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Sadowsky Testimonial

#21
Also I really want to make it clear that I at the time I did the interview I was not endorsed by Sadowsky. The comments I made in the BP interview are the truth. I have quite a pretty good collection of working basses. The SADOW always works for pretty much every situation.
P.s. Good news! After the article came Roger called me himself to thank me for the great comments I made about his instruments in the article. It made him so proud that he showed it to his 11 year old son. After which he offered me an artist endorsement! I have a '71 jazz that I dont like to bring out because its vintage so a 4 string sadowsky is definately next on the list. L.J. :hyper:
 
#22
Hey, it's nice that you personally replied to this thread! I posted about your statements because I thought it was pretty strong stuff. I mean lots of basses sound good, but how many people can say that the sound of one instrument basically placed them in another income bracket! Continued good luck on your career and congratulations on your endorsement.
 
#23
One thing I have noticed about Sadowsky is how many working musicians swear by it. The fact people who pay their bills playing love Sadowskys is powerful evidence that these most be some good sounding and good recording basses. Even though I am just a hobbyist, I am getting more and more tempted to lay down some cash for a Metro.
 
#24
marqj said:
Also I really want to make it clear that I at the time I did the interview I was not endorsed by Sadowsky. The comments I made in the BP interview are the truth. I have quite a pretty good collection of working basses. The SADOW always works for pretty much every situation.
P.s. Good news! After the article came Roger called me himself to thank me for the great comments I made about his instruments in the article. It made him so proud that he showed it to his 11 year old son. After which he offered me an artist endorsement! I have a '71 jazz that I dont like to bring out because its vintage so a 4 string sadowsky I definately next on the list. L.J. :hyper:
Click to expand...

Congrats on the endorsement and continued success! I really dig your work, and am challenging myself to improve my hip-hop bass skills. I'd love to be part of a hip-hop act, but I've found it hard to find like-minded musicians here.

You know, as a TB member, you are obligated to post pics of your new Sadowsky when you get it. :D
 
#25
marqj said:
Also I really want to make it clear that I at the time I did the interview I was not endorsed by Sadowsky. The comments I made in the BP interview are the truth. I have quite a pretty good collection of working basses. The SADOW always works for pretty much every situation.
P.s. Good news! After the article came Roger called me himself to thank me for the great comments I made about his instruments in the article. It made him so proud that he showed it to his 11 year old son. After which he offered me an artist endorsement! I have a '71 jazz that I dont like to bring out because its vintage so a 4 string sadowsky I definately next on the list. L.J. :hyper:
Click to expand...


Welcome to Talk Bass :) , Roger is the man. Post some pics of your Sadowsky's when you have a chance. :bassist:
 
#26
Dr. Cheese said:
"Without a doubt, the first bass I grab is the Sadowsky. That bass bought my house, my vehicles, and has paid for itself many times over!"


I don't own or have ever played a Sadowsky, I was just struck by such strong testimony.
Click to expand...


Obviously a great endorsement.

I could say the same about my SR5, to a degree... ;)
 
#28
Personally, the best basses I have ever owned were a Rickenbacker 4000, a Guild Pilot 5, a Ken Smith bolt-on 6, my several Stingray 5s, and my Peavey USA Millennium 5. That is out of my 35 or 40 basses over thirty years. I know for a fact that the world is full of great basses, some cheap and some expensive, and alot in between. I have simply noted that Sadowsky has attracted alot of followers among working musicians, especially studio players who are definitely into results, not looks. Some of my favorite players like Anthony Jackson and Tony Levin use basses very diffferent from Sadowsky, but that doesn't mean that Sadowskys aren't great basses.

I may never get one for myself, even though I'm tempted to do so because I don't play for a living, and it is not mandatory that I have an updated Fender sound. I just find myself fascinated by Sadowsky lovers and the brands' obvious record of success.
 
#29
I really dont want to get into why one bass is better than the other. What I wanted was a bass that had quality craftmanship, attention to detail, gr8 customer service and "out of the box" kick ass sound without the need for any outboard help. Thats what my sadowsky gives. Listen, I got my bass off Ebay and Roger STILL stands behind it. Cant say that for many other manfacturers. God bless :cool:
 
#30
MJ5150 said:
I don't "get it". I have never seen or heard a Sadowsky in person.

I like how my MIA Jazz sounds. Perhaps someone who lives around me would be so kind as to let me try their Sadowsky out.

-Mike
Click to expand...

Ever watch AM. Idol?
Or David Letterman?
Then you heard it!
 
#32
marqj said:
I really dont want to get into why one bass is better than the other. What I wanted was a bass that had quality craftmanship, attention to detail, gr8 customer service and "out of the box" kick ass sound without the need for any outboard help. Thats what my sadowsky gives. Listen, I got my bass off Ebay and Roger STILL stands behind it. Cant say that for many other manfacturers. God bless :cool:
Click to expand...

There's only one other manufacturer I've dealt with that will match the "off Ebay and still stand behind" comment ... Alembic. I know this because I've bought Alembics off of Ebay and from dealers (second hand), and Alembic stands behind all of their instruments. Sounds like Roger does the same thing ... hmm, maybe it's time to pick up a Sadowsky ...

