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I was in New York last week and had the chance to visit Sadowsky on Friday afternoon briefly (while my wife, daughter, and daughter's service dog waited in the car). I haven't been to NY in over a decade, but going to the shop was the only thing I really wanted to do while I was there, so it was a real treat for me to get to visit the shop.
Roger was kind enough to spend some time with me discussing electronics as I am about to pull the trigger on my first custom "dream bass" and while I knew what woods and finish I wanted, I wanted to be sure about which electronics to choose.
I've always been a fan of passive basses, and while I've owned a number of active basses in the past, the only preamp that I've really liked was the Sadowsky, probably because of the FET design (Roger was very helpful in explaining some of this to me). Thus when I read about the Will Lee model with the midrange boost, I was not very interested as I was afraid that adding the control would ruin the character of the preamp and sound like all the other 3-band preamps that I don't really like.
However, they had a Will Lee model in the store, so I gave it a try, and I'm REALLY glad I did. Roger and the crew have really done something special with that midrange boost. The tone and ease of use of the original preamp are still there and seem to be unaffected by the midrange control when it is not engaged, which was very important to me. I'm a big believer in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But when the mid boost is engaged, it adds a very useful tonal change that doesn't affect the rest of the sound of the bass, instead just bringing it forward, and it seems to me that it would be very useful in a live situation. In short, I love the preamp on the WL. Roger and the crew have hit a home run with this one -- it's very flexible yet they didn't have to sacrifice the character of the original preamp to achieve this. Roger explained that they were able to achieve this without resorting to abandoning the FET design that makes their preamp sound so nice. I'm not an electrical engineer (though my wife is) but I know what I like in terms of sound, and the new preamp is it.
The neck on the WL is slightly narrower but it's a very small difference and is actually kind of nice -- I like it a lot.
In short, I'm glad I stopped in, since I'm now planning to order my dream bass as a Will Lee model. If I weren't set on getting a burl maple top, I'd have bought the one they had in the store -- it was one heck of a nice bass.
I can't write much more right now. My daughter is in the hospital right now with seizures and I'm typing this on my netbook while she's sleeping and grandma is watching her. However, I did want to thank the folks at Sadowsky for helping me, and I wanted others on the board to know that the WL model is really worth a look.
Kevin, I'll be writing an email pretty soon to get you the specs and get a quote on my dream bass.
Roger was kind enough to spend some time with me discussing electronics as I am about to pull the trigger on my first custom "dream bass" and while I knew what woods and finish I wanted, I wanted to be sure about which electronics to choose.
I've always been a fan of passive basses, and while I've owned a number of active basses in the past, the only preamp that I've really liked was the Sadowsky, probably because of the FET design (Roger was very helpful in explaining some of this to me). Thus when I read about the Will Lee model with the midrange boost, I was not very interested as I was afraid that adding the control would ruin the character of the preamp and sound like all the other 3-band preamps that I don't really like.
However, they had a Will Lee model in the store, so I gave it a try, and I'm REALLY glad I did. Roger and the crew have really done something special with that midrange boost. The tone and ease of use of the original preamp are still there and seem to be unaffected by the midrange control when it is not engaged, which was very important to me. I'm a big believer in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But when the mid boost is engaged, it adds a very useful tonal change that doesn't affect the rest of the sound of the bass, instead just bringing it forward, and it seems to me that it would be very useful in a live situation. In short, I love the preamp on the WL. Roger and the crew have hit a home run with this one -- it's very flexible yet they didn't have to sacrifice the character of the original preamp to achieve this. Roger explained that they were able to achieve this without resorting to abandoning the FET design that makes their preamp sound so nice. I'm not an electrical engineer (though my wife is) but I know what I like in terms of sound, and the new preamp is it.
The neck on the WL is slightly narrower but it's a very small difference and is actually kind of nice -- I like it a lot.
