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Peavey Rudy Sarzo bass?
- Thread starter bigfiddle
- Start date
I have always owned and played a Peavey Rudy Sarzo. Bought it in 1991. I love it! But, here are some things I don't like about it:
1- The original bridge easily developed grooves under the stings and I broke stings because of that. I got string saver saddles to fix that and they are great.
2- The pickups are passive, run through an active preamp. I find the preamp sounds ok, but is a bit noisy, and the pickups sound kind of lifeless when played passive.
3- There is a gain control for the preamp which can be accessed with a screwdriver through the control plate on the back of the bass. Unfortunately, the hole does not line up with the gain adjustment knob and instead just shows the circuit board. Duh!
All in all its an awesome bass though. The 24 fret ebony fingerboard is wicked and is even more playable than a jazz bass in my opinion. I think someday I may upgrade the electronics and it would kill.
1- The original bridge easily developed grooves under the stings and I broke stings because of that. I got string saver saddles to fix that and they are great.
2- The pickups are passive, run through an active preamp. I find the preamp sounds ok, but is a bit noisy, and the pickups sound kind of lifeless when played passive.
3- There is a gain control for the preamp which can be accessed with a screwdriver through the control plate on the back of the bass. Unfortunately, the hole does not line up with the gain adjustment knob and instead just shows the circuit board. Duh!
All in all its an awesome bass though. The 24 fret ebony fingerboard is wicked and is even more playable than a jazz bass in my opinion. I think someday I may upgrade the electronics and it would kill.
The quoted lines are confirmed by what I experienced recently. The personal birthday wish of the bass player of the band where I play lead guitar was a redesign of the circuitry of his Peavey Rudy Sarzo Signature bass. He hadn't played it for over twenty years and gave it to me a few weeks ago. We play together since 16 1/2 years, and I never had seen or heard him with that bass before - he never ever told me and our pals that he owns it! He initially wanted me to remove the pickups and the active circuitry and wanted to try out some passive pickups.
I found out that the original Hi-Z pickups suffer crosstalk due to a 25 kOhms blend control when played active and passive. Additionally, they are loaded down severely by the 25 kOhms volume pot when played passive. The resulting lack of distinctiveness was the reason for our bassist to play his Rudy Sarzo Signature bass no more. Moreover, the pickups are four conductor wired but bound to the series humbucker operation by wiring.
So I told him that I could either redesign the circuitry using two 500 kOhms volume pots on the passive side for a pure pickup sound in both operating modes, but bridging the hot and tap traces of the original volume pot would have put out the maximum noise level in the active mode even at lower volumes. Or I could make an entirely passive redesign with serial/parallel, single coil and frequency-tuned coil split options and a 12-step resonance switch. I wouldn't have to drill any holes, and there would be none of the original holes left open.
The latter is what he wanted me to do, and so I did. Our bass player is enthusiastic about the result although the strings are about twenty-two years old. The bass feels and plays great, has a great sustain, and the original pickups offer amazing sound flexibility with the enhanced switching options. The relatively heavy weight of the bass is OK and makes it perfectly balanced in conjunction with the long horn on the bass side with the strap button on it.
The New Sarzo Basses are made in Indonesia and Rudy told me that there is a lot on this Bass that is BETTER than the American models at half the price.
I was the Bass player in one of Rudy's Rock&Roll Fantasy Camp Bands and he and i have remained in contact ever since. He is an amazing guy and i am lucky to call him my friend.
I was the Bass player in one of Rudy's Rock&Roll Fantasy Camp Bands and he and i have remained in contact ever since. He is an amazing guy and i am lucky to call him my friend.
Interesting. A friend of mine (Bryan) played guitar in one of Rudy Sarzo's R&R Fantasy Camp bands. Small world.
Sorry if I'm late! Here's a couple pics of my Rudy Sarzo Bass. The previous owner added Bartolini electronics and I got rid of the barrel jack, due to issues with plugging in. I also added a thumb rest on the left horn. At $550, you get an awesome American made bass!
My, my, my. How I lusted for one of these, in my youth. This is one of those basses I will probably own before I die, along with a Kramer Nightswan Vivian Campbell model guitar (preferably with lightning storm graphics). 
I had the passive RSB version for a short while and should never have let it go. Always been looking for another.
At $550, you get what is, IMO, one of the best basses ever produced by a major manufacturer.
I got one a couple of months ago in really nice shape for $425. It seems a fair amount of people are disappointed with the electronics. I for one think it sounds great. It's all about what you're looking for. With my rig it sounds focused and muscular and I like it both active and passive. I have no problem getting a sound that really works out of it.
I totally agree with smcd - it's an incredible amount of bass for the money and IMO outplays basses that cost several times as much. It feels great to play and the build quality is first rate. It has quickly become a favorite and is easily the best $400 I ever spent. My advice is - if you find one, grab it. You will like it!
I totally agree with smcd - it's an incredible amount of bass for the money and IMO outplays basses that cost several times as much. It feels great to play and the build quality is first rate. It has quickly become a favorite and is easily the best $400 I ever spent. My advice is - if you find one, grab it. You will like it!
I have one as well. It barely gets played but I can't get rid of it because it's such a nice bass.
I am not crazy about the tone with the stock electronics. It's not bad, but it's not great either. One of these days I plan on swapping out the preamp and I might do the pickups as well.
I am not crazy about the tone with the stock electronics. It's not bad, but it's not great either. One of these days I plan on swapping out the preamp and I might do the pickups as well.
Dears
I'll be on US in October and I intend to come back to Brazil with one Cirrus Sarzo signature... Where can I find one? I'll be on Detroit area. Thanks
I'll be on US in October and I intend to come back to Brazil with one Cirrus Sarzo signature... Where can I find one? I'll be on Detroit area. Thanks
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
I know this is an old thread but I was doing a little searching and throught I would chime in. I first came across my '88 Sarzo back in '05. I was visit in my uncle and wasn't aware he used to play bass (I was 14 or 15 at the time and was just starting out). He went to the attic and brought down this beauty....it was love at first sight; then I played it. It was the best bass I have ever played (I still had not played that many basses before but I knew it was amazing). Years went by and I couldnt stop thinking about it, by this point I have been through several different basses and still nothing compared to the Sarzo. So I called him up one day and asked if he would sell it. He said he would and that it was just collecting dust anyway. I was ready to offer him $300-$400 but before I could he told me to give him $175 and its mine. I could not believe it! Basically my dream bass for a fraction of the cost of my other basses at the time.
To this day it is my main bass. Though it is heavy as crap, the tone, action, everything is just unbeatable. If you can find one of the older models (nothing against the Cirrus im sure it's great) hold on to it!
Just thought I would share my story
To this day it is my main bass. Though it is heavy as crap, the tone, action, everything is just unbeatable. If you can find one of the older models (nothing against the Cirrus im sure it's great) hold on to it!
Just thought I would share my story
Attachments
I have one of the old ones. I have found the neck is sensitive to the extreme weather changes in my country. It get very cold and dry in the winter and hot and humid in the summer. I wish it had an allenkey adjustment for the thrussrod. I have to keep the special wrench in the gigbag at all times.
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