Are you talking about the Super P and Super J pickups? I'm talking about just regular J pickups and, on those, I've never seen a S/P switch out of the factory,
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Sadowsky Basses could improve by......
- Thread starter ragetoca
- Start date
I owned a J with a switch on it. A 1996 NYC. It turned the preamp on and off. That was before Sadowsky moved to a push/pull bass knob to activate the preamp.
Sorry, I mean, I have seen Js with the 3 position parallel/single coil/series. I couldn’t tell you all of the series or models, but the one I’m thinking of having seen recently and mine were German - one a Metroline and one a Masterbuilt. Maybe it’s just a thing on the German Sadowskys.
Found a typo, it should read "coil" tap switch, not "cook" tap switch. Although, maybe an NYC Sadowsky should 'cook" me a hot dog while I'm playing.
No hate from me. Just pointing out that the Sadowsky preamp is a big part of the sound. In fact, I remember seeing it advertised as “get that Sadowsky sound”. So if that’s the tone you’re after and you already own a Jazz you like you might be able to save some money by purchasing the pre.
I am not the only builder using this direction for a blend control. I have polled players and dealers many times of the years and most of them agree with my direction. Fender did it first and many others copied, but to my brain that direction is counter intuitive. I also made it easy to change the direction with solderless terminals on the blend control.
Sadowsky Treble and Bass controls do not have a center detent as they are boost only.Glad it makes sense for you (and Roger!).
For many of us, it is backwards. For me I don't think of it as audience or player perspective. It has to do with 1. the rest of my basses with blend knobs, and 2. thinking of the knob with the perspective from the edge of the knob that closest to me in the playing position.
While it's less relevant to function, I also like the indicators of active tone knobs to be facing me in the playing position when the knob is in the center detent. I am sure that this also the subject of debate as it seems that all minutia with respect to basses becomes debatable here.
I recently acquired a used MetroLine M/J that was in need of some TLC. Loose hardware, gritty tuners, intonation, etc. While giving it the love it needed I also changed the blend pot to the proper setup. This is by no means meant to be disrespectful to Mr Sadowsky! They are fantastic instruments and I now have 3 after this latest addition. All 3 now have the blend pot rewired. The design of the pot seems like they were expecting it to be reworked after purchase!
To me the factory wiring on the blend pot seems completely unintuitive. When its slung over my shoulder and I'm looking...
NECK DIVE
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have had to have this conversation.
All Fender style basses (and many others) have neck dive when seated. It does not matter if the bass weighs 7 pounds or 12 pounds.
When standing, neck dive is a function of the strap you use. If the back of your strap has a slick material (vinyl, shiny leather, etc), you will experience neck dive.
If your strap has a backing that provides more resistance (cotton, suede or anything with a rougher texture, your bass should remain in place, even if you let both hands off of the bass.
All Sadowsky straps are designed to eliminate neck dive. We include a 3” cotton strap with all of our basses.
Neck dive…..end of conversation
This bass weighs 7.44 pounds
This bass weighs 8.44 pounds.
A function of the strap you use? Plain and simple? If that was the case those dollars would add up a lot less.
Come on, the strap is a variable in the neck dive equation. An important one, sure. But all else equal (different straps, etc.), I thought my Sadowsky felt very heavy. Great bass! You’re a master of your craft. And have made countless other basses I’ll never try that could have been free from the issue. But the fact remains, I have found Sadowskys to feel heavier than they are. Sadowsky straps or not.
All basses have tradeoffs. That’s one I encountered. Simplifying neck dive down the strap only? Come on.
And if you’ll notice, I actually didn’t use that term at all. Rather, I would articulate what I experienced as significant pressure in a smaller contact point (footprint) than other basses, which made it feel heavier on the strap than other similar styles bases that weighed more. I actually don’t recall if the bass had what I’d consider “neck dive” or not.
Come on, the strap is a variable in the neck dive equation. An important one, sure. But all else equal (different straps, etc.), I thought my Sadowsky felt very heavy. Great bass! You’re a master of your craft. And have made countless other basses I’ll never try that could have been free from the issue. But the fact remains, I have found Sadowskys to feel heavier than they are. Sadowsky straps or not.
All basses have tradeoffs. That’s one I encountered. Simplifying neck dive down the strap only? Come on.
And if you’ll notice, I actually didn’t use that term at all. Rather, I would articulate what I experienced as significant pressure in a smaller contact point (footprint) than other basses, which made it feel heavier on the strap than other similar styles bases that weighed more. I actually don’t recall if the bass had what I’d consider “neck dive” or not.