In short, I'm glad I stopped in, since I'm now planning to order my dream bass as a Will Lee model. If I weren't set on getting a burl maple top, I'd have bought the one they had in the store -- it was one heck of a nice bass.
I can't write much more right now. My daughter is in the hospital right now with seizures and I'm typing this on my netbook while she's sleeping and grandma is watching her. However, I did want to thank the folks at Sadowsky for helping me, and I wanted others on the board to know that the WL model is really worth a look.
Kevin, I'll be writing an email pretty soon to get you the specs and get a quote on my dream bass.
Cool. I didn't know you had built this one. It's really an amazing piece. You're right about the Birdseye - it's awesome. I need to take a nice shot of the board to show it off a bit.
Rob, what are your thoughts on the big singles (or big spits) in these basses relative to the stock pickups? I love the stock pickups but I have another Modern on order. I'm wondering if I should drop the Nordstrands in this bass for some variety...
JC
I was in New York last week and had the chance to visit Sadowsky on Friday afternoon briefly (while my wife, daughter, and daughter's service dog waited in the car). I haven't been to NY in over a decade, but going to the shop was the only thing I really wanted to do while I was there, so it was a real treat for me to get to visit the shop.
Roger was kind enough to spend some time with me discussing electronics as I am about to pull the trigger on my first custom "dream bass" and while I knew what woods and finish I wanted, I wanted to be sure about which electronics to choose.
I've always been a fan of passive basses, and while I've owned a number of active basses in the past, the only preamp that I've really liked was the Sadowsky, probably because of the FET design (Roger was very helpful in explaining some of this to me). Thus when I read about the Will Lee model with the midrange boost, I was not very interested as I was afraid that adding the control would ruin the character of the preamp and sound like all the other 3-band preamps that I don't really like.
However, they had a Will Lee model in the store, so I gave it a try, and I'm REALLY glad I did. Roger and the crew have really done something special with that midrange boost. The tone and ease of use of the original preamp are still there and seem to be unaffected by the midrange control when it is not engaged, which was very important to me. I'm a big believer in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But when the mid boost is engaged, it adds a very useful tonal change that doesn't affect the rest of the sound of the bass, instead just bringing it forward, and it seems to me that it would be very useful in a live situation. In short, I love the preamp on the WL. Roger and the crew have hit a home run with this one -- it's very flexible yet they didn't have to sacrifice the character of the original preamp to achieve this. Roger explained that they were able to achieve this without resorting to abandoning the FET design that makes their preamp sound so nice. I'm not an electrical engineer (though my wife is) but I know what I like in terms of sound, and the new preamp is it.
The neck on the WL is slightly narrower but it's a very small difference and is actually kind of nice -- I like it a lot.
In short, I'm glad I stopped in, since I'm now planning to order my dream bass as a Will Lee model. If I weren't set on getting a burl maple top, I'd have bought the one they had in the store -- it was one heck of a nice bass.
I can't write much more right now. My daughter is in the hospital right now with seizures and I'm typing this on my netbook while she's sleeping and grandma is watching her. However, I did want to thank the folks at Sadowsky for helping me, and I wanted others on the board to know that the WL model is really worth a look.
Kevin, I'll be writing an email pretty soon to get you the specs and get a quote on my dream bass.
Great info but most importantly I hope your daughter is feeling better!
