Squier Contemporary Jazz upgraded with Sadowsky pre-amp

[KaraQ]

Hello all, just wanted to share a bit of my experience with installing a Sadowsky pre-amp into my Squier Contemporary Jazz HH in Satin Graphite Metallic:

(The one on the right, if you weren't sure )



I bought it with "electronics problems" but otherwise new.
I found at least the volume pot was bad, but was having trouble sourcing a matching replacement. I decided, in light of that, and possible other unknown issues with the stock equipment, I decided to just upgrade all of it.


Perhaps obviously at this point, I eventually settled on the Sadowsky unit


Part of the reason for this was that it had the same layout and functionality as the original, while also adding a passive bypass push/pull at the tone pot.

I had concerns about the pots working on body-through applications, since it's primarily designed to be an on-plate drop-in unit, but after watching Roger Sadowsky do an similar install on his YouTube channel, I felt more confident about taking the chance, and ordered the kit from Fret Nation (since they and I are both in CA, shipping/delivery time was very quick).


After watching Roger's video, I knew to expect that the Sadowsky pots, with lager-diameter threaded shafts, would require the body holes to be reamed slightly, so I dropped by Harbor Freight on the way home from work and picked up a t-handle reamer, similar to what he used in the video:

The tape in the pic, I put on after getting the first hole to the correct diameter, to help speed up the process for the remaining three.


The pots worked out fine

For some unknown reason, I didn't get any pics of the original wiring before I removed it, but I did get you guys a consolation prize, of comparison shots of original vs. Sadowsky

Installation was relatively straightforward; I had to re-use both the original barrel-type output jack, and the original battery connector, as the kit-supplied parts would not work for my application.



An early stage of the install:

I wired in the original, SQR pickups as suggested on this forum, connecting the red wires to the Sadowsky blend-pot, grounding the white wires, and taping off the black wire.

Final shot before the cover went back on:

I was originally going to re-use the factory knobs, to better match the rest of the (black chrome) hardware:

But, an issue that I ran into was that the stacked bass/treble pot in the Sadowsky kit has smaller diameter knob-shafts than the original, so I ended up using the provided Sadowsky knobs instead:

Overall, not a super-difficult install. And now I can actually play the bass

Sound is good, I like the pre-amp features and controls. There is a noticable volume drop when switching to passive mode, I don't find it excessive, but others might.
I feel it's likely related to the pickups themselves, just not having a high output as passives.
I wouldn't call them low output though, maybe sort of mid-pack, imo.

But, when in active mode, output is pretty high, more than the EMG Rip Tides/BTS I have in an Ibanez 5-string.




Looking forward to tweaking the set-up to my tastes, and getting in some more play time with it

 

[Blues Bass 2]

Nice work , I'll bet that sounds very good . I didn't like the stock pre on mine either .
Good work .

 

[KaraQ]

Nice work , I'll bet that sounds very good . I didn't like the stock pre on mine either .
Good work .

Thanks

 

[Mike in MI]

Well done!

I love the Sadowsky onboard pre primarily because of the passive tone control. It’s also nice to see that using the reamer doesn’t look too tough. I’ve been wanting to try that myself for a while now.

I would like to hear how this bass sounds with that new pre!

 

[KaraQ]

Well done!

I love the Sadowsky onboard pre primarily because of the passive tone control. It’s also nice to see that using the reamer doesn’t look too tough. I’ve been wanting to try that myself for a while now.

I would like to hear how this bass sounds with that new pre!

Thanks

Reamers are pretty straightforward, but I didn't have any that were hand-operated, which I felt was necessary and would lead to a better outcome, especially when it came to not damaging the finish. Besides, if it's what Roger used, it probably wouldn't be wrong


As for how it sounds..... I'll try to run it through my recording rig after I get the setup taken care of, but it could take a while - I'm spending 60-70 hours/week at work ATM....

 

[Mike in MI]

Thanks

Reamers are pretty straightforward, but I didn't have any that were hand-operated, which I felt was necessary and would lead to a better outcome, especially when it came to not damaging the finish. Besides, if it's what Roger used, it probably wouldn't be wrong


As for how it sounds..... I'll try to run it through my recording rig after I get the setup taken care of, but it could take a while - I'm spending 60-70 hours/week at work ATM....

Sounds rough. Hopefully you are getting paid overtime at least. No rush on the audio, but I’ll be looking forward to it regardless.

I’ve been thinking a long time about buying a Sadowsky Metro again vs buying a Squier and dropping in the pre and maybe pickups. I like the idea of getting close to the real thing without breaking the bank, which is why I couldn’t hang on to the Sadowsky I had before. So I really appreciate the work you’re doing because it helps me out a lot! I owe you one.

