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sadowsky pre-amp

Soma666

Soma666

Aug 27, 2006
694
70
www.myspace.com
#1
hi, i dont know if this is the right place for this, so feel free to yell and abuse me if it isnt.

however, i was wondering about the sadowsky outboard pre-amp that Timmie C. apparently uses. can u get one that is onboard under the control plate? and how do they compare with say the radial tonebone bassbone, which is the pre-amp/DI i am using at the moment?

i read some stuff about the audere pre-amps that are onboard models, which i think is a really cool idea coz it gets mounted under the controll plate of ur jazz bass, but that essentially turns ur passive jazz into an active one, yeah? coz that is basically the fundemental difference between passive and active basses. active has a pre amp that requires a battery to run it where passive does not.

anyway, help me udnerstand this all please...
thanks guys
 
#4
We're talking about 2 completely different animals here.....they're both bass preamps, but that's about the end of the similarities.

The Sadowsky is a 2 band boost only preamp with a volume control. It's ideal for passive basses, more control and flexibility than stock without damaging your instrument with excessive mods. A fantastic way to enhance the sound of your vintage instrument.

The Bassbone leans the direction of an effects unit along with a preamp, with more extensive EQ (boost/cut), channel switching, effects loop, and XLR out. A nice enough unit, but drastically different than the Sadowsky.

I beleive the key to effectively answering your questions is........what are you looking to accomplish? Both units can obviously help you to mold your sound, but what sound are you seeking, and what degree of control and flexibility do you require.

Bassbone owners, chime in here to help out. I own the Sadowsky, both onboard and outboard, but do not own the Bassbone. I have, however, experimented with one a bit. Actually, it's something I've considered to make switching instruments on stage a little easier.
 
#5
I love my bassbone, but I don't see it as a tone shaping device primarily. I run my active bass into Channel one(which has no eq) and either my fretless or my passive p-bass into channel two which I can then adjust the eq if needed. I have just bought a Sadowsky metro, and find that the preamp is awesome, much better than the tone controls on the Bassbone. The floor unit is exactly the same frequency and boost levels as the onboard Sad pre so I think you couldn't lose there. I have actually debated this question myself a great deal. I think the DI on the Bassbone is awesome, and it has saved my butt on many a gig when amp troubles arose. To get the Sadowsky sound, I just caved in and bought a Sadowsky (24 fret metro, should get it next week) If you only use 1 bass at a gig, you don't really need the bassbone, which is designed to allow you to switch from bass to bass seamlessly. If you only use one bass and are unhappy with the tone of the bassbone, then I would buy the Sadowsky. I have yet to read a bad review of it... Also, Aguilar makes a killer outboard pre/di.
 
#6
mimaz, thanks for that. i understand now what ur saying. i am looking for a sound, which i cant truely explain. as cheesy as it may sound, its the sound in my head. and i am prepared to experiment with anything to make that sound come out. i like it nice and growly, but withou losing bottom end. the cool thing for me with the bassbone is the effedts loop, which i am running an EH Big Muff PI thru and it makes it sound a lot more bassy than a normal fuzz. i was just wondering about the mods having to be done to my bass if i was to stick an onboard pre amp in it like the sadowsky, which i have heard a lot of good thigs about. and also how that would compare sound wise to my current setup. all praises to the bassbone tho, its a really good box

thanks again mate
 
#7
Great, I think we're making progress here! Looking at the basses in your sig, assuming you would install the Sadowsky onboard in one of the Jazz basses, you may well have the best of both worlds. It certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. My guess is you would be more satisfied than you currently are with the Sadowsky modded bass, and you could still have the switching and looping capabilities of the Bassbone.
 
