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Club Sadowsky!!!

#55,021
JoshS said:
No battery or dead battery? Meaning, do you physically have to remove it from the circuit?
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Passive mode works with no battery or dead battery. Dead battery is more the point: Roger didn't want to put players in a situation where the bass would be useless if the battery died. That's why I believe all onboard preamps have passive mode, but again, I don't know whether any exceptions exist.
 
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#55,022
Fuzzbass said:
Passive mode works with no battery or dead battery. Dead battery is more the point: Roger didn't want to put players in a situation where the bass would be useless if the battery died. That's why I believe all onboard preamps have passive mode, but again, I don't know whether any exceptions exist.
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I welcome any correction from Roger, but I'm pretty sure all the Sadowsky preamps are identical, and even if the WL module is involved, the passive wiring is exactly the same. In passive mode, the batter/preamp are 100% bypassed. Whether the battery is dead or missing doesn't matter.
 
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#55,024
Vic said:
I welcome any correction from Roger, but I'm pretty sure all the Sadowsky preamps are identical, and even if the WL module is involved, the passive wiring is exactly the same. In passive mode, the batter/preamp are 100% bypassed. Whether the battery is dead or missing doesn't matter.
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The OP mentioned a "three-knob" preamp in his question, which would be without the VTC/push-pull passive/active knob, I believe. Would this make any difference? Could either be an older instrument (pre-VTC) or newer MIC MetroExpress? I don't have any experience with either older or MIC instruments.
 
#55,025
ShawnG said:
The OP mentioned a "three-knob" preamp in his question, which would be without the VTC/push-pull passive/active knob, I believe. Would this make any difference? Could either be an older instrument (pre-VTC) or newer MIC MetroExpress? I don't have any experience with either older or MIC instruments.
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You're right. If there's no passive mode in the three knob configuration then of course active is the only way
 
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#55,026
Batteries also may arrive via large brown truck or small white van IME. Don’t forget to put an extra 9V and a Phillips driver in your gig bag(s). Tape the terminals to avoid disappointment. Don’t ask me how I know. :oops:

Best ancillary purchase ever: the Batt-O-Meter. Plug in to your output jack and read exact voltage. Got mine from the Sadowsky store. I replace at < 8V.

454E7BF8-E484-4DE3-A0FF-0FA550397B09.jpeg
 
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#55,028
R&B said:
Batteries also may arrive via large brown truck or small white van IME. Don’t forget to put an extra 9V and a Phillips driver in your gig bag(s). Tape the terminals to avoid disappointment. Don’t ask me how I know. :oops:

Best ancillary purchase ever: the Batt-O-Meter. Plug in to your output jack and read exact voltage. Got mine from the Sadowsky store. I replace at < 8V.

View attachment 4149060
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So this thing works ok with the Sadowsky ? Didnt work for my Alembic, Ibanez Musician or SRH505 so I returned it. maybe I had a dud.
 
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#55,030
JohnnyBottom said:
So this thing works ok with the Sadowsky ? Didnt work for my Alembic, Ibanez Musician or SRH505 so I returned it. maybe I had a dud.
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it should work on any 9v system. the problem with some other instruments is they have 18v systems (don't know specifically about your list). that said, i think i did read an article of how you could "interpret" its readings on an 18v system and use it with anything, but not sure.
 
#55,031
Vic said:
it should work on any 9v system. the problem with some other instruments is they have 18v systems (don't know specifically about your list). that said, i think i did read an article of how you could "interpret" its readings on an 18v system and use it with anything, but not sure.
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Only works for 9v
 
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#55,033
Ewo said:
Yeah, even though the description does say only for 9v, I went ahead and tried it on a couple basses running 18v. Nope, not that I could figure out.

But do you know if there's some reason McMillen never made a version for 18v? Just curious. I'd buy one like that. It's been super handy on my 9v basses.
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yeah, i dug up the faq on their site and it says it can only read up to a little over 10v, so in an 18v system, you just have to take the batteries out and test them one at a time.

they've been asked that a zillion times over the years and i think their answer has simply been they aren't interested in developing the product any further. if you look at their web site, it doesn't even really show up except in support.
 
#55,034
Vic said:
it should work on any 9v system. the problem with some other instruments is they have 18v systems (don't know specifically about your list). that said, i think i did read an article of how you could "interpret" its readings on an 18v system and use it with anything, but not sure.
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The basses it failed on were all 9v, also reading the reviews mix results, seems flakey but would be optimistic if it works on sadowskys and try another one.
 
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#55,035
JohnnyBottom said:
The basses it failed on were all 9v, also reading the reviews mix results, seems flakey but would be optimistic if it works on sadowskys and try another one.
Click to expand...

I would be willing to bet that the basses that it failed on used a different pin in the jack for the battery connection than others. It's the same thing that's causing noise in some of the newer plug style wireless units that are on the market
 
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#55,039
R&B said:
Best ancillary purchase ever: the Batt-O-Meter. Plug in to your output jack and read exact voltage. Got mine from the Sadowsky store. I replace at < 8V.
View attachment 4149060
Click to expand...
I had curious experiences with mine. Plugged into Sadowsky, sometimes it would show low voltage, 7V or so. I'd pull the battery out of the bass and test it with the same tester. It would then show just under 9V, good enough to keep using.
Can anyone explain that?
 
#55,040
spydr said:
I had curious experiences with mine. Plugged into Sadowsky, sometimes it would show low voltage, 7V or so. I'd pull the battery out of the bass and test it with the same tester. It would then show just under 9V, good enough to keep using.
Can anyone explain that?
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My guess is the resistance of the circuit as a whole due to plugging it in. It has to read the power though everything (pickups, pots, switches, etc). Just testing with a bare battery, there is nothing else in the circuit, only the tester and the battery.
 
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