 

[KaraQ]

Sounds rough. Hopefully you are getting paid overtime at least. No rush on the audio, but I’ll be looking forward to it regardless.

I’ve been thinking a long time about buying a Sadowsky Metro again vs buying a Squier and dropping in the pre and maybe pickups. I like the idea of getting close to the real thing without breaking the bank, which is why I couldn’t hang on to the Sadowsky I had before. So I really appreciate the work you’re doing because it helps me out a lot! I owe you one.

No overtime, at least not on an hourly basis


Glad I could help!
I've always thought, if you find a bass you like playing, but the sound's not quite there, it's totally worth it to make changes until it is.
That assumes, of course, you're not buying it just to flip it later (I do this sometimes).
Mostly, the only basses I've sold are ones I just didn't bond with (a couple of exceptions), and had no upgrades.
The ones I really love to play, and have no intention of getting rid of, doesn't bother me to tweak it a bit to make me love it even more

 

[Mike in MI]

No overtime, at least not on an hourly basis


Glad I could help!
I've always thought, if you find a bass you like playing, but the sound's not quite there, it's totally worth it to make changes until it is.
That assumes, of course, you're not buying it just to flip it later (I do this sometimes).
Mostly, the only basses I've sold are ones I just didn't bond with (a couple of exceptions), and had no upgrades.
The ones I really love to play, and have no intention of getting rid of, doesn't bother me to tweak it a bit to make me love it even more

You’ve completely described my own situation with buying and sometimes selling bases. I’m not one of those people who cares if it says “Fender” on the headstock or whatever. I’ve had some great basses that I spent less than $200 on.

For me the thing that is usually lacking in quality is the electronics. So I’m always tempted to upgrade the preamp and pickups to get the sound I want out of a bass that already plays great and makes me happy.

But… I know myself, and I’m fickle about my instruments. Something I love one month is on Reverb the next. Consequently I’m always afraid to upgrade a cheaper bass when I risk not being able to recoup my investment. So I usually end up buying higher end stuff that I know I don’t have to upgrade.

The down side to this strategy though, is that I end up with a lot of money tied up in my basses. I have a Warrior and a Roscoe that are each probably four times more expensive than a nicely upgraded Squier or the like. And my expensive basses are wonderful instruments, but I wouldn’t say I prefer them to a cheaper instrument that is upgraded just the way I like.

If money weren’t an issue for me, then neither would my basses be. But it is, so they are as well. I’m probably moving in the direction of having less money tied up in the expensive stuff at this point in my life.

 

[KaraQ]

You’ve completely described my own situation with buying and sometimes selling bases. I’m not one of those people who cares if it says “Fender” on the headstock or whatever. I’ve had some great basses that I spent less than $200 on.

For me the thing that is usually lacking in quality is the electronics. So I’m always tempted to upgrade the preamp and pickups to get the sound I want out of a bass that already plays great and makes me happy.

But… I know myself, and I’m fickle about my instruments. Something I love one month is on Reverb the next. Consequently I’m always afraid to upgrade a cheaper bass when I risk not being able to recoup my investment. So I usually end up buying higher end stuff that I know I don’t have to upgrade.

The down side to this strategy though, is that I end up with a lot of money tied up in my basses. I have a Warrior and a Roscoe that are each probably four times more expensive than a nicely upgraded Squier or the like. And my expensive basses are wonderful instruments, but I wouldn’t say I prefer them to a cheaper instrument that is upgraded just the way I like.

If money weren’t an issue for me, then neither would my basses be. But it is, so they are as well. I’m probably moving in the direction of having less money tied up in the expensive stuff at this point in my life.

Money being always a concern is something I have as well, but I try to work it to my advantage, by making sure the basses I upgrade, and the upgrades I do to them, are really what I want (or what they need - I get a lot of basses needing repairs).
Gives me time, so I don't rush in to upgrades (I do that with the buying, usually ).
And, I can spread out how much I spend over time, by not doing a lot of upgrades at once.

Given what I realize about my preferences and tendencies, I rarely buy new basses, or ones that don't need repairs/upgrades, because I know I'll never truly be happy with one that I haven't done something to.....

 

[Mike in MI]

You make two good points that I totally agree with.

By buying a less expensive bass that you upgrade over time, you not only have a much lower initial expense, but you can spread the cost over time since you don’t have to upgrade immediately.

The second point is one I follow almost always which is to buy used. New basses depreciate so much, I’m sometimes amazed that anyone buys them new - although I understand if you are wanting something very specific it might not show up as a used bass. The couple of exceptions I have encountered is with Dingwall Combustion and Rickenbacker because they resell for almost what they cost new.

