PJ5 Sadowskys

Love my PJ5.

 

That blue maple top with white blocks and binding pj5 is !!

 

If that's #8732, there's no binding. Still a beauty though!

 

A 4-banger Satin PJ is high on my very-much-a-wish list.

 

I always wanted another Sadowsky, but, had fallen in love with P basses. I was a little nervous when I eventually ordered a Custom PJ, because when you think Sadowsky, you think Jazz Bass; or at least I did. I thought maybe the preamp wasn’t ideal for a P(J)...
All my worries were gone after playing two notes.

 

I wish they made an all passive version..

 

I believe it...his preamp revolutionized things for certain...it’s a major reason why people want a Sadowsky...I just may check one out someday anyway...

 

After months of searching I finally scored a used PJ5 a few weeks ago.

It’s my first Sadowsky and now I understand what the talk is all about. This is the best bass I’ve ever had. The acoustic sound is incredible, the construction is on another level of craftmanship and the preamp is the most musical I’ve found in an active bass.

What impress me the most is how even it sounds from one string to the other. I love this bass and my DJ5 is for sale.

 

Extremely happy with my P5 (pj) NYC build from a couple of years ago... Alder body, BR fb, Abalone face dots, it sounds more open and sweeter as it ages!

I also have a JJ NYC, and love the Sadowsky preamp. But truth be told, I actually play my P5 in passive mode 90% of the time. Nice to have the active/passive option though...

 

Doc, I believe this is the one you played. I feel very fortunate to have acquired this gem. It is a black pearl metallic NYC P5/SoapBar with a weight reduced swamp alder body and Brazilian rosewood board. I am a PJ5 fan and this one is something special. I get the Sadowsky NYC thing now. The set up and intonation are excellent and the B-string walk-down notes from low E to low B are solid and even. Mounting the bridge pickup closer to the P renders the tone less twangy and nasal. Using a soapbar instead of a J provides a little less treble but a lot more meat to the tone. I never solo a bridge J pickup and have always biased the blend toward the P, but this bridge pickup sounds good soloed. It makes the tone focused and articulate but thick where the notes have good weight to them. There are no dead spots on the high strings or wolf tones on the B-string on the upper frets. There is also less finger noise and hum than any bass I've owned. Shielding and grounding are done right. The passive tone sounds very good but engaging the preamp with tone open and nothing added provides some buffering and clarity which bumps it up a notch. There are a lot of variables that affect the tone of an instrument but Brazilian rosewood is my favorite fingerboard wood. This bass has mojo! The black pearl metallic has a very fine grain which makes it subtle and almost satin. It looks better up close and makes the bass almost disappear in a photo. This should be useful when I serve in our praise band because they always want the instruments off to the side and invisible when the service is videotaped. I hope to record some sound clips but for now, here is the spec sheet and some photos.

 

I’m definitely a believer in the Sadowsky PJ magic.

 

Very nice!
I would love to hear the soaps in the PJ

If you ever want to move this one....

 

IMO PJ Precision basses look and sound OK. PJ Jazz basses, on the other hand just look wrong.

 

I've had three Sadowsky PJ5's, trying to find one to bond with. While they were all great at what they are, they are pretty far from traditional P tone to my ear.
Very big, very active sounding, as with all Sadowsky basses passive mode "works, but is sort of a limp home mode" and doesn't really sound like a regular passive bass. To me, anyway, ymmv.
A Sadowsky PJ has surprisingly killer slap tone, and it's own great thing, but if you're looking for a "motown P bass with a bridge pickup," this ain't that.

I've owned a couple other high end PJ5's, looking for that "motown plus bridge" thing, and I'll add these two points:
1) an active P is never gonna be that, IMO. Just the buffering of a preamp alone changes things.
The one I had with a Nordstrand preamp came closest, but still wasn't enough like what I wanted.
2) call me crazy if you want, but I think the J shaped body resonates differently than a P shaped body. in a way I don't like, if what you want is a "genuine P tone." the PJ5 that finally got me to keep one was a Valenti PJ5, with a P body and a Nordstrand PJ set (which is also what sadowsky uses, but they do not sound the same, at all, with a preamp attached to them). Agasin, call me crazy for thinking that if you want, but, I've had a bunch of PJ5's and that's my experience.

The Sadowsky PJ5 is a great thing, but, it's not a very "traditional" P tone, IMO.