• 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!!!

#7,461
MindlessInside said:
DSC_0666_2.jpg


Right, I have a Sadowsky on the way. I'm psyched to get it. I figured I'd be set with that bass for a long time. After seeing that, I want a new one. Damn you, and here i thought I would be set! Whoever owns that bass did not do me a favour =(

Anyone here been down the dark road of having two Sadowsky's on simultaneous order, or ordering a second before they received the first?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the compliment. I'm very happy with the color choice and options that I've made with my bass.
 
#7,467
p0k said:
Ahh, I believe you have mine and Blake's and Greg's old bass (correct me if I'm wrong). Its a good one!
Click to expand...

Yep, that is the one. It really surprised me, its ash/maple but probably the warmest Sadowsky I've had. What strings did you like on it? Black steels were totally wrong for it, right now I have blue nickels on it which fit it much better.
 
#7,469
Usedtoplaymore said:
Is this a Flamed Maple top - or a Quilted Maple top?

The question came up from 2 TB'ers and I do not want to misrepresent what it is - thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Definitely flamed. Sometimes also referred to as "curly". Quilted literally looks like a quilt pattern... typically more diamond or oval shaped. It also generally appears as cupped (negative... dips) as opposed to ribbed (positive... bumps) like a flame. Here's a quilt example...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Here's a super classic flame for contrast...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#7,477
My newest Sadowsky, a 2009 NYC Standard 4 fretless has the most incredible tone. It is amazing all you can do with just 2-bands and the VTC control. Well you all know that already. Also I have a Fender American Deluxe FMT Jazz which Kevin Kaufman installed a Sadowsky preamp into it. A new one with VTC. Now I have to say that bass sounds amazing.....world of difference from the stock Fender preamp.

Now my main bass is a 1988 NYC Sadowsky Standard 4. I think the bass is completely stock including the preamp, but I am not 100% sure. I know Steve Rabe sent the bass back to Sadowsky in 1998 for a check up, but I do not know if anything was done to the bass as far as the electronics go. I don't know what preamps were used back in 1988, but the one in mine is just a circuit board covered with a protective black coating. It is not a black box like a Bartolini preamp might look like.

In regards to the bass itself, I love this bass! Fast thin neck and well broken in. It truly plays like a dream. But unless my ears are playing tricks on me it seems my other two basses have a little something extra in the tone department. Not 100% sure what it is, but it seems they have fuller sounding lows and crisper highs if that makes sense.

Now I know my main player is 21 years old, but I am wondering if it would be a good thing to put in a new Sadowsky preamp with the VTC. OR should I leave well enough alone.

Any thoughts?
 
#7,479
ClassicJazz said:
My newest Sadowsky, a 2009 NYC Standard 4 fretless has the most incredible tone. It is amazing all you can do with just 2-bands and the VTC control. Well you all know that already. Also I have a Fender American Deluxe FMT Jazz which Kevin Kaufman installed a Sadowsky preamp into it. A new one with VTC. Now I have to say that bass sounds amazing.....world of difference from the stock Fender preamp.

Now my main bass is a 1988 NYC Sadowsky Standard 4. I think the bass is completely stock including the preamp, but I am not 100% sure. I know Steve Rabe sent the bass back to Sadowsky in 1998 for a check up, but I do not know if anything was done to the bass as far as the electronics go. I don't know what preamps were used back in 1988, but the one in mine is just a circuit board covered with a protective black coating. It is not a black box like a Bartolini preamp might look like.

In regards to the bass itself, I love this bass! Fast thin neck and well broken in. It truly plays like a dream. But unless my ears are playing tricks on me it seems my other two basses have a little something extra in the tone department. Not 100% sure what it is, but it seems they have fuller sounding lows and crisper highs if that makes sense.

Now I know my main player is 21 years old, but I am wondering if it would be a good thing to put in a new Sadowsky preamp with the VTC. OR should I leave well enough alone.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hey ClassicJazz,
I had a chance to try a 96 standard Sadowsky a year ago. I don't know if it had the same preamp as your 88 but it was a different sound than my current NYC/Metro basses. It sounded great but with less bottom and a more "crystalic" high end. I took a look inside the cavity, the preamp was similar to the one used today but without that black coating, and no VTC of course. I assume the pickups were also a bit different. To my ears the current sound is more balanced and full but there was something clear and aggressive in that old bass that I really liked. By changing the preamp you might gain on one side but maybe loose something you now have.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back