• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Club Sadowsky!!!

#61,381
Long time Sadowsky player but surprisingly have never played a P/J configuration.
I’m curious as to how the pickups are balanced.
My experience with other brands has been that the P pickups overpower the J pickup.
I’ve had better success with a dual coil J pickup though.
Thanks !
 
#61,382
My experience with every P/J configuration is the same, which include NYC, German, and Japan Sadowsky's. I think for the best balance you need series wired dual coils in the bridge.

57pbass said:
Long time Sadowsky player but surprisingly have never played a P/J configuration.
I’m curious as to how the pickups are balanced.
My experience with other brands has been that the P pickups overpower the J pickup.
I’ve had better success with a dual coil J pickup though.
Thanks !
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 57pbass
#61,383
agree with @WorktheWood. Many of the budget, entry-level PJs, you can tell, never have a second thought about pickup balance. Sadowsky got it right with my Verdine. So it can be done. But I've also had success with a higher output bridge pickup like a dual coil or some kinda soapbar (big single) back there, otherwise, a standard J pickup will usually be buried by the P.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kobass and 57pbass
#61,384
Roger knows how to do the PJ apparently with how the pickups are designed. I love my Sadowsky PJ and the J is not buried by the P in the least. Both pickups seem to be a perfect balance equating to a full bodied punch machine with plenty of articulation and warmth.

We need more eye candy in this thread, so since we are talking about PJ's, here's mine. Look at the Ash on that thing!

IMG_0015.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeckBass, jmain, R&B and 13 others
#61,385
I've yet to hear a P/J have a balanced sound between the pickups when the bridge pickup is a single coil size. A neck pickup is inherently louder than the bridge pickup due to its location. A precision pickup is typically quite a bit louder than most any single coil sized pickup. The blended p/j sound is unique and quite modern sounding, the classic Vic Wooten.
 
#61,387
That looks cool. I believe that's the only way to do a 2 pickup P Bass configuration other than having 2 P Bass pickups. I think Roger said once that soapbar in the bridge works best with a P bass pickup.

5StringPocket said:
The best P/J balance I've heard is with this Big Rig soapbar in the J position. It is such a good match both volume and tone wise. It has a little more meat and a little less bite than the J but articulate and rich with harmonics. Love the way this sits in a mix.
sadowsky-nyc-big-rig-jpg.4893304
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5StringPocket and 57pbass
#61,388
I bet a p/soap config does sound great, but I also think it’d depend on the bridge pickup, too. I had a 5-string Fender P that I had modded to a PJ using a Norstrand Big Split in the bridge position. It sounded good, but the Big Split really took over the sound and the bass lost some of the magic that I think occurs with a regular PJ.

I might be in the minority, but I think some of the magic in a PJ is how the P is the boss, leaving the J to just tighten things up a bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmain, R&B, rmayer and 9 others
#61,390
I can't argue with that reasoning. When I play a p/j I almost only solo the P pickup as I don't like the blended sounded for groove playing. My only real issue with the traditional p/j configuration is that I don't like the volume loss during those times I solo the bridge pickup.

KaseOfBass said:
I bet a p/soap config does sound great, but I also think it’d depend on the bridge pickup, too. I had a 5-string Fender P that I had modded to a PJ using a Norstrand Big Split in the bridge position. It sounded good, but the Big Split really took over the sound and the bass lost some of the magic that I think occurs with a regular PJ.

I might be in the minority, but I think some of the magic in a PJ is how the P is the boss, leaving the J to just tighten things up a bit.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: TimothyGroovy and KaseOfBass
#61,392
5StringPocket said:
The best P/J balance I've heard is with this Big Rig soapbar in the J position. It is such a good match both volume and tone wise. It has a little more meat and a little less bite than the J but articulate and rich with harmonics. Love the way this sits in a mix.
sadowsky-nyc-big-rig-jpg.4893304
Click to expand...
Man, that is one sexy beast. You’re giving me doubts about my order! :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: BassmusM6674 and 5StringPocket
#61,394
#61,395
I’ve found the P and J pups mostly balanced on two current Fender models: the American Ultra Precision bass (which has “noiseless” pups), and the Tony Franklin signature bass (which is fretless).

