I imagine that you could custom order one as strictly passive.
As bucephylus pointed out, all Sadowsky preamps have a preamp bypass.
This turns your bass into a passive bass.
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As bucephylus pointed out, all Sadowsky preamps have a preamp bypass.
This turns your bass into a passive bass.
As has already been pointed out, Sadowsky basses already have a fully passive mode, and it's verified with the battery not installed, it still works fine.
Some food for thought...
You could order a custom passive-only NYC for sure, BUT, just keep in mind, if you ever had to resell the bass, that would make resale a lot harder. Also, I would imagine the price difference at purchase time would be insignificant, so it's also not realistically a cost thing.
Passive mode is a lot lower output than active, but just FYI on that, because if you plan to play it passive most/all the time, that won't matter. Otherwise, you'll need to compensate somehow with the volume knob or a pedal/patch as needed to gain match at the amp or a board if you do eventually plan to switch back/forth..
Personally, I'd never own a Sadowsky without the preamp... there's a lot of magic in that with the way he has his pickups wound, but to each their own. The basses definitely sound great passive too.
The MIJ PJ I have has really high output (vs the Will Lee JB). Active I always have the volume dialed back to maybe 8-8.5. When I use passive I roll the volume to full 10/10 and it's about the same output.
My2019 NYC jazz bass and German Metroline jazz bass both have matching volumes when switching between active and passive. The NYC is overall 2 or 3 dB louder. Both set up the same in terms of string/pickup height etc
I would second that for anyone playing primarily passive... you bump that knob while playing and that could be an issue.
I've found the same thing, with my ML being a Hybrid 5-string. If you crank up the active controls you definitely hear a difference in the sound when you go passive, but the output level stays the same.
Some of you have probably seen this, but I am in love with the tone of my Metro Express Modern 5 with the VTC installed. I am looking forward to pickup a Sadowsky Metroline later this year.
100% this … I loathe push/pull knobs for anything useful. Cool to have in a pinch if your battery dies, but terrible if you’re going to mostly play the bass that way.
I recently made the decision to move to all passive basses and couldn’t be happier. I have an excellent preamp on my amp and myriad EQ/preamp options through both my pedalboard toys (Neural DSP QC Mini and my Mantle right now).
Already having all of that, an additional pre on my bass is just overkill, in my opinion, and makes it a lot harder to gain stage properly and switch to other passive basses, if i ever need to.
Since Sadowsky preamps are solderless “plug and play” units, it was super easy to simply take the whole thing out. I then ordered another 4-hole control plate and wired up a traditional VVT setup with linear tapers for the volumes (way smoother blends that way) and then added a true bypass switch for the passive tone control so I can set it to my “sweet spot” and then completely remove it from the circuit so it’s my pickups going directly to the output jack if I want a little extra zing. If I want to go back to the sweet spot again, I just switch it back - no fiddling with knobs between songs.
Pretty proud of myself for figuring all this out on my own. Works like a champ and I couldn’t be happier.
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Hello?
I recently purchased a German-made Sadowsky Metroline Modern 24-fret 5-string bass.
Everything is fine, but there is just one issue: the headstock is a bit heavy, which affects the balance.
Upon checking the specifications, I realised the tuning machines weren’t the Ultra-Light model.
As Sadowsky Ultra-Light tuning machines aren’t available in my area, I’m looking for an alternative.
Do you know of any suitable options?
I recently purchased a German-made Sadowsky Metroline Modern 24-fret 5-string bass.
Everything is fine, but there is just one issue: the headstock is a bit heavy, which affects the balance.
Upon checking the specifications, I realised the tuning machines weren’t the Ultra-Light model.
As Sadowsky Ultra-Light tuning machines aren’t available in my area, I’m looking for an alternative.
Do you know of any suitable options?
Is the Hipshot the same size as the Sadowsky headmachine? That’s good news.
Agreed. Why even buy a Sadowsky if you plan on running it passive?
The pegholes can fit the Hipshot ultralites, but the screw hole does not align exactly. But it’s still possible to screw it down in place when I use the screws from the original sadowsky tuners.
I was having some wrist issues back in the day and was blaming it on my MXE 5. After beginning a stretching and excercise routine my wrist got better and I learned it was not the bass. I ended up taking it out on a couple of gigs and had no issues which verified things. At the same time, I've had it listed for sale for the last several months and have had some bites but no success. I finally snagged some Sadowsky strings and did a proper setup this weekend. It's definitely playing the best it has since I bought it and mixed with the Sadowsky VTC preamp I installed it does sound amazing. I've decided I'm going to keep it and put it back in the gigging rotation. Glad I hung on to it!
Because the build quality, playability, weight, and tone are exceptional before the preamp even enters the conversation. The preamp is a bonus, not the whole point.
If the preamp is all a Sadowsky is good for, why bother paying all that money for the rest of the bass when you can just buy the preamp and throw it into anything?
Genuinely unclear if this is a hot take or if you’re messing with people.
Good point. (However, the preamp is great in other basses, too.)
Agreed, but my point is that the preamp alone isn’t going to make or break any bass. If a bass is amazing, it’ll be amazing with or without a preamp - I’m not sure if the same could be said if it were the other way around.
There are lots of other high quality Fender style passive basses out there. Sadowsky sets itself apart by having a Fender on steroids sound and that’s due to the preamp.
