Came across this badboy yesterday. Wish I had the dough! http://bassnw.com/Used Basses/sadowsky_jazz_4_st.htm
Oh no! Not in that color.... No seriously, I wouldn't buy it if I had the money. No rosewood/alder combination for me. I prefer swamp ash/maple. BTW does Roger use rosewood for fretboards? I thought he uses morado instead of rosewood. Bert
He uses both. The standard "rosewood" he uses is Morado. Optional, at extra cost, is Brazilian Rosewood. My PJ5 has the Brazilian Rosewood board. I don't think there's much difference in sound between the two, but the BR is tighter grained and nicer looking (darker), to my eye.
I saw this bass last Thursday. It is KILLER! I didn't touch it as I didn't want to start Jonesing for another 4 string. Chad did have a great time demo-ing the preamp. Pre off it was just like a nice sounding Fender Jazz but kick on that pre and that thing just ROCKED! You should have seen the grin on his face when he kicked the pre in. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's not nearly as yellow as the photo shows. It has some really nice grain for an alder bass. I went there strictly to look at fretless 5 stringers only so the only thing in my price range was a Spector bolt-on 5 in swamp ash.
Morado is a type of rosewood. It is synonymous with pau ferro and Bolivian rosewood. Other rosewoods include Brazilian, Madagascar, East Indian, Palisander, and African. I'm not sure of the difference--if there is any--between the latter two. Roger uses maple, morado, brazilian, and I'm pretty sure he occasionally uses Madagascar rosewood. Here's are two links to pics of my bass which has a highly figured birdeye maple fingerboard and quilted top on ash body: http://hometown.aol.com/intensejim/myhomepage/photo.html http://hometown.aol.com/intensejim/myhomepage/personal.html
It's too bad you didn't play it. As good as it sounds, it feels great--light and balanced--and the neck is wonderfully shaped. And thanks for the enthusiasm Marty!
Hey Jim, your bass is just like mine. Exept I have black hardware and i have plain maple for fretboard. I'm jealous! I see that you have the passive tone control. How does it sound?
It rolls off the tone very nicely to get a warm, mellower or darker 'traditional' sound, very good for fingerstyle playing certain passages whether it be rock, blues, or jazz (especially good for emulating JPJ of Led Zep). It has a smooth even taper and very broad range of treble roll-off. I am glad I have it: the passive control and active on-board Sadowsky preamp make the bass quite versatile. Also, the requisite stacked active bass and treble controls never affect each other: turning one knob never affects the position of the other knob.
Jim, is your name underneath the lacquer in the pickup routs? If so, that would make stealing it and reselling it difficult. I know none of us like to think about losing an axe to theft(it has happened twice to me) but that is a great anti theft device.
Actually, it's the Sadowsky "Jim Sloves" model which Roger is introducing at NAMM this very week. He wanted a high profile endorsement and naturally chose me instead of Marcus Miller (who sold out to Fender), Will Lee, Michael Rhodes, and Jason Newsted. Gee that was a nice fantasty. Roger put my name on it I guess because I ordered a primo AAAAA quilt top. The bass body # is there too but perhaps this made it easier to track during production. I don't know if Roger ever thought of the anti-theft factor but I think you have a great idea there! However, Roger keeps a record of the instruments' serial numbers with the original owner which might be of help in the event of the god-awful situation the instrument was stolen. [Edited by JimS on 01-18-2001 at 07:37 PM]
I know that Roger keeps meticulous records, but that is one more thing that the thief would have to worry about, and it would be harder to sand out than the neck pocket serial number or the neck serial number. Wow, your own signature bass! I wonder when I'll convince somebody that I deserve an endorsment?
