- Nov 4, 2003
- 11,943
- 3,140
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist- Suhr basses, PedalTrain, GHS, Ultimate Ears
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BTW, we officially have a new member to the Sadowsky family, tho I'll let him introduce himself as he wishes. Initial word is, he's pretty darn stoked tho. 
Ahhh, but it's a good kinda' hate...Is this your reaction to the bass?..... Now I hate you!!!!!
Ok, so I weakened and ran past a local music store so I could actually plug this thing in at least to a combo amp. Fender Bassman 150. Not too bad of a combo, IMHO.
Yeah, ash/maple... that's my thing right there. Gotta' have it. Gimme that sound. Those subtle diffs between the alder/rw and ash/maple were just there right away. Notes just bounce right off the board, the B string is deadly, harmonics pop from LOTS of spots easily. The NP5 is KILLER, and the burp from the NJS is, well, killer too.
The one thing that can't be avoided on a PJ5 with a split coil for the J5, however, is hum, unless you solo the P. This is a bit of a struggle for me, because I don't always play "nice" venues... in fact, I probably mostly play places that I would get at least some hum from. This is of course because a split coil design can't fully humbuck with an odd number of strings. It's NOT a flaw in any design, or a sign of poor quality (I mean, hey, it's a Sadowsky, that's a given, right?) This is one of my struggles with a PJ5.
So here's my current struggle... am I a PJ guy after all, and if so, is this the finish I wanna' stick with, and if I get a different finish, do I spend the money on a top? I gotta' really grill this thing against my ash/maple JJ5 and make some hard decisions this weekend, but all I can say is, it definitely passes the tone and playability test, and as I suspected, it looks way better in person than on the web site, otherwise, I wouldn't even be doing this, 'cause I generally gravitate more towards other colors. Mainly, pure white is just not my thing at all, but the trans whites and trans vintage blondes are kinda' nice.
Yeah, ash/maple... that's my thing right there. Gotta' have it. Gimme that sound. Those subtle diffs between the alder/rw and ash/maple were just there right away. Notes just bounce right off the board, the B string is deadly, harmonics pop from LOTS of spots easily. The NP5 is KILLER, and the burp from the NJS is, well, killer too.
The one thing that can't be avoided on a PJ5 with a split coil for the J5, however, is hum, unless you solo the P. This is a bit of a struggle for me, because I don't always play "nice" venues... in fact, I probably mostly play places that I would get at least some hum from. This is of course because a split coil design can't fully humbuck with an odd number of strings. It's NOT a flaw in any design, or a sign of poor quality (I mean, hey, it's a Sadowsky, that's a given, right?) This is one of my struggles with a PJ5.
So here's my current struggle... am I a PJ guy after all, and if so, is this the finish I wanna' stick with, and if I get a different finish, do I spend the money on a top? I gotta' really grill this thing against my ash/maple JJ5 and make some hard decisions this weekend, but all I can say is, it definitely passes the tone and playability test, and as I suspected, it looks way better in person than on the web site, otherwise, I wouldn't even be doing this, 'cause I generally gravitate more towards other colors. Mainly, pure white is just not my thing at all, but the trans whites and trans vintage blondes are kinda' nice.
Chef
In Memoriam
Ok, so I weakened and ran past a local music store so I could actually plug this thing in at least to a combo amp. Fender Bassman 150. Not too bad of a combo, IMHO.
Yeah, ash/maple... that's my thing right there. Gotta' have it. Gimme that sound. Those subtle diffs between the alder/rw and ash/maple were just there right away. Notes just bounce right off the board, the B string is deadly, harmonics pop from LOTS of spots easily. The NP5 is KILLER, and the burp from the NJS is, well, killer too.
The one thing that can't be avoided on a PJ5 with a split coil for the J5, however, is hum, unless you solo the P. This is a bit of a struggle for me, because I don't always play "nice" venues... in fact, I probably mostly play places that I would get at least some hum from. This is of course because a split coil design can't fully humbuck with an odd number of strings. It's NOT a flaw in any design, or a sign of poor quality (I mean, hey, it's a Sadowsky, that's a given, right?) This is one of my struggles with a PJ5.
So here's my current struggle... am I a PJ guy after all, and if so, is this the finish I wanna' stick with, and if I get a different finish, do I spend the money on a top? I gotta' really grill this thing against my ash/maple JJ5 and make some hard decisions this weekend, but all I can say is, it definitely passes the tone and playability test, and as I suspected, it looks way better in person than on the web site, otherwise, I wouldn't even be doing this, 'cause I generally gravitate more towards other colors. Mainly, pure white is just not my thing at all, but the trans whites and trans vintage blondes are kinda' nice.
