Club Sadowsky!!!

[Chef]

Whew. Maybe I'm not crazy then.



Well, at least not for that one reason.

 

[CElton]

I'm with Chef, basses can sound really different with different action settings. Especially low action will make a bass sound a lot tighter down low and add some fret noise on the attack that can add a lot of life to the sound. With a higher action you're going to get a bigger, rounder, more dynamic tone.

Marcus Miller seems to agree...[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[ElMon]

My understanding is that this is due to a residual aroma from Roger's aftershave. I forgot the brand he uses... something like 'Essence of Lemon Oil and Orange Peel for the Manly Man'. I did a search but couldn't find any more detail than that.

Dang it, I didn't know there was a 'for the Manly Man' version! Have to stop stealing my wife's.

I'm with Chef, basses can sound really different with different action settings. Especially low action will make a bass sound a lot tighter down low and add some fret noise on the attack that can add a lot of life to the sound. With a higher action you're going to get a bigger, rounder, more dynamic tone.

+1. Higher action and some flats/halfrounds makes every note on a Sadowsky sound like a cannon.

 

[KJung]

Marcus Miller seems to agree...[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

+1 Some of those classic 70's J bass funk guys really go to a bit of extremes, lowering the saddles so that you get all that grindy, gunky, aggressive clack when digging in and playing above the 12th fret, and then putting a bit of a bow in the neck to keep the rest of the instrument from buzzing from the nut to the 12th fret or so. That's a bit extreme for me personally, but it works for those guys.

 

[Nenor]

String to body distance can be reduced using a thicker pickguard. If that's a real problem I would ask the shop to cut me a new PG from thicker material. If they can't you can still have it done elsewhere using your old one as a template.

 

[gillento]

We do not use Lemon or Orange oil at all.

If it's a Rosewood/Morado/Ebony board it would be either
-Boiled Linseed Oil
or
-Plant Waves Hydrate Fingerboard Conditioner (Which we sell).

If Maple...Nothing...Your smelling things!

Rob

Well, my brand new PJ5 with brazilian RW smells a bit like fish, honestly!
Maybe that's from the travel across the Atlantic ocean.....

 

[Chef]

that's a great read, thanks!

Marcus Miller seems to agree...[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[MisterMagician]

The mids are always present, even with extreme boosting. And I was only pointing out that you were being extreme about your opinion, not that you were being sarcastic. No worries though. I think I get where you're coming from. I was certainly one who didn't get what all the fuss was about until I got my old MV5 out to a few gigs.





Yeah, its a REALLY extreme sound. I also used to boost the bass quite a bit on the neck pickup of my PJ5, and with some thumb muting technique could get a great keyboard bass sound. 90% of the time was spent with a smidge of bass boost, treble flat, pups centered, and varying the VTC on and off.

I wasn't being extreme, I really do think you guys are crazy.

 

[Vic]

I wasn't being extreme, I really do think you guys are crazy.

Well, at least speaking for myself, you definitely got that right.

...now where did I leave that three-handled moss-covered family credenza... hmmm...

 

[BartmanPDX]

I bought the Planet Waves Hydrate Fingerboard Conditioner that Rob suggests from the Sadowsky shop and it works great. Doesn't darken the fingerboard either.

+1. I bought a bottle of the Hydrate and after putting it on one bass, promptly put it on every rosewood board bass I own.

The stuff is fantastic!

 

[tombowlus]

+1. I bought a bottle of the Hydrate and after putting it on one bass, promptly put it on every rosewood board bass I own.

The stuff is fantastic!

How does it work with ebony?

 

[Jerry J]

How does it work with ebony?

Ebony is a very closed grain wood. I would think that it wouldn't do anything but sit on the top. But I'm sure that it wouldn't hurt it at all either.

(as always I could be wrong)

 

[BartmanPDX]

I'm with Chef, basses can sound really different with different action settings. Especially low action will make a bass sound a lot tighter down low and add some fret noise on the attack that can add a lot of life to the sound. With a higher action you're going to get a bigger, rounder, more dynamic tone.

That's pretty much what I've found. I like the more aggressive tone of low action with the tiniest bit of fret noise for my rock band, but I have the action pretty high on my Dark Star P w/flats.

I don't have any basses w/ebony boards right now, Tom, but I'd guess Jerry's right on that one. I don't think it would hurt, but I'd be surprised if much were absorbed.