Alan
 
#33
abngourmet said:
There's only one other manufacturer I've dealt with that will match the "off Ebay and still stand behind" comment ...
Click to expand...

BBE stood behind an out of production preamp I bought in a pawn shop. I realize my $85 preamp is not a $3000 bass, but still.....

-Mike
 
#34
to quote smash "and for that reason most engineers want little or nothing to do with an active bass IME


When it comes to recording the quickest/simplest way to get a tone is the best way, and in that light seldom does a rare and active bass come to mind.

Reliability? I'd have more faith in a tried-and-true $400 20-year-old P bass than something depending on batteries and fancy wiring. That's just common-sense, IMO."

The option that many people do not know about sadowsky is the "PASSIVE CONTROL OPTION". Which allows the player to have the passive sound but STILL KEEP the boost of the preamp. Most active basses that have passive control totally bypass the boost of the pre so you loose major volume. Also, you STILL have the bypass switch which totally cuts off the pre if thats what you're lookin for. Im done with this thread. God bless¡
 
#36
to quote smash "and for that reason most engineers want little or nothing to do with an active bass IME
When it comes to recording the quickest/simplest way to get a tone is the best way, and in that light seldom does a rare and active bass come to mind.

I have had just the opposite experience...I have been an engineer for almost 25 years now and I have worked with and around some of the greatest engineers who ever lived (Al Schmitt, Bruce Swedien, Allan Sides, Ed Cherney, Elliot Scheiner, Cesar Sogbe, Tom Lord-Alge, and Tom Dowd to name ONLY a few) and quite frankly I have seen FAR more active basses than passive....I have my preferences of what I'd like to see but a good engineer learns very early that you have to make chicken salad from chicken Sh**. You use what the PLAYER is comfortable with and what the PRODUCER tells you to use!! If I had a choice, MOST of my recording work would be done WITH a player using a Sadowsky bass...LONG before I actually bought one for my own use I used to heave a sign of relief when one came through the door because I knew that the bass would sound good and sit in the track very well....

I don't know where you work but if you have ever been in a major studio center (LA, NYC, Atlanta, Miami and Nashville come to mind specifically) you would know that most of the 1st call players own them and are using them....there must be a reason that these professionals who can afford anything at all and have the EXPERIENCE of having played many instruments over a LOT of years choose Sadowsky (usually owning more than one including yours truly)....I personally did not buy mine (I put a deposit on my second one last Friday) because someone twisted my arm or paid me to....I bought mine BECAUSE of the way it SOUNDS! Active, passive, it does not matter to a good engineer...but what does matter is how does it sound and how does it track......All this is in my 25 years of experience as a studio bass player and engineer of course....

By the way - For some reason my smilies have been gone since I did my renewal or I would have included several throughout this post.....I mean all this in a good spirited way and want only to show my own expierence.....

Peace,

T
 
#37
As an amateur, I have to say again that I really enjoy the level of dialogue and participation in this thread. I will say that in very limited experience, the bass can make a difference. Twenty years ago I played a Rickenbacker and the engineer hated the way it sounded when my band was recording its demo. he tried to get me to use his P-bass which was set way too high for someone who was slapping as much as I was in the mid 1980s. The solution was to run my bass through a phase shifter with the oscillations all but turned off. I know that is but one small incident, but it reinforced what i heard about engineers preference for the Fender sound.

The studio bassist who uses the Squire is Debra Killlings. She is one monster player, check out her solo album, "Surrender."
 
#38
MJ5150 said:
No.
Yes.
Still haven't seen or heard one in person.

-Mike
Click to expand...

Oh "in person".


Sadowskys, unlike many of the basses that it is a "copy" of, 99% of the time sound good or just "work".
That cannot be said for the model of bass that it was copied from.

I didn't get it until my first session with it. And then got called back and was told to bring "that pretty red bass"-my Sadowsky.

When you can plug a bass in and only have to bring up it's level and NOT screw with a ton of EQ and compressors and such, which has been MY experence and countless of pro's, semi-pro's and weekend warriors, then something must be done right.

Sure, Reggie Hamilton told me that he recorded with BabyFace on a grammy winning hit with a Mexican Jazz with Alembic pick-ups-So no you don't need to spend the cash, but the fact knowing that in almost every musical situation, I have one bass that I know will work makes it worth it-for me anyway :D

Play what you like, make it sound great. I do, and mostly it's Sadowsky.
 
#39
First off, nice profile Marqj, it really came off interesting & informative and intelligent. Congrats, and also on the great tracking success.

In this world of Walmart control over product quality; subliminal tv & movie product placement to equate the junkiest made in China by slave labor crap with sexiness & elegance; and the general disincentives that exist to the production of excellence, we are truly lucky to have folks like Roger Sadowsky and Mike Tobias making the best instruments physically possible.

That "pretty red bass" is still doing it every time I plug it in, Mike. It's now joined by my alder/rw P/j quilt sunburst, which complements it perfectly when I don't need quite as aggressive sound as the single coils deliver. It's warm and big and textured and with Sadowsky Flats just right for my current R&B/Soul band.

I'm a lucky man to have two brilliant Sadowsky 5's. Mahalo, Roger, for doing things right.

Aloha,

Jonathan
 

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