What pickups are in there. I never had any hum of any kind on any Sadowsky 5 string with the standard Sadowsky HC J pickup... none, ever, nada. Something seems a bit strange there.
NJS split coil. This is typical of a split coil 5 unless you somehow do a dummy pole/coil extension (which is what he does with the NP5, or it'd have the same problem, but is really not possible on a J). If I were to put a DiMarzio in there, the hum would go away, because that's a dual coil. This is a well known issue.
Chef
In Memoriam
They ARE the Sadowsky pickups... just the current stuff is custom Nordstrands where previously, I believe they were custom SDs. Interestingly, I have a set of the older HC's, but I can't try one out in this bass without locking myself into it, and to be honest, I'm not sure that'd do it if those are also split coils. Remember, going from experiences with HC's on a JJ5 is a "n/a" because if you have two split coil HC's in a JJ config, you still get additional humbucking when they work together. You'd have to totally solo the pickup to get the same effect as what it does pretty much all the time in a PJ config.Ah.... I would have had the Sadowsky pickups put in their prior to shipping
Why would they put that J pickup design in a PJ?????? Does it at least hum cancel when both pickups are blended evenly?
No, again, it can't hum cancel with the P because the P is already hum cancelling. Any time the J pickup is involved in a PJ, it's gonna be "on its own" for hum. This is why, to get full hum cancelling, you HAVE to either have an even number of pole pieces, or, use a dual coil design. There's no getting around it. It's an electrical fact of life.
Don't get me wrong, it's still mostly humbucking, and the tone is GREAT. ALSO, it only matters in venues where I'd get hum... not all places.
My PJ5 had the same pickups and I never noticed any hum when soloing the bridge pickup, and I also play in some clubs with interesting wiring from time to time. IME at least. I'd be curious to read your comparison of this ash/maple PJ5 against your alder/Braz RW PJ5. I let go of an alder/rw PJ5 in a pinch, and am looking into getting an ash/maple Metro PJ5 as soon as my MTD sells.
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
- 4,741
- Disclosures
- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
That odd because my PJ5 is about as quiet as they come..
I have the NP5 in front and the Sadowsky J HC in the rear..
In a really, really bad room i might get very little hum through the J but it would have to be the worst of worst conditions... but it was not so much hum as it was hifreq RF from bad lighting... but otherwise the bass is silent..
The P is dead silent though... are you using excessive treble EQ boosting?
My PJ5 has the Universal route under the PG.. Im thinking of trying a set of SC J one day for the fun of it.. I love the PJ for most of what i need to do.. but a JJ would be a nice change .
Will your bass have the Universal route... if so then all you would need to do is change out the PG and swap away at Pups when you wanted.
I have the NP5 in front and the Sadowsky J HC in the rear..
In a really, really bad room i might get very little hum through the J but it would have to be the worst of worst conditions... but it was not so much hum as it was hifreq RF from bad lighting... but otherwise the bass is silent..
The P is dead silent though... are you using excessive treble EQ boosting?
My PJ5 has the Universal route under the PG.. Im thinking of trying a set of SC J one day for the fun of it.. I love the PJ for most of what i need to do.. but a JJ would be a nice change .
Will your bass have the Universal route... if so then all you would need to do is change out the PG and swap away at Pups when you wanted.
Ok, so I weakened and ran past a local music store so I could actually plug this thing in at least to a combo amp. Fender Bassman 150. Not too bad of a combo, IMHO.
Yeah, ash/maple... that's my thing right there. Gotta' have it. Gimme that sound. Those subtle diffs between the alder/rw and ash/maple were just there right away. Notes just bounce right off the board, the B string is deadly, harmonics pop from LOTS of spots easily. The NP5 is KILLER, and the burp from the NJS is, well, killer too.
The one thing that can't be avoided on a PJ5 with a split coil for the J5, however, is hum, unless you solo the P. This is a bit of a struggle for me, because I don't always play "nice" venues... in fact, I probably mostly play places that I would get at least some hum from. This is of course because a split coil design can't fully humbuck with an odd number of strings. It's NOT a flaw in any design, or a sign of poor quality (I mean, hey, it's a Sadowsky, that's a given, right?) This is one of my struggles with a PJ5.
So here's my current struggle... am I a PJ guy after all, and if so, is this the finish I wanna' stick with, and if I get a different finish, do I spend the money on a top? I gotta' really grill this thing against my ash/maple JJ5 and make some hard decisions this weekend, but all I can say is, it definitely passes the tone and playability test, and as I suspected, it looks way better in person than on the web site, otherwise, I wouldn't even be doing this, 'cause I generally gravitate more towards other colors. Mainly, pure white is just not my thing at all, but the trans whites and trans vintage blondes are kinda' nice.