Hi
Right on, Bartman. I have a WL on order. In the interim, I was fortunate to gig one of the shop Will Lee's for numerous shows(Thanx Rob, Kevin, Roger)
Its a kick in the a$$!!(thats actually a Kevin Drexler quote, LOL) It still has all the character and punch of the 2 band I love but it does add a touch of something that just kills live. Tough for me to explain. Just know it sounded great. The one I had was ash/rosewood. My order is ash/maple. There are a number of settings for the switch but I just left it in the factory default(Will's choice)
Thats it. Bliss!!!! Cant wait to get mine
Rob
Right on, Bartman. I have a WL on order. In the interim, I was fortunate to gig one of the shop Will Lee's for numerous shows(Thanx Rob, Kevin, Roger)
Its a kick in the a$$!!(thats actually a Kevin Drexler quote, LOL) It still has all the character and punch of the 2 band I love but it does add a touch of something that just kills live. Tough for me to explain. Just know it sounded great. The one I had was ash/rosewood. My order is ash/maple. There are a number of settings for the switch but I just left it in the factory default(Will's choice)
Thats it. Bliss!!!! Cant wait to get mine
Rob
- Nov 4, 2003
- 11,943
- 3,138
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist- Suhr basses, PedalTrain, GHS, Ultimate Ears
Being broke sucks........still hate you Rob.........
Dreaming.....WL ash/rosewood, that cool copper/metallic orange with matching headstock, either tort pickguard or pearl white (hell, both!!).....Mmmmm
What does a WL run??? Just a basic one, no fancy top. (a Metro one should be next!!!!)
Bart,
I understand you, I visited the shop earlier this year and was a great NYC experience.
I hope that your daughter gets well soon. I just had my first daughter (I already have 3 boys) and kids are the only think that can keep me sleepless if anything is wrong with them.
good luck!
I understand you, I visited the shop earlier this year and was a great NYC experience.
I hope that your daughter gets well soon. I just had my first daughter (I already have 3 boys) and kids are the only think that can keep me sleepless if anything is wrong with them.
good luck!
I was in New York last week and had the chance to visit Sadowsky on Friday afternoon briefly (while my wife, daughter, and daughter's service dog waited in the car). I haven't been to NY in over a decade, but going to the shop was the only thing I really wanted to do while I was there, so it was a real treat for me to get to visit the shop.
Roger was kind enough to spend some time with me discussing electronics as I am about to pull the trigger on my first custom "dream bass" and while I knew what woods and finish I wanted, I wanted to be sure about which electronics to choose.
I've always been a fan of passive basses, and while I've owned a number of active basses in the past, the only preamp that I've really liked was the Sadowsky, probably because of the FET design (Roger was very helpful in explaining some of this to me). Thus when I read about the Will Lee model with the midrange boost, I was not very interested as I was afraid that adding the control would ruin the character of the preamp and sound like all the other 3-band preamps that I don't really like.
However, they had a Will Lee model in the store, so I gave it a try, and I'm REALLY glad I did. Roger and the crew have really done something special with that midrange boost. The tone and ease of use of the original preamp are still there and seem to be unaffected by the midrange control when it is not engaged, which was very important to me. I'm a big believer in the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But when the mid boost is engaged, it adds a very useful tonal change that doesn't affect the rest of the sound of the bass, instead just bringing it forward, and it seems to me that it would be very useful in a live situation. In short, I love the preamp on the WL. Roger and the crew have hit a home run with this one -- it's very flexible yet they didn't have to sacrifice the character of the original preamp to achieve this. Roger explained that they were able to achieve this without resorting to abandoning the FET design that makes their preamp sound so nice. I'm not an electrical engineer (though my wife is) but I know what I like in terms of sound, and the new preamp is it.
The neck on the WL is slightly narrower but it's a very small difference and is actually kind of nice -- I like it a lot.
In short, I'm glad I stopped in, since I'm now planning to order my dream bass as a Will Lee model. If I weren't set on getting a burl maple top, I'd have bought the one they had in the store -- it was one heck of a nice bass.
I can't write much more right now. My daughter is in the hospital right now with seizures and I'm typing this on my netbook while she's sleeping and grandma is watching her. However, I did want to thank the folks at Sadowsky for helping me, and I wanted others on the board to know that the WL model is really worth a look.
Kevin, I'll be writing an email pretty soon to get you the specs and get a quote on my dream bass.
This is a very good description from one of my best clients:
"With respect to sitting in the recording mix, in my opinion, the nordies do one thing: big, fat, fundamental fur. So naturally, they can be very prominent in the mix.