#8
engedi1, i use 2 basses at gigs, but htey are virtually the same bass. two jazz basses, one with dimarzio in, but tuned to standard E and my '75 re-issue tuned to drop D. thats what makes the bassbone work great for me, and of course, its DI is pretty awesome. i am definately gonna check out the aguilar pre-amp coz like i said, i am always looking to get closer and closer to the sound i hear in my head. i dont think i will ever be totally satisfied with what i've got, but i think that that is the beauty of what we do. always trying to get one step close to perfection
 
#9
mimaz, wouldnt it be weird, or stupid to have two pre-amps running? if i was to install the sadowsky in say my MIM with dimarzios, its still running thru the tonebones pre amp as well. would that give a lot more tone shaping capabilties, or would the two pre amps compete with each other? lol, answer one question and another arises. im so damn pedantic
 
#10
If I understand the Bassbone correctly, perhaps the Sadowsky modded bass would work best in the channel without EQ, and another bass would be in the Bassbone's EQ channel.

I don't think that it would cause any problems using both, but one thing to keep in mind about the Sadowsky: It's "boost only", and I do mean a lot of boost. I can't imagine a situation where you would ever turn up the bass or treble boost all the way on this pre, and certainly not if you were using it in conjunction with the EQ on the 'Bone.
 
#12
Soma666 said:
awesome, im getting all excited now. ok, if i get this, would there be any kinda structural mods be done to the body of my bass, to make it all fit, including a battery? coz if thats the case, i dont think its a good idea
Click to expand...

That's a big part of the attraction of the onboard Sadowsky.......you don't need to make any structural mods to the bass in most cases. The knobs (pots) will end up in the existing holes, and you can carefully sneak the battery in the existing control cavity in most cases.

If you are doing your own install, a few pieces of advise:

  • Understand what is required before you begin.
  • Take notes or take pics of the "before" setup. Second thought, take notes and pics!
  • Work carefully and methodically, getting in a rush will usually backfire in the end.
  • If you aren't familiar or comfortable with this sort of work, take you instrument to someone who is. It's actually an easy install that shouldn't cost much to have done professionally.
 
#15
I've never played either of the pres you're talking about, but I'm really interested in the John East stuff. It has sweepable mids & I played an Ibanez a while back with sweepable mids (resisted GAS).

The J-Retro drops right in a stock Jazz bass and has sweepable mids. The low & high are going to be voiced differently from the Sadowsky, but to my mind, nothing says versatility like sweepable mids.
 
#16
MarkTAW said:
I've never played either of the pres you're talking about, but I'm really interested in the John East stuff. It has sweepable mids & I played an Ibanez a while back with sweepable mids (resisted GAS).

The J-Retro drops right in a stock Jazz bass and has sweepable mids. The low & high are going to be voiced differently from the Sadowsky, but to my mind, nothing says versatility like sweepable mids.
Click to expand...

I used to have a J-Retro in my Lakland.
I also used to use a Radial BassBone.

Both units are rather different from the Sadowsky preamp.
They offer radical tone shaping abilities.

The J-Retro has a light mid cut in "flat mode".

Now I have a Sadowsky DI/Preamp on my board. It allows massive boost on both lows and highs. But I never had any need of boosting any frequency more than 20-25%. So a liitle boost goes a long way.

I guess I just like the center frequencies of the Sadowsky better.
 
#18
Soma666, I think you should consider getting the floor pedal unit. It's the same preamp as what you'd be installing into your bass, but with the floor unit, you'll be able to use it with all your basses, rather than just one. I've got the floor unit, plus I've got a couple of Sadowsky basses which have the onboard preamp, and to my ears, there's no difference between the onboard unit and the floor unit (which makes sense, as they're the same thing!).
 
#19
but the thing is i like the bassbone and the fact that i can run my Big Muff PI thru its effects loop and get an awesome sound out of it. and it has a really good DI. thats why i was thinking about hte onboard version of it. and then still run thru the bassbones unaffected channel, but using the sadowsky pre amp. the bass bone is cool coz i can run both my basses on stage seamlessly. and i already have a pretty intense pedal board set up. i kinda wanna limit more things on the floor
 

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