A third point is that not all upgrades have to stay with the bass. Preamps and sometimes even pickups/tuning machines etc. (depending on the bass you end up with) can be installed in your new bass, or be saved for an upgrade to a future bass as well.

Something I’ve run into lately has been caused by focusing on 6 string basses. It’s more difficult to find a cheaper 6 string that doesn’t neck dive and has the string spacing I prefer than with a 4 or even 5 string. This has forced me to shop in a higher price range and eliminates the chance for upgrading a cheaper bass that I like.

 

[KaraQ]

.......

There is a noticable volume drop when switching to passive mode, I don't find it excessive, but others might.

........


Looking forward to tweaking the set-up to my tastes, and getting in some more play time with it

I was working on the setup/intonation, and noticed that maybe there wasn't as much of a drop between active and passive as I initially thought.......so I opened up the the app on my phone that has a dB meter and did some testing.

It seems the initial switch over, when push or pulling the VTC, causes what sounds like a spike in volume; but, the two modes, as far as I can tell, have the same volume level. It seems to be just the switch over that gives the impression of a volume change.

There is a difference, a slight variation in the tone, particularly for the E-string; there seems to be a bit more clarity, or brightness, not sure exactly how to best describe it, in the active mode (with bass/treble at zero).
In a quiet living room with 350 watts through a 'fridge, on A, D, G, it's barely noticeable, and only if looking for it, ime. I could notice the slight difference in the E.


Through that same setup (eq flat on the amp), the SQR pickups are dark, even with a pick.
I like dark generally, but to bring it to a point I felt was reasonable, I nearly maxed out the treble boost (maybe 75-80%?), no bass boost; adjusting at the amp worked out better.

I'll have to try it through some of my other rigs to see if it's just that combo (the 'fridge is new to me, and *may* be a bit much for a living room..... ), or if its not.



But, the more time I get to spend with this pre-amp, them more I think I really kinda love it

 

[Mike in MI]

I was working on the setup/intonation, and noticed that maybe there wasn't as much of a drop between active and passive as I initially thought.......so I opened up the the app on my phone that has a dB meter and did some testing.

It seems the initial switch over, when push or pulling the VTC, causes what sounds like a spike in volume; but, the two modes, as far as I can tell, have the same volume level. It seems to be just the switch over that gives the impression of a volume change.

There is a difference, a slight variation in the tone, particularly for the E-string; there seems to be a bit more clarity, or brightness, not sure exactly how to best describe it, in the active mode (with bass/treble at zero).
In a quiet living room with 350 watts through a 'fridge, on A, D, G, it's barely noticeable, and only if looking for it, ime. I could notice the slight difference in the E.


Through that same setup (eq flat on the amp), the SQR pickups are dark, even with a pick.
I like dark generally, but to bring it to a point I felt was reasonable, I nearly maxed out the treble boost (maybe 75-80%?), no bass boost; adjusting at the amp worked out better.

I'll have to try it through some of my other rigs to see if it's just that combo (the 'fridge is new to me, and *may* be a bit much for a living room..... ), or if its not.



But, the more time I get to spend with this pre-amp, them more I think I really kinda love it

With those dark pickups, the fact that the Sadwosky is boost only isn't a bad thing at all. I'm glad to hear you are loving it so far.

I really love the Sadwosky preamp, but I've wondered for a while now if there is really something special about the preamp itself, or if I'm really just a huge fan of having a passive tone control paired with an active preamp, and all of the possibilities it offers. As far as I am aware, the VTC is just a standard, passive tone control.

I would like to try this arrangement in other preamps, but have yet to have a bass with that combination available. I've been tempted to add a passive tone control to other active basses I have. I will get around to it one of these days.

 

[KaraQ]

With those dark pickups, the fact that the Sadwosky is boost only isn't a bad thing at all. I'm glad to hear you are loving it so far.

I really love the Sadwosky preamp, but I've wondered for a while now if there is really something special about the preamp itself, or if I'm really just a huge fan of having a passive tone control paired with an active preamp, and all of the possibilities it offers. As far as I am aware, the VTC is just a standard, passive tone control.

I would like to try this arrangement in other preamps, but have yet to have a bass with that combination available. I've been tempted to add a passive tone control to other active basses I have. I will get around to it one of these days.

Not sure about he VTC - the pot itself is standard, but there's any number of things they could be doing with it through the circuitry.