 

[KJung]

How does it work with ebony?

From what I understand, it is pretty much just lemon oil (at least lemon oil based), so it will work well on RW or Ebony. A little lemon oil every couple of years would work just as well IMO and IME.

 

[Fran Diaz]

That's pretty much what I've found. I like the more aggressive tone of low action with the tiniest bit of fret noise for my rock band, but I have the action pretty high on my Dark Star P w/flats.

I don't have any basses w/ebony boards right now, Tom, but I'd guess Jerry's right on that one. I don't think it would hurt, but I'd be surprised if much were absorbed.

+1. I setup my PJ with flats and a medium-low action so I can dig in without any fretbuzz (Sadowsky fingerboards are that good ). I keep my J with very low action so I can get some fret buzz when I play hard...the slap tone is also perfect.

 

[tombowlus]

From what I understand, it is pretty much just lemon oil (at least lemon oil based), so it will work well on RW or Ebony. A little lemon oil every couple of years would work just as well IMO and IME.

Mike Tobias had told me that he prefers boiled linseed oil over lemon oil for ebony, so that's what I have been using. But I was curious if the Planet Waves stuff had anything to offer over boiled linseed oil.

 

[bass12]

We do not use Lemon or Orange oil at all.

If it's a Rosewood/Morado/Ebony board it would be either
-Boiled Linseed Oil
or
-Plant Waves Hydrate Fingerboard Conditioner (Which we sell).

If Maple...Nothing...Your smelling things!

Rob

My 4 string with maple board arrived smelling very much of citrus. Three years later, it still has that same smell! I have a hard time believing that this is the natural smell of the wood or lacquer. My 5 string, on the other hand, doesn't smell of anything - except for my dirty finger prints.

 

[Vic]

The whole fingerboard oil thing is an often debated thing, but in the case of lemon oil, I've pretty much stopped using it at least as a treatment or conditioner (tho I still use it to "clean").

I'd read a disturbing article at some point in the past that basically said it's a real thin oil with more of a cleaning nature than a treating nature, and as such, had a tendency to leech out natural wood oils over time and actually do more damage than good... even if it didn't necessarily have any specific agents added to it for cleaning. Maybe it's just FUD, but I've been using the Dunlop 02 deep conditioner of my open grains, including ebony, and it does soak in (tho of course slower on ebony), and it does seem to do a real nice job.

 

[KJung]

The whole fingerboard oil thing is an often debated thing, but in the case of lemon oil, I've pretty much stopped using it at least as a treatment or conditioner (tho I still use it to "clean").

I'd read a disturbing article at some point in the past that basically said it's a real thin oil with more of a cleaning nature than a treating nature, and as such, had a tendency to leech out natural wood oils over time and actually do more damage than good... even if it didn't necessarily have any specific agents added to it for cleaning. Maybe it's just FUD, but I've been using the Dunlop 02 deep conditioner of my open grains, including ebony, and it does soak in (tho of course slower on ebony), and it does seem to do a real nice job.

I think as long as you don't oil any more than once every couple years, and don't use the lemon oil that has the petrolium gunk in it, you are fine. Most trouble comes from oiling too often.

 

[dragonbass]

I don't want to darken the fine looking piece of Morado on my bass; it's nicely figured in lighter and darker colors, but, neither is very dark...is one better than the other at leaving the natural color intact?
I typically used boiled linseed oil, but this does sometimes darken boards...

Any Oil will darken the board back to it's natural shade.

Well, my brand new PJ5 with brazilian RW smells a bit like fish, honestly!
Maybe that's from the travel across the Atlantic ocean.....

No Idea....???

How does it work with ebony?

I wouldn't use anything else for my ebony Will Lee or any Ebony! (Hell...I use the Hydrate for all our boards!)...It soaks in just right, and doesn't leave any Fingerprints on the board.

Ebony is a very closed grain wood. I would think that it wouldn't do anything but sit on the top. But I'm sure that it wouldn't hurt it at all either.
(as always I could be wrong)

It's soaks in just fine. If you use to much, yes it will just sit on the board. A little goes a long way.

My 4 string with maple board arrived smelling very much of citrus. Three years later, it still has that same smell! I have a hard time believing that this is the natural smell of the wood or lacquer. My 5 string, on the other hand, doesn't smell of anything - except for my dirty finger prints.

Maybe your case was sprayed with Febreze before it left??

Rob