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Club Sadowsky!!!

#19,961
Fuzzbass said:
Well... not to open up this can of worms again :ninja: but what the heck. It's common to hear ash and/or maple described as bright while alder and/or rosewood are warm, but my experience with ash/maple versus alder/Braz is the same as yours. Of course it depends on one's definition of "bright": is it actual "tweeterland" treble, or high mids?

And to make life more complicated there's that whole "natural tonal variation even within the same wood species" thing: anomalies, unpredictability, what have you. I'm sure Ken Jung and I are not the only ones who have owned "identical twins" that had surprisingly different tones.
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Well it just goes to say that you can be surprise even if you custom order an instrument. It may not sound like you expected it to even if you've been thinking about what wood combo you want for the tone you want. But in most case it does, especially with Sadowskys.
 
#19,962
Fuzzbass said:
Well... not to open up this can of worms again :ninja: but what the heck. It's common to hear ash and/or maple described as bright while alder and/or rosewood are warm, but my experience with ash/maple versus alder/Braz is the same as yours. Of course it depends on one's definition of "bright": is it actual "tweeterland" treble, or high mids?
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I think it's generally in terms of how they sound in a mix.

In a mix, a lot of the high end of the rosewood boards, being voiced higher, and not as strong in the lower treble region, will tend to sound warmer and sizzlier, whereas that seemingly harsher treble tone of the maple board will generally carry you through a mix with a crisper identity.

Put another way, with a rosewood board, in a mix, I really only hear the high end a lot when slapping or sliding against the frets (a GREAT sound, BTW), whereas with maple, I can pretty much hear the roundwound ring stronger all the time.

At least it has for me.
 
#19,963
Fuzzbass said:
.....The Brazilian board has reddish hues which didn't come through under fluorescent light:


IMG_20101027_150749.jpg
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Is this getting close to the true colour Ken? If not, I'll delete.
B.
IMG_20101027_150749.gif
 
#19,966
Vic said:
I think it's generally in terms of how they sound in a mix.

In a mix, a lot of the high end of the rosewood boards, being voiced higher, and not as strong in the lower treble region, will tend to sound warmer and sizzlier, whereas that seemingly harsher treble tone of the maple board will generally carry you through a mix with a crisper identity.

Put another way, with a rosewood board, in a mix, I really only hear the high end a lot when slapping or sliding against the frets (a GREAT sound, BTW), whereas with maple, I can pretty much hear the roundwound ring stronger all the time.

At least it has for me.
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This is my experience also. My NYC Ash/maple is stronger thru the whole midrange spectrum, I was expecting it to be stronger in the High mid/lower treble range and it is. But what shocked me is that it is stronger in the low mid range than my Ash/Morado UV70. I enjoy having the high mids and some low mid push @ the same time. Its great. It really isnt an exact comparison because the PUPS (SCs in both) in the NYC is in the 60's position and the UV70 is in the 70's position of course. I cant tell if its the chambered body or the PUP position but the NYC Has more low mids.
 
#19,968
My Sadowsky M5-24 has a thinner, not as round neck compared to my friend's Sadowsky MV-5. Anyone agreed on this or is it just me?

Maple vs Rosewood issue. My friend (The MV-5 owner) also has a RV-5, I can't realy tell the difference except that the maple boards has more 'clicking' sound when played alone, but with a band I felt that that 'click' sound helps gets the Bass to stay more 'in front' without being obstructive to the whole band sound.

A band I played with comment on that, they said that my bass sounded 'horrible' and all mid-range when played alone through my amp (I boost the Bass and treble 1/4 way), my rig is a MarkBass LM III and a 12 inch or 2x10 MarkBass Cabs that has strong mid range. Sounded pretty much like that too through full-range monitor speakers. But when the rest of the instrument is in the mix, it's the most solid thing they have heard.

One thing for sure, I never got lost in the mix, but still has a supportive sound. Best Bass I ever own? For playing live gigs, YES!!!
 
#19,969
antontanzil said:
My Sadowsky M5-24 has a thinner, not as round neck compared to my friend's Sadowsky MV-5. Anyone agreed on this or is it just me? . . .
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I would say that the neck on my NYC modern is "flatter", or as you say "not as round" as my RV-5 PJ. The metro just feels a bit chunkier. I like both, but the neck on the NYC is just a dream to play.
 
#19,971
Chasarms said:
I do love the Sadowsky moderns. I get the love for traditional stuff, but there is a serious "thing" going with the moderns, IMO, of course.

My NYC M24-5 thrills me every time I pick it up.
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I used to work for a Sadowsky Dealer 4 years ago. But we only have Metros. I never tried the Modern-5 at that time though, don't really remember why...

3 years after, I lived in NYC, and I visited the Sadowsky shop in Jay St. I met Roger and Kevin who showed me their entire lineup and I tired them all, mostly NYCs, and that's when I played the Modern 5-24 for the first time.

At that moment, I owned and totally in love with my MTD 535, and when I tried the M5, it was like I found the 'best of both worlds' of a 'Traditional' (Jazz Bass) and a Modern (my MTD for ex) Bass put together.

I remembered telling Kevin that the Modern 5 totally got me, but the price is out of my range at that time. So he told me to get the Metro M5, he guaranteed it will be the same feel, same sounding bass, only less fancy.

I eventually let go of my MTD 535 because I cannot get it to 'blend well' with most of the bands I played with. I'm not a music student that only played in school anymore. So I let it go.

When I saw this M5 on thelowend website, I immediately bought it with faith on what Kevin told me. And he was right... Down to the last note, this bass feels and sound exactly like the NYC M5 I played at Jay St.

So, one satisfied customer I am...
 
#19,977
Happened my friend wanna change all black hardware from his NYC bass into gold, so I took the advantage and install them on my MV5 plus order one Matte Black pg / black control plate to go with it..... Here you go my Stealth Sadowsky....

IMG_0465.jpg
 
#19,979
KJung said:
I too noticed the sleeky, thinner neck on my NYC Modern versus the other Sadowsky models. It is subtle, but it is there. VERY nice neck profile IMO.
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I wonder if this is the nature of 24 fret 5 string neck? I am in the middle contemplation stages of actually ordering "my" NYC.

If that feel is exclusive to the 24, I can see me ordering another modern with more of a vintage tone circuit.

My thoughts right now is a modern alder w/ quilt, vintage tinted clear, RW FB and big singles in the 60s position. Modern look. Vintage tone.
 
#19,980
Chasarms said:
I wonder if this is the nature of 24 fret 5 string neck? I am in the middle contemplation stages of actually ordering "my" NYC.

If that feel is exclusive to the 24, I can see me ordering another modern with more of a vintage tone circuit.
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I think it may be. I also remember that about the NYC 24-Fret 5 I got from Ken.

In fact, if I ever decide to replace my vintage 24 with an NYC, it's gonna' have that neck profile, and the smaller nut spacing.

That said, I don't have any problem whatsoever with his stock vintage neck. That also feels great to me, but a slightly thinner profile would even feel better, I think.
 

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