Nordstrand has a pre-amp with a similar setup, that I think is supposed to be their interpretation of the Sadowsky unit? You could try one of those, see if you like it as well, then you'd know if it's the pre-amp or the passive tone

 

[Mike in MI]

Not sure about he VTC - the pot itself is standard, but there's any number of things they could be doing with it through the circuitry.


Nordstrand has a pre-amp with a similar setup, that I think is supposed to be their interpretation of the Sadowsky unit? You could try one of those, see if you like it as well, then you'd know if it's the pre-amp or the passive tone

Great suggestion on the Nordstrand. Another option that was suggested to me on here by Pssinwind is the Noll dual active/passive treble control pot. It's under 30 bucks and can be used to replace your treble pot. Its like a standard dual concentric pot but has the values to work as both a passive tone control and an active treble control - having pot values 250k/50k. Its interesting because of you increase from the center detent, it operates the treble control on your preamp, and then rolling off from center detent operates the passive tone control. So going from full "boost" to full "cut" goes from active treble fully boosted all the way to passive tone all the way cut.

This is a nice, inexpensive way to add the passive tone control without drilling a new hole. The only down side is that it doesn't give you the option to adjust active treble simultaneously with passive tone.

 

[KaraQ]

Great suggestion on the Nordstrand. Another option that was suggested to me on here by Pssinwind is the Noll dual active/passive treble control pot. It's under 30 bucks and can be used to replace your treble pot. Its like a standard dual concentric pot but has the values to work as both a passive tone control and an active treble control - having pot values 250k/50k. Its interesting because of you increase from the center detent, it operates the treble control on your preamp, and then rolling off from center detent operates the passive tone control. So going from full "boost" to full "cut" goes from active treble fully boosted all the way to passive tone all the way cut.

This is a nice, inexpensive way to add the passive tone control without drilling a new hole. The only down side is that it doesn't give you the option to adjust active treble simultaneously with passive tone.

That does sound like it would be interesting to experiment with!



I ran the Sadowsky Squier through some more amps/cabs - it kinda seems like it's "dark" through class D amps in general

The first amp, that I used before, was an Ampeg pf350, and today I tried another class D amp, both pushing all eight speakers in the 'fridge, and both were a bit dark, needing a bit of treble/mids to the EQ (amp or pre-amp worked).

Then, I tried my 1970-ish Acoustic 150b with the same cab, and I actually needed to boost the bass a bit (on a side note, that amp, even though only 100-ish watts, is kinda freakishly loud through every cab I've tried it with......)

So, I switched over to a totally different setup, my Peavey Mark IV amp/215D cab - and I didn't really need to make any adjustments.
I did, just to see what kind of range of different sounds i could get, but not because I needed to



That's why I like having several cabs/amps, they can make a real difference in the sound of a bass

 

[neil|lien]

Hello all, just wanted to share a bit of my experience with installing a Sadowsky pre-amp into my Squier Contemporary Jazz HH in Satin Graphite Metallic:

View attachment 4971621
(The one on the right, if you weren't sure )

i think U have fantastic taste in basses. If i had the budget i would get those two without hesitation!

 

[KaraQ]

i think U have fantastic taste in basses. If i had the budget i would get those two without hesitation!

Thanks!

 

[Mike in MI]

Hey - I wanted to follow up with you since it's been a while since you installed that Sadowsky preamp. Are you still liking it? Also, now that some time has passed, how do you feel now about the Squier Contemporary Jazz HH in general? I know they've gotten mixed reviews. A lot of it seems to have to do with the electronics. How are you liking the rest of the bass other than the electronics?

 

[KaraQ]

Hey - I wanted to follow up with you since it's been a while since you installed that Sadowsky preamp. Are you still liking it? Also, now that some time has passed, how do you feel now about the Squier Contemporary Jazz HH in general? I know they've gotten mixed reviews. A lot of it seems to have to do with the electronics. How are you liking the rest of the bass other than the electronics?

I think it's pretty great. One of my favorite basses, honestly.

The stock pickups sound good with the Sadowsky pre-amp, and the 12" radius fretboard gives the neck a feel not too dissimilar from my Thunderbirds.
Fit & finish is excellent, and it's weight is pretty reasonable, imo, for a Squier Jazz bass - a bit over 10 lbs. I've seen a lot that are in the 11-12 lbs. range.....

 

[Brewsbrother]

Piggybacking onto this thread, since it's relevant to my issue. I, too, picked up a Squire Contemporary Jazz Bass V body with a faulty preamp. I just finished the build with an aftermarket roasted maple neck. The volume, blend, and tone pots all work just fine, but the dual control preamp does nothing at all. Is it possible to replace only that preamp, and if so, what do folks recommend?