While the soapbar cant do the BFFF quite as capably as the Nordstrands, they sit beautifully in the mix and are MUCH more versatile tone-wise. In fact, I was listening to several recordings in which I used one of your soapbar equipped basses and I marveled at the very wide range of tones that instrument is capable of. All with a nice growly tone. If its a fretless were talking about, forget about it they MUST be soapbars.
Also remember, if were talking about recording, the nordies are a bit noisier than your average pickup. The soapbars are extremely quiet.
Bottom line - I think that the nordies stand out with more fundamental than the soaps, but that single advantage doesnt outweigh the benefits of the soaps."
Roger
Fran and everyone -- thanks for your kind words and wishes!
I hate to say hospital trips have become routine, but we've been here many dozens of times over the past few years. I wish they offered the equivalent of a frequent flyer program or something -- we'd have enough miles for a couple trips around the world or a heart surgery or whatever.
One of the great things about the band I'm in is that they can find a sub for me at the last minute if she has to go to the hospital -- I haven't missed a gig yet but I've been close. It may be "just a cover band" but as you can probably tell that's about all I can fit into my life situation anyway, and they're a great bunch of people and solid players to boot. It's a fantastic break from my day job as stay-at-home dad. 
In any event, she had no seizures last night and I suspect that we'll be going home today. Hopefully it was just the stress of a long late night flight and a fever that caused this round.
Bart
Keep the faith Bartman! I hope your daughter is ok... I've read many of your posts over the years, so I'm aware that it's an on going situation.
I had a similar Sadowsky esperience a couple of Summers ago when I visited the shop. First class people and top notch instruments all the way.
LR
I had a similar Sadowsky esperience a couple of Summers ago when I visited the shop. First class people and top notch instruments all the way.
LR
Fran and everyone -- thanks for your kind words and wishes!
I hate to say hospital trips have become routine, but we've been here many dozens of times over the past few years. I wish they offered the equivalent of a frequent flyer program or something -- we'd have enough miles for a couple trips around the world or a heart surgery or whatever.
In any event, she had no seizures last night and I suspect that we'll be going home today. Hopefully it was just the stress of a long late night flight and a fever that caused this round.
Bart
Thanks for the info Roger! I have a Metro M5-24 with soaps (sounds amazing and incredibly versatile too) and was curious as to what the Nordies sound like in a recording situation. Guess I'll need to buy another one but with Nordies this time!
This is way OT, but I just thought I should mention that we're now out of the hospital now and my daughter seems to be doing well.
Back on topic, I should be ordering my new Sadowsky on Wednesday, which will basically look like #5021, but in a Will Lee model. It will be my first custom bass, and I couldn't be more confident that Roger and his great staff will produce an incredible bass for me.
And then the agonizing wait will begin, followed by my stalking the local Fedex driver . . .
In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be content with my #1, an alder/braz. rosewood NYC PJ:
I think it'll help me manage to survive the 6-8 month build time wait.
This is way OT, but I just thought I should mention that we're now out of the hospital now and my daughter seems to be doing well.
Following the TB tradition of "no pics = no bass," I thought I'd share one pic I took earlier today of my daugher with her service dog, Shenandoah, who she was paired up with in March:
(The splint is to keep her from pulling out her IV, as she has autism and can't be convinced to leave it alone, not from any arm problems).
Back on topic, I should be ordering my new Sadowsky on Wednesday, which will basically look like #5021, but in a Will Lee model. It will be my first custom bass, and I couldn't be more confident that Roger and his great staff will produce an incredible bass for me.
And then the agonizing wait will begin, followed by my stalking the local Fedex driver . . .
In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be content with my #1, an alder/braz. rosewood NYC PJ:
I think it'll help me manage to survive the 6-8 month build time wait.
Cute daughter - hope she recovers well.
VERY cute PJ. Dibs...on the PJ when ready to part with it!