I frequently solo the J on both of those.
 
#61,396
So, I comitted a sin. I strayed from Sadwosky strings to Fender on my Modern 5er.

While I am perfectly happy with blue label steels on my Will Lee 5er, nothing so far quite satisifed me on my Modern 5er. Blue and black label steels were too zingy with not enough booty, blue and black label nickels too mid focused on this already mid heavy bass.
Thomastik flats were fun for a period of time, because the inherent "immediacy" of the modern realy plays well with flats, but the sound only realy works for fingerstyle. But boy was it NICE fingerstyle sound!

So here come the Fender 8250 strings. Nickel plated steel, B AND E string tapered! These work wonderfully well for me. B and E string are "muscular", lacking a better description, with just the right amount of high end for snappy attack when playing with a pick or slapping.
Before I didn't take my Modern to band practice, because it didn't realy work with a pick and overdriven rock sounds. NOW it rips in this regard! The "neck" pickup of the Modern is said to be pretty similar to a modern P style sound. Didn't care for this sound before, with these strings its great and grinding and a lot of fun!

I believe this is one of these cases where a string change breathes new life into a before not-so-much loved bass :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Kevan Campbell, Frank Kreber, GregC and 1 other person
#61,397
rowsi said:
So, I comitted a sin. I strayed from Sadwosky strings to Fender on my Modern 5er.

While I am perfectly happy with blue label steels on my Will Lee 5er, nothing so far quite satisifed me on my Modern 5er. Blue and black label steels were too zingy with not enough booty, blue and black label nickels too mid focused on this already mid heavy bass.
Thomastik flats were fun for a period of time, because the inherent "immediacy" of the modern realy plays well with flats, but the sound only realy works for fingerstyle. But boy was it NICE fingerstyle sound!

So here come the Fender 8250 strings. Nickel plated steel, B AND E string tapered! These work wonderfully well for me. B and E string are "muscular", lacking a better description, with just the right amount of high end for snappy attack when playing with a pick or slapping.
Before I didn't take my Modern to band practice, because it didn't realy work with a pick and overdriven rock sounds. NOW it rips in this regard! The "neck" pickup of the Modern is said to be pretty similar to a modern P style sound. Didn't care for this sound before, with these strings its great and grinding and a lot of fun!

I believe this is one of these cases where a string change breathes new life into a before not-so-much loved bass :)
Click to expand...
I use Fender flats on my 4 string jazz and love them. They make great strings
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pet Sounds
#61,399
Those particular Fender strings are fantastic. I don't use them on anything but my Fenders but I probably should give them a go on my Sadowsky and Fodera basses. On my Fender Elite's the 8250's make those basses sound more "Fender" than any other strings.

rowsi said:
So, I comitted a sin. I strayed from Sadwosky strings to Fender on my Modern 5er.

While I am perfectly happy with blue label steels on my Will Lee 5er, nothing so far quite satisifed me on my Modern 5er. Blue and black label steels were too zingy with not enough booty, blue and black label nickels too mid focused on this already mid heavy bass.
Thomastik flats were fun for a period of time, because the inherent "immediacy" of the modern realy plays well with flats, but the sound only realy works for fingerstyle. But boy was it NICE fingerstyle sound!

So here come the Fender 8250 strings. Nickel plated steel, B AND E string tapered! These work wonderfully well for me. B and E string are "muscular", lacking a better description, with just the right amount of high end for snappy attack when playing with a pick or slapping.
Before I didn't take my Modern to band practice, because it didn't realy work with a pick and overdriven rock sounds. NOW it rips in this regard! The "neck" pickup of the Modern is said to be pretty similar to a modern P style sound. Didn't care for this sound before, with these strings its great and grinding and a lot of fun!

I believe this is one of these cases where a string change breathes new life into a before not-so-much loved bass :)
Click to expand...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back