Good bass to put Sadowsky Electronics in?

[zinnwick]

I'm thinking of upgrading my fretted bass and going more slappish, and I've read that sadowskys are the way to go. So instead of spending thousands of dollars, I was wondering if it was possible to put sadowsky electronics in another bass, like a music man or a fender jazz.
Any ideas anyone?

 

[Dave W]

Anything really. A Sadowsky is essentially a copy of a really good J bass.

I wouldn't put it in a MM though. A lot of their tone comes from the stock preamp

 

[SteveC]

I've had Sadowsky stuff in a MIM jazz and it was awesome.

 

[RobbieK]

I remember seeing sadowsky preamps 15 years ago before they were potted in that black stuff, and if I recall correctly, they are simply a fender tone stack between two fet common source amps. Sort of like an alembic F2B with fets instead of valves, and for onboard of course. (I'm happy to be corrected here.) So that big mid scoop is there in the tone filter. You can only really boost the treble and bass. MM players tend to be big fans of that clicky upper mid thing, so a pre like Roger Sadowsky's is pretty much just the opposite of this and will make your stingray sound very different. Personally I've tried, but simply can't dig the typical MM mid range so I have a preamp with a slightly scooped voicing in my MM and it sounds great, very slappy tone.

 

[Dave W]

The stock MM 2 band preamp or the stock 3 band with the mids dialed down will do scooped mids no problem.

 

[zinnwick]

That's interesting Robbie, but instead of replacing the inner electronics would it sound more like a Sadowsky with an outboard preamp? I love the Marcus Miller tone of the Sadowsky but I dont know if one would feel good (Ive heard they have thick necks which I dislike) and I like the feel of Music Mans.
Someone tell me what to do with my life.

 

[Lonnybass]

I can't speak to the MM setup, but I can tell you a lot guys have put the Sadowsky preamp into their jazz basses and gotten amazing results.

The Sadowsky preamp when matched with a nice set of pickups is a thing of beauty. Two bands of EQ but certainly possible to get mids in there by dialing up the bridge pickup. With the Vintage Tone Control (VTC) added, you have tons of flexibility that translates REALLY well live and in recording applications. With the bass boost knob up about a quarter turn it's sonic heaven. Warm, fat punchy goodness!

Lonnybass

 

[GBassNorth]

I would think the Sadowsky preamp would sound really really nice in a... Sadowsky bass!

 

[zinnwick]

I would think the Sadowsky preamp would sound really really nice in a... Sadowsky bass!

I think my thousands of dollars sounds better in my bank account, GbassNorth