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Club Sadowsky!!!

#13,521
CliffD said:
Don't get me wrong, I'm Sad lover, owned an NYC and loved it. But does anyone else think this bass is verging on being too light? How powerful can that low B be at 7.55lbs I wonder? I feel like were gonna start to see balsa wood Sadowskys soon, they're pushing down the weight so much. Just my thoughts, no disrespect meant.
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The Low B is not as much about weight as it is construction and material selection... not so much about density as rigidity, resonance and tonal coherence/consistency, IMHO. I personally own more than one example of this (very light basses with amazing B's) myself, tho not in a Sadowsky... my lightest Sadowsky is still over 8 pounds, though I owned the Modern (actually an NYC 24-Fret 5) Ken is referring to for a good amount of time and yeah, it's B string was truly worthy in ever sense of the word.
 
#13,524
Timlr said:
Your AC's have to be quite a bit heavier than that too, right? Alleva's always strike me as really physically gerthy, but it's probably just from what I've heard about them rather than their sound being more heavy on the low end or something like that. And Sadowsky B's in the NYC's I've heard just absolutely kill so it makes sense to me.
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My A-C's are both very lightweight... between 8 and 9 pounds. My A-C LG is actually lighter than my NYC ash/maple Sadowsky.
 
#13,525
Sadowsky said:
I don't mean to sound defensive here, but I do not understand how a Sadowsky J, with single coils and in passive mode, could not sound "Fendery" or "Vintagy".

Roger
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Well, given about a zillion posts in dozens of threads by hundreds of TBers on this issue, I guess I would suggest doing a search:p

Seriously, I find your bases have their own vibe even when played uplugged, much less passively. I don't think that is a bad thing at all. I assume that has to do with your bridge, your body and headstock design, your wood specs, your custom pickup winds, and a hundred other things that make a Lull sound different from a Sadowsky and a Sadowsky sound different from an Alleva-Coppolo and an Alleva-Coppolo sounding different than an LEJ and an LEJ sounding different from a Fender, etc., etc., even though they all might have single coil pickups in various configurations.
 
#13,526
KJung said:
My A-C's are both very lightweight... between 8 and 9 pounds. My A-C LG is actually lighter than my NYC ash/maple Sadowsky.
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I thought you posted a while back your LM was like 9.5, which would make a lot more sense to me given pretty much everything Jimmy has ever said about ash he likes.
 
#13,530
KJung said:
Hey, if people think these basses sound just like a vintage Fender, who am I to argue:hiding::cool: All I know is I dig mine and it sounds like a Sadowsky to me!
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I think this part of your comment is where the debate lies. Exactly what "Fendery" means. Clearly, you read that (or actually wrote it) to mean "just like" or maybe even "identical". I would submit most folks wouldn't read it that strongly.

Heck, even within the various generations of Fender J's themselves, there's a pretty broad tonal range represented.

IMHO anyway.
 
#13,532
About passive, sounding vintage or not... I did a quick recording a while back that may help with that:


Anyway, there is SO MUCH variation on "vintage fenders" I can't exactly point what would be a vintage sound...

I think basses sound good or not. :) I like how mine sounds. :)
 
#13,535
Sadowsky said:
I don't mean to sound defensive here, but I do not understand how a Sadowsky J, with single coils and in passive mode, could not sound "Fendery" or "Vintagy".

Roger
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I will say this, I have compared my WL4 in passive mode to my '73 Jazz, and IMHO, they sound extremely similar. That being said, adding in the (standard) preamp does change the tone a bit, especially with any degree of EQ.

Tom.
 
#13,538
I am but a humble GB player, but one who has played all sorts of Fenders for many years. On any given night we play everything from Glen Miller and Benny Goodman arrangements to Van Morrison and Jimmy Buffet, with a smattering of Billy Joel, the Temtations, Bobby Darin, not to mention the Latin stuff, you get the picture...and although I have only done a about a dozen jobs with my new Sadowsky, I have had no trouble finding the right tone with the wonderous VTC. I have yet to try it in passive mode, it just hasn't occurred to me while playing. I may be somewhat simple mnided about this stuff, as I was pretty much happy with P basses until I got this Sadowsky. But to me, there is nothing left to be desired tone-wise. I have never been able to say that about one instrument before.
 
#13,539
joinercape said:
I am but a humble GB player, but one who has played all sorts of Fenders for many years. On any given night we play everything from Glen Miller and Benny Goodman arrangements to Van Morrison and Jimmy Buffet, with a smattering of Billy Joel, the Temtations, Bobby Darin, not to mention the Latin stuff, you get the picture...and although I have only done a about a dozen jobs with my new Sadowsky, I have had no trouble finding the right tone with the wonderous VTC. I have yet to try it in passive mode, it just hasn't occurred to me while playing. I may be somewhat simple mnided about this stuff, as I was pretty much happy with P basses until I got this Sadowsky. But to me, there is nothing left to be desired tone-wise. I have never been able to say that about one instrument before.
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+1 all the way. I love my Sadowsky, and it sounds so great in active mode that I never really consider using it in passive mode (although I have on occasion for a different flavor). I have a variety of J Basses, and each does its own thing... some a bit more modern and bright and grindy, some a bit more 'passive sounding' and old school and warm and creamy.

All of this is relative. I can't tell you how many players have come up to me and said, 'man, that MTD you have does a GREAT Marcus Miller tone:D. At fist I thought they were tin ears, but then I realized that they were really just saying it had a 'good slap tone'. I get that! In that spirit, I think my Sadowsky is one of the 'best sounding Fenders ever':p:hiding:
 

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