- Feb 17, 2003
- 1,006
- 281
- Disclosures
- ........................................EX-Sadowsky Guitars Builder..........................................................
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Awesome! What's even cooler is that one's also a bit lighter... it's under 9 pounds!Oh, I thought this was OT and we were talking about stone cutting tools.
Actually, #M2457 will be heading my way next week! Been a long time coming, so I'm fully stoked!
Hmm.. I forgot about the VTC. I have no chance of owning a Sadowsky any time soon, but I could save to upgrade my full electronics to the Sadowsky P pickup, and the preamp. I hate the S-1 in my Fender right now.
HOW COULD I POSSIBLY AVOID MESSING WITH YOU LIKE THAT???? HUH????Yes he is odd!!jk
I met Vic today for the first time at NAMM. So yeah, my first impression, he's out there.
(hopefully the Breedlove guy didn't get too ticked off tho... ) 
HOW COULD I POSSIBLY AVOID MESSING WITH YOU LIKE THAT???? HUH????
I expected nothing less! I was expecting you to be in rare form.
I am so sorry I missed Tom- really wanted to meet him too!
We were so tired and our feet were killing us from all the walking.
The Breedlove guy "Colin" was a good egg!
I just received my first Sadowsky today (ordered it from sadowsky.com)--a Metro MV5, Natural finish
It is simply excellent, however, I have one minor concern--on the top side of the neck where the neck joins the body, I can put a .005 feeler gauge between the neck and body, ie, the neck joint isn't perfectly tight. Is this something to be concerned with?
From a tone quality standpoint, it certainly doesn't appear to be--even tone on all frets and no dead spots. And the action is incredibly low--I asked them for low-ish action, but this is the lowest I have ever experienced on a bass. I have decided I will get used to playing lighter, which should help my hand/wrist problems.
you are #247. welcome to the club.
regarding the .005 ...I wouldn't worry about it; as you said, the bass plays great and with no dead spots.
by the way, I love that combo
I just received my first Sadowsky today (ordered it from sadowsky.com)--a Metro MV5, Natural finish
It is simply excellent, however, I have one minor concern--on the top side of the neck where the neck joins the body, I can put a .005 feeler gauge between the neck and body, ie, the neck joint isn't perfectly tight. Is this something to be concerned with?
Loosen the neck bolts a little bit and pull the neck so it is tight with the wall of the neck pocket and then re-tighten the screws. It probably just shifted a touch in shipping.
Roger
Chef
In Memoriam
A brief review after two nights of giggn' my RV5-PJ:
"And then there was One To Rule Them All."
That bass is me. I'm done.
Thanks Roger!
"And then there was One To Rule Them All."
That bass is me. I'm done.
Thanks Roger!
Wow, thanks Roger! Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't that just shift the (albeit, small) space from the top to the bottom?
If you think about it, the contact between neck and body on the bottom is minimal compared to the contact on the top so the contact surface will increase. (If it realy matters)
That's quite a statement. Especially on TB, the official home of GAS.
Then again, since you now have both a JJ Sadowsky and a PJ Sadowsky, and don't strike me as someone who would go for the Modern, I guess it's possible.
What happened to the A-C you were GAS-ing over?
FWIW, I gigged my NYC PJ on Friday and spent a lot more time soloing the P. Generally I just run it 50/50 and vary my right hand position since I don't care for the P tone much when I'm playing solo, but it sure did sound good in the mix on a number of songs. I'll be doing that even more in the future.
What is it about P basses that they sound so lousy soloed yet work so well in the mix?
Chef
In Memoriam
Bartman: I'm back to having an AC in the toolbag, and I do like that lots. It's a top notch instrument, and really a much different thing than either the RV5-PJ or RV5-JJ...
Friday: RV5-PJ>Walkabout>UL410. This was big, fat and sweet; I love the Walkabout, but I don't use it lots because the M6 has ruined me in terms of the clarity and detail it delivers. The Sadowskys are a nice fit with that because they have a lot of inherent clarity to balance things. Another character the Walkabout has: set the input gain much past 10-11 oclock, and it's just fat and harmonic-laden while your layin' time...but dig in for a big dynamics passage, solo passage, double stops, or biiig low notes and it gets a little gritty and starts compressing. That's either great or not depending on personal pref and context. Again, the M6 has ruined me on that, because it just keeps delivering Great Big Clean Tone. But, I have other heads, so I use them, ya know
Sat I took the F1, on the principle that I either need to use the non-M6 stuff or lose it.
The RV5-PJ is just a mean snarling beast thru that head. It has much more top end extension than the Walkabout, so I ran the VTC back substantively more than with the Walkabout. For much of the night I ran bias "just one side or the other of center," but for stuff where I wanted more fat, or more bark I did solo the P or solo the J. Man, you take that bass, thru that rig, and line up your part with the kick drum, and it's just deadly Those of you who said the RV5-PJ has killer slap tone were very much correct about that!!
I left the factory Blue Steels on for Friday; and swapped to Blue Nickles for Saturday night. Same band, same venue...The Blue Steels seem to have nice low end for steelies, and don't seem as scooped as some steels do...But for me, I really like the warmer, fatter, more mid-even Blues on that bass. They seem truer to it's P based nature for me and my uses; and really don't give up very much top end sheen. The RV5-PJ seems more aggressive than my RV5-JJ...
I realise with only 3 days in, I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but I'm downright smitten with the RV5-PJ.
Friday: RV5-PJ>Walkabout>UL410. This was big, fat and sweet; I love the Walkabout, but I don't use it lots because the M6 has ruined me in terms of the clarity and detail it delivers. The Sadowskys are a nice fit with that because they have a lot of inherent clarity to balance things. Another character the Walkabout has: set the input gain much past 10-11 oclock, and it's just fat and harmonic-laden while your layin' time...but dig in for a big dynamics passage, solo passage, double stops, or biiig low notes and it gets a little gritty and starts compressing. That's either great or not depending on personal pref and context. Again, the M6 has ruined me on that, because it just keeps delivering Great Big Clean Tone. But, I have other heads, so I use them, ya know
Sat I took the F1, on the principle that I either need to use the non-M6 stuff or lose it.
The RV5-PJ is just a mean snarling beast thru that head. It has much more top end extension than the Walkabout, so I ran the VTC back substantively more than with the Walkabout. For much of the night I ran bias "just one side or the other of center," but for stuff where I wanted more fat, or more bark I did solo the P or solo the J. Man, you take that bass, thru that rig, and line up your part with the kick drum, and it's just deadly
Those of you who said the RV5-PJ has killer slap tone were very much correct about that!!I left the factory Blue Steels on for Friday; and swapped to Blue Nickles for Saturday night. Same band, same venue...The Blue Steels seem to have nice low end for steelies, and don't seem as scooped as some steels do...But for me, I really like the warmer, fatter, more mid-even Blues on that bass. They seem truer to it's P based nature for me and my uses; and really don't give up very much top end sheen. The RV5-PJ seems more aggressive than my RV5-JJ...
I realise with only 3 days in, I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but I'm downright smitten with the RV5-PJ.
It really is all that and a bag of chips. I've had similar experiences. I haven't tried any other strings yet, but do use nickels on my Zon fretless. I love the PJ slap tone. It is just a little rounder and fatter than a JJ and it stays in the mix instead of standing out in front so much. I was working a trio thing on Friday and the PJ really fills things in with a lot of definition.
The whole "sounds lousy solo but great in the band" phenomenon has always fascinated me and I still find it hard to predict. Some basses sound lousy solo *and* lousy in the mix. I actually like the P on the PJ slapped, and I certainly don't hesitate dialing full P up on many songs. I am finding that there are a lot of tones on this bass - the pan, VTC and eq interact so that you can get a lot of different sounds to then work with your hands.
The whole "sounds lousy solo but great in the band" phenomenon has always fascinated me and I still find it hard to predict. Some basses sound lousy solo *and* lousy in the mix. I actually like the P on the PJ slapped, and I certainly don't hesitate dialing full P up on many songs. I am finding that there are a lot of tones on this bass - the pan, VTC and eq interact so that you can get a lot of different sounds to then work with your hands.
Just finished boxing up my 1988 NYC Standard 4 "SWR" bass. It is leaving me tomorrow! BUT, I am kind of jealous because it is heading to the SADOWSKY SPA & RESORT in BROOKLYN NY!!
She is going in for a overhaul!
Since this bass is a bit on the bright side, I'm adding the VTC circuit to it as well as the 500K Vol pot. I really like how the VTC warms up my fretless and a Fender I had with a Sadowsky preamp in it. I think adding the VTC to it is just the ticket! Also going for a complete setup. Last time the frets were touch was at least 11 years ago if not more. Really looking forward to hear what she sounds like when I get it back!
I loosened the neck bolts and shifted it--I got it down to .003 on either side with the feeler gauge. When I tried to set the neck flush with the top half, this was as close as I could get. Either way, there wasn't a noticeable impact on tone or note quality.
IMO, Sadowsky basses sound excellent when solo'd, truly like a souped up fender sound to my ears, and sound flat out AMAZING in a mix. YMMV. I"ve owned plenty of boutique basses where the complex woody sound of the bass when played solo just doesn't work at all in a mix.
+1 The F1/F500 match with my Sadowsky JJ with singles and the AE410 cab is about the snarliest, grindiest thing I've experienced. It sounds SO good in a pop/funk type mix/context. I like the F1/F500 with the much prettier, smoother 410UL also... still some nice grind up top, but with a bigger bottom and smoother upper treble.
That head (F1) seems to be MADE for the Sadowsky voicing. It's clean, but it replicates the inherent grind of the singles wonderfully. I totally dig it, and the F1/AE410 is my primary rig with the Sadowsky, and has been for a couple of years now.
Cool that the P/J is floating your boat. I can really see that working for you, knowing your tone goals
Chef
In Memoriam
KJ: all that's true...I'm almost scared to try the Sadowskys thru the M6: but I dang sure will
I did a session yesterday with my Will Lee. I am surprised at how different it sounded than my other Sadowsky 4 strings on tape. Not as aggressive as my older NYC Sadowsky's.
The Will Lee was super round sounding tone wise. I absolutely LOVE the neck. This has turned out to be a really incredible instrument. Great job Roger!
The Will Lee was super round sounding tone wise. I absolutely LOVE the neck. This has turned out to be a really incredible instrument. Great job Roger!
