series Vintage is that when I have time to grab it to take pictures I just play instead! This weekend - promise!

Playing along with some old Joe Jackson today - One More Time and Got The Time, so a vintage P-bass tone. I roll the VTC all the way down and pan to the neck pickup and I'm right in the ballpark - it's almost unfair to my other basses!
Click to expand...

I laid into mine with a pick the other day, on The Cure's 'Love Song' and DAGUM did it sound good.
 
#50,850
Just done a tracking with my Modern days ago and I think it is a pretty good showcase on the character, the midrange and the zing that the Modern position with soap bar that known for, I brought the bass more up front in this mix for demo, but you guys got the idea.

To those who care the gear things, My signal is simply my bass to BAE1073 DMP - UA Interface and to Logic Platform, I dial in some drive with Neural DSP plug in tho.

 
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#50,853
Switched back to Blue Labels on my Modern 4. I love the Black labels but I just wanted the same tension and feel on both my NYC basses. Truly the best string I ever played!

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#50,854
Couldn't agree more! Blue Labels FTW!! I love 'em. Play them on my Sadowsky, my MTD, all of my Fenders. They feel good and play good and sound awesome!

Joeykun said:
Switched back to Blue Labels on my Modern 4. I love the Black labels but I just wanted the same tension and feel on both my NYC basses. Truly the best string I ever played!

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#50,857
My babies came alive last night.. I had been having what I perceived as volume and balance issues for a long time - I have used the D'addario xl-170 set with a .130B for the last 15+ years, but have gone to a taperwound B since I started using Sadowsky about 5 years ago. Why so long? It wasn't a "major" thing, in fact I didn't really understand it was happening until I used the Blue Label .45-130 Standard set and things just felt and sounded "right".

I tried to put the blame on the D'addario .130B as being "too boomy" and the how that threw me off as feeling unbalanced and it turned out to be the E and A. I switched to the xl-165's and wow. It's such a small difference in diameter but everything is more even now.

Very similar to the Sadowsky Blue Label Nickel .130-45 Standard set, it's a great alternative cost-wise. I wish I could afford the Blue Labels, but the way the basses feel and sound right now, I'm not complaining one bit. Little annoyed I didn't notice 10+ years ago but hey